plant based pancakes. she said they are good for you?.....STOP IT!

Breakfast is usually oats for me, gluten free of course.  As much as I hate pancakes, and I do hate them,  once in a blue moon I really want one. I want a good one though and I don't want to feel as though i have eaten a bunch of rocks after I'm finished! Most pancakes are so heavy because they usually have tons of flour, which is tons of unnecessary calories, tons of butter, eggs and also a ton of sugar. You really don't need any of these things. If you are going to drown it in syrup or butter, why have it in the recipe too and while your enjoying these yummy things its also extremely full of nutrients. All I am saying is if it tastes awesome and makes you feel good, why the hell not!?!?! The maple syrup in this recipe is NOT mrs. butterworth or junky syrup that is actually disguised as pretty much 97% processed GMO corn syrup and about 1% fake maple flavor and 2% or much higher aspartame, drug fiend sugar. You need to use the real unfooled around with maple syrup that comes from a tree, perhaps in Vermont or locally, with a grade rating of A. That is the pure stuff! It has many nutritional properties in it's natural state.

You will need:

2 CUPS GF bob's rolled oats. (These will need to be processed in a food processor till it is a fine flour, you can use regular flour if you must!)
2 TABLESPOONS PURE MAPLE SYRUP
2 TEASPOONS baking powder (aluminum free please)
1/4 TEASPOON  pink himilayan salt
1 CUP vanilla almond milk
1 TEASPOON organic vanilla extract
1 TEASPOON cinnamon
1/2 CUP purified water
Pinch or more of nutmeg.
One cup or more of blueberries, walnuts, bananas, apples, raspberries, i could go on but you need one cup of some delicious organic fruit to complete it!


Begin by mixing the ground up oat flour with the baking powder, the salt and all the spices. In another bowl mix maple syrup, almond milk, vanilla and water. Once both bowls are well combined fold both together gently. I usually add the blueberries or whatever your using for your fruit or chocolate last. The batter works better if you set aside for ten minutes after making them to let them set a bit. I did these over medium heat in a non stick skillet. When you see the bottom starting to brown and gets bubbly flip them over and let go about another 3 mins on the other side. Then just enjoy the hearty, healthy goodness that awaits!!

chocolate bannana pumpkin muffins, watch out they taste GOOD!

So, in my fork over knives quest to find something that at least resembled a cupcake or muffin and tasted good is not an easy task. I only use oats for flour, no oil, no refined sugar and more recently no eggs. I know some of you think this sounds ridiculous but, I am intolerant to wheat, dairy, shrimp(gross anyway, who cares) and eggs. I would get all sad here but, its really the best thing to ever happen to me. Not only did i finally learn how to cook but, I also learned how to get really creative. Really quickly, here are the "rules" to fork over knives. Organic, no meat, no fish, no oil, no refined sugars, no eggs, no dairy and  completely plant based. No, I'm not crazy but since I'm allergic to most of it i was halfway there! I recommend however that you at least watch the documentary. It is quite moving and the doctors involved grew up on dairy farms and actually did REAL research. It could potentially save your life and give you good reason to be motivated to do so. I'm rambling and i know you want a cupcake so here we go......

You will need:
1 15 oz can of organic pumpkin puree (or sweet potato would be awesome too!)
1 medium mashed banana
1/4 pure maple syrup, or agave, or organic cane sugar. (Simple syrup made from organic sugar would work here too)
1 teaspoon pure organic vanilla
2 cups of oat flour. (I use Bob's red mill gluten free oats. Not quick oats, rolled oats. You will need to food process them into a fine flour.)
1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder (aluminum free)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
One cup organic no dairy chocolate chips. (I use ENJOY LIFE BRAND. They are REAL chocolate without soy lechiten and without milk and any other crap that doesn't need to be there)


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, mash the banana and add the pumpkin, maple syrup, and the vanilla extract. Mix to combine. In another bowl mix all of your dried ingredients except chocolate chips. Again, if using rolled oats, make sure to food process them to a flour. Usually takes a couple minutes. Lightly combine all ingredients folding and incorporating gently to make sure the final product is not too tough. At last, fold in chocolate chips and spoon mixture into cupcake liners or silicone baking cups. Baking time is around twenty minutes although, i left mine for twenty five minutes. I could have gone slightly longer as you want to see the tops slightly browning. Let cool for five minutes and store any leftovers, if there are any, in an airtight container.  <3!!

going plant based.....

The buzz is out, kids are watching it in school, and i am making everything this book tells me to and then some!!! I have not even seen the documentary FORK OVER KNIVES yet but, i don't even care. It makes complete sense just from downloading the cook book. Many of my friends have already seen it and are also being militant and doing so also. It actually fits in my already crazy food allergy friendly recipes anyhow. The book is alright, it has a lot of recipes in it however, it also gives me many, many ideas. This recipe is not from the book but, something i saw that gave me an idea on a few things. Incorporating plant based ideas into a burger, eating more beans and legumes, trying to eliminate a lot of oil from my diet, (lots of unwanted calories) and also my love for the turkey burger recipe that i had recently just created!! Here is the recipe for the white bean burger but turkey can easily be substituted for the beans and also if using turkey, leave the oats out! Fork over knives is a play on words meaning would you rather eat with a fork or go under a surgeon's knife. I will take the fork please!!

YOU WILL NEED:
ONE CAN ORGANIC GREAT NORTHERN BEANS. I USE EDEN ORGANICS.
TWO TEASPOONS OF DINOSAUR BARBEQUE'S CAJUN SPICE RUB
1/2 CUP ROLLED OATS(in my case gluten free, bob's red mill)
TABLESPOON OF FRESH CHOPPED OREGANO
1/2 ONION CHOPPED FINELY
HIMALAYAN PINK SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE


To start, add the ROLLED OATS to your food processor and blend for a minute until nice and broken up well. Add all remaining ingredients and pulse a few times just to incorporate. Form patties out of mixture to resemble burgers. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. They take about 30-40 minutes to cook total. I usually flip once but, wait twenty minutes to flip so that the patty can form and won't fall apart while turning. I bake them straight up on a pizza stone but any baking sheet or foil will work. You can eat them on bread, rolls, or i like to chop them up in strips and roll them into boston lettuce wraps with pesto and hummus and of course chipotle puree with a handful of fresh clover sprouts. They also work well topped on salad as well. These are so good i almost don't miss my turkey burgers. I like to make two batches so i can literally grab them out of the fridge pre-cooked and just heat and eat! enjoy!