I've made banana oatmeal pancakes in my blender for years, but I just never got to putting pen to paper, measuring everything out and getting the recipe finalized...until now.  Maybe it took this quarantine to get this out of my head and onto the blog.  These pancakes are a weekend favorite around here and our toddler especially loves them.  They're easy to make ahead of time and keep in the fridge for a reheated, quick breakfast too and you can make these vegan or gluten free by subbing in GF oats and/or using a flax egg instead of regular eggs!

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients
(makes 10-12 pancakes)

-1 cup vanilla almond milk (you can sub in your choice of milk here)
-2 eggs or flax eggs
-2 ripe bananas
-2 cups oats (sub in GF oats for GF version)
-2 tsp baking powder
-pinch of salt
-1-2 tsp cinnamon

Directions
Heat a skillet on medium heat and coat it with non-stick cooking spray.  In a high powered blender, add the ingredients in the order of the milk, eggs, ripe bananas and then the dry ingredients. Secure the lid and turn the blender on low and then increase speed to medium/high.  Once the batter is formed together, turn off the blender and pour out each pancake onto the heated skillet, approx. 1/3 cup batter at a time.  Allow to cook for approximately 2 minutes on each side.  You will see the edges forming, turning golden and bubbles appearing in the pancake when it's time to flip.  Continue the same on the second side.  Remove from the pan and continue until all of the batter is used.  Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup or store in an air tight container in the fridge for a quick breakfast another day.  Enjoy!

Do you ever just need a chocolate cake? I don't think it's just me, but it maybe it is.  I can't help but remember the Sex and the City episode with Miranda and the chocolate cake.  This might date me as my early twenties involved some time binge watching that show when binge watching involved the "be kind and rewind" notice on the VHS tape before returning it to Blockbuster.  And will my kids ever know the horror of getting to a Blockbuster only to find out that the one movie or season of a show that you want to watch is already rented by someone else? This might be the equivalent of my parents being required to walk to school in horrible weather, up hill...both ways.

This recipe has you covered In the event you find yourself wanting a chocolate cake and you a) don't want to drive to a bakery or go through the joyful hassle of making an entire cake and b) you don't want an entire chocolate cake waiting around in the kitchen just looking at you.  Thanks to Bobs Red Mill, their coconut sugar and tapioca flour make this grain free and refined sugar free as well.

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients

For the Cake
-1 egg
-2 TBS vanilla almond milk
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-3 TBS tapioca flour
-1/8 tsp salt (just a tiny bit)
-1 TBS coconut sugar
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 TBS unsweetened baking cocoa

For the glaze
-1 tsp peanut butter
-1 tsp paleo powdered sugar (I use and keep some of this recipe from Joy Food Sunshine in my cupboard but you can substitute your sweetener of choice here...it's only 1 tsp)
-1 tsp vanilla almond milk
-1 tsp chocolate chips for sprinkling on top

Directions
Spray the inside of a microwave safe mug with non-stick cooking spray.  Crack the egg into the mug and beat with a fork.  Add the vanilla almond milk and vanilla extract.  Use the fork to mix together well.  Then add the dry ingredients of the tapioca flour, unsweetened baking cocoa, salt and baking powder.  Mix together very well with the fork until a smooth batter forms.  Place in the microwave and cook on high for 2 1/2 minutes.  The mug cake will rise a good bit in the mug.  Once finished cooking, remove from microwave and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes.

Mix the glaze together while the mug cake sits and rests.  Drizzle the glaze over the top of the mug cake, sprinkle with chocolate chips and done! Other options are to top with whipped cream or ice cream! Enjoy!

I was really late to the peanut butter game because it just wasn't a thing in Ireland, which is where I was born and lived for a short time until my family emigrated to Canada and then later to the U.S.  I could be mistaken but chocolate and peanut butter still don't seem to be a thing on the Emerald Isle and I'm pretty good at scoping out chocolate on each my trips (my last one was late 2017).  I don't remember exactly when the good old Reese's Peanut Butter cup first graced my lips but I do know that I'm thankful for it because wow.  Those things are dangerous.

It turns out that peanut butter packs some great health benefits, as long as you look for a brand that has minimal ingredients and no hidden preservatives or filler oils.  I actually have been a Vitamix owner for years and loooove that blender, but I only made peanut butter from dry roasted peanuts for the first time very recently.  I had this idea in my head that it was going to be a madly messy process so I just didn't do it.  I was wrong- it wasn't! It took me all of 3 minutes to go from a jar of dry roasted peanuts to a jar of creamy peanut butter and clean up was a snap!

With Valentine's Day around the corner, these dark chocolate bites filled with coconut and peanut butter would make a nice homemade treat.  They're rich, decadent and clean eating with no refined sugar or filler ingredients.

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients
​(makes approximately 15-20 chocolates)
-3/4 cup unsweetened coconut (flaked or shredded)
-12 pitted dates
-1/3 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-2 TBS maple syrup
-1 x 10 oz package of dark chocolate chips (use a vegan dark chocolate if you want the entire recipe to be plant based)

Directions
Place the dates, peanut butter, baking cocoa and coconut into the bowl of a food processor and pulse/process until it begins to come into a crumbly mixture.  Then slowly drizzle in the maple syrup while you run the food processor on low until the mixture begins to come together and clean from the sides of the bowl.  

Line a cookie tray with parchment paper.  Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls approximately 1 TBS in size.  Once all of the mixture is rolled, place the tray in the freezer to set for approximately 30 minutes (it's fine if you leave them in longer- you can break up the steps here).  Start to melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler about 5 minutes before you plan to take the prepared mixture from the freezer.  Roll each ball into the melted chocolate and return to the parchment paper lined cookie tray.  Drizzle the extra melted chocolate across the tops and then return the tray to the freezer to set for 30-60 minutes.  Store the finished chocolates in the fridge in an air tight container.

Enjoy!