This is what temptation looks like:

Rich chocolate temptation: Chocolate Cream Pie.

When I was younger, I gave up something every year for Lent. One year it was shopping, another year was instant messaging (anyone remember aol?). At fifteen, I gave up dairy… and then never went back!

And one crazy year, I gave up chocolate. That was hard! But, to be honest, I’m not sure how giving up chocolate helped me get closer to God. And I definitely don’t think it made me a better person… Imagine the poor people who had to live with my grumpy, chocolate-less self!

So this year, I’m not giving up anything for Lent. Instead, I’m vowing to do more for others.

I’m starting this project again: My Homemade Afri-Cards.

But the little things are also important—remembering to give someone a sincere compliment every day, making time for a friend going through a rough patch, donating clothes away to people in need… even small random acts of kindness can have a big impact on the world. And these are things I should be doing every day, not only during Lent.

Just don’t make me give up chocolate again .

For those of you who are giving up chocolate or desserts for Lent, I’m thinking now would be a great time for me to publish some of the many non-dessert recipes that have been piling up. So you might be seeing a few more savory dishes than usual this next month. Of course, if a recipe for S’mores Whoopie Pies happens to sneak through the cracks… don’t blame me!

And speaking of savory dishes, when I was searching for something the other day I actually found two older recipes that somehow escaped the recipe page:

…………………………Ohmigosh Spaghetti Squash

……………………..Cashew Ginger Kale

Question of the Day:

Are you giving up something for Lent this year?

My roommate just informed me that she’s giving up meat! She’s not Catholic, but she decided Lent was a good time to try it out. We usually fend for ourselves as far as meals are concerned, but this month (for at least a couple days each week), we’re going to take turns trying out new dinner recipes. I’m excited about it… mainly because it means someone else is going to cook for me!

Move over, powdered jelly doughnuts…

These sweet doughnuts resemble a thick slice of gooey banana bread, hot from the oven:

Doughnuts for breakfast!

Do you remember my sprinkly Cake Batter Doughnuts?

After that recipe, I ‘d planned to go on a doughnut-making roll. So many possibilities swirled in my head: peanut butter & jelly doughnuts, chocolate brownie doughnuts, blueberry muffin doughnuts… But I never ended up making any of them. That’s the problem with an idea; you have to actually do something with it, or it’ll stay an idea forever! Thankfully, the idea for banana bread doughnuts is no longer just an idea: it’s an absolutely-delicious breakfast treat… coming soon to a Dunkin’ Donuts near you.

Or not.

Banana Breakfast Doughnuts

(can be fat-free)

Inspired by this recipe.

• 2 cups spelt flour (or white, or Arrowhead Mills gf works)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup oil, plus 2 T milk of choice (If you prefer fat-free doughnuts, omit oil and increase milk to 1/3 cup.)
• 1 and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup agave or maple syrup
• 1 and 1/2 T lemon juice
• 1 stevia packet (or 1 T more agave or other sweetener)
• 2 c tightly-packed, mashed banana (measured after mashing)
• optional: chocolate chips, walnuts, or shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine dry ingredients, and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix into dry. (Mix by hand, and don’t overmix.) If you have a doughnut pan, grease and pour in batter. If you don’t have a doughnut pan, you can make this recipe into muffins by using a muffin pan. Cook 30-35 minutes, or less if using a mini doughnut pan. I think the recipe yields about 14 doughnuts. I made 6 big doughnuts, two muffins, and quite a few mini doughnuts, because my doughnut pan wasn’t big enough for all the batter!

Click the following to see the Doughnuts’ Nutrition Facts.

And yes, these doughnuts can be frozen.

I recommend this frosting recipe: Vanilla-Fudge Frosting.

But you can also opt to top the doughnuts with coconut butter, peanut butter, a powdered-sugar glaze, vegan cream cheese frosting, jam, or whatever else you like to put on banana bread.

Fill in the blank:

My dream doughnut would include ________.

Pumpkin spice? Peanut butter cream filling? Chocolate glaze and sprinkles? Or vanilla custard and chocolate ganache, à la those famous Boston Cream Pie doughnuts?

Ooh or what about Mint-Chocolate Chip Doughnuts?

I might have to try those…

Fat Tuesday!

I had grandiose plans for this day:

Chocolate pancakes made with Homemade Nutella!

But do you see a chocolate nutella pancake recipe in this post? No, you don’t. That’s because I got completely confused and thought Mardi Gras was next Tuesday. So bummed… I’d wanted to try creating a recipe for King Cake, too. If I post the pancake recipe next week, will anyone even eat them? Or are you all giving up desserts for Lent?! (Oh, I’m thinking it’s going to be a quiet time on my blog this next month!)

Anyway, happy pancake day…

Here are 9 ways to celebrate: Healthy Pancake Recipes.

If you click on the photos, they’ll take you to each individual recipe. Or the link above will take you to all the recipes. And once again, I’m sorry I don’t have that nutella pancake recipe for you today.

Question of the Day:

Have you had any pancakes yet today?

Food Network Challenge!

Last weekend, a group of us met up for an informal soccer game at my friend Matt’s house. Afterwards, as everyone sat around with a beer, one of my friends jokingly asked, “Where’s dessert, Katie? You always bring dessert.”

It’s true. I’m constantly pawning off food on friends, because I like to get as many opinions as possible before deciding if a recipe is worthy of sharing on my website. Well, somehow the joking ended with me standing in Matt’s impoverished kitchen, wondering what the heck I could possibly make with so few ingredients. It felt like an episode of Chopped!

When I saw raisins, my first thought was: No-Bake Chocolate PB Cookies.

But Matt’s cabinets were not only lacking in the peanut butter department, they also hosted absolutely no chocolate! None. Not one chip, not one bar, nothing. I wanted to run away, right then and there. (A person without chocolate should never be trusted!) Instead, I put on a brave face and took stock of the available ingredients. I had to improvise a little, such as using water in place of almond milk. Still, the cookies were a gigantic success, with everyone agreeing the recipe was blog-worthy.

Flourless Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies

(gluten-free)

They take under 5 minutes to prepare!

• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 T brown sugar (If you prefer, click for: Sugar-Free Oatmeal Cookies.)
• 1 T plus 2 tsp white sugar or evaporated cane juice
• 2 T raisins
• 1 T oil or pre-melted margarine
• 1-2 T milk of choice (start with 1)

Blend first 5 ingredients together in a food processor or blender. (I used a Magic Bullet.) Mix with other ingredients, form into cookie shapes, and place on a greased cookie sheet. Cook 6 minutes at 375 F.

Click to see the Cookies’ Nutrition Facts.

This recipe makes a small batch; if I remember correctly, it yields around 11 cookies. (I made a much bigger batch for the group by tripling all the ingredients.)

When I brought the remaining cookies home for a photoshoot, someone kept watching me…

Waiting to pounce!

Want a cookie??

Question of the Day:

Do you ever watch the Food Network?

Oddly enough, I actually don’t like watching cooking shows. Maybe it’s because my job revolves around food, but in my free time I want to do things that have absolutely nothing to do with food!

Well, except I do often like to look at this website.

But that’s mostly because I enjoy the photography and artistic aspects of the photos. (I guess it can also be argued this isn’t really my free time; I’m observing others to try and improve my own photography skills.)

Can vegetables be addictive??

According to the October issue of Vegnews magazine, frying is the only cooking method that can make a vegetable addictive.

The writer’s obviously never tried Cauliflower “Chicken” Nuggets.

My roommate has decided that recipe is her newest-favorite way to eat vegetables. On a recent trip to the grocery store, I found giant heads of cauliflower on sale for $1.99 each, so I turned them all into cauliflower “chicken” nuggets yesterday, and we couldn’t stop eating them!

Yes, veggies can definitely be addictive.

In a big, red bowl…

It’s like KFC, only better!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, photos of the other veggie lovers in my life:

As it turns out, Batman was very well-named. At night he likes to burrow under the covers and sleep at the bottom of the bed. Like a bat in a dark cave… I don’t know how he can breathe!

Question of the Day:

Are there any veggies you could eat all day long?

Roasted sweet potatoes? Raw carrot sticks? Or maybe you’re even addicted to salad? Did you know there exists a surefire way to make any vegetables addictive?

Completely cover them in Crazy-Good Ranch Dressing.

I challenge any veggie-hater to just try and resist a plate of caramelized, roasted veggies covered in that addictive ranch dressing. Just try.

Tomorrow: cookies!!

You will fall in love with this pie.

Crazy in love.

Are you in love yet?

How about now?

Back when I was in high school, a few friends and I started a tradition of an annual “girls’ night” on or around February 14th. Going off to different colleges forced us to skip a few years, and new friends are added as others move away, but we’re still trying to keep up the tradition. This year, we met a few days before Valentine’s Day, to accommodate the girls with boyfriends… or husbands. (Wow, I feel old.)

One girl supplied the nailpolish, another was in charge of movies. (We ended up watching my favorite: Love, Actually.) Someone else brought wine (red, of course), and it was my job to bring the dessert.

(Surprised?)

Wanting to make something fun and fancy, I decided on pie—chocolate truffle pie. I just kept adding ingredients to the vita-mix, tasting as I went along (best part!). Here was the final, delicious result:

Chocolate-Strawberry Truffle Pie

(Makes 1 pie)

• 2.5 cups strawberries, or other berries (250g) (I used frozen)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder or cacao
• 1.5 cups cashews (150g)
• 1/2 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
• 3 stevia packets (or 1/4 cup agave) (Plus extra as desired)
• 1/8 tsp salt

In a bowl, cover the cashews with water and let sit at least 4 hours. Then drain. Combine all ingredients in a Vita-Mix or high-powered blender or food processor. If using stevia, add 4-5 tablespoons water. (Omit the water if using agave.) Blend until super-smooth. Taste and add more sweetener until desired taste is reached. (I added 2 tablespoons extra agave to half the pie… and I kept the entire bitter side all to myself. Muahahaha!) Pour into a prepared pie crust (see below for a crust recommendation), and freeze.

If you can’t have nuts, try this recipe: (Nut-Free) Raw Chocolate Pie.

(I’ve included the above link because I know a lot of my readers have nut allergies, and I’m sure people are going to ask! The linked recipe is for a chocolate-raspberry pie, but you can easily sub strawberries.)

For crust, I highly recommend: Hot Chocolate Crust.

(That’s not actually the hot chocolate crust in the photo. I ran out of time to make a homemade crust before the party. But if I’d had time, I would’ve made the hot chocolate one… An excuse to make this pie again!)

Question of the Day:

What do you think of raw desserts?

Although I seriously doubt I’ll ever become a raw foodist, some of my favorite desserts are raw: my fudge babies, mint-chocolate milkshakes, chocolate-raspberry cake, coconut cream pie…

I have an entire recipe category: My Raw Dessert Recipes.

I’ve been single for two years.

Sure, I’ve gone on dates, and even a blind date.

But it’s been quite a while since my last serious relationship. I kinda like being single! (Not that I want to be single forever, but it’s fun for now.) My roommate is single at the moment, too, and so we were each others’ date for Valentine’s Day—for breakfast, at least.

I made us each a bowl of this: Hot Fudge Oatmeal.

It was a very low-key Valentine’s Day. Emily cleaned around the house, and I did blog work (including dealing with a giant tech-issue headache. Running this blog takes a lot more work than it might seem!) I also tested a few recipe experiments. The best one of the day was peanut butter maple fudge. Yummmmm…

Later, I incorporated the leftover strawberries into my lunch:

Double-Decker Coconut Berry Sandwich

(Really more of a concept than a recipe.)

• Fresh strawberries, sliced
• Soft coconut butter or Homemade Coconut Butter
• Bread of choice
• optional: jam, chocolate chips, etc.

To assemble the sandwich: Spread a layer of coconut butter on one or both slices of the bread (or pita, sandwich thin, etc. Optional: layer on some jam and/or chocolate chips. (You can also opt for a sprinkle of sugar or stevia if you have an extreme sweet tooth and want more of a cake-like sandwich.) Slice the strawberries on top and close up your sandwich. Eat!

For this particular sandwich, I used a Mrs. Bairds whole-grain grillin thin. They’re vegan, and they’re really good! (I’d originally bought the package so I could have a bun for my Amy’s Bistro burger at a party last week.)

That’s my giant salad in the background, with a boring (but delicious) olive-oil vinaigrette. Not the prettiest background choice for a photoshoot, but when I am hungry I don’t want to bother with a photoshoot. I just want to eat! (It’s one of the reasons I rarely post about my savory meals. Who wants to stop and take photos while your dinner gets cold?)

Question of the Day:

Would you rather be single or in a relationship?

Being single is definitely easier, but I don’t want to be single forever… I’ve set such high standards that sometimes I worry I will be! The things you have to work for are the most rewarding, and I guess it depends on the other person in the relationship. I’ve had some really fun, meaningful relationships and one that was not-so-great from the very beginning. (It was a high school fling, though, so maybe it shouldn’t even count!)

My favorite Valentine’s Day was when my boyfriend surprised me.

But this year, my single friends and I had a “girls-only” night, and that was pretty fun too. I made a chocolate truffle pie for the night… the recipe will be in tomorrow’s post!

Love Shmove.

Everyone knows the real reason to celebrate Valentine’s Day: it’s a great excuse to unapologetically consume exorbitant amounts of chocolate. So whether or not you buy into the manufactured holiday, don’t miss out on the chance to stuff your face with chocolate treats.

Most likely, you can already think of about a million ways to celebrate. Or ten million, if you’re as in love with chocolate as I am.

(But I don’t think that’s possible!!)

Here are some ideas: Healthy Chocolate Recipes.

The above recipes are healthy ideas to treat yourself, so you can be good to your heart while still treating your tastebuds. Most of them are also pretty easy and quick to make! However, just in case you feel like doing absolutely no work today, I still gotcha covered…

Every day, I get quite a few email offers for product reviews, and I have to turn most of them down. But when the Sweet Riot company offered to send samples of their new chocolate bars, I certainly couldn’t turn those down!

First and foremost, their chocolate is awesome because it’s fair-trade. It’s also vegan and gluten-free. I really enjoyed the 85% bars—the taste reminds me somewhat of Magic Shell. (My roommie gobbled up all of the little 70% squares. She appreciated the fact that they’re only 20 calories per square.)

It’s been awhile since my last giveaway, so how about a quick chocolate giveaway in honor of Valentine’s Day Chocolate Appreciation Day? (Every day should be Chocolate Appreciation Day.)

This giveaway is now closed.

Congratulations to Madi.

I’ve emailed you!

Close your eyes:

Imagine you are eating a giant, gooey powdered jelly doughnut…

Welcome to reality.

Looks fancy… but this jelly roll is ridiculously simple to make.

• It’s single-serving!!
• Takes just 10 minutes
• It can even be fat-free.

I’ve always been intimidated by jelly roll cakes, but this recipe is one of the easiest things I’ve ever made. So even if you don’t think you can cook, you’ll probably have no trouble making this. And it’ll impress the socks off of everyone you know!

Skinny Mini Jelly Roll Cake

(Serves 1-2)

• 1/2 cup ww pastry flour, or white or spelt (70g) (For a gf version, use this: gluten-free option.)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 100g water or other liquid (That’s 1/3 cup plus 1 T plus 1 tsp)
• 2 packets stevia or 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons applesauce or oil
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Combine all dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, combine wet (including applesauce). Mix wet into dry, but don’t overmix. Pour into a greased 8-in circle pan or a rectangular pan. (Be sure to grease it very well, or the cake won’t come out.) Cook for 10 minutes in a NON-preheated oven at 420F. (You might need to cook it longer, depending on your oven.) Let cool ten minutes before removing cake from pan. Then cut off all four edges so it forms a rectangle (if you used the circle pan). Spread on jam, or whatever else you wish, and roll it up. It’s that easy!

Click the following link for: This Recipe’s Nutrition Facts.

You can fill this single-serving cake with anything you can imagine: Peanut butter, chocolate chips, fresh berries, frosting, coconut butter, etc.

Shown above, with jam and Sugar-Free Powdered Sugar.

Question of the Day:

Do you consider yourself a good cook?

Or are you a walking disaster in the kitchen? Do you like to cook elaborate meals? Or are tv dinners and Chinese takeout your specialties?

P.S. I’m shocked so many of you voted for the non-chocolate recipe yesterday. What am I going to do with you guys??

Cake for breakfast.

Good morning, indeed.

I’ve written before about my friend Andrea.

I still think of Andrea as my chatterbox middle-school friend with braces, always chasing after boys. So it’s funny to see her now, as a married mom of a five-year-old daughter. Kristin (her daughter) is the sweetest little girl, and I’m always excited when they come to visit.

This morning, I let Kristin choose any of my CC Diet Breakfast Recipes.

After quite a long period of deliberation, she decided on the red velvet pancakes, swayed by her mom’s suggestion that they’d be a good Valentine’s treat.

Although I do already have a red velvet pancake recipe floating around the blog, I’m posting the recipe today because I made today’s pancakes a little bit differently. I omitted the food coloring and tried using raspberries instead. As you can see from the photos, the result isn’t extremely red… but they’re red in spirit!

Red Velvet Pancakes

(can be gluten-free)

This is a Single-Serving Recipe.

• 2 T whole-wheat pastry flour (or white, spelt, or Arrowhead Mills gf mix)
• 2 T plus 1 tsp oat bran (You can sub flour if need be.)
• 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp baking powder
• scant 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 T cocoa powder (For a more brownie-like taste, try dutch cocoa.)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup pureed raspberries (or sub 1/3c milk of choice)
• 1 tablespoon oil (Omit only if you like the taste of fat-free pancakes.)
• 1-2 T sugar, or 1 stevia packet (If using liquid sweetener, decrease the milk.)
• If not using the berry puree, you can add food coloring if desired for the red color (Whole Foods sells a natural brand, called Select.)
• optional: Feel free to add some mini chocolate chips.

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet and mix. Then make your pancakes! (Serves 1)

Note: The nutrition information for this recipe is pretty much the same as for the other version. You can see that information here: Calories and Nutrition Facts.

These pancakes were inhaled!

Above, topped with my special Cheesecake Frosting.

Your choice:

What recipe would YOU most like to see next?

I didn’t plan very well, and now I still have five recipes I’d hoped to publish before Valentine’s Day:

• Mini Jelly Roll Cake for One
• Strawberry-Chocolate Truffle Pie
• Chocolate Chunk Love Cookies
• Hot Chocolate on a Stick
• Chocolate-Raspberry Ice Cream

Let me know which recipe you’d most like to see, and I’ll post that one tomorrow!