Recipe: Nutty banana-chocolate pancakes

Here I am again!

I just had the most amazing breakfast. I usually just slap on some cream cheese and tomatoes on rye bread for breakfast but this morning I had a little bit more time on my hands.

I've been seeing recipes for banana pancakes everywhere and I really wanted to give my own twist on it.

I really like chocolate and I recently discovered the deliciousness of raw cocoa. I've been putting it in all of my smoothies and well.. it's awesome. And it's guilt free! Therefore I wondered if it would be nice to put it in my pancakes. And oh boy, it is! The pancakes are dairy, gluten, sugar and lactose free. They aren't vegan but I'm sure there are some alternatives to the egg in it if you want them to be vegan.


Here is the recipe:

Nutty banana-chocolate pancakes
(for 3-4 small pancakes)

Ingredients:
1 banana
1 egg
50g chopped mixed nuts (unsalted)
1 tbsp hemp seeds
1 tbsp raw cocoa

Mash the banana on a plate and whisk the egg seperately in a small bowl. Once you've done that, put the mashed banana in the bowl with the egg and mix them by hand. Then add the cocoa, the hemp seeds and half of the chopped nuts and mix them by hand (I just used a regular fork) until the clumps of cocoa are gone.
Take a small pan and spoon some of the mixture in and bake it on a low fire. When it's nice and brown on one side, turn it around and bake it on the other side. When you are done, staple your pancakes on top of each other and serve with the remainder of the mixed nuts. If you like, you can sprinkle some raw cocoa and hemp seeds on top as well. I'm sure they'll be delicious with some maple syrup or honey if you are looking for variations!

Love,

Jopie

Recipe: Vegan Pea Soup with Vegetables

This and varieties of this recipe is the thing that I usually make when I am really broke, as it's cheap and very nutritious. I sometimes make lentil soup instead of pea soup, but that depends on whether I have lentils or peas in the house. I usually make a big pan and eat it a couple of days for breakfast or lunch.
I usually stock up on lentils and peas when I have money so I can always make this soup with whatever veggies I have in my fridge! It fills you up like crazy.
Healthy food gives me more energy and makes me feel better so this is definitely 'happy food'!

This is what I made today:

Needed for a pan:
- 250g dried peas
- a zucchini
- two bell peppers
- tomato paste
- 3 tomatoes
- an onion
- Spices. I used cinnamon, chilli powder and yellow curry powder.
- Herbs. I prefer fresh herbs from my garden - I used oregano, rosemary and thyme.
- Optional: hemp seeds and rye bread

Chop the onion and add it with the peas to a pan of boiling water and let simmer for 45 minutes. Chop the zucchini and the bell peppers and add them to your pan. Let simmer for fifteen minutes, then add the (chopped) tomatoes, tomato paste, herbs and spices. Blend it all until nice and smooth.
Serve with rye bread and sprinkle with hemp seeds!
The soup is gluten and lactose free. The rye bread is not gluten free so if you're following a gluten-free diet, use a safe substitute! :)

Love,

Jopie

Recipe: Vegan Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa

Kicking off with one of my favorite recipes.
Due to food intolerances I am a vegetarian. Since I am not quite sure yet of everything I am intolerant to I just try to eat as healthy as possible. I love to experiment with vegetarian and vegan food. Eating healthy makes me feel better and feeling better in my body makes me happy about myself.

It takes a little while to make this, but the result is definitely worth it!
I often make more of the stuffing and put it in the fridge so I can eat it for lunch the following day as I can't really get enough of it. It's very easy to alter this too. I've made it for my family recently, using brown rice instead of quinoa, which was delicious as well.

It is vegan, lactose and gluten free.

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa 

Ingredients for 4:

4 large red bell peppers

2 cups of uncooked quinoa (I am using a mix of white, black and red quinoa)

1/2 zucchini

1 red onion

2 large tomatoes

100ml coconut milk

1 tblsp hemp seeds

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp yellow curry powder

olive oil

some fresh herbs like oregano, rosemary and thyme.

+ you can add nutritional yeast for a cheesy flavour. :)

Cook the quinoa for 8-10 minutes in a seperate pan. While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the rest. Chop the onion, zucchini and tomatoes into small pieces and lightly fry the onion in a frying pan with some olive oil. Then add the zucchinis, fry them with the onions and add the tomatoes and the coconut milk. Spice the mixture up with the herbs and spices and add the hemp seeds. Turn off the fire, add the quinoa to the mixture. Heat up your oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Take the bell peppers, cut out the top and remove inside bit with the seeds. Stuff the bell peppers with the quinoa mixture, put on the tops, wrap them in tin foil and  put them in the oven for an hour.

And dinner is served! :)