Pistachio Chia Pudding (Vegan, Gluten Free)

My dad has been working really hard over the last few months to lower his cholesterol. This means greatly decreasing the amount of meat and ice cream he consumes which is basically like asking the cookie monster to give up cookies. Which I heard may have actually happened.. Are the rumors true? Is he the veggie monster now?

Anyway, I wanted to throw my dad a bone. He recently asked about me about chia seeds and after I explained how healthy they are (full of fiber, protein, omega-3s and more) he asked my mom to pick some up the next time she went to the grocery store.

I gave him some general uses for chia seeds, but I thought I'd give him a recipe created specifically with him in mind. Knowing how much my dad loves pistachios, I'm hoping this can be a new healthy treat for him. I hope you enjoy it, Dad! I'm proud of all your hard work!

Pistachio Chia Pudding

• 1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 3 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
• 1/3 Cup Pistachios (I found some already shelled in the bulk section at Whole Foods)
• 1/4 Cup Pistachios, chopped, for garnish
• 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• Sweeten to Taste using Agave or Pure Maple Syrup (about 2 Tablespoons is a good starting point)

Makes 2 Servings.

Combine all the ingredients (apart from the pistachios for garnish) in a blender and blend until the mixture becomes a smooth, thick consistency, about 1-2 minutes. Pour the pudding into serving dishes and allow to set for an hour in the refrigerator. Feel free to garnish before or after refrigerating. Serve and enjoy!

Looking for more Chia Pudding recipes? Check these out:

Mocha Coconut 

Raspberry Chocolate Chip

Vanilla

What's your favorite Chia Pudding recipe? 

Vanilla Almond Freezer Fudge (Vegan, Gluten Free, Grain Free)

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a delightful weekend! My weekend basically consisted of watching movies (Lilo & Stitch is on Netflix!), finding a new favorite restaurant for Thai takeout, the farmer's market, a Target run and hanging out with Sam. I also babysat for some friends in desperate need of a night out on Saturday; Sam came too (it was his idea in the first place), plus I am basically clueless when it comes to children. Case in point: I changed a diaper for the first time this weekend, I am 26 years old and had never changed a diaper before. I also tried to go paddle boarding Saturday afternoon with a new friend, but after much miscommunication and riding my bike around town, it just turned into hanging out and drinking smoothies which is totally cool with me. 

Sometimes it's nice to have a simple, chill, laid-back weekend. And sometimes it's nice to have a little something sweet to snack on during a movie, something that's really easy to pull together. You may remember a few months back I posted a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Freezer Fudge, well, I've got a new one for you. Vanilla Almond Freezer Fudge. It's perfect for when you want something sweet, but not super rich, but are too lazy to make something complicated or wait for it to bake. You just simply mix the few ingredients in a bowl, stick it in the freezer and minutes later you've got some fudge. Does it get any better than that?

Vanilla Almond Freezer Fudge

• 1 Cup Almond Butter, room temperature
• 4 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup or Agave (or Honey for non-vegans)
• 1 Tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 Vanilla Bean, Scraped
• 4 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, softened

Makes 1 loaf pan, approximately 8 squares.

Simply mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Line a loaf pan with wax paper. Pour fudge mix into the pan, smooth it out with a spoon or spatula and place in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. Once hardened, remove from freezer and slice into squares. Store in the freezer.

Notes:

-If you do not have a vanilla bean, double the amount of vanilla extract, if a stronger vanilla flavor is desired, try tripling it.

What did you do this weekend?

What's your favorite easy-to-make sweet treat?

Broiled Ginger Grapefruit (Vegan, Gluten Free, Grain Free)

Hey all! I hope you had a fantastic weekend! Mine was pretty busy between getting caught up on schoolwork, going to the farmer's market, going up to Denver for more school stuff, working and then a little more school. Get the idea? Fortunately, I love what I'm learning so it's not so bad. Plus, my weekend was kicked off by a pretty fun surprise. 

Thursday night I was working the closing shift with my coworker Lisa. These two guys came in, one with an accent I couldn't quite place, the other with no accent. The accented man ordered his tea a very specific way, the other man said that sounded good and he'd have the same. So after giving them a hard time on their ridiculous specifications (they seemed like they could take it) we hand them their English breakfast teas with the tea bag in first, hot water poured over the top and a side of whole milk. The men thank us for the tea and the no-accent man tells us that the two of them are playing a show tonight and that we should stop by after work. After getting more details from them, Lisa and I decided, what the heck, why not? It was folk music which I love at a bar on my way home anyway. 

What I was not expecting was for the two guys to be so excited and grateful that we came to their show to comp our covers and to actually spend time talking to us while the other was playing (they were two separate solo acts) and not in a creepy-I-wanna-get-with-you-way, just a genuine appreciation. I also was not expecting them to be really good! It was a great night! It's been far too long since I've seen live music. If you want to check them out here are their websites: Delaney Davidson and Possessed by Paul James. It's times like these I wish I had a fancy phone like everyone else so I could have taken pictures. Oh well. Moving on. To grapefruit.

Yesterday morning was cold and rainy so I wanted something warm for breakfast as opposed to my usual smoothie, but I didn't want something heavy like oatmeal or pancakes. Then I remembered I had bought a grapefruit the day before! Molly first introduced me to broiled grapefruit back before we were roommates. I thought the idea sounded interesting (grapefruit was never my thing unless it was loaded with sugar which just sort of defeated the purpose in my opinion), but I figured she was making it so I'd give it a try. It was absolutely delicious! The key is to top it with a little bit of a sweetener before sticking it in the oven. The heat releases all the juices and the sweetener mixes in making it taste wonderful! So the next time you feel like being a little fancy at breakfast or you're hosting a brunch give broiled grapefruit a try. I think you just might like it!

Broiled Ginger Grapefruit

• 1 Grapefruit, halved
• 1 Inch Fresh Ginger, grated
• 2 Tablespoons Honey, Pure Maple Syrup, or Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Coconut Cream
• 1/4 Cup Pecans, chopped
• 1/4 Cup Dried Apricots, chopped

Serves 2.

Set your oven to broil. While it's preheating, slice the grapefruit down the middle and taking a small pairing knife, cut around the edge of the segments and then in between them (this will make eating the grapefruit much easier later and more juices will be released). Drizzle one tablespoon of honey on each grapefruit half. Grate the ginger and sprinkle it evenly between the two halves. Place the grapefruit on a silpat or wax paper in a pan with edges (juice will leak, and you don't want it to end up on the bottom of your oven). Put the grapefruit in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, until the grapefruit turns barely golden brown on the edges. While the grapefruit is baking, chop your pecans and apricots. When the grapefruit comes out, allow it to cool for a couple minutes before touching it. Then move each grapefruit to a bowl and top with a dollop of coconut cream and a sprinkle of pecans and apricots. Serve with a spoon and enjoy!

Options:

-Feel free to get creative with your toppings. My other favorite way to broiled grapefruit is with brown sugar, cinnamon and dried cranberries. 

-If you don't like or have coconut cream feel free to use your favorite yogurt instead.

Grapefruit tends to be one of those polarizing foods. How do you feel about it? 

What's your favorite way to eat it? 

Lemon & Garlic Herb Hummus (Vegan, Gluten Free, Grain Free)

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! 

Today we're talking about hummus, but before I get to that, I have a very important question to ask you all...

Have you tried these cookies? 

I walked down (or up, really) to one of my favorite coffee shops in town, Raven's Nest. While I was waiting in line to order my small iced coconut almond milk latte, I noticed a basket full of cookies. Maybe it was the turquoise packaging (I'm a sucker for anything turquoise) that caught my eye or maybe it was the word chocolate or maybe it was just the fact that there was a vegan cookie the size of my face within inches of me, who knows. The point is, I bought it and ate and it was delicious. They also had other flavors like double chocolate chip, espresso chocolate chip and lemon poppyseed. I decided to stick with a classic for my first try. I figure if they can make a good chocolate chip cookie than their others flavors probably aren't half bad either. Sounds logical, right? Anyway, the whole point of this rant is to say that these cookies taste great, they're vegan and you should try them. They even have some gluten free options. Just keep in mind that just because something is vegan, doesn't mean you should eat 5 of them, they're just a better alternative than let's say Mrs. Fields.....anyway, moving on. Where were we?

Ah, yes. Hummus. I love hummus. I love hummus so much that a few years back when I was living on the Big Island of Hawaii I used to make hummus by hand. Now I don't mean homemade. I mean I literally crushed the beans with my bare hands. Why didn't I just buy hummus? Who knows. All I know is I used to put all the ingredients in a plastic bag, turn on a TV show and sit there crushing beans for twenty-five minutes. I mean, that's what all the cool kids do, right?

Fortunately, now I have a food processor to do the work for me (although, I've just about worn the poor thing out, so I still get the same slightly chunky results I came to know and love). You however, won't have to deal with that most likely. 

This hummus is super easy to make and is full of healthful ingredients. I made it without tahini, as opposed to the traditional way because I didn't have any on hand and because that's the way I've always made it because I never have tahini on hand, but if you do have some, feel free to use it. 

Lemon & Garlic Herb Hummus

• 1 Can Chickpeas (I like the no salt added kind)
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Juice from 1 Small Lemon
• Handful of Parsley, Leaves and Stems
• Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste

Makes approximately 4-6 servings.

Rinse and drain chickpeas then place them in the food processor along with all the other ingredients apart from the parsley. Puree the ingredients until smooth, if more liquid is needed add a small bit of water until ingredients blend. Add the parsley and puree until it is fully incorporated and chopped into small pieces. Taste test and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Feel free to throw in other herbs as well, thyme would be especially good.

Serve with veggies, pita chips, pretzel crisps, flat bread, spread on a sandwich or whatever strikes your fancy.

How do you make hummus?

Have you tried Alternative Baking Company's products?

Mocha Coconut Chia Frappe & Pudding (Vegan, Gluten Free, Grain Free)

I know, I know. You're probably thinking, "Seriously Joy? Another chia recipe?" But you know what? I've waited over a month to post another one. Plus this is two recipes in one. Plus it involves chocolate and coconut and it's healthy. So can we just momentarily look past my chia seed obsession? Mokaythanks. 

[I need to buy smaller mason jars apparently.]

I worked at Starbucks for over three years. I saw the crazy in people's eyes when they found out it was Mocha Coconut Frappuccino season. Or even worse, when the season ended *shudders*. But to all you frappuccino lovers out there, be prepared because this is going to put your favorite drink to shame, both in flavor and most definitely in health. This is made with real coconut, real chocolate and it tastes real good. So let's get to it!

Okay, so you have two options. You can either enjoy this as a pudding or as a drink. The choice is up to you. Spoon or straw? Let's start with spoon.

Mocha Coconut Chia Pudding

• 1 Cup Coconut Milk
• 3 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Cacao Powder
• 1 Heaping Tablespoon of Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
• 1/2-1 Tablespoon Instant Espresso Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• Pure Maple Syrup or Agave to sweeten to taste

Makes 1-2 Servings.

Throw all the ingredients into the blender and blend until the mixture takes on a thick consistency, approximately 1-2 minutes. Adjust sweetness if necessary. Pour the pudding into a bowl and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Serve and enjoy.

Now for the frappe, it's not too different...

Mocha Coconut Chia Frappe

• 1 Cup Coconut Milk
• 1/2 Cup -1 Cup Ice (depending on how icey you like it)
• 3 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Cacao Powder
• 1 Heaping Tablespoon of Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
• 1/2-1 Tablespoon Instant Espresso Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• Pure Maple Syrup or Agave to sweeten to taste

Makes 1-2 Servings.

Throw all the ingredients into the blender and blend until the mixture takes on a thick consistency, approximately 1-2 minutes. Pour into a cup, add a straw if you like, sit back and enjoy your frappe.

Other options!

-If you're not a fan of coffee or don't want all the caffeine, feel free to leave it out, it'll still taste great.

-To make your frappe or pudding a little fancy, toast up some shredded coconut and sprinkle it on top. (To toast coconut, just toss some in a small skillet and toast over medium-low heat. Be sure to stir it around so it doesn't burn, it'll toast quickly).

Are you a frappuccino fanatic?

If so, what's your favorite flavor?

Garden Fresh Spaghetti Squash Pasta + Roasted Squash Seeds (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free)

As I was updating my recipe page the other day I realized I post a lot of desserts and breakfast foods. So I thought I'd switch it up and share a recipe for an actual meal (radical concept I know). There's been much talk lately about spaghetti squash and while I love me some gourds, I had never tried spaghetti squash- no time like the present right? (Especially when presently, it's on sale for 99 cents a pound!)

For those who don't know, this is a spaghetti squash.

And this is what spaghetti squash looks like once it's been cooked and the seeds have been scraped out. 

(It's like those old health videos- "this is your brain, this is your brain on drugs" ...anyone? no? okay, just me then).

So how does a bowl chock full vegetables disguised as pasta sound? Good? Great. Let's get started then.

You're going to want to use the freshest ingredients possible for this recipe. I would definitely suggest fresh herbs rather than dried. Fortunately, on Saturday I finally planted my little herb garden (keeping my fingers crossed that we've seen the last of the snow). This recipe will be excellent later in the season when you can use garden fresh tomatoes and other veggies as well. I haven't tried growing those yet, we'll see if I can keep these herbs alive first.

Isn't it cute? (I also have some mint growing in my bedroom- stay tuned for a mint chocolate chip cookie recipe!) We've already made great use out of these herbs, the plants looked significantly more trimmed back than they do in this picture. It's wonderful when the wind blows and our kitchen suddenly smells of heavenly herbs! Who needs air fresheners when you've got that?

Anyway, I'm getting distracted. Before I share the recipe, let me at first warn you and say, not much was measured out, it's definitely a play-around-til-you've-got-the-flavor-you-want kind of recipe. But you can see in one of the above pictures how much of each herb I used. Since the herbs are fresh, you won't need much.

Garden Fresh Spaghetti Squash Pasta

• 1 Small-ish Spaghetti Squash
• 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
• 4 Large Basil Leaves
• 6-8 Rosemary Needles
• Small Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley 
• 1/3 Cup Chopped Zucchini
• Handful of Kale
• 1 Tomato (I used Roma)
• 1 Clove of Garlic
• Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to Taste

*Keep in mind all measurements are approximate.

Makes 2-3 Servings.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Take a knife and carefully stab the spaghetti squash several times to ensure it doesn't explode. Place the squash on a pan lined with aluminum foil. While waiting for the oven to heat, drizzle the olive oil and red wine vinegar in a medium sized bowl. Finely chop the garlic and herbs and add them to the bowl, mix well and set aside and allow the flavors to blend. Place the spaghetti squash in the oven for 1 hour. Go relax. (I went outside and read a book in the sun). 

After an hour, take the squash out of the oven and set aside. While the squash is cooling off, chop your zucchini, kale and tomato, add them to the bowl with the herbs and oil, add the salt and pepper. Now the squash should be cooled enough to handle. Taking a sharp knife, cut around the squash length-wise, open the squash and lay the two pieces on the pan. using a spoon (and you may need a knife as well), remove the seeds, but don't throw them away, you can just set the whole mess aside in a bowl. Once all the seeds are removed, take a fork and scrap the inside of the squash length-wise to create the noddles. Place the "pasta" in the bowl with the other ingredients, once all the squash has been added, mix the pasta gently to fully incorporate the ingredients in each bite. Serve with a smile and enjoy!

**Feel free to mix in pine nuts, walnuts, goat cheese, switch spinach for the kale, other vegetables you have around or whatever strikes your fancy. Or for a slightly different flavor, roast the tomato, garlic and zucchini before adding it to the dish.

Now, remember those seeds I told you to save? 

Yeah, we're gonna need those. 

Why waste the seeds when you can get dinner and dessert all from one gourd? This is a great project to give to your kids if you don't feel like getting your hands messy if you want to get them involved in the kitchen. I like sweet and spicy flavors so that's what I did for this recipe, but feel free to use the flavors you like. You can do a simple salt and pepper or a sweet honey and cinnamon, whatever makes you happy.

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Spaghetti Squash Seeds

• 1 Teaspoon Coconut Oil
• 2 Teaspoons Honey (Pure Maple Syrup or Brown Rice Syrup work as well)
• Pinch of Sea Salt
• A Couple Pinches of Cayenne Pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
• Small Handful of Dark Chocolate Chips (optional)

Reheat the oven to 375 degrees. Remove the seeds from any stringy pulp, place in a collander and rinse thoroughly. Dry seeds on a clean dish towel. In a bowl, place the coconut oil and honey, add the seeds and mix to coat the seeds. Add the salt and cayenne pepper. Place the seeds on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper or a silpat. Roast in the oven for approximately 15-20 minutes or until toasted. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Place seeds in a bowl and add the chocolate chips if desired. And now you have your after dinner movie snack. Enjoy and try to share.

***These seeds would also be great to add to homemade trail mix!

Have you tried spaghetti squash?

What's your favorite recipe?

Raw Blackberry Crumble Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free, Grain Free)

Happy Monday Everyone!

And a happy Monday it is- Spring has finally decided to arrive in Colorado. Forget spring, I think we may just bypass to summer. It's supposed to be sunny and almost, if not 80 degrees everyday this week! I cannot explain how excited I am... well maybe I can. I'm so excited that I've set up a new office for myself today (and everyday this week if I have anything to say about it)....

This set-up is perfect! Yes, I had to bring the vase of lemons along to support my decrepit computer. Yes, the only extension cords we have are two-pronged and I need a three-pronger to charge my computer. And yes, it's really sunny so it's hard to see my computer screen. But you know what? I don't care, cause it's warm and sunny and I want to be outside so I declare it perfect!

But you know what really was perfect? Our little Sunday night dinner party last night. Molly does such a good job making the space look beautiful.

Complete with Christmas lights and candles, it was absolutely lovely. Perhaps a little too feminine for the boys who had to prove their masculinity by talking about cars and poop during dinner (boys will be boys, right?), but Molly and I thoroughly appreciated the ambiance. Molly found the chairs and table at a thrift store on Saturday- 75 bucks for all 5 pieces! Not too shabby. The chairs we'll be using inside so we're going to refinish those once we decide on a color, any suggestions? (Our dining table is a deep chocolately-espresso brown). Dinner was delicious (my favorite pizza of the evening being tomato basil) and afterwards we walked downtown to Josh and Jake's for some homemade ice cream! Is it any surprise that I got the Oatmeal Cookie flavor? So good!

Anyway, moving on. Let's get talking about these Blackberry Crumble Bars. They're raw, vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free and delicious. Don't believe me? Make them for yourself and try them- it'll only take you about 15 minutes. You can totally eat them for breakfast, for a snack or for dessert. They'd be delicious topped with some coconut ice cream! And now that summer is finally here, it'd be a great dessert to bring to a potluck or cookout!

Raw Blackberry Crumble Bars

For the crust and topping:

• 1 Cup Raw Pecans
• 1 Cup Dates, Pitted
• 1/2-1 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut (depending on how much coconut flavor you'd like, I couldn't taste it with just a half cup)
• 1/2 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• Pinch Sea Salt

For the center:

• 6 Ounces Fresh Blackberries*, Rinsed and Organic if possible
• 2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
• Sweeten to taste using Raw Honey or Raw Agave

Makes 9 Bars.

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients for the crust. Pulse until it starts to stick (I'll usually pinch some of the mixture together to test to see how well it'll hold together, if it's still a little crumbly continue pulsing). Once it's reached the desired consistency, set 1/2 cup of the mixture aside. Place the rest in a square container (I used a rectangular 6-Cup Pyrex dish). Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the dish creating a crust, place in the freezer to set. Now wash and dry your food processor. Place the ingredients for the blackberry center into the processor and blend until it's an even consistency. Remove the crust from the freezer and evenly spread the blackberry filling over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture over the filling to create the crumble topping. Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 15 minutes before slicing. As always, enjoy!

*If blackberries aren't your thing, feel free to make this recipe substituting any of your favorite berries.  

I promise this will be the last recipe I post for awhile using chia seeds, I know you guys are probably getting sick of seeing them pop up on the ingredient list. What can I say, I love those little seeds!

What did you do this weekend?

Oh! and P.S.- Today is the last day to enter my giveaway. Click here to enter.