APPLE NACHOS

Gather some of your favorite apples and get ready to enjoy a simple, fun and delicious treat! I'm not sure why I haven't made this yet, I guess it's true that everything has its time. I've seen apple nachos here and there on the web over the last couple years, a quick google search will pull up all kinds of similar versions, but I never put it on my immediate to do list. With all the busyness going on in life right now, I was thinking of something easy to share here and this popped into mind. I'm so glad that the time has come because these are absolutely delicious! A well loved classic, and I can see why. It's fresh, sweet (if using a sweet apple), with bits of chocolate and coconut flakes all topped with warm nut butter and cinnamon. What's not to love?! I easily ate two apples and could've eaten more if in the end I felt like slicing up more. But really two was enough, and maybe one will be enough for you, but I highly recommend going ahead and slicing up 2 per person, just in case. If you don't end up eating all the apple slices, the lemon juice will keep them from turning brown so you can make it with the leftovers the next day. This is also a great way to get in some protein that everyone seems to fuse over about a vegan diet. Where do you get your protein? How many times have I heard that. ;) Have no fear, this treat will give you about 8 grams of protein for every 2 tablespoons of nut butter you use (different butters may vary). Not too bad at all! This is a great snack for kids, as well as adults. I can see myself indulging in this quite often!



If you can circle your apples similar to this, you'll be sure to have a little of everything on every apple slice without causing too much mess when eating. But I sure didn't mind liking my fingers clean and I'm sure you won't mind either!




I was asked if I'd like to try out this gourmet raw almond butter from Dastony, and being that it's from a small family business I said of course. I'm all about promoting small family run businesses, and they deliver a wonderful product that's smooth & creamy! They have a quite a few butters to choose from, even a couple sprouted ones that look delicious, all of which may work well in this recipe. Their butters are 100% organic, stone ground, raw, vegan, and free from additives and preservatives. If you're looking for that special nut butter as a gift or one for yourself to use every day, this is it!



APPLE NACHOS

Ingredients

• 2 apples of choice 
• 1/4 cup natural nut butter of choice
• small handful chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Mini Chips)
• small handful shredded coconut
• small handful slivered almonds
• sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Optional toppings:

• hemp hearts
• cacao nibs
• raisins or currants
• ground cardamom
• pure maple syrup

Wash, core and cut your apples into 1/4 inch slices. I like to cut mine into quarters, take a small paring knife and carefully remove the core and upper and lower end where dirt may still be collected (even after washing). Lay apple quarters on a flat surface with the inside of the apple facing up, carefully slice your apple into 1/4 inch slices, you may even be able to get them into 1/8 inch slices if your extremely patient, even 1/2 inch slices is good too. Whatever thickness you prefer, no rules here! Place apple slices in a small bowl with the lemon juice, toss to coat.

Heat your nut butter just until warmed and somewhat runny. I like to heat mine by using a small silicon bowl placed in a small pot with just enough water to reach half way up the side of the silicon bowl, heat water on low and gently heat the nut butter until warm and drizzable.

On a serving plate, lay your apple slices in a single layer around the outside edge, then layer another small layer over those but towards the inside center of the plate (like shown in the picture above). Drizzle the nut butter in a circular motion, from the middle of the plate to the outside edge. You can also just zig zag the almond butter from one side to the other if you like. Again, no rules...just do what you feel is best! Top with choco chips, coconut flakes, almonds and sprinkle of cinnamon (or whatever you've chosen to use as your toppings). Enjoy this simple yet delicious treat!

Serves one generously, or two as a small plate.

Notes: 

Use red or green apples, you may even consider using one of each for a combination of sweet & tart.

Make this 100% raw by using raw nut butters, raw cacao chips and unsweetened shredded coconut.

Live well & thrive!

I'd love to see your masterpieces...

#thesimpleveganista

BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Today is a a muffin day, a banana chocolate chip muffin day! I had four small bananas, ripe as can be, and decided to put them into these muffins you see here today. I wanted to make them banana nut muffins, but since my daughter doesn't care for nuts I went ahead and added chocolate chips instead. Those are much better in her opinion, and I'm sure many of you will agree! Who doesn't like a little chocolate in their banana muffins!



I based this recipe on my Banana Tea Bread. I did cut the oil a bit, only using 1/4 cup. They came out perfect, all soft and fluffy, and the chocolate chips are a welcome addition. These were even better after being covered a few hours, moist and perfectly tender. I'm super happy to share these muffin here today and know you'll love them too!



Eat them up...YUM!



BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups spelt flour, or flour of choice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup light flavored olive oil or warmed coconut oil 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup organic pure cane sugar or coconut sugar
• 4 small or 3 large bananas (preferably overripe), mashed
• 1/4 cup or so chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Mini)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium/large size bowl and set aside. In a small bowl mix oil, sugar and vanilla. Combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients and mix briefly, set aside. Mash bananas, you should have approx. 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups, add to batter and mix until combined. Spoon into a well-greased or paper lined muffin tin, fill each muffin about 2/3 - 3/4 full. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes. You can also do the toothpick test in the center of one muffin, if it comes out clean it's ready. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 min.

Makes about 10 - 12 muffins. (I got 10 muffins but was tasting the batter, about 1 muffin worth. I could've made 12 if I used a tad bit less on each muffin and didn't eat the dough.)

Notes:

To make gluten free use gluten free all purpose flour or gluten free flour of choice.

If using coconut oil, be sure it's warmed and creamy or in its liquid state.

Add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to the batch for a different flavor.

I've made these using just the 2 teaspoons of baking powder with great results. If you don't have baking soda on hand, you can omit it. 

Spelt flour is my favorite flour and I use it exclusively for my baking projects! If you are mildly gluten intolerant you may be able to use gluten flour without any adverse effects. It is unlike most of the wheat flours of today as it is not hybridized. Here is more info on the nutritional aspect and history of spelt flour from Whole Foods: Spelt if your not familiar with it.

 Enjoy !

DAMN DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES

It's cookie time! And not just any cookie, but 'damn delicious' chocolate chip oatmeal cookies! If you're uncomfortable with that title, you can just call them darn delicious, amazingly delicious, delectably delicious or incredibly delicious. But however you say it, they are seriously delicious! 

I've been playing around with this one for a good minute and finally have a great crowd pleasing recipe to share. I love introducing easy transitional recipes here, especially for desserts, and this is one of them! This cookie is reminiscent to the old favorite chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipes you may have grown up with. You can share these with friends, relatives and co-workers with confidence. I bet they wouldn't even guess that they're vegan either! I received a seal of approval from my daughter and her peer cousin, both thought these were delicious. I also tried them out on friends and had positive feedback as well. After consulting with my daughter and other family members, it was agreed that these are 'damn delicious' and so it goes. These have been tried and tested by myself over and over just to be sure I can give them such a prestigious title. 

I used a recipe from Bob's Red Mill as my template. I reduced the sugar a bit, you may even be able to reduce it a tad as well, maybe down to 1/2 cup. I used coconut oil in place of butter and banana/flax egg in place of the eggs. It took a few tries to veganize it just right but I finally got it. My first batch was like oatmeal biscotti nugget cookies....super dry but the flavor was spot on. I upped the oil amount and played with using a combination of coconut sugar and maple syrup. That worked perfectly adding extra moisture, you may even consider using non-diary milk in its place. I've also included a gluten free option that is pretty darn delicious too! If you're familiar with the Trader Joe's Vegan Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies than you will love these cookies. This recipe using the spelt flour is similar in taste. In fact, I picked some up to make a taste test and there isn't much difference except mine are freshly made and do not contain shredded coconut. These are soft, tender cookies with a nice chew and tons of flavor. These cookies differ a bit from my last ones, Almond Butter Cookies (4 ingredients). Those cooked up and reminded me of a no bake cookie with a nice cooked shell. Makes my mouth water thinking about them! The cookies I share with you today are different, more traditional and crowd pleasing. I hope you enjoy them and share often with friends and family. They make for great gifts all boxed up and pretty!

In steps, mix your wet ingredients and then slowly add in the dry...

Mix in the flour making sure to scrap the bottom to ensure there are no flour clumps...

Next, add in the oats and the chocolate chips last...

Caution, this mixture is highly addicting!

Scoop out rounded tablespoons, place on baking sheet, bake and let cool...

Serve with a nice chilled glass of non-dairy milk...

Damn delicious is right!

DAMN DELICIOUS CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL COOKIES

Ingredients

• 3 cups oats, quick or regular
• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour OR 2 cups oat flour
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar or organic cane sugar
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 heaping teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup coconut oil (in either a creamy or liquid state)
• 1/2 large banana, mashed or 2 flax eggs (2 Tbsp flaxseed meal + 5 Tbsp water)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or unsweetened almond milk (at room temp or warmer)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips (Ghirardelli Semi Sweet or Enjoy Life, both vegan)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

If using flax eggs, in a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal + 5 tablespoons water. Set aside for at least 10 minutes to gel up. If using banana, in small bowl mash your banana as smooth as possible, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine coconut oil and sugar, mix well. Add in mashed banana/flax egg, vanilla and room temperature maple syrup (make sure maple syrup/milk is at room temp or higher to prevent the coconut oil from hardening and clumping when they come together).

In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine the flour, cinnamon and baking soda. Slowly add in the flour, mixing well to combine scraping the bottom to make sure there are no flour clumps. Add in oats, mix well. Lastly, add in chocolate chips, mix again.

Line a cookie/baking sheet with a silpat, parchment paper or lightly grease with coconut oil. Scoop out rounded tablespoons of mixture and place on sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool a few minutes and enjoy.

Makes approx 24 cookies.

Cookies can be stored in an air tight container.

Notes:

For the flours: I have given a gluten free option using 2 cups of oat flour. To make oat flour at home, place 2 cups oats in food processor and blend until flour consistency. If using non-gluten free flour, you can use 1 1/2 cup whole wheat, whole wheat pastry or all-purpose flour. I recommend using spelt flour as it bakes up beautifully and has a sweet, nutty flavor. It's my favorite all around baking flour! If you have a mild gluten intolerance you may be able to get away with this flour, although it is not gluten free it is different than most of the wheat flours of today as it's not hybridized.

For the oil, coconut oil tends to harden when temperatures are cooler. If your coconut oil is hardened you will want to warm it gently to a creamy or melted state. I have made these using both consistencies with good results. You could also reduce the oil to 2/3 cup with good results.

Adjust the sugar amount to suit your taste. These would still be great but a little less sweet using 1/2 - 2/3 cup sugar, especially if using the maple syrup.

If you don't have pure maple syrup on hand or you just don't want to use it, opt to use non-dairy milk in place of the maple syrup.

I made all my batches with the mashed banana option, coconut sugar and quick cooking oats.

The pictures of the plated cookies are made with spelt flour. The cookies cooling on the rack are the made with oat flour. I did this so you can see the difference. See here for spelt flour cookies cooling.

I hope you enjoy these cookies for years to come!

Chocolate Chip + Banana + Oatmeal Bites (4 Ingredients)

This is one of the simplest baked recipes I've seen for a muffin/cookie type treat. I first came across this recipe from the Burlap Bag about a year ago and am finally getting around to trying it out. It's labeled a cookie by some (it does sound more interesting), but I think of it more as a banana bread bite because it's soft, moist and chewy like banana bread. It starts with only two ingredients, banana & oats, I added the chocolate chips and cinnamon as extras in this recipe just because I like the combination. For being so simple, I was really happy with this recipe and it lends for so many possibilities with the other optional add-ins. There is no need for sugar here as the ripened bananas will sweeten it just fine. The riper the banana the sweeter it will be. With no flours, butters or oils, these bites are a wonderful addition to the recipe collection. Enjoy these for a quick breakfast, for an afternoon snack or after dinner snack as well. Pretty much any time of day is good with these little bites. They are best served straight from the oven but will hold well for a day or two, if they last that long!

Just the simplest of ingredients...

Soft, moist and chewy...just like a bite of banana bread!

Chocolate Chip + Banana + Oatmeal Bites 

Ingredients

• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed 
• 1 cup oats, rolled or quick (I used GF)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• small handful semi-sweet chocolate chips (Ghirardelli or Enjoy Life mini chips)

Optional add-ins:

• dash of vanilla extract
• shredded coconut
• chopped nuts
• dried fruit
• a few tablespoons nut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a medium size bowl, mash bananas fairly smooth, a few small chunks is ok. Add oats and cinnamon, mix well. Add in chocolate chips, mix again.

Grease a cookie sheet lightly with coconut oil. Using a tablespoon, scoop mixture and place on cookie sheet. I left mine in a dome shape, you could flatten it out a bit with your fingers to make a flatter shape. Should get anywhere from 12 -16 depending on the size you scoop out, if it was a heaping tablespoon or not. 

Bake in oven for 15 - 20 minutes. If you make your scoops dome shaped and on the larger side together, bake for 20 - 25 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool a few minutes before eating.

Store leftovers loosely covered and eat within a day or two.

Notes:

The riper the banana, the sweeter your end result will be. I've used rolled oats (like you see here) and quick oats, both with great success. Also, I've had batches come out looking lighter than what you see here, usually when using quick oats, so your coloring may vary. They may also darken a bit overnight due to the banana.

I've made this recipe many times since sharing. I find that each time my mixture might be a little different. It never been too dry but sometimes seems too wet. This may be that my bananas were large, or extra ripe and soft. If you happen to think the mixture is too wet, add more oats.

You can play around with adding more bananas and oats making a larger batch as well. Since these don't spread on the baking sheet, you can get 16 on a sheet.

Try using this DIY Muesli Mix in place of plain oats. It delicious and makes it more of a trail cookie!

Enjoy this easy recipe often!

Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bars

A homemade granola bar with a bit of a chew and a crunch at the same time. Lot's of flavor and full of goodness you can taste in every bite. So colorful too! Be warned, these are delicious and won't last long. But no worries, they're easy to make so you can whip some up in cinch. :)

I originally started these as a no bake granola bar like the recipe at Gimme Some Oven, but felt they were a bit to sticky to handle, even after chilling in the fridge a while. I decided to bake them in order to harden the maple syrup and stiffen them a bit. They came out really good and still have a bit of chewiness but without the stickiness. If you want them a bit crunchy bake for a little longer. They really are a vibrant and delicious treat! This recipe will give you the option to decide if you want to bake or not...a lot may depend on the date paste and how much moisture there is...but you may find that you prefer it unbaked. 

Cranberry Pistachio Energy Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup packed medjool dates, pitted and chopped (about 15 dates)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds, optional
• 1 tablespoon hemp hearts, optional
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oat (I used GF)
• 1 cup unsalted pistachios
• 1 cup dried cranberries or fresh chopped
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate or a dark chocolate bar chopped into small pieces, optional

Place dates, maple syrup, chia seeds, hemp hearts, flax seed meal, optional cinnamon and salt in food processor/high speed blender and process until it becomes a paste like consistency. Move date paste to a medium size bowl and add the remainder of the ingredients, mix well.

In a loaf pan or 8x8 pan, lined with parchment paper or greased with coconut oil, spread the mixture evenly to all edges and corners, press down gently but firmly to ensure a compact mixture. Place in fridge for 30 minutes before removing from pan and cutting into bars.

Once chilled, gently remove loaf and place on hard surface. Cut into any size bar you like. If you feel that they are just right for you without baking than your done and can enjoy one right now, if not continue....also, you may decide to try a few bars just to see how it works for you.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bars on a prepared cookie sheet with either the same parchment paper used to chill or greased, bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. I put mine in the fridge to cool as I was being a bit impatient with this extra step but well worth it! It may take an hour or two to completely cool, especially if you used chocolate.

Store in an air tight container or keep in the fridge if you like. Eat within two weeks. If using fresh cranberries it's best to eat within a week. (I highly recommend trying some fresh cranberries, they add a nice tartness with the sweetness of the other ingredients)

Enjoy!

A little picture tutorial and more...

Date paste...depending on the freshness of your dates will determine how thin or thick your paste is. The paste shown here was with very fresh dates, they were moist and soft creating this very moist paste...this was almost too moist but I also used 1/3 cup syrup instead of 1/4 cup, probably didn't need to use that much with such soft dates. I've also used older dates with less moisture and added a tablespoon or so extra maple syrup to the paste for added moisture. Use your judgement...if you need any extra moisture at all it should only be a tablespoon or two at most. If you feel your paste is too wet, add extra oats in the next step.

I used fresh chopped cranberries in this batch...the fresh cranberries added a little tartness and paired well with the sweetness of some of the other ingredients without adding refined sugars that are usually in dried cranberries. You can find organic dried cranberries that use pure cane sugar or apple sauce to sweeten the berries. Fresh is always best so give it a try sometime, you may be surprised how good they are in this recipe.

Gently pack the mixture into a lined loaf pan, chill, cut and bake if desired. I spy my little Piper girl, always underfoot waiting for something to drop, or a hand to reach down and give her some love. We've had her since Halloween of 2010, she was a rescue dog and needed a home, and we needed her little spirit...it worked out perfectly. :)

Hope this inspires something wonderful in your future. Happy Holidays. :)

Salted Chocolate Pecan Sandies (Gluten Free)

I love anything pecans, and when you add some chocolate to the mix you've really got a winner! These are a welcome addition to the recipe list and my go to baked cookie. The recipe consists of an almond flour/meal and has a nice lightly sweet flavor, especially from the coconut sugar which gives it a nice caramel flavor. And the salt adds to the delightfulness of these cookies bringing an added touch that will leave you wanting another bite, and another. Pair with a nice glass of your favorite non-dairy milk, or tall glass of water, and enjoy this chocolate chip style cookie...not too crisp, not too soft...just right. They are kid tested and most definitely mother approved! When the craving for a baked cookie comes around this will be the one!

I made this batch with half chocolate chips and half without. The above picture will be what the dough should roughly look like after blending well and before adding in the chocolate chips. I used almond meal in this recipe as I like to make my own. If using almond flour, your dough will be much lighter in color since the skin will have been removed by the manufacturer before processing. I scooped out rounded tablespoons, rolled into about a one inch ball, placed on the cookie sheet and flattened slightly. They will puff up a little when cooking so leave at least a half an inch or so between cookies. 

Also, I'm looking into a silicon mat to use instead of parchment paper. Coconut oil works great too but having a silicon mat handy will be welcome. It may interest you also...you can find out more about them by looking at the reviews in the following link: Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat

Salted Chocolate Pecan Sandies

Ingredients

• 2 cups packed almond flour or almond meal*
• 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar, turbinado sugar or pure cane brown or white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, warmed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup pecan pieces (raw or roasted)
• 1/4 or so cup semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate chunk pieces, you can place some strategically on top as well
• sea salt to garnish

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the first five dry ingredients in medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, add the coconut oil and maple syrup together, heat until warmed and coconut oil is melted. Add in all three wet ingredients to the dry mixture and blend well. Mix in the pecans and chocolate chips. 

Prepare a baking sheet with coconut oil, parchment paper or use a non-stick mat. Scoop out rounded tablespoons full and roll dough into balls about an 1 inch or so in size, place on cookie sheet and flatten slightly with your fingers. Leave about a half inch to an inch between cookies as they will expand when cooking. Sprinkle entire batch with sea salt. Bake for 20 minutes. They may look like they need to cook more but don't worry once they cool they will darken slightly, harden a little and be a perfect cookie. Let cool and enjoy!

Makes about 16 to 18 cookies.

* I make my own almond meal in a food processor. 1 1/2 cups of almonds will easily get you 2 cups of flour/meal. It's super easy...just process for about 4 minutes, depending on your processor. Store any leftover flour in a mason jar or sealed container of choice for later use.

Happy Baking!


Inspired by this recipe from Comfy Belly

Almond Chunky Monkey Ice Cream....It's Raw!

I was just gifted a new food processor as an early Christmas present. What better way to break it in then by making chunky monkey ice cream using 4 ingredients! I know it's a bit cold out for something frozen, and although this was cold it sure warmed my heart on this chilly day! Needless to say this was delicious and super healthy, much better than the Ben & Jerry's version any day. :) 

Almond Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 3 frozen bananas, cut into chunks
• 3 tablespoons almond butter, or any nut butter of choice
• almonds, cut in half
• dark chocolate, either in chips or bars broken into pieces*

In food processor, place frozen banana pieces and almond butter, blend until a fairly smooth consistency stopping every now and then to scrap down the sides and push the mixture to the bottom of the processor. It took mine about five minutes max, it will depend on your food processor how long yours takes. Serve in bowls and top with, or incorporate, the chocolate pieces and almonds, use as much as you like. Should be eaten right away. Makes one generous serving or two small.

Note: Never throw your bananas away. The ripper they are the much sweeter they are making them perfect for smoothies and ice creams. So just when you think you should throw them out and/or don't feel like making banana bread, unpeel them and put them in the freezer using a container of sorts (I use tupperware), and you'll have frozen banana's whenever you need all year long.

* To make 100% raw use raw cocoa chips...find recipe here.

Try adding a scoop or two of vanilla or chocolate flavor protein powder to really boost the nutritional profile! You may need to add a splash or two of unsweetened almond milk as well.

Seriously so good...Enjoy!

Make you own Almond Butter, it's really easy...find recipe here.

You may also like this Chocolate Banana Ice Cream