Recipes
Dirty Horchata Protein Smoothie
This cinnamony treat is the perfect way to start your morning, with coffee, protein, and lots of flavor…
It’s been a minute since my last post. I’ve been really busy with moving and I just haven’t had the perfect moment to start developing recipes again. Recently I decided to stop waiting for perfect, and to work with what I have right now. That does mean that the process is a little bit harder, but making recipes, like this dirty horchata protein smoothie, and sharing them with you is something that brings me joy, so it’s worth it.
Because of the move, I have to forego my usual festivities around this time of year. That makes me really sad, but it’s very impractical to do a bunch of holiday decorating in the middle of moving. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy my favorite holiday treats, though.
When Unicorn Superfoods announced their newest protein powder flavor, I had to get back into my love for cinnamon, just in time for the holidays. Naturally, I made a big batch of horchata to play around with and add into everything. This horchata recipe goes so well with their new Cinnamon Dusted Churros flavor, so I had to find a way to combine the two. It’s also amazing on its own.
While this recipe is a little bit involved for a smoothie, the horchata can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and you can add it into so many things throughout every day (or just enjoy it on its own). I will be sharing more of my favorite ways to use this horchata but right now, I can’t get enough of this smoothie.
The combination of coffee, horchata, and the cinnamon-y protein powder makes for a very delicious way to get some morning caffeine. I added in some chia seeds for more fiber and omegas, and banana for sweetness, creaminess, and potassium.
Dirty Horchata Protein Smoothie
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
- This Horchata recipe is not traditional, but it is dairy-free and refined sugar-free, you can substitute it with your own recipe if you have one you love.
- This recipe makes about four serves of horchata and one serve of protein smoothie.
- You can soak the rice and cinnamon for a minimum of four hours and up to two days, the longer it soaks, the stronger the cinnamon will taste.
- You can use any rice you like in this recipe, my favorite is jasmine. I personally would avoid basmati, as it has a strong taste, but playing around with different kinds of long-grain rice can be a fun way to find your favorite way to make horchata.
- If you don't have an espresso machine, substitute the espresso with about 30ml of your favorite coffee.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
323.91Fat
7.4Sat. Fat
1.46Carbs
41.45Fiber
7.18Net carbs
34.26Sugar
25.57Protein
24.56Sodium
497.08Cholesterol
0Nutritional info will differ based on type of horchata used, this data assumes the smoothie is made with the refined-sugar free, dairy-free horchata recipe provided.
Tropical Green Smoothie Bowl
This tropical treat is packed full of nutrients from leafy greens and a large variety of fruit, making this the perfect summer smoothie bowl…
We’re nearing the end of our six weeks of smoothie bowls. This has been a very fun and very yummy project. I’m enjoying doing these 6-week series as a fun way to populate the recipe section of the blog. This week, I translated one of my go-to smoothies into a smoothie bowl. I love green smoothies but, a lot of the time, the flavor is lacking. That’s why this one’s my favorite, because it’s full of so much spinach (and you could add in some kale too!) but it also tastes like the perfect tropical treat.
This is similar to my ocean bowl recipe from a few weeks ago. They have similar summery vibes, the perfect summer duo. With mango and passion fruit as key ingredients in both, but they do diverge in other ways. They’re each a unique experience, honestly, but if you liked one you’ll love the other!
This one has a lot of goodness in all the chlorophyll from the greens powder or matcha, and the leafy greens. You could also add in some spirulina for an extra boost. Then for even more flavor and goodness, there’s coconut water for hydration, frozen coconut for fiber, potassium-rich mango and banana, and passion fruit for antioxidants. Flavor and nutrient-wise, this is the perfect summer smoothie bowl—add in your favorite protein powder (I recommend flavorless collagen) and some frozen cauliflower to make this an even more well-rounded breakfast!
Tropical Green Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Facts
Calories
292.28Fat
15Sat. Fat
12.35Carbs
42.7Fiber
8.54Net carbs
34.16Sugar
32Protein
4.38Sodium
96.73Cholesterol
0Nutritional information excluding toppings.
Ocean Smoothie Bowl
This pretty blue tropical breakfast is full of delicious fruits and vegetables for a balanced and nutritious meal…
During these gloomy rainy days I’ve been having, I often feel like something tropical that reminds me of fun days spent at the beach—or in an infinity pool. Just being in the sun and in the cool water. Maybe having some mango ice cream or an ice-cold drink. The smell of sunscreen and sea salt. So, because I’m dramatic, I came up with a smoothie bowl that looks a little like a beach. Pretty shade of blue, with a sandy gold shore.
I quickly assembled the most delicious tropical smoothie bowl using some frozen mango and cauliflower, and for that pretty blue, I threw in some blue spirulina. This is completely optional, but I believe you eat with your eyes first. I topped the whole thing with my favorite nut butter: cashew butter. I sprinkled some granola and pepita seeds on top and garnished it with half a passion fruit, which I’m lucky to have in relative abundance where I live (probably my favorite thing about Australia). And that’s it. It’s a bit of blending until you reach the right consistency, but just be patient and you won’t regret it.
Ocean Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Facts
Calories
169.46Fat
5.09Sat. Fat
1.65Carbs
30.39Fiber
3.99Net carbs
26.41Sugar
23.71Protein
5.54Sodium
53.29Cholesterol
0Nutritional value may differ based on the amount of granola and variety used.
Edamame Salad with Miso Chili Oil Dressing
This one’s a fun one. Who doesn’t love a good pasta or noodle salad? I wanted to come up with something a bit more substantial than just some fruits and vegetables—and I also really wanted to use miso in the dressing because it’s salty, delicious, and very good for you.
Considering all the things in my pantry, I experimented with this dressing until I landed on something spicy and full of flavor. All sorts of sesame flavor from tahini and sesame oil, and of course, some actual sesame seeds in the chili oil (I used a high quality store-bought one from my local Asian grocer).
One of my favorite Japanese restaurants does this delicious chili oil edamame, so I knew I had to use edamame in this recipe. By making it the star of the show, I could make this a really good, high-protein, lunch option. So, in went a whole bunch of frozen shelled edamame (thawed, of course).
Edamame Salad with Miso Chili Oil Dressing
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Facts
Calories
413Fat
16.87Sat. Fat
2.27Carbs
51.41Fiber
7.14Net carbs
44.26Sugar
4.82Protein
20.59Sodium
1058.38Cholesterol
0
Harvest Salad with Maple Cinnamon Vinaigrette
This comforting apple and brussels sprouts salad features a unique mix of autumnal flavors, making it the perfect accompaniment for your cold weather meals…
We’re just past the half-way point of our Six Weeks of Salads journey, and if this has taught me anything, it’s that I tend to think arugula is the only acceptable salad-leaf. Baby arugula is, in my mind, the undisputed champion of the salad world. Why deal with lettuce, which is essentially just less flavorful arugula? So, I guess, I learned two things: lettuce belongs on sandwiches, and arugula is king. Things would get pretty boring, though, if I kept offering you arugula salads every single time. So, I’m changing things up. No arugula here, and thankfully, no lettuce either.
I never was a big salad person growing up. Unless the salad had no lettuce in it, in which case I was easily convinced. So, when I grew up and started having to reason with my own self to eat my vegetables, I tried all sorts of different new and exciting salads. I had a very simple garden salad made on baby arugula with some feta, tomatoes, onions, and a simple lemony dressing. I also had raw broccoli in a broccoli salad. Similarly, I had raw brussels sprouts in a salad, too.
I’ve had many different salads over the years, but the most fun, stand-out experiences for me was when I had these vegetables, that I’d only ever had cooked, in salad form. That’s why when I was brainstorming ideas for this harvest salad, I knew from the start the base was going to be brussels sprouts. To me, they’re the ultimate cold weather vegetable.
Now that I’ve discussed the base, let’s talk about everything else! The weather’s been getting colder here in Australia, so a quick look at the produce section of my grocery store was plenty of inspiration for this. Beautiful dark kale leaves, ripe and juicy pomegranates, and all sorts of different apple and pear varieties. When it came time to dream up the dressing, it had to be made on apple cider vinegar, of course. Then came the risky, but rewarding, decision to add in the sweet, warm flavors of cinnamon and maple syrup. The result is a really comforting salad packed full of flavor.
Harvest Salad with Cinnamon Maple Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
- This recipe is vegan and gluten free.
- You can play around with the type of apples used in this salad, and you can even try pear!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
405.13Fat
23.54Sat. Fat
2.82Carbs
46.93Fiber
11.07Net carbs
35.87Sugar
28.5Protein
8.74Sodium
53.53Cholesterol
0Actual nutritional value may vary based on quantity of balsamic glaze and honey used.
Blueberry Smoothie Bowl
This berry popsicle-inspired smoothie bowl is a refreshing and nutritious option for a summer breakfast or snack…
This smoothie bowl recipe is another go-to for me, alongside my Ocean Bowl. It’s banana-less, which is my usual preference, and the berry powder in this adds an almost candy-like quality to this bowl.
I love this bowl after a summer hike or a walk on the beach. It’s refreshing, hydrating, and filling. Best of all, it’s fairly easy to make and the main ingredients keep for a long time, so you can always have them on hand. To make it more filling, you could add a scoop of protein powder or collagen powder.
This recipe is super simple, the only frills are the powders which are totally optional! I added blue spirulina in this to give it a deeper purple hue, but in addition to almost all the other ingredients in this bowl, spirulina is a powerful antioxidant. Mangoes, blueberries, and açaí are great sources of vitamin C and antioxidants.
Antioxidants are important for neutralizing free radicals in the body. Oxidative stress, which can occur from pollution, excessive exercise, inflammation, certain foods like artificial sweeteners, and even mitochondrial activity, occurs when free radicals are not processed efficiently by the body. Oxidative stress has been linked to many diseases and health conditions. That’s why it’s important to try to minimize the production of free radicals in the body, and it’s also important to consume a diet rich in antioxidants.
Berry Smoothie Bowl
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Facts
Calories
495.13Fat
12.91Sat. Fat
1.14Carbs
94.53Fiber
24.13Net carbs
70.4Sugar
60.35Protein
10.2Sodium
47.4Cholesterol
0
Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Baked Oats
These dairy-free, refined sugar-free baked oats have the classic flavors of a blueberry lemon poppy seed muffin, elevated by a lemon-vanilla yogurt and some stewed blueberries, making this a healthy, yet decadent, breakfast option that will make your whole house smell like lemons and vanilla…
I have some big-ish news! Starting this week, I will be posting a new oat recipe every Monday for six weeks. That’s six creative and delicious (not to mention very easy) oat recipes.
I’ve got recipes coming up for baked oats, overnight oats, and even savory oats, so there’s something for everyone—even if you don’t like oats. Take me, for example, I really didn’t get the hype around oats. The texture, flavor, and all-around rich and dense mouthfeel really didn’t appeal to me. That being said, the idea of oats always sounded really good to me, health-wise, and I do like the flavor of oats in the right context. So these are going to be, naturally, me-approved recipes, but that means a little bit more in this context: if you like oats, I’m sure you’ll love these recipes. If you don’t like oats, I know at least one of these recipes will work its way into your heart. Sincerely, a fellow not-huge-fan-of-oats.
So, about this recipe: if you’ve never tried baked oats, you’re missing out. It’s very close to having cake for breakfast. I’m not going to lie and say it’s exactly the same, but it’s its own cake-adjacent vibe, like banana bread or muffins. It is a vastly different experience to your classic oatmeal, though.
What makes this recipe better than most other baked oats recipes? The straightforward answer is the brightness and acidity of the lemon. One thing I don’t love about traditional oatmeal recipes is how dense and rich they are, I get tired of eating them very quickly. The brightness of the lemon in the baked oats and in the lemon vanilla yogurt, combined with the freshness of the stewed blueberries, just makes this recipe relatively light. Bonus points: your house will smell like a lemon loaf all morning.
This recipe is dairy-free and refined sugar-free, but it’s not vegan. I do have tips at the end to make this recipe vegan and gluten-free.
Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Baked Oats
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
- To make this recipe vegan, replace the egg with one flax egg, which is one tablespoon flaxseed meal and three tablespoons of water, left to thicken for 15-30 minutes
- You can also substitute the honey in this recipe for maple syrup
- To make this recipe gluten-free, make sure you use gluten-free oats
- If you’re not a fan of coconut, replace the coconut yogurt with greek yogurt or soy yogurt, and the coconut oil with butter or avocado oil
- To make greasing your pans and dishes easier, buy an oil spray—my favorite is a non-aerosol avocado oil
- For vanilla extract, for any recipe, use vanilla-bean paste, it’s a touch more expensive but it’s a very quick and easy way to make your desserts a little more refined and better tasting
- Almond extract is a touch controversial (at least among my friends) but adding the tiniest bit of almond extract to this (1/4 teaspoon) adds something a little extra
- This makes two servings and can be reheated the next morning in the oven, covered with aluminum foil, for about 15 minutes
Nutrition Facts
Calories
424.30Fat
17.22Sat. Fat
10.07Carbs
63.50Fiber
7.36Net carbs
56.13Sugar
29.39Protein
12.54Sodium
143.31Cholesterol
97.88Nutritional value for oats made on almond milk
Roasted Tomato Soup
This super simple Roasted Tomato Soup is packed with flavor, even though it is made with few ingredients. This garlicky, herby, tomatoey soup is perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich to the side or with rice cooked through, for an elevated tomato rice soup…
Growing up, my mom would make a few different really good soups. There was Tom Yum soup, spinach soup, pumpkin soup, mushroom soup, and so many more. The first time she made broccoli soup (still a favorite of mine), I had nearly the whole pot. I broke out in a rash the next morning and my mom pinned it on the soup, to my dismay. I was banned from having broccoli for years. I can now confirm that I am not allergic to broccoli, and my mom banned me from having a vegetable most mothers beg their children to have for nothing. Net zero gain for both of us.
Anyway, this fun anecdote was all to say I really love soup. I know soup’s one of those contested courses, but we had a bit of a soup culture in our household growing up. My favorite of all of the soups I’ve ever had is this one I’m about to share with you, though—actually it’s a tie, the aforementioned spinach soup my mom makes is too good.
This one’s a great recipe for when you get overambitious with the amount of tomatoes you intend on eating during the week, maybe two weeks in a row, and you end up with a bunch of soft squishy tomatoes in the back of the fridge. To make it even more of a no-waste option, you can use homemade vegetable stock in this recipe to use up even more of your less than fresh vegetables.
I like this soup as a tomato-rice soup, it just makes it a more filling option. But if you prefer to have your tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich to the side, go ahead and ignore all of the rice instructions. It is delicious either way.
Roasted Tomato Soup
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
- You can roast the entire head of garlic as is, in its entirety, without peeling it or separating the cloves. You’ll just need to cut the top off of it first to make squeezing the roasted garlic cloves out of it at the end easier.
- If you choose to peel the garlic cloves before roasting, try to place them close to the tomatoes on the baking trays to avoid overcooking them (Look at the small pieces of garlic pictured on the roasting tray above).
- If you choose to roast the garlic bulb whole, squeeze the garlic cloves out of it into the pot after it is done roasting. Do not simmer the garlic skin with the other ingredients. However, do simmer the tomato vines and thyme sprigs to extract more flavor from them.
- If you’re buying tomatoes specifically for this recipe, get the vine-ripened ones. The tomato vine has a lot of great herby, tomato-y flavor in it, it’s really underrated. Before adding it to the tray, smell it and see for yourself.
- Fresh herbs are great here, but dry herbs work well too. If you have to replace the fresh thyme sprigs with dried thyme, you’ll need about 3-4 teaspoons.
- When transferring the roasted vegetables and herbs from the baking tray to the pot, remember to also transfer all of the pan juices and drippings into the pot as well.
- With this recipe, it’s really important to taste for seasoning at the very end, as, depending on what you use for stock, the amount of salt you’ll need can vary greatly.
- Vegetable stock is really easy to make with whatever herbs and vegetables you have in your fridge + scraps from meals you’ve cooked within the last couple of days. A really simple option is a brown onion, a couple of carrots, and a few stalks of celery, plus a teaspoon of peppercorns.
- You can also totally just throw in a couple of bouillon cubes and save yourself the effort. I also just make this soup with water all the time and it still turns out pretty tasty.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
197.96Fat
9.94Sat. Fat
1.75Carbs
19.85Fiber
1.60Net carbs
18.25Sugar
7.98Protein
7.69Sodium
423.92Cholesterol
7.20Nutritional value for Roasted Tomato Soup as a tomato-rice soup option (including 1/2 cup rice)
Rose Matcha Iced Latte
This Turkish Delight inspired latte combines earthy matcha and floral rosewater for a delicate and refreshing morning drink
Remember how in my previous post I said I learned that those long personal anecdotes that come before recipes is a copyright thing— but then I unlearned it? Right. So, I’m just going to try to preface this as naturally as possible, not going to delve into old family gossip or anything like that, don’t worry.
I wanted to come up with a way to spruce up morning coffee. I was trying to think of sweet gestures and I thought bringing someone coffee in bed was a common one. I thought why not make it a little bit more special with a fun, simple, and easy drink— maybe as a Valentine’s Day morning treat.
This recipe is fairly simple, it’s only got six ingredients! That’s counting water as an ingredient too. I wanted it to be super easy and simple because I did not want it to end up being too daunting. I wanted the simplicity to act as a motivator. I also used a few ingredients which might be uncommon in most households, so I didn’t want to pile up reasons to hesitate. In spite of the ingredients being uncommon, the essential ones are far from being hard to source.
So, anyway, let’s talk about the flavor: this latte tastes very simple but very beautiful and elegant. It absolutely is floral, in the same way Turkish delight is floral. They actually share a main ingredient. Rosewater adds to matcha’s earthiness in a very delicious way, making this a delicate and refreshing way to start your morning. Or your loved one’s morning, if this is a “coffee” in bed situation.
Rose Matcha Latte
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
- You can play with the density of the liquids to achieve a layered look. Your milk will likely be denser than your matcha, especially if you sweeten it, so it will likely try to sit at the bottom. To keep the two liquids from mixing, pour the matcha in (the lighter of the two) gently over a spoon.
- If you don’t have pink pitaya powder, you can use beetroot powder or food coloring to achieve a similar look.
- If you want your rose milk to have a brighter color, add an extra teaspoon of pink pitaya powder— the strength of your brewed matcha, as well as the type and brand, can also make a difference in how colorful your drink is.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
95.94Fat
3.05Sat. Fat
0.00Carbs
14.42Fiber
1.09Net carbs
1.13Sugar
0.87Protein
2.12Sodium
0.70Cholesterol
0.00Nutritional value can differ greatly depending on quantity and choice of sweetener used in final preparation, given values are for an unsweetened latte made on Oatly oat milk
This cinnamony treat is the perfect way to start your morning, with coffee, protein, and lots of flavor…