Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Vegan frosty smoothie bowl.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Nuts, Raw, Smoothies, Snacks, Vegan, Vitamix

I’m admittedly not a summer weather fan. It’s been an oppressive 90+ degrees for an endless stretch of time. For dinner most nights, I’ve been opting for this very chilly & refreshing bowl. It’s protein-packed, flavor packed and it tastes so indulgent! I hope you enjoy 🙂

Ingredients:

Skant 3/4 cup of unsweetened nut or oat based milk of choice
1 scoop of your favorite protein powder (I use either vanilla or chocolate)
1 tbl of your favorite nut butter OR 2 tbl of an organic powdered nut butter if you prefer
1 frozen banana
Pinch of salt
8 – 10 ice cubes
Optional:
1 tbl of raw cacao (if using a vanilla protein but want chocolate flavored)
If using vanilla protein and you want a strawberry bowl (add 1 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries).

Method:
Into a blender add your milk through ice cubes (see notes about optional flavors). If using additional berries, add them too!

Blend, you may need to stop and scrape the sides down often. Blend until smooth and creamy. Spoon into a bowl and top with whatever you love!

My faves:
Organic bran flakes
Granola
Pomegrante seeds
Cacao nibs
nut butter
berries
seeds
nuts
Enjoy immediately!


~ox

— Knead to Cook

Blueberry Oatmeal Bake. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Snacks, Vegan

Summer means an abundance of fresh fruit in my house. We love eating seasonally and it is one of the most affordable ways to navigate your grocery list. With blueberries constantly on sale, I’ve been stocking up. This recipe serves as an easy breakfast, snack or dessert topping with a little whipped cream or vegan ice cream on the side. I would recommend keeping it stored in the fridge versus on the counter as it would get moldy rather quickly in the warmer temps. I hope you enjoy this one as much as we did!

Ingredients:
1 tbl ground flax meal
3 tbl water
2 cups of rolled oats (organic)
1.5 cups flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat and 1 cup of ap flour)
1 tbl ceylon cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1.5 cups of plant based milk
1/4 cup of a neutral oil (I used avocado and coconut)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup maple syrup*
3/4 cup blueberries washed and tossed with a bit of flour to coat
Nut of your choice for topping (almonds, walnuts, pecans, hemp hearts, pepitas).

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a 8×8 or 9×9 pan with cooking spray. Set that aside.

Start by making your flax egg by mixing flax meal with water and allow to sit for about 4-6 minutes until thickened.
Into a stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl, add all of your dry ingredients oats through salt. Whisk to combine. In that bowl, add your flax egg and plant based milk, oil, extract and syrup. Combine until just blended.

In a separate bowl, add freshly washed berries and toss with a tbl or so of your flour. Coating will allow the berries to be suspended in your bake versus sinking to the bottom of the bake. By hand, gently mix the blueberries in the batter. Then gently spoon into your prepared pan.

Top your batter with whatever nuts or seeds you like then pop it in the oven for 38-40 minutes. When the top is more solid, the color is golden, it’s done. Mine took about 40 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing. Enjoy!

*This recipe is NOT overly sweet. Feel free to adjust the sweetness by adding additional maple syrup or 1/4 cup coconut or brown sugar.

~ox

— Knead to Cook

Nut and Seed Breakfast Cookies. Vegan & GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Gluten Free, Nuts, Snacks, Vegan, Wheat Free

I’ve been transitioning away from making breads for the weekly snack as the temperatures rise. They always get too moldy too fast with the humidity (despite my a/c running non stop) so I’ve been whipping up some breakfast cookies. I morphed this recipe to work with what I have on hand and what I wanted to use.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
6 tablespoons filtered water
1 cup rolled oats (certified GF and organic is a must)
¾ cup almond flour
1 tbl ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup pumpkin seeds
¼ cup chopped pecans (whatever nuts you prefer go ahead and use those)
Sesame seeds for the topping
¼ cup of coconut oil (whatever neutral oil you have you should be able to use)
¼ cup smooth peanut or almond butter
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:
Prepare the flax egg by mixing the water and ground flax. Allow to thicken for several minutes. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. If you have, use a baking mat on your baking sheet.

Once your flax egg is ready, add to you mixer along with your oats, flour, cinnamon, salt, & baking soda. Blend well. Then add your oil, nut butter, syrup and vanilla. Blend. Finally add your seeds/nuts – omitting sesame seeds as I prefer to use them on top of the cookies.

Using a small or large scoop, scoop out the dough and place on your sheet. I sprinkled the sesame seeds on top. Bake for 24-28 minutes – my cookies are large. If you are making tinier cookies, bake for about 12-14 minutes but check them occasionally. Remove and allow to cool and firm up.

Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Mixed berry buckle. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cakes, Easter, Vegan, Vegan proteins

The buckle cake is a fun one to make, super easy and you can use fresh or frozen fruit you have on hand. I used a mixed frozen berry mixture I had leftover from Costco. Black and blue berries and strawberries. It’s a good spring or summer dessert and tastes heavenly with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. The term buckle comes from the cake buckling around the fruit as it cooks for a bit of trivia. 🙂

This recipe was inspired by The Full Helping which can be found here.

Ingredients for the Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup oat flour or all purpose flour
1/2 cup of brown or coconut sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tbl of vegan butter, cut in cubes and must be cold

Method:

Into a bowl, add flour through cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Then add your cubed, cold butter and cut in with a pastry cutter or pinching with your fingers quickly. You want to avoid melting the butter. Set that aside in your fridge while you work on the cake batter.

Ingredients for cake/buckle:
3/4 cup of non dairy milk
2 tsp of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/3 cup of neutral oil – canola, refined coconut oil etc.
1 tbl vanilla extract
1.5 cups of all purpose flour
3/4 cup of brown or coconut sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Zest from one lemon
3 cups of fresh or frozen fruit (if using frozen, run under hot water then allow to drain for 5 minutes) – I only used 2 cups and it needed 3!
Plus 2 tbl flour to toss the fruit in

Method:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a 8×8 pan with some oil. Set aside.

Into a measuring cup, add your non-dairy milk with vinegar or acid of choice. Whisk and allow to sit for a minute to “curdle”. Then add oil and vanilla. Whisk and set aside. Into your stand mixer, paddle attached, add your flour through zest. Blend. Then add your milk/oil mixture slowly and blend to just combine. Take your fully drained frozen or fresh fruit (no draining needed if fresh), toss with a bit of flour to coat. This helps the fruit to suspend in the cake and not sink to the bottom.

Pour your cake batter into your prepared pan. Then with a spoon- add your fruit to the top of the cake. Take your streusel topping from the fridge and spread evenly over the top of the fruit. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove and let cool before serving.

Enjoy!

— Knead to Cook

Vegan Skillet Sausage Peppers and Roasted Potatoes

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free

It’s definitely comfort food time. Once a week I seem to gravitate to making this skillet for dinner. My dad, who lives with us, is not vegan although eats vegan 95% of the time, loves this dish so I indulge. Then the leftovers are repurposed with some Just Egg sheets for an sausage & egg sandwich for breakfast or lunch. It’s also great toss with pasta. Versatility is key. Plus when cleaning out your fridge, its a great way to use up onions and peppers you have on hand.

Let’s get to it!

Ingredients:

1 package of Beyond Meat sausage (I prefer the spicy)
1 to 2 yellow onions roughly chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2-3 bell peppers, any colors
1 tablespoons of fennel seeds
3-4 Yukon potatoes, cubed
Olive oil

Method:

First, I begin by roasting my potatoes in a 350 degree oven on a baking sheet. I simply put my potatoes on a baking sheet and spray with olive oil. Toss around and bake until golden brown for about 35-45 minutes – tossing occasionally.


After the potatoes have cooked, remove and set aside. Let the oven on.

Into a cast iron skillet, add your onion and peppers until cooked down and the onions start to brown. Add your chopped garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Then add you fennel seeds. Cook for another minute or so. Add your sausage, cut however you prefer. Cook until golden over low/medium heat. This normally takes 10-12 minutes, stirring often.


Once cooked through add your potatoes into your skillet and stir well. Place the skillet into your oven for 10 minutes.



Serve immediately & enjoy!



— Knead to Cook

Easy Crusty Vegan Herbed Bread.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Vegan

I’ve been on a bread making kick lately. Let’s face it… I have plenty of time recovering from knee surgery and with the COVID isolation. Honestly, homemade bread is super easy and tastes incredible but it was the one thing I thought I never had time to do before. The fact is it takes just a few minutes to create but a few hours of resting where you can do a ton of other things without worrying about it.

You can bake bread in a loaf pan or on a pizza stone but I opted to bake my bread in a Dutch oven to yield a perfectly crusty loaf. Honestly, this recipe is quite fail-proof. I hope you give this one a try! Tonight we’ll pair this up with some marinara and vegan meatballs. A simple plate of good olive oil and balsamic for dipping… basically heaven.

Ingredients:

3.75 to 4 cups of organic all purpose flour
1.5 cups of 100-105 degree water (you must gauge the temp to ensure you don’t kill the yeast)
2 tbl of instant yeast
1.5 tsp of sea salt
2 tbl dried oregano or 2 tbl of Italian seasonings
1 tsp of garlic powder or you can chop up fresh garlic and add that instead

Method:

Into your stand mixer, with the dough hook attached, add your flour (start with 3.75 cups), warm water, yeast, salt and spices. Stir to combine for about 2 minutes.

In the meantime, oil a large bowl and set aside. Once the dough is blended, should be slightly sticky but easy to handle. If the dough is super sticky add the additional flour and mix. Turn the dough out and place into your prepared oiled bowl. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot in your kitchen. Allow the dough to rise for 1.5 to 2 hours. It will double in size.

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 450 degrees with your Dutch oven inside.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out on a floured surface and turn the dough onto itself basically like pulling the edges up and pushing into the center. Repeat until you have a lovely smooth ball of dough.

Carefully remove your Dutch oven. Again, carefully place the seam side of the dough ball into your pot and cover. Bake for 40 minutes. Remove and take the bread out and allow to cool properly. It should be crusty and sound hollow when tapped.

Slice and enjoy once you can safely handle it.


~ox

— Knead to Cook

Easy Tahini Granola. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Nuts, Pantry, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free

Meal prepping on Sundays often includes me making breakfast for the week. Granola serves so many purposes for us. I tend to snack on it or add it to my smoothies or yogurt. Bill eats it for cereal in the morning. Granola is so incredibly easy to make and stores perfectly in your pantry. One batch of this granola will easily last a week or two! I prefer to store it in glass containers or my OXO plastic cereal container.

This recipe is super flexible so don’t stress if you’re missing an ingredient or if you wish to add something else you love.

Ingredients:
3 cups of organic rolled oats
1/2 cup of the following nuts: cashews, pecans, pepitas and walnuts
2 tbl each of chia, sesame seeds and hemp hearts
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup of maple syrup
2 tbl oil (olive or coconut)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Either line your sheet pan or spray with oil to prep. Set that aside. Into a bowl add the oats, nuts, seeds, salt and cinnamon. In a bowl or small pot, add tahini, maple syrup and oil. Warm in a microwave or on the stove until blended. Pour over your oat mixture. Stir well.


Spread out on an even layer on your baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir. I baked for an additional 10 minutes or until golden. Keep a watchful eye because it will burn quickly.

Allow to cool on the baking sheet then store in your container. No need to refrigerate. Enjoy with your favorite plant-based milk, over vegan yogurt or as a snack.

— Knead to Cook

Salted Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Smoothie. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Gluten Free, Smoothies, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free

I’ve been a long time fan of the high protein smoothie. Once I started working outside the home – packing up a smoothie in my Yeti was the perfect solution. I hate taking breaks so I can walk around drinking this and be filled for hours on end.

I’ll provide options below for optional substitutions as well. This smoothie is creamy and very filling. I typically eat a lot in the a.m and afternoon and have a smoothie for dinner if I don’t work. I go to bed so earlier that this is easier for me to digest.

Okay let’s get this ball rollin’…

Ingredients:

1.25 cups of unsweetened nut or oat based milk
1 scoop of Vega Sport Vanilla or Chocolate
1 tbl of raw cacao powder (you can omit this if you use chocolate protein powder)
1 tbl of nut butter (I use my own recipe)
1 tbl of chia seeds
Optional:
1 frozen banana
1/2 avocado
1/2 zucchini
1 pinch of salt
Ice cubes (3-4)

Method:

Put all of the ingredients into a high-powered blender. Blend it all until creamy. You can drink straight away or store in a travel mug for the next day.

— Knead to Cook

Overnight oat chia protein pudding. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free

Hey there kids! I hope your 2020 has been starting off nicely. I’ve been on an organizing tirade and have managed to clean out so much of my house. Once that was done, I went back to work with a very heavy schedule. So this week I’ve been meaning to shoot and schedule to share this recipe. It’s been my go-to for about 4 months now. I’ve tinkered with different amounts but this version is perfection. Adjusting the milk is key if you prefer it looser or thicker. See notes below.

Ingredients:
2 tbl of rolled oats – I use organic and gluten free
2 tbl of black chia seeds
2 tbl of Vega Sport vanilla protein
1 – 1.25 cup(s) or more of your favorite plant-based milk, unsweetened

Method:

This recipe is incredibly easy but you must follow the correct order or the chia will adhere to the bottom of your jar and will be like cement! I add the ingredients as I have listed. Once the milk is in there I place the lid on and shake really well. Allow to sit on the counter for a few minutes. Occasionally give the jar(s) a shake to mix up the chia – it sinks before it becomes gelatinous. Once you see it thickening up – around 4-5 minutes, give one more good shake and put in the fridge. I make 4 at a time and leave in the fridge all week. I eat one a day for breakfast. I top with fresh berries, pomegranate seeds and my homemade nut butter. Whatever you wish.

*The milk amount is quite subjective. I’ve made it really thick or looser… it just depends on your preference. Start with a cup and move up from there if you prefer.

Again, I make 4 at a time and once all the jars are empty I start over. These are the jars I use. This is the protein powder I love.

Super easy recipe. I make this in batches and it works out perfectly.

— Knead to Cook

Plant based meal prepping.

by Filed Under: Air Fried, Breakfast, Brownies, Brunch, Chili, Desserts, Gluten Free, Lentils, Nuts, Pantry, Potatoes, Pressure Cooker, Salads, Snacks, Soups, Tofu, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free

Since I’ve been working outside of our home for the past 15 months with a very demanding & crazy schedule – meal prepping has been a saving grace for me.

Meal prepping can be super easy & small or quite elaborate… its simply up to you. We keep ours very basic, but it allows us to throw lunches or dinners together in a snap – especially when you’re starving & can devour everything not nailed down while preparing dinner. Does this sound familiar? Yes, we’ve all done it.

So in this post I’m going to cover quick & easy ideas that will keep you afloat all week long without breaking the budget for time or money. Let’s get started…

The name of the game in our house lately is to use up all of our veggies from our garden that we’ve harvested. This week we’ve been inundated with plenty of tomatoes and green peppers. Being torn between salsa or homemade marinara… Bill voted for sauce. So I roasted all of my tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic to make a marinara that we could use for dinner one night. Click here for one of my roasted tomato sauce recipes. You can easily go this route as well with a tomato soup. Honestly roasting these veggies and blending them down… it’s such a versatile sauce to use for dipping, atop of a vegan meatball hoagie or over zucchini noodles.

I rarely use salt or oil when roasting. Maybe a slight spritz of olive or avocado oil and tons of fresh herbs from the garden are all you need. In the winter, tap into your spice cabinet and experiment.

While roasting that goodness, I will always roast up in my second oven or use your second rack in you oven, potatoes. ALL the potatoes every single week! I always do yams/sweet potatoes and Japanese sweet potatoes (always organic and unpeeled). If you roast other veggies with it, try to keep the baking sheet separated because veggies will cook at varying times. But feel free to roast as many veggies as you can! Here’s one of my favorite recipes. Cold, cooked potatoes are a wonderful prebiotic fiber source. I normally eat them in my salads cold but feel free to warm before serving if you wish. Also fabulous topped with your favorite nut butter as a snack.

So your oven is working away so let’s turn our attention to your stovetop. I’ve gone back to making my grains, mainly rice on the stove top as I cannot get the perfect texture in my instant pot for my long grain brown rice. So I will normally do one or two grains for the week. Quinoa and brown rice. We also use a ton for the dogs so double or triple the recipe if need be. Both serve as a wonderful base to curries, as a side dish, on a salad… whatever! Use the cooking instructions on the package.

Next up super simple overnight oats with chia. Ohhhhhh these are my favorite. They take NO TIME to prep and will stay perfectly in the fridge all week long. I use these jars and love the size/wide mouth opening.

It’s imperative that you buy organic rolled oats. Sadly the glyphosate aka Roundup contamination is a huge issue with grains.

My super simple recipe can be found here for this easy, healthy and delicious breakfast. Add your favorite nut butter, fresh or dried fruit in the morning.

Now for snacking… I always make a treat for the week. It’s healthy and I normally go for something portable like muffins, cookies, baked oatmeal squares etc. I have a ton of super easy recipes that can be found here. This week I was testing out a oat scone recipe I hope to be sharing in the future. Bill and my dad couldn’t get enough!

These were a lemon pistachio version.

Snack ideas are limitless. Here are some of my favorites… bites, muffin, or brownie.

Next up… savory proteins.

So if you’re looking for some meat-free protein options great for reheating or eating cold (like me) in a big bowl of greens – I’ve got some recipes for you. I always prep tofu. Bill and I go through a ton! Here is my favorite recipe which I’ve been cooking in my air fryer. More recipes you can prep ahead can be found here, here and here. My tofu scramble makes a great meal any time!

If you aren’t a tofu fan… here are some other great prep-ahead ideas. This tempeh recipe is one of my favorites. This salad recipe is great on sandwich bread or atop your favorite greens.

This bbq tempeh is so easy!

Soups or stews are another super easy, one pot meal that will serve you well all week. This one pot lentil stew is so good. I just made these lentil sloppy joe’s again and they are perfect on a bun or I add a big scoop to my salad. Or this double protein vegan chili made in your instant pot for the win!

And then finally, once a month I make my own nut butter combo deal. I’ve found it very hard to find organic nut butters that aren’t super spendy so I make my own. One batch lasts us at least a month and the recipe is super flexible.

This is a blend of cashews, almonds and walnuts.

Taking the time to food prep one or two dishes at a minimum helps to make your meals easier all week long. I hope this post helps you gain some helpful tips on meal prepping. Again, it can be a small or grand as you desire. Happy weekend friends!

— Knead to Cook