Naraya Cooking Health Recipe

Let's talk chia pudding! It's been my little obsession lately. I love it as breakfast, snack or lunch. When paired with an assortment of fruits it's so fresh, light and surprisingly filling. Add a little granola for even more texture and flavor. It's also extremely easy to make, just chia seeds & plant milk plus a little sweetener or spice if you like. Add them all together, place in your trusty fridge, shake/mix every few hours and within six hours or so you'll have yourself a perfect 'super food' pudding. If you make your own plant milk, you'll have a super food raw pudding! Texture wise this pudding is not too seedy or crunchy at all, these amazing little seeds will absorb the milk making them mostly gelatinous. There is much to love about this quick and easy treat. If you haven't tried chia pudding yet, I suggest you do so asap! 

Chia seeds have been around a long time and are finally making it into the mainstream. They are no longer just seen in health food stores and are easily accessible. I see them at Target and all my local grocery stores. They are mostly found dark colored like the ones you see above but you can find white chia seeds online. In the world of vegan food, chia seeds act as a binder to replace eggs and also as a thickener, like for this pudding. When not making chia pudding, you can sprinkle them on smoothies, oatmeal, salads and make chia fresca (a drink). Chia seeds are small but nutritious and should be included in your heart healthy habits! Per 1 ounce serving (2 tablespoons) of chia seeds you'll get 138 calories, 9 grams of fat (I strive for 3 grams per 100 calories but this is healthy fat), 10 grams of fiber (amazing!), 4.7 grams of protein (not too shabby). They contain a concentrated amount of the essential omega-3 fatty acid, although they don't contain all the essential omegas like EPA or DHA, you'll still get a good dose of the others at 5 grams. All their fiber will help aid in digestion and elimination. 

Above you'll see the difference of before and after. The top jar has just been mixed together and the bottom jar is what it will thicken up to look like after six hours or so. I used mason jars to make my chia pudding. The mason jars work great, all you have to do is shake the jar every few hours until it sets. They also make it easy to travel with. Fill your pint size jars half way using half the recipe, once set, fill the other half with fruit. Its a perfect take along lunch or snack!

My favorite way to eat chia pudding is with a mix of seasonal fruits. I call this the CHIA PUDDING RAINBOWL. Adding a little granola over top will add some extra texture. It's good to eat the rainbow! :)

In a small/medium saucepan, heat milk and orange juice over medium-low heat. Add cocoa, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and pinch of salt, stir until cocoa is completely dissolved. Turn heat to low to keep cocoa warm until ready to serve.

Serve in individual cups topped with any garnish you like. I added coconut cream, dusted with cocoa powder and topped with orange zest.

Serves 2 - 3.

Feel free to use water in place of non-dairy milk or use a combo of water & milk equally 3 cups.

For the orange juice, use fresh squeezed or bottled (no pulp to medium pulp pref). If using fresh squeezed, you may like to strain the pulp before using.

Make your 1/4 cup of cocoa heaping if you like a little extra chocolate flavor.

Today I share with you my go-to oatmeal. It's quick and flavorful! On its own, oatmeal is nothing to get excited about. It needs help with warm spices, sweet and/or tart fruits and some crunchy nuts & seeds. Add a drizzle of pure maple syrup and splash of almond milk for the perfect finishing touch. I love oatmeal all year long, but during the fall\winter I especially eat this on a regular basis. It warms me up, fills that morning hunger, supplies me with good carbohydrates and keeps me going for a good part of the day. 

My everyday oatmeal always consists of cinnamon, cardamom, maple syrup and almond milk...these are the essential flavor boosters. The rest of the ingredients will be mixed and matched depending on what I have on hand.

Cinnamon and cardamom are warming spices and both hold health benefits. They are delicious together and will add a ton of flavor to plain oatmeal!

Pure maple syrup is my sweetener of choice and contains a good dose of manganese and zinc.

For the milk, I use unsweetened almond milk but you can use your favorite non-dairy milk. Most non-dairy milks are low in calories, fat and are fortified with important vitamins and minerals (even more so than dairy milk) like calcium, vitamin D, B-12 and E, manganese, potassium, copper and selenium.

The oats can be whatever you prefer. Lately I've been using quick oats, it's what I've been baking with and have tons on hand. You can use rolled or steel cut oats too, just cook according to the package directions.

I usually always add in some sort of fruit, whether dry or not. Usually its dried fruit since I always have some on hand in the pantry or refrigerator. I prefer unsweetened dried fruit like raisins, currants, barberries, blueberries and cranberries. Chopped dates, apricots and cherries are also great. I'm loving the addition of the barberries I picked up awhile back, they add a tartness contrasting the sweetness of the other dried fruits. I've come to learn that barberries are higher in anti-oxidants than dried blueberries, cranberries, goji berries and even pomegranates! These little tart fruits can be found in Middle Eastern grocery stores (you can also order them online) and hold up well in the pantry or refrigerator. When using fresh fruits, I may use blueberries, sliced bananas or apples.

The addition of nuts & seeds will add protein and a nice crunch. Many nuts & seeds contain essential omegas that are heart healthy making them another good reason to add a small handful. You can use any combo of walnuts, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), almonds, hemp hearts, chia seeds and pecans.

It's the perfect everyday oatmeal to get me going, or end my day! Sometimes I have oatmeal for dinner. ♥

Ingredients

Place oatmeal in your serving bowl, top with cinnamon, cardamom, nuts, seeds and berries. Drizzle maple syrup over top and some of the remaining milk. Give a good stir and enjoy!

It tastes great with a morning cup of coffee, green tea or lemon water.

Nuts and seeds you might like to use are almonds, walnuts, pecans, pepitas, hemp hearts and chia seeds. 

Lots of baking going on around here lately. I've been wanting to make a carrot banana bread and have finally got around to doing it. It's a nice textured bread, moist but not too moist and not too dense. The batter can handle the addition of walnuts and other dried fruits but for the sake of my daughter I've left those out. The recipe is adapted from my Banana Tea Bread which has been a wonderful recipe to work with! I have plenty of notes in this recipe so you can vary it up and change it around when the mood strikes. I don't usually add anything to breads like these when eating but this would be nice with a smidge of Cashew Sweet Cream. I hope you find you love this carrot banana bread as much as I do. It's a keeper and a great way to add in extra vegetables!

P.S. The cooking holiday season is just around the corner! I have a nice collection on pinterest of 250+ vegan recipes for you to consider adding to your holiday table. Am I missing any great recipes you'd like to see? Let me know and I'll add it. You can find the resource here: VEGAN THANKSGIVING AND CHRISTMAS RECIPES 

My bread just slightly cooled and moved to it's storage place. Once it's cooled and covered, it will look a bit moister and darken in color. I did another loaf here where you can see the difference, this is 12 hours after being covered. I would've taken more pics of the loaf shown here but it was eaten too quickly!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder & soda and salt, mix well with large slotted spoon or fork. Add milk, oil and mashed bananas, mix well, but don't over mix, making sure there are no clumps of flour (especially on the bottom of the bowl). Fold in carrots. In a lightly greased 9 x 5 loaf pan, place mixture and bake for 50 - 55 minutes on the middle rack, rotate pan half way through.

Let cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan and let cool completely. Store covered. Serve warmed or at room temperature. Slices would pair nicely with this Cashew Sweet Cream.

Serves 8.

The riper the bananas, the less sugar you'll need. If your bananas are not very ripe, you may like to add a tablespoon or so more.

If you don't have baking soda on hand, use 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) baking powder instead of 2 teaspoons.

If using coconut oil, be sure your milk is at room temperature or warmer. If adding straight from the refrigerator, the coldness will harden the coconut oil.

Replace the oil with applesauce for oil-free bread. Bread may be a little denser. 

Make gluten-free by using a GF flour blend.

Feel free to leave your carrots unpeeled. I felt mine needed it this time but usually skip this step whenever I can.

Fold in 1/3 - 1/2 cup dried fruit of choice. Raisins, currants, cranberries or chopped apricots or dates would work nicely. 

Add in 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg for another layer of flavor and variation. 

Ingredients

optional toppings

• shredded coconut
• cacao nibs

Place ingredients in blender and blend until combined. Top with optional toppings. Serves one.

Notes:

Depending on the size or cut of your strawberries, you may need to add a little extra milk. Sometimes I have to add an extra 1/4 -1/2 cup.

Adjust the cocoa/cacao powder to suit your taste or protein powder. If using chocolate protein powder you may want to use less cocoa/cacao powder. Same goes for the sweetener. I use a Garden of Life Raw Protein Powder at the moment that doesn't contain any sweetener so I added a bit to mine (sometimes I use hemp protein powder instead). If your strawberries are super sweet you may not need any extra sweetener. With all this in mind, adjust ingredients depending on your circumstances.

I'm trying to add in more gluten free recipes and this is a great addition to the breakfast list. These came out great with a nice mellow banana flavor. They puffed up nicely for being gluten free and had a nice golden color and soft center. This will happily be on the morning rotations. Feel free to substitute the flours listed with other flours of choice such as spelt, whole wheat or unbleached all purpose flours if your not following a gluten free lifestyle. Delicious and wholesome...a perfect way to start the day!

In blender, process the banana, vanilla and almond milk until smooth (the magic bullet works great for this task). Alternately, using a small/medium bowl mash your banana until smooth, a few small chunks will be fine.

In a medium size bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. Add additional milk to thin to desired consistency. (Adding extra milk will depend on the size of your banana and how much banana puree you will have. Add milk slowly until desired consistency. I usually have to add a tad bit more milk.)

Heat skillet/griddle on medium, add oil to grease if needed. Pour your pancakes to the desired size. I like to use just under 1/4 cup for each one. Cook until nicely golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes on each side. Serve with maple syrup and any other topping you may like.

You can purchase almond flour or make your own at home by processing raw almonds in a food processor/blender until a flour/meal consistency.

You may like to add one tablespoon coconut palm sugar or pure cane sugar as well. Depending on how ripe your banana is, the added sweetness will compensate if your banana is not fully ripened. Also a dash or two of cinnamon works nicely.