Quick and Easy Peanut Butter Granola Balls

Hi everyone! Long time no blog. I honestly thought my food blogging days were behind me. It felt like my priorities or rather my hobbies shifted after becoming a family of 3. It certainly feels like I have less time for myself during the day.

But, but, but…. I have this really awesome recipe that I just had to share because I know you’ll love it too.

Barbecue Baked Beans + Sheet Pan Suppers Meatless GIVEAWAY

This post is brought to you courtesy of our daycare with a random Saturday morning event. This meant a couple hours without our toddler baby. I couldn’t muster the energy to get to the gym (nor have I for the past year) but a relaxing morning creating a long-due blog post was a great idea.

Fudgy Double Chocolate Brownies from Fuss Free Vegan

I hope everyone had a wonderful stretch of holidays. Maybe you are still on vacation, or maybe like me, back at work alreadyl

I don’t think I mentioned it in my last post, but vacation has a new definition for me now that we are a family of three. Kiddo in daycare and parents at home alone is definitely more relaxing for me now! Daycare was closed for a week, so all three of us were home with plenty of excursions to visit family. No relaxing here at all.

Creamy Spinach Florentine Casserole

This dish is a favourite in our house. I first made it when I was pregnant, when I was craving all things cheezy and carby, and it was so good we continue to make it routinely.

I have only taken photographs once, and it was when I mistakenly added twice the amount of noodles, so it wasn’t as saucy. I recommend the full amount of sauce though. This is a saucy dish and the sauce is LOVELY. Creamy, yet not heavy.

Miso Fried Rice with Baby Bok Choy and Tofu

I don’t know if other moms can relate but I am constantly running out of space on my phone and google account. I remember when I first opened my gmail account and it was meant to never run out of space. Yeah, um, not for parents.

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t like I am taking tons of photos of my baby. I just happen to take a quick flurry of photos at one time, because much like a cat you can’t control, I never really know what kind of expression will be captured with each photo. Come to think of it, I have plenty of photos of my baby sleeping, since I like to share them with Rob as a form of my small accomplishments for the day. Getting the baby to sleep is never an easy feat. He does not nap very well.

For a while, we had some longer sleeps at night, which I could count on one hand. Provided I get some sleep, the continual feeding every 2-3 hours doesn’t bother me as much. It just means I keep trying to get him to sleep every 2-3 hours, too.

Chocolate Candy Cane Pots de Creme

It might not surprise you, but Rob and I do not have plans for New Year’s Eve. Last year, when I pregnant and super tired, we stayed up as late as I could muster, but these days, I am still sleep deprived and it is not worth staying up all to midnight when my baby will be waking me up a couple hours later. 

Slow Cooker Black Bean and Plantain Chili

Who else is a fan of plantains? They might seem like an exotic ingredient, but even here in Toronto, they are usually very reasonably priced and less expensive than sweet potatoes. However, unlike sweet potatoes, their shelf life is not as stable, as they can only last a few weeks until they turn all brown. I never buy them with a plan, other than panfry in coconut oil, but this recipe was excellent, and I’ll probably buy more plantains just to make it again, it was that good.

Sassy Sesame Tofu with Sweet Potato, Carrots and Sugar Snap Peas & Vegan Under Pressure GIVEAWAY

I have had my Instant Pot almost one year and it wasn’t until I stumbled upon Jill Nussinow‘s Vegan Under Pressure that it really clicked. I knew it didn’t have to only be rice and beans, but I finally took the leap to other meals with the cookbook. Quick and easy orange-scented beet salad, maple mustard brussels sprouts, potato salad, and this delicious Sassy Sesame Tofu. There are so many more recipes I still want to try: Lemon Cashew Cheesecake! (in a pressure cooker!) Red Lentil, Sweet Potato Hemp Burgers!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes

My mom had a (self-imposed) daunting task: use up all the poppy seeds. How many poppy seeds could she possibly have? A cup or two? No, more like 10 cups of poppy seeds. As such, Rob and I were the recipients of many, many poppy seed infused desserts this summer. In particular, everyone enjoyed these vegan lemon poppy seed cupcakes.

Slow Cooker Creamy Sweet Potato & Peanut Stew + Plant Pure Nation Cookbook giveaway

I always loved eating peanut butter, but I ate even more of it while pregnant. Breastfeeding brought a whole new level of hunger as I build a new human and possibly even higher levels of consumption. It is usually limited to breakfasts and desserts, and even though I had stirred it into stews before (hello, African Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew), this version is easily made in a slow cooker, simplifies the spices with curry powder, swaps chickpeas for kidney beans and I love how effortless the frozen spinach brings another layer of goodness. The coconut milk and peanut butter make for a creamy base that is deliciously paired with the sweet potatoes and carrots. I added some peanuts for garnish, but the crunch was a fun treat when they were immersed in the stew, too.

NEWS + Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with the Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

First of all, some news. As you may have noticed, I have not been posting nearly as often this year. At first, this was due to first trimester pregnancy food aversions and fatigue and later on, I had pregnancy complications that kept me on rest in and out of the hospital. A couple weeks ago, Rob and I welcomed our baby boy into the world. He is a small fighter and will be in the hospital for a while, but we are thrilled he is doing so well for now. Between the NICU visits and exclusively pumping for him, life has been filled with fatigue and we know it will only get worse. Please forgive me for my patchy posting schedule.

Because I was in the hospital, my baby shower was cancelled with 2 days notice. My mom, of course, was already ready to party and had these delicious cupcakes prepared for dessert. While I was sad to miss my own baby shower, it meant Rob and I (with some help from my parents and brother) basically ate all the cupcakes. They actually didn’t last that long in our house.

Slow Cooker Chana Masala (Oil-free, Vegan)

I hope you don’t mind me sharing recipes from my newest favourite kitchen gadget. Rob bought me an Instapot and we’ve been slowly exploring it – both with the slow cooker and pressure cooker functions (I will be waiting a while to try the yogurt function unless someone can point me in the right direction for something easy).

Mexican Cabbage Soup

I am not sure if other Canadians will agree with me, but while the exporters should be rejoicing that our loonie is quite low, all I notice are the expensive veggies at the store. Now that the local farmer market has shuttered for winter, we’re back at the regular grocers. We took a special trip to a Polish grocer and came home, with…. wait for it… CABBAGE!  Two monster heads came to a handful of pennies per pound. 

Top Vegan Recipes from 2015

It is hard to believe I am still blogging after 6 years. Lots of changes this year, both high and low, but the best of the best include marrying my best friend and moving into our new home. Here’s to a 2016 filled with lots of love, health and happiness… and a belly filled with good food. Here are both my favourites and your favourites from 2015.

1. The Best Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Look no further, these are the Best Chocolate Cupcakes, vegan or not. Light and fluffy but not too sweet. Enjoy!

Roasted Maple Rosemary Almonds

Looking for an easy snack? Perhaps for your next holiday party?

Allow me to suggest these Roasted Maple Rosemary Almonds and Cashews.