Category: Nut-Free

Chocolate Tahini Snowballs

2 Comments

Hey guys! There’s only a week until Christmas time and I’m so ready! I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to wrap my gifts and make them all pretty and it just brings me joy. And you know what else brings me joy? These Chocolate Tahini Snowballs!! They’re super cute and are a great addition to your spread of holiday baking.

I think that bite-sized desserts are honestly the best, because how else are you going to sample all those delicious holiday treats? These Snowballs are the perfect size and are absolutely stunning. They’re rolled in coconut just before baking to give that snowball effect, but the coconut adds so much to the flavour and texture as well. So yum! When you pick up these snowballs, they feel pretty hefty, and so it seems like they’re going to be dense and dry. But when you bite into them you get a warm, fudgy inside that is to die for! The tahini gives such a nice rich and nutty flavour, contrasting the chocolate perfectly. And these little bundles of joy deliver all this while being vegan, oil free, and refined sugar free!

I love how simple these are to make too:)) I started by mixing all of the ingredients together in a big bowl, and then rolling out little balls, covering them with coconut, and baking them for just fifteen minutes!! The recipe can easily be doubled if you want double the chocolate-y deliciousness, and why wouldn’t you? So yeah, these are amazing if you need a festive recipe in a pinch, or are just looking for a quick and healthy dessert to satisfy your sweet tooth. They would be great next to some of my Ginger Oat Cookies– just sayin.

I hop you enjoy these bite-sized holiday treats! They’re so fun to make and to eat:))

Chocolate Tahini Snowballs

Serves: Makes about 10 Snowballs

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup oat flour (blended oats)
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used organic)
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp almond milk
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Mix all of the ingredients, except for the coconut, together in a large bowl.
  3. Scoop out tablespoon fulls of the mixture and roll into balls using your hands.
  4. Dump the coconut onto a small plate, and roll the balls around in it until they are completely covered.
  5. Place the snowballs on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
  6. Remove from the oven, let cool and enjoy!!

Make sure you come back for more delicious holiday recipes next week!!!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))))

Cinnamon Spice Hot Chocolate

2 Comments

Hey there! I’ve been really getting into the Christmas spirit this past week, and embracing the cozy winter vibes. And nothing says cozy winter vibes more than hot chocolate! So today I’m bringing you an amazing Cinnamon Spice Hog Chocolate recipe that is SO delicious and made with actual dark chocolate- not just cocoa powder.

That’s right, I used 3 squares of a Lindt 100% Dark Chocolate Bar in this stuff🥰 You can always sub for a lower cocoa concentration, but I find that the 100% gives the hot chocolate a nice, rich flavour. Plus, it doesn’t contain any sugar or dairy, so that keeps this recipe refined sugar free and vegan! I sweetened it by adding a bit of maple syrup, which is the perfect touch👌👌 It’s not too sweet, and allows the chocolate and the spices to shine through.

This recipe also contains some nice spices, namely cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. Working together, they make for a nice and aromatic cup of hot chocolate🥰 They’re the first thing I added to the pot along with the almond milk, proceeding to stir in the chocolate and maple syrup. Then I brought everything to a low simmer and poured it into my favourite mug. Winter heaven!!

I hope you enjoy this cozy recipe! I can definitely see it becoming a new weekend go-to for me:)

Cinnamon Spice Hot Chocolate

Serves: 2

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice
  • 3 squares (about 2.5 grams) Lindt 100% Dark Chocolate
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup

Directions:

  1. Heat the milk, along with the spices, in a small pot over low heat.
  2. Stir in the squares of chocolate and allow them to melt. Add in the maple syrup and continue to stir.
  3. Bring the hot chocolate to a slight simmer, then remove from the heat and pour into your favourite mug:)
  4. Enjoy!

The perfect way to start a Monday! Can’t wait for more great holiday recipes coming soon😍 Also, I have an exciting announcement to make later in the week, so make sure that you stay tuned to my Instagram account- mydayisbooked_blog. See you Wednesday!!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))

Roasted Winter Fruits

1 Comment

Hello! I’m sure you’ve heard me talk about my love for roasted veggies before- honestly I think that I could eat them all day. They get so tender and caramelized in the oven, making them the perfect addition to bowls, or one of my favourite stand-alone sides. However, when we’re talking about raw, uncooked veggies, I definitely prefer fruit. So I was thinking, what would happen if I roasted fruit?!!??! And, ladies and gentlemen, I can assure you that what happens when you roast fruit is PURE MAGIC.

Seriously. Magic. You get ten times the caramelization that you get with veggies because of the higher sugar content, and everything gets all soft, bubbly, and sweet. I roasted some nice in-season winter fruits that you might not think to roast. We’re talking grapes, mandarins, and apples, all of which release some beautiful juices and get amazingly tender. It all feels so Christmas-y and heartwarming!

There is so little prep that goes into this- just washing some grapes, peeling some mandarins, and roughly chopping an apple. I tossed everything in some allspice before roasting for some extra holiday flavour. Then it all goes in the oven for about forty minutes; this is where the enchantment happens. Halfway through the baking time, I took a fork and smashed some of those mandarins and grapes, just to get the juices flowing. Other than that, you just let those fruits do their thing.

Not gonna lie, I sneaked a few of these fruits right off the pan. They would be amazing over oats, yogurt, ice cream, cake, pancakes, waffles- you name it, these would make it better!! Feel free to add some more spices if you like as well- I know that cinnamon would be a welcome addition to the flavour explosion.

Hope you enjoy these festive fruits!

Roasted Winter Fruits

Serves: 2-3

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 Gala apple, chopped
  • 2 mandarin oranges, peeled and split into segments
  • 1 1/4 cup red grapes
  • 1 tsp ground allspice

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and combine. Spread out the fruits onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
  3. Place the baking sheet in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes.
  4. At this point, remove them from the oven and use a fork to lightly smash the mandarins and grapes, just bursting them so that the juices can escape. Place the pan back in the oven and roast for another 20 minutes.
  5. Take the fruits out of the oven, serve warm and enjoy!

Have a great weekend everyone! Can’t wait for more holiday recipes coming next week:))

Yours Truly,

Olivia:)))

Ginger Spiced Brown Rice

1 Comment

Hey guys! Hope you all had an awesome weekend and are ready to slay the week ahead🙌 (I’m writing from my phone today so we get emojis👍) Today I have a VERY good brown rice recipe that’s a great base for any of your bowls, or an amazing side on its own. It uses fresh ginger, which is so fragrant and delicious!

All of the steps to make this rice are purposely done to extract maximum flavour👌 You start by frying up the ginger and garlic, and then toasting up the brown rice so it gets a bit browned. Carrot gets added in for sweetness, and then that super tasty curry powder! It adds great colour to this dish as well:) This all gets simmered together in a combo of water and almond milk. It might sound a tad weird but it makes the rice a bit creamier!

After about 25 minutes of cooking, the rice should absorb most of the liquid, but not be completely cooked through. So at this point, you add a bit more milk and simmer for a bit longer. When it’s all cooked and seasoned with a generous amount of salt and pepper, this rice tastes like heaven. Legit.

My advice is to make a huge batch of this and store it in the fridge for meal prep all week. Making a bowl? Use this rice. A salad? Use this rice. A burrito? Use this rice. Snack time? THIS RICE. Honestly it’s so flavourful and reminds me of a better version of Uncle Ben’s. Except way healthier and more tasty. Yep, I said it. I love that this uses brown rice too, because brown rice has more fibre, magnesium, and a bunch of other nutrients than white rice. Delicious and nutritious. What a win-win! You can have your rice and eat it too.

I hope that you enjoy this awesome recipe! Can’t wait to see what you use it as a base/side for.

Ginger Spiced Brown Rice

Serves: 2

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
  • 1 carrot, grated
  • 1 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 cup brown rice
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup + 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. In a medium-sized pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the garlic and ginger and fry for about 2 minutes, until aromatic.
  2. Next, add in the grated carrot and cumin, and continue to cook for about 3 minutes. Dump in the brown rice and toast for 2 more minutes.
  3. Pour in the water and the 1/4 cup of almond milk. Stir, season generously with salt and pepper, and reduce the heat so that the mixture is at a simmer. Cover and let cook for 25 minutes.
  4. At this point, the liquid should be absorbed, but the rice not cooked all the way through. Add in the 1/2 cup almond milk, stir, cover, and continue to let it simmer for another 15 minutes, until the rice is cooked all the way through (not too hard when you bite into it).
  5. Remove the rice from the heat and adjust with any more seasoning. Serve warm and enjoy!

Have a great week everyone! I have some great holiday baking recipes coming soon so be sure to check them out:)

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))

Chickpea Shakshuka

Leave a comment

Hey there! I have a really fun and awesome recipe for you guys today! Even though you may not have heard of it, Shakshuka is SO GOOD. It’s a middle eastern dish that combines a warming tomato stew with poached eggs, and is the perfect addition to your breakfast spread. I added some chickpeas to mine for some extra protein and fibre. This recipe is super easy to follow and comes together in less than an hour, because the faster this deliciousness gets into your mouth, the better.

I’ve seen shakshuka on a bunch of cooking shows and featured in the occasional Pinterest post, so I thought, why not try it out? I began by frying up onions and garlic. What a shocker! I find it interesting how so many different cultures use garlic and onions in their food. Making tomato sauce? Garlic and onions. Curry? Garlic and onions. Shakshuka? GARLIC AND ONIONS BABY. I am not complaining because the smell of frying onions is out of this world. After I got that aromatic veg all sauteed up, I threw in some amazing spices, tomatoes, tomato paste, chickpeas, and lots of salt and pepper. Those ingredients all get to know each other very well in the pan while you continue on with your morning routine. I did some stretching:)

Personally, I am an egg lover, and so this is next part was my favourite. After stirring up the stew, I cracked four eggs DIRECTLY into there, brought it to a nice heavy simmer, covered, and let them poach. This is a critical moment because you want that yolk to be nice and runny. I appreciate a good hard boiled egg, but this is not the time. So set your timers because it will be very disappointing is you overcook these. I will personally be disappointed in you.

Once those eggs are done, you’re done! Step back! That’s all! I just took these off the heat, removed the lid so that the eggs don’t keep steaming, and I want to say that I dug in right then and there but no, I took the whole pan down to the fridge in our basement to preserve it for when the lighting was better, so I could take a good picture. Do you see the sacrifices that I make for you guys? Annnnnyways, when I finally got around to eating this, I scooped myself a big bowl, warmed it up, and topped it with fresh chives, parsley flakes, and avocado because you’ve gotta go big or go home. And let me tell you, this is AMAZING. It’s so full of flavour from all those spices, and then the chickpeas give you some texture, and that runny yolk is just perfection. This is such a great fall/winter breakfast, because it’s so cozy! Traditionally it is a breakfast dish, but I would be very happy to eat this any time of day.

Make sure that you try this out! I can’t wait to make it again for my family on a weekend.

Chickpea Shakshuka

Serves: 2-4

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium sized white onion, diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (trust me)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp red chilli flakes
  • 2 tsp parsley flakes (plus more for garnish)
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 can of tomato paste
  • 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 4 eggs
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Chopped chives, for garnish (optional)
  • 1 avocado for serving, sliced (optional)

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, deep pan or skillet. Add in the onions and cook for around 4 minutes, until they’re just translucent. Next add in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
  2. Add the all of the spices and herbs to the pan and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until they’re somewhat browned and nice and fragrant.
  3. Dump the tomatoes, tomato paste, and paprika into the pan. Season generously with salt and pepper, give everything a good stir, then lower the heat to a slow simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 30 minutes.
  4. Remove the lid from the pan, stir everything again and make sure the stew is level across the top. Crack the 4 eggs directly into the pan, in a kind of square pattern so that they’re not too close to each other. Bring the stew back up to a faster simmer, cover again, and let the eggs poach for EXACTLY 5 minutes.
  5. Remove then pan from the heat and take the lid off. serve immediately and garnish with more parsley flakes, chopped chives, or avocado.
  6. Enjoy!

Hope you guys love this recipe! It’s one of my faves. Come back on Friday for my December Reading List!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))