“There is Nothing Like A Dream to Create the Future” – Victor Hugo. I think that’s so true. What we dream of, and what we think, absolutely sculpt our reality. I could get really deep with that whole thing, but I know you’re just really wanting to know if those are real, vegan, gluten free, Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls in the picture above, and I am happy to say, YES, they are!! As if vegan, gluten free chocolate cinnamon rolls aren’t enough, these babies actually have mini chocolate chips rolled into them, and they are glazed with a Chocolate Gourmet Espresso Glaze!! The rolls are great, but the glaze really takes these to the next level! So, these are pretty much proving that quote right… I have been dreaming of cinnamon rolls ever since I went gluten free about 5 years ago, and that time I saw a photo of cinnamon rolls baked in a cast iron skillet, I knew that must be in my future! So let’s talk about how to get these fluffy, chocolate COFFEE cinnamon rolls into your future….
Acai Berry Smoothie Bowl
A few months ago, my family and I traveled up the coast to the tiny little beach town of Avila Beach, Ca. It’s an adorable little town, and I wrote a post about our trip here. While we were there, we visited a great little smoothie shop, and the bowls that we had there totally inspired me to make my own version! I have been making them almost every morning, in some variation, since we got back! I adore smoothies for breakfast and rarely eat anything other than that, so I was happy to add these delicious Acai Berry Smoothie Bowls to the repertoire! Bonus – my husband and kids love these too, so it’s easy to get everyone eating a lot of fruit for breakfast. There’s also plenty of protein in them, so you won’t feel hungry an hour later! Before we dive in, I just want to let you know that I am busy working away on some amazing vegan and gluten free Thanksgiving recipes, so make sure you stay connected by following me on social media or signing up for my email newsletter. You won’t want to miss what’s coming next!
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Fluffy Egg Free Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Yes, fluffy, egg free, gluten free chocolate pancakes are a real thing! I got you – you skeptic – you believer that all vegan/ gluten free pancakes must be gritty, flat, sad affairs. I’m here to tell you that you CAN have super fluffy, slightly crispy outside, moist, crumby inside, pancakes that are completely vegan and gluten free – ’cause that’s how we do it ’round here! This can be your next lazy Sunday breakfast, and if you just can’t wait until next Sunday ( I don’t blame you!), a quick and easy pancake dinner! For you do-gooders, out there, see my Cinnamon Blueberry Pancake recipe that is loaded with yummy, healthy blueberries! Ok, I admit that I am one of those, aforementioned do-gooders, that usually prefers fruit in pancakes over chocolate, but I’ve devised a work around! You see I live in a house full of chocolate lovers and if I were to set down a plate of blueberry pancakes, they’d be looking all around, knowing that I must have a big stack of chocolate chip ones hiding somewhere. So, I am sadly outnumbered around here. There is a perfect solution to that little issue. Serve these super fluffy, decadent stacks of chocolate chip pancakes dripping in syrup, with fresh strawberries! Problem solved, everyone VERY happy! I mean, chocolate + strawberries = match made in heaven right? So, a pancake this perfect must be hard to make right? No. Fancy starch, Nah. Crazy complicated gluten free flour blends that you need a degree in food science to make sense of, No Way! We are going to a very simple and readily available replacement for eggs, that you probably already have in your cabinet right now. So let’s get these super easy and delicious going right now!
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Peach Banana Berry Smoothie Bowl
Yum
As a food blogger, I see A LOT of smoothies on the internet, and right now, smoothie bowls are all the rage. Not really a new concept, just a new way to do things. Basically a smoothie bowl, is a smoothie that is thick enough to eat with a spoon, and because it’s in a bowl, instead of in a cup, you can really get creative with your toppings. Smoothie bowls are a delicious and beautiful way to eat your fruit, and include some other filling ingredients to make it more of a meal. This Peach Banana Berry Smoothie is really satisfying in all of the above mentioned ways!
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Carrot Cake Bars with Citrus Cream Cheese Icing
Hi everyone! Can I just say that carrot cake is one of my absolute favorite things in life? I mean what’s not to love? It’s a dessert that is really amazing and you really don’t have to feel guilty about eating. It’s got a vegetable right in it’s name! These gluten free carrot cake bars are even more guilt free because I created this recipe with really healthy ingredients, and they are just the right size for a little snack, they’re a super yummy dessert, and they are even great for breakfast! I tried one (ok, two) first thing in the morning, just to make sure there was no sugar spike… I do these kind of things for you guys. You’re Welcome! 😉 Seriously, they don’t have sugar, so they are really great for breakfast with some coffee, but they stand up to dessert standards too.
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Vegan & Gluten Free Strawberries and Cream Scones
Vegan and Gluten Free Strawberries and Cream Scones?!!! Yes!! Ok, the first thing I have to say about this recipe is, I ❤❤❤ strawberries, photography, and anything pink or red, so shooting these pictures was A LOT of fun! Spring is definitely in full swing here in Southern California, and one of the best parts of this season, is fresh, juicy, organic strawberries! I live near the coast and they grow a lot of strawberries around here, so they are showing up in big gorgeous flats at the farmer’s markets, so how can you resist? I *might* have over bought this past weekend, and once I got them home thought, ‘what am I going to do with all of these berries?’! They don’t last long and I seem to be the only one in my house that is completely in love with them. This love of strawberries runs deep with me. When I was a kid, my favorite toys were my Strawberry Shortcake dolls. My favorite book was “The Strawberry Dress Escape” by Crescent Dragonwagon. My mom made dresses for me with strawberries on them, and my room was decked out with.. you guessed it… Strawberry Shortcake. Oh, and my favorite treats, Strawberry Ice Cream, Strawberry Milkshakes, Strawberry Pie, you get the idea… So when I got the idea for these Strawberries and Cream Scones, I worked on the recipe until it was up to my strawberry obsessed standards, and now I’m so excited to share it with you!! The recipe is easy to put together and they don’t take long to bake, so you need to make these ASAP! These yummy scones are prefect for serving for breakfast, brunch (Mother’s Day!) or at tea time… and you can eat them for dessert too, they are just that delicious!
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Banana Date Protein Smoothie
I could have called this smoothie, the ‘New Blender Celebration Smoothie’, but I thought it might sound a little better if I went with ‘Banana Date Protein Smoothie’. I am celebrating though, because I just got a new blender!(Please read that in your best Oprah voice…) Yay! I bought a Ninja blender about 3 or 4 years ago and I LOVED it! I used it almost every.single.day, at least once, but a lot of times more than once! After so much lovin’, and lots and lots of ice blending, my blades were getting a little dull. I had my hubby sharpen them with his handy, dandy, knife sharpener, and that worked pretty well, and I could have kept using it for quite a while, but I still kinda wanted a new one. And then it happened… my husband was doing his regular hero things around the house which included the DISHES (thank you!!), and he accidentally knocked the blender off of the counter, and it landed in just the right way to split it down the side! I admit that I am so hopelessly addicted to this smoothie that I used it in the morning, crack and all, with a towel wrapped around it ( I know, embarassing, right?) but then I promptly bought a new one. And the new one is even more awesome than my older one! It came with some large smoothie cups with lids and a separate ‘nutrient extraction blade’, which I haven’t used yet, but I’m sure I’ll be appreciating the professionally extracted nutrients! 😉 I know some people spend a few hundred dollars on super fancy blenders, and I’m sure they’re totally awesome, but I’ve never had one of those and I don’t know what I may or may not be missing. I just know that this blender rocks out my smoothies! So, if you’ve been thinking about a new blender, be careful what you wish for, because yours may just fall right off the counter top! Law of Attraction – It’s powerful! Now let’s talk about a smoothie that is so yummy, it’s fit for christening my new blender!
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Vegan Gluten Free Cinnamon Blueberry Pancakes
Pancakes come in all shapes and sizes, but I have to say that my favorite ones, are of the fluffy, pillow-y variety! So how do you make them fluffy, when you are making vegan, gluten free pancakes? Well, when I went to work on this recipe, that was priority number one! Priority number two is that they needed to incorporate aquafaba. Why? Because I have to say that I’m fascinated with it! So, for those of you not in the know about this yet, I’ll give you a very quick primer. Aquafaba is the latest and greatest egg-replacer that you probably have in your cabinet right now. The vegan community is buzzing about it! It was discovered about a year ago, and it’s been revolutionizing the way people bake without eggs. It’s basically just the bean brine that your canned beans come packed in. Mind blowing, right? Yes, it’s really that simple! Now, people are taking it a little (or a lot) further than that, and actually whipping it into a thick, creamy consistency and baking it into meringues, icings, and all kinds of wonderful creations! It’s really quite amazing, and a lot of fun to experiment with. In a lot of recipes however, you can just substitute one egg with 3 Tbsp. of the liquid (no whipping required) and it works great. This pancake recipe is sort of a hybrid, in that it takes just a short whisking, but the results – light, fluffy, gluten free pancakes on your plate are so worth it! If you are adventurous and give this new aquafaba thing a try, definitely leave a comment at the end of the post and let me know what you came up with. If you ‘d like to connect with other aquafaba experimenters, pop onto Facebook and check out the Vegan Meringue – Hits and Misses group, it’s a pretty active group and it’s fun to see what works and what doesn’t. And if experimenting in the kitchen isn’t your thing, or you just don’t have the time, then don’t worry friends, I got your back! I do the experimenting, and you get yummy, tested recipes! If you want to get those yummy recipes right in your inbox, and never miss a single one – sign up for my email list. It’s right over there ——> to the right —–>in the sidebar! So, back to what’s really important here…. Yummy, Fluffy, Cinnamon Blueberry Pancakes!! Make them this weekend for breakfast, or dinner. You can even freeze some them and pull them out on a week day for a quick, filling breakfast before work or school. And while you’re in the pancake making mood – definitely make up a quick batch of this crispy Vegan Bacon (yessssss!) to go with your pancakes! 😋
Tofu Bacon is the perfect compliment to these pancakes!
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Tofu Bacon
Bacon. It’s everywhere! People love bacon. And not just eating it, they wear it on t-shirts and earrings! I’ve seen Christmas decorations that look like bacon! It pops up in ice cream, on pizza, and wrapped around everything under the sun. It seems to be the one item that will make any food more attractive. You could say anything and if you include “bacon”, you’ve won over 99% of the population. Let’s be honest, it’s delicious. But what if you don’t eat bacon, for one reason or another? (There are lots of reasons not to eat bacon, but right now we’re going to assume that you’ve already got a reason.) Make some Tofu Bacon! Seriously. Is there anything tofu can’t do?
Tofu Bacon is easy to make, and it has all of the qualifications that you expect from bacon. We’re talking the salty, smokey, savory, slightly sweet, crispy traits that make bacon completely irresistible! I’ve made this recipe a million times for my vegan cooking classes, and many catered brunches (full of non-vegans) with menus that included tofu bacon, so I can assure you, it’s a crowd-pleaser! There’s a few different ways to prepare it, and it’s just as versatile as the ‘real’ thing! Think, breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, salads, mac and cheese, etc.! Best of all, tofu bacon is cholesterol free, has lots of protein, and is way lower in fat than bacon. Once you’ve made this addictive tofu bacon, you’ll want to make it again and again. I’d actually recommend making a double batch, because my next two blog posts are going to be recipes that utilize this amazing tofu bacon…. and you may also be prone to eat several pieces while you’re making it… and you may have to fend off hungry kids and husbands that smell this delicious concoction coming from the kitchen and sneak in to steal several pieces off of the plate before your meal. It happens people!
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Enchilada Breakfast Casserole
In my last post, I gave you a recipe for Vegan Breakfast Eggs, and today, I’m going to give you a recipe that uses that same tofu scramble as a layer in this delicious, enchilada inspired, breakfast casserole! This is a favorite dish with my family and friends! It can be made in a deep skillet, dutch oven, or in baking dish. It doesn’t take long to put together, (Make sure you scroll down for my quick video!!) and it’s packed with protein and fiber, so it’s really satisfying! I’ve made this for breakfast many times while we were camping in our RV, and even when we were tent camping at the beach, because you only need one pan! (I brought the tofu, corn tortillas, cheese, and sliced zucchini in the cooler, and I cooked it on a Coleman camping stove! So fun and DELICIOUS!!). And this enchilada casserole isn’t just for breakfast, I give you permission to make it for dinner anytime you want to rock out a delicious casserole! I make this frequently for friends when we are having company (friends who aren’t vegan), and it’s a real crowd pleaser. So, let’s get to the good part! Layers of “eggs”, corn tortillas, Enchilada sauce, vegan cheddar cheese, pinto beans, corn, and zucchini! OMG! I can’t wait for you to try this! Seriously… you probably have most of the ingredients in your house already!!
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Angel McNall is the author and photographer of High Vibe Lifestyle. For over 20 years, Angel has been teaching people how to live more vibrantly by eating a plant based diet, and using plant based medicine. 
