I sometimes (maybe 85% of the time) have control-freak tendencies and these past few weeks have challenged those to the point where it’s actually done me good (crossfingershopenottojinx) but not without its difficulties. I have never been this busy before when it comes to school. But, I must be honest here…I have never really put this much effort into my educational pursuits before.
I entered the semester with a newfound change in my commitments. I have a goal and that is to be a nurse and I want to be a dang good one and I would like to be one in a couple of years, God willing. But for now, my focus is on the painstaking endeavors of getting an A microbiology and statistics which has proved to challenge my control-freak tendencies to the point where I may have had a momentary sob breakdown…AND THAT’S OKAY, is what I keep telling myself.
When I get into these stressful times, I have found the cure to redirect my chaos and bring some delicious, healthy, scrumptious, sometimes-vegan habits and hobbies back into my life-I cook and bake my little heart out!
The past few weeks have had me trying risky recipes that are now my tried and true go-to’s. And now I’m sharing them with you! I will also be linking the recipes to some of my favorite food bloggers that I get tons of foodie inspo from. I love foodies that advocate for the integrity of nutritious ingredients and keeping their taste real and wholesome. A lot of what I cook is inspired from those elements and guess what? IT ALL STILL TASTES LIKE CHOCOLATE!
Example A.
Banana mother friggin’ pancakes. These are my go-to breakfast almost every single morning. The base of it is low-carb, dairy-free, gluten-free, and the ingredients you can incorporate in them are endless. There are many variations of this recipe out there so I’ll share you mine!
-1 ripe banana
-two organic, brown eggs
-a hearty pinch of baking powder (makes them fluffier IMO)
-a couple of drops of vanilla extract
-a tbsp (or two or three or lots) of vegan chocolate chips
Mash up the banana and eggs until it’s not too lumpy. Throw in the rest of the ingredients and mix again. Heat a small pan or griddle over low to medium heat. *Not too hot or else they will burn. Drop a dollop of coconut oil in and spread around until melted. Portion 1/4 cup of the mixture in the pan. Flip over when the bottom is firm enough to be flipped.
I pour two capfuls of maple syrup over mine and serve with turkey bacon or fruit, whichever I have time for. This yields three pancakes most of the time. Sometimes I’ll come out with four but I ain’t complaining.
A very time-friendly and easy-to-do breakfast that is packed with protein and caloric energy to get your morning going.
Next up…
This is for the days that I am SUPER exhausted, SUPER lazy, and/or SUPER busy to even touch the stove but I’m still needing something healthy to lift my spirits up. It’s also a great drink to start a detox with. It’s deviated from Minimalist Baker’s smoothie recipe to accommodate what I had in my freezer at the time. She freezes her greens which was so interesting and new to me and now I’m hooked because it made my smoothie a millijion times better! She also shared a trick to her smoothie recipes and that is to dilute your milk with water to make your smoothie more drinkable and not so chunky. Here’s what I did.
-A handful of frozen kale and frozen spinach
-1 frozen banana, cut up
-A handful of frozen strawberries, cut up
-A tbsp of chia seeds and ground flax seed
-About one cup of almond milk
-About 1/2 cup of coconut milk from a can *make sure it’s pure and has no fillers
She shared to dilute with water. This thins out the milk and also yields more to your smoothie.
Blend on high until it’s all mixed together. If still too thick, add more water or milk to your liking. This was a HUGE mason jar and made a little over twenty ounces. Then I served with a spoonful of almond butter cause why not? Almondbutterismylife.
NOW, time to dessert! True fact: I eat something chocolatey like once a day. Sometimes four but hey, no judgement here. Chocolate is good for the soul, y’all. And here’s ways to make it healthy.
That’s right. Donuts. And not just donuts. But gluten-free and vegan CHOCOLATE donuts. This recipe is created by Minimalist Baker and she makes the most undetectably and friggin delish vegan treats I have ever tried. I bought my donut pan off Amazon to make these and my whole family and I ate all of these in one day. In the voice of Jeffrey Dallas, ALL TWELV OF THEM. Give these a try!
The last recipe I’ll share with y’all is from my other favorite food blogger, Kezia from The Whole Food Diary. The story behind this is that it has been an unusually but not suprisingly warm winter here in Texas. It was so warm one day that I started craving ice cream. I went on IG and see Kezia make homemade ice cream sandwiches that were really, really easy to recreate, wholesome, all paleo, all natural and still delicious. 
This is a recipe I am still trying to perfect but the recipe for the cookies is easy to whip up if you’re just wanting a quick treat. I deviated a bit from the original recipe to accomodate what I had in my pantry at the time. Once I feel confident in this cookie recipe, I’ll definitely be sharing the recipe. Kezia also makes her own homemade ice cream and I’m hoping to invest in an ice cream maker soon so I can start experimenting in that genre of cooking and share it with y’all! These will definitely be a staple in my freezer this summer!
And that’s all I have for y’all today, folks! These are my favorite recipes to make at the moment when I am needing a therapy session in my kitchen. I hope to share more with y’all soon and if you try any of these, share them with me by tagging me on IG and using the hashtag #foodwisely.
Peace and love to you all and thanks for reading! Say hi to me anytime!
-MK
In The Blues & Greens 