Category: Recipes

Mini Berry Protein Muffins

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Hey guys! My phone broke down the other day and so I couldn’t really take and edit my pictures like I wanted, so I decided to just postpone this post for a bit. But don’t worry because the next week or so is STACKED with bullet journal stuff and new recipes (like this one) and a reading challenge update. Make sure that you’re checking in every day because I’ll have new posts going up daily until the end of the month!

To kick off this posting extravaganza, I’ve got these awesome Mini Berry Protein Muffins. I’ve been trying out some protein powder recently, and I actually really like it! I don’t just mix it with milk or water and drink it straight though, I usually throw a scoop into my smoothie bowl which makes it super creamy. I find that it’s a good way to incorporate some protein into my breakfast. The brand I use is Vega and I have their Protein and Greens powder in vanilla flavour. But if you decide to buy some powder to try out for yourself, do some research to find out what the ingredients are and where the protein is coming from. There are all kinds of protein powder; some are vegan, some get protein from animal collagen, and some have some artificial ingredients. Just make sure that your powder is right for you. If you don’t have any protein powder on hand, you can try and sub it out for whole wheat or all purpose flour, although I haven’t tested those out.

Anyways, I needed some new ways to use my protein powder. So why not make some muffins? And mini muffins, while I’m at it! Everything is cuter when it’s smaller. These muffins are naturally sweetened with maple syrup, and I find that the protein powder gives them a really nice flavour, like cake batter or something. There’s also an egg in here, which does give some extra protein and also acts as a binder. All of this protein and some whole grains from the oats, paired with a great taste, makes these muffins the perfect way to start your day! I used them to top a smoothie bowl, because, come on, mini muffins on a smoothie bowl? Does that not sound like the BEST THING EVER?

And I forgot to mention that these muffins have berries in them! I used saskatoons because I still have a whole ton frozen, but blueberries would be great as well. Now that it’s summer you might even be able to throw some fresh ones in there. So yeah, those are all of the delicious details of these cute lil’ muffins. Go find yourself a bowl (that’s right- this guy right here is a ONE BOWL recipe), mix some stuff up, pop these babes in the oven for like 15ish minutes and you’ve got yourself a snack that be lookin like a SNACK! Enjoy;)

Mini Berry Protein Muffins

Serves: Makes about 20 Mini Muffins

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
  • 1 cup oats (I used quick-cooking steel cut oats, but rolled oats also work)
  • 2 tbsp melted coconut oil (mine was pre-melted by the summa heat lol)
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/3 cup fresh or frozen Saskatoon or blueberries

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and line 20 holes in two mini muffin tins with paper liners, or grease with coconut oil.
  2. Mix together all of the ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Scoop the muffin batter by tablespoon into the lined or greased mini muffin tin. Bake the muffins for 15-17 minutes, until a toothpick stuck in the centre comes out clean.
  4. Enjoy on smoothie bowls, oatmeal, as a snack, in cereal, or with yogurt!

Have fun with these mini muffins! Don’t forget about the army of blog posts coming your way. See you tomorrow!!

Yours Truly,

Olivia;)))

Easy Tofu Scramble

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‘Sup people? I’ve been meaning to make a tofu scramble for a while, and this afternoon I finally got down to it. I still love a good old egg scramble, don’t get me wrong. But if you want something plant-based, tofu is a great egg substitute. This Easy Tofu Scramble is awesome in wraps or bowls, on toast, or by itself. It’s also perfect for every time of day- breakfast, lunch or dinner!

Tofu is actually really easy to cook, and in this recipe I just drained it and proceeded to fry it up. But if you’re a first time tofu eater and want to know a little more about it, you can check out my post Soy Marinated Tofu, where I explain what it is and share another awesome recipe as well. To liven up this scramble a bit, I added some tomatoes and green onions, as well as paprika and garlic powder. Tofu can be a bit bland, so you want to make sure you add a lot of flavour.

Lastly, have lots of fun customising this scramble! If you want to add more veggies and different spices feel free to. Tofu is such a great blank canvas! Enjoy this recipe;))

Easy Tofu Scramble

Serves: 1

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 85g of Extra Firm Tofu
  • 1/2 a tomato, diced
  • 1 green onion or chive, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in the tomato, green onion, and tofu.
  2. Break up the tofu with a wooden spoon, until it resembles scrambled eggs. Cook for about a minute.
  3. Add in the garlic powder. paprika, salt and pepper and cook for additional two minutes, stirring often.
  4. Remove from the heat and enjoy!

Hope you like this recipe! Have a great weekend;)

Yours Truly,

Olivia

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

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Although I’ve kind of been obsessed with smoothie bowls lately, I took a little oatmeal break and BOY WAS I IMPRESSED. I kind of forgot how good oatmeal was! Then the next day I came up with this Carrot Cake Oatmeal and it’s on another level. It’s sweet and warm and full of cinnamon and a ton of other good stuff. Perfect for a rainy day! Or any day, really.

Carrot cake is amazing (I need to come up with a recipe for this blog), and I would enjoy it in any form. But I’d have to say that eating it as oatmeal is probably second only to actual carrot cake. I used banana for some sweetness, carrots for carrotyness (duh) and some vanilla and cinnamon for that warm, spiced flavour. A good carrot cake also has raisins in it. I REALLY hope you like raisins because they’re awesome. In this oatmeal I used chopped dates, which are possibly even better than raisins. But you can use a handful of raisins if you ain’t got no dates lying around.

Enough talk about raisins. Lets discuss how freaking easy these oats are to make! Just shave some carrot, mash some banana, chop some dates and voila! You’ve got an awesome breakfast that is filling and can be topped just the way you want it, like a HARVEY’S for oatmeal. I topped mine with banana, some more cinnamon (I got the really big thing of cinnamon from Costco so I won’t be running out of that anytime soon), and some peanut butter, because what’s the point of breakfast without peanut butter? I think I’m going to spread some peanut butter on the next piece of carrot cake I have because it is a great combo. Go ahead and make these oats already so you can slap some pb on there!

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Serves: 1

Total Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup quick cooking steel cut oats (or rolled oats or quick oats; just adjust the cooking time accordingly)
  • 1/4 cup shredded carrot
  • 1/2 a ripe banana (I like to save the other half for topping)
  • 1 large medjool date, chopped (or a handful of raisins)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Peanut butter and more cinnamon for topping:)

Directions:

  1. Mash the banana in a small pot. Add in the carrot, oats, chopped date, vanilla, cinnamon, and water and stir until combined.
  2. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring the oatmeal to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and cook until your desired thickness is reached (I cook my quick cooking steel cut oats for 5-7 minutes. Read your oat package for more oat guidance)
  3. Scoop the oats into a bowl and top with the other half of the banana, some peanut butter, more cinnamon, or anything else your heart desires! Proceed to eat and enjoy;))

Hope you try out this DELICIOUS breakfast sometime! Have a great rest of the week and I will see you Friday!

Yours Truly,

Olivia

Zucchini and Olive Pasta Bake

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It’s SUMMA TIME and there’s an abundance of zucchini! Zucchini is delicious fried, roasted, in a fritter, and in salad, but today we’re using it in a Pasta Bake. Our guest star is the olive, which adds so much dang flavour into the sauce. If you’re not a fan of olives you can leave them out, but you don’t know what you’re missing. Don’t be a party pooper and just throw them in there!

We’re using my fave kitchen tool again- the amazing veggie peeler- to create little zucchini rolls for the bake.

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The pasta that I used was Go Go Quinoa brand macaroni, and it usually takes about 4 minutes on the stove top to cook. I baked it in the oven for 10 minutes, and it was just slightly past al dente. So if you’re using just regular wheat macaroni or small shells (you don’t want to go any bigger with your pasta selection) that normally take 7-9 minutes to cook in boiling water, I bake them for 10-15 minutes for an al dente texture. My recipe below doesn’t account for that, so just keep in mind what kind of pasta you’re using when baking this bake.

And that concludes my Ted Talk about how great this pasta bake is! DEFINITELY try it out and let me know what you think because it is now officially one of my favourite recipes. Here it is!

Zucchini and Olive Pasta Bake

Serves: 3-4

Total Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 large zucchini
  • 1/2 a red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 200 ml can of sliced black olives, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
  • 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 cup Go Go Quinoa Macaroni **see note above if using a different pasta**
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add in the sliced onions and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes, then add the beans, olives, tomatoes, basil, oregano, balsamic vinegar, chilli flakes, and some salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and then turn the heat to low and cook for 25 minutes.
  2. While the sauce is simmering, use the veggie peeler to create as many zucchini ribbons as you can. The centre part of the zucchini, where the seeds are, won’t make nice ribbons, so you can dice it up at toss it in the sauce, making sure it has at least 10 minutes to cook in there.
  3. Add the macaroni into a small glass loaf pan or baking dish. Roll up each zucchini ribbon into a little rosette and place evenly spaced out in the pasta, like this:
  4. Once the sauce is done simmering, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Add the 1/2 cup of water to the sauce and bring it to a hard simmer before removing it from the heat. Scoop enough of it into the baking dish so that the pasta and zucchini are fully covered, about 2-3 cups of sauce. You may have some sauce leftover that you can eat with the pasta after it’s baked or save for later.
  5. Cover the glass dish with foil (shiny side down) and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Hope you like this pasta dish! See you Wednesday;))

Yours Truly,

Olivia;)

Creamy Avocado Balsamic Dressing

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Hi there! Today I have a delicious and creamy dressing recipe for you guys. It may not be a looker but it’s sure packed with flavour and goes great with any salad combo! I used some delicious fresh basil from my plant (throwback to last year when I did Herb Month) and it adds so much!

This dressing takes five minutes to whip up, and has all of the taste of a balsamic dressing, but is much creamier and has that extra basil in there. It’s the consistency of a good ranch dressing. I like it because oftentimes I’ll make vinaigrettes, and it’s nice to have something more unctuous. Isn’t that a great word? When something is unctuous you know you want to eat it.

For lunch lately I’ve just been roasting a bunch of veggies (including sweet potatoes, of course) and tossing them with some lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and a sick dressing like this one. It just ties everything together and still tastes so light and fresh! Some other things you could slap this on would be sandwiches, wraps, and bowls. It’s so good! Here’s the recipe;))

Creamy Avocado and Balsamic Dressing

Serves: 4

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 a ripe avocado
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 4 small leaves of fresh basil, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Mash the avocado very well in a small bowl. You want as few lumps as possible.
  2. Whisk in the rest of the ingredients, then serves in salads, wraps, bowls or sandwiches.

Hope you like this dressing! It’s great for summer;))

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked