PECAN PRALINE BARS with SALTED CHOCOLATE


This recipe is inspired by an absolutely magnificent creation I have had twice from Chau Veggiexpress. It's a vegetarian - almost entirely vegan - restaurant on Victoria Drive that has a menu with a Vietnamese lean. All their savory menu items are incredible: mainly nourishing, steamy rice noodle bowls packed with fresh herbs, vegetables, sauces and served with deliciously salty broths. I have never been disappointed. In fact I've always been delightfully surprised by the aromatics, textures, flavours and colours of my meals at Chau.

VANILLA COCONUT SHAKE with PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL


WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING.

This recipe is too good to be true yet here it is. In all it's luscious glory: the vegan shake. This is adapted slightly from the recipe in N'ice Cream by Virpi Mikkonen and Tuulia Talvio. It's such a beautiful book. The recipes are simple and delicious and the photos are STUNNING. A must-have if you dig ice cream that happens to be dairy-free. Now lemme talk about this shake for a minute because I am absolutely head over heels.

FABULOUS OATS with BERRIES + SEEDS


I eat oatmeal every morning, and if I don't get the chance at the start of my day, I always end up making it for dinner. I guess my body just needs it's daily dose. I make my oatmeal in a particular way that gets it nice and creamy, and I LOOOVE sweet things (big surprise, look at my blog) so my oats are regularly smothered in nut butter and coconut sugar. I essentially am eating a giant bowl of warm cookie dough each time I sit down with my oatmeal. I am not mad about it.

GREEN SMOOTHIE with BASIL, PINEAPPLE + MANGO


Smoothies give me life. They keep me energized and motivated to get through my days. They give me the nutrition I need to function optimally: both physically, mentally and thus emotionally, because my mental health and emotional state are inextricably linked with my physical well-being. These days I eat and exercise for my mental health. When I make food, my main focus is: how will this make me feel? When I go to the gym or for a bike ride, it's not to alter my body to look a certain way, it's to release endorphins in my brain so I can maintain a positive mental attitude.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PILLOW COOKIES


This post is fully inspired by Amy Lyons' recipe in Fragrant Vanilla Cake. Her recipes are always so decadent and drool-worthy. I gave these to a bunch of friends during the week and everyone seemed to love 'em. I ate about half of them myself so I personally promise: they are delish. I wasn't sure about using so much flax seed in the cookie part but somehow it makes them addictive!? And hey, ya get a bunch of omega 3's or something. Most importantly: you get chocolate peanut butter bites all day long. Enjoy!

POWER SMOOTHIE with BERRIES, BEET + BANANA


Howdy hey howdy ho. 

I don't know why I just typed that in but I'm going to leave it because I believe in being my authentic self or whatever. 

CHOCOLATE CHIP + HEMP PROTEIN BARS


Hey, hunnies. How are you doing? I am feelin myself lately, tbh. A couple days ago I had a kinda blue mental health day but since then I have woken up in the best mood and simply EXCITED about bein alive! This is big for me because my regular mindset is to overanalyze everything and worry about if I said something problematic or if everyone realized overnight that I'm an asshole or have a panic attack over the reality that I and everybody I know will eventually die and no one cares, etc. You know, right?

CHOCOLATE MINT COCONUT DONUTS !


These were 100% inspired by Sam's (@sobeautifullyraw) donut photo I saw on Instagram yesterday morning. Immediately I was like: I need these in my life and I need to make a recipe for the blog today anyways. So here we are.

MAGICAL SUPERFOOD CHEESECAKE


Greetings, my darlings. 

1) I will be sharing this cake at a potluck I am hosting tomorrow at Trout Lake in Vancouver, Canada. Come on by for chill, fun times and delish vegan grub. More info here. 2) This cake is chocolate-free and I am really proud of myself for that. There is NOOOOTHING wrong with chocolate. Ever. But I am highly aware of the fact that my blog's description could accurately be "Mostly chocolate recipes". I like variety and a bit of colour, so that's what we're goin for with this cake. 3) This cake recipe is "magical" because it's pretty(?) AND secretly very nutrient-dense. It is full of healthy fats from nuts and seeds, multi-source vitamin B (thanks to Pranin Organic's PureFood B), complex carbs like oats, and dried fruits. It is creamy, rich, sweet, satisfying, easy to make and let's be real, it's also gorgeous (*pats self on back*). In short: I FRICKEN LOVE PLANTS. UNGH.