Eat Well, Feel Well: #tofuinmypie

Chocolate Fudge Pie

Hello beautiful people!  I was going to wait a bit before I posted this, however, I was feeling down in the dumps and did not want to stare at my endless lecture notes any longer... Yay Finals week.

So instead of studying yesterday, I made a chocolate fudge pie with it's main ingredient being TOFU!

Whatttttttt?  Yes, Tofu!  And you know what it tastes great!

Recipes by Oh she Glows and Chocolate Covered Katie

Crust: for 1 9-inch 

3/4 cup raw almonds

1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)

3 tbsp Maple Syrup

1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt

1/2 cup Oat Flour

1 cup Rolled Oats

*Tip:  Read the instructions before you go ahead and begin mixing everything together...... =)

Filling: 

12.3oz Firm Tofu (I may try medium firm next time so it's more mousse like)

1 1/2 tsp Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 tbsp Almond Milk

Pinch of salt

1 and 1/3 cup of Chocolate Chips

1/3 cup Coconut Flakes**

1 tsp Coconut Extract**

**I wanted some coconut flavour.  Definitely need to increase both amounts next time.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Lighty grease your 9 -inch pie dish with coconut oil.  Put the almonds into the food processor and grind until a flour forms.  Ad the coconut oil, maple syrup,salt, and oat FLOUR and grind until a dough forms.  Pulse in the Rolled oats so there's still texture to the crust. 

The dough should be sticky.  Put the dough evenly over the base of the pie dish.  Beginning at the center, press the dough firmly into the dish, slowly moving outward and upward.  Push hard enough that it will stick together.  Poke holes with a fork so that air can escape when you bake this.

Bake for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown and you smell them almonds.  Cool for 20 minutes.

That block...

Melt the chocolate with a double boiler or microwave.

Till it's silky smooth. 

Put everything except the coconut flakes into the food processor and bend until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a bowl and fold in the coconut flakes.   

Put the mixture into the pie crust and chill in the refrigerator!  

Delicious!  You won't even know there's tofu in it. 

Garnish with fruits, yogurt, peanut butter or red bean!  The possibilities are endless!

For those who are feeling down at the moment, smile!  Keep it positive and do not fret over trivial things... which is what I will try to do. 

Enjoy!

Eat Well, Feel Well: #kimbits

Almond Butter Cookie Dough Bites

My infamous "Kimbits"!  These are an absolute hit and one of my personal favourites (as I am munching on one as I'm typing this).  I took a chance and decided to do a baking demonstration for a school presentation and I used these!  Everyone LOVED them!  If you are an avid cookie dough lover such as myself, these are definitely for you!

Recipe: Adapted from the Oh She Glows Cookbook

Makes approximately 14

1 1/2 cup Rolled Oats (ground up into a flour)

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil (Melted)

2 Tbsp Almond Butter (Smooth or Crunchy... I used crunchy)

1/4 cup maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Almond Flour (ground up whole almonds)

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp Mini Dark Chocolate Chips (I used dairy free)

In a food processor, blend oats until it is turned into a powder flour like consistency.  Set aside. 

Again, in the food processor grind up your rolled oats into a flour powder like consistency.  Then add everything into the food processor except for the chocolate chips.  

Grind it all together until it is combined.

Put the mixture into a bowl and fold (stir in) the chocolate chips with a spatula.  With a scoop, or just use two spoons.  Scoop it up and put it onto a plate lined with parchment paper.  Then roll them into balls and set them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

Enjoy!  Leave the rest in a freezer bag in the freezer for a quick grab and go snack! 

Or top off a mug cake with one ;).

Enjoy!

Learn Well, Eat Well: #ohsheglows

Effortless Overnight Oats

The main bulk of this lovely concoction are Chia seeds! Ch-ch-ch-chia!  What is all this commotion with chia seeds?  Well let me tell ya.  

"They are currently being used for their nutritional and medicinal properties, endurance for athletes, for suppressing the appetite, weight loss, levelling blood sugar, and for aiding intestinal regularity.  They readily dissolve into water, creating a substance that looks like gelatin.  This gel-forming action is due to the soluble fibre in the Chia seed.  Researchers believe that this same gel-forming phenomenon takes place in the stomach when Chia seed is consumed, thus creating a physical barrier between carbohydrates and digestive enzymes and slowing the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar.  Slowing the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar helps with endurance and metabolic rates, which is beneficial for athletes and others."  So neat! 

This pudding is able to thicken by the Chia seeds because they are hydrophilic (they love water!) and absorb more than 12 times its weight in the lovely H2O.  From this, the Chia seeds help retain moisture and prevent hydration especially during your workouts!

I love using them in my overnight puddings because it is super convenient and perfect for my 5:30am shifts if I want to catch some more zzz's.    

Other benefits from the little wonder seeds!

-essential fatty acids alpha linolenic and linoleic acid

-mucin

-strontium

-30% protein

-vitamin A

-vitamin B

-vitamin E

-vitamin D

-calcium, phosphorous, sulphur, iron, iodine, copper, zinc, sodium, magnesium, manganese, niacin, thiamine, silicon and antioxidants

Recipe from the Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon

Makes 3 Servings

1 cup (250ml) rolled oats
1 1/2 cups (375ml) almond milk
1/4 cup (60ml) chia seeds
1 large banana, mashed
1/2 tsp (2ml) ground cinnamon

In a small bowl (or in my case a glass container to reduce the dishes), whisk together the oats, almond milk, chia seeds, banana and cinnamon,  Cover and refrigerate overnight!  Yes that easy!

The next morning stir up the thickened up concoction and serve in a jar a bowl etc.  For garnish, I layered the pudding with blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, greek yogurt, almond butter, hemp seed and a drizzle of honey and a dash more of cinnamon.  YUMMMMM

Reference: 10 Uses for Chia Seeds

Enjoy!