Apple Cinnamon Muffins

There’s something about thunderstorms and baking that go so perfectly together. Being all snuggled up inside while something tasty is baking in the oven is one of my favorite feelings. While pouring showers in Australia are a lot warmer than the ones back home, they still make me crave fall-y flavors, and baking muffins in a new place always makes me feel at home.

The oven here is an interesting beast. There’s no temperature gauge and it has an open flame, but I’m guesstimating that 375 will work pretty good for these guys. I found some almond encrusted dates in the grocery store which were pretty exciting chopped up and mixed in the batter, but if you just want to use regular dates that’s cool too.

Even though I hate the word moist with a passion, all the apple in these definitely makes them worthy of that description. Since I’m an impatient person I pried one out of the pan way before they had cooled and it fell to pieces immediately so I ate it with a fork in a bowl. If you’re more patient than I am, and like your muffins whole, wait about 30 minutes before digging in. Or use muffin liners, your call.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Makes 12

2 cups flour, your choice(spelt is good here)

2/3 cup sucanat

2 tsp baking soda

3 tsp cinnamon

½ cup vegan butter, melted

2 tsps vanilla

1 cup almond milk

1 tablespoon flax mixed into 3 tablespoons water

2 granny smith apples, finely chopped.

¾ cup dates rolled in almonds, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375, and grease some muffin tins. In a bowl mix together the flour, sucanat, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl combine the vegan butter, vanilla, almond milk, flax egg. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, pour in liquid, stir til just combined. Mix in apples and dates, and divide amongst muffin tins. Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean(a few crumbs are okay).

Copycat Protein Bars

My plans for blogging while travelling failed miserably, but I'm back now! In Australia and New  Zealand it's pretty slim pickings for vegans, but most of the places we stayed had kitchens. I mostly ended up just making simple stir fries most of the time with things I found at the grocery store, which doesn't necessarily make for the most exciting blogging.

It made me realize how many things I have in my life that I really don't need. Living out of a suitcase for 2 months will do that to a girl I guess. I loved Australia so much that I decided to move there. It's warm, there's beaches,  and the people are the nicest I've met anywhere. It was a pretty easy sell! I think  as a photographer(or any kind of artist I guess) you need to live where you're inspired, and I guess it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to find that in Toronto.

I also realized that in life you really can do absolutely anything you want, and go anywhere you want, the only thing that stops you from doing those things is yourself. Your excuses, and fears, and maybe a like for being comfortable where you are. I think the opportunities to push yourself and do things that scare you a little (or a lot) are the most rewarding, so I've decided to do more of them in 2013. Find bigger things that scare me, and try to do them to the best of my ability.

Anyhow back to food, while I was in New Zealand, I came across these super tasty protein bars from a brand called One Square Meal. The ingredient list wasn't the best(too many processed things for this girl), but I think when travelling(as a vegan) you sometimes have to stretch yourself ways you wouldn't ordinarily. I've been dreaming about them ever since I got back though, and since I've been hibernating due to the cold I've had lots of time to try to recreate them.

Copycat OSM Bars

2 cups quick cooking oats

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/3 cup agave

1/2 cup chocolate chips, melted

2 scoops chocolate protein powder

1/3 cup hemp seeds

pinch of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

In a bowl stir together oats, hemp seeds, cinnamon, salt and protein powder. In another bowl mix coconut oil, agave, chocolate chips. Mix the wet into the dry, and pour into a 9x12 pan lined with parchment paper. Press down firmly with your hands or a spatula, let set in the fridge for 30 minutes. Makes 8.

Buckwheat Blueberry Chocolate Pancakes

Yesterday my friend Shawnna and I tried a new vegetarian restaurant for the first time, Sadie's Diner. Cozy and adorable on a rainy night, it was adorable and looked like someone's granny's kitchen. I was overwhelmed for choice with the menu, but had been craving a veggie burger, so I went for that.

No regrets, it was the tastiest morsel I've eaten in awhile. It tasted like it had been home cooked on a BBQ in the summer, and I probably put off everyone around me with the ketchup dripping all over my face while I ate it.

Incredibly meaty seeming for a veggie burger, and with some delish onions on top. Definitely going back! Shawnna got pancakes which led me to my inspiration for this post. Lately my pancake experiments haven't been quite right, they're tasty but missing that fluffy cakiness that is quintessential pancakes, to me. I haven't attempted buckwheat pancakes before, but had some buckwheat hanging out in my cupboard, so these were born.

If you're feeling eager you can mix the dry ingredients up in a bowl the night before so you can have pancakes even faster in the morning. Then you don't have to try to figure out measurements that early in the day. I'm always at a loss for why blueberry and chocolate chips have to be two seperate options on the menu. I want it all in one pancake.

Topped with some blueberry compote, maple syrup, and pumpkin butter, these were a perfect start to a Tuesday. Depending on your protein powder, the batter might get a little too thick. Add some almond milk if that happens, you want it to be not quite liquid, but still pourable.

I like to wait til the pancakes are in the pan to add the blueberries, to avoid turning the batter grey.

Buckwheat Blueberry Chocolate Pancakes

1 cup buckwheat flour
1 1/4 cup almond milk
1 scoop chocolate protein powder(I used Vega)
2 packets of stevia
1 tablespoon agave(optional)
cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 flax egg(1 tablespoon flax meal, 3 tablespoons water mixed and allowed to thicken)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup blueberries

In a bowl mix together buckwheat flour, protein powder, stevia, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.

Mix together almond milk, agave, vanilla and flax egg. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in wet. Stir until smooth. Add more almond milk if necessary.

In a medium heat pan, cook pancakes, about 2-3 mins each side depending on size. They're ready to flip when the edges look firm and a bit bubbly.

Pumpkin Maple Granola

I've almost run out of pumpkin in my house. I realized when making this that I've never tried making home made granola before, and then I was embarrassed at how easy it was. But after that I was too busy to be concerned about that, and instead took to topping this on everything. Eating it on it's own straight as well. Then I remembered that the grocery store sells this stuff for $13 a measly bag. That was followed by thoughts of maybe I'm missing out my chance to be a multi millionaire because I'm not selling overpriced granola. It's never too late. I'm quitting my job and going to start hawking this stuff instead.

This is a little less sweet than most granolas, but if you like it sweeter just add more maple syrup. Agave and honey are good as well, but I'm Canadian and since the stuff comes out of taps, I might as well use it. You could sub the almonds for walnuts too. The hemp seeds provide a nice extra protein kick, plus some healthy fats.

Pumpkin Maple Granola
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup hemp seeds
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl til evenly coated. Spread flat on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 20ish minutes, it's okay if it comes out a little soft since it firms up on cooling.

Pumpkin Pudding Oats

Chocolate Protein Oats are still my favorite breakfast, but they've been fall-i-fied now by the addition of pumpkin. Protein, carbs, fibre, and deliciousness all in one bowl! They're extra good with chopped apple on top, tons of cinnamon, and maybe a dollop of vegan whipped cream....

Yeah you can use canned pumpkin I guess. But this is so so so much better if you roast your own pumpkins. Which is way easier than it sounds. Canned food freaks me out.

Make sure you purchase Sugar Pie Pumpkins, the little tiny ones. They're sweeter, and the flesh is more tender. Leave the giant monsters for hacking at later.

To roast them, chop the pumpkin in half, removing the stem. Scoop out all those seeds in the middle, and save them for later. Place cut side down on a baking sheet, and bake for about 45-50 minutes at 350. They're done when you can poke them easily with a fork, and the skin comes away easily.

Peel off the skin, then chop the pumpkin into smaller pieces. Toss those in a blender and blend until smooth. Voila! Told you it was easy.

As a side note, the 'pumpkin' that you purchase in cans is not actually all pumpkin. It's a mixture of a couple types of squashes, including hubbard and butternut. Weird, no? So now your pumpkin baked goods can actually be real pumpkin!

Pumpkin Pudding Oats

1/2 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup almond milk
1 scoop protein powder
1/4 cup pumpkin puree

Mix oats and protein powder together, then add almond milk. Stir til combined, then add pumpkin and stir some more. Top with a chopped apple and cinnamon!

Chocolate Banana Protein Pancakes

Toronto is a sweltering 43 today! The only places I want to go are wear swimwear is acceptable attire, or something frozen and delicious is promised at the end. I can't complain too much though I suppose, it's better than all the rain and Junevember that the Wet Coast is having.

This morning I decided to go all out and make pancakes. Chocolate Banana Protein Pancakes, to be precise. Protein pancakes are a tricky thing as a vegan it seems, they're not fond of sticking together. I think I've somewhat mastered the secret now though, and these were amazing with a little maple syrup and a lot of blueberries!

Building muscle as a vegan is always a topic of interest to me, and building muscle on a plant based diet definitely has it's advantages. After a weight training session, muscles are broken down, which causes them to become inflamed. With whey based proteins, this will exacerbate inflammation. This causes gains in size, but also decreases functionality of the muscle. Which is a problem if you're trying to lift heavier to get stronger. More time will also be required between training sessions. Since frequency and intensity are pillars of gaining muscle, inflammation can inhibit progress.

In replacement of acid forming foods post workout, plant based foods can help keep inflammation at a minimum. Hemp, Soy, Rice and Pea Proteins are all good sources, and plants can help provide the vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids(EFA's), enzymes, and antioxidants required. Post workout meals/smoothies that deliver these in addition to protein yield greater results.

While a plant based diet won't make you a better athlete, it will allow you to train harder, for longer, which WILL make you a better athlete. After a workout your body needs high quality protein to help it rebuild the tissues, and these pancakes can be a great way to deliver that!

I've tried a couple vegan proteins, and here's a couple of my favorites:

Vega Performance Protein

Sunwarrior Protein Powder

Perfect Fit Protein

Vega is my all time favorite, high raw, organic, and made by a fellow Vancouverite! Chocolate is my favorite, I haven't tried any other flavours since I'm too enamoured with it. With 26g protein and 120 calories a scoop, and no added sugars, it fits my nutritional profile as well. It also has BCCA's and L-Glutamine in it which helps with muscle recovery and repair.

Sunwarrior is an all raw brown rice protein powder, and is sweetened with stevia. In one serving it has 80 calories and 16 grams of protein. It tastes great, but can be a bit on the pricier side. It comes in a large bag though, which should last awhile!

Perfect Fit is an amazing tasting vanilla flavoured brown rice protein. Made by the Tone It Up girls, it's raw, organic, and comes in handy 'to-go' packets for travelling ease. It also dissolves in water quite well, so it's easy to just toss into a water bottle. It has almost a caramelly flavour to me. With 70 calories and 15grams of protein per packet, it's great for drinking alone or using in recipes!

Chocolate Banana Protein Pancakes


1 scoop chocolate protein powder
2 tablespoons ground flax seed
2 tablespoons psyllium husk
1 mashed banana
1 cup almond milk
packet of stevia
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes, mixture will thicken up. In a non-stick pan on medium/low heat, dollop a large spoonful of batter, spread out to form a circle. Allow to cook til it looks like the top is darker/cooked, carefully flip over and allow to cook for a few more minutes. The pancakes will be delicate, but will firm up upon cooling. Serve with fruit and maple syrup!

Overnight Chocolate Protein Oats

For the past 4 months I've been eating the same thing pretty much religiously for breakfast. I can't seem to stop myself! Prior to this I was never really an oatmeal/porridge person. Except for the ones you get as a kid where the little eggs would melt into a dinosaur in your bowl. Then I would pick out those, then ditch the rest. This little bowl of oaty goodness changed all that! I love it since you don't have to cook anything, you just mix it up the night before and pop it in the fridge and you're good to go in the morning.

I've seen a few variations on Chocolate Protein Oats floating around, but here's my version! I usually top it with whatever berries are around, or chopped banana. Chocolate chips make their way in there too sometimes. You could use any kind of milk for it, almond, cashew, and coconut are all good! Hazelnut would be amazing if you want a Nutella flavour. Water works too, even.

I love this combination since you've got complex carbs, protein, and fruit all together, and it's pretty much the perfect breakfast for me! I stay full for hours, and it's perfect after a workout.

Overnight Chocolate Protein Oats

Vegan, Gluten Free(if you use GF oats), Soy Free

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 scoop chocolate protein powder(Vega is my all time fave)

3/4 cup dairy free milk or water

Toppings:

Berries

Banana

Coconut

Chocolate chips

Chia Seeds

Hemp Seeds

Goji berries

Mix oats, protein powder, and milk in a bowl. Leave in fridge overnight. Eat in the morning!

For legs day I did two of Nike Training Club's leg and butt focused videos, and then followed it up with some HIIT on the stationary bike. This time I tried out the reclining bike, and I'm pretty sure it's more difficult than the regular one. I couldn't tell if that was actually the case or it was because my legs were dying from the previous exercises.  Intriguing either way!