Basic Vegan Waffles/Pancakes

Buckwheat flour used here. Served with chocolate maple sauce, sliced banana, peach and dried strawbies.

This vegan waffle recipe is the best I've tried for vegan pancakes or waffles ever. It uses flax as an egg substitute, which may be a little inconvenient for you guys, but really I don't know what else can replace it! 

Waffle and pancake recipes can be used pretty much interchangeably. After all, waffles are pancakes but with abs.

Waffled Vegan French Toast

I was so scared to make this. The previous time I did this, it a literally hot mess. The bread stuck to my "not so non stick" waffle maker, and I had to waste food, which sucked. But on Friday my parents bought me a new cuisinart Belgium waffle iron of amazing waffle making quality, which allowed me to create the crispest most delicious french toast ever. You can't even tell that this has no dairy or egg!! All these flavours work so well together :>

DOES IT NOT LOOK SO COOL? I was really quite fascinated when I opened the waffle iron. The first one stuck a little but but the second slice practically detached itself from the waffle iron. Which is funny because the second round, I didn't add extra oil and just used the leftover oil from the first slice! I guess Baylie just needed some warming up. I've named my Belgium waffle maker Baylie!!! 

Raw Vegan Lime Bars w/ Pistachio Graham Crust

I took one bite, then the flavour sunk in and all I wanted to do was dance and proclaim to the entire universe how fantastic these babies turned out to be. Gluten free, dairy free, added sugar free, vegan, raw, tastes like ice cream what more can you ask for? 

(Hey that rhymes) 

They're simple to make and really are quite delicious if I do say so myself. Parents really like these and my critical brother said they were "not bad" aka "very good". He asked if there was sugar. Well, there isn't! Apart from non processed sugars like dates and maple syrup :-) Really glad these turned out well because this morning's breakfast got screwed up when everything got stuck to my not so non stick waffle maker. Need a new one now, care to sponsor me anyone?

I was scrolling through Pinterest (follow me @healthiepanda) the other day and I saw these divine looking lime squares with a pistachio graham crust, courtesy of Martha Stewart. So this Sunday afternoon I decided to healthify them. Oh by the way keep pinning my pictures! Really makes me so happy :-) 

I love that green from the avocado! (YES THATS THE SECRET INGREDIENT) The ones I used were perfectly ripe and not brown at all! Pity I didn't take a picture. Avocados make up a good portion of this recipe so please get good avocados. Brown avocados will not give you such a pretty green. 

Vegan Banana Berry Streusel Pizza

So I've been reducing my protein and increasing my carbs lately, because I want to eat less animal products. I was watching this YouTube video by freeleethebananagirl, and I saw how cruelly cows are treated. It was so horrible I literally cried. I'm eating more vegan meals now but I don't think I'll go completely vegan because that lifestyle isn't maintainable for me at the moment. 

Besides I'm actually eating more protein than necessary so it won't hurt to cut down. I want to watching "earthlings", a documentary about animal abuse stuff but I'm worried I'll be a huge sobbing puddle by the time the film is over.

Today's recipe is a wonderfully scrumptious vegan pizza. It has an oat flax base and is studded with banana coins and blueberries, sprinkled with walnut cinnamon streusel, drizzled with coconut cream and finished off with some freeze dried strawberry pieces. 

Food props: I am loving my cute little honey drizzling thing! I don't even really know what it's called haha. Found that little acorn by the pavement near my condo. 

For those who need photographic evidence that the pizza holds together when lifted up....

This was actually a really photogenic breakfast! :D I love it when the food makes my life easy by looking good. Sometimes I get so stressed taking food pictures.........

Strawberry Rice Puff (Krispie) Balls

Another Valentines Day treat for you guys!! Wish I could give each and everyone of you one but 1) they'll probably be sticky and melting by the time they reach you, 2) I probably don't have enough or 3) I might finish eating them before they reach you! They're so delicious :3 My dad who usually finds my foods bland LOVES these! You have to try this recipe out! Like any other Rice Krispie recipe, it's super simple. Basically mix everything together, roll into balls and freeze. 

You can use any kind of nut butter in replacement of cashew butter :) Preferably a light coloured nut? I used my own homemade cashew butter. All I did was blend 160g of cashews in my amazing food processor until it turned buttery. I blended for 1-2min, let the machine rest for a few minutes and then repeated (about 6 times) until the cashews released their oils and turned creamy. I made just enough for the recipe! :) 

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Yum in my tum. Gluten and dairy free sweet potato gnocchi!

Just realised gnocchi is sorta like western dumplings? 

I've never made my own pasta before, which is why I was really excited to make these! I'm honestly so happy with the way they turned out. If you like sweet potato you'll absolutely love these. You can really use any herb in place of rosemary, but I think rosemary goes fantastic with sweet potato! 

The pasta can be a little sticky, so when you're forming the little gnocchi pieces use slightly damp hands and a slightly damp fork. Water repels the stickiness :D 

What you'll need 

160g sweet potato 

1/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour blend

1 egg white, beaten

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Water and a fork/gnocchi board

2 tsp olive oil

1/4 tsp butter extract 

1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves 

1/2 tsp minced garlic 

Black pepper 

Cherry tomatoes

How to 

1. Scrub sweet potato and poke holes in it with a knife. Bake the sweet potato in a preheated oven at 200C for 1h. Let the sweet potato cool, scrape out the insides and mash. 

2. Mix flour, egg white and smoked paprika into the sweet potato. Combine well into a slightly sticky dough. 

3. Take a teaspoon of dough and roll it into a oval shaped sphere aka an ovoid! Roll it on the fork to make the line indents you commonly see on gnocchi. Set aside and repeat until the dough is used up. 

4. Set gnocchi aside to air dry for an hour. Then cook gnocchi in boiling water for a few minutes until they float to the surface. Remove with a sieve or slotted spoon. 

5. Heat olive oil and butter extract in a pan over high heat. Fry garlic and rosemary. When fragrant immediately turn off heat and toss in gnocchi. Serve with black pepper and cherry tomatoes!

Orange Lemongrass Soufflé

So today I made lemongrass orange soufflés that are not only processed sugar free but are also dairy free. They are so scrummy and soft it's kinda like poking a marshmallow. I'm so happy I succeeded on my FIRST attempt!! It was so exciting watching the soufflés rise :-)

Check it out.

YES I ATE BOTH! But that's because together, they are only about 250 calories. If I ate one that would be a horribly pathetic breakfast. I also had one of my tahini cookies on the side and some mango. Gosh I'm eating all these dessert-y thingys for breakfast T_T I guess I have a sweet tooth. 

What You'll Need

1 tsp coconut oil to grease ramekins

1/2 tbsp minced lemon grass

1 tbsp any milk

1.5 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp coconut flour

1 tbsp fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest

1 egg yolk

1 egg white

1 tbsp honey

How to

1. Brush the insides of 2 ramekins with coconut oil (1/2 tsp each). Keep in the fridge.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C. 

2. Mix minced lemongrass with milk. Microwave 1min. Then microwave another 1min. Try to mash up the lemongrass with a fork. 

3. Stir coconut oil, coconut flour, orange zest, orange juice and egg yolks into mixture until smooth.

4. Whisk egg white until frothy. Slowly add 1/2 tbsp honey and whisk. Then add another 1/2 tbsp honey and keep beating until soft peaks form.

5. Remove ramekins from the fridge. Fold half the egg whites into egg yolk mixture until combined. Gently fold in second half until well mixed. Transfer to the prepared ramekins, allowing 1/4-inch of space at the top.

6. Bake until risen and browned, 16 minutes.

Tahini Shortbread Cookies

The 2nd Christmas recipe, this time a sweet one! Super clean and healthy (and vegan and dairy free) tahini shortbread cookies with hints of cinnamon. When I tried these cookies I fell in love. If I were the sort who left cookies out for Santa, these are the ones I'd leave. They are so simple which means you don't have to wash so much :D only 7 ingredients! Sorry for saying 5 ingredients on Instagram. In my excitement, I forgot how to count. One cookie is about 68 calories. AKA delicious points. 

Santa wants some.

Usually I'm not very good at cookies but these are just the perfect texture!

Buttery and just perfect. Sigh. I'm gonna make another batch of these for my relatives this Christmas. That's saying something because I almost never remake recipes, I'm too busy creating new ones.

Use measuring spoons or you may use too much of an ingredient! 

Makes 8 cookies

What you'll need

1/2 cup gluten free flour blend (Bob's Red Mill)

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp honey (maple syrup would probably work) 

2 tbsp organic hulled tahini (or any nut butter of similar consistency!) 

Juice from 1 wedge of lemon  

1/4 tsp butter extract 

How to 

1. Mix dry ingredients together. Add in wet ingredients and combine well.

Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Make 8 tbsp spoon sized balls of dough and flatten to form cookies, use a fork to make a design on top. 

3. Bake for about 15min on a prepared pan and cool before eating. 

ENJOY! YOU WILL I PROMISE.

P.S the Santa hat is using fage 0% greek yogurt

Raw Banoffee Bars

I rarely <s>cook</s> make raw desserts but I'm so glad I did today! This was so easy and so good mmmm. Especially because the weather was SO SO SO SO HOT. I used both pecans and almond slivers on the top because I ran out of pecans. But honestly I think it looks nicer when there are a mixture of nuts ^^ 

What you'll need

Crust:

1/4 cup almonds

1/2 cup oats

8 bam dates, pitted (80g)

Cream:

2 medium mashed banana, sliced (230g w/o skin)

1/3 cup cashews

1/4 cup chopped pecans

How to

1. For the crust combine almonds, oats, and dates in the food processor and process until the almonds are chopped up and the mixture holds together when squeezed. Press the mixture into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. I used another piece of parchment paper when I pressed so that the crust wouldn't stick to my fingers. Also I used a flat container cover to press the crust. 

2. Blend cashews as fine as possible. Add bananas. Process until smooth then pour cream over the crust and set aside in the freezer for 2h.

3. Sprinkle pecans into the banana cream then freeze for 3h. Slice into 10 bars. 

Paleo Pumpkin Bread Roll

Paleo. Gluten Free, Dairy Free. Full of fibre. 

So amazing. But because of the pumpin addition, this is more moist than fluffy. The psyllium husk cannot be substituted as it gives the pumpkin bun, a bread like texture! It's fairly inexpensive for a packet that will last you a long time. You should be able to find this in the health food section of your grocery store :) Oh and the macros for these are great! 

What you'll need 

1/4 cup coconut flour

3 tbsp psyllium husk powder (no subbing sorry) 

Pinch of sea salt

1/2 tsp mixed dried herbs

1 flat tsp baking powder

4 egg whites (egg yolks can be used for making kaya, the next recipe I'll be posting!) 

2 tbsp hot water

Slightly under 1/3 cup/slightly over 1/4 cup of hot mashed pumpkin

Preheat oven to 180C. 

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

2. Add the egg whites in and whisk it all together. 

3. Add in the boiling water and mashed pumpkin, and combine well ensuring no orange/white streaks. 

4. Make 4 bread rolls, place them on a baking sheet and bake for about 55 mins.

Update I think 3 egg whites might be better texture wise.