Breakfast: Pancakes - Healthy

I like love breakfast. I actually love it even more when it's vegan. I love weekend vegan breakfasts the most.
Chillin in my jammies in the kitchen.... Anyways... This post is about pancakes.

Pancakes are like a blank canvas. You can make them banana pancakes (if you clicked that link, you should've seen that I've made banana pancakes before) or you can make them chocolate chip oat pancakes. You understand that they're so easy to change up. KERF made them healthy too, in her fiesta jacks.

You can also make them really healthy in a number of ways.

1. Adding some Rolled Oats in it.
   - oats can add texture and more complex carbs to keep you fuller, longer. However if you don't like the texture of oats, I can suggest maybe soaking the oats in the almond milk and add it as a wet ingredients.
   ex) recipe calls for 1c Almond Milk and 1/4c Oats. Soak the Oats in the Almond Milk THEN add it with the rest of the wet ingredients (like apple sauce, eggs etc)
   
   
2. Adding Apple Sauce, Pumpkin Puree or Pureed/mashed bananas keeps your WW pancakes moist.
   - Normally, WW pancakes can be hearty and too savory, but adding the applesauce, nanner or pumpkin will prevent it from tasting too hearty. Of course, it adds flavor....
   - Adding the above ingredients can also eliminate adding any sort of oil to your batter.
   - The above ingredients can also sub any sweetener.
   
   
3. Water can be subbed for almond milk (cutting anywhere from 20-40cal, depending on serving size)
   
   
4. I highly advise using Whole Wheat Flour.
   - If WW is too much for you, then I advise White Whole Wheat flour, it can ease you into the transition, and quite frankly, I have a difficult time noticing the difference between WW and White flour in my cooking.- Accordingly, other flours can be subbed (ex. spelt)
   
   
5. You can add Protein Powder (Flavor of your choice) if you add more liquid to loosen the batter up accordingly.
   

Lucky for you guys, there is no evil Pancake Dictator to tell you what to do. So I hope you employ one or all of the tips up there, and live like you mean it.

Shenanigans

Weekend shenanigans are mostly composed of breakfast. For me... I look forward to my weekend breakfasts, much. My weeks go by so quickly now, school is fast paced.

About two months ago, my doctor diagnosed me with snapping hip syndrome, or Dancer's Hip. In lamen's terms, it can be best described as a sharp joint pain that can radiate down your affected leg down to your ankle. After activity, it can hurt for days; and if not treated, can hurt for weeks and months.

In short, my hip hurts like a mofo, it feels like someone is stabbing (and sometimes dragging) a knife in my hip. Of course, like all my other injuries, I ignored the diagnosis and kept running and just stretched a little. I love running, and I sure do miss it terribly. I just stopped running two weeks ago (a month and a half after the diagnosis) and with the extra time on my hands, I've been stretching, gaining weight, and taking up a little yoga and cycling.

I've toned down the activity significantly, and it's been... not so great. But as of yesterday, I've been trying to focus on being more positive, and trying not to be too concerned about my physical appearance, but in contrast, focusing on how I feel.

What a change right? This is a huge leap and change, it's a cliche idea, but I understand why so many have employed it.

I tried to enjoy my weekend, but I feel like my metabolism has kept trekking, while my activity has retarded. But onward to Vegan Pancakes.

**This recipe can be stripped of its chocolate chip specifics, and can be seen as a blank canvas for future variations. Here are a few tips on pancakes.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pancakes

makes 5 silver dollar pancakes

1/4C Rolled Oats

2 tbsp WW Flour

1/2 scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I used Soy Protein)

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/8 tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Applesauce (SF) *

1/8 C Vanilla Almond Milk

1 tsp Vanilla

Dash of Cinnamon

1tsp Chocolate Chips (or 3 chocolate chips per pancake)

Mix together the dry ingredients (Rolled Oats, WW Flour, Protein Powder, Baking Powder, Cinnamon, Salt) Make sure the oats don't sink to the bottom, and ensure that everything is well mixed. Then put in the apple sauce and Almond Milk and mix well. Don't over mix please. Just mix until incorporated then ladle into a hot and oiled pan. (don't drown them in a pool of oil please.) Cook until you see lovely bubbles around the side of the pancakes. Flip them when you see the bubbles, if you miss them when they first appear, no worries, more bubbles will form. You don't have to cook them as long on the other side. Just press on the pancake when you think it's done, (please press on the cooked side) it should bounce back immediately, and not squish down.
Serve with SF Maple Syrup and a bit of Agave

Gin Wigmore - These Roses

Cold Heart

Your cold heart and feet can be warmed with this warm meal adapted from Eating Bird Food's page.

Chickpea Curry Recipe

1c water

1 box mini heirloom tomatoes (half a TJ Box)

2 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

Salt&Pepper

1 can Chickpeas

1 head Cauliflower

¼ onion diced

Butternut Squash (I used about a bag from TJ's)

Preheat your oven to 400F. Prepare a cookie sheet with seasoned butternut squash, onion and cauliflower. Stick the vegetables in the oven for 30min or until tender*.

While your vegs are cooking, bring 1cup of water to a boil with the heirloom tomatoes. Once your water and tomatoes are boiling, reduce it to a simmer(+).

Season the water and tomatoes liberally with salt and pepper. Rinse your chickpeas under water (RINSE THEM GOOD) and pat them dry. Toss them in the water (that should have been reduced) along with cinnamon, cumin and curry powder.

Are your vegs ready? Stick a fork in your butternut squash to make sure they're to your liking.

When your vegetables are ready, proceed with tossing them into your curry. And make sure they're all well incorporated (activate stirring). Toss them around nicely, then season again if needed.

Finally, you can serve now, or continue cooking together (it only gets better from here...unless your cauliflower gets mushy.) Just cook to your vegetable liking (i <3 texture)

Serve with...

1. White/Brown Rice
2. Ezekial Low Sodium Bread with Chutney/Jam (this is what I had)
3. Quinoa (this is what I would've had)

*If you're like me, and you don't mind cooking everything together, I cook everything at once until the cauliflower gets tender, then I stick them in the pot together (regardless if the butternut squash is cooked). But if you'd prefer to get the roasty toasty taste, go ahead and roast the butternut squash first, for at least 20min then put the cauliflower in for another 10min then onions for another 5min, and everything should be cooked.

(+) Now would be the time for you to skin the tomatoes, they should peel nicely now.

(pictured here with tempeh, avocado and avocado smashed on an Ezekial toast)

Your meal is balanced, warm, and oozing with yums.

Green Monster

Green Monster

2 Handfuls of Spinach (as much as you can jam into your blender)

3 Fresh Strawberries (sliced)

3 Slices of Frozen Bananas

1 Fresh Pineapple Spear

1/4 Cup of Water and Almond Milk

1.5 tsp Chia Seeds

1/2 Scoop of Vanilla Protein Powder

1. I blended up the first 5 ingredients first. I wanted to keep some sort of substance to my chia seeds.

2. I added the chia seeds and vanilla protein powder AFTER everything was smooth.

3. I enjoyed my green monster as a lunch (or a preface to my lunch) after HIIT

Thrice - Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles Cover)

as a treat: my favorite The Beatles song.

breakfast.

pancakes on the weekend. I can enjoy life. right?

recipe for vegan pancakes. they weren't fluffy.

but they were damn tasty.

1/2c white whole wheat flour

1/2c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

dash of salt

1tsp cinnamon

1tsp baking powder

1/2 pureed banana*

1tsp veg oil

mix dry and wet separately.

heat your griddle/pan

cook. flip*

serve.

makes 3-4 four inch pancakes.

*pureed banana can be substituted with pumpkin. season accordingly

*flip when the bubbles form around the pancake

bubbles should be half a cm in and completely encase the pancake.

^ that's important so it has a nice crisp.

img 2: overnight vegan oats. weekday breakfast.

the one thing i look forward to.

munch munch

life of food.