Vegan Brunch Recipe - Chia Seed Pudding

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of hosting a little DIY day with my friend, Helen. We both got into using Essential Oils a few months ago, and wanted to have a get together with all of our girlfriends so we could make roller bottles of oils, and really just share the wealth of all things essential oils.

Of course, I managed to procrastinate to the very last minute, but I was able to throw a few things together for everyone to snack on.

Also, shout out to @earthyandy for sharing these recipes in the first place. If you don't follow her already, I highly recommend doing so. She lives in Hawaii, and has a life full of surfing, healthy eating and family fun. 

Maple Chia Seed Pudding

Ingredients

2 cups coconut milk (homemade or natural, other nut milks are great too!)

    ½ cup Organic Chia Seeds

    ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla paste

    ¼ cup maple syrup

*This recipe makes 4 servings*

                                                                   Video from Earthy Andy

Directions

Basically, all you do is dump these 4 ingredients into a bowl, and then stir. 

Once everything is mixed, pour mixture into a glass container. I used 4 little mason jars, with plenty of space for toppings later. 

Once your mason jars are filled to your liking, put the lid on, and place in the fridge. 

Make sure to refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I like to leave mine in the fridge overnight, so I have a quick and healthy breakfast option for me in the morning.

I definitely recommend topping this pudding with some fruit, or nut butter. 

*Original Recipe found here on Earthy Andy's site*

______________________

"Caramel" Coconut Balls

Ingredients

(2) 8 oz. Pitted Dates

2 Tablespoons Water

1/2 Tablespoon Coconut Oil

1/3 Cup Coconut Sugar

(The original recipe calls for 1 cup of coconut sugar but I found that 1/3 - 1/2 cup was plenty)

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1.5 Cups Oats

1/4 Cup Coconut Shreds

Directions

If you didn't buy pitted dates, start by removing pits from the dates. 

Next chop up all your dates, and put them in a frying pan with your water and coconut sugar. 

Cook down for about 10 minutes on medium-low. Chop and Stir while cooking down.

Once it bubbles, and is almost paste-like, turn off heat and stir in vanilla.

Let it cool for a few minutes.

Next, stir in your oats and coconut shreds. (This may take some arm strength, since the dates are super sticky)

Now, once the mixture is cool enough to handle, start rolling your mixture into bite-sized balls and place on parchment paper

You can also roll in additional coconut shreds if you really like da coconut.

My friends said these tasted like the Girl Scout Samoa Cookies (Caramel Delight Cookies)

*Original Recipe can be found here, on Earthy Andy's blog*

______________________

I then store these Caramel Bites in the fridge and let them firm up a bit. Then in the morning, I crumble them up and put them on top of my chia seed pudding, along with bananas, berries and nut butter. It's so delish.

They are also great to eat alone as a snack!

breakfast "cookies"

Need a quick breakfast fix, or even late night treat? Look no further, I have the perfect recipe for you!

Ingredients

- 2 medium sized bananas

-1 cup old fashioned oats

-1/4 cup semi- sweet chocolate chips

-Cinnamon (optional)

-Almonds (optional)

-Walnuts (optional)

Materials Needed

-Parchment Paper

-Cookie Sheet

-Mixing Bowl

Instructions

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees

-Line your cookie sheet with Parchment paper 

-Measure out the oats and put into a large mixing bowl

-Peel your bananas and break them off into little chunks. Place in the mixing bowl with the oats

 *The best bananas for this recipe are the bananas that are usually too ripe to eat raw*

-Use your hands to mix both the ingredients together. 

*the ratio for this recipe is usually for every 2 bananas use 1 cup of oats. However, depending on the size of the bananas, you may need a little more oats. I usually find myself using about 1 1/2 cups of oats*

-Once you reach the right consistency with the mix, add and mix in the chocolate chips.

-Now start forming your batter into little balls to place on the lined cookie sheet. 

-Once you have placed the balls on the cookie sheet make sure to press down to flatten into a little pancake shape. Since there is no baking soda in this recipe, the balled mixture will not flatten naturally in the oven.

*Optional Step - When you're all done flattening your breakfast treats, sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon, and finely chopped almonds and walnuts over each cookie.

-Depending on how crisp you like your "cookies" place in oven for about 10-15 minutes

*I usually do a happy medium of 13 minutes or so*

-Pour yourself a glass of nut milk and boom! You have yourself a nice little, and fairly healthy "cookie"

Enjoy!

*Shout out to my old college roomie Mel for showing me this recipe all those years ago ;) *

blueberry + peanut butter smoothie

Recently, I have been trying to make my own smoothies at home because in all honesty, smoothies in Austin are EXPENSIVE! Yeah, they are good, but I can't quite seem to dish out $9-$11 each time I want a delicious treat. So after looking around on Pinterest for a few recipes, I came across one that is definitely my favorite at the moment. It's great for mornings where you just can't find the time to make an elaborate and healthy breakfast. All I do is just throw the ingredients in my NutriBullet (available to buy at Bed, Bath & Beyond) and BOOM a quick and nutritious breakfast on the go!

Blueberry Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 banana

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup yogurt (I like to use Vanilla Yogurt)

1 cup milk (can substitute w/ Almond Milk if desired)

1 tablespoon Peanut Butter (can substitute with almond butter)

1 teaspoon Honey 

If you really want to be a health nut feel free to add

**1 tablespoon flax seed