CINNAMON APPLESAUCE PANCAKES

Hello again!

Its been a very busy month with life in general, all good and I hope everyone is doing well. Things should be back to normal and I hope to post a new recipe once a week from now on. Today I share with you a very easy pancake recipe to add to your pancake repertoire. As the title suggests, these are filled with the goodness of apples and cinnamon. I used an organic jarred unsweetened applesauce here but you can make your own pretty easily following this recipe from Food 52. I did some of the pancakes with apple slices cooked in and some without, feel free to do the same or any way you prefer. I personally loved the ones with the apple slices, they cook up soft and tender while adding a bit of texture. So good! Mix up the spices and flours to suit your taste and/or needs. For this recipe I've used cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. You may opt to replace the nutmeg with cardamom or allspice, or keep it simple with just cinnamon. For the flour, spelt is my absolute favorite but of course you can sub in your favorite flour or flour blend. These pancakes are every bit as good as they sound. Tender and fluffy, I'm pretty sure you'll be whipping these up often! 

Simple, wholesome and delicious!

CINNAMON APPLESAUCE PANCAKES

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups spelt flour, or flour of choice
• 2 tablespoons coconut or organic pure cane sugar 
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 -1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of mineral salt
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, for greasing

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Place a baking sheet on the middle rack while oven is heating.

Heat griddle as per instructions or if using a large skillet heat over medium high heat.

In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt, mix well. Next, add in the applesauce, non-dairy milk and vanilla extract, mix until just combined, do not over mix. Your mixture may seem to foam up a bit due to the baking powder, this is normal.

Clean and quarter an apple, remove the core. Cut into thin slices about 1/8 - 1/4 inch. 

Place about 1 teaspoon of oil on the griddle/skillet and spread evenly over the cooking area (I use a silicon brush). Lay two sliced apples next to each other on the griddle. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop batter and place over top apples, gently helping the batter to cover the apples and form a circle. Cook until bubbles form on the top and edges start to look dry, about 2 1/2 - 3 minutes per side, or until golden.

If not adding apple slices, scoop batter as noted above and place on griddle. You won't need to help the batter, it will do its magic on it's own without the apple slices underneath. Continue as directed above.

As pancakes become done, place them in the oven on the warm cookie sheet to keep warm until all pancakes are ready.

Serve with pure maple syrup. A few fresh apple slices would also be great to serve.

Makes 9 pancakes, serving 3.

Notes:

Make a vegan buttermilk by adding a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or juice of 1/2 small lemon to the milk 10 minutes before using.

I used Fuji apples, they are my favorite. Use your favorite apple.

Vary up your spices with cardamom, allspice or cloves in place of the nutmeg.

For maximum fluffiness, once you place the batter on the griddle, do not flatten out the top to try to spread the pancake. I learned this from experience, my pancakes weren't bad but just not as fluffy as they could've been.

For thicker pancakes use less milk, for thinner use more.

I'd love to see your re-creations!

#thesimpleveganista

PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA GRANOLA SNACK CLUSTERS

I have some granola inspiration to share with you today! While at the store a few weeks ago, I saw a package of granola from La Brea Bakery and loved that it had big chunks. I set out to recreate that in my kitchen. Initially I wanted to make a mixed fruit granola, but seeing that I had some very ripe bananas that needed to be used up I thought I'd put them into a granola with a nut butter instead. We'll save the fruit granola for another time. This combination turned out great. Not too sweet, chunky like I wanted and the nut butter will add a good amount of protein. This is a perfect snacking granola! Great to have on hand at home or pack some up and take it with on the go. You can also break it up a bit more and top it on non-dairy ice cream or yogurt. You may even like to fill a bowl full, add some milk and enjoy. However you like your granola, this will be a great addition to your granola addiction!

I used almond butter here but you can use any natural nut butter you like. The bananas, the riper the better...the more ripe they are the sweeter they'll be.

Mix your wet and dry ingredients...



Spread on 1 extra large baking sheet or 2 smaller ones. In the picture above I spread the granola close together. I did one sheet this way and another loosely spread out (first photo). Both batches worked great but the loosely spread granola baked a little faster.



Once cooled and broken up, you're ready to enjoy!

PEANUT BUTTER & BANANA GRANOLA SNACK CLUSTERS

Ingredients

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup almond or peanut butter (I used crunchy almond butter)
• 2 small ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, optional
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together the oats, almonds, pepitas, cinnamon and salt.

Warm your coconut oil and maple syrup, combine with vanilla extract. Mash your bananas and measure your nut butter. Combine the wet ingredients with the oat mixture. Toss and mix to coat well.

Spread mixture evenly on a lined or lightly greased baking sheet (I used two baking sheets). You can either lightly compact the mixture or loosely spread it out a bit. If compacting, you'll want to mix the granola when rotating after 30 minutes.

Bake for 30 minutes. Turn and rotate sheet/sheets, bake an additional 25 - 30 minutes. Keep an eye towards the end so it doesn't over brown (ovens run differently). Remove from oven, granola will be somewhat soft at first. Let cool for 15 minutes, break up into chunks, especially the center part if you've compacted the mixture. Let granola cool completely to harden.

Notes:

Change up the nuts using peanuts, walnuts or pecan pieces. Use sunflower seeds in place of the pepitas.

You will most likely do just as well without any oil. If you'd like to reduce the oil, try using only 2 tablespoons. I like the flavor and addition of the coconut oil for myself.

Once cooled, if you still find your granola to not be as crunchy as you might like, bake again at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes, keep an eye so it doesn't over brown.

This granola needs to cook low and slow. My first batch I baked at 325 degrees F. for 40 minutes but it still needed extra baking time after cooling to become crunchy. I lowered the temp and added a bit more time. Be sure to watch it towards the end so it doesn't become burnt, especially if you've spread it loosely on the baking sheet.

The 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon gives a very subtle flavor, add another 1/2 teaspoon for a more enhanced cinnamon flavor.

If you happen to have both rolled and quick oats on hand, try using 2 - 3 cups rolled oats and 1 -2 cups of quick oats (use whatever combo equals 4 cups with at least 2 cups rolled oats). This will also help to make nice clusters.

Enjoy!

VANILLA DATE SMOOTHIE

I never regret going to the gym, but I always regret not going! Case in point, I've been working very hard on a special project I have coming up and sometimes get lost in the passion of it all. It's enough to keep me from going, for which I always end up regretting. I make myself go in these times and always feel amazing when I'm done. The ideas open up and flow through me with ease, I've come up with some amazing ideas. Plus, it gives me time to break away from the intensity of the day. Even though the gym is intense in its own way, it's blood circulating and sweat producing, I find it so relaxing as well...maybe more so when it's over. ;) It really is essential to your overall good health and well-being. I agree to that 100%. Maybe some of you feel the way I do, or maybe you simply dislike it like a few people I know. Either way, I wish everyone the best of health! It's what I was thinking about today, how good it feels and I was so glad I went. Not to mention, coming home to make this vanilla date smoothie. It's a perfect sweet treat for a job well done!

Earlier this month, I picked up this big beautiful box of dates from my local Indian farmers market. How could I resist?! These are the extra fancy ones and they are the most tender, soft, sweet and caramely date I've had in long time. Fresh dates are simply the best, they are sweet and ready to be put to good use. As soon as I got home from the market I put together this vanilla date smoothie and loved every sip, especially those little date pieces that are like pieces of heaven to eat. If you've got some dates and frozen bananas on hand, I suggest you treat yourself to something simple and wonderful!


 

VANILLA DATE SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, optional
• 1 large frozen banana
• 4 - 5 ice cubes or another frozen banana
• 3 - 4 medjool dates, pitted (soft and fresh is best)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine ingredients in blender and blend until smooth, about two minutes. Add a splash or two of extra almond milk if needed.

You may have visually small pieces of dates within the shake. That's ok, and even with those I had no trouble using my straw without having to clear the bottom of it maybe once or twice....Those little chunks are so caramely and delicious!

Serves one.

Notes:

For the protein powder, I've been using the Garden of Life Raw Fit lately. I love the fact that Garden of Life has a few protein powders that don't contain stevia. I prefer to sweeten my shakes/smoothies with fruits and personally don't care for the stevia after taste. I'm not on a weight management program but do love the high protein amount in this powder. The Raw Fit contains 28 grams of protein, which is half my daily recommended amount. For me, one shake a day is a perfect treat! If using protein powder, you may like to add 1/4 - 1/2 cup more of milk or water.

Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE CHAI ROASTED ALMONDS

 I've been very busy since my last post updating some older recipe that desperately needed to be revisited, not only for the pictures but to update and streamline the ingredients and instructions. In case you're interested, take a look and see if any inspire you. First up was the Smoky Chipotle Maple T.L.T., an absolutely delicious sandwich. Then I was onto the Raw Vegetable Pasta...you'll never miss regular pasta again with this one. Next, the Refried Bean & Avocado Lavash Wrap which was just a whim recipe at the time that hit the spot. Up next, I revamped the Pasta and Bean Soup with Kale which is out of this world. Lastly, the Spicy Carrot & Hummus Sandwich...delicious in every way. Today not only are you getting one inspirational recipe to try but 6! Take a look and hopefully you'll be inspired to add more of these recipes to your meal plans for the upcoming months!

I've been doing a lot of snack and dessert type recipes lately and have been loving every minute of it. Inspired by my Chocolate Chai Popcorn, I decided to try roasted almonds with this flavorful mix and it worked great. The flavor of cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, clove with some black pepper spice all lightly wrapped with a hint of cocoa. It's a fun and delicious flavor! Almonds are an alkalizing nut and eating just 9 almonds a day will provide you with all the vitamin E you need for the day. They're also a great source of magnesium, potassium, copper and fiber. These flavored almonds make for quite an addicting but healthy little snack that I'm happy to share with you today. I love that they travel well too. Bag or bottle some up in a mason jar and take them with you for the day. They even make for great gift ideas for special holidays or just because. Share the goodness, share the love!

Gather your ingredients...

 

Add everything together and mix well...

Spread in single layer on baking sheet and bake, stirring once...



Let cool and harden. Share the goodness!

CHOCOLATE CHAI ROASTED ALMONDS

Ingredients

• 3 cups raw almonds
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, optional
• 1 heaping teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 heaping teaspoon cardamom
• 1 heaping teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• a few pinches of mineral salt

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, add almonds, maple syrup, vanilla and spices, mix well to coat. On a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly oiled, spread almonds, syrup and all, in a single layer, it's ok if they're touching each other. Bake on center rake for 20 - 22 minutes, shuffling the almonds around once after 10 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle with mineral salt and let cool to harden. They may clump together a bit while cooling but will easily come apart.

Store in air tight container for up to a month.

Enjoy often!

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!

ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES (4 Ingredients)

As you can tell from my recipe collection, I'm not much of a baker. Now I know why... If I bake it, I will eat it! I'm usually very content with dipping my dark chocolate in almond butter every night but have been wanting to test out a new nut butter cookie. I'm not a fan of all the typical ingredients that go into many baked goods like butters, tons of sugar and flour. This is why I love my raw cookies and balls so much. They are clean (meaning whole foods), easy and always come out great, unlike baking which is a little tricky sometimes, probably another reason I don't bake very much. So the trick for me is finding baked goods that use minimal ingredients and taste great too. These cookies fit the bill for me! For the person who usually uses butters and such in your recipes this cookie will be a bit different to you but I encourage you to give it at try and see for yourself. It reminds me more of a no bake cookie but with a wonderful baked outside texture. For someone who is already adapted to eating this way....you should have no problem with these!

The recipe I share with you today is something other than what was intended. It was originally going to be a peanut butter cookie but I ended up using almond butter instead. I also expected it to look like a traditional cookie once done. My first try came out flat, which wasn't a bad thing but they were too soft to pick up without falling apart. Flavor wise they were perfect, although a little too sweet. I tried again using less sugar and baking them a little longer to see if that would help stiffen them up. The result was cookies that reminded me of lace cookies, or something close to that, hence the original title. Once cooled a few minutes, they were sturdy. Perfect! So voila, we have 4 ingredient almond butter cookies. or almond butter thin cookies. And even more so, my baking experience wasn't a total loss. After a few attempts with ingredients and baking times, I finally have a recipe that I can stand behind. They have a nice density and chew, good texture and not too sweet. A little crispy on the edges with a nice chewy middle. And with only four ingredients, well technically five if using the flax egg, this is such an easy recipe to make. And they pair perfect with a nice glass chilled glass of non-diary milk or lemon water. I have been thoroughly enjoying all this cookie testing! I hope you will enjoy this cookie...not too soft, not too crisp...just perfectly in the middle. And, for what they are with only 4 ingredients...I'm completely satisfied with the outcome. If you appreciate a clean cookie, you may really enjoy these too! 

Just a note: I tried making these with peanut butter hoping it would be the same results but didn't care as much for the outcome with this recipe. It was a more traditional looking cookie that was soft and tender with a velvety texture. Maybe that is something you might like to try! I hope to have a peanut butter cookie recipe soon as I know not everyone has almond butter available and I want a go-to peanut butter cookie recipe! 

 

Gather your few ingredients...

 

Mix dough well, place rounded scoops on baking sheet, flatten and bake...

Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy these incredibly simple and flavorful cookies!

ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar or organic pure cane sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 flax egg (1 heaping Tbsp flaxseed meal + 3 Tbsp non-dairy milk or water) or 1/3 banana, mashed
• 3 level tablespoons oat flour or flour of choice, optional (see notes)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Start by making your flax egg. In a small bowl, place flaxseed meal and water/milk, stir and set aside to set, about 15 minutes ideally. Or if using banana, mash well in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine nut butter, sugar, vanilla and flax egg/banana. Mix well until dough is stiffened and hard to mix, about 1 minute. Line baking sheet with a silpat, parchment paper or lightly grease with oil. Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out rounded scoops, place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Using a fork or your index and middle finger, gently press to flatten, making a crisscross pattern. Your dough will seem oily and stick to the fork, it's normal with the almond butter, just be patient..you'll be rewarded soon. Feel free to sprinkle a little sugar or salt over each cookie. Place baking sheet on middle rack and bake 12 - 15 minutes. (edit: I tried different baking sheets with different results. Cooking time will vary from sheet to sheet. The sheet shown was baked for 15 minutes, other sheets require lower cooking times or the edges will brown more than you may like.) Remove from oven and let cool.

These are best stored covered on a couple paper towels, the paper towels will help soak up some of the natural oils.

Makes approx. 14 cookies (that's if you don't eat the batter!).

Notes:

For this recipe I used Trader Joe's Raw Almond Butter, Creamy and Crunchy, both worked well. Keep in mind that other brands of almond butter may contain added sugars...adjust the sugar slightly by reducing a tablespoon or so if you like. Also, keep in mind that your cookies may vary in shape depending on what type/brand of almond butter you use.

Try subbing in 1/3 of a banana for the flax egg. I did a few trials with this method and had great success!

As noted above, I tried making these with natural peanut butter hoping it would be the same results but didn't care as much for the outcome with this recipe. Of course, you can try if you like and find you like it. They were soft, tender with a velvety texture.

If you want a more traditional cookie (like the ones below), add 3 level tablespoons flour (oat, spelt, whole wheat pastry or all purpose gluten free) to the mix and bake for 12 - 13 minutes. The addition of the flour will help soak up some of the natural oils making these a crisper cookie with a nice chew. I used chunky almond butter for the cookies below. Again delicious! (If you want a traditional looking cookie without the flour, try using refrigerated almond butter and mix the batter once the oven is ready. I didn't test this out yet with the almond butter but I have a feeling it will work great!)

However you like your cookies...enjoy the deliciousness!

I'd love to see your masterpieces!
 #thesimpleveganista