Vegans, or I guess I specifically mean vegan cookbook writers (or vegan recipe thinker uppers in general) are pretty magical. How can a diet that is free of cheese hand you cheesecake, or even ‘cheesecake’? Even low fat cheesecake that’s made from actual cream cheese tastes like crap most of the time, so how does cheesecake that’s extremely low in fat that’s not even made from actual cream cheese taste so amazing?! I’m not really looking for an answer, because Mama Pea has this dip on deck, so it’s all good in the hood. Or wherever, you know.

Ahem.

What I love about this dip is it works just as well as a base for an oatmeal parfait concoction – which we have used the second half for every time I’ve made it so far. Wee One #3 basically eats it like pudding, not so patiently dealing with the bits of oatmeal and flax and berries in her way. It’s a rough life, right?

Again, no recipe for you, just buy the book, it’s totally worth it I swear.

First, put a buncha stuff in your food processor! Then dip berries in it!

Today, I’m linking up with Kate Says Stuff‘s Thankful Thursday, The How To Mommy‘s Tasty Thursdays, Obviously Marvelous‘ Thirsty Thursdays and Saved By Love Creations‘ Thrifty Thursday.

In the spirit of Thankful Thursdays, I am so very thankful to be here in Los Angeles. I’m thankful that all five of us are healthy, I’m thankful for my husband’s job and that they moved us here and not somewhere boring haha. Waking up to my husband saying ‘wanna go check out Hollywood?’ or our new friends saying ‘lets go peek at some sea urchins’ or our other new friends inviting us to cook in their Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrel-esque kitchen is pretty amazing, I’m not gonna lie. Also, when a bad day means we go swimming at the outdoor pool in our little apartment community instead of hitting the beach, there’s a lot to be thankful for.

Sometimes, I take on what looks like a simple vegan recipe and I’m trapped in my kitchen all day (not that I mind being trapped in there, really), and sometimes I roll up my sleeves to get into a new recipe and BAM, I’m done. This is one of those quickies I treasure (ha). The other amazing thing about this recipe, aside from how GOOD it is, is how inexpensive it is! I had all of these ingredients in my kitchen already! You likely do too, the only slight oddball in there is the flax, but even that is way more common that it used to be.

It’s equally good for breakfast as it is for dessert – chocolate chips and all!

Vegan Chocolate Oatmeal Tart – via Oh, Ladycakes

1 cup banana puree
1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup almond milk
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Mash up and measure your bananas, then mix the flax, coconut and almond milk.
This is where I cheated and used about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Now add the banana puree, then the oats and the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes and that’s that. It takes all of 5 minutes to pull together!

Isn’t that a cute name? Double Chocolate / Single Chin?! I recently made these for a friend that isn’t big on brownies and he loved them.

So I know that I posted a Peas and Thank You treat yesterday and refused to give you the recipe, and I’m doing it again. BUT I also posted those raw brownie bites! The more recipes I make from this book, the more I push it because it honestly is that good. I will make a list next year of all the recipes from this book that have become staples – because there are already a few that I turn to on the regular (Crack Wraps and Tofu Nuggets are made alarmingly often).

Please excuse the pie plate doubling as a brownie pan. I didn’t have one in this apartment when until a few hours later. That’s what happens when you don’t bring your entire kitchen with you when you move. Anyhoo…they are no more effort than any other standard brownie. The difference is, natch, these are way better for you AND they’re denser. I love me some dense brownies.

These brownies are raw, vegan and pretty good for you! Since they’re packed with nuts (heh) they’re about 170 calories each, not including whatever fruit you top them with (though at their size, it’s not like you can top it with much). More importantly though, are these notable vitamin counts (these percentages are for each brownie bite); 19% vitamin B6, 21% vitamin E, 99% copper, 39% magnesium, 77% manganese, 29% phosphorus, 21% zinc and decent levels of calcium, iron, niacin, pant acid, potassium, riboflavin, and thiamin.

Ok, so why does any of this matter? Without getting into the other vitamins and minerals I mentioned, these brownies can be considered health food for the manganese and copper alone!

Manganese is one of those trace minerals found in all life forms, in humans it’s found mostly in our bones, kidneys, liver and pancreas. So what does it even do? It’s defo another of the random minerals that most of us don’t know much about, but when I started reading about it I was pretty impressed. It plays a role in bone formation, thyroid function, formation of connective tissues, sex hormone function, calcium absorption, blood sugar regulation, immune function and in fat and carbohydrate metabolism. Um, manganese had me at sex hormone function and carb metabolism! Eat it up!

I knew that copper was a big part of energy production and I knew that it’s important for nerve health, but I didn’t know until I wrote this that just like manganese it helps connective tissues, and that it helps your body use iron! Above all that, it’s essential for your skin and bones and your blood vessels and joints.

B6 has a rep for being the maker of antibodies, leveler of nerve function and blood sugar, and of course, our hemoglobin champ. Vitamin E, of course, is an antioxidant. Magnesium’s jobs are a little lesser known, essentially it’s responsible for the contraction and relaxation of muscles, and the production of protien (among other things). Phosphorus, as you probably already know, is mainly used by your body for your bones and teeth. And zinc helps your immune system fight off invading bacteria and viruses. Ewww. Let’s all bulk up on zinc.

The recipe and actual step by step are so simple it’s hardly a recipe at all, but that’s partly what makes them so great. If you have everything on hand, you can be eating these in under 15 minutes.

Raw Brownie Bites – via Dr. Axe

2 cups walnuts, chopped
2 1/2 cups Medjool dates, chopped
1 cup raw cocoa (or carob)
1 cup chopped almonds
1/4 tsp sea salt

First, chop the dates and walnuts! Mmmmm.
Then process them together. You can even use your Magic Bullet or small blender if you don’t have a food processor, just be careful to add the dates one at a time so you don’t gum it up! Then add the cocoa or carob and sea salt. Now just press it into a mini cupcake tray! By the time you wash and cut your fruit, the little cakes will be ready to pop out and eat!

These cookies don’t mess around. They’re a pretty quick fix when you’re craving a cookie, but they’re impossibly soft and chewy too so you actually put an end to that craving! It helps ease my conscious that they’re vegan of course but also that instead of just being dairy free, they’ve got a dose of the good stuff. You know? It not like there is a zucchini hidden in these babies but there is nutrition in there, so instead of cookies that are not bad for you, these actually qualify as good for you. Hooray!

Again, I will NOT post the recipe because I want to encourage you to buy the book – right here!

So I’m a big fan of the Happy Herbivore blog. Ever since one of my besties introduced me to it about a year or so ago, I’ve been checking in almost daily for inspiration, ideas and of course recipes. I also follow on Twitter and Facebook because I’m a sucker for that stuff. About two weeks ago, I saw a tweet from @happyherbivore with a recipe for instant vegan cookie dough.

TGIF! Enjoy HH Instant Cookie Dough: 1 cup rolled oats, 2 T peanut butter, 2-3 T maple syrup, 2 T cocoa, mix together. Eat with a spoon!

It was a life-changing event. No really it was. I’ve literally eaten it every day since I first saw it. I use Joseph’s Sugar Free Maple Flavor Syrup in place of the maple syrup and low fat peanut butter.

I do love that it’s healthy, especially great for anyone who doesn’t eat oatmeal everyday, but I’m even more happy about how quickly it comes together. I find it mixes best by adding one thing at a time and mixing with the back of a spoon.

With over 12,000 followers on Twitter and 21,000 fans on Facebook, when you search Google for hh instant cookie dough you get about a zillion results of other people that have blogged about it – it’s that good.

Today, I’m linking up with Tasty Tuesday at 33 Shades of Green, Flock Together Tuesday at Mom’s Best Nest and Inspiration Linky #12 at Teagan’s Travels.

Hooray for making local friends turned local babysitters! Last night my husband and I went on our first official LA date and man it was fun. I mean, anytime we get to be alone together is fun, but especially nice when it involves a lovely restaurant, a glass of good wine and a late night walk (ending the night with pomegranate Pinkberry was a nice touch too).

This recipe had been in my to-make queue for almost a year before I finally made it last week. It was one of the first recipes I used to break in my new kitchen and being surrounded by alarmingly beautiful people (and also a pretty surprising amount of like, morbidly obese people, what’s up with that, LA?!) this recipe felt like a god jumping off point for a pumped up healthy kick.

The original recipe is not vegan – it includes an egg and cheese in the crust and also mozzarella cheese on top, which I subbed for a handful of oats in the cust and vegan cheese on top. Deeelish and healthier too!

Cauliflower Crust (Vegan) Pizza adapted from Eat. Drink. Smile.

1 cup cooked, pureed cauliflower
1 cup shredded vegan cheese
1/2 cup whole oats, ground
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt

pizza sauce, shredded vegan cheese & whatever toppings you like

First steam and strain your cauliflower, then run it through your food processor to a smooth puree.
You’ll need about a cup. Pureed cauliflower is great to have on hand for adding vitamins to almost anything. Stir some into mashed potatoes, add a few tablespoons to scrambled eggs – whatever!
Chop up some garlic and add it to a bowl with the cauliflower puree and shredded vegan cheese.
This is where an egg is added in the original recipe, in my version I added 1/2 cup of ground whole oats to help it stick together.
Mix it up a bit more and roll it out (or pat it out if it’s too sticky) onto a baking sheet. I divided it in two pieces for two crusts. Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes.
Top it with pizza sauce, vegan cheese and whatever other toppings you like! Bake again for 5 minutes and voila!

I know I’m not going to get any sympathy for this but man it’s hard to stay on a productive routine down here. The weather is so lovely and if it isn’t the beach calling my name it’s the pool – or it’s the kids wanting to check out one of the eleventy billion neat things there are to check out here. We also do at least four hours of homeschooling every weekday morning so that takes a serious bite out of the day as well. We have managed to force a routine on ourselves this week though. After my husband leaves for work (at what feels like the crack of dawn), I down water and a pot of coffee, wake the kids, feed them and do school until about noon. If we have an adventure planned, away we go. If we don’t, we’re off to the pool. Then we’re back in time for me to do some cleaning, make dinner, usually with the assistance of my lovely 6 year old sous chef and it’s ready when my husband gets home from work. Tidy, baths, stories, get the two little kids off to bed and theeeeeen I have time to crack open my laptop get a blog post out and then chat with my honey while I knit or bake or whatever. Phew. It’s a full life, but it’s hella good. <3 There is a Whole Foods and a Trader Joes in the same plaza just a few minutes from us! Imagine my glee – go ahead, imagine it! Considering that less than a month ago we were living in the woods and the closest Whole Foods to me was at least two hours away and that we are sorely deprived of Trader Joes in Canada, this is big, big news. I like to go at night after my husband gets home so I can actually hunt down the vegan cream cheese without three kids begging for organic gummy bears (the new fave treat around here). I have been cooking and baking my way through Peas and Thank You still and OMG what a great cookbook! Lots of updates on that next week!

I’m still adding recipes to the site without blog posts so I have a nice record of everything I’ve made! Here is what I’ve added lately!

	I have a pretty serious problem with these candied pecans. I mean, I don’t want to admit this but in the interest of full disclosure, I ate all of them. Not in one sitting mind you, but I ate every single pecan. They really are that good. Of course they are though, right? It’s not like I’m going to post a loser recipe on my blog. One other side note about these little babies is they’re vegan! Hooray! (read).
	They really are so so good. White chocolate and macadamia nuts are a perfect pairing! We included this in last year’s cookie tin and everyone loved them. (read).
	Polymer clay is so fun to make little trinkets and buttons and pendants with. It’s essentially play-doh you bake to set it and keep it forever. Since it sets up really hard you can make buttons and actually use them in garments! Or you can make little beads and string them on thin elastic for bracelets or necklaces. Kids especially love making them and grow ups with a soft spot for that specific child will love receiving (and wearing) them. So cute. (read).
	Just cut the apple into thin slices, carve out the core of each slice (if you have an apple corer, just pop the whole thing out first) and fill the middle with peanut butter, cranberries and chocolate chips. Then sprinkle with cinnamon. You can fill it with whatever you want. The point is to keep it healthy and keep it small (read).
	These cookies are so painfully simple, they’re easy and fun to make with kids and you can roll them in any kind of baking candies to match whatever occasion you like. (read).
	I knitted this blanket for our cousin Jenn and her new husband Adam. They’re mega, super rad. It was a pretty easy knit once I got going on it, the bulk of it was a bit much in warmer months, but totally worth it. (read).
	I made these when I wanted to serve up something cute and simple, but that was a little more ‘adult’ than typical apps I make for the kids after school. (read).
	This snack is especially handy when people show up unexpected for movie night, or when you’re poking around the kitchen in the middle of the night when you should be in bed. (read).

I had been trying my hand at vegan baking for a few month when we made a friend with a pretty severe milk allergy. 2/5 of us are lactose intolerant so we are no really that big on milk anyway, but I have always left dairy in the recipes I use and it never seems to bother us the way a bowl of ice cream might. But even a cup of milk in a batch of muffins was too much for our new friend and I had made fudge for the kids that he had to miss out on.

Thankfully, I found this kick ass recipe on Averie Cooks and it was super simple to make and even more importantly, it’s delicious and free of chemicals and rando garbage store bought fudge is full of!

Vegan Fudge via Averie Cooks

1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons dairy free margarine
1/2 cup coconut milk not light
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the margarine and coconut milk over medium heat until blended. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, combine chocolate chips, sugar, and cocoa, then pour the hot melted butter and coconut milk over top.
Mix! Mix! Mix!
Pour into a brownie pan and pop in the fridge for about an hour or two to set up.

Don’t forget about our giveaway with Keeley Behling Studios! Like the Keeley Behling Studios Facebook page and leave a comment there about something in her Etsy shop to enter. It wouldn’t hurt if you liked the So Very Domestic Facebook page too. 😉

This is the 8th recipe from Peas and Thank You and again, so far so good. This recipe, like seven others before it, came together easily! The directions are simple, the ingredients rad (as usual) and the taste was great. There are short stories about life in the Pea household before each recipe and this one totally resembled my feelings on french toast before this recipe. Maybe yours too? You know how there is almost always a piece of cooked egg hanging off the side of your french toast? Ugh. Not possible in this vegan version! Ha!

I ate my piece, 2/3 of the children ate theirs and my husband passed, but to be fair, he very rarely east breakfast and always passes on french toast. Maybe this will make him a convert the next time I do ‘breakfast for dinner’.

I will remind you again, no recipe for you this time around but I will be making a few recipeas (har har) that are available for free so I’ll post those here! I honestly think this is a cookbook worth buying.

If you use anything at all, let it be actual maple syrup!