Tag Archives: banana

Tropical Trail Mix & Traveling Snacks

Before I left for Indio last month, I knew that I would need to bring some snacks with me. I’m glad that I planned ahead, because our team was stuck without breakfast for the first few days we were out there. Yikes! With this post I’ll give you some tips on what to bring with you when your options are limited.

Of course, there are a crazy amount of vegan snack bars that you can choose from, when you need to hold yourself over. I love bringing a couple in my purse when I’m flying, to replace the typical “pretzel or nuts” choices. My bars of choice are Vbars, PureFit bars (which are a lot like Power Bars) and usually Clif bars (only because they are everywhere). The good thing about these types of snacks is that they are small and easy to fit in luggage/bags.

If you have a little more room to bring stuff with you, say you’re driving to a family member’s house or something like that, I would highly suggest making foods that really only need a bit of hot water added to them. Take for example, my Portable Oatmeal Breakfast. You can pack three day’s worth of breakfast into one large jar! Plus, it’s easily customizable to your preferences.

But, what I ended up making for this trip was downright awesome. It took some time because I dehydrated most of the fruits at under 118ºF, but that’s not something that you need to do. Here we have a mix of mango, banana, tart berries and coconut roasted almonds. Crunchy, chewing and filling it’s all you want from a trail mix. Next time, I’m making a massive batch of this and adding it to granola and yogurt for breakfast, it sounds so good!

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Raw Recipes, Sweet Recipes

Mini Chocolate Chip Banana Cheesecake & EatPastry Review

You know those times, when you were a kid/teenager/depressed adult when you loved to eat raw cookie dough? I mean, it’s seriously hard to beat pre-made sweets that are just as good, if not better, before baking as they are afterward. As far as a vegan option went, there was nothing like this that wasn’t homemade for so long! That is, until the amazing people over at EatPastry came up with their line of vegan cookie doughs.

They can be found in the cutest tubs at some Wholefoods, Mother’s Markets and depending on your area, a big-ass tub from Costco! Can you imagine? Seriously, I need that in my life.  Well, maybe my tummy does, but my gluteus maximus certainly doesn’t. ;)

When I first tried this cookie dough, it was in its baked form at Expo West last year. Tiny morsels of chewy cookies of a few different flavors, plus taster spoons with a bite of raw cookie dough on them. To put it bluntly, I was enamored. The texture of the cookies is terrific, even the gluten-free ones! They are as good, and I have a hard time being convinced by most GF pastries. I will say, that you probably shouldn’t eat the GF cookie dough raw because it has a slightly bean-y after taste.

The time came to do a review on a few tubs out of their line and it was a totally success. I also wanted to incorporate a recipe in here for you guys that is INSANE; like, so good. And if you want a bunch more ideas for your cookie dough, check out EatPastry’s Facebook page; Jessie (one of the co-founders) posts the most amazing things; they will probably make you jealous.

First off, I have to admit, I ate the tub of the Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Raisin dough before I could even do anything with it. Oopsies. It’s one of my favorites now! Then I used the GF snickerdoodle cookies to make a sandwich that had a vegan cream cheese layer, mmm… The GF Chocolate Chip dough I enjoyed baked as a regular ol’ cookie and it was perfect. It’s everything you want from a cookie; slightly chewy, great color and texture, with a couple of chocolate chips in each bite. 

With the “regular” Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough I made something incredible though, Mini Banana Cheesecakes with Cookie tops & bottoms. The best part is that there really isn’t much too it, and that they are suitable for all ages and preferences. Unless you don’t like cookies or bananas, then we probably can’t be cordial. I highly suggest that you try these out for yourself, and top it with a warm chocolate drizzle, or a peanut butter chocolate drizzle, that also sounds fantastic.

Overall, this is a high-quality product that is basically foolproof. I recommend this product to anyone that asks about it because it is delicious and the people who run the company are so genuine and nice, and just all around great people.

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Filed under Reviews, Sweet Recipes

Banana Cream Chia Pudding & A Tribute

Before I show you this amazing recipe, today, let me talk about last year for a moment. As I’m prepping myself to write this, is still feels like I have a pit in my stomach, but this will end in a positive light! Some of you may have read about my grandmother last year. I very briefly mentioned that she would be moving in with my family because she wasn’t doing well and had lung cancer. After that, I didn’t say anything else about her, and it wasn’t for no reason.

Soon after she moved in, she mentioned that she had felt bloated and never hungry, and really couldn’t eat much. I would give her a tiny smoothie and she would be full. I felt like I couldn’t help her nourish her body, so that she could heal, even just a little bit. But, two weeks or so after she came to California, we had to take her to the ER; turns out that she had a perforated ulcer (basically a hole in your stomach) and needed to be operated on. While doing tests on her, they found out that the cancer had already spread to her liver; which was, in a word, terrifying.

They decided to go through with the operation, and everything was going well for a couple of days. Then liquid started to build up in her lungs, they couldn’t stop it, then everything started falling apart. She ended up on life-support with failed kidneys and so many things wrong with her. And I’ll never forget the way she looked, and I would never wish that upon anyone. When it was clear that she would not be coming back from this, our family said our goodbyes and her soul left her body. It was a terrible day, less than a month before her 80th birthday. All of us were deeply affected by her passing, and as I type this, I am realizing that this still weighs very heavily on my heart.

My grandmother was a crafty woman, she’s the one that taught me how to crochet; but she was also an avid quilter. She had tons of quilting fabric, yards and yards of it in so many colors and patterns. Plus, some awesome kitchen ware, which her, my mom, and I share the same passion for. Support was something that my grandma often offered, with the turn of events in my life, which led me to where I am today (photography/blogging/etc.). She would tell me that I was capable and creative, which helped me immensely through some tough times. But, I don’t think she knew just how much she would help me.

Soon after we sorted through the fabrics, I got the photo gig with Happy Herbivore. Knowing that I would need to photograph 80 different recipes gave me a bit of anxiety. How would I make these shots so different? Then the light went on, Grandma’s fabrics! Without those, it would have been 80% harder for me to do what I did, and I just wish that I could thank her now. I’ve chosen this post to tell you all this, because three of the items in the photograph belonged to her. Two of the fabrics and this delightful dish, used for cooling food to be served. I’m so glad that I can have her continue to help me in my quest to become a better photographer, and I dedicate this post to her. <3

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Sweet Recipes

Lover’s Chocolate Cake

I know what you’re thinking, you see all of the chocolate involved in this cake and you may say to yourself, “I think she means Chocolate Lovers Cake”. Well, sure, this cake is for chocolate lovers of all kinds! But, this recipe is a little more involved than just chocolate. Even though Valentine’s day was yesterday, why don’t we share the love today, as well?

As you may or may not know, chocolate (or cocoa rather) is considered an aphrodisiac. But, there are also a few other plant-based foods that are on the same list, such as: almonds, asparagus, avocado, bananas, basil, figs, and garlic (dragon breath anyone?). Delicious, right? This delectable cake has 4 out of the 10 in it! See what I’m saying? Sexy cake. ;)

Here we have your oil-free cake base, with cocoa and a bit of banana, and an ultra-creamy mousse topping made with avocado, almond butter and more chocolate. Plus, it’s topped with some toasted almonds and just a few coconut flakes (which would be great toasted, as well). The whole dessert is super simple to make, and my favorite thing about this type of frosting/mousse amalgamation (say what?) is that it’s even less temperamental than typical vegan butter/powdered sugar frostings and is way better for you.

You could, of course, double the cake recipe and make it into a layer cake! Can you imagine this cake with a layer of almond butter frosting inside, while still covered in the rich, chocolate mousse? Incredible. Why do all of the great ideas come after I’m in the midst of blogging a recipe? Oy.

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Filed under Healthy Recipes, Holidays, Sweet Recipes