15 Minute Protein Granola // Gluten-free & Vegan

It's raining granola over here! This is a quick 15 minute recipe that I came up with when I was in desperate need for something different for breakfast!

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten free oats

• 1/4th cup cocoa powder

• 1/4th cup pea protein

• Pinch of sea salt

• 2 Tbsp sunflower or peanut butter

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 4 tbsp agave

• 4 tbsp coconut oil
  

Instructions

• Set your oven to 350F

• Mix together the dry ingredients and then mix in the wet ingredients.

• Bake on a lined cookie sheet for 15 minutes.

• Let cool and then enjoy with your favorite dairy free milk or yogurt or store in an airtight container to enjoy later!

COOKIE DOUGH BLIZZARD // VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE

That moment when Natalie from feasting on fruit, Britt from the banana diaries and I devised a plan in quarantine to bring more edible cookie dough into the world. Toady we bring to you three incredible cookie dough recipes for your Friday night! So grab a friend, make some cookie dough treats, turn on your favorite 90’s chick flick, and enjoy!

SO get ready for Homemade Cookie Dough Blizzards, Edible Cookie Dough Oreo’s & Healthy Protein Cookie dough!

Check out Natalie’s Cookie Dough Oreo’s HERE

For Britt’s Beautiful Edible Healthy Cookie Dough click Here

For my recipe I am making a Cookie Dough Blizzard!

Not a milk shake, not a smoothie, not soft serve, but a blizzard.

When it comes to ice cream I am a tried and true expert. I have spent most nights ending my day with a beautiful bowl of slightly melted, chocolate coated ice cream that brings me all the joy! Some fall in love with their mothers baked goods, or their grandmothers homemade pies, but it was my Pas love for ice cream that won me over!

Ice cream was a staple in the house and was acceptable to eat any time of the year. It was also very important that ice cream accompanied any cake, pie, cookie, etc. that came into the house. They were simply friendly additions to a perfect bowl of ice cream.

In the summertime our go to spot was Dairy Queen! It would only open for a few months during the year and we would always make sure to be there the first day it opened!

My dad’s favorite was their soft serve cones, and who could blame him? They are the best around! The second best option was their blizzards! The consistency is thick and creamy, theirs tons of texture and it’s loaded with your favorite goodies like cookie dough, peanut butter cups, etc.

I had o figure out how to get the same texture which wasn’t easy. I tried blending frozen coconut cream, frozen bananas, ice cream and more, but nothing was coming out right. I was watching the Bon Appetite YouTube channel when Clair was making choco tacos. In order to get the ice cream piped into her taco base she simply put the ice cream in a bowl and used a spatula to mix the ice cream until it became like a thick cake batter.

I realized this was exactly what you need to make the frosty consistency at home! You simply need a bowl, spatula, your favorite ice cream & your favorite add ins!

Today I am showing you how to make your own vegan cookie dough blizzard, but feel free to use whatever you want! Get the kids involved, make it a family ordeal and most importantly have fun!

Ingredients

• 1 Pint Vanilla Ice Cream

• 1/4th cup Chocolate chips

• Almond flour

• agave

• vanilla

• sea salt

• 1/4th cup cacao Nibs

Instruction

1. In a bowl mix together your almond flour, vanilla, sea salt and agave until fully combined. fold in the chocolate chips.

2. Using a teaspoon measure scoop the cookie dough and form them into small cookie dough balls and set aside.

3. Scoop your vanilla ice cream it into a mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula until slightly soften. The ice cream should resemble thick cake like batter.

4. Gently fold in your cookie dough balls and cacao nibs. If your ice cream is looking runny, place the bowl in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes.

5. Serve with whipped cream, extra toppings and more chocolate if you want

6. most importantly, enjoy!

   NOTE

   totally customizable method! You can use whatever ice cream is your favorite and simply fold in your favorite cookies, cake, fudge, nuts, seeds, candy, etc!

   Pssssst! Don’t forger to Pin the recipe!

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!
  

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!