Use Your Resources

I cook….a lot. My friends are always saying “you’re always making such delicious food” mostly because it’s so crazy to them that I can get this creative in an average kitchen with only vegan ingredients. I challenge myself to use my resources and take whatever is in my kitchen to make a kick-ass meal! This is probably how I come up with my favorite meals and find the best recipes. I ask myself “what can I make?” when I realize I have too much of a certain ingredient I know will spoil soon or when I just need to add a little morenooch to my life. Google has become my best friend and it’s that exploration that has made being vegan so much fun.

It all started when I realized I had too many ripe avocados. So I made Avocado Chocolate Muffins and Avocado Froyo!

Then I had a serious chocolate craving and a can of black beans that was wasting space in the pantry. And that is when I discovered these Black Bean Brownie Bites, just 100 cals each! 

Then I always want to add nooch to anything I can for its amazing nutritional benefits. So I took some raw almonds and made this amazing Raw Sweet and Tangy Chikn Salad with 2 tablespoons of nooch added to the ingredients…

…and Eggless Egg Salad (UNBELIEVABLY GOOD!)

Last, but not least. I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of (quickly spoiling) strawberries packed into the container my mom bought at Costco so I found a great recipe for Strawberry Bread (like Zucchini or Banana bread).

So go explore, the internet is a hotbed for new ideas! I never thought I would enjoy a mock chicken made entirely of almonds or ice cream a la avocado. But it’s that endless appetite (haha) for something new that keeps veganism from being restrictive or boring. 

Are your eyes still hungry? Click here for the rest of my vegan cooking. I post the majority of my pictures on Facebook so that my friends can see how exciting my life is as a vegan foodie ;)

Vegan Buttermilk Flaxseed Pancakes

I’ve been working on this recipe for a while! And finally I’m excited to introduce these deliciously low cal pancakes. I honestly hadn’t had pancakes in maybe a year, never sought them out once I went vegan in the way every vegan searches high and low for the perfect vegan pizza or cupcake. But then I found this quick 5 minute vegan pancake recipe and decided to tweek it (a lot) because the amount of baking powder it called for had enough sodium for days! I also worked on reducing the calories by getting rid of the vegetable oil and reducing total carbs while increasing the fiber content and nutritional value by replacing some of the flour with flaxseed meal. The last big change was making these buttermilk pancakes! Buttermilk is really easy to make and adds a unique flavor to these awesome pancakes. I topped mine with homemade raspberry sauce and Speculoos Cookie Butter from Trader Joe’s!! Way better than traditional maple syrup since it melts on the warm pancakes.

Debbie’s Vegan Buttermilk Flaxseed Pancakes

Tools: frying pan, cooking spray, spatula 

1/2 cup almond milk (or try coconut for something richer!)

1 tbsp cider vinegar (or regular distilled)

1/2 cup minus 2 tbsp flour

2 tbsp flax meal

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/16 tsp salt

In a small bowl mix the almond milk and vinegar to make the buttermilk. Let sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime, mix together all the dry ingredients in a separate container. Add the buttermilk to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth with no lumps. Heat and spray your pan and when ready pour the batter in for 3 medium pancakes, or 2 big ones. The trick I was always taught is that when you start to see bubbles in the batter the pancakes are ready to flip! That’s pretty much it, now you have a low calorie, filling breakfast (or lunch… or dinner) with protein, fiber and healthy fats.

Nutrition Details: 284 calories, 6.5g fat (0.1 saturated), 51.8g carbs (5.8g fiber,  7.3g sugar), 8.3g protein