Rosemary Apricot Bread

This bread is delicious!  The flavoring and moistness are, I think just right, a blend of sweet and savory, with the apricot bits providing the perfect taste of tart decadence.  Overall, the switch from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup of oat bran was a good decision (this bread is a variation on our high fiber oat bread).  However, this time the loaf was a bit too crumbly, so if I make the loaf again I'll want to try adding some flax or an egg white to improve the overall cohesion of the loaf.  Also, I found that the apricots often sank to the bottom of the loaf.  Perhaps next time if I cut them into finer pieces, this will happen less frequently.

You will need:

• 2 cups oat flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 2-3 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 spoonful of oil (optional)
• 1 bottle beer (can use GF beer for a GF loaf)
• 10-20 diced apricots, or to taste
• A generous sprinkling of rosemary, or to taste
• Salt and sweetener to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine first three dry ingredients and fluff with fork.
3. Add beer and stir until everything gets dissolved.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients.  Taste batter and adjust seasoning, etc. as necessary.
5. Pour batter into greased loaf pan.
6. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
7. Enjoy!

If you enjoyed this post, also check out: Gluten-Free Beer Bread, High Fiber Oat Bread, and Wild Blueberry Bread!

Blueberries and cream donut holes

 These are wonderfully creamy donut-y dough balls.  These donut hole dough balls are good!  I could have called them vegan dough balls, but donut holes sound so much more yummy!  And yet, these little balls could not be healthier.  With the proper choice of ingredients, they can have lots of fiber and protein and no grains whatsoever.  How's that for a healthy donut?

They're also super easy to make - you don't even need to bake or fry them!

To make these donut holes, you will need:

• Coconut butter
• Unflavored soy protein powder
• Blueberry jam (I used sugar free Smuckers, for a fiber boost you could use Polaner); you'll want approximately equal quantities of the first three ingredients
• Vanilla extract (optional)

1. Microwave a few spoonfulls of coconut butter until melted.
2. Add some soy protein powder to the liquid coconut butter and stir until absorbed.
3. Stir in blueberry jam.  You should have a thick dough now.  If necessary, adjust quantities of soy protein powder and blueberry jam to get everything to the desired consistency.
4. Roll dough into balls.
5. Enjoy!

Note: these donut holes will harden if left in the fridge and will not taste like soft n' creamy donuts anymore.  You could make them into high protein vegan shortbread cookies if you plan to eat them later!

Ice Cold Creamy Coffee Drink w/ Protein

This drink is simple and satisfying.  It has loads of protein, as much caffeine as you'd like, and if you'd like, very little sugar or carbohydrate.  It's also nice, cold, and creamy.

You will need:

• Milk of choice (I used unsweetened Almond Breeze)
• Protein powder of choice (I used unflavored soy)
• Instant coffee to taste
• Sweetener to taste

1. Mix cold milk and protein powder in ratio described on the protein powder container.
2. Add instant coffee and sweetener.
3. Enjoy!

This post is part of Allergy Free Wednesdays.

Creamy Avocado Pasta

After reading about a creamy avocado pasta sauce with lemon and garlic on Oh She Glows, I knew I needed to try this combination out for myself.  I had no idea how delicious it would be!  I simplified things a bit using microwaveable Shirataki noodles instead of regular boiled noodles and powdered garlic and bottled lemon juice instead of fresh, etc., and Angela's version is certainly healthier, more natural, and I would imagine tastier.  But this version is really, really good, with little cleanup and even less effort!  With the shirataki noodles it's basically free of carbs and sugars and much lower in calories than the original dish.  It's also very satisfying.  I have made this pasta 4 times in the past week, it's just that good!

You will need:

• 1 bag shirataki noodles
• 1/2 of a medium-ripe avocado
• To taste: salt, garlic powder, lemon juice, freshly ground black pepper

1. Prep the shirataki noodles: rinse and drain them very thoroughly and then mircrowave them for 90 seconds and drain them again.
2. Add avocado flesh and seasonings, and mash into the shirataki pasta.  Keep going until the sauce is at a desired consistency - I like little chunks of avocado to remain, but if you would prefer a consistently creamy sauce, it may be easier to prep the avocado good separately and then add it to the shirataki pasta.
3. Enjoy!

For more fun with shirataki noodles, see our recipe for cheesy pasta.

This post is part of Allergy Free Wednesdays.

Creamy Banana Bread Pudding with Cinnamon

This pudding is really easy and really, really good!  The protein powder ads a flour-y consistency, which when combined with banana mash and vanilla tastes a lot like banana bread!

You will need:

• 1 banana, at least medium-ripe
• Protein powder of choice (unflavored soy works well here)
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla extract (optional)

1. Mash the banana
2. Stir in one serving of the protein powder until blended.
3. Add cinnamon to taste and a few drops of vanilla and stir.
4. Serve topped with additional cinnamon.
5. Enjoy!

If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also enjoy our deep chocolate, magic mocha, and peanut butter puddings!

High Fiber GF Oatbread

This is a pretty hearty bread, and I think I'll make it again.  It's a high-fiber take on the wonderful Gluten-Free Beer Bread, which is light and fluffy (although it was my first post here, so the photos didn't quite do it justice!).  However, I think the amounts of each flour could use a bit of tweaking-the bread was a bit dense for my taste.  For a heavy flour like oat bran, perhaps it is worth using less than when using, say, regular oat flour.  Or maybe using more baking powder, etc. would do the job?

To make this loaf, I used:

• 2 1/4 cups oat flour
• 3/4 cup of oat bran/regular oat mix
• 1 bottle beer (you can use a gf beer for a gf loaf)
• 2-3 tablespoons baking powder
• Sugar, salt, and cinnamon (or other spices) to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Combine dry ingredients and fluff with spoon.
3. Add beer to dry ingredients and stir until lumps are dissolved.
4. Taste batter and adjust seasoning if necessary.  You'll want the batter to be on the sweet and salty side, as some of the sweetness/saltiness is lost in baking.
5. Pour into greased loaf pan (or pan lined with aluminum foil) and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
6. Enjoy!

For a basic - and amazing - GF oat bread recipe, check out our original GF beer bread and GF blueberry oat bread!  These loaves come out nice and fluffy and yeasty!

If you enjoyed this bread, also try our gluten-free beer bread and blueberry bread!

No-bake vegan shortbread cookies

These cookies taste like shortbread with orange zest.  You don't need to bake them, and you can make them sugar-free.  To further sweeten the deal, they're super high in protein and gluten-free!  You will need:

• Coconut butter (coconut oil would probably also work here, but I haven't tried it)
• Unflavored soy protein powder (you could probably use another protein powder, but I think soy protein powder has a flour-y taste that works well here)
• Orange marmalade (I used sugar free Polaner)
• Vanilla extract to taste (optional)

1. Microwave a few spoonfuls of the coconut butter so that it melts.
2. Add soy protein powder and marmalade and stir until a thick dough forms.  Stir in vanilla extract if desired.  Start with approximately equal amounts of the coconut butter, protein powder, and marmalade, then adjust as necessary to get a good consistency.
3. Shape the batter into cookie shapes with your hands.
4. Put the cookies in the fridge for a few hours.
5. Enjoy! 

If you like these cookies, you will probably also enjoy our Peanut Butter Balls!

Cereal For Lovers

I recently picked up a box of Quaker Whole Hearts cereal at the supermarket.  It's the Quaker brand answer to Cheerios.  It was equally, if not more delicious than the General Mills alternative, and the hearty heart shapes were simply darling.  Recommended for a romantic morning, or any morning, really!  Delicious with Almond Breeze.

Two Ingredient All-Natural Deep Chocolate Pudding

This is a wonderful guilt-free healthy pudding.  I make it when I'm craving chocolate and have a banana lying around the house.  The pudding has no added sugar, no gluten, and very, very little fat, yet is totally amazingly delicious!  You will need:

• 1 banana
• Unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Mash the banana.
2. Add cocoa powder to taste and stir until all of the powder has been absorbed into the banana mash.
3. Enjoy!

That's really all there is to it!  If you want the pudding to have a mocha flavor, you can also add some instant coffee to the mix.  Super yum!

Part of Allergy Free Wednesdays.

Beautiful Beet Chips

I have a new chip love.  It's a healthy and beautiful baked beet chip.  However, these chips don't taste healthy at all.  They're more delicious and amazing than potato chips.  I adapted my recipe from one on Natural Noshing.  This recipe is a keeper, one I will be making again and again (and again!).  To make these chips you will need:

•  I medium-large beet
• Salt, pepper, and nonstick spray

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Clean and thinly slice the beet (I had poor control of a really dull knife, so I couldn't get perfectly thin slices or anything - doesn't matter too much, but if you can get nice thin slices you can get a really crunchy chip!)
3. Spray a baking sheet (or, if you don't feel like doing the work to clean it afterwards, line first with aluminum foil and then spray)
4. Arrange the beet slices on the foil sheet.
5. Sprinkle with desired amount of salt and pepper.  
6. Bake until desired crispness is achieved.  For me this took about 30 minutes, but keep a close eye on your beets, especially if the slices are thin.  
7. Enjoy!

Serves 1.   So good!!!  I can't wait to try these with different spice combinations. 

All ready for the oven.

Out of the oven, ready for eating!

Part of Allergy Free Wednesdays and Allergy Free Lunchbox Love.