Oat and Chia Seed Pancakes (V/GF)

Hey there friends! I know it has been a little while and I am very sorry for my absence, however, I think I am about to make that up to you. If you know me at all, you probably know I like to experiment in the kitchen. Sometimes these experiments come out horrible (you may recall the brown sugar frosting incident) but sometimes they are surprisingly awesome! I believe that today's experiment falls in the second category, but I'll let you decide for yourself. 

I was craving something healthier and more filling for breakfast so I came up with this oat and chia seed pancake recipe, which happens to also be gluten free and vegan! It is also SUPER filling. I started with this awesome recipe by The Food Prepper as a base, and then tweaked a whole bunch of things. I really love using chia seeds in everything possible because they are filling and packed with healthy omega-3 fatty acids. I have also been substituting coconut sugar for regular sugar in a lot of my recipes because of its lower glycemic index. At first glance this recipe may look a little intimidating, but fear not, its super easy and took me all of ten mins! Here it goes:

Ingredients: 

Pancakes:

1 3/4 cup oat flour

1 tsp coconut sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup coconut or rice milk (vanilla would be delish) or regular milk (non-vegan)

1 1/2 tbsp of applesauce

1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

2 “Chia eggs” (super easy, see directions below)

Chia Eggs:

2 tbsp of ground chia seeds

6 tbsp of water

You can also add chocolate chips, nuts, berries or anything else to the mix!

Once you gather all of your ingredients, the rest is pretty simple. 

1. Pre-heat griddle
2. Prepare “chia eggs” by mixing chia seeds and water thoroughly and let sit for 5 mins until egg-like consistency
3. Mix all remaining dry ingredients together in a medium bowl
4. Mix remaining wet ingredients together in a larger bowl (including pre-made chia eggs)
5. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients
6. Lightly spray griddle
7. Scoop about ¼ of a cup of mix for each pancake and cook until golden on both sides (make sure to spread fairly thin or they will take forever to cook, through!) Regardless, they will be a bit more moist than a “normal” pancake
8. Enjoy with some pure maple syrup!

You can get the printable version of the recipe here

I also recommend pairing these with a good cup of fair trade/organic coffee. I picked up a bag of Lucy Jo's Coffee Roastery "Bounce" Ethiopian Blend when I was at the Farmer's Market at home and I am SO sad that I am almost out. It is seriously yummy, give it a try and I promise you won't regret it! Its always great to support a local business : )

Let me know your thoughts on the recipe or how it turns out for you! I would also love to hear about any yummy things you came up with to mix in! 

P.S. I think these would freeze really nicely for breakfast on the go and they are super filling to get you through the day!

Until next time,

Namaste! xoxox

Cut out the cramps!

Today we will talk about.....something no one wants to talk about.....

Ugh...sound familiar? If you're anything like me, you can relate to this post from someecards.com so well that you even feel a twinge of pain reading it. I'm sure you've tried everything from heating pads to an inappropriate amount of ibprofen. You sit there, suffering quietly while trying to tell yourself it doesn't really hurt. Well I may have something that will help you....

Enter Red Raspberry Leaf tea. My lifesaver. I cannot possibly write enough blog posts (nor would you want to read them) about how much this stuff has changed my life. Now I'm not being sponsored by this tea or anything, but I owe a lot of days to it. A couple years ago I did a bunch of reading on natural ways to relieve cramps, and many articles mentioned Red Raspberry Leaf tea. Now it can't just be raspberry flavored tea, it has to be the leaf. There are several brands that sell this tea but I am a fan of traditionalsmedicinals.com There is real science behind this people! The raspberry leaf tea contains tannins which can help to naturally tone the uterus. This may sound gross, but it helps! 

                                         http://www.lanascooking.com/2013/01/31/lemon-honey-and-ginger-soother-for-colds-and-sore-throats/

My favorite way to enjoy this tea is hot with honey, lemon, and ginger but it is equally as yummy cold. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Its a game changer. 

Gave Berry Pie a Try

So, my absence yesterday was due to a day filled with visiting grandparents before I head to school. Having the grandparents over gave me a great excuse to try baking a new dessert, which I think came out pretty good, if I do say so myself : ) I didn't come up with the recipe on my own (I'm not that good) haha. Instead, I mixed together two recipes from other blogs that I love! Triple Berry Pie from So Tasty,So Yummy and Triple Berry Pie from JavaCupcake

Before I could mess up the kitchen with my baking adventures I headed to the local farmer's market, Calhoun's Farm Stand, with my mom. They always have such beautiful and vibrant displays of produce I can't help but take a few pictures!

I snagged some of those strawberries and blueberries for my pie. The only other berry I used were blackberries, which I was forced to pick up at the grocery store haha. Once I had all my ingredients together it was time to get started.

The first step (which I usually forget) was to preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Then I mixed together the berries, lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar.

1 pint blueberries
1 pint strawberries
1 pint blackberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp of lemon juice

I just mixed all of the ingredients together and poured them into a frozen/pre-made pie shell (hey give me a break I was busy yesterday! haha). I thawed and saved the second pie shell that came in the package to make the lattice top.

Once the filling was in the shell I had to work rather quickly to make the top without the bottom shell getting soggy. In hindsight (always 20/20) I would've had the lattice strips cut and chilled (so they were easier to work with) before I poured the filling. Oh well! It worked just fine. I rolled out the thawed pie crust just enough to flatten the edges and elongate the shape. Then I cut strips roughly an 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inch thick. I laid three strips length-wise and three over the top width-wise. I called this "lazy lattice" because I didn't actually weave the strips haha.

When I finished the top I was almost done! I just finished it off by using the egg wash listed in JavaCake's recipe.

1 egg + 2 tbsp water

Mix egg and water and brush on edges and top of pie. Then it was ready to be popped into the oven for 45 minutes! : ) I was so excited (and it smelled so good) that I opened the oven about half-way through and took a picture.

It looked great when it came out of the oven and I was very excited to serve it to my family with a scoop of vanilla ice cream : )

It was delicious and my parent's made an awesome dinner before-hand, so I was STUFFED haha. As I am writing this I am actually eating a left over slice for breakfast : ) Just as good cold! I hope some of you get a chance to make this because it was super easy and a great use for delicious summer berries!

Introduction : )

Hi everyone! 
I'm new to this blogging thing so you will have to bear with me : ) I wanted to cover a few things in my first post so that you can know who I am and what I am all about! I am a first year graduate student in exercise physiology at UMD with a teaching assistantship. I'm very excited to start this new chapter of my life with my awesome girlfriend and our ferocious (not) dog, Rory. I have a great support system of family and friends back home in Upstate NY who I will miss a ton.  I will be blogging about crafts, food, music, exercise, every day life as a graduate student, and whatever else happens to pop into my head! I can't wait to hear your opinions on the things I post and commenting is always encouraged : ) Thanks for stopping by!
P.S. The title of my blog refers to my type A personality (which I have a love/hate relationship with) and "namaste" comes from my obsession with yoga (the hotter the better!)