Strawberry Milk

You might think I have gone a little crazy when I say this but…I like strawberry milk more than chocolate milk! AH I know, I said it…BUT wasn’t strawberry milk the unsuspected hero during childhood? It was always a disappointment when you saw the strawberry syrup or powder coming out of the grocery bags, but once you actually make a cold glass of strawberry milk with way more syrup then you were supposed to have, life was good!

I haven’t had strawberry milk in years and really do feel after making this drink I waited far too long to try! I had the idea when my friend Natalie and I made our Neapolitan Cupcakes and used freeze-dried strawberries to get the pink color and strawberry flavor in the frosting! It came out so good I figured why not try using them to make strawberry milk!

So here I am with a cold glass of the best strawberry milk I’ve had in a long time, and I have to say it easily beats using the processed flavorings, and will be making this for the rest of my life!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 & 1/2 cup almond milk

• 1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries

• 2 Tbsp Agave

• 1/2 tsp vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS

1. in a blender combine all of your ingredients.

2. Blend on high until fully blended.

3. pour over ice and enjoy!

Don’t’ forget to pin it!

Blueberry Crumble Bars // Vegan & Gluten Free

Over the last week or so, Florida sunshine has announced its summer and that summer is here to stay! Since our new normal for the next 6 months is sunny with a high of 100F we will be needing our edible cookie dough, ice cream and all of the no-bake treats we can get our hands-on.

In true Sonya fashion, this week I took to my fridge to see what I could do to satisfy my sweet tooth while doing everything I had in my power NOT to bake…or go to the store. The yogurt & blueberries caught my eye and I knew at that moment they were going to be my muse for the day!

Now I wanted to make a blueberry crumble, but as I said before, the whole baking thing is not ideal in my very tiny, very hot kitchen. Did I think to myself follow the trends? Yes. Did I listen? Nope! So this is my take on No-Bake Blueberry Crumble Bars (insert hearts emoji)!

I was worried I had too many ingredients until I looked back on the recipe. The crust has only 4 ingredients and the filling has only 4 ingredients….that’s 8 ingredients! I am so excited about it because I honestly thought I had made the recipe complicated, but that’s me as your classic over-thinker!

The fun thing about this recipe is that it is easy and can be adjusted to the ingredients you have on hand! If you don’t have dairy-free yogurt use what yogurt you have! Just make sure if you are using a sweetened yogurt you don’t have to add in the agave. If you have a crowd that might like things a little sweeter feel free to taste the yogurt filling and adjust o your taste!
You can use blueberries, but if you want to switch things up and use strawberries, raspberries, or even cherries, go for it! This is YOUR summer treat! I know this goes against all the rules but when it comes to no-bake desserts I like to tweak recipes because it help’s me to learn and lets me get creative in the kitchen! If you are a rule follower by ALL means follow the rules, but most of all I just want you to enjoy the process!

SO without any further chit-chat, although I do LOVE chit-chat…here is your guide to No-Bake Blueberry Crumble Bars!

Ingredients

CRUST

1 cup Oats

1/2 Cup Almond Flour

11 California Dates

1/2 cup Almond Butter

FILLING

2/3rd cup Blueberries

2 Tbsp. Agave

3/4Th Cup Dairy-Free Unsweetened Yogurt

2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

EXTRAS

1/3rd Cup Blueberries for topping

Instructions

Pour your oats, almond flour, almond butter and dates into a food processor and blend on high for about 1-2 minutes. Scrape down the sides if needed and then pulse for another 1-2 minutes. you should have a crumbly, but soft mixture.

Pour into a bowl and set aside.

In the food processor pour in your blueberries, yogurt, agave & lemon juice and the blend until you have a smooth mixture. About 1-2minutes.

Feel free to taste test the yogurt mixture and adjust the sweetness to your taste.

Line a square or rectangle pan with parchment paper

Pour in 3/4ths of your dry mixture and press the mixture so it is smooth and covers the whole bottom of the pan.

Pour your yogurt mixture on top and smooth it out.

Place in the freezer for 20-30 minutes

Take your pan out of the fridge and crumble the rest of your mixture on top and if you would like to, more blueberries.

Place in the freezer for 2-3 hours. or until the yogurt has set.

Slice, serve and enjoy!

Healthy Strawberry Shake // Vegan & Paleo

There’s nothing like strawberries in the summertime! Whether you're covering them in sugar, freezing them in Popsicle molds, or picking them straight from the plant, they are the perfect summer treat!

Well, I was feeling the summer heat here in FL for the last week at we hit the mid-90s, leading me into a desperate attempt to make something refreshing and simple! I looked in my freezer and there it was, a forgotten bag of frozen strawberries just WAITING to be made into something refreshing.

I grabbed the bag and then checked the content of my fridge, almond milk, coconut cream, and dairy-free yogurt all stared back at me and I knew it was time to make a healthy Strawberry milkshake!

This shake is not meant to overload your taste buds with the sugary version of a strawberry, but offer a taste that is both sweet and slightly sour at the same time, making for the perfect summer strawberry!

using unsweetened yogurt is how you get this effect, but if all you have is sweetened yogurt omit the maple syrup. Give it a taste test once blended and dd in the agave if you want to!

If you are like my husband and enjoy sour strawberries omit the maple syrup and sweetened yogurt all together!

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 & 1/4th cup frozen strawberries

• 1/4th cup almond milk

• 1/2 cup almond milk yogurt

• 1/4th cup coconut cream

• 2 Tbsp. Maple Syrup

Instructions

It’s simple! Add in all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until you have a smooth consistency.

If need be add in a little extra almond milk, but just keep in mind this will alter the taste a bit.

Pour, sip and enjoy!

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!
  

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

Double chocolate banana bread was the only reason I was excited this morning. It’s not that I lead a miserable life and need baked goods to pull me out of bed, it’s the fact that my dreams and lack of sleep were enough to put a damper on this morning. When I say dreams I don’t mean the half remembered, barely anything to talk about dreams. This was a full on Sobbing with real tears, scaring my husband type of moment that left us both confused and and tired.

I have been listening to a lot of Jane Austin books on Audible, which has been great until last night... I dreamed that my little sister and I were the eldest in a family of several children. We were definitley poor and in need of assistance. I visited a wealthy family and they seemed nice enough, but also game me a bad vibe. At a party that evening I saw my sister sneak off and hop on their yacht and sail off into the night, I was furious, how could she leave me?

I stayed up all night waiting for her (even in my dreams I don’t rest), and when they got back I made a lame excutse as to why i was creepily waiting in their driveway. My sister was okay, but when I tried to urge her to come home, the wife told me that they wanted to keep my sister forver. I ran away sobbing and distraught, and that ques me waking up Daniel and soaking my sleep mask in tears.

Like I said though, I had Double Chocolate banana bread waiting for me in the fridge. Thankfully this brought e to life once again and I was able to write this blog post just for you. SO with that, let’s get into baking this bad boy!

I decided to make this Double Chocolate Banana bread with a pancake mix because of my lack of correct flours in the pantry and my detest for running to the store for one item…ever since the whole walk this way down the lane and everyone being stressed out in a small place, grocery shopping just isn’t the same.

Anyway, I used The Ancient grain pancake mix by Purely Elizabeth because it’s what I had on hand, not because this is a sponsored or paid post! The beauty of using a pancake mix, is that you don’t have to source a bunch of gluten free flours or worry about getting the ratio correct, because it’s already done for you!

I added in the oats and cocoa powder because I wanted to make sure the bread ended up with a heartier texture, closer to bread then a pancake which worked out perfectly!

I decided to use cacao nibs because for #1 I didn’t want to go to the store, and #2 I didn’t want to add in a ton of extra sugar to this recipe. Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate chips, but the addition of cacao nibs to this bread helped it reach that next level taste. The carimalization of the banana met the bitterness of the cacao and it made a perfect combination!

SO here is your perfectly baked, fluffy and simple, gluten free and dairy free, Double Chocolate Banana Bread!

Ingredients

·         2 medium ripe banana

·         1/3rd cup Almond Milk

·         1 Tbsp. avocado oil

·         2 Tbsp. agave

·         4 eggs

·         2 cups Purely Elizabeth pancake mix

·         1/4th cup cocoa powder

·         1/4th cup oats

·         1/3rd cup cacao nibs

Directions

Preheat the over to 350F

In a large bowl add in the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.

Add in the pancake mix and fold together until well combined but not fully combined.

Whisk in the cocoa powder and oats and then fold in the cacao nibs.

line a bread pan with parchment paper and spray with coconut oil. Pour in the mixture until about 1/2 inch from the top.

Slice a banana in half and place on top with extra cacao nibs.

Place in the oven for 50-60 minutes, making sure when you stick a knife in the bread it comes out clean.

Note** Initially I used a smaller bread pan & had some leftover for mini Muffins, so if you have any leftover feel free to bake into muffin form, making sure to reduce the baking time to about 20 to 25 minutes.

Slice a banana in half and place on top of the mixture in the pan.

Let cool & enjoy immediately or store in the fridge

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.