Chocolate Chickpea Bites

Hey all you people, hey all you people, hey all you people won’t you listen to meeeeeee????

GUYS, HI! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve written a post, created a funky recipe or even scrolled through the wonderful feed of WordPress… But here I am! I’m so excited to be back and I’m hoping to be a little more present this semester.

I just returned back to school from a LOVELY weekend break at home with my family. I hung out with my grandparents, was tackling by my adorable dogs and took some serious time to recollect and breathe before a month long stretch of school. Definitely needed!

Anyways, as I was home, my family and I decided to throw a small Super Bowl party consisting of… us! Yep, just us four and honestly, it was wonderful. My dad was screaming a lot (which is hilarious because he does NOT watch football unless he’s with my mom) and my dog Walter was mesmerized by the commercials and practically pressed his nose against the screen. ((ps- the Justin Timberlake commercial for Bai…. SWOON VILLE!)) We ordered pizzas, I made a veggie tray and homemade guac and we hung out together as one big Q fam…

I realized early on that we definitely needed a sweet after pizza ((I mean, come on, no dessert?!)) SO i decided to whip up a cute and easy little recipe for some tiny chocolate chip cookie bites using chickpeas and my favorite Enjoylife dairy-free chippies! SO simple, SO delicious, and SO healthy. BAM BABY.

They aren’t super sweet, but they give a good bite and satisfy your need for a little chocolate for sure.

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servings: 28 cookies 

prep time: 20 minutes 

cook time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 Cup raw oats
• 1 can chickpeas (15 oz)
• 1/3 Cup raw cashews
• 1 very ripe banana
• 1/3 Cup pure maple syrup
• 1 pasteurized egg
• 1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 Teaspoon baking powder
• 2 Tablespoons nut milk
• 1/2 Cup Enjoylife chocolate chips

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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Blend together the raw cashews and chickpeas in a blender or food processor until the mixture becomes somewhat smooth.
3. Add in the oats, banana, extract, maple syrup, baking powder and egg as the processor is going. The mixture will become very thick (which is where the nut milk comes in!) and you may have to take some out and work in shifts.
4. Move the mixture once blended from the processor to a medium mixing bowl and add in the chocolate chips. Mix those babies in! You can also add some cacao powder to make chocolate bites, too!
5. Drop a tablespoon and a half of dough onto cookie sheets. You can press them down slightly for a cookie shape or leave them round for little bites.
6. Place cookie sheet in the oven for fifteen minutes; take them out and let them cool for two minutes.
7. DEVOUR!

 

Simple Almond Flour Waffles

I love a good waffle just as anyone, but unfortunately when you go away, most waffle mixes available to you are highly processed, and chocked full of ingredients I can’t understand.

As you can probably guess, I haven’t been eating waffles at school since I got there. And that makes me incredibly sad!

Waffles have been a huge part of my life ever since I started to recover from anorexia two years ago, and they have stuck in my life as I have continued to grow my interests in cooking and holistic food choices. I have constantly upped my game, and am always searching for new recipe including fewer, more complex ingredients to make the perfect, crispy waffle (as I like mine!).

This morning, I craved a darn waffle and I knew I wanted to try something with an almond flour base as I tried Simple Mills over Thanksgiving break and fell in love with the concept of it. I decided this morning would be the morning to give it a shot, and boy am I glad I did!

Few mistakes were made: forgot to oil my waffle makes (DUHHHH!), and I also forgot to top with pure maple syrup…. THE STRUGGLE OF MY LIFE, FRIENDS.

Don’t worry, they’re still amazing no matter if they need to be yanked from the maker or you just eat them plain (dipped in black coffee, anyone?). Waffles are waffles, no matter how messy your morning turns out to be.

Poor Walter!

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Makes: 3 small waffles, or one large

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/3 C. plus 2 TBSP. Almond flour (I used Almond Pro)
• 1/4 C. Unsweetened almond milk (Califia Farms)
• 2 Egg whites
• 1 tsp. Ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
• 1/2 TBSP. Coconut sugar
• 1 tsp. Pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 TBSP. Coconut oil

*optional toppings:  banana, blueberries, pure maple syrup, nut butter, etc….*

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1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Make sure they are all consistently blended together. I like to use a fork to press them into each other.
2. Melt coconut oil into the waffle maker (unlike I did!) to ensure the waffles come right off!
3. Evenly divide your batter into three parts as you cook your waffles.
4. Top those babies right away with any fruit or nut butter, pure maple syrup, honey  , etc…. and dig a fork in while they’re still hot!

Cacao Coffee Overnight Oats

Here we go- another darn bowl of oats.

Nah, I’m kidding’ you- these oats have been inspired by my drive to add more variety and spunk to my diet again after some serious hard times of eating the same things and ending up gorging on foods my system does not like. It’s a long story, but starting this week, I’m making it my goal to eat new foods, and explore some fun recipes for my dorm.

These make the list.

I had a concert last night, so of course I want a breakfast I can grab to run to class, and give myself a couple extra hours. Then, when I was thinking about that, I remembered that I didn’t finish a cup of coffee from the morning.

“MR. KRABS, I HAVE AN IDEAAAAAAAAAA”

I took the coffee, grabbed almond milk and some cacao powder and went ham.

Then, I layered some Siggi’s yogurt, banana slices, coconut chips, hemp seeds and cacao nibs for the most perfect bite in the morning I’ve ever had.

Love ya overnight oats!

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serves:1

prep time: 10 minutes

cook time: 2-3 hours; or overnight 

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 C. rolled oats
• 1 TBSP chia seeds
• 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder  Sunwarrior)
• 1 TBSP. cacao powder
• 1/2 C. brewed black coffee
• 1/3 C. unsweetened almond milk (Califia Farms)
• 1/2 container of plain Siggi’s
• 1 banana
• 1/2 TBSP. hemp seed
• 1 TSP. cacao nibs
• 1 TBSP. coconut chips

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Instructions:

1. Find a cute ass jar.
2. Now add the oats, chia seed, cacao  and protein powder. Make sure you stir the dry ingredients around before adding liquids!
3. After you stir the dry ingredients, add your coffee and almond milk until you get the consistency you enjoy.
4. Stir and stir WELL! You don’t want chunks of chia, now do you???
5. Slice a full banana and add half, then layer on the yogurt To the oats.
6. Layer the other half of the banana on top of this, then add the rest of the toppings as you like!
7. Scoff this sucker down!

Coconut Matcha Energy Balls

First dorm room recipe EVER!

And I’m really excited about this one, because it’s protein filled, easy to make and simply delicious for any time of the day. YES, ANY TIME OF THE DAY! WOOOOOOOO!

I started off with a base of dates because I haven’t used dates in forever and I grabbed an entire bag of them before I left for the good ol’ Iowa State. Then, I received a package on campus….

HEMP PROTEIN!

Oh my goodness, when I went down into the mailroom and got two packages from the fabulous Pure Goodness, I knew it had to be good. I opened those suckers up and what was in there? Vanilla hemp protein. Something I’ve been DYING to try!

I immediately thought dates and protein to combine into some kick ass energy balls I could store in my bag for later usage during class. Then I sifted through other products, found my matcha tea powder from Healthworks and went to work!

These will keep you full, happy and healthy as you knock it out this semester! (Or for you with an actual job, just life!)

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yields: 12 energy balls

cook time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 12-13 pitted medjool dates
• 1/4 cup organic coconut flour
• 2 tablespoons creamy, unsalted almond butter
• 1 scoop vanilla hemp protein (I used Pure Goodness)
• 1 tablespoon matcha tea powder (I used Healthworks)
• 2-3 tablespoons hot water
• 2 tablespoons hemp seed (optional, for coating)
  

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Instructions:

1. Soak dates in warm water as you get your other ingredients ready.
2. Add all the ingredients into a food processor, and blend until the mixture comes together as one.
3. Scoop out the mixture and keep cold for about five minutes. It will be sticky!
4. Remove mixture from refrigerator and roll into twelve even, bite sized balls.
5. You now have to option to roll in hemp seeds (but I highly recommend!). Store in an air tight container in the fridge and GO CRAZY!

Meal Preppin’ Monday

Sundays are my fun days.

I know it’s weird, but hanging in your PJ’s all day, developing recipes and cooking a ton is literally the epitome of fun for me. I’ve been doing this almost every Sunday for awhile, and honestly, it’s been such a time saver.

I made a post about one of my first meal prep Sundays and now it’s time for another to catch up!

One thing I definitely focus on when I meal prep is things that I know I’m going to WANT to eat throughout the week. If I make something I’d only eat one day, that definitely defeats the purpose. Find some staples you love and then  make a whole bunch to fill up your weekly meals.

Aka- me and sweet potatoes. My first thing I prep is ALWAYS roasted potatoes or squash. It’s an easy carb to throw in salads, a fun snack with hummus and perfect at any meal. This week I bought a huge beet and chopped that guy up too. Roasted beets = happiness.  

  

Next thing on the agenda: homemade granola. My entire family has been munching on this granola for weeks on end, and it’s totally great. I used to eat packaged granola A TON- and while I chose healthy brands, there always is a bunch of added sugars like brown rice syrup. This granola has up to 9 grams of protein in a serving (1/2 C. too, not just 1/4 C.!), and uses only maple syrup as a sweetener. A much healthy option to throw on smoothies and yogurts!

    

 My newest obsession are these Lemon-Coconut no bake bites from Hummusapien. These babies are SOOOOOO GOOD! I could eat the entire batch in one sitting… Okay so maybe I’d be a little full, but… I’d do it.  
 

Other things I made for the week included some smoothie packs for an easy option in the morning, a few servings of quinoa, some chopped veggies, and cooked chicken breast. Then after a couple hours of cooking, I flew over to Trader Joe’s for a couple quick pick-me ups!

At TJ’s, I wanted to for sure grab some organic albacore tuna cans for this amazing tuna salad I’ve been making lately for lunch. But, how can you walk in and buy one thing? What a joke. I mulled around for at least an hour, scanning all the newbies at the store, including the black bean rotini that I am mega excited about! I usually buy lentil or bean pasta from Whole Foods, but that stuff can rack up to $6-7! How about no to that. I also grabbed my favorite coconut flour, roasted coconut chips, apple cider vinegar, plantain chips, and of course, organic dark chocolate. Spent less than $20, and I’m feeling good.

  
On Saturday, I stopped at the store to pick up the weekly essentials which include green apples, organic spinach+kale, berries, frozen fruit, raw nuts, almond milk and basically a bunch of produce and canned organic beans. All in all, we’re set for the week!

 

What things do you prep for your week?

 

What I Ate Wednesday

What’s hanging my lovely little sweet tatoes?

We’ve got another week of What I Ate Wednesday coming up for you, and I’m hoping to post more frequently on the blog other than just my What I Ate Wednesday’s. I’m working on a few recipes, some pieces about lifestyle, and maybe some running posts if you guys can swing with that! But, for now, another WIAW!

Life has been a little hectic, per usual, and I’ve got a busy few days ahead of me with an event for school that I’m running, physical therapy three days straight, a night of babysitting and hopefully, cooking on Sunday! I missed my prepping this week due to the fact I really won’t be around… *sigh*

  
Breakfast this morning was a little bit odd, due to the fact that my cravings were all over the place! I’ve had to go to the gym before school to get the bike in, so I’m always hungry but never know what I want! This morning, the decision was between oats and a smoothie, so I just threw them together in a jar. A blueberry cocoa smoothie with chia oats, then topped with more banana. It was okay- not the best- but hey, we can’t all have perfect breakfasts, am I right?

  
As I was eating, I scrolled through Instagram and saw that it was National Peanut butter Lover’s Day. Therefore, a spooning of my favorite crunchy peanut butter via Whole Foods was a necessity. Even Walter was feeling the need for this spoonful!

The last couple days I’ve been insanely hungry. I’m working on upping my calories as I begin to get back into running (a mile a day on the treadmill, babes!), and so my body is seriously taking it in. I munched on unpictured veggies like an hour after this, and then I tried these new bean bites from Eat Enlightened. Three ingredients, and seven grams of protein? Sign me up!

  
After enduring a boring and confusing math lesson, I was ready for my killer lunch I packed up the night before.

  
Baked chicken breast, on top of a bed of arugula, and roasted veggies cooked in some olive oil with avocado, tomatoes and spices. Then on the side, an orange for Vitamin C and raw almonds! 

This kept me full till I went to Costco after school and sampled some smoothies… I love smoothies. 

  
Afternoon snack age also included a little plain Greek, bluebs, organic cereal and Wild Friends PB. 

  
Dinner was a plain Jane due to the fact I got back at 730 from PT and another appointment. Joy, rapture.  

 
Finished the night off with a date and PB. Maybe two dates. I don’t know. 
Anywho, here’s just another Wednesday comin’ at ya! Hoping to post a bit more so keep on the lookout once I get back from my two day hiatus from media🙆🏼 
How’s your hump day treatin ya?