Ferrero Rocher.. the vegan and gluten-free way!

Remember those delicious Ferrero chocolates, with their golden wrapper, chocolate coating, and delicious nutty center? Ah, nostalgia. Well a lot of you probably still eat those, but alas they are not vegan, so it's been years since I've had one.

They are also full of modified whatever ingredients, and refined sugar and other stuff I don't wanna see in my food. That's why I decided to veganize them!

I got some hazelnut butter from a health food expo last weekend, and I've been hooked on hazelnuts since. I made porridge with it a couple times, and had it over mochi. Oh my god. I also had it on my protein pudding, which I didn't photograph.

For the recipes to these babies and more, go to my Instagram page: @missveggievibes

Without further a due, here is the Ferrero recipe! It's a lot of steps, but I've tried to make it as clear as possible. Comment if you have questions!

Vegan & Gluten Free Ferrero Rocher

Ingredients:

-1 cup whole hazelnuts

-2 cups crispy rice cereal (I used Enjoy Life brand, see photo below)

-3/4 cup hazelnut butter (I used Prana, which is incredible!)
-1/4 cup + 1/4 cup coconut oil, divided (measured solid)
-1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp coconut sugar, divided
-1/4 cup coconut flour
-1.5 tbsp milled flax seed
-1 cup vegan chocolate chips
-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk (or other non dairy milk)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Place hazelnuts in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, watching carefully so they don't burn. Remove from the oven, wait until cool enough to handle, then manually remove the skins. If a little is being stubborn on them, don't worry. The skins aren't too bad, but they will taste less bitter without them. Turn the oven off.

2. In a food processor, grind the cereal until it is not quite all crumbs, but a fine mix of crumbs and larger pieces. I took a picture, because that sounds confusing as hell. By the way, this is the cereal I used. It has honey, so if you don't eat that then try another healthy rice cereal! Rice Krispies are probably GMO ridden, so go for a whole grain or organic version.

3. Mix the flax with 4 tbsp water and let it sit. Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil on gentle heat in a small saucepan, then add the hazelnut butter and 1/4 cup of the coconut sugar. Add more sugar if your rice cereal is totally unsweeteened. Yea, you're making a dessert, so it needs to be sweet! Stir the hazelnut mixture into the rice cereal, along with the coconut flour, and mix it up well. Add the flax and mix again.

4. Put your mixture in the freezer for just a few minutes so it hardens a bit and is easier to manage.

5. Remove from freezer. This next step takes some patience, and I guarantee your hands will be covered in crispy hazelnut mixture, which you will want to lick like a hungry dog. Try not to. This recipe is probably for other people besides yourself, and having your spit in it isn't nice. ;) Take one whole hazelnut at a time, and grab a generous spoonful of the crispy mixture, and then use your hands to "wrap" the mixture around the nut. Try your best, and don't worry if it feels like it won't set. It will. Take your crispy nut balls and put them on the same baking sheet from before (save some dishes here). Return to freezer to harden a bit. Note: you will have some hazelnuts left over, so save those.

6. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate chips, almond milk, and remaining coconut sugar and coconut oil in a small pan on low heat. Stir frequently. When mixture is nice and uniform, remove from heat. 

7. Take your remaining hazelnuts and process into crumbs in your food processor. Remove the balls from the freezer, and then use a spoon to cover them in chocolate. I find leaving them on the baking sheet is easier, just roll them around as needed, to cover. Sprinkle the hazelnut pieces on top. Return to the freezer until set.

ENJOY!

Hearty Harvest Soup

I know it's getting chilly when I've made the first soup of the season. I used to really dislike soup. I only had it when my mom made me as a child, when I was sick or something. That was probably because it was the Knorr instant MSG-in-a-box kinda soup.

I love making soup now. It's the perfect way to clean out the vegetable crisper to make an easy one pot dish that can easily be hearty enough for a meal. Just add some grains (or pseudograins), some beans and peas, and you've got yourself a protein and fibre rich medley of deliciousness to go with your nutrient-packed veggie base.

I've had a huge bag of spelt berries sitting in my pantry for way too long... I tried making manna bread with them once, and it went moldy. I was just too sad to use them since then. (Just kidding, I just forgot about them and wasn't sure what to use them in.)

I also had a very attractive sweet potato squash from the farmer's market sitting in my pantry. Going with the colour scheme, I also had yellow split peas, which don't take very long to cook and make a perfect addition to a soup.

Here it is - a delicious "fall themed", nutrient-rich soup!

Ingredients:

-1/2 tbsp coconut oil
-1/3 cup each carrots, celery and onion, finely chopped
-1 tsp cumin
-2 tsp garam masala
-1/4 tsp sea salt (optional, add more or less, to taste)
-2 tbsp low sodium vegetable broth powder (I buy mine in bulk. You may also use 2 vegetable broth cubes)
-About 2 1/3 cups chopped and peeled squash, sweet potato or pumpkin
-1 cup whole spelt kernels/berries
-1 cup dry yellow split peas

Instructions:

1. In a large pot, heat coconut oil on medium-high heat. Add celery, carrots and onion and sautee for at least 5 minutes.

2. Add 6 cups of water, along with seasonings and broth powder (you may just use 6 cups of already made broth, if that's what you have.) Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

3. Add squash cubes, spelt, and split peas. Simmer on low heat, covered but with room for steam to escape, for 35 minutes.

4. Remove from heat. Take about half of the soup and puree it in a blender or food processor. You will want to wait at least a few minutes before adding it to the blender, just to make super sure your blender won't crack (it hasn't happened to me with a blender, but it has with a mason jar... and it sucks). After you're pureed half the soup completely, add it back into the rest of the soup in the pot. Stir and mix well. This gives your soup a nice texture. How much of the soup you puree is up to you!

You may substitute the spelt if you have another grain on hand or want to make a gluten-free soup, and just slightly adjust the cooking time.

Enjoy! I like mine with some Sriracha on top and some warm pita on the side.




Tijana

The Joy of Fall Food - Fresh Homemade Applesauce

When fall gives you apples, you make applesauce! A trip to a farmer's market this weekend lead me to make my own at home with my slow cooker.

I can't believe I've never made it before. It's ridiculously easy. All I added was cinnamon, and some apple cider to keep it from sticking to my slow cooker, and it's so sweet and delicious. And I used Cortland apples, which are not overly sweet. I am frazzled as to why anyone would add sugar to this beauty. Anywho, I will post that quick and simple recipe below. Is it even a recipe? It's too easy to be called a recipe!

I've been feeling so inspired by this season. Pumpkins, apples, warm foods, aromatic spices... I'm really playing up the whole fall theme. These days I've been trying to step out of my comfort zone in the kitchen. I love to experiment with recipes, but making a crappy or less-than-perfect creation is enough to leave me feeling really crummy about my kitchen abilities.

I don't like to follow recipes. I just read up on things I'm not familiar with, or if I want ratios of ingredients, that kinda thing... then I take different ways of making any given food into account and create my own recipe based on my knowledge. For example, I want to make granola. I start looking at blogs I like, using Google, and snooping around anywhere else I can see a granola recipe. I then see what each ingredient "does" in the recipe, what needs to be in it, about how long/what temperature it needs to be baked at, etc. I then make a "healthified" version with ingredients I'm happy with.

I did do this for granola, actually. I was going for the fall theme, too. Apple spice! I was kinda cheap on the oil, though, and it wasn't very clustery. It was also a bit well-done. Still good, but not worthy of a post on this round.

Some things in life don't deserve cheapness. Can't be cheap with a bit of oil and maple syrup in granola. And you certainly shouldn't be cheap with sweetener in your pumpkin cornbread!

Oh yeah, I made some of that too. I used fresh pumpkin puree I'd made the same day, and farmer's market fife flour! I also added a magic ingredient of some soy yogurt. However, although the texture was on point, sweetness was missed.

Enter my applesauce. Smothered it on the bread, added PB2, never looked back.

Here is the recipe for the applesauce. I left the skins on my apples, because a) ain't nobody got time for peeling over 5 lbs of apples, and b) why toy with nature? Organic apple skins never did anybody wrong.

Homemade Applesauce

Ingredients:
-5 lb bag of apples
-1/2 tbsp (or more, to taste) fresh cinnamon
-1/2 cup apple cider

Slice apples, removing the seeds and core. Put the apples in a slow cooker with the cinnamon and apple cider. Turn the slow cooker onto high and let cook for about 3 hours, stirring every hour. Throw your apples into a blender, and blend until silky smooth.

That's it!

Note: I wanted to add a hint of lemon juice, but I was actually out of lemons, so I may add some when I get around to it. This will help maintain freshness a bit longer. Also, you may add whatever spices you like. I think ginger, cloves, nutmeg or a hint of maple syrup would be fun. You be the judge!

As for what kind of apples you like, it's up to you. Sweet ones will make a sweet sauce, tart will make tart. A mix will be the best of both worlds.

Thive Kitchen Launch - Friends, Food and Fun

Recently my favourite company in the whole wide world, Vega, has launched a new chapter in their popular web series Thrive Forward called Thrive Kitchen. It has a ton of info about creating your meals with different staple ingredients, making healthy swaps for not-so-healthy ingredients, and some creative examples on how to turn your plate into a fun international affair or a rawsome dish.

As soon as I watched the video on international cuisine, I was super giddy and thrilled. One of my absolute favourite things is understanding different cultures through food. I love understanding which spices, tastes and staple foods make up a country or region's cuisine. If I had to narrow it down, I'd say Indian is numero uno for me personally. It's also the trickiest to "master" - lots of variance among the regions, and oh so many spices and flavours used to create a unique end result together.

For the new Thrive Kitchen chapter, there was a launch party thrown yesterday to celebrate. I was lucky enough to be able to attend. It was my perfect evening - tons of amazing food (provided by the lovely Marni Wasserman), even more amazing people, and some awesome speeches on what Thrive Kitchen and plant-based eating is all about.

I met new people, saw some old friends and acquaintances, and got to pick some people's brains on how they got into the field they're in. I'm personally very likely going the holistic nutrition route, so it was super exciting for me.

Oh, and I totally chatted with Brendan Brazier. No biggie. He's super cool, and I think I was less blabbery this time.

Here are some pics from last night's event.

 Such an honour to meet Peggy! She's a doll!

 The man himself who started it all - Brendan Brazier!

 Yeah, riding that bike in that skirt... not exactly ideal. Standing in front of it works just fine.

 Oh boy, my friend Luke (left) was juice fasting. He claims he was OK with being around all that delicious food. I think he's super-human!

 Lovely ladies! So down to earth and awesome. Michelle and Christina, runners and bloggers extraordinaire!

 Loved Jessica Morris' speech at the party. All about plant based eating and making healthy swaps.

Good old "Veggie Mike"! The brains behind the operation. Thank you for that awesome evening.

You can check out the new Thrive Kitchen chapter, as well as the entire web series, at www.thriveforward.com 

It's really amazing being in your own element. The feeling is out of this world.

Looking forward to posting some new recipes soon on the blog here, by the way. Stay tuned for cake balls!

Tijana

Vegan Chickpea Tuna and my experience with "Flexible Dieting"

Ah, back to school. Man, did I ever miss those 6am mornings and late nights studying.

...said no one ever.

Well, I actually am happy I'm back at school. I really love my program. I mean, school is school, so there is work to do, but being around my friends and learning interesting stuff to apply to my future career is kinda cool. And the crisp fall weather has been pretty sweet too!

These days I've been on a bit of a new "kick". I have been learning more about tracking macronutrients (as I discussed in a previous post), but now I've really gotten quite into it. I've been learning so much about how the body metabolizes macros in different ways. I was going about "losing weight" all wrong in the past. Not that losing weight is my goal anymore, thank goodness.

I want to get lean. I want to drop body fat and gain lean muscle. I feel like I always throw that out there, but lately it's actually started to happen! I always thought I had chunky legs, even when I lost some weight, but I finally am seeing some definition to my quads and booty. My back is totally shaping out, and when I'm a really good girl with water and consistent macros I can even see baby abs!

What I've been doing is using MyFitnessPal to track my macronutrient and caloric intake. Recently, I've really upped it and tried to remain pretty diligent. What's working for me right now is 50/25/25, with about 1600 calories. This means I have about 200G of carbs a day, 45G of fat and 100G of protein.

Of course I still eat whole, unprocessed foods. I do take Vega protein daily, and I am rest assured it's a very clean source of protein with no added junk like a lot of others have from flavouring, etc.

The reason I mention this is because a lot of people tracking macros, or following IIFYM, eat some junk and just write it off as fitting their macros for the day. This is called "flexible dieting", because the idea is you can still get lean by eating whatever fits your macronutrient intake for that day. I could go on about that, but if you want more information, please check out www.iifym.com or go to the BioLayne YouTube channel. That has helped me a lot. Of course I'm still learning this for myself!

Speaking of macros, I whipped up a great clean recipe for some mock "tuna" made of chickpeas. I added a wack ton of nooch, because it's the dream vegan ingredient - tastes cheesy, has a lot of protein...what more could you want?! I added no Veganaise (better than mayo, but it's still a processed food), and no salt (trying to avoid the bloat. So I used dulse instead of sea salt!). The tahini makes it just creamy enough, and the dill and veggies add a crisp and refreshing taste and texture.

I honestly don't remember how tuna tastes like, but this is kind of nostalgic. The texture is very similar. All I know is that it tastes amazeballs!

Chickpea Tuna

-2 cups cooked chickpeas
-1/4 cup nutritional yeast
-1/4 cup fresh dill, or 2 tbsp dried
-1/2 cup finely chopped celery
-1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
-2 tsp dulse flakes
-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
-1/4 cup tahini


Pulse chickpeas alone in food processor until some chunks remain. Add remaining ingredients and continue to pulse or process for short bursts at a time, scraping the work bowl as needed. You may add 2 tbsp of water while you pulse to help the mixture form a tuna-like texture. Some chunks should remain.

Spread it on some whole grain bread, eat it with crackers, or do whatever you like to do with your tuna!

Approximate macros (per 1/2 cup serving):

202 calories
8.6 G total fat
24.2 G carbs
10G protein

Happy eating!

Super Moist Protein Brownies (AKA Heaven)

I have been OBSESSED this these babies since I whipped up my first batch. Using beets in brownies is old news - they're a very healthy way to add sweetness and nutrients to brownies. And guess what? Chocolate is healthy, too. Real frikkin chocolate. Well, this recipe is made with protein powder, but it's Vega, so it is indeed real cacao. And it's sweetened with stevia. Awww yeah. 

I love to crumble them on my protein puddings (see a previous post I did on those), eat as a morning snack or I may even try to throw them in a healthy brownie "milkshake" with almond milk and frozen bananas. OH LAWD!

The first time I made them, I just used coconut oil instead of almond butter. That's yummy too. They turned out very red the first time. I had originally named them Red Velvet Brownies. Since they're browner now, this is their name, lol. I also changed the type of nut milk pulp I use. If you're curious about a sub in this recipe, and don't wanna try it, you can just shoot me a comment and I'll probably have an answer for ya.

You'll never believe they get a lot of their sweetness from beets, and their moistness from nut milk pulp!

-1 cup beet purée (approximately 4-5 medium sized beets. I bake mine!)

-1.5 scoops chocolate protein powder (I use Vega sport)

-1 cup spelt flour 

-1 tsp each baking powder and baking soda


-1 cup unsweetened almond milk (see below how to make your own)

-1/4 cup almond butter

-About 1/2 cup nut milk pulp (make from soaking a cup of raw nuts overnight, then rinsing and blending at high speed with 1 litre of water, and straining through a colander. The liquid is nut milk, and the fibre is your pulp!)

-1 tbsp flax + 3 tbsp water (aka one "flax egg")

-2 tbsp dairy free chocolate chips


Optional frosting-1/2 scoop protein powder-1 tbsp pb2 (you can use regular nut butter!)-1 tbsp coconut flour -almond milk, to consistency


Directions: 


1. Preheat oven to 350.


2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix. 


3. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients (not chocolate chips yet). Make sure you've let the flax egg absorb the water before adding it. 


4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry, then add the chocolate chips and mix well. 


5. Pour batter into a 9x9" lightly greased brownie pan. Bake for 30 minutes. 


6. Allow to cool before adding the frosting on top. Slice into brownies and enjoy! I like to make 9.

My First Race - 30 Tough Kilometres

This weekend I ran my first race. It was called A Midsummer Night's Run, and it was on Centre Island. I ran the full 30K. 

The same day, there was the CanFitPro convention. I was fortunate enough to score awesome samples of goodies which helped me HUGELY in my race. I was fuelled by plant based products from Vega and Cliff Bar. 

Let me tell you that 30K is much easier said than done. I've never considered myself a runner, and certainly not a fast one. But this year I had decided to take up running. I thought its a great way to challenge your fitness, set personal goals and join an awesome running community. This is all awesome, however you gotta dedicate the time to do all of this. 

Between work, meal prep and commuting around on the TTC, I'm a busy bee. I'm out of the house 75% of the time. When I work out I need to be sure I bring my food out with me, shower stuff, allow travel time, etc. With running, I find you need to a) dedicate time for long runs and b) allow yourself more time to include going home to shower, eat, etc. 

For these reasons, I had not trained properly for my race. My farthest distance EVER was 10K. I figured it'd be a slow 30K race, but since I'm aerobically fit I'd be totally fine. 

Yeah, that was very stupid. If you're a runner you know that completing a race takes time and dedication to training. When people heard I'd only run 10K before, they were telling me it'd be slow and it would probably hurt. 

To make matters worse, since the last 10K run I'd done, I could feel my right shin getting some sort of weird pain. It was different than a shin splint, which I used to suffer from a lot, but hadn't experienced in a while. I kept foam rolling, stretching and icing it like a maniac leading up to my race.

On race day, I was so excited! Not to mention that the stuff I got to fuel me at the CanFitPro convention was a huge bonus. I stopped by Cliff Bar and met Christina, aka The Athletarian, and she gave me awesome advice and awesome race goodies. I even got to talk to her running coach Michelle, who gave me some more running tips on fuelling and training for races. 

I got a couple of energy blocks, an energy bar, and some energy gel shots. I had half the bar about an hour and a half before the race, a couple blocks before I started, and a block every few kilometres until 20K, where I had my chocolate energy gel shot. 

Oh, and I freaking met Brendan Brazier that day!!! I was like a giddy school girl. I'm pretty such I sounded like a blubbering idiot, but I was so stoked. I told him I can't go a day without Vega. It's so true! Speaking of Vega, I went to their booth and got amazing free goodies: a couple recovery accelerators, gels, electrolyte hydrator and pre workout energizer. I had the hydrator and pre-workout before my race, and the recovery accelerator after. I think it helped in a huge way. I have another one I'll probably have today. 

The race started at 5:30 pm (hence the name of the run). I was eager and excited as soon as we started. 

5K flew by. By this time my friend had passed me, but I knew that would happen inevitably, so I was just running on at my own pace. My leg was okay, but it definitely affected my speed. I could feel it getting aggravated. Honestly, I was walking with a slight limp the last couple days before that, so the fact I finished the whole race is beyond me.

 When I got to 10K, I was still feeling stoked, but I started to worry about finishing the race. What if my leg got worse? What if I couldn't finish? I started getting all these negative thoughts. I tried my best to shut them out, but I was very doubtful. I just tried to breathe through it, and even briefly called my boyfriend at 11K. 

The second third of the race was tough. The KMs felt very long. I remember being sure I'd missed a sign, and that the next sign would be 2 kilometres ahead of what I last read. Nope. I was just getting even slower. 

At 15K, I thought "wow I ran 15 freaking kilometres!" And immediately thought "...and have 15 to go." I was getting very negative, and the dark thoughts kept coming. The next few KM were the toughest. What kept me going was reading the back of people's race shirts which read "mind over matter". I kept reminding myself that if I keep going, there is an end, and I'll finish one way or another. 

Around the halfway mark is when I needed to take walking breaks. I tried to avoid it, but I just needed to walk it out for a bit, and that's okay. 

When I saw 20K, I was pumped. I ate my delicious chocolate Cliff energy gel, walked for a bit, and starting slowly running. I honestly don't know if I could have had the drive I did at the end without it.

To wrap up the rest, I just had to mentally shut everything out and keep going. My iPhone died at 17K, so I was just taking in the beautiful island view and keeping it slow and steady. 

I crossed the finish line at 3:35. At first I felt embarrassed by my finish time, but then I immediately told myself that's ridiculous. I ran a 30 freaking K race for my first time, and I was injured. My goal going into it was to cross the finish line, and that I did. Besides, my goal is always to compete with myself, not others. 

During my dark moments in the race, I was thinking how painful it was and how I'd never run again. It's pretty funny that as soon as I finished, I was already planning a half marathon. I wanna take it slower and do a half before attempting a full, this time with proper training. 

Post-race, my legs immediately felt like Jell-O. I inhaled a banana at the finish line, then a veggie burger (on a white bun. YOLO), which I thoroughly enjoyed as well. And a beer, which really hit the spot! 

My friend and I went back across the water to the city, then to her aunt's place to grab our stuff. We were both all Jell-O. Half a Cliff bar, some recovery accelerator and a long shower later, I was passed out. 

Today my legs are actually much better than I anticipated. Granted walking and stairs are Satan, but I can still walk nonetheless. I did some hot yoga too, which really hit the spot. And I'm just ravenous today. All things aside, though, I do know I fuelled myself pretty darn well. My hydration was on point before, during and post race, and my glycogen was certainly restored well by yesterday's and today's carbs (thank you, Cliff Bar and Vega!). 

The bottom line is that I have enormous respect for runners after this experience. I hope to be able to call myself one soon! 

Safe training, everyone.

Tij