High protein Choc Peanut Cheesecake!!

Hey friends! And happy weekend!!

Do you know what makes weekends even happier?

Starting them off with a super tasty, utterly delicious and 100% divine breakfast- that's what!

Now, you may or may not have gathered, judging from previous recipes of mine, that I'm a bit of a cheesecake fan.  (here, here, here) No, I lie, actually. I'm a bit of a cheese fan. We won't go into the details of how much of a fan I was (picture bowls of grated cheese... and a happy Steph).

But you barely ever eat cheese now?- You say. And yes, you would be right, I don't eat much cheese as it doesn't always make my body sing with delight. Although, I definitely do not let myself go without the awesome-ness that is cheese-y flavour.

Exhibit A- My vegan cheese recipe.

So yes, cheesecake. I'm a fan. So I made the ultimate breakfast...

High Protein Choc Peanut Cheesecake! In a jar :)

Filled with all natural ingredients, choc full of protein (and chocolate for that matter!) and healthy enough for breakfast! Get ready for a treat!!

Ingredients:
1 large chopped, frozen banana
1/2 large chopped, frozen avocado
1/2 cup greek yoghurt (optional but definitely recommend for cheesecake flavour- alternatively sub in 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast and 1- 2 tablespoons of almond milk)
1 heaped tablespoon choc protein powder
1 heaped teaspoon raw cacao powder
3/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 heaped tablespoon peanut butter/ nut butter of choice
2 tablespoons almond milk

Method:
1. Place the frozen banana, avocado, greek yoghurt, protein powder and raw cacao powder in a food processor/ blender and blend until smooth (may need to scrape down sides occasionally)

2. Transfer mix to a shallow bowl and place in the freezer
3. Meanwhile place the peanut butter/ nut butter in a small bowl with the almond milk and microwave for 20 seconds to warm slightly
4. Place the oats and cinnamon in a bowl and stir to combine
5. Stir in the peanut butter until a cookie-dough like mixture forms (if it's too dry add slightly more almond milk)
6. Start layering up your cheesecake!

7. Place around a quater of the oat mix in the bottom:

8. Top with 'choc cheesecake'

9. And repeat until you reach the top! (Bonus if you have some leftover and can 'taste-test' now!!

10. Place jar in freezer for 20-30 minutes and then enjoy!

The smooth, creaminess of the 'cheesecake' mix paired with the fudgy peanutt-y 'base'- ugh, guys, there are no words!

Did I mention I ate this for breakfast? ;)

Seriously, if you're one of those people who think healthy food can't taste good- give this recipe a try- I bet it'll change your mind!

The longer you leave the jar in the freezer the more solid it will get- as you can see I was a little impatient, but no matter how long you leave it in for- it'll still taste amazing :D

Hooray for cheesecake (what a weird creation it is!)

And hooray for starting the day the right way- with dessert :)

Your turn:
Are you a cheese/cheesecake fan?
Favourite type of cheesecake?
If you could only choose between eating the base, or eating the actual cheesecake, what would you choose? I really like the base guys, so I migh actually pick that!! Always loved the crust of desserts :)

I hope you all have a fabulous rest of your weekend, hopefully you do something super fun- and at the very least eat something super delicious! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

Bouncing Back to CREATIVITY!

I have this vision

It's a vision that has consumed my mind for quite some time now.

And it's a vision that will consume my mind for many years to come (if not my entire life).

In case you're wondering what this crazy vision thing is- I'll just go ahead and tell you (I apologise to all my mind-reading friends, you might find this a bit tedious ;).

You see, I'm not what you would call a traditional cook. I mean I own both of Julia Child's great cooking books and I watch all the cooking shows (hello Master Chef) and I read all about traditional cooking methods and dishes and typical combinations and I do in fact find it all interesting.

And then I enter the kitchen and my body starts to tingle, my heart quickens a little at the prospect of creating anything I want and then all my previous knowledge of accepted dishes and cooking methods and food combinations fly out the window and I'm left with the crazy creativity that has inhabited my body since the day I was born.

^Dream kitchen right here^

I don't cook according to the books. I don't think I've followed a recipe in well over 2 years. I can not and will not cut all of my vegetables to the same size- and you know what? I like the different textures they take on as a result.

I'm not a fan of the regular and accepted food combos (unless they are peanut butter and banana- even then I wouldn't label that as traditional) and instead put whatever flavours, textures and ingredients together in the hope that it will be awesome! Sometimes it is!

Quite often it's just strange.

That's life!

That also happens to be my vision. I see a world where people just start creating. Sure, recipes and cookbooks are awesome, but I find it baffling when people come up to me and say 'This recipe says 2 medium carrots, do you think these carrots are medium enough?' Go with what you want- if you like carrots chuck another one in there for fun- you'll probably end up liking the end product even more so because of that!

I challenge you to simply walk into the kitchen and grab the first few items you see and then create something. I don't care if you choose biscuits, yoghurt, a banana, celery and pumpkin. That's the awesome thing about creating- you make something completely new! In fact, close your eyes and grab your ingredients (things could really get interesting then).

If you follow through with this challenge I'd love to hear from you, so shoot me an email or post a comment on my blog- if I get enough I will make a post about it- wouldn't that be hilariously awesome!

Want some more entertaining wacko food creations? Click here!

It's time to get creative in the kitchen and just cook RANDOM- so who's with me?!

Today I'm Thinking Out Loud thanks to the awesome Amanda at Running With Spoons. Head on over to see the random-ness that other bloggers like myself are getting up to!

Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

WIAW #76 Back to Old Favourites!

Hello there lovely people!

The week is halfway over already, can you believe it!? Where has this year gone?? Any who, I hope you've all had a great week so far, ready to finish it off with a bang- and if not a bang, then atleast with some delicious meals!!

Speaking of, it's Wedensday and on Wednesdays we share a full day of eats! WIAW style!! Thanks as always to Peas and Crayons for the creation of this weekly link-up and all the bloggers who participate and allow me to drool over their fantastic eats!

Now onto the FOOOD!

Breakfast: 7:10am
Back into the school routine of up early, brekky early, pre-packed lunches the night before and being super organised!

Holding no negative influence over my breakfasts though- they're still as big and delicious and filling as ever!!

A big bowl of blueberry/banana cheesecake steel cut oats with almond butter and peanut butter spread throughout!

There's nothing like a big bowl of oats to warm your heart!

This was also eaten after a short (but intense!!) blogilates workout- new favourite fitness craze of mine in case you were wondering! Cassey Ho is just so enthusiastic and motivating- half the time I don't even feel like I've been working out for that long because she would have been talking about the weather or something else!! ;)

So these oats were even more enjoyable as a result! (everything tastes better after a hard workout!).

Lunch: 1:40pm
Sorry about the blurry photo, but it was actually the clearest one I got (my camera has been acting up a bit lately) but in that tupperware container was some roasted-night-before cold potatoes and sweet potato (so good!), spinach, lentils and mixed four beans.

This lunch will never get old!

Snack: 4:00pm
When I returned home from school today I was rather ravenous, so I chopped up a granny smith apple and some honey dew and crunched on that with a mug of soy milk to wash it down.

 Homework followed...

Dinner: 6:45pm
Cooking motivation= 0, therefore favourite low-maintenance meal to the rescue!!

 Two boiled eggs with spelt bread toast soldiers (hommus and avocado) and some oven roasted eggplant, capsicum, zucchini and mushrooms rubbed with minced garlic and roasted for around 45 mins at 180 degrees celcius.

 After dinner featured a piece of Lindt Excellence 90% chocolate because I am hooked!! So delicious! :)


Your turn:
Are you a blogilates fan/ have another favourite fitness youtuber?
Do you like to stir greek yoghurt into your cooked oats?
Favourite low-maintenance meal when you just cannot fathom cooking?

I hope you all have a great day, do something you love, do something cool for someone else and if all else fails just smile- you'll feel better for it! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

Make ahead meatless balls!

Hello friendly friends!

I hope you're all having a lovely week and today I'm going to make your day even better by throwing at you (well, not literally) a tasty recipe for some freezer friendly super tasty bean balls made with lots of sauteed veg in garlic and onion-y goodness!

So, without further ado- here by the recipe!

Sauteed Cabbage and Eggplant Bean Balls!

Ingredients:
1/2 small brown onion, chopped
1/4 medium eggplant, chopped
1 heaped cup shredded cabbage
1 heaped teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup lentils, drained and rinsed
Handful spinach
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
sprinkle of dried chili flakes

Method:
1. Heat the oil and garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until fragrant:

 2. Add the onion and eggplant and saute for around 5 mins until golden and slightly tender

 3. Add in the cabbage and cook for a further 5 mins until the eggplant is soft and cooked through
4. Place the sauteed veg, beans, lentils, spinach and nutritional yeast and chili flakes into a food processor and process to combine (not too much, you still want some bean and veg chunks for interesting texture!)

5. Stir to combine and then transfer to bowl

 6. Form into balls, wrap in glad wrap and place in freezer until required:

 7. When you want to nom on one of these delicious bean balls, heat up a frypan/ heat up the oven and cook until golden brown on the outside.

I ate mine for lunch with a fresh salad of cucumber, tomato, spinach, alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts and green capsicum:

And it was delicious!

What about you?
Are you a fan of bean balls?
Favourite add-ins? I love to spice things up with cumin/ coriander/ cinnamon etc.

That's it for today, I hope you have a fabulous day and eat something yummy!! Bye for now friends! :D

The Smoothest Smoothie and Links You'll Love!

Hello and happy Sunday to all you gorgeous people!!
Firstly;  I think I've been using my Vitamix wrong! See, I've been making smoothies that look like this by simply switching the machine on and changing the speed:

Don't get me wrong, they've been amazing and smoothie-like, but I just didn't get why everyone get expressing there love for never having a smoothie so smooth after getting their vitamix's.

Then I simply turned it on the High setting and approximately 3.5 seconds later this happened...

Oh. My. Word.

Hands down, the best smoothie I have ever had in my life.

It was the epitome of the word SMOOTH.

 Sharing similarities with that of soft serve ice cream and light fluffy clouds.

 I just need a moment.

Ok, we're good. But yeah, I found out how to properly make smoothies in the vitamix and now I'm ready for ALL the smoothness!

Into this particular mix was 1 large chopped frozen banana + 1 beautifully ripe chopped frozen mango + 3 big scoops greek yoghurt + 3/4 cup water- whazzed together (on high) until SUUUPER smooth!

Eaten alongside some peanut butter truffles (3/4 cup rolled oats + 1/4 cup oat bran + sprinkle chia seeds + 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 1 1/2 tablespoons PB +1/3 cup almond milk- PB and almond milk heated in microwave for 30 seconds before stirring into oats etc.- placed in freezer for 20 mins to firm up)

Smoothie thick enough to need a spoon- just the way I like it :)

 Also great for dipping:

So very full right now :)

Alrighty, so that was brekky!

Now onto some awesome links from the week that was!!

Links:

Food:

Extra Thick Sweet Potato Hot Chocolate (Paleo, Vegan & Gluten-Free)

No Bake Carrot Cake Protein Bars (Paleo, Vegan, Gluten Free)

Fudgy Adzuki Bean Brownies with Coconut Whip

Homemade Puy Lentil and Mushroom Vegan Sausages

Dairy-Free No Churn Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream

Maple Cashew Coconut Fudge Squares (Raw, Paleo, Vegan)

Fitness:

The Right Way to Get the Abs You Really Want For Summer

Even When It’s Hard to Run, You Should Run

How Lazy Ladies Can Get the Perfect Body

Health:

7 Foods To Eat For Your Best Complexion Ever

How to Feel Less Bloated by the End of the Day

POP Songs in REAL LIFE when Losing Weight is Hard

Funny:

17 Brilliant Things That’ll Keep You From Ever Having To Share

17 Snacks That Do A Convincing Impression Of Fries

I hope you have a fun/relaxing/enjoyable rest of your Sunday, ready to tackle another great week! Bye for now friends!! :D