Pumpkin Pie Power Smoothie

If you didn't know this by now, I start every day with a protein smoothie. It's my favorite way to wake up and get energized! Pumpkin season is a treat every year and I couldn't help but come up with a new twist on my usual smoothie.

Pumpkin Pie Power Smoothie
By Caroline Mac

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 banana, frozen and broken into pieces
1/4  an avocado
1/4 c pumpkin puree
1/3 c brewed coffee (I've been using Starbucks' Thanksgiving blend)
1/3 c unsweetened almond milk
1 scoop RAW Vanilla Spiced Chai protein powder
Cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, to taste

Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth and creamy. Pour into a glass and top with a sprinkling of cinnamon.

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

Chia Seed Banana Breakfast Bowl

Ch ch ch Chia!

Chia seeds have been the food of the moment for a while and I understand why. Apart from having the chia kombucha, these strange little black seeds haven't made it into my every day diet... until now. I learned the basics of making a successful chia breakfast pudding from Oh She Glows and took some liberties to create my own vegan version of her delicious recipe.

Chia Banana Breakfast Bowl
By Caroline Mac, after Oh She Glows

Serves 2-3 (It's really filling!)

Ingredients:

Chia Mixture:
4 T chia seeds
1 1/4 c unsweetened soy milk
2 bananas, mashed
1/2 t vanilla extract
Cinnamon to taste

Topping:
2 T dried cranberries
2 T raw almonds, chopped
Fresh fruit (I used blueberries and strawberries)
Cinnamon to taste

Step 1: Whisk all chia mixture ingredients together until a relatively homogenous mixture has formed. Cover and let sit overnight in the refrigerator to allow the mixture to thicken.

Step 2: Combine almonds and cranberries in a small bowl and fill with water until mixture is covered. Let sit overnight.

Step 3: Drain cranberries and almonds. Spoon desired amount of chia mixture into a bowl and top with almond-cranberry mixture and a handful of fresh berries or other fruit of your choice. Finish with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serve cold.


Note: This recipe barely skims the surface of chia possibilities. Try playing around with toppings and seasonings until you find what you love!

Enjoy!

~Caroline~

A Decadent Sunday Breakfast!

Happy Sunday everyone!

I know I haven't been posting very often, but that's going to change very soon. I have a couple of recipes that are still waiting to be posted and a few that I'm planning for the next couple of weeks. Keep an eye out for a yummy veggie soup recipe that I'm going to cook tonight!

The recipe I'm sharing right now was an unplanned, impromptu experiment that ended deliciously. After writing a post on the health benefits of dark chocolate for the Barre Blog, I have been trying to incorporate a little bit of it into my diet. I am by no means a chocolate lover. In fact, up until about a year ago, I could not even tolerate the taste of the mildest of chocolates. However, taste buds change as you get older, and I can now say that I can TOLERATE it. Thus, a tiny square of 70% extra strong dark chocolate each evening is all I need! I'm in no danger of becoming a "chocolate addict" as I still don't remotely crave the universally loved sweet, but I can at least reap the health benefits of this little superfood.

To make the chocolate experience a bit more tasty, I decided to try incorporating it into a healthy, energizing breakfast! Since peanut butter and chocolate is such a classic combination and oatmeal is a classic breakfast food, why not put them all together? The result was a satisfying breakfast that is quick to make and weighs in at around 275 calories with about 10g of protein and only 4 grams of sugar!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal
By Caroline Mac

Ingredients:
1/4 c quick cooking, steel-cut oats
3/4 c water
1 T crunchy all natural peanut butter (you can use creamy, but I prefer the texture)
1 square of extra strong dark chocolate (I used 1/16 of a bar of Chocolove 70%)
Cinnamon to taste

I didn't think to take a pic until it was almost gone!

Step 1: Bring water to a boil. Add oats, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let cook for a few minutes, stirring regularly.

Step 2: When oatmeal begins to thicken, add cinnamon and peanut butter. Stir until incorporated.

Step 3: When oatmeal has just about reached your desired consistency, add chocolate and stir until it has melted into the oatmeal.

Step 4: Serve warm.

Enjoy!


Want to brush up on your dark chocolate knowledge? Check out my "What's Inside" post about cocoa (the main ingredient in chocolate) on the Barre Blog to see why it's actually good to have some in moderation!

~Caroline~

A Tasty Halloween!

It's that time of year! Lately, I've been doing so much with pumpkins. In fact, I think pretty much everything I've made in the last couple weeks has involved pumpkin in some way. I've decided to combine all these recipes into one big post. I hope you like pumpkin!

Perfect Pumpkin Spelt Bread
Adapted from A Grain a Day

Ingredients:
3 c spelt flour
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 t ground cinnamon
3 t pumpkin pie spice
3 T arrowroot powder
1 T flax seeds
2/3 c agave syrup
2 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c canola oil
1/3 c apple sauce
Pumpkin seeds for garnish

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until smooth and uniform.

Step: Spread mixture into greased bread pan. Bake for around 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked in the center of the bread. Let cool.


Pumpkin Spice Granola
Adapted from Skinny Taste
Ingredients:
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and pat dried
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup flax seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup agave syrup
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 t coconut oil
1 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 t vanilla extract

Step 1: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine all wet ingredients and spices and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, combine quinoa, oats, flax, seeds, almonds, and cranberries. Pour wet mixture over dry and stir until everything is thoroughly coated.

Step 3: Spread mixture on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake in oven for 20 minutes, or until golden. Remove and let cool before storing in an airtight container.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Adapted From The Hazel Bloom
Ingredients:
Around 2 c pumpkin seeds (Mine came from the pumpkins I carved!
3 T Canola oil
1T powder stevia extract
1 1/2 t salt
1 T rosemary
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1/4 t black pepper

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all seasoning and oil and mix until thoroughly blended. Add pumpkin seeds and stir until seeds are evenly coated.

Step 2: Spread seeds on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Let cool.

I even had a pumpkin dish at my favorite Italian restaurant! I must say, Pumpkin ravioli in a sage cream sauce may just be one of the best things I've ever tasted...

I hope these recipes make your halloween even more fun! If you have any more amazing pumpkin recipes send me a message with your recipe!

Pb(2) and Jelly Smoothie

Smoothie time! Have I mentioned my newest discovery, PB2? I'm a huge peanut butter fan, but you can't really eat that straight out of the jar 24/7... PB2 is essentially dehydrated peanut butter, aka, Peanut butter without the fat. All you do is mix the powder with water and voila! Peanut butter-ish stuff. It doesn't taste identical to the original, but it's pretty close. I used some of this wonder powder in my latest smoothie recipe.


PB2 and Jelly Smoothie
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 banana
1 individual container nonfat plain Greek yogurt
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 T PB2
2 T rolled oats
1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

Step 1: Combine banana, yogurt, soy milk, and PB2 in a blender. Puree until smooth.

Step 2: Add berries and rolled oats and blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

Nutty Apricot Energy Cookies

Here's yet another yummy energy bar recipe! This may be my favorite recipe yet. Thanks to Vicki at Watching What I Eat for the inspiration for this recipe!

Nutty Apricot Energy Cookies
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1.5 cups rolled oats
1 banana, mashed
1/2 cup sliced almonds
9 dried apricots, chopped
2 T peanut butter, softened
1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 T vanilla extract
1 T pie spice

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix and wet ingredients and spices in a large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients and mix until evenly blended.

Step 2: Spoon out the dough on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. You should get about 12 cookies, depending on the size you want.

Step 3: Bake for 15- 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Refrigerate until eating.




Enjoy!

Basic Spiced Crunchy Bars

Here's the recipe for the first batch of bars that I've made at the new apartment! If you make these bars, feel free to edit the variety of nuts/ fruit/ spices that you use. I just used the ingredients I had available to me, since I didn't want to run to the store.

Basic Spiced Crunchy Bars
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup almonds
4 dried figs
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup Joe's O's, Cheerios, etc.
1t Vanilla extract
1t pie spice

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, rough chop the almonds and figs. Combine those, along with all other dry ingredients, excluding the O's cereal,  in a large mixing bowl, stirring thoroughly.

Step 2: Combine all wet ingredients in a separate bowl and blend thoroughly. Add to dry ingredients and stir until completely blended/ mixed. Let mixture sit for about 10 minutes, or until most of the milk is absorbed by the oats.

Step 3: Add the cereal to the mixture and immediately spread in a baking pan lined with parchment paper, making sure there is an even thickness throughout and the bar "dough" goes all the way to the edges of the pan.

Step 4: Bake for around 30 minutes, or until bar seems firm and doesn't have a lot of extra moisture. Your bake time will probably vary depending on how long you let it soak and the thickness of your bars.

Step 5: Remove from pan and let cool before cutting into individual bars. Refrigerate once they are completely cool.

Enjoy!

Southwestern Tofu Scramble

Until just a couple weeks ago, I had never eaten a tofu scramble! Crazy right? A vegetarian that has never had this dish... Well, it turns out that I love it. My initiation into tofu-scramble-dom occurred at Whole Foods. They had a Cajun tofu scramble with Cajun sweet potatoes.

It turns out that making a tofu scramble is incredibly easy. I think they're generally made for breakfast, but I did it for dinner. My dad got me a gift of gourmet spices at a cooking shop near my studio, including Southwestern seasoning, a Singapore seasoning, and an Balti seasoning. I've made it my goal to make something each night with these spices as the inspiration. Tonight was Southwestern night. I found a basic recipe online and decided on my own spices and serving suggestion.

Check back in tomorrow for a new Asian recipe!

Southwestern Tofu Scramble
Inspired by Vegetarian Times
Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 clove garlic, minced
2t Southwestern seasoning
1 16-oz package extra firm tofu, rinsed, drained, and crumbled
1-2t Mexican hot sauce
2T cilantro, chopped
Salsa verde, for garnish
1/2 avocado, garnish
Olive oil for saute

Step 1: In a large sillet, saute pepper and carrots in olive oil over medium-high heat until tender. Add Onions, garlic, and seasoning and cook for a couple more minutes.

Step 2: Add Tofu and hot sauce, stir until evenly mixed and cook until heated through.

Step 3: Stir in cilantro.

Step 4: Serve topped with salsa and avocado. You can also add more hot sauce if you prefer a spicier dish.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Bars

In honor of having my 500th hit today, I've decided to do a new bar recipe! My Everything Energy Bars have gotten the most page views of all my recipes, so I figure you guys might like some variety! I'm pretty proud of this one because I didn't look at another recipe as I created this. It was completely improvisational! The whole kitchen smelled like pumpkin as these were baking, and the taste is pumpkin pie-ish. I will say, if you prefer sweeter flavors, I would add some sugar or maple syrup to the mixture.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Bars
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 15-0z can pumpkin puree
2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup original soy milk
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1.5 t pie spice
1 t vanilla extract
Dash of salt

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all wet ingredients and spices in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

Step 2: Add oats, almond flour, and spices, followed by the dried fruit and nuts. Stir until mixture forms a moist dough.

Step 3: Line a medium sized, square baking pan with parchment paper. Transfer mixture to pan and spread evenly across bottom with a spatula.

Step 4: Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and crispy on top. Remove to cooling rack.

Step 5: Once cool, cut slab into bars of desired size.

Enjoy!

Hey guys! I have a little update on the pumpkin bars. As I learned the hard way today, these bars need to be refrigerated immediately after they cool. They have a shorter shelf life than my other bars, and consequently went bad in a few days when out of the fridge.

Thanks!
Caroline

Green Monster Smoothie

I've been wanting to try a green smoothie for a very long time. While some people stick their tongues out and gag when they see a smoothie the color of the grinch, my mouth starts to water. Smoothies are refreshing and perfect for hundred-degree weather like today. The main issue I have with smoothies, however, is that most smoothies sold in smoothie shops have so much sugar that they are no longer healthy. My Green Monster smoothie that I've created has no added sugar and is jam-packed with protein, fruits, veggies, and flavor. I will warn you, this smoothie isn't probably for someone looking for an ultra sweet, dessert smoothie. Yes, it is slightly sweet, but not excessively so. I'll definitely be making this one further down the line.

Green Monster Smoothie
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 cup frozen mango
1/4 cup frozen edamame
1 c spinach
1 T shredded, dehydrated coconut
2 T quick-cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
1 cup Original soy milk, or other milk substitute

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, thick, and creamy.

Enjoy!

Everything Energy Bars

        For the past six months or so I've been experimenting with making my own energy bars. I first got hooked when a friend recommended the blog Anja's Food 4 Thought. She has amazing recipes for healthy bars and I've been referring to her site ever since. I am also a huge fan of Barres, an energy bar developed by two dancers with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. The story behind Barre really inspired me to start making my own! Lately, I've branched off and have begun putting together my own combinations of fruits, nuts, and grains to discover what I like best. As a result, I've managed to create bars that sustain me through an intense workout. This particular recipe that I came up with yesterday even lasted me through and entire Franz Ferdinand concert! The recipe tends to be different each time I make a batch of bars, but I actually recorded my ingredients/ quantities this time so I could share it here! I call this bar the everything bar because I literally picked most of the ingredients at random and threw them all together until I found a combo I like. In the future, I plan to make more specifically flavored ones like carrot cake, piña colada, or snickerdoodle. If you have an flavor suggestions or requests, leave a comment!

Everything Energy Bars
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Sun Butter (Sunflower seed butter)
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup cranberries
1/4 shredded, desiccated coconut
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1t cinnamon

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine oats, quinoa, raisins, cranberry, and coconut in a food processor and blend until fruit has been roughly chopped and all ingredients are fully mixed

Step 2: Add Sun Butter and blend until evenly mixed. Scrape down sides with a spatula if necessary. Add blueberries and process until fully mixed. Mixture should be moist and doughy.

Step 3: Cover the inside of a medium square/ rectangle pan with parchment paper. This makes for easy cleanup and keeps the bars from sticking to the pan. Spread dough across the bottom of the pan, trying to keep an even thickness throughout, bringing mixture all the way to the edges of the pan. Depending on the size of your pan the bars will vary in thickness. Ideally, the bars should be no thicker than 3/4". The thicker the bar, the more time you will need to bake.

Step 4: Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until top is slightly browned and crispy. Cook time can vary by preference as well. If you prefer a chewier, moister bar, I would suggest a shorter baking time. If you want a crispier consistency, go for the longer time. Again, cook time will also depend on the thickness of the bar.

Step 4: Once baked to your satisfaction, remove the large slab of bar from the pan and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Once cooled, cut into individual bars and store. I usually keep mine in the fridge if I plan to keep them for multiple days.

Enjoy!

Banana Mango Breakfast Smoothie

        I'm a creature of habit when it comes to breakfast. I often eat the same few things, alternating day to day. Today, though, I had an epiphany: Why make the same-old-same-old when I actually have time to switch it up? After all, it's the summer and today I don't have to be anywhere until 12:30. So, I made a smoothie!
        I love smoothies, but I rarely buy them at smoothie joints because of the high sugar content in them and lack of good ingredients. Instead, I just make my own! I really should make smoothies more often because they're great on the go and can be just as satisfying as a parfait. I think the main reason I don't make them is that I hate washing the blender. I know, that's terribly lazy, but true. I guess it's worth it, though, because this smoothie was delicious.

P.s. I was so excited by my new breakfast that I forgot to take a picture. This post will be sadly lacking in imagery until I make this smoothie again.

Banana Mango Breakfast Smoothie
Inspired by Peachy Palate
Ingredients:
1 banana
1 cup frozen mango
1 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup plain nonfat greek yogurt
1T quick cooking rolled oats
1t dried, shredded coconut

Step 1: Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth. Wasn't that easy?

Enjoy!