Happy (almost) Thanksgiving to all my fellow U.S. bloggers! Are you excited for the big day? I know I am, since I’m planning on making a few things for the meal.
I wasn’t exactly planning on doing a WIAW post this week–in fact, it almost slipped my mind! But I did promise you guys a few recipes, so I decided that a WIAW post could be good for that. I know it’s kinda cheating, but I did eat them all on Tuesday, so it’s just a shorter version of my usual WIAWs.
I was totally inspired by my pumpkin s’more from Monday night, so I decided to recreate it in oats form. I made a batch of plain volume oats, heated it up in the a.m. and topped with a teaspoon of vegan chocolate chips, a couple of mini marshmallows and a square of graham cracker. I loved how the chocolate and marshmallows melted into the oats. Probably my best oat creation to date!
Remember those festive garland bars from WIAW a couple of weeks ago? Well, I made them and they turned out fabulously good. I’m so glad that I’ve finally been able to make a baked treat that turned out perfect. Plus, they’re completely vegan!
Festive Garland Bars (vegan)
1/2 c oat flour
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1/8 t baking soda
1/3 c dried cranberries
1/3 c vegan chocolate chips
1/3 c maple syrup
1/4 c pumpkin puree
1 c Whole Foods popcorn or kettle corn
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with PAM; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; add 3 T cranberries and 3 T chocolate chips and toss to coat. In a large bowl, mix maple syrup and pumpkin until combined. Add flour mixture and stir together until combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until just cooked through and golden brown, about 20 minutes; set aside to let cool. Melt remaining chocolate chunks. Spread 2/3 of melted chocolate over bars and immediately scatter remaining cranberries and popcorn over the top, pressing down gently to help adhere. Drizzle remaining chocolate over bars. Set aside until chocolate sets, about 15 minutes; cut into squares and serve immediately.
This dessert was definitely a turning point for me, as far as my ED goes. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my biggest fear foods is chocolate. I love dark chocolate, but I can’t eat it straight-up, it has to be in cocoa powder form or something. I’m mostly scared of the saturated fat in it, which is ridiculous. I don’t eat very much sat fat, maybe 2 grams a day, so it scares me that just a tablespoon of chocolate chips has 2 1/2 grams. But I used 6 whole tablespoons of vegan chocolate chips in these bars, so there’s a little over 1/2 a tablespoon of chocolate per square. I gotta be honest, I loved these little bars, but the chocolate did make me feel a little guilty, especially since I already had a teaspoon earlier. I know this probably sounds completely ridiculous, but I’m working on feeling okay with eating chocolate, one teaspoon at a time.
Later, I made dinner for me and my parents. My mom ended up not liking it, but she hates squash for some reason! Crazy woman 😉 This recipe is not vegan, because it has shrimp, but if you don’t eat seafood like I do on occasion, then you can definitely sub tofu or even just chickpeas.
Butternut and Pumpkin Curry with Quinoa
1 butternut squash, cut into small cubes
1 c unsweetened plain almond milk
1 c vegetable broth
1 lb raw shrimp
1 T red curry paste
1/4-1/2 c pumpkin puree
1/2 yellow onion
1 t minced garlic
1 t ground ginger
1 cup quinoa (dry)
Chop up onion and toss in pot with garlic and a teaspoon of olive oil. Cook on medium heat until onion is fragrant and translucent. Add red curry paste to taste, and cook for a few more minutes. Add veggie broth, almond milk, pumpkin, ginger and squash and cook until boiling. Cover and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook quinoa in 2 cups of water (for about 15-20 minutes on medium low heat), and cook shrimp in a pan until pink. Set quinoa aside and add shrimp to curry. Cook for a few more minutes, then serve on top of quinoa. Makes 4-5 servings.
What’s the best thing you’ve made lately?
I’d probably eat a bite of shrimp and then dumb some chickpeas in! Shh. Don’t tell anyone.
Cool WIAW post. Orange is my favorite color so orange overload is cool with me.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hahaha that’s totally fine! I usually eat vegetarian, but since I was making this for my family I decided to add some shrimp, but chickpeas would be delicious too!
Have you ever tried roasted chick peas?
They’re good!
I did try roasting some once but they ended up getting burnt 😦 I’d love to try making them again though!
best thing i’ve made?
“sea scallop sensation by the exbulimic!” http://nicoleandgwendolyn.com/2011/10/31/sea-scallop-sensation-recipe-by-the-exbulimic/.
your squash excitement has just doubly inspired me to try a recipe that i viewed on clean eating chelsey’s blog!
happy thanksgiving, lovely! x
Ooh, scallops are delicious! I’ll have to check out that recipe!
Ooooh I bet those festive garland bars would be really good with white chocolate chips!! I’m totally the same way regarding the chips. I still reduce the amount needed sometimes, but the fact that I’m even adding them is a huge step! Good for us, because everything is better with chocolate, right?
They actually originally called for white chocolate but I decided to try to sub dark chocolate and it worked really well, but white chocolate would also be good! And you are so right, everything is better with chocolate, even if it’s scary to add it in.
Wow!! Love that smores oats idea, how tasty!! You’ve been a busy bee in the kitchen! 😀 I’m hoping to do a lot of baking this holiday too, gotta love having your home kitchen to do some experimentation heehee
Haha yes, I’ve been loving having a kitchen! Can’t wait to see what you whip up 😀
Both recipes sound delicious…thanks for sharing them!
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy them if you try them out!
Smores in a bowl? That sounds and looks sooo good! 😀
It was delicious 😀
The smores idea is fantastic! You sure have been busy, I am so so proud 🙂 The rocky road brownies I made last week were the best thing I have made recently
Mmm, your rocky road brownies looked really good!
I am so bookmarking both of those recipes! Happy Thanksgiving eve! 🙂
Awh, thanks! I hope you like them if you end up making them!
Those bars sound delicious! I might sub some mashed banana for the pumpkin and make soon. Don’t feel too guilty, dark chocolate is choc (pun intended) full of antioxidants too 🙂
Happy thanksgiving gorgeous!
Hahaha 😀 I think banana would be delicious in these!
S’mores in a bowl is absolutely brilliant!
And those bars sound so yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipes!
I haven’t done much cooking or baking lately- I’ve been super busy. But, I have lots of recipes on the agenda for Thanksgiving tomorrow! I can’t wait to share the results.
I’ve been pretty busy too but I had to take advantage of having a full kitchen for the first time since this summer. I can’t wait to find out what you make for Thanksgiving!
Happy thanksgiving and oh I wish I could eat some of those things ❤
Thanks! They were really yummy!
mmmm lovin the eats! 🙂
Thanks, I loved them too!