Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Who loves cake for breakfast?

Well this is a more Rabbit Food approved version of cake for breakfast! Warm oats with finely grated carrots and spices combined with cream cheese and maple syrup to give a frosted carrot cake feel and flavor. What a treat!


Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Serves 1

1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup nonfat cream cheese
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp maple syrup
2 Tbsp raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp vanilla

Cook the oats with water in a pan over medium-high heat. Once most of the water has been soaked up into the oats, stir in the chia seeds, cream cheese, and grated carrot. Add in the rest of the spices, vanilla, and maple syrup and stir until all ingredients are combined. Transfer the cooked oatmeal to a bowl, garnish with extra shredded carrot, and top with raisins. Enjoy warm.

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: carrot and raisins
Whole Grain: rolled oats
Protein: nonfat cream cheese
Plant Based Fat: chia seeds

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s day to all of the wonderful dads out there!


Happy Father’s Day, Daddy!
Thank you for everything you do, I love you!
xoxo

Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies

Remember that delicious bowl of healthy cookie dough dip that I posted yesterday? What if I told you that you could turn that fun vegan dip into actual ooey gooey chocolate chip cookies with the addition of some fairy dust (a.k.a. baking powder and baking soda)? Well, I’m about to make your wildest dreams come true. Get your ovens ready little bunnies. It’s cookie time.

Speaking of cookie time, whenever I hear that phrase I instantly think of the movie “Troop Beverly Hills!” OMG such a good movie. Definitely watching it this weekend with a Chocolate Chip Chickpea cookie… or two! Have you ever seen “Troop Beverly Hills?” Such a classic!

As usual, these cookies are healthy, but give regular fatty refined sugar cookies a run for their money! Here is yet another flour-less vegan recipe that doesn’t contain any oil, refined sugar, or butter for all of you healthy bunnies that want a little something to indulge in.

It’s cookie time, it’s cookie time, it’s cookie timeeeee!


Chocolate Chip Chickpea Cookies
Makes 24 cookies

1 15oz can of chickpeas
1 + 1/4 cup pitted medjool dates
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup chocolate chips (of your choice, you could use carob chips for a vegan option)
3 Tbs almond butter
2 Tbsp rolled oats
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pits from the dates and place in a bowl or jar with 1/2 cup of water. Cover the bowl or jar and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (or overnight). Strain and rinse the chickpeas. After dates have soaked, combine the chickpeas, dates (including their soaking liquid), almond butter, oats, vanilla, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a food processor, excluding the chocolate chips. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Remove dough from the for processor and gently mix in the chocolate chips. Lightly coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper. Scoop the dough into 1 inch balls and place on the cookie sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cookies are firm in the center. Remove from oven and let cool.

Note: If you were hesitant about the Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip, this is a great recipe to test it out. The dough does have a different type of flavor than your average cookie dough, but the baked cookies taste like “regular” chocolate chip cookies, without a doubt. Make a batch of cookies and sample some dough to see if it’s dip worthy for your taste! If not, turn it into cookies. Simple!

Recipe adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie. 

Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip

I am always looking for the healthiest alternatives to my favorite foods. One of my favorite things to do with friends is bake. You know… typical girls! Most of my “girls baking nights” used to consist of Funfetti cake mix, a package of break and bake cookie dough, and more “sampling” than actually baking. I love doughs and batters, in fact I cannot get enough! When my sister and I used to make cookies and cakes with my mom, we would both argue over who got to lick the bowl and who got to lick the spoon. So glad we never ended up with salmonella! Yikes!

I have come to the conclusion that I love vegan baking because it’s challenging and fun, but really because you can eat all the batter you want without getting sick from raw eggs! On top of using only plant based products for baking (with the addition of natural salt), I try not to use any refined sugar, making my treats pretty much guilt-free.

While eating hummus the other day, something struck me. Why not use chickpeas as a base for a sweet treat? My friend and I made cupcakes from chickpeas before, so I thought it was worth a try to master another dessert. Not only is this a fun appetizer or dip for a party, but these fabulous little legumes are a great source of fiber and protein to keep you full and satisfied.

Now let’s talking about some dipping action!
Apple slices, whole-grain pretzels, graham crackers, toast, the possibilities are endless!
Question: What would you use to dip into your bowl of Chickpea Cookie Dough?

My recipe is an adapted version from Chocolate Covered Katie’s Cookie Dough Dip. To make the dip as healthy as it could possibly be, I made a few adjustments to the original recipe:

omit baking soda
only 3 Tbsp almond butter
2 Tbsp rolled oats
no extra milk

Chickpea Cookie Dough Dip
Makes about 2.5 cups of dough
keep servings to 2Tbsp per person/snack

1 15oz can of chickpeas
1 + 1/4 cup pitted medjool dates
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup chocolate chips (of your choice, you could use carob chips for a vegan option)
3 Tbs almond butter
2 Tbsp rolled oats
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda

Remove pits from the dates and place in a bowl or jar with 1/2 cup of water. Cover the bowl or jar and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours (or overnight). Strain and rinse the chickpeas. After dates have soaked, combine the chickpeas, dates (including their soaking liquid), almond butter, oats, vanilla, and salt in a food processor, excluding the chocolate chips. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Remove dough from the for processor and gently mix in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Quinoa Crusted Tempeh

My favorite protein at the moment is tempeh (tem-pay) and of course my whole-grain obsession of the century is quinoa (keen-wa)! Breaded and crispy foods are so yummy, but usually not very healthy. I typically eat my tempeh plain and grilled or in stir-frys so I decided it was time for a change. Since my obsession with quinoa is still going strong, I wanted to try “breading” my tempeh with it! It turned out so delicious and I loved the texture it gave. This meal turned out to be the ultimate protein power plate with 32 grams of protein! I can’t wait to add a boost of quinoa protein crust to my tofu next time!



Quinoa Crusted Tempeh
serves 1

4oz tempeh
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (any color will work, I used tri-colored)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 egg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp lemon pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 cups field greens
1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar

Place oil a pan over medium heat and let the oil warm up. Place the uncooked quinoa in a separate bowl and set aside. Combine the egg and all spices (alt, cumin, lemon pepper, paprika, ad garlic powder) in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Dip the tempeh into the egg mixture, coating it completely. Then dip the tempeh in the dry quinoa until it is covered. Carefully place the tempeh in the pan and cook each side for about 3 minutes. Continue flipping until quinoa and tempeh start to brown. Remove the tempeh from the stove and cut into 1/2 inch thick strips. Place over a bed of fresh greens and top with white balsamic vinegar.

The Rabbit Food Pyramid Breakdown
Produce: field greens
Whole Grain: quinoa
Protein: tempeh and egg
Plant Based Fat: olive oil

1 54 55 56 57 58 72