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!

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Drizzle Ice cream Sandwiches // Gluten free & Dairy free

Last week cookie dough trio I decided it was a good idea to team up with another fellow blogger to bring you not one but two beautiful cookie sandwich creations! I teamed up with my friend from Heathers Home Bakery, who also is a fellow lover of all things in the form of a cookie sandwich! Her classic baking methods and use of butter and Flour (jealous) helped her create beautiful Soft Vanilla Cutout Cookies with a Creamy Vanilla Filling that is everything you dream of in a classic vanilla sandwich cookie! The type of cookie that makes you want to throw away those store-bought cookies, put on your favorite apron & choice music, and get to work creating something beautiful and delicious for your family!

Now on the flip side, we have Chocolate peanut butter drizzle ice cream sandwiches that will rock the socks off of your gluten & dairy-free world! These chocolate peanut butter cookies make for a perfect base for sandwiching sweet vanilla ice cream in between! The drizzle of peanut butter takes these cookies to the next level, but if you think you have to stop at a drizzle, feel free to dip, drizzle or douse these ice cream sandwiched with your desired amount of peanut butter sauce!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

• 1 & 1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour*

• 1/3rd cup smooth peanut butter**

• 1/4th cup agave

• 1/4th cup cocoa powder

• 2 egg whites

• 1 tsp vanilla

• Dairy-free Vanilla Ice cream

Peanut Butter Drizzle

• 1/4th cup Creamy Peanut Butter**

• 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil

• 1 Tbsp agave

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350F and grease a cookie sheet.

2. In a large bowl whisk together your oat flour and cocoa powder

3. in a separate bowl whisk together the agave, egg whites, and vanilla together.

4. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients together until fully mixed.

5. Using an ice cream scoop, make balls of dough and flatten them in the palm of your hand till they are about 1/4th of an inch thick.

6. You want to make sure these cookies are uniform in shape and size. If you want to you can roll the dough out and use a cookie cutter!

7. bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes and let cool completely, pop in the freezer while you make the peanut butter drizzle.

8. For the peanut, butter drizzle combines peanut butter, coconut oil, and agave in a small bowl and drizzle over your chilled cookies.

9. place in the freezer to set the peanut butter.

10. Once the peanut butter has sed scoop out your ice cream and sandwiches it between two cookies!

11. roll in sprinkles or drizzle with more peanut butter, but most importantly grab a few friends and enjoy!

    * To make out flour you simple need to blend gluten-free oats in a blender until a fine powder forms and there are no large pieces of oats. You can make this in large batches for ease in baking.

    ** If you cannot have peanut butter feel free to use sunflower seed butter. Just make sure that is slightly runny & creamy. I suggest buying the trader Joe’s brand or SunButter for getting the right consistency

    Don’t forget to PIN it!

RHUBARB PEACH CRISP // GLUTEN FREE & DAIRY FREE

Daniel and I celebrated 5 years as a married couple this last weekend. I could tell you we had all these grand plans of road tripping, hanging out at a cool restaurant, going to a museum, etc. and we did have these plans! Then, we started to think about a few things…First off we live a Dave Ramsey lifestyle and are always looking for ways to save money to better our future. 

He never tells you not to enjoy what we have been given, but also to know what you can afford and if possible, live below your means! Daniel and I have found great value in coffee shops, walks, working from home, watching movies, and just plain old talking. 

So we started with going to coffee, which turned into talking, talking about working together, creating recipes, making commercials, etc. We began to discuss our budget and realized what we wanted is to create more together, even if that technically meant working. 

So we came home, devised a plan, and got to work. We laughed and joked with each other, enjoyed good food, got to think creatively, and truly enjoyed our time together. I know this might be one of those scrolls to get the recipe stories, but that’s okay with me. I just want to let you guys know that in life you can make anything fun, and it’s just the way you look at things! In the end, a road trip or a day in the city would have given us the same things that working together did. Don’t feel pressured to not do what you are passionate about, just enjoy doing what you love!

Now this recipe is amazing because Rhubarb is one of my all-time favorite summer vegetables that my mom would grow in her garden. She used to let us pick a stalk and peel the red skin off so we could have them as a snack. The thing is, we always got the stalks of rhubarb accompanied by a small cup of sugar for dipping the rhubarb in. The taste of the rhubarb coated in a layer of sugar was amazing! It wasn’t even one of those moments when kids only used the rhubarb as a vehicle to eat sugar and then the Rhubarb is left behind. We wanted to enjoy them together! 

Unfortunately, Florida and Connecticut are very different states and I have a hard time finding Rhubarb anywhere. Thankfully I was at a local farmers market and found beautiful stalks of Rhubarb just waiting to be made into something delicious! 

So on our fifth anniversary, we made this Rhubarb Peach Crisp for you to enjoy!

Ingredients

Filing 

• 2 1/2 cup peeled & chopped rhubarb

• 1 cup chopped peaches

• 2tbsp lemon juice

• 2 tbsp arrowroot powder

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

Crumble

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1 1/2 cup gluten-free oats

• 1/2 cup coconut oil

• 1/4th cup coconut sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and spray a glass pie plate with coconut oil.

2. Peel your rhubarb so that most of the red skin on the outside comes off. 

3. Chop up your Rhubarb and peach. In a large bowl, combine your chopped rhubarb and peaches, lemon juice, arrowroot, and 1/2 cup coconut sugar, and set aside.

4. In a separate mixing bowl combine your almond flour, oats, coconut oil and 1/4th cup coconut sugar until fully mixed and there are no lumps of coconut oil. 

5. Pour your fruit mixture into your pie plate and use a spatula to spread out the fruit evenly, making sure to cover the whole bottom.  

6. Crumble your dry mixture on top until well coated. 

7. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. It should look golden on the top and the fruit should be bubbling, but not burned. 

8. Let cool for about 20-25 minutes

9. Serve warm with vanilla & strawberry ice cream and enjoy!

Cosmic Brownies // Gluten Free & Vegan

One fine afternoon my friend Natalie from the blog Feasting on Fruit and I were discussing what treasures we would make next. Our obsession with pumpkin for the season had yet to begin so we began to brainstorm what to make until then.

When we come up with recipes they have to be Daniel approved because if we can make a baking traditionalist happy with something baked that’s gluten-free and vegan, we can make anyone happy! We also take every opportunity to make recipes that give us some glam drizzle shots!

We landed on something nostalgic, chocolaty, and irresistibly good! You probably guessed from the title of course, but we landed on making Cosmic Brownies, and we were determined to make them even better than the original. I know that’s saying a lot especially when we are making them without flour, butter, or eggs…

Well, folks, this one here is a winner if I have ever seen (or eaten) one! The fudgy brownie and decadent chocolate ganache will without a doubt bring up your dessert game while simultaneously bring you back to your childhood days, eating Little Debbie snacks on the back porch with your friends.

We made this recipe simple so that everyone can have a chance to make and enjoy them! We also kept in mind to make these vegan, gluten-free, & paleo so that more than just one group of people can enjoy them! Let us know how you enjoy the brownies, and in the meantime don’t forget to check out Daniel Peacocke on YouTube and Natalie on her website Feasting on Fruit!

Now without any further delay here is the recipe!

Brownies

• 2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp warm water)

• 3/4 cup (185g) runny nut/seed butter

• 1/4 cup (50g) coconut oil*

• 1/2 cup (75g) coconut sugar

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup (70g) cacao powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp salt

Ganache

• 1 cup (160g) chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup coconut milk

• Colorful sprinkles for topping**

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F

• Whisk together the nut/seed butter, coconut sugar, prepared flax eggs, and vanilla.

• Stir in the cacao powder, baking soda, and salt to form a thick batter. If batter seems too dry add 1/4 cup coconut oil or nondairy milk.

• Spread into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350ºF.

• Cool completely (or chill to speed it up) before frosting

• For the ganache, melt the chocolate chips with the coconut milk. Stir until smooth pour/spread on top of cooled brownies.

• Top with sprinkles. Chill until the ganache is set.

• Slice and enjoy!!

Notes

*You can use non-dairy milk instead of coconut oil for an oil-free option, but the brownies will be drier.

** For an all-natural revision check out Feasting on Fruit for a homemade sprinkles 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!