I decided to take a solo journey. One to wake me up and evaluate all that I am and all that I can be. I chose Costa Rica from the research I did and discovered that it is known for … Continue reading
Costa Rica is PuraVida
Thank You 2015!
Life is all about lessons, and the end of the year is a great opportunity for one to truly comprehend those lessons. I’ve done some major growing up this past year, and have experienced my fair share of personal growth … Continue reading
Feeling Grateful this Christmas
I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for my life. There is such an abundance of love, joy, and passion injected into every moment of my life, that sometime’s I just can’t believe I’ve been chosen to … Continue reading
Guilt-Free Chocoholic Smoothie
Happy Summer Everyone! Chocolate is one of my guilty pleasures…but I mean how could it not be? I especially LOVE cacao. Cacao is the RAW and unprocessed form of chocolate (cocoa). It has tons of healthy antioxidants called flavanoids. These antioxidants … Continue reading
Nutrient Packed Oatmeal
Hi there lovelies!
So I know…I’ve been MIA for a little while now, and I’m sorry. There’s been tons of exciting stuff going on, and very little spare time to update my blog and share deliciously amazing recipes with all of you. You may be asking, “what’s all of this exciting stuff you’re talking about?” Well, we’re in the process of submitting the final manuscript for our cookbook, to be released Spring 2016 by Random House (Yahooo!!!), and needless to say, it’s taken up every spare moment of my life for quite some time. Not to mention also running Kelly’s Bake Shoppe day in day out…
Well I’m back at it, and better than ever. To re-launch my blog, I’d love to share my delicious nutrient packed oatmeal recipe that puts me into superwoman speed when I need to get a ton of stuff done! It nourishes and fuels me for the day ahead. I find that whenever I have this for breakfast, I’m completely satisfied without any snack cravings until lunch, if not longer.
I’ve been making this oatmeal for quite some time now, and recently tried it out on my family while skiing in Whistler, and they loved it!
It’s loaded with chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds, almond butter, fresh fruit, and of course rolled oats (steel cut oats work well too).
Here it is….
2 cups filtered water
1 cups rolled oats
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ cup coconut oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons chia seeds
2 teaspoons hemp seeds
2 teaspoons flax seeds
2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
4 tablespoons sweetener of your choice (maple syrup is best!)
2 cups Fresh fruit, sliced and diced (apples, strawberries, bananas work well)
2 heaping tablespoons almond butter
1 cup non-dairy milk (almond, hemp, soy, cashew, rice)
SERVES 2.
Directions
- Boil water in a small to medium sized saucepan. Add the salt and rolled oats.
- Reduce heat to medium, and cook oats, uncovered for 5-7 minutes.
- In the meantime, combine the cinnamon, chia seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds in a small bowl.
- Then, add the coconut oil to the oatmeal, and stir to combine.
- Once the oats have finished cooking, remove from heat and set aside.
- Portion the oatmeal two serving bowls, and top with the fresh fruit, then the seed mixture, then almond butter.
- Finish with maple syrup (or another natural sweetener) and non-dairy milk.
- Serve immediately.
I hope you keep this recipe in your back pocket, and share it with all of your friends and family
Much Love,
Erinn
Slow Roasted Organic Tomato Basil Sauce
I’ve been watching fresh basil grow like a weed on my balcony this summer so I figured what better way to use it all up then to make a delicious fresh tomato basil sauce. I stopped by at our local … Continue reading
Summer Time “Spiralized” Zucchini Pasta with Raw Vegan Marinara Sauce
We all enjoy a nice bowl of heart warming pasta. However, usually piping hot, heavy, carbo-loaded pasta is the last thing that you want in the middle of the scorching summer, especially when you’re trying to keep your beach bod in perfect shape! Well, not to worry because this recipe resembles pasta, but guess what, its raw zucchini noodles! I know what you’re thinking…Really Erinn, Zucchini doesn’t even closely resemble pasta, but it DOES! Use your imagination and think outside the box…you’ll be glad you did. You’ll feel satisfied and feel fuller longer than if you would’ve just had a plain old bowl of pasta. And, you’ll keep slimmer too! That’s good news all around don’t you think?
Hopefully you can use it at your next family dinner or Friday Date with your Hunnie. I made this a couple of weeks ago for my Family and they loved it. They’re by no means vegan and they we’re absolutely stuffed at the end of the meal! But, they of course had room for Kelly’s Bake Shoppe Brownies…I mean who wouldn’t?
Here’s the Recipe broken up into sections, you’ll put the Zucchini on the bottom and the Marinara on top finished with the Vegan Parmesan!
For the Zucchini Pasta
3 Yellow Zucchini
3 Green Zucchini
1 Spiralizer (I use the PADERNO brand)
Cut the ends of the zucchini off and make a 1 inch slice in the top of the zucchini. Make sure you have the right blade in the machine before using it (I used the smallest one) Push one end of the Zucchini into the top of the spiralizer and the other into the “spikes”. It should sit there comfortably. Now spin the lever in a clockwise motion until long zucchini noodles come out of the spiralizer, you’ll be done when you have no more zucchini to spin! 🙂
Marinara Sauce
3 C Tomatoes (7-8 Medium Roma tomatoes)
1 C Fresh Lemon Juice
4 Tbsp Tamari (gluten free soy-sauce)
4 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
4 Tbsp Chopped Yellow Onion
6 Cloves of Garlic, Peeled
1 ½ Cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes
1 tsp Sea Salt
In a High Speed Blender, combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth. Salt to taste.
Vegan Parmesan
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
1 Cup Raw Cashews
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 tsp Salt
In a food processor, pulse the cashews (about 15 pulses). Add the nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic and pulse for an additional 7-10 pulses. It should be completely combined at this point and be ready for dusting on your pasta!
Here you go, a delicious Summer Pasta that won’t increase your waistline!
xo
Erinn
**Photo Cred: tastespace.wordpress.com
Itsy Bitsy Bikini Juice
With Bikini Season in full swing I thought I’d let you in on a little secret juice that will help you looking and feeling gorgeous and radiant all year long, and also help you fit into your favourite Itsy Bitsy Bikini! This juice is loaded with detoxifying fruits and vegetables and was actually one of our first juices that we served at Kindfood way back in 2010 (now known as Lettuce Love Café).
With the Grapefruit and Lemon as the detoxifying powerhouses in this juice, your body will become increasingly alkaline (alkaline is healthy, acidic is cancer causing), and help to flush out any toxins left in your system. Grapefruit aids in weight loss, making you have a flatter stomach! (who doesn’t want that!) This juice is best consumed first thing in the morning as this is your body’s primary time for elimination and you’ll see the best results.
Try it out tomorrow morning for breakfast, you’ll feel like a million bucks! You can also double the recipe and have it as a mid morning snack. Just remember to keep it refrigerated, because as soon as it’s made it slowly starts losing its nutritional value. So Drink Up!
Itsy Bitsy Bikini Juice!
2 Handfuls Green Kale
1 Handful Mint Leaves
3 Red Grapefruits (Peeled)
2 Lemons (Peeled)
2 Red Apple
Put all ingredients in Juicer (I use “Breville”) in order listed above.
Serve immediately for best results.
Now get out there and strut your stuff!
Xo
Erinn
Blueberry Almond Protein Muffins
So the other week I was messing around in my kitchen and was in the mood to bake…muffins in particular, with the hopes of having leftovers in our freezer for tasty snacks throughout the week (which would probably be devoured by Michael in a day…but heck, I had good intentions). So muffin baking I began… and after three attempts, my Blueberry Almond Protein Muffins were born.
They’re a blend of Almond, Sorghum, and Coconut Flour which are all tremendously high in protein and fibre, meaning that they’ll keep you feeling fuller longer. These muffins are a great morning or afternoon snack or any great addition to your lunch or breakfast routine! And…the best part about them is that they’re 100% Gluten Free and Vegan (of course, would you expect anything less?)
Enough chatting…Introducing….My Blueberry Almond Protein Muffins! .
Here’s what you’ll need!
1 C Almond Flour
½ C Sorghum Flour
½ C tapioca Starch/Arrowroot Starch (either one will work)
¼ C Coconut flour
1 C Sucanat
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp xanthan gum
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ C Coconut Oil, Melted
3 Tbsp Flax Meal, with 9 Tbsp of Water (mix in a small bowl and set aside)
½ C Almond Milk (Unsweetened Original)
2 tsp Pure Vanilla
2 C Frozen Organic Wild Blueberries
Directions…
Preheat the Oven to 350F
Line a muffin tin with liners.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
Add the coconut oil, flax and water, almond milk, vanilla, and beat to combine. Continue beating for 2 minutes until the batter is smooth. It should not be overly wet or too dry, and almost looks like a stiffer cake batter or cookie dough like consistency. If the coconut flour is drying out the batter, add another 1-2 tablespoons of almond milk.
Stir in the blueberries by hand with a rubber spatula.
Using a medium size ice cream scoop, dollop the batter into the muffin liners so they’re just past the top of the liner.
Bake for 22-25 minutes in the centre of the oven, until golden brown. Use a sharp knife to test their ‘doneness’. If the knife comes out clean, they’re done!
Makes 12 Muffins
Happy Baking!
Lots of Love,
Our Team. You Amaze Me…
After having back-to-back- to-back crazy holidays (Easter, Mother’s Day, Victoria Day) at Lettuce Love and Kelly’s Bake Shoppe, I’ve begun to acquire a deeper respect and admiration for our team. Well, I’ve always had such gratitude for everyone who works with us, but last weekend in particular set me over the edge (in a good way!).
Over Easter Weekend, we broke all previous records at Kelly’s Bake Shoppe and Lettuce Love for the busiest weekend EVER, and the next holiday, Mother’s Day was no different. On Mother’s Day Sunday, in the midst of a full house at Kelly’s Bake Shoppe, I ran down to Lettuce Love to make sure everything was running smoothly (because I could see on my phone that we were in the middle of having our busiest Sunday EVER at Both locations…”ahhhh!” I thought, “I hope everyone’s O.K!”). I walked in to Lettuce Love, and the place was just hopping. Our customers we’re busy gabbing with friends, drinking mimosas and enjoying blueberry pancakes! “Phewww, was that a relief”, I thought to myself. At that point, I went back up to Kelly’s to make sure everything was A OK, and guess what? It was. Our girls were buzzing around serving customers, taking orders, and chatting with customers.
But then I just sat in that moment for a minute and thought about where I was and how amazing these two businesses have become that we’ve built from the ground up. Working 14 plus hour days back in the Kindfood days baking, cooking, and trying to figure out what exactly our businesses would blossom into has really paid off…I’ll admit I had a bit of a teary moment, because I’ve never really taken a step back from “LIFE” to truly understand how quickly we’ve grown our two companies, the impact we’ve had on the planet and people, and how many amazing people want to work with us every day. It was a pretty big ah-ha moment for me….
Where would we be without the over 25 amazing team members at Lettuce Love Cafe and Kelly’s Bake Shoppe (I know…can you believe our team has grown to be this big?) ? You’re our foundation and the most integral part of our businesses. I’m sending you ALL the warmest THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. You make our business what it is on a daily basis, and help us take our two businesses to the next level.
Your efforts don’t go unnoticed. You’re the most incredible people I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.
Love,
