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The Vegan Pancake Vow

Posted on February 9, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

So I got this GREAT idea for a pancake recipe!

I was treadmilling at the gym Friday morning, AFTER a 5:30am Body Pump class…obviously holding true to it’s name ’cause I was feeling the PUMP…and the thought just POPPED into my mind! It was good…oh yeah, it was VERY good! I verbally (ok, literally) patted myself on the back, stopped my hamster wheel, and practically (ok, you got me…literally) skipped my way to the car!

On the way home, the pancake vision was getting brighter. I saw sprinkles…PINK sprinkles. I saw a clever Valentines Day title blaaaaaay-zing at the top of my post in all it’s PicMonkey glory. I saw people bowing at my feet and throwing me roses! 😆

I prepared myself. It’s been, what two months since I last made pancakes? I wanted, no I NEEDED it to be good. I had a snack. Then I threw on my headphones, pulled out my spatula (slash microphone) and set to work.

I mixed, I measured, I stirred, I flipped and…

The beauty of pancake procreation was witnessed!

I readied the props…proud of myself for the impulse buy I made at TJ Maxx a few days prior. I sorted out pink and white dots from a bottle of birthday sprinkles…because I will never learn to have enough forethought to plan ahead for food holidays. I even had the brilliant idea to craft some banana art!

Then I proceeded to take one hundred and thirty SEVEN pictures. Finally, an hour after this entire spoon to batter process began, it was time to taste my masterpiece. It was time to sink my teeth into some soft and fluffy…

Very Vanilla VEGAN Pancakes!

But something…something was just…OFF!

Of course I ate them anyway (because at this point, I was starving), but I didn’t loose hope…because tomorrow was another day! So yesterday morning, I tweaked a few things and thought, what the hell…let’s have a little more fun! There was no way in HELL I was sorting out more sprinkles, but I now think I deserve a degree in banana-crafts. This time I took one hundred and forty TWO pictures…five more, ya know, just in case! 😉

But something…something was still…OFF!

Of course I ate them anyway (because at this point, I was starving), but I didn’t lose hope…because I still had a full day ahead of me and with a snowstorm brewing outside, I didn’t have ~~any reason to freeze my ass off~~ anywhere else to go. Plus…

I was determined to make some damn VEGAN pancakes!

So a few hours later, I set to it. And after FOUR batches, I had FLAT, still FLAT, too SALTY, and wait, is that GREEN?! I was so disappointed. I got angry. I left the room. I came back. I left the room again. Then I cried. 😥

Last night, I gave it ONE LAST try, convinced that my lucky number seven would serve me well. So there I was, at 11pm, flipping ‘cakes. I tried another direction from the other batches. The batter turned out perfect. After flipping, I stepped back and marveled at the golden brown color. Once they were FINALLY done, I plated one, took a bite, and…

FAIL!

I’m done. That’s it. From this day, February 10, 2014, and on, I solemnly swear to never attempt another vegan pancake recipe! I’m sorry, I do like to try to accommodate all my readers out there but it just doesn’t seem like it’s worth the effort (slash waste of ingredients) when I myself am not vegan…and frankly, I’m done crying over
~~spilled milk~~ shitty pancakes!

So I have no VEGAN pancakes for you to share with your honey this Valentines Day (sorry, Davida, I tried), but hey, THESE should keep you busy for a while!

Vegan Pancake Roundup from www.kissmybroccoliblog.com

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Cha-Cha-Cha Chia Pancakes
Thin Mint Protein Pancakes
Whole Wheat Vegan Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup
Samoa Cookie Protein Pancakes
Triple Berry Coconut Pancakes
Blueberry Beet Pancakes
Oatmeal Raisin Flax Pancakes
Biscoff Cookie Pancakes

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go fix a plate of EGGS and CHEESE! 😛

What are YOU having for breakfast today?

Describe your last kitchen fail…please, save my dignity!

Posted in Breakfast, Confessions, Pancake Sunday, Recipe Roundup, Vegan, Vegetarian | Tagged pancake fail, pancakes, Photography | 44 Comments

Pumpkin Custard Oats

Posted on February 7, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

Hello, my beautiful (and handsome) friends!

It’s FRIIIIIIIDAY!!

And what a great DAY it is! I am in SUCH a good mood right now after reading through all your warm comments on yesterday’s post! I’m seriously grinning from ear-to-ear right now! So, I brought something today to help show my thanks…

Pumpkin Custard Oats A creamy DREAMY bowl of goodness guaranteed to warm you up this winter! www.kissmybroccoliblog.com

It’s creamy…it’s decadent…and it’s guaranteed to help you achieve that winter glow we foodies love so much! 😉

That’s right, I’m breaking out the pumpkin again…in FEBRUARY!

But this time, instead of a frozen treat, you have to enjoy while bundled under every single blanket in the house (+ mittens), this bowl of goodness will help you shake off the chill from this relentless winter weather in NO time!

Pumpkin Custard Oats - Allow me to introduce to you your new breakfast addiction! ;) www.kissmybroccoliblog.com

Based off my beloved French Toast Oats, these Pumpkin Custard Oats are filled with the flavors of butter and maple annnnnnnd a WHOLE EGG!

Trust me people, this is THE best way to make thick and creamy stove top oats. And with the added protein and healthy fats from the egg, they’ll keep you satisfied for hours! Without the Greek yogurt topping, they’re completely dairy-free and with certified gluten-free oats, all you sensitive sistahs (and brothas) can enjoy it too! As for my vegan friends, please see THIS bowl of yum!

Alright, everyone presented and accounted for? Let’s proceed! 😀

Pumpkin Custard Oats

By: Heather @ Kiss My Broccoli

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 5-6 minutes

Keywords: stove top breakfast high protein gluten-free high fiber vegetarian eggs oats pumpkin puree fall

Ingredients (Serves 1)

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon butter flavor*
1/2 teaspoon maple extract*
1 large egg
1/3 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)
Toppings: Greek yogurt, maple syrup, and trail mix

*If you can’t find these items in stores, use coupon code QQQ940 for a discount on your first order from iHerb.com!

Instructions

1. Combine oats, milk, and extracts in a small pot and set over high heat.
2. Once boiling, crack egg into pot and stir vigorously with a whisk until smooth.
3. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes or until oats have reached desired consistency.
4. Stir in pumpkin puree and spices.
5. Transfer to a bowl and top with Greek yogurt, a drizzle of pure maple syrup, and some nutty trail mix!

Soft and creamy oats filled with warm cinnamon spice, drizzled with the purest of maple syrups and sprinkled with coconut, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, cranberries, and yep, those would be cinnamon chips!

You can almost taste them through the screen! 😉

Strange but Good Pumpkinified

And la di da di DEE, would ya look at that? ANOTHER reason to use my favorite button! Now head on over to Laura’s #strangebutgood world and see what other creative dishes pique your curiosity! 🙂

Have a great weekend!

Posted in Gluten-free, Recipe, Strange But Good | Tagged cinnamon, coconut, gluten-free, maple syrup, oats, pumpkin, recipe, trail mix | 32 Comments

Thoughts on Finding My Intuitive Eater

Posted on February 6, 2014 by kissmybroccoli

I had planned on posting something entirely different, but after yesterday’s revelation, it only seemed right to get some “thoughts” out today…and as is the case with many of these posts, it’s better if I just take the stream of consciousness approach

Ok, here goes…

To be honest, when I first started my journey with Intuitive Eating, I felt completely lost. Without a schedule to tell me WHEN to eat, how could I know if it was “time” to be hungry? Without a count of calories per meal, how would I know I was truly satisfied? Without a list of “good” versus “bad”, how would I know I was eating healthy?

I had no idea how to listen to my body…after years and years of thinking I (points thumbs at chest) knew better, it’s no wonder my intuitive eater decided to desert me. Heck, I didn’t even know what I really liked to eat in the beginning! It took a LOT of trial and error, picking up and dusting myself off, and self-reflecting over this past year, but I can honestly say it was ALL worth it! The freedom I felt when I first let go of calorie counting, is nothing compared to how I feel now.

I feel like a completely different person!

A person who doesn’t feel the need to challenge her cravings…even if it’s for pasta…which I usually don’t think twice about. A person who can enjoy a couple bites of chocolate without having to eat the entire bar. A person who doesn’t have to “make up for” those bites by jogging around the block at midnight. But most importantly,

A person whose life doesn’t revolve around FOOD!

Many people will tell you a struggling relationship with food isn’t actually about the food and, thanks to my work with Jamie, I believe that wholeheartedly. While I think it was important to put more focus on food in the beginning (so that I could relearn my body’s natural signals), I feel like I started to get stuck in a state of hyper-vigilance. It wasn’t until a few months ago, that I felt a shift occur where I finally took my eyes off the road ahead…stopped comparing my progress to others, and started looking INWARD! I swear after that, time slowed down. It’s funny, the moment I stopped focussing so much on the journey, the destination was in SIGHT!

Now, I am by NO means saying that I’m completely “healed” and will never again suffer from food guilt or the occasional binge, but I’m finally in a place where I can see those as natural occurrences in this crazy, stressful, media-shoving-things-down-your-throat-about-how-you-should-eat world we live in. Now, I can feel my hunger without having to consult a schedule; I can feel my satiety without having to grab a calculator, and I know that I’m eating “healthy” because I feel good about the choices that I make.

I want to thank you all SO much for being there for me this past year. I surely would’ve given up long ago without your support. But I also want to thank myself…for learning how to love, forgive, and be patient with the one person who means the most…

ME!

And for also having the remarkable forethought to take a bajillion pictures of myself last month, in the name of Spoons, so that I would have a couple to break up the monotony of this post! 😉

No questions today, just tell me some thoughts!