Comfort Breakfast Sandwich

Finally I have all the ingredients for this amazing LunchBox Bunch recipe. This has got to be one of my favorite blogs out there, all the recipes have intense flavors and the combinations are always unexpected. Imagine pepper jack cheese and pumpkin? Sounds strange but you will be pleasantly surprised after trying author Kathy Patalsky's Jack-O-Pumpkin breakfast sandwich.

Even though I've rounded up all the basics for the recipe but was still missing a few things so I made a few changes.

• I used whole wheat mini bagels instead of English muffins. Though I think this would be even more spectacular with the muffins. 

• Pumpkin butter: for the optional pumpkin spice, I used a dash each of cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ground cloves (I always do this when a recipe calls for pumpkin spice). Also I used coconut sugar instead of maple syrup, I think it wasn't sweet enough though.
• No mushroom, not a fan.
•  Champs Elysees salad instead of arugula
• Vegan pepper jack cheese instead of vegan Monterrey jack.  

The sandwich was delish. It was like healthy comfort food. I love tailoring recipes, it's difficult to cook if you don't use you imagination!  I enjoyed it with some kiddie blended fruit, I really love kid size snacks, they are healthy and always the right size.

Washed it all down with some very chilled coconut water. Refreshing!

I'm going to use the leftovers to make the Purely Twins' pumpkin pie fudge, my fave raw dessert of the past fall season. 
 

Whenever I make anything with pumpkin I end up singing Kate Nash's Pumpkin Soup, love that song.

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 ;)