Other things that have been helping: snacks. You knew that was coming. When I was studying nutrition in culinary school, I learned that my tendency to eat everything in sight after some physical exertion wasn’t the most sound strategy (weird, right?!?). Needless to say, there are some things that need to be taken care of to help your body recover and thrive with a set workout routine. I’ll point out that I’m not like, a fitness expert or anything (I had to ask my man what “beast mode” meant the other day…). I can tell you that after I get sweaty, I want some wholesome carbs (sweet potatoes, fruit, whole/sprouted grains), clean + easily assimilated protein (hemp, legumes, plant-based protein powder, spirulina, soaked nuts + seeds) and mega hydration (fruit again, coconut water, chia seeds, herbal tea). These 4 snacks, generally paired with a non-caffeinated + unsweetened drink (like water or iced rooibos tea), hit all of those marks for me and keep me bright in that amazing exercise contact-high.

So there’s that! I have two sweet recipes and two on the savoury end. Most of these are super quick to rig up if you have the ingredients ready to go. There’s a blackberry smoothie filled out with coconut water, a little protein boost and a healthy squeeze of lime. The chocolate chia bowl needs an overnight rest, but leaves you set for 4ish solid servings of decadent recovery snacking bliss–easily my fave of the bunch. I wrote about some chia seed benefits here if you’re into that. Also, if you have weirdness about chia texture, the crunchy granola on top completely banishes any sort of tapioca vibe, I swear. The loaded sweet potato incorporates some smoky-crunchy roasted chickpeas and fresh chives. This is something you would catch me eating with frequency throughout the week-just a bunch of good things tossed together. Lastly, there’s my favourite variation on avocado toast, all protein and omega boosted with hulled hemp seeds and flavour-maxed with lemon and nutritional yeast. Let’s get pumped! :)

1. blackberry, vanilla + lime smoothie w/ coconut water
serves: 1
notes: If you don’t vibe on protein powder, you could always throw 1-2 tbsp of hemp seeds or a scoop of almond butter in here to boost it a little.

1 cup coconut water (C20 brand is my fave)
juice of 1 lime
splash of vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blackberries
couple pieces of frozen banana
knob of extra virgin coconut oil
1 scoop of protein powder (I like Vega One or Sunwarrior brands, both in vanilla flavour)

Combine everything in a blender pitcher and blend on high for a minute or so, or until you’ve achieved a texture that you like.

2. chocolate chia granola bowl
serves: 3-4
notes: If you aren’t into chocolate, you can always make raspberry + vanilla chia pudding, just a thought :)

chocolate chia pudding:
heaped 1/4 cup chia seeds
2 cups unsweetened milk of your choice (almond, coconut, goat etc)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cacao powder
3 tbsp – 1/4 cup maple syrup (depends on your sweetness preference)
pinch of sea salt

to serve:
sliced/whole berries
wholesome/non-junky granola (may I humbly suggest this recipe?)
cacao nibs

The night before, whisk together the chia seeds, milk, vanilla, cacao powder, maple syrup and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Cover the bowl and set it in the fridge overnight to thicken up.

When ready to eat, stir the chia pudding up a bit and portion it into a bowl. Top with granola, berries and cacao nibs.

3. sweet potato w/ brown rice, chives, crispy smoky chickpeas + almonds
serves: 1
notes: I love to batch-cook brown basmati rice and sweet potatoes at the beginning of the week, just so that snacks/meals like this are always within reach. A nice dollop of plain yogurt (coconut, goat, cow, whatever-based) would be great on top of this too.

1 sweet potato
cooked chickpeas
oil of your choice
smoked paprika
salt + pepper
1/3-1/2 cup cooked brown basmati rice
6-7 almonds, chopped
3-4 blades of chives, ripped up

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pierce the sweet potato a couple times with a fork, wrap it extra good in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until tender.

Meanwhile, toss the chickpeas in enough oil to coat, salt + pepper to taste and a little smoked paprika. Spread them out on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast in the 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until crispy and golden. Set aside to cool.

To serve: Split open the sweet potato and season the flesh with salt + pepper. Place the cooked rice, some of the chickpeas and chopped almonds on top/inside. Garnish with the chives and an extra sprinkle of smoked paprika.

4. my fave avocado toast
serves: 1
notes: There’s a lot of toppings here, but it’s worth it. This is all stuff I seem to have on hand, but feel free to switch up acidic components, nuts/seeds etc. The bread is crucial though. It’s literally the crutch upon which the entire enjoyment of this snack stands. Choose wisely :)

1 fair-sized piece of whole grain/sprouted grain bread (about the span of my outstretched hand is an amount that feels right to me)
1/2 a ripe avocado, peeled + sliced
salt + pepper
1-2 tsp nutritional yeast
squeeze of lemon
1-2 tbsp hulled hemp seeds (as much as you can handle)
good balsamic vinegar/reduction

Toast the bread to your liking.

Spread the avocado slices across the bread. Season the avocado with salt, pepper + nutritional yeast. Mash it into the bread with a fork. Squeeze a bit of lemon on top and mash the avocado one more time with the fork.

Dribble some balsamic vinegar/reduction/glaze on top of the mashed avocado. Top with the hemp seeds and enjoy.

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Saturday or Sunday lunch/brunch has historically been my least favourite shift to work in terms of service. It’s just way busy and if you try to have a shred of a social life on the weekend like a normal human being, you’re paying for it in some way as the day wears on. I’ve been parked behind a giant espresso machine for solid blocks of time hammering out lattes for fancy ladies. The day is a blur of flipping those tables over and over until the clock strikes 3. There are children and there are messes of ketchup. There are total, self-entitled douchebags that need coffee. Clatters, clangs, beeps, change clinks, sizzles + shouts. The fullest hours imaginable.

A couple years ago, I found myself on such a day catching a moment behind a vitrine all filled to the brim with pâté, pickles, cheeses and marinated items; my elbow supporting my chin and heavy gaze. Other hand firmly planted in the pocket of my faded navy blue apron. My boss came up behind me so silently and leaned up on the case as I did, looking out at the scene. After I made some throwaway comment on how crazy it had been all morning, he said something so great. He gestured out to the dining room and remarked “Isn’t it wonderful to look out and see everyone smiling and to get a sense that they’re all laughing together?” And it was actually nice. It made me feel better about my lack of sleep, not being able to have a leisurely  read + eat with my man, about those DB’s I mentioned earlier… I felt less like I was swept up in service and more like I was performing a necessary service for my community. I was part of the assembly that facilitated a weekly coming-together over something good to eat. Huge. People look forward to that time all week. Work became privilege.

Side note: I work in a fine establishment that only opens for dinners now, so this has become less of a thing. But! I appreciate languid breakfasts in and out of the home all the more now–for the happy chorus in a crowded dining room or the one, singular laugh of my handsome man. All of it a still new-feeling luxury for me.

So for those happy/lazy times at home, you would probably find me fixing up something like this. The quinoa in these provides crunchy textural contrast. It isn’t thrown in because of random “for your health!” kind of aspirations. They give the cakes heft and much visual interest. I toast it in cinnamon flecked coconut oil for lots of fragrance and use plenty of vanilla to warm up the largely almond meal-based batter. Cacao nibs give a wine-y chocolaty crunch and the bananas get sweet and caramelized on top of the cakes. A dollop of tangy yogurt and plenty of maple syrup finishes them off. Something wonderful to see us through to the end of winter, over some good reads and a pot of tea.

coconut, almond + quinoa breakfast cakes recipe
Inspired by True Food.
serves: 3-4
notes: I blend everything except the spelt flour, salt, sugar and leavening agents to really smooth out the almond flour. That’s an optional step. Also, making the quinoa up the night before would cut down on prep time considerably if you’re planning on maximal chill times on a Sunday or some such thing. If you eat eggs, you could certainly add a whisked one to the batter for some extra leavening power.

pancakes:
2 1/2 tbsp melted extra virgin coconut oil, divided + extra for the pan
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup milk of your choice (I used light coconut milk)
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup whole spelt flour (or GF all purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp coconut palm sugar (or demerara, evaporated cane etc)
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups almond meal
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 bananas, sliced + divided
2 tbsp cacao nibs + extra

to serve:
yogurt of your choosing (coconut, sheep, cow etc)
maple syrup

Cook the quinoa: in a small saucepan over medium heat, drop a 1/2 tbsp of the coconut oil. Once it’s fragrant add the pinch of cinnamon. Stir that around until it smells way good. Add the rinsed and drained quinoa and a pinch of salt. Stir it around in the oil a bit to toast. Add a scant cup of water to the pan. Bring the quinoa to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. You want the quinoa to be cooked, but kind of crunchy too. Drain off excess liquid and cool quinoa completely.

Add the lemon juice to the milk and set aside for 5 minutes to curdle/lump up.

In a medium bowl, combine the spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, coconut sugar and sea salt. Stir to combine. Combine the almond meal, vanilla extract, remaining coconut oil and curdled milk in the blender. Flip it to high and blend until the mixture is very smooth, about a minute. Scrape this mixture into the bowl with the spelt flour etc. Gently fold it all together with a spatula until just combined. Add the cooled quinoa and fold it in until it’s evenly mixed.

Heat a large sauté pan or griddle over medium. Brush with melted coconut oil. Drop 1/4-1/3 cups of batter onto the pan. Spread the batter out a bit with a spatula or the bottom of the measuring cup. Press banana slices onto the top of the cakes and sprinkle with cacao nibs. Once bubbles start to form on top and the bottom is golden, flip them over. Continue to cook until bottom side is golden/dry. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping cooked cakes warm as you go along.

Serve pancakes with extra sliced bananas + cacao nibs, maple syrup and yogurt dolloped on top.

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Before I tell you about these cozy vegan scones (based on my favourite spelt scone recipe), all flecked with ground espresso and shards of dark chocolate, I want to talk about small changes. Oh, and big, unexpected outcomes. Simple and serious pleasures that result from small and mindful movements.

Up until a month ago, this was a typical morning for me: dog busts through the door, jumps on the bed, starts relentlessly licking my face and whimpering excitedly. It’s cute, but I scrunch my face up and tell her to seriously quit it. Feeling super groggy and on the edge of barely-rested, I reluctantly get out of my warm bed. The floor is harshly cold. The super regimented movements of coffee production come next. A firm “nah” to a tall glass of water to hydrate my probably parched body–clambering for a giant cup of caffeine is at the top of my list. IT IS the list. And I live and die by the list. Once a piping hot sixteen ounces of dark roast are at my fingertips, I’ll watch the news or putter about on the computer, doing absolutely nothing in particular for way too long. Non-productivity reigns, still groggy/miserable, bound by caffeine’s chains, no breakfast to speak of quite yet… Ready to face the day? Ah, I guess I could rig something up…

I took coffee out of the equation and my world basically turned upside down.

Pup still comes crashing in all excited (and I couldn’t be happier about that), but now I feel seriously rested, like to the core. I remember to put on wooly socks. I have a bit of an early-morning-super-glow-y stride into the kitchen and get the tea kettle working. The first cup is always herbal, something with lavender or chamomile to keep the blissed-out-calm-upon-waking thing going. I get to look at the winter scenes out the kitchen window while I wait for the bubbles. Then I read a book (this one currently) and, for lack of a better descriptive phrase, I chill the most. Next, I move to some earl or lady grey, all filled out with some warm, vanilla scented almond or cashew milk, I start to get ready for the day ahead, actually eat a balanced breakfast, think about the many other delicious cups of tea I’ll probably consume… you get the idea. Different beverage = better life.

I still try to have one really good coffee on a day off–it’s one of my favourite things to do with my man, actually. And I’m not saying that cutting down coffee consumption is for everyone or that it will just solve your life’s problems. It very simply worked for me within the context that I needed it to. I knew that my morning routine wasn’t contributing anything actually good to my existence overall. Initially, I just hated feeling weakened by one, small habit; that I needed coffee to be somewhat agreeable towards other beings in the am. It was an issue of control, no doubt. I changed that one small thing and life kind of spilled and tumbled forward to a more abundant daily disposition. Stillness is more easily arrived at and I’m not a completely terrible person in the early hours anymore. Many wins.

Since tea is more my pace these days, I thought I’d make you something wholesome, but indulgent, to go with a calming brew. I’ve made this spelt scone recipe many times, always changing up the add-ins and aromatics based on the season and my own cravings. I used to love one in particular from a local bakery with ground espresso and big, dark chocolate pieces. I decided that a homemade version was needed, a coffee flecked indulgence that plays nice with tea. I had a dark bar of chocolate infused with espresso in my pantry that had to be used in this one glorious purpose. I thinned out my basic coconut cream recipe for a nice, fatty and sweet dollop of goodness to compliment the hearty structure and strong flavour of the scone. A dab of sour-sweet raspberry jam finishes this out nicely. Luxe breakfast or sweet snack, this part is up to you.

vegan dark chocolate + espresso spelt scones
Lightly adapted from the Babycakes NYC Cookbook
serves: makes 6-8
notes: I use a combination of whole and light spelt flour, but I’ve also made it with 100% of one or the other and it worked out great.

scones:
1 cup whole spelt flour
1 cup light spelt flour
1/2 tbsp ground espresso or coffee
pinch of fine sea salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/3 cup melted coconut oil + extra for brushing
1/3 cup agave nectar (or maple syrup, brown rice syrup etc)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup hot water
50 grams of dark chocolate (this was 1/2 a standard bar for me), roughly chopped

to serve:
slightly thinned out coconut cream (recipe here)
jam of choice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the whole and light spelt flour, ground espresso, sea salt, and baking powder. Stir to combine. To the flour mixture, add the melted coconut oil, agave nectar, and vanilla extract. Stir until a very crumbly/dry batter forms. Add the hot water to the mixture and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the chopped dark chocolate until evenly mixed throughout the batter.

Grease a 1/3 cup measuring cup and fill it with portions of the dough. Drop the portions onto the parchment lined sheet, giving each an inch or so of space. Brush the tops with melted coconut oil. Bake in the preheated oven for 13-14 minutes, flipping the sheet around at the halfway mark. Allow scones to cool slightly before serving with coconut cream and jam.

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I like muffins, I do. I can truthfully say that I’ve turned down invitations to go for a beer with friends in favor of cooking up a dozen. Actually heard over the phone in the background: “What, is she 80 years old?!” It was worth it.

I always gravitate towards the crumble topped, glazed or chocolate flecked varieties out of habit though… because it’s like eating a piece of cake. A piece of cake that you can sometimes have with a hot drink and call it breakfast. Oh, and healthy muffins are generally terrible. Like, more terrible than mornings pre-coffee. I wanted this to be different in a real way.

Here’s the thing. It’s hard to make a homemade, legitimately healthy muffin that tastes AMAZING + looks completely beautiful. I have high expectations in a general way. Brown, dome-y cake things are not always tasty and are definitely not inherently glamorous. I wanted it to be real good on all fronts for your health. Sometimes I irrationally worry about offering up recipes for more humble fare here. A muffin is not the most totally unique snowflake-kind of thing to post on a food blog, but it is decidedly everyday and approachable. I am slowly learning that this is enough.

When I lived in the city, I used to pop into the nearby Whole Foods from time to time for a matcha tea and one of their lovely vegan muffins. But it wasn’t entirely muffin-like! They baked them in petite bundt pans and put a sweet little glaze on top. The ingredients were all health-supporting for sure and the small hit of glaze brought it back into light indulgence territory. The idea was to emulate the overall feel of their muffin and fill the recipe out with things I really love.

I went to work, consulted with a new and wonderful book, and here we are. It’s a beauty, I assure you. It’s key to go wild with flavour-y things when undertaking more health-centric, vegan baking. The spices, the vanilla, the add-ins; they all work together to make a non buttered + egged treat so delicious. If I’m vegan-izing/health-ing something up, I generally double the vanilla specified, use spices and citrus zest with abandon, and reach for flavourful fats like nut butters or coconut oil as an overall strategy. Also, stirring the batter gently until just incorporated is key for a nice texture. You could apply that principle to any muffin recipe, but especially here with the inclusion of 100% whole grain flour.

In this particular breakfast marvel, I’ve used hearty spelt flour, almond meal, chia and flax seeds, warming spices, tropical coconut oil + vanilla (still savoring the bottle miss Ashlae sent me), walnuts, tart dried cranberries, coconut palm sugar, a smidge of banana to amp up the natural sweetness and some frozen Ontario blueberries stirred in to remind us of summer’s gifts. I topped them off with a zesty clementine glaze for an inviting hit of freshness. These would be perfect for a weekend brunch at home. Your grandma would be so proud of you for baking these on a Saturday night, just a thought :)

antioxidant power muffins + clementine glaze
adapted from Dr. Weil’s True Food
serves: makes 7-8 little bundts or 12 normal muffins
notes: If you eat them, feel free to replace the mashed banana with 3 beaten eggs to avoid any trace of banana-ness. Also! I know if you’re high on health, you might want to turn your nose up at the glaze portion. I found it pretty crucial to the whole experience. This batter isn’t terribly sweet, so the glaze has a rather serious function in the grand scheme (way serious).

muffins:
1 cup whole spelt flour
1/4 cup almond meal (or use more spelt if you like)
1 1/3 cups ground flax + chia seeds (or go with pure flax or pure chia)
2/3 cup coconut palm sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground ginger
pinch of fine sea salt
1 ripe banana, mashed
2 tbsp melted coconut oil + extra for greasing
1 3/4 cups milk of your choice (I used almond)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed (or fresh if they’re in season)
3/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
2 tbsp cacao nibs

clementine glaze:
juice and zest of 1 clementine
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease your mini bundt or muffin tins and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the spelt flour, almond meal, flax + chia seeds, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger and salt.

Mash the banana in a separate medium bowl. Make sure it is fairly smooth. To the banana, add the coconut oil, milk and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.

Scrape the banana and milk mixture into the dry indredients (flour, ground flax etc). Gently fold the batter until it is just combined/there are no more dry bits of flour. Add the blueberries, dried cranberries, walnuts, and cacao nibs and gently fold them into the batter until evenly distributed. The batter should be quite thick at this point.

Fill the muffin cups/bundts with the batter to 3/4 full. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean and muffins bounce back when you press your finger onto the tops. Cool the pans on a wire rack completely before turning out onto a plate.

While muffins are baking/cooling, make the glaze: whisk the clementine zest, juice and powdered sugar together until smooth. Apply glaze to the tops of completely cooled muffins.

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This is a chocolate cake you throw together real quick. It goes with tea and friends coming over on semi-short notice. It also goes with breakfast. You probably have everything in your cupboard to make it. It is vegan, with whole grain flour and unrefined sugar, sure. It’s not the healthiest thing you can make, but it’s a cake. The cake that understands.

I bake it in a loaf pan for that extra casual je ne sais quoi. Then I cover it in a glaze made with biscoff and little chopped almonds, cacao nibs, and coconut; drizzling and sprinkling my way to party time, all kind of on a whim. It’s an unassuming and humble cake that you dress up a bit for company (or yourself). I love that. There’s a feeling of spontaneity lurking in its potential when you bring it out.

The biscoff finish is sweet, nutty, luxurious, and actually rife with guilt in a very special bad-but-feels-good kind of way. You’re essentially glazing a simple cake with a butter made out of cookies. Another reminder seems necessary: it’s a cake.

I had seen biscoff appear on a lot of blogs in the last year or so. Only when I saw it on one of my faves, the amazing Oh, Ladycakes, did I start to get kind of anxious about finding some (ingredient-driven anxiousness, yep that happens). Instead of performing a basic google search, I decided to inquire with Ashlae herself. And you know what that fancy lady did? She asked for my mailing address (in a non-creepy way, trust) and she sent me a jar. In the mail.

There was homemade vanilla extract in a sweet little burlap bag too, all carefully bubble wrapped. It was genuine and generous, much like Ashlae herself. It was an instance of honest kindness that made me excited for the world at large. I always feel good to be right here, but this reminded me of the islands of sanity that do exist in this bizarre, but still big and beautiful, world.

I can get caught up in the mire of the crazy a bit and in turn, can be the worst at responding to things in a general way. Comments on the blog, social media things, invitations to whatever, personal emails, calling people back etc etc. I’m a talk-it-out-in-the-real kind of gal for the most part, so it just takes me a bit longer to completely sort the right response most times. In this instance, cake was a natural approach. It’s my way of reflecting that kindness back at a few more people. Easy chocolate cake sweetness for all :)

humble chocolate loaf cake + biscoff glaze
barely adapted from The Post Punk Kitchen
serves: makes 1 regulation loaf-sized cake
notes: I used some cultured coconut milk for this cake. You could easily substitute that with buttermilk, kefir or 1 cup of whatever milk you like with a big squeeze of lemon added ahead of time to make it curdle. Also, some all purpose or whole wheat flour would sub in for light and whole spelt just fine. If you can’t find biscoff spread, peanut butter would be delicious in its place.

cake-dry:
1/2 cup light spelt flour
1/2 cup whole spelt flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
pinch of cinnamon
1 tsp instant espresso powder or finely ground coffee
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt

cake-wet:
1/4 cup muscovado sugar (or dark brown sugar)
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 cup cultured milk of some kind (kefir, buttermilk, cultured coconut etc or the aforementioned lemon juice curdling method)
1/3 cup melted coconut oil (or any oil you like-sunflower, grapeseed etc)
1.5 tsp vanilla extract

biscoff glaze:
1/4 cup biscoff
1 cup powdered sugar (if you use the organic/not super refined kind, make sure you sift it a couple times)
2 tsp maple syrup
a splash of vanilla extract
3 tbsp milk of your choice (I went the cultured route again for some tang)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with some of the coconut oil. Line it with parchment paper and then grease the paper lightly as well. Set aside.

Sift all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Push through any lumps of cocoa powder with your fingers.

In a separate, smaller bowl combine all of the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine, making sure there are no demerara sugar lumps in the mix. It should be smooth.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones in the large bowl. Gently mix everything together with a spatula until just combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

Make the glaze: In a small bowl, combine the biscoff, powdered sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Stir with a spoon until the sugar is kind of mixed up with the biscoff like a homogenous paste. It shouldn’t become runny at all. You just don’t want too much loose powdered sugar in the bowl. Add the milk of your choice, stir a bit to get things going. Switch to a whisk and stark whisking firmly until a smooth glaze is achieved. It should make ribbons that last in the bowl when you lift the whisk.

Assemble: Spread the glaze over the cooled cake and top with dried coconut, cacao nibs and chopped almonds if you like. Slice and serve :)

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Have you tried a dirty chai? I’m a recent convert to this indulgent drink. It’s a cinnamon-y and creamy chai latte with a shot of espresso added. This drink has MY JAM written all over it. It’s complex, warming, lightly sweet, still spicy and shot through with caffeine for good measure. This could be easy enough to produce at home with a batch of homemade chai concentrate, some strong coffee and the milk of your choice. Heat it all up together and get cozy.

Once I’m jazzed on something I usually can’t leave it alone, so naturally I had to make a pancake version of this beverage (NATURALLY). Truth: I tried to make waffles first, but it was one of the messiest waffle failures of my life. The batter itself is hearty with spelt flour and strong with coffee, spice and vanilla. Best part: I decided to blanket them in a cranberry compote tweaked with maple syrup. It adds a sweet-tart dimension that fits these little cakes so well. So much fall on one plate. Perhaps a lovely Thanksgiving brunch option for my country peeps? You could swap in some leftover cranberry sauce instead of making up a whole batch of separate compote if you like.

I’ll be sipping some ginger tea over here and snuggling in with this book (finally got around to reading it) while I rest up a bit. Oh and here’s a shorter autumnal reading suggestion from the good people at McSweeney’s (salty language warning). Make some pancakes and have a cozy and warm Thanksgiving friends. I’ll be back with something more ambitious next week :)

dirty chai pancakes with cranberry + vanilla compote
serves: 3-4
notes: I call for coffee extract, but ground coffee is just fine. Grounds give off a more intense flavour for sure, but they definitely get the job done (and leave beautiful little dark brown flecks in the batter). I would adjust the amount if you’re using ground espresso, like down to a teaspoon and half? If anyone tries it, I’d love to know how that goes. Also, if they sell that fancy cultured coconut milk at your local grocery store, you can use 1 1/3 cups of that and skip the whole vinegar-curdling-the-milk step.

compote:
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup maple syrup (+ extra for serving if you like)
2 tsp vanilla extract

pancakes:
1 1/3 cup non-dairy milk (I use the So Delicious brand Unsweetened Coconut Milk)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
¾ cup whole spelt flour
½ cup light spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of fine sea salt
1 tsp coffee extract OR 1 tbsp finely ground coffee
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp melted coconut oil + extra for cooking pancakes
1 tsp vanilla extract

Make the compote: place the cranberries, water and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Add water as needed to keep the sauce moist. Mash the cranberries up here and there with the back of a wooden spoon to get a saucy consistency. Once you have a slightly wet, jammy texture, add the vanilla extract. Stir up the compote one more time and remove from the heat. Set aside.

Combine the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar in a liquid measuring cup. Stir lightly and set aside to curdle for at least 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground coffee, cinnamon, ground ginger, cardamom, nutmeg and cloves. Stir to combine. Add the curdled non-dairy milk, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract. Stir gently to combine, taking care not to over mix.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush the pan with melted coconut oil. Drop 1/3 cup measures of the pancake batter into the pan. Allow the first side to cook for 1 to 11/2 minutes, or until bubbles pop on the surface and the edges appear dry and lightly browned. Flip the pancakes over and cook for another minute. Remove pancakes and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve pancakes with cranberry compote spooned over the top and extra maple syrup if you like.

And some Canadian Thanksgiving ideas? Here’s a nifty grid of fall goodness for you to consider:

stuffed squash + harvest

warm brussels sprouts toss + it’s fall

roasted celery root + apple cider redux

mushrooms and tofu en papillote + starting out a bit persnickety

roasted tofu and kale with pine nuts + delicious surprises

chocolate pecan pie + saying yes

The end of summer has all kind of gone along with that theme. A whole bunch of little, unassuming and wonderful things that make up the big beautiful and fill it with grace. Very simply satisfied with life at the moment.

What goes along nicely with little things that fill your life with shiny abundance? Oatmeal. Yep.

When we go on any excursion, not just the great-outdoors ones, food is my responsibility. Mark handles the fire building, wood chopping, the shelter construction, any navigation whatsoever, loading the canoe properly, lifting all the heavy things, tying our food up high in the trees at night like a pro (bears are a real deal possibility)… you get the idea. He does a lot and watching him carry on happily in that element, I couldn’t love him more.

So naturally I try to make the food aspect way good. Sure it has to be delicious, kind of easy to scheme up, slightly compact, but also crazy-fortifying. Hot oatmeal cooked over a campfire with a bit of hemp, vanilla sugar and fresh fruit on a cool woodsy morning fits the bill just right. I’m more of a steel-cut kind of gal normally, but for the sake of practicality this add-hot-water-and-stir number hits the spot and is just as tasty to boot. Sure I could have bought the little packets, but it’s crazy simple to make and ten times better. Actually.

A lot of the packaged brands include some kind of milk powder to achieve a sort of creaminess when the hot water is added. I wasn’t really all over this particular move, so I found a solution that I can deliciously live with. Justin’s and Artisana brands make some awesome nut butters in tiny packets for healthy peeps on the go. It’s brilliant. I boil up some water, dump in the pre-bagged oat goodness, add the packet of nut butter, stir stir stir over the fire, add some chopped fruit and voila. Tasty breakfast.

This is a pretty smart little strategy for the work week too. It’s easy enough to have access to a jar of almond butter (or whatever you like) and some hot water at the workplace so why not? Make up five little bundles of the good stuff on a day off, make sure no one’s snagging spoonfuls of your nut/seed butter at work and you’re all good for healthy, happy morning meals.

do-it-yourself instant oatmeal with nut butter
serves: for 1 packet/serving
notes: Use whatever flaked grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruit etc you like. This recipe is just an example of what I made for our little trip.

in the packet:
1/3-1/2 cup flaked grains (I used oats and rye)
2 tbsp seeds or chopped nuts (I used hemp and chia seeds)
2 tbsp dried fruit (I used dried sour cherries)
2 tsp dry sweetener of your choice (I had some vanilla sugar around, this amount may vary if you’re using stevia or something more concentrated)
teeny pinch of salt

to serve:
2 tbsp-1/4 cup boiling water (depending on how watery/sticky you want it)
1 tbsp nut/seed butter of your choice (I used raw walnut butter)
cut up fresh fruit (we had glorious end-of-summer peaches)

Place the oats, seeds/nuts, dried fruit, sweetener and salt in a bag or tupperware container of some type. When ready to serve, dump contents into serving dish of your choice.

Pour the boiling water on top and add the nut butter. Stir it all up until thoroughly combined. Place chopped fruit on top and serve.

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I’ve been over the moon for chia seeds for a while. For such a small, unassuming little thing, there’s a ton of power bundled up within. Lots of hydration potential (it can absorb up to 9 times its weight in water!), more Omega-3s than flax seeds (without the strong taste), tons of fiber, complete protein (4 grams per ounce), and antioxidants to boot (a gazillion year shelf-life, seriously). They shine in plenty of applications (in a glass of water with lemon or lime, on top of salads, stirred into yogurt, mixed with granola, sprinkled in a smoothie, as a binding agent for egg-free baking etc) and they add so much.

The hydration/satisfaction aspect is what gets me the most. If I remember to work them into my breakfast, my tendency for mid-morning and late afternoon snacking vanishes without a thought because they ramp up the satiety factor with all of that gelling/water absorption action. It’s a handy little dietary addition in the warm months when staying hydrated is more urgent. My skin leans toward dryness all year, but it’s noticeably more supple and just generally super lovely feeling if  I’m making the effort to eat a good spoonful of these seeds a day. Actually. One tiny change = huge effect in the long view. Just amazing, that’s all I can say.

This lovely and nourishing pudding is my latest contribution for the Toronto Vegetarian Association‘s monthly newsletter, so you’re welcome to check it on their website if you like (or sign up for the fantastic eLifelines newsletter if you live around the GTA and want to be in the know). It’s so fun to see the little seeds soak up what is essentially a sweetened raspberry almond milk made super luxe with coconut oil and vanilla. They’re like super orbs of pink richness all lined up in a pretty glass. Did I mention it’s an amazing post-workout food? If you like to nerd out on nutrition facts like me, you can peep the accompanying write-up here. It’s officially the summer of chia seed power, friends.

raw raspberry and vanilla chia seed pudding
lightly adapted from Coconut & Quinoa
serves: makes 5-6 cups (a whole lot)
notes: As stated above, I love eating this for breakfast with lots of fresh fruit. Stir a handful of oats in there and you’ve got yourself a fairly hearty morning meal. Also, this pudding evokes that slippery tapioca-ish quality that is either love or hate. Just keep that in mind :)

1 cup raw almonds, soaked at least 5 hours
4 cups filtered water
2 cups fresh raspberries (or thawed, frozen ones)
½ cup raw agave nectar, maple syrup, raw honey etc.
2 tbsp soft extra virgin coconut oil
1.5 tbsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
½ cup chia seeds (white or black)

Combine the soaked almonds, 4 cups of water, raspberries, agave nectar, coconut oil, vanilla extract and salt in a blender pitcher. Blend mixture on medium-high speed for 1 minute, until liquified.

Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve (or nut milk bag if you have one) into a medium-large bowl. At this point you will have a sweet, rich, raspberry flavoured almond milk essentially.

Place the chia seeds into another large bowl. Pour the raspberry almond milk on top slowly. Whisk vigorously to combine and prevent clumping of the chia seeds.

Allow the mixture to sit for a good hour so that the chia seeds can do their thing and thicken up the mixture to a pudding consistency. I find the taste and texture is truly bang-on after an overnight soak in the fridge. Whisk it up here and there to further prevent clumping of the seeds.

Serve pudding with fresh raspberries, shredded coconut, chopped almonds, cacao nibs or anything else you like on top. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge.

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This tendency points to a few things. I’m generally comfortable wherever I go, slipping into adaptation mode. I don’t seem to get the itch to go back home ever. I do love my town and my family and everyone here, certainly. But I would be perfectly happy to set up a cozy nest and start something new just about anywhere, for however long. Call it unsettled, call it adventurous or irresponsible; doesn’t matter.  I used to think it was too late to entertain this sort of mindset, but lately I just want to drop everything and go everywhere all at the same time. And it feels possible. So possible.

I do love Niagara in the summer. The air is temperate, the local abundance is ripe, plenty of exciting goings-on, the frequency of cold wine and beers outdoors is envigorating, smiling faces everywhere… but I’ve been imagining even greater things. Travel, projects, adventures, getting it done! It feels good.

What feels equally good? A cozy, luxurious and healthy breakfast at home with all of my favourite things. Grainy, seedy sourdough bread soaked in a fresh blueberry and almond batter that’s spiked with orange juice and warm vanilla. Oh and maple syrup, juicy peaches and tart yogurt all on top. Whoa. It’s enough to make me want to stay at home forever (and ever).

blueberry + almond buttered french toast with peaches
serves: 4
special equipment: a blender/food processor
notes: Have everything ready before you make the batter to dip the bread in. If you let the blueberry mixture sit, it begins to separate a bit. Be ready to dip right after you blend!

batter:
1 cup almond milk (not sweetened)
1/4 cup almond butter
1 tsp flax seeds
juice from half an orange (or a couple tablespoons)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh blueberries (or thawed frozen ones)

for toast:
12 thick slices of good, grainy bread (preferably a day old)
1 tbsp melted coconut oil
evaporated cane juice (natural sugar) for sprinkling

to serve:
maple syrup
3 ripe peaches, sliced
extra blueberries
chopped almonds
yogurt of your favourite persuasion (coconut milk, soy, goat milk, cow etc)

Start preheating a large nonstick skillet (or cast iron) to medium.

Combine all batter ingredients in a blender pitcher. Blend on medium-high speed until completely liquified, about 1 minute. Pour batter into a medium-sized, shallow dish.

Place coconut oil into the heated pan and swirl it around to melt. If the pan seems to hot, keep it off the heat for a minute or two while you soak the bread. Start to soak slices of bread in blueberry batter. Scrape off excess and place in the pan with the melted coconut oil. Sprinkle a little evaporated cane juice on top of the bread in the pan (the non-cooked side) to promote caramelization when you flip. Cook until slightly browned, about a 1.5 minutes, and flip over. Cook for another minute and remove from the pan.

Wipe the pan out with a bit of paper towel and repeat cooking process with remaining bread and batter.

Serve warm with maple syrup, peaches, blueberries, yogurt and nuts.

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