peanut butter protein shake

peanut butter protein shake

The Minnie Chef
Drinks

Back to back peanut butter recipes because peanut butter is pretty much the solution to all of my problems... I recently started hitting the gym and have been following up my workouts with protein shakes.  And I've finally found one that I absolutely love! 

I'm definitely not a huge fan of most protein powders that I've tried.  I've seen people mix protein powder and water and guzzle the drink down, but that's not even tolerable for me.  But mixing protein powder with allllllll the peanut butter makes everything better! 

peanut butter cookie dough bites

peanut butter cookie dough bites

The Minnie Chef
Snacks

Cookie Dough by the spoonful--come on, we've all been there.  It makes for a perfectly acceptable snack, doesn't it?  Well, maybe not always, but it definitely can!  These peanut butter cookie dough bites are raw, vegan, gluten-free, and packed with protein!  They make an awesome pre or post-workout snack, are the perfect toppings for oatmeal, ice-cream and smoothie bowls, and are totally decadent and delicious.

challah french toast

challah french toast

The Minnie Chef
Breakfast

Challahhhhhhhhh.  It seriously doesn't get much better than challah… Unless, of course, it’s challah french toast.
There aren’t really many things that I have missed since becoming vegan, but challah bread is definitely one of the few exceptions to that general rule.  That sweet, fluffy, pillowy goodness is the mother of all carbs and it just can’t be replaced.  Lucky for us . . .

buffalo tempeh salad

buffalo tempeh salad

The Minnie Chef
Salad

Summer is definitely upon us and with temperatures creeping into the mid-90s, and humidity doing what it does, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been living in a giant sauna lately.  It’s definitely time to break out the bathing suits, misting fans, and best of all, the summer salad recipes!  Because there’s no time more appropriate than . . .

golden kale bowl

golden kale bowl

The Minnie Chef
Meals

This sauce though… 🙌  Back in high school I practically lived off of chop chops from chicken kitchen.   Someone tell me I’m not the only one who used to dump about 5 containers—more or less, probably more—of the Mustard-Curry sauce over my dish before devouring it… 😳  I mean, come on, it’s all about the sauce! 

The other day I was tinkering around with some ingredients in the kitchen to make a sauce for some kale and quinoa I had just made.  And with a jar of curry powder in hand . . .

shades of juice

shades of juice

The Minnie Chef
Drinks

I recently started going to the gym again after a very extended sabbatical.  💪  And earlier this week, I left there feeling like I had totally kicked ass.  Just kidding.  I totally got my ass kicked.  😳  After sitting outside on a tire for a good ten minutes trying to catch my breath and not throw up, I was eventually able to get myself in the car to head over to the grocery store and pick up some post-workout fuel. 

Well, as soon as I got there and stepped out of my car, I was feeling just as bad as I was when I stepped off of the stationary bike that nearly did me in...  🚴😵  The soreness was already setting in and I just couldn't shake the queasiness.  😷  So I decided to pick up some of nature's best medicine in the produce section and go home and make myself some fresh juice. 🍋🌱

I made a little . . .

best vegan gluten-free pancakes

best vegan gluten-free pancakes

The Minnie Chef
Breakfast

These pancakes are EVERYTHING!  🙌  We’ve been eating them for breakfast all week because we just can’t get enough.  😋  I mean, is there even such a thing as enough pancakes?  I don’t think so, anyway.  😎  And when they’re free of oil or butter, refined sugar, and gluten-y, processed flour, I ain’t even worried about having pancakes for breakfast every day this week...  💁🏻

I have another gluten free pancake recipe that I usually make, that have about half the ingredients in them that these do.  We’ve always enjoyed those, but they don’t have the thick, fluffiness to them that I really love and crave in a good pancake.  I’ve tried upping the proportion of oats and adding some baking powder in that recipe, but in addition to thickening the batter, it also dries it out.  👎  So instead of just . . .

conch(less) Salad

conch(less) Salad

The Minnie Chef
Salad

One of the perks of growing up in South Florida is that Bimini, Bahamas is just a hop, skip and a jump—just a quick 2.5 hour boat ride—away from home.  🌴 With a tropical paradise practically in our backyard, over the years we’ve spent a good amount of long weekends over in Bimini. 🌴 Every time we would go, we would never leave the island without having a bowl of conch salad—it’s a staple in the Bahamas.   The last time we took a family trip over there, I had just recently started out on my vegan journey and wasn’t sure if I would bend to have a bowl of conch salad.  After reflecting on the idea, I decided that I didn’t want to eat conch and that I wouldn’t even be missing the conch itself, just everything else that comes with a conch salad. 

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when . . .

black bean & scallion quinoa

black bean & scallion quinoa

The Minnie Chef
Sides

This is my signature quinoa.  I made it for the first time a couple of years ago, and ever since, I’ve been making it regularly for dinner, lunch, as a side at parties, etc.  If you haven’t noticed yet, I love cumin.  I think it’s such a great spice that goes so well with so many different flavors.  I just love the flavor of the cumin along with the black beans in this dish.  And what’s especially great about this dish, aside from the flavor and all the protein from the quinoa and the beans, is . . .

orange blackberry muffins

orange blackberry muffins

The Minnie Chef
Sweet Treats

Everybody needs a good muffin recipe in their life… and one that’s healthy is just a bonus.  There’s nothing like baking up a fresh batch of muffins and eating them fresh out of the oven.  Whether it be banana bread, chocolate chip, blueberry or lemon poppy seed, I don’t think I’ve ever met a muffin that I didn’t like.  But who has, right??  

I’ve never been the biggest blackberry fan—not that I disliked them or anything, but strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries have always been my staples—but I was . . .

cereal killer doughnuts

cereal killer doughnuts

The Minnie Chef
Sweet Treats

In case you don’t already know, I’m completely in love with doughnuts.  But not just any old doughnuts will do… deep-fried vegan yeast doughnuts have my heart and they are a hard thing to come by, at least within a 250 mile radius of me.  😩  Sigh.  There’s this one amazing bakery in Orlando, Fl.  (a three and a half hour car ride away from me and yes I may have driven up just for some doughnuts a couple of times 😳) that makes the most delicious square, deep-fried, vegan, yeast doughnuts.  Unfortunately for me, I’m not the only one aware of just how amazingly delicious these doughnuts are.  Nowadays there’s usually . . .

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