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Best of 2016

December 29, 2016 · Natalie 24 Comments

2016. Reflections. Gratitude. And the recipes that got the most love this year.

The past year has been my first year of blogging full time. Actually it feels more accurate to say blogging and not being a student too. Because while it takes up all my time, the words “full time” imply that I make a lot more than I do from it than I do.

Blogging has been a part of my life for almost 3 years now, so the bigger shift for me was not being in school for the first time after…(hang on a minute while I count this out) 16 years! There were moments if I would stop and think about that fact it felt weird and still hard to believe. The whole year seemed so much more fluid–no Christmas vacation excitement or August new semester dread.

Being done with college meant being able to give Feasting on Fruit my full attention, which was simultaneously wonderful and scary. Wonderful in that I could post more, create more, and take on new projects. Scary in that it added a lot of pressure. Pressure to take FOF seriously, to take myself seriously. Because I know no one else will until I do. With that came more motivation and excitement coupled, of course, with more stress and bouts of feeling burnt out. One big jumbled mishmash of emotions–that’s what blogging is. All the good parts of life are though, aren’t they?

The months flew. The whole year flew. But it always seems that way looking back from the last week of December. Just like it always seems hard to fathom from the first week of January, that in 12 months 2017 will feel like it flew too. Oh Time, how deceiving you can be.

2016

I intended for this to simply be reflections on 2016, but as the words started flowing it turned into a gratitude list, which I think is even better actually. Like a subconscious reminder that I have a lot to be grateful for from this year…

Daily creativity. Getting to do something I love and be creative with food and photos every single day. And I am grateful for that little voice in the back of my head that reminds me, even when I am feeling a bit burned out, that it is my job to make brownies and taste test cookies and take photos of cake. And that is pretty damn awesome.

Never-ending learning. The curveballs. The late night freakout website-won’t-work moments that force me to dive deeper into the technical side of a website than I ever wanted to go. And things like how to make a square video, how/why to shoot photos in RAW format, how to make red pancakes with turmeric, how to make blue food coloring with cabbage–all these things I never knew I needed to know but now I do. I am always grateful for new knowledge. For life keeping me on my toes as it is so good at doing.

Friends. New and old. Connecting with people online is ~~one of~~ the best part of the internet in my opinion. I am very grateful to be surrounded by so many amazing blogger friends. Grateful for every one of them who has helped me in some way or another, and for every opportunity I have had to return the favor.

One particular new friend. A beaming baking bestie. The kind of friend that you click with immediately and forget that you haven’t known for years. And I know for a fact she and her sweet treats are going big places in this blog world!

New opportunities. And saying yes to them. And embracing the unknown that comes with. Especially this opportunity that I never saw coming but couldn’t be more grateful for.

You. For reading. For the support. For the sweet comments that put a smile on my face. For the not so sweet comments that make me stop and think and challenge me to believe in myself and my work regardless. For every single person who has tried one of my recipes and taken the time to let me know what you think. Whether you hated it or loved it, I appreciate that feedback more than you know.

Top 10 Recipes of 2016

10. Banana Cinnamon Rolls (My personal number 1 though, I can’t even count how many times I’ve made this one!)

9. Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake

8. Oat Rawnola

7. Vegan Gluten-Free Cinnamon Rolls

6. Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Flatbread

5. Pumpkin Pie Nice Cream

4. Pumpkin Pie Cups (grain-free)

3. Vegan Gluten-Free Flatbread

2. Fluffy Vegan Pancakes (no bananas!)

1. Easy Vegan Oreos

My Favorites

Those may be the most popular recipes from the year according to the numbers, but there are a few gems that the stats overlook.

Here are 5 of my personal faves that didn’t make the list…

If there was a stat that could show which recipe made the most appearances in other recipes and in my Instagram feed it would be these. The perfect coconutty color-customizable topping!

Another treat that I have remade countless times because sticky + sweet + spiced + speedy = perfection!

And this cake deserves a shoutout because it may blind us all or send it’s unicorn army after us if I don’t mention it in this post somewhere.

These brownies! So much fudgier than healthy low-fat things should be, I still don’t even understand how.

More unbelievably rich but healthy chocolate decadence, but a spoon is required for this one. Okay, at least suggested.

A small sampling of reader remakes from 2016

2017

I have never followed through with a New Year’s resolution. Nor have I ever broken one. That is because I have never made one.

Well not seriously anyways. Who knows what I said or committed to that New Years when I was 6 and I stayed up till midnight feeling like a total rebel for squirting silly string inside while watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas (a little late, huh?) with my super cool 2000 paper glasses on. That is the only New Years Eve I really have vivid memories of, I think I slept through most of the others only to be woken at 11:58 to watch the ball drop through very heavy eyes. Okay 10:58 actually #centraltimezoneproblems

I don’t want to sound cynical or cliche and say “I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions”, but they just aren’t my thing. Too forward-thinking, not in the moment. They say you can “wish your life away“, but I think it is possible to goal your life away in much the same fashion. Constantly living by looking forward to finishing this or starting that or going there. I am absolutely guilty of not always being present, so if I started adding too many goals to the mix I would never check in with the here and now. Just one big ball of anticipation for what’s to come.

I think goals are awesome as long as long as I am enjoying the before, during, and after of achieving them, not just focused on the after.

But despite all of that, I do have a few intentions for FOF in 2017. Nothing concrete or quantifiable, just thoughts and ideas that I want to keep in mind in the coming year…

More savory recipes. My mind is already screaming at my fingers to put a big MAYBE right here. These non-sweet ideas don’t come easy to me, so suggestions/requests are always welcome in this department.

One a month, perhaps? Yes I am in large part writing this here to help hold myself accountable.

Photography experimentation. Not use a white background for every. single. shoot. Bring back some wooden backgrounds and rustic vibes. I love trying to take moody shots and playing with light and shadows, but I am not very good at it. If you don’t know what I mean, check out Aimee’s blog and her crazy-amazing photo skills–that’s what I want to work towards. Just for fun mostly, I love a good photography challenge!

Simplify. Looking at that top ten list it’s pretty clear that easy recipes with minimal ingredients are the clear winners. Right next to healthier versions of classics. I want to focus on the simple recipes, the kind that don’t require crazy ingredients (ahem…fruit snacks) and have a shot at becoming regular staples. You love them, I love them, and I am ready to see something even more scrumptiously simple knock those oreos out of the top spot!

Move. Okay maybe not a blogging goal per say, but something that has been on my mind. I don’t know where or when or how, but I am ready for a new place to call home.

More breakfast recipes. This is not so much a goal as a plan. A plan for January to be exact. For lots of people the new year means new dedication to eating healthy, and breakfast recipes are the best way to package up sweet treats in a more healthfully acceptable form. I already have lots of fun yummy ones in the works and more in my head that I am excited to share! Cake can qualify as a breakfast food, right?

Wishing you a happy New Years and 2017!!

Homemade Vegan Fruit Snacks

December 27, 2016 · Natalie 50 Comments

These homemade vegan fruit snacks are a fun healthy gummy treat for kids or adults that you can make in any fruity flavor or shape with just 3 ingredients!

I did a lot of brainstorming trying to come up with a New Years recipe idea for today. I spent quite some time scrolling through Pinterest past cocktails in every color, sparkly dessert shooters, and champagne-flavored everything looking for inspiration. Something celebratory and party-perfect.

But in case you haven’t noticed, fancy party food is not exactly my style. And I don’t know how to make champagne flavored frosting. And black eyed pea cupcakes sounded a little too out there of a bean-y baked good for me.

And then finally on slide 10 out of 17 of this list I finally found my spark of an idea: fruit snacks!

Are they especially New Years-y? Not really, no.

Are they fun and cute and full of fruit? Absolutely!

Plus someone asked for a vegan gummy recipe a long time ago and I had yet to fulfill that request. So my apologies for the wait, but here they are in all their fruity chewy translucent snack-deliciousness!

Gummy or fruit snack–which do you say? I naturally say gummy, but then feel like a 3 year old and correct myself to fruit snack. Although there is really no way to discuss gummies/fruit snacks and feel very adult while doing it.

Random fact: I ate what were technically toddler ~~gummies~~ fruit snacks until I was…well…at least 5 times the age that qualifies as a toddler. They had a good flavor selection and they were fruit juice sweetened, okay. See even back then I was into the fruit-sweetened snacks. It was mostly for the flavors though.

More random fact: When I typed the word “gummy” autocorrect first changed it to tummy, the next time to mummy, the next time to dummy, and then finally just gave up and left it as gummy. I think it may have been trying to tell me something…?

Anywho…gelatin-free vegan ~~gummies~~ fruit snacks are surprisingly easy to make as long as you have one kinda-funky but very necessary ingredient: agar agar powder.

Why is it “agar agar” and not just one “agar”? I don’t know. But since there are 2 agars in the name I thought we’d make 2 flavors of ~~gummies~~ fruit snacks.

One is sweetened with maple syrup (or any liquid sweetener), and the other is sweetened with jam. I used a fruit juice sweetened jam in my fave flavor–blueberry. I am partial to the jammy version as it has better texture and extra fruit flavor, but I wanted to give you options. Plus some flavors (ahem…orange) aren’t easy to find in a jam. Both of the recipes can serve as templates for making any flavor you like. Just switch up the type of juice or jam and you can have snacks of just about any fruity sort.

The ~~gummy~~ fruit snack making process is simple–just 3 ingredients and less than 10 minutes of active time. Whisk the sweetener and agar agar into the juice. Let it rest for 5 minutes. Simmer and whisk for 2 minutes. Pour into a container/molds. Chill. For the jam version, you will just blend the juice + jam + agar (to avoid jammy chunks) and then boil/whisk/chill it the same way.

They take at least a couple of hours to set up completely before slicing them into squares. Or you can use fun-shaped molds or mini cookie cutters! The coating of sugar is another extra fun-factor option, but be sure to do it right before eating because it will dissolve after a few minutes and turn the ~~gummies~~ fruit snacks oddly juicy.

One important note is be sure you use agar agar powder not flakes. I have tried it with the flakes before and it did not set up the same way. I have also tried making powder from the flakes in a coffee grinder–another fail. This is the agar agar powder I used because it was organic and relatively reasonably priced. Also the packaging was pretty, and I would be lying if I said that didn’t factor in.

These ~~gummies~~ fruit snacks keep best in the fridge. In an airtight container in the fridge they will last for 1-2 weeks. They can stay out for a few hours at a time if you want to bring them along or pack them as an on the go snack though.

So now that we are all hopefully feeling a little more like 5 year olds, let’s make these gummy snacks (nope, not even going to correct it this time!)

Homemade Vegan Fruit Snacks

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 240 minutes
Total Time: 250 minutes
Yield: 50 fruit snacks 1x

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Description

These homemade vegan fruit snacks are a fun healthy gummy treat for kids or adults that you can make in any fruity flavor or shape with just 3 ingredients!

Ingredients

Scale

Orange Fruit Snacks

1 cup orange juice
1–2 tbsp liquid sweetener (maple syrup, agave, etc.)
1 1/2 tsp agar agar powder

Berry Fruit Snacks

1 cup beet/berry/cherry juice
1/4 cup berry jam
1 1/2 tsp agar agar powder

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Instructions

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the orange juice, sweetener, and agar agar powder.
Set aside for 5 minutes.
Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and pour into a shallow container or fun-shaped molds.
In a blender, combine the berry/beet juice, jam, and agar agar powder. Blend until there are no chunks left.
Set aside for 5 minutes.
Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 2 minutes whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and pour into a shallow container or fun-shaped molds.
Place in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours to set.
Remove from the molds and cut into squares. Optionally coat with raw sugar just before eating.
Keep the remaining fruit snacks in the fridge.

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Triple Chocolate Flourless Crinkle Cookies

December 22, 2016 · Natalie 35 Comments

With no flour, no sugar, and extra chocolate–there is nothing traditional about these crinkle cookies, but that’s what makes them so rich, decadent, and easy!

I promise this is the last one. Pinky swear.

This crazy sweets-stuffed month of cookie mania would not be complete without a chocolate member to the cookie clan though. Crinkle cookies seem to be the top Christmasy choice when it comes to chocolate cookies, and sometimes they are even a little heavy on the Christmas with a dash of peppermint too.

I think it is because the powdered sugar coating makes them look as though they are covered in freshly fallen fluffy snow flurries. Although that makes absolutely no logical sense–who leaves perfectly delicious cookies outside in the cold to be coated in snow?

So I am ruining this false snow-flurry coated cookie image with these Triple Chocolate Flourless Crinkle Cookies in the name of extra chocolate! The more forms of chocolate crammed into one little cookie the merrier, yes?

Sweet chocolate cookie plus a slightly bitter truffle-esque cacao powder coating kicks these crinkles up to double chocolate. But it’s almost Christmas, so let’s take things up another decadence notch and add mini chocolate chips to this triple chocolate party too.

These little chocolate bombs almost got the usual oat-flour treatment, like most of the cookies around here. But going off of the truffle inspiration for the cacao powder coating, I decide to take a tip from these truffles for the actual cookie dough too.

My go-to chocolate cookie combo would be a blended date base, oat flour for the dry ingredient, and cacao powder for the chocolate. But instead I crowded out the oat flour with extra dates and cacao, making for a really simple, really rich, flourless crinkle cookie.

Think: bliss ball moisture and fudgy texture, but with extra fluffy lightness baked in thanks to leavening. Or better yet–quit thinking, start baking! I think you will understand my rich fudgy reasoning pretty quick.