Tag Archives: almond

Berry Pie, ‘Nuff Said. (gf, vegan, and processed sugar free)

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IMG_9353Pie, my friends. Sweet, sweet pie. As the berry season cometh, so cometh delicious pie. I wanna be straight with you folks though, and this may sound like blasphemy to the pie purists of the world, but I don’t historically love traditional pie crust. So I made a different crust. Also, let’s be honest because we’re friends, regular crust from scratch is a huge pain in the ass and gluten-free and vegan crust is even more of one. Thankfully, the crust in this recipe is easy as, well, pie. 🙂IMG_9348Berry season (i.e. summer) in the northwest is the best. The berries are giant, sweet, and abundant. I literally spent 20 minutes just picking blackberries one block from my office yesterday and came home with 3 pints of juicy blackberries. One of my favorite memories is picking blackberries with my little brother and my folks at the beach. To this day, just taking a couple of minutes to slow down and pick a few blackberries brings the biggest smile to my face (pause for reverie about berries). Okay, resuming pie talk.IMG_9332So, crust. What you need:

2 cups of gluten-free oats

1.5 cups of almonds

2 heaping Tbsp coconut oil

1/4 -1/3 cup maple syrup

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Will the preheating is happening, grind your oats and almonds. I did it in my Vitamix. If you don’t have a power blender (or a magic bullet is awesome here!) just buy oat flour and almond meal.IMG_9333Here’s my oat and almond flour all ground up and mixed. Don’t grind your almonds too long or you’ll have almond butter, which is delicious, but not our goal here. 🙂

Add your coconut oil and maple syrup. Mix well and press into a pie tin.IMG_9338Bake for about 15 minutes.

While your crust is baking, prepare the filling (this part is shockingly unchallenging). What you need:

1 pint strawberries, rinsed and sliced

1 pint blueberries, rinsed

1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Mix them berries! After your 15 minutes of crust baking, fill that thar pie crust!IMG_9351Bake for another 45 minutes-ish until the crust is golden brown and berries are cooked, but not mushy. The outside of the strawberries ends up almost roasted and was so tasty that it led to a future recipe about roasted strawberry ice cream. Prepare yourselves.IMG_9354Now eat a slice of pie! Or the whole pie! (brief pause for pie reverie).IMG_9361Yum. 🙂

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Raw Cacao Ka-pow Secret Green Smoothie Goodness (raw, vegan, and gluten-free). Huzzah!

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P1030118It’s a long title for a smoothie with a long list of fine (and most importantly, delicious) attributes. Not only is this one green, full of antioxidants, protein, and some crazy tasty cacao pow, it’s refreshing, not too sweet, and can keep me full through a hard workout or for at least 3-4 hours, which is really something if you’ve met me. I’ve been making it most mornings for the past month or so, and it just makes me happy. But again, this is not the smoothie for you if you’re looking for super sweet and fruity. While it’s many things, it is not those two things and it doesn’t like to front.P1030116What you need: Serves 1 (or two if you just want wee smoothies)

1 banana, preferably frozen and chopped (alternative: frozen mango chunks. WHAT?! Yes, it’s not bad and will do if you’re out of bananas)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

2 cups baby spinach, kale, or chard

1 Tablespoon raw almond butter

1.5 Tbsp raw cacao powder

1 cup almond (or other non-dairy milk)

1 tsp maple syrup if you’re using homemade almond milk without sweetener (I’ve been making my own nut milk lately and a little sweetness boost is sometimes nice for those not used to green smoothies)

1 Tbsp chia seedsP1030112_2Put it all in a blender (again, magic bullet to the rescue!) and wait for it…..wait for it….BLEND! Add ice if your banana’s not frozen or you want slightly more thickness. Drink it up!!! POW!P1030117P1030115

 

Broccoli Soba Bowl FTW! (Gf and Vegan)

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P1030091_2There are 3 things that make this little lunch bowl fantastic: 1) It’s delicious; 2) It contains delicious things (okay, I guess that’s just reprising number 1, but still); 3) It’s cheap!; and 4) It takes literally 12 minutes to make. Also, broccoli is the best! I know, if you actually read these posts, I say a lot of things are the best, but I really, really, really love broccoli. I’ll stop talking about it soon, but somehow the broccoli, soba, sauce combo really is so satisfying and just light enough that you’re not hungry anymore, but not weighed down after lunch. It’s like magic. P1030086_2What you need (serves 1):

1 serving of soba noodles (I used sweet potato soba, but any soba or vermicelli could work)

1 head of broccoli, rinsed and stem removed

1Tbsp sliced almonds

For the dressing (serves more than 1):

1 clove garlic, chopped

1/2 of a green onion, chopped

1/2 inch of fresh ginger, chopped finely

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil

3 Tbsp rice vinegar

2 tsp tamari

P1030088_2First, start two pots a’boiling, 1 to steam or blanch your broccoli in and 1 for soba. While waiting for water to boil, prepare dressing ingredients.P1030085_2Place all dressing ingredients in a food processor or Magic Bullet (that little thing is truly amazing) and blend together. I didn’t blend until liquid since I still wanted some ginger chunks, but find the texture that makes you happy. When water for broccoli and soba boils, place soba noodles in one pot and cook as according to package instructions. If you have a steamer pot, steam your broccoli for just 2-3 minutes (so it’s still nice and crisp) or place in boiling water and cook until bright green. Don’t overcook your broccoli or suddenly you’ll have green mush, and nobody likes mush of any color. Drain your noodles and broccoli, toss together with almonds, and dress to taste. Eat it up and marvel at how economical, fast, and delicious your lunch just was!P1030090_2P1030089_2

 

 

 

 

Mango Coco Kiwi Smoothie. Sunshine In a Cup!

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P1030066March in Seattle means gray, windy, rainy, and often unpleasant. So for the past few mornings I’ve been mixing up this little sunshine smoothie not only because it tastes super good, but it makes me feel like I’m in some tropical climate, even if just for a few minutes. Come summer, I guarantee I’ll be posting more about how awesome the PNW is and how I’d never want to leave.

P1030061What you need:

about 3/4 cup of frozen mango chunks

1 sliced kiwi

1 Tbsp chia seeds

1 Tbsp sliced or whole almonds (preferably soaked in H20 overnight)

1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

1 cup coconut water

2 Tbsp light coconut milk

P1030060Put all ingredients in your blender (I used my magic bullet). Blend. Seriously, that’s it. 🙂

P1030067Drink and enjoy!!!!

 

 

 

 

Almond Chia Chocolate Cookies! (Gluten-free and vegan!)

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P1030021_2   Today is not going super well. 3 finals are due today, for all of which I’m way behind in terms of preparation (one of which I thought I had till Sunday to finish), yesterday I just announced I’m changing jobs…it’s been kind of a tough week. And thankfully it’s almost over! 🙂 So, while I’m re-listening to lectures, I decided to do a little baking.  Because why not. And it’s better than sitting here stressing while I have to be tied to my computer anyway.

P1030025_2These cookies are really less sweet treat, and more power snack. They’re tasty and the almond meal gives them a nice almost cakey texture, but they’re not very sweet. If you’re looking for  a sweeter cookie, I might send you back to my Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chunk Cookies instead. That said, if you’re looking for something that you can grab before running out the door to workout or something, these might be the winners.

What you need:

1 cup almond flour

1.5 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour mix (I used Bob’s, though King Arthur is my favorite)

1/2 cup gluten-free oats

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 Tbsp chia seeds (2 of which will be whisked together with 6 Tbsp water to form a gel and set a aside)

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

pinch salt

pinch cinnamon

1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

P1030016_2First, whisk together your chia gel and set aside for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together all dry ingredients in one bowl. In separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients (including chia gel and melted coconut oil). Add wet to dry ingredients, and mix. Add chocolate chunks and remaining chia seeds.P1030018_2Place parchment paper over cookie sheet, and spoon dough (it’s very thin dough) onto parchment. Place it all in the oven, and bake for about 10-12 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.P1030024_2Build a leaning tower of cookies and eat them up!!!

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Epic Granola Bars! (Vegan and GF!)

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Ever have one of those weeks where you just feel like you’re under water? Mine’s been kind of like that this week. Just more to do than I think can humanly be done. Fortunately for me, I’ve got a lovely trip to Mexico coming up on Sunday, and a couple of days off to catch up (and breathe, and maybe stop treading water). Traveling gf style can be tricky. More and more airports have gluten-free goodies, but they often cost upwards of $3 or $4 for a granola bar, and I’ll be honest, as a student that seems like a lot of money for little snack bar. So, these tasty little friends came to be. P1020953_2 They’re extremely customizable, so just use what you’ve got on hand. This combination of fig, date, oats, almonds, chocolate, coconut shreds, chia seeds, and maple syrup is sooooo good though. Lovely and chewy with just the right amount of sweetness, I find myself wanting to high-five these bars, but as it turns out, granola bars don’t really give a solid high-five back. It’s much more satisfying to eat them.P1020952_2   To make these, you need:

1. 5 cups gluten-free oats

1 cup puffed rice cereal

1 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

3-4 squares of dark, dark chocolate, chopped into small bits

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/2 cup maple syrup

6 dried figs, chopped

5 dates, chopped and pitted

a dash of nutmeg

a dash of cinnamon

1/8 cup waterP1020956_2Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl. I know, that sounds like such a complex step. One of the many reasons homemade granola in any form is the best.P1020958_2If you have an 8 x 8 inch dish, use that, but if not, I found that two bread pans worked out just fine. Either way, line the pan (or pans) with parchment paper, and press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Don’t be afraid here. Press really hard! The better pressed it is, the better your bars will stick together. Now bake for 30-40 minutes, until the tops is golden brown.P1020961_2Remove the parchment and granola from the pan, and let cool completely before cutting into bars.P1020967_2Take them anywhere, eat, and enjoy!

Almond Coconut Date Chia Seed Pudding. YES.

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I’m a snacker. An every 2 hours snacker. If I don’t eat every 2 hours (maybe a slight exaggeration, but not that far off), I can get “hangry” and weak, and that’s a bad feeling. To fend off hangriness and keep myself going strong, I’m on a lifelong quest to find and make a multitude of healthy, delicious, and easy snacks to keep me going throughout the day. And luckily for me, I just got my new bulk bag of chia seeds, which led to this tasty little dish.

Pudding can be a hard texture for me to like, but I love chia gel, especially when it’s combined with my go-to MVP players, coconut and almond. Dates add a delicate sweetness, and vanilla rounds things out. Even better, it’s just about this simplest recipe ever and takes all of 5 minutes to make plenty.

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What you need:

2 cups of almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup chia seeds

5 dates, chopped

1/2 cup of unsweetened, shredded coconut

handful of almonds

apple slices and cinnamon for garnish

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In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients (except garnish) and whisk. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until chia seeds have expanded and the gel is set. Spoon into bowls and garnish with apple and a dash of cinnamon. Eat and be happy, avoid hanger. Keeps in an airtight container in refrigerator for 3-4 days, though at my house, this doesn’t last long.

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Coco Almond Power Buddies (Vegan and Gluten-free)

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Life has been busy of late, and I find that if I don’t make myself a big batch of food to get me through the week, I wear out pretty quickly.  Today, while getting ready for a long week of work and school I had a hankering (that’s right, I said a hankering) for something kinda chocolately, kinda coconutty, kinda sweet, and really energizing. Hence, power buddies were born. They don’t look like much, but they more than meet all the requirements and taste delicious with a subtle sweetness. I’d say they’re less cookie, and more new and improved energy bar. Or energy lump.

Makes about 20 buddies.

1 1/2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

1/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)

3/4 cup raw crunchy almond butter

4 Tbsp chia seeds (2 of which will be mixed with 6 Tbsp water to form a gel, the other 2 sprinkled in separately)

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut sugar (or you could use maple syrup here, which would be absolutely delicious)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp cacao powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer (or an extremely powerful wrist), mix coconut oil and sugar, and beat in chia gel, almond butter, and vanilla. Sift together all dry ingredients, and add dry to wet and continue stirring or beating on low speed.

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When completely mixed, spoon batter onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and bake for 10-15 min. Eat!

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