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Easiest Walnut Banana Bread | Vegan + Gluten-Free

January 10, 2019 By julia Leave a Comment

When the aroma of ripe nana’s starts to creep out from the kitchen, that’s when you know it’s time to transform those yellow thangs into everyone’s favourite type of bread…Walnut Banana Bread!

My goal for this banana bread was to go from a bowl of spotty bananas to a delicious bread as easy and quickly as possible.

Eat it for breakfast.

Pack it for lunch.

Warm it up for dessert.

Sometimes life calls for a cup’ o’ tea and a loaf of ‘nana bread.

So, when it can be pretty dang healthy for you, I’d consider that a life WINNING situation.

I’ll stop talking now. Make this and devour!

Walnut Banana Bread | Vegan | Gluten-Free

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour

Possibly the easiest banana bread you'll ever make with incredible dense deliciousness!

Author: Jules

Recipe type: dessert, snack

Serves: 8

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients:
4 bananas
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
⅛ cup coconut oil
2 chia eggs (2 tbsp chia seeds mixed with 6 tbsp water, let sit for 5 minutes)
Dry Ingredients:
3 cups oats, gluten free if needed
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of sea salt
¼ cup coconut sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
½ cup walnuts
½ cup raisins
½ cup vegan chocolate chips (optional, but why wouldn't ya?)
Topping:
1 banana, halved lengthwise
6-8 walnuts

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350°F
Line your loaf baking dish with parchment paper.
First, blend your oats into a flour, then pour into a big bowl.
Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the oat flour and stir until combined.
Put all wet ingredients in your blender, blend until smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until combined.
Pour the mixture into your loaf pan (either a medium sized one or 2 small ones). Fill it up almost all the way to the top.
Place the halved banana on top with a few walnuts.
Bake for 50 minutes.
Let cool a few minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
Enjoy! (Maybe with some of this jam!)
To store, put it back into the loaf pan and cover it with tinfoil, or reusable vegan wax wrap (not affiliated, but can't stop using these!)

Tag me if you make this! (@hookedonplants on instagram)

I love seeing your recipes.

… and if you want more plants in your life:

All the info is here!

Date Caramel Candy Apples

January 2, 2019 By julia Leave a Comment

Ringin’ in the New Year with some festive sweet treats that you can feel great about treatin’ on. This recipe is a nice way to ease into the healthy resolutions you might have after indulging in all of the Holiday goodness.

You see, these treats are a trick.

They look indulgent. They taste indulgent. They aren’t indulgent. But don’t tell your taste buds that.

The base of these are made from whole foods! Of course, topping them off with things like sprinkles or chocolate chips will take them to the level of indulgence that you may have been experiencing over the holidays. You don’t have to go that far though. You could even stop at the date caramel layer and call it a super delicious day!

Layer 1: The powerhouse of nutrition that you know well, the apple.

Layer 2: Caramel made from the delicious date. Nothing more (except vanilla and a bit of sea salt, that is). A whole food sweetener at it’s finest, still packed with all the fibre a fruit should have, plus minerals and vitamins from that glorious date.

Layer 3: Your choice. Loved the popcorn layer. You could throw in some coconut ribbons, raisins, cacao nibs, hemp seeds, pecans…. or go for gold and roll it in some vegan chocolate chips.

See? Healthy! But, totally indulgent looking and delicious tasting.

The kids will love it, and so will your ‘new year, new you’ YOU.

Date Caramel Candy Apples

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Prep time

45 mins

Total time

45 mins

Date Caramel candy apples to make your taste buds sing, and your waist line happy! A great festive way to ring in 2019 and ease out of the totally indulgent experience of the holidays.

Author: Jules

Recipe type: Dessert, Snack

Serves: 3

Ingredients

15 dates, pitted and soaked 10 minutes in warm water, then strained
¼ tsp vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
about a ¼ or a bit more of coconut milk (add a bit at a time, just enough for the caramel consistency)
3 apples

Instructions

Blend dates, vanilla, salt and water in a mini food processor or small blender until a smooth paste forms.
Stick a wooden skewer into the bottom of a couple apples (I like honey crisp!).
With a spatula, spread the date caramel evenly over each whole apple.
Roll it in your choice of toppings! I used Nooch Pop sweet + savoury popcorn + coconut ribbons for one, and vegan chocolate chips for the other).
Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes to let firm up slightly (it will still be gooey delicious).
Enjoy!

Tag me if you make this! (@hookedonplants on instagram)

I love seeing your recipes.

… and if you want more plants in your life:

All the info is here!

Mostly Plants 28 Day Program | Your Guide to Better Eating

December 31, 2018 By julia Leave a Comment

I’m incredibly excited to announce something we have been working on over the last half of the year!

Mostly Plants
( @eat_mostlyplants on instagram)

This is all about helping you get into the flow of a plant-based lifestyle, in a VERY approachable, fun, easy-going way. It’s an introduction to a lifestyle change. It’s not just a diet.

Nil (Eat for the Planet & One Green Planet), Matt (Alpine Organics), TK (Veggie Grill) and I have all come together to create the 28 day program, packed with incredible content, including a daily video from yours truly. I feel very aligned with all of it, knowing that it will help so many people & animals and I’m so excited to be their spokesperson.

Where a seed is planted, a beautiful forest grows! That’s the mindset for Mostly Plants.

Each video covers a topic about the plant-based lifestyle in an easily digestible way.

We cover everything that you need to know about being plant-based, all the way from kitchen essentials and family gatherings, to shopping tips, travelling ideas, reading nutrition panels, and health benefits….plus so much more.

Here’s a little instagram story I’ve made for you with all that you need to know:

How does it work???

Once you sign up, you’ll immediately be a part of the supportive community with full access to the recipes, the 1 on 1 coaching, the active conversations, and the awesome content!
Each day we will bring you:

the daily video lesson
helpful tips about the day’s topic
infographics to explain the video lesson
an active, supportive, completely non-judgmental community to chat with (with all of the others going through the program as well as the coaches)
1 on 1 coaching with support from the Mostly Plants Team (including myself) where you can ask about ANYTHING you’re having issues with
tons of recipes at your fingertips, sectioned off as ‘whole food plant based’, ‘sweet’, ‘savoury’, or ‘indulgent plant-based’

The Mostly Plants way of eating:

2 whole food plant based meals per day
1 ‘indulgent’ plant-based meal per day
and if needed, 2 ‘flex meals’ per week

The first welcome video will explain all of this more in-depth!

For the week of December 31st until January 6th, we’ll be launching the program for $5!

The good catch: when you finish the program and have great results, send in a before and after testimonial + photo … and we will give you your $5 back!
There’s nothing to lose, except maybe an inch or two and some junk food cravings:)

If you:

-need support and motivation and a guide for healthy eating
-want to jumpstart your healthy new year
-start on your plant-based journey
-need guidance to become more plant based

…then this is totally for you!

Head to www.mostlyplants.com today to be one of the first to sign up.

See you there, like this…!

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff with Garlic Cream Sauce

December 26, 2018 By julia Leave a Comment

When there’s a ‘strog’ there’s an ‘noff’.

Too far? Ya, that’s a stretch. I just like the word too much.

But, not as much as I like the TASTE of this Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff!!! This is truly comfort-food to the max!

I’ve got a pretty picky hubby when it comes to taste-testing and recipe recommendations. And when I ask him what he wants for dinner, it’s always an old-time, nostalgic recipe from his childhood that he misses since going vegan, and I take this as an opportunity, no… a competitive challenge to veganize the sh#%t out of it!

That’s what happened on this particular night. Stroganoff, you say mister? You got it.

It’s meaty with mushroom-y texture.

It’s creamy from the insane garlic cream sauce.

It’s super flavourful with allllllll of them spices.

And, it only takes 25 minutes….plus 5 minutes to whip up a simple salad with whatever raw veggies and leafy greens you have kickin’ around, drizzle with one of these dressings, or my fave go-to oil free creamy nooch lemon dressing.

It’s pretty much a winner. As much of a winner as Michael Phelps at the Olympics.

Fair comparison.

Oh, and make sure you have a continuous supply of this garlic cream sauce in your fridge in a squeeze bottle, ready to drizzle on savoury meal. It’s ridiculously delicious, and makes everything seem mega-gourmét.

Ok, onto the recipe!

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff with Garlic Cream Sauce

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

25 mins

This stroganoff with knock the socks off your next dinner party guests! Especially drizzled with this cashew-based, garlicky, creamy deliciousness!!! Prep time doesn't include soaking the cashews for the creamy garlic sauce!

Author: Jules

Recipe type: pasta, dinner, comfort-food

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

1 package of ribbon noodles
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
4 tbsp whole wheat flour
3 cups mushroom or vegetable broth
juice of 1 small lemon
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp sage
1 tbsp thyme
1 tsp sea salt
6-7 cups of mushrooms (use a mix! I used white and portobello)
1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar
¾ cup green peas
¼-1/2 cup chopped parsley
Easy Creamy Garlic Sauce:
2 cups cashews, soaked at least 2 hours in water, then strained
¾ cup water
juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 pinch of sea salt

Instructions

Cook pasta 2 minutes less than what is recommended.
Oil-free sauté onions: Heat up a deep dish pan to medium, then add the onions. Sauté until translucent, adding a bit of broth as you go to prevent sticking.
Add 3 tbsp of flour and ¼ cup of broth to the pan and whisk until combined.
In a bowl, make a broth mixture by mixing together the tomato paste, tamari, lemon and 2½ cups of the broth.
Add broth mixture to the heated pan a little bit at a time, stirring periodically as you go. Mix until it is bubbling and thickened slightly (about 5-10 minutes).
Meanwhile, make your creamy garlic sauce: Add all sauce ingredients to your high-speed blender and blend until very smooth (at least a couple of minutes).
Add ½ cup of the garlic sauce, plus the thyme, sage and salt to the pan, mix until combined.
Add all mushrooms to the pan to simmer. Cover with your lid for a few minutes to cook them down.
Add the white wine vinegar and 1 tbsp of the flour if you feel you need to thicken it more. Mix to combine.
Add green peas and parsley, let cook for 2 more minutes.
Mix in the pre-cooked pasta.
Serve it up with a drizzle of creamy garlic sauce and a sprinkling of parsley!

Tag me if you make this! (@hookedonplants on instagram)

We love seeing your recipes.

… and if you want more:

Try the #PlantsForAWeek challenge by grabbing my brand new E-Book!

Top 12 Vegan Recipes of 2018

December 20, 2018 By julia Leave a Comment

It’s almost 2019!

Which means, second to the top vegan recipes of 2018… you may be looking back on the ebbs and flows of the last year…your successes, your learning experiences, your highlights, your epiphanies… Life is full of change and it is truly a game if you learn to accept that.

Never take things too personally to too seriously… Live with acceptance that you don’t know all the answers… Give that direction you’re weirdly pulled to a chance… Put time into the passions you know you have, and if you haven’t found your passion, then be patient, have an open mind, and follow your gut…

Do things that make you happy and be with people who bring you up to be your best you.

Whew, where did that come from!?

Pretty much, life is ever-changing, you are ever-growing. Annnnnd, without getting too deep and rambly, let’s bring it back to the light vibe of this blog and get into the most popular recipes of 2018!

12 days of Christmas… or top 12 fricken awesome vegan recipes of always and forever?!

2nd, please.