Zoe's VEGAN OAT BLENDER BANANA BLUEBERRY and DARK CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES

Hi everyone! This is my recipe for my vegan oat blender banana pancakes! I had been searching over a year ago for a recipe for pancakes, and I came across one on http://www.mountainmamacooks.com, that I adapted and changed to fit my vegan lifestyle. Please check out their amazing website if you get the chance: perfect for those who live at high altitudes. 

SO, now present day, my mum, dad, and sister, whenever I come home, beg me to make THIS RECIPE for Saturday breakfast! This recipe is super filling and keeps you full for at least seven hours, perfect for a long hike or a day out!  No oil, gluten free, and vegan! It is my family tradition that I'm sharing with you. Enjoy:) 

Ingredients: about 9 pancakes 

2 cups of ground steel cut oats                                         1 1/4 almond milk 

1 cup extra almond milk                                                   1 jar coconut oil for cooking                                                                                            

1/2 cup of organic dark chocolate chips                            1/2 cup of organic blueberries

1 flax seed egg- 2 tbsp. of flax seed and 1 tbsp. water      1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla extract                                                        1 heaping tbsp. agave nectar                                                                                        

1 tsp. cinnamon                                                               1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. salt                                                                        1 large organic, ripe banana 

Directions:

1. Let's make your flax egg! I use 2 tbsp of the flax seed /Chia blend, (it gives a good texture to the pancakes) and let slowly stir with one tbsp of water. Place a damp- paper towel over your mixture  and let rest for 10 min while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  

2. Take your 2 cup of steel cut oats, (I typically use MCCan's, I much prefer those to Quaker Oats) and place them into the blender. I pulsate for 20 second intervals in the grind setting of my blender. The consistency should be powdery but still textured with the oats themselves: 50% powder, 50% still hard oats. It usually takes me about 2 min to get the consistency I desire. 

3. Place your 1 1/4 cup of almond milk in bottom of the blender, along with honey. Cut up the banana and place it in the blender, along with the rest of the ingredients. 

4. Blend or grind for 1-2 minutes until you get a slightly lumpy batter. 

5. Now, add your flax egg to your battle, pulsate ONLY one or two times, to incorporate. You really do not want to destroy or lose the texture of the flax egg in the batter, so one or two pulses in the blender will mix it just fine. 


6. Now, the fun part! Grab your yummy blueberries and dark chocolate chips, and place
them in the bowls next to the griddle. Grab a large spoon and take your batter in the blender to the stove top! Time to heat to the griddle! 


7. It of the utmost importance that the griddle be hot, leave it on medium heat until heats up. Add about 4 tbsp of coconut oil to the pan- make sure it is medium heat coconut oil. Make sure the entire pan is coated with the coconut oil. 

8. Now, take your spoon and lay down circles of batter on your griddle pan. About three fit on my griddle pan. If you see an area of the pan that it lacking coconut oil,especially around the edges of the pancake, add more while the pancakes are cooking on the griddle! This will create a yummy crispy golden flaky crust! 

9. Add three or four blueberries to your pancake if you desire, and/or six or seven chocolate chips. 

10.Now, add some batter on top of the blueberries to cover them up. This is important for the cooking process to cover the blueberries and prevent them bursting and ruining your expensive pan :)

11. When you see bubbles and the edge of your pancakes become brown and crispy, flip the pancakes over. 2 minutes on the other side until golden brown, and crispy in texture.

12. Now, a word to the wise, as you continue to use batter and make beautiful, delicious pancakes, your batter will become more and more lumpy. Between each round of three pancakes, add about 1/4 cup of almond milk to the blender batter, stirring and working out the lumps as best you can. If you want to squeeze out 12 pancakes, add more milk or water to thin out the mixture. 


13. Then  voila!! You have gorgeousness on the plate!! Just some ideas: make a fruit platter with more bananas, strawberries, blueberries, mango, and kiwi, to put on your pancakes afterwards!

Please enjoy, eat mindfully and remember mindfulness and savor every delicious bite! 
So get a-munching! 
Namaste, 
Zoe

*If you enjoyed this post and others, make sure to go follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more recipes, life-hacks, and inspiration. 

SAVORING ITALY! (THE DINNER OF A LIFETIME)

      Today is a little bit of a different kind of blog post, however it combines both lifestyle and vegetarian food!! In spirit of National Sibling Day, I thought I would detail one of my life-inspiring moments in a slow food/Italian dinner which occurred just yesterday, with my best friend and twin sister Izabella.  I'm so lucky and grateful to have her in my life, and as my constant rock and support network. I love you babe! 

     For four months now, I have been taking a Savoring Italy course where I have learned about the various food and cultural foodstuff of Italy and its many provinces. In course of this class, we have learned about the slow food movement, which began in Italy with Perini in 1986: promoting sustainable food and agriculture of local small businesses. Perini focuses on specifically living a slower paced life and an age of constant growth, change, and technology. It is a cultural shift towards living life more mindfully, and listening to one's body processes and desires: self-care is so essential. 

On the right: Where some of our food came from, veggies from a local Slow Food farm in Massachusetts. 

       Italian food contains absolutely no-GMOS, as per governmental regulation, and it is not composed of typical heavy, dairy ridden dishes and heavy marinara that we associate with Italian-American food. Rather, authentic Italian food is served family style, with large bowls of food placed in the center a table, and each person gets a small portion in five courses. Of the courses, I had an entirely vegan Italian dinner. How do you ask?

Here is a look at our third course: chicken for non-vegetarian, beans, roasted vegetables, and homemade focaccia bread with olive tapenade. I'm a happy camper! 

      Our professor guided us, in this amazing dinner, to eating slowly; to simply taste and experience our food one bit at a time using all our senses.  It was one of the most awe-inspiring moments of my life: one of the most fulfilling spiritually in feeding my soul and body food that fuels goodness and is healthful and kind to the earth. 

       Let me tell you about this food, I was crying. Full-out tears were pouring out of my eyes, as I savored the amazing delicacies that were before me.

This bean dish made me cry tears of joy. 

Then, something even more incredible happened; we were situated around a table with complete strangers, however we were chatting away like old buddies. 
Due to this proliferation of incredible, mind-boggling good food, conversation swelled: laughs and jokes were shared in a matter of minutes. In "breaking bread", we were breaking down barriers in our two hours dinner. 

No one left after two hours; we simply stayed for another two, with amazing cappuccino and homemade cannoli to celebrate this amazing communion of energy, flow, and mindfulness. My sister and I had one of the most meaningful conversations we have ever had, while sipping and savoring delicious food that is not artificial, non-GMO, hand-made, and organic. I can't find a better excuse to eat pasta? Can you? 
Love you all, and wishing you a peaceful week full of yummy food that fuels your soul and body!

Namaste, Zoe

Namaste,

ZOE'S FAMOUS VEGAN BLUEBERRY and BANANA BAKED OATMEAL

Ingredients: 

1 cup organic rolled oats                                          1 cup (to be ground) steel cut oats 

 

 1/4 cup extra steel cut oats                                     1 Flax Egg:1 tbsp. flax seed & H20                                                                                  

1 tsp. baking powder

                                                                               1 1/2 tsp. Saigon cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg 

                                                                               1/2 tsp. salt 

1/3 cup agave nectar, or honey

                                                                               2 large ripe organic bananas

2 tsp. vanilla extract

                                                                               1 1/2 cups organic blueberries

1 cup unsweetened almond milk 

@ThinkZoeBoost

                                                                               2 tbsp. coconut oil, refrigerated 

Directions: 

1. Preheat the oven to bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 

2. Take a Pyrex dish or pie dish, and coat the entire dish with the refrigerated coconut oil.

3. Let's make your flax egg. Use 1 tbsp of flax seed, or flax seed blend with Chia (prefer this) and add two tbsp. water. Stir well until combined, place a damp paper-towel over the top, and set aside for 10 minutes. Congrats, you made a flax egg! (Air-five yourself or someone near you:)  

4. Cut the two bananas, and lay the slices down on the bottom of the pie dish, until the bottom of your dish is completely covered.

5. Evenly cover your layer of bananas with a 1/2 cup of your organic blueberries.

6. Place the dish in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the bananas are golden brown, and the blueberries are slightly purple and oozing. (Yummy!!)

7. While your dish is in the oven, let's get to your oatmeal, the star of this breakfast! Place your 1 cup of steel cut oats in a medium sized blender, and grind them until slightly powdery in consistency.

8. In a large bowl, combine your slightly ground steel cuts oats with the organic rolled oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Gingerly stir these ingredient together until well mixed.

9. In a separate bowl, combine your flax egg, vanilla extract, and honey or agave nectar until well mixed.

10. After the fifteen minutes are complete, take your dish out of the oven and let cool for 2 minutes.

11. Add your dry ingredients slowly to your wet ingredients, gingerly mixing as you go. Take your time here, and enjoy the beauty of cooking and mindfulness!

12. Gently pour your mixture of the wet and dry ingredients over the blueberries and bananas on the bottom of your dish. Make sure to do your best to carefully cover all the blueberries and bananas in an even layer of mixture.

13. Add, over the top-of your mixture, the remaining 1 cup of blueberries, evenly distributing over the surface.

14. Once your blueberries adorn the top of your lovely dish, slowly drizzle your one cup of almond milk over the top of the mixture. If the milk in pan goes over the line of the mixture the line in the pan, stop! 

15. Finally, use your final 1/4 cup of steel cut oats to place around the edges of your oatmeal dish. These extra oats will crisp up with the almond milk and coconut oil, giving a wonderfully crispy and golden texture to the oatmeal. It's delicious I promise!

16. Place your pan in the oven, on Bake, 375 degrees Fahrenheit, for 30 minutes, or until the oats are golden brown! 

17. Enjoy your beautiful breakfast! Remember, slow eating, and be grateful and pay homage to the beauty in your healthy creation you made! Tweet me at @thinkzoeboost with pics of how it came out! 

Namaste,

Zoe 

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