MInt Chocolate Chip Smoothie // Dairy Free & Gluten Free

Smoothies have a special place in my heart because they are piqued my interest in how healthy food can taste like a real treat! It all started when I was 14 and got a job babysitting. I would go every Thursday morning where the family was just finishing breakfast and the mom would set aside a cup of whatever smoothie they were making for me! it was awesome and helped me to learn that breakfast could be more than just cereal. Their family always had healthy treats around and near the end of work the mom and I would usually chat for a bit about life over a piece of dark chocolate.
It was one of the best jobs I have ever had and helped me learn about how to care for other people, but also how to care for my health with food!
As you guys might know, once life hit college life got tough and the idea of living a healthy and balanced life changed. I was at a job that made me miserable, my fiance lived in another country, I was convinced I would fail college, and felt a lack of control. What I knew I could control was what I put into my mouth, which made my love for living a healthy and balanced life, just an unhealthy obsession.
Thankfully after many years of recovery I have learned that intuitive eating was what I needed to get back to. It’s what I did in high school and I knew that if I wanted to regain my love for food I needed things to change.
I had all the rules beforehand that stemmed from me having to restrict my diet for medical reasons, that carried over into a “healthy diet”. it took months and months to break the cycle and to test the waters. For me it was having carbs in the morning. I loved smoothies, but the ones I was making were not what I genuinely loved or enjoyed. Even though I was eating enough food, I wasn’t satisfying my emotional connection with food. This leads me to overeat the Sonya approved food, leading me to an unbalanced diet.

After acknowledging these issues, and consistently working to break the bad habits and mindset I was stuck in I noticed things started to change.
I began eating dessert, every day, sometimes twice a day! But I also started doing my favorite exercises, having fun, and switching it up. I wasn’t focused on the calories I consumed or burned, I was simply enjoying the things that I loved! I felt like I did in high school were my favorite activities were ether doing something active or eating great food with the people I loved.
I stopped obsessing and started living again.
Thankfully living included eating a lot of yummy things, and that’s when this page truly began to change for the better!

Now I can bring to you fun recipes like this Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie that you can conveniently enjoy for breakfast or dessert! All you have to do is switch up the ingredients and voila! You have a tasty meal that brings joy!
If you want this Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie for Breakfast all you need is…

If you want this Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie for Breakfast all you need is…

• 1 Frozen Banana

• 1 Cup nut milk (I like almond)

• 1 scoop collagen of vanilla protein powder

• 1 Tbsp. Cocoa powder

• 1 Tbsp cacao nibs

• 1 Tbsp sunflower butter

• handful of spinach

• 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 3 ice cubes

• pinch of sea salt

• 1 Tbsp. avocado (optional)

• 1 Tbsp. Flax meal (optional)

  And if you want to enjoy it as a tasty dessert…

• 1 Frozen Banana

• 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder

• 1 Tbsp. cacao nibs

• 1/4th to 1/2 cup milk (less milk = thiccc like ice cream)

• 1 Tbsp. sunflower butter

• pinch of sea salt

• 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

• 1/3 tsp vanilla extract

  Directions

  FOR BOTH**In a blender pour the almond milk in first and then add in all other ingredients and blend away!
  

Banana Bread Smoothie

Nothing beats waking up to banana bread during the star at home orders…thankfully you can now enjoy banana bread in several forms thanks to this rending food item right now. For me I a big fan of smoothies in the morning, so when everyone was baking away, I remembered a recipe that I had come up with last year and totally forgot about! Let me explain…

Last year I spent some time in South Africa to see family and there is this smoothie place that is over the moon delicious! One of my favorite smoothies I had there was one that tasted exactly like banana bread! I figured that since I am in America now, and couldn’t get my hands on a smoothie made to perfection, I would have to make one at home!

When you freeze your bananas they should be ripe, none of this green banana business. Remember you want this to taste like banana bread & when it comes to banana bread spots = deliciousness! Just make sure they aren’t at that stage of the peel looking completely brown, that flavor is a little too intense for this smoothie…

If you would like to make this a vegan smoothie feel free to omit the collagen and instead replace it with vegan protein powder. Just keep in mind that this will change the taste and texture a bit. Try to stick with unflavored or vanilla protein powder.

Ingredients

• 1 cup Almond Milk

• 1 Tbsp Tahini**

• 1 Tbsp Cacao nibs

• 1 Tsp Cinnamon

• 1 Frozen banana

• 3 to 5 ice cubes

• 1 scoop Collagen

Directions

• combine all the ingredients into your blender, making sure to pour in your almond milk first! This helps to ensure that your dry ingredients don’t get stuck at the bottom of the blender.

• Sip and enjoy it!

  **If you don’t have Tahini on hand, the next best thing is cashew butter or 2tbs soaked Cashews.

Tahini Energy Bites // Gluten Free & Dairy Free // Vegan Optional

Staying at home has its ups and downs, on one hand, it’s awesome because I don’t have to put on makeup all day! On the other hand, I have to make sure I have snacks and dessert ready in a moment’s notice to satisfy all the hunger and cravings. This has been kind of annoying, because it feels like I am a teenager again, with minimal responsibility and a lot of time filling my time with random activities. The thing is when I was a teenager the snacks just appeared after every Thursday when my parents would grocery shop…But obviously I am an adult now and have to provide for myself.

Thankfully being an adult means getting to make whatever you want, and since I am a firm believer that snacks and dessert have the ability to be totally interchangeable good things happened in the kitchen this week.

Behold, I bring to you, Tahini Energy Bites. They taste like dessert, but totally can pass as healthy snacks! They are packed with protein & healthy fats from the nut butter, collagen & hemp hearts! All while offering you a tasty treat that has the perfect balance of sweet & bitter from the dates & cacao!

You can make a whole bunch of these and store them in the freezer for whenever your feeling peckish so don’t be shy! Double or triple the batch, either way, you won’t be sorry!

Ingredients

• 1 cup Pitted Dates

• 1/4th cup Hemp Hearts

• 1/2 cup Tahini

• 2 Tbsp Cacao Nibs

• 2 Tbsp Almond Milk

• 1/4th tsp Sea Salt

• 2 scoops Collagen (optional)

Directions

In a food processor or a high-speed blender combine all of the ingredients except for the almond milk.

Blend on high until well combined. Add in your almond milk and then blend for about 1-2 minutes longer, until combined.

Roll into balls, coat in hemp hearts, and then store in the freezer!

Eat whenever pleases you & enjoy them!

No-Bake Coconut Cookie Bars

Chocolate is kinda my thing if you haven’t noticed from the presence of chocolate in my recipes. So when I am thinking of a new recipe, that’s usually where I start! Then I think to myself what goes best with chocolate? Well today I had a huge bag of coconut in my cupboard that was just ASKING to be made into a sweet treat!

Now in order for my sweet treats to be accepted into the realm of Sonya’s Open Cupboard they have to be tested and approved by both my nieces, nephews and my husband. All who are equally picky…When I presented these No-Bake Coconut Bars it was a success!

The kids loved them and so did Daniel and my sister, and me, and…well we ate them all so that was as many people I had try them that day!

My favorite part about these bars is that they are a no-bake recipe, that is super easy to make, especially if you are home with little ones! I take care of my nieces and nephews a lot who are all under the age of 10. Keeping things creative with them is super important to me so whenever there is a simple recipe to make with them it’s so much more fun!

The Coconut Cookie layer is great because you get to use your (washed) hands to mix and place in the pan which is great for stimulation!

For the Chocolate layer, you get to teach them about using a double boiler, and how easy it is for the chocolate to burn. This helps them learn precision and the importance of following directions! It also teaches me to be more patient and relaxed with them…so all around it’s a win-win!

Coconut Cookie Layer

• 1 cup coconut flour

• 2/3rd cup shredded coconut

• 1/4th cup Agave

• 1/4th cup hemp hearts

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1/3rd cup full fat coconut milk

• ½ cup sunflower butter

Chocolate Layer

• 1 cup chocolate chips

• 2 Tbsp coconut oil

Toppings (optional)

• Toasted Coconut (see directions below)

Directions

Line an 8x8 Brownie pan with Parchment paper, making sure the paper covers the sides of the pan.

In a bowl whisk together the coconut flour, shredded coconut, hemp hearts & sea salt.

Add in the Coconut Milk, Agave, and Sunflower butter and mix until well combined, using your hands if need be!

Press the dough into the pan evenly, making sure to get the cookie base evenly into every corner!

Freeze the base for about 30 minutes.

While your base is in the freezer, combine your chocolate chips and coconut oil together and melt using a double boiler method. What I do is boil water and put it in a glass bowl, and then place the smaller glass bowl with the chocolate and coconut oil, into the hot water. Making sure the water doesn’t overflow into the small bowl. Make sure you are stirring the chocolate and coconut oil together. Feel free to replace the water with hot water halfway through if need be.

it should take about 5 to 10 minutes to melt the chocolate.

I have found that it is a super gentle way to melt the chocolate, and you end up with more control, especially since the amount of chocolate is small.

Once your chocolate is melted evenly pour evenly on top of the Coconut Cookie base and then place back into the freezer. If you want you can top with toasted coconut**!

After the cookie has been in the freezer for 30 minutes check to see if the chocolate has set. Once the chocolate has set take out, cut into squares and enjoy!

Toasted Coconut**

For the toasted coconut, all you have to do is preheat your oven to 350F

Put your desired amount of coconut on a baking sheet and bake it for about 8-10 minutes, making sure to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t burn.

Let cool and use to top your No-Bake Coconut Cookie Bars!

Dairy-Free Protein Chocolate MIlk

Because as an adult, there's NO denying my desire to drink chocolate milk every day....

This chocolate milk is super simple and can be made using what you find in your own home! No need to hit up your local grocery store where you probably will be yelled at for breaking the Carona rules by accident....anyone else experiences this? No? Just me then...

As Hannah Montana would say Nobody's Perfect, but thankfully this Chocolate milk is!

Ingredients

• 1&1/2 Cup Dairy Free Milk *

• 2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

• 1 scoop collagen *

• pinch of sea salt

• 1-2 Tbsp coconut sugar*

• 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Directions

Combine your ingredients in a blender and blend away!

Sip & ENJOY!

Notes*

I use Almond Milk but you can switch it up! Just keep in mind that you want chocolate milk to be creamy so something like Oat milk, Coconut Milk, or Cashew milk would be great choices!

The Collagen adds protein and makes the drink super frothy when you blend it! If you have another type of protein powder it will change the taste and consistency, but feel free to experiment!

If you do not have coconut sugar feel free to use whatever sweetener you have on hand!

Cookie Dough Bites // Guten Free & Vegan

Hello there, and welcome to another episode of What I Made During COVID-19! Today I am bringing you guys the vegan and gluten-free cookie dough bites that are sure to trump those store-bought cookies you bought in a panic because they were the only dry goods left in the store…

Anyway, these cookie dough bites are brought to you today in an effort to provide fun and easy recipes that you can make with simple ingredients! I also want to ensure that these recipes are indeed kid-friendly! I have 9 nieces and nephews all under the age of 10, so trust me when I say I would not be afraid to make these with any of them…except maybe the baby, but he would just sit there and sleep anyway so maybe it would work?

Other than the fact that these are delicious, simple, kid-friendly, healthy, vegan, gluten-free, etc. They also allow you to work with what you have! For example, If you are not a sunflower butter family, use what you have on hand! Just keep in mind that if your peanut butter or whatever other nut butter you use is sweetened, It will alter the flavor and sugar content.

If you don’t have almond flour laying around, you could definitely blend up oats and use that flour instead of the almond. Just keep in mind to check in on the consistency. If it is too runny add in more oat flour about one tablespoon at a time until the texture is a little thicker and easier to mold. With oat flour, you can also leave the mixture in the fridge for about 15 minutes and see how it looks as the oats will soak up some of the liquid!

You don’t have agave? Use maple Syrup!

All of these things will change the texture and alter the flavor of the recipe a bit, but when it comes down to it, the same idea applies! This recipe is about being able to utilize what you have on hand and do something fun while everyone is cooped up at home!

SO without further delay, here is the recipe for your Cookie Dough Bites!

Ingredients

• 1 Cup almond flour

• 1/4th cup sunflower butter

• 1/4th cup Agave

• 1/2tsp vanilla

• Pinch of sea salt

• 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil

Directions

Combine the Almond flour, sunflower butter, agave, vanilla and sea salt together.

Fold in half of your chocolate chips, reserving the rest of the chocolate chips for your chocolate coating, and put in the fridge.

For the chocolate coating, combine the rest of your chocolate chips and the coconut oil and melt using a double boiler method.

Once your chocolate is melted, remove your dough from the fridge and roll into balls. I used a tablespoon measure, but you can make them smaller using a teaspoon measure.

Once you have formed the dough into balls coat in the melted chocolate and place on a plate covered with either parchment or wax paper.

When you are done, sprinkle with flaky salt or sea salt and place in the fridge or freezer until the chocolate has set.

Serve and enjoy!