#becausehelives, and zucchini loaf!

Happy Easter Everyone!

I hope you all had a marvellous weekend full of family, friends, and good food :) It's my first Easter I've ever spent away from my family! I didn't even realize it was happening to be honest..... But it came and went just the same.

Today I want to share a couple of things. Some thoughts, something special, and finally something healthy and delicious.....

.....And YES, in that particular order.

First, some thoughts for today. The past few days have been trying to say the least. I won't go into the details (because hey, there's delicious food to be baked) but I have been forced to take a good hard look at my life and where I want it to go.... and how this all fits with my faith. I have wondered why certain doors have closed that seemed so perfect at the time. Even options that would be "alright with me" or "decent I guess" have been whisked away before I could catch hold.

General Conference could not have come at a better time. I still felt some concern after the Saturday sessions... but just as the sun silently breaks over those beautiful Utah mountains each day, hope came quietly this morning. I was able to breathe for the first time in a long time and be still. I felt my worry quelled and my fear fade. My choices were reaffirmed and I'm grateful.

I'm grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know He lives. I know that He loves each of us so perfectly and blesses us abundantly every day. I know His hand is in my life always. I'm sure many of you have seen this... but in case you haven't:

http://www.mormon.org/easter?cid=HP_SA_4-4-2015_dMIS_fMRMN_xLIDyMSTHD1_

Watch this. It's truly beautiful.

And now.... Some food to go with my thoughts. What's a girl to do when she's away from home for her first Easter ever?? Clearly go buck in the kitchen. TONS of SKINNY french onion soup, coconut cashew butter, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and healthy chocolate chip zucchini streusel loaf to start off the week!















How's about that zucchini bread recipe... hmmm?


How does a protein packed, dense and springy loaf with a coconutty, pecan, cinnamony, sweet topping sound? With a big spread of butter? Hold me back. Did I forget to tell you it starts with a pancake mix....? BUT STOP. It's Kodiak Cakes Powercakes. The Holy Grail of pancake mixes!! It's flipping delicious, just needs water, and is SUPER healthy!!

 This is how I've been eating it.... with a big smear of Brummel and Brown Yogurt spread. #todiefor.

 It's also pretty divine with a drizzle of honey, or a bit of cookie butter. Or Nutella. Or anything. Ugh stop me.

 Look at that thick slice! Served up alongside some peanut butter mousse :) Breakfast is the best!!

 Sorry about the plastic spoon.... #studentprobs

Please make and enjoy!

xo

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Streusel Zucchini Loaf (With POWERCAKES!)

1 cup Kodiak Cakes Powercakes*

1.5 scoops protein powder of choice (I used Cellucor* Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough)

1/3 cup Truvia baking blend* (or granulated sugar of choice)

2/3 cup splenda (feel free to sub for 1/3 cup more sugar)

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 egg

1/3 cup applesauce

1/3-1/2 cup milk of choice (I used Silk Cashew Unsweetened*)

1 medium zucchini, grated

1 tsp vanilla extract

Topping (Optional… but not really ;) feel free to play with this! Different nuts, chocolate chips, granola….)

¼-1/3 cup old fashioned oats

¼ cup pecans, chopped

¼ cup unsweetened flaked coconut

½ tbsp. cinnamon

1-2 tbsp Truvia baking blend

Combine all dry ingredients listed above, then add wet. Mix until the batter is just blended. It should be about the consistency of regular quickbreads! If it’s not quite right, add a little more milk to thin it out. Pour into greased and parchment lined loaf pan.

In a separate bowl, combine all ingredients for the streusel topping. Sprinkle evenly over the top of your loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean!

This came out springy, moist, cinnamony, streusely, and not overly sweet! Perfect for a breakfast bread alongside of a protein shake or as a snack with a steaming cup of tea J If you aren’t a fan of fat free baking I would substitute some of the applesauce with a neutral flavored oil, or even coconut oil!

This recipe is: low sugar, high protein, low fat, and delicious!!

*I'm clearly not affiliated with anyone, much less these great companies (but I'd like to be!!). These opinions are completely my own. 

Breakfast: The Moste Potente Potion

I love breakfast. I can't even tell you how much I love breakfast.

Pancakes. Waffles. Crepes. Cereal. Granola. Yogurt. Smoothies. Toast. French toast. French toast crunch. Oatmeal. Cream of Wheat. Bacon. Sausage. English Muffins. Biscuits. Eggs. Fruit.

I am a HUGE breakfast advocate. It's really the most versatile, delicious, and important meal out there.... but second breakfast comes pretty darn close ;)

I also think that having a good, filling and balanced breakfast is as important as eating it at all!! Lots of recipes I see out there for healthy and hearty breakfasts leave something to be desired....

Why should healthy mean it can't be delicious!! Take my Peanut Butter Mousse and Toffee Crunch Peanut Butter Stuffed French Toast for example.... :)

This was totally delicious, satisfying, and didn't leave me sugar coma'd for the rest of the day.

What You'll Need:

For the Peanut Butter Mousse Filling:
1/4-1/3 cup Greek Yogurt
Pinch salt
1-2 TBSP Peanut Butter or Peanut Flour
Sweetener to taste (I like Splenda)
Extra nut butter/toasted nuts (optional) I used my Pecan Toffee Crunch Protein Peanut Butter (I'll do a post on it soon ;) )

For the Toast:
2-4 pieces of whole wheat light bread
1 egg
cinnamon
splash of milk (I like Silk Cashew Unsweetened)

Preheat a frying pan!

Mix all ingredients for the mousse filling VERY well. Set aside.


Add egg, cinnamon, and milk to a bowl and whisk until well combined. Pile peanut butter mouse on one piece of the bread. Smear on extra peanut butter and toasted nuts if desired. Place the other piece of toast overtop. (Think PB Mousse Sandwich ;) )

Dip your sandwich into the egg mixture and coat both sides! Spray some nonstick spray on your nice hot frying pan and put your egg-dipped sandwich right in there. Cook 1-2 minutes, then flip and cook until the other side is done!

You should hear a good sizzle when you lay it on the pan :)










Voila! Serve with butter, syrup, whip cream, or whatever your heart desires! I stuck with sugar free syrup this time.... I was so hungry I couldn't wait!!

I love skinnifying decadent recipes for everyday use! I don't think that just because something is good for you it has to be boring, bland, or basic!

You can play around with healthy alternatives and have delicious things like Pasta Alfredo Bakes, Stuffed French Toast, Meatloaf Sandwiches, Cinnamon Streusel Cake, and Funfetti Cake every day of the week (and twice on Thursdays)!! Happy Breakfasting!

xo

Annie

Skinny Struggles

I'm asked a lot about how I can eat so many desserts and indulgent food and stay so skinny.

First you should know that I SERIOUSLY don't feel "so skinny" lots of the time. Most of the time... ever. Imagine that!

Second you should know that I work very hard to balance my diet not just to maintain a certain weight, but to maintain a certain level of HEALTH. I 100% believe that you are what you eat. The fuel you put IN your body has the biggest impact on what you get out of it. If you feed yourself crap, that's how you're going to feel.

What many people don't understand is that it's not one piece of cake or an order of fries that will ruin you. It's all about your lifestyle.

I have a ravenous sweet tooth that seriously CANNOT be satiated by one freaking square of dark chocolate, nor by a splurge once a week. In fact, I fundamentally disagree with a planned weekly splurge meal. I think the psychology behind that is so skewed. You're depriving yourself fun experiences and making yourself miserable during the week so you are ravenously craving something good by the time it rolls around. So you indulge. Hard. You eat WAY more than you are even comfortable digesting, let alone discussing, and then you are overstuffed and have a mega food hangover the next day. Then comes the weekly detox of lemon and cayenne and maple syrup (gag) and the cycle resumes.

Splurge meals don't work for me. Never have, never will.

You know what does? Finding healthful alternatives to sweet treats and adapting my taste preferences. Sure, my healthy desserts won't taste exactly like a Cinnabon or a cheesecake brownie or my beloved red velvet birthday cake. There are differences in taste... but there are also differences in how you feel after.

I don't believe in eliminating food groups, following fads, or buying into all the zillions of blogs that claim coconut oil is a miracle food that you can drink by the cup and lose weight.... but I'll save that rant for another post ;)

Anyway. Maybe there are some people who can eat six poptarts and a pizza and deep fried cheese on the daily and always look great naked. I don't know anyone who's like that and I'm certainly not one of them... and truthfully? I'm so glad. I taught myself how to fuel my body properly and I can share what I've learned with others :)

Healthy food is beautiful food. Take care of your body. It's one of the most wonderful gifts God has given you. Treasure and protect it. Use it how it is meant to be used.

 xo

Annie

The Calm Before the Storm.... and BREAKFAST :)

Ohhhh my gosh. This week's gunna be nuts!

Final month of classes. Can't even breathe. Everything somehow snowballed into one week... midterms, labs, papers, cleaning checks, presentations, hosting my bio innovation class, errands... the list goes on!

So you may have noticed the construction going on with this blog. It's kind of a process. I'm exploring what I want my life to be... so the blog is going to be evolving with me. The most obvious change I guess would be the blog name! I liked Cakerella... but it didn't really ever sit right with me. It's not something I really am anymore.

I like this new name. It's ambiguous, mysterious, and hard to nail down. It's attractive but doesn't scream for attention. It's individualistic without self obsession. It's what I'm going for these days ;)

I'm going to share with you all my latest obsession: overnight oatmeal. I've seen this crap ALL OVER pinterest and was extremely resistant. But WOW. Never again. Today I'm going to share my favourite flavour so far: Chocolate Peanut Butter. Classic.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

1/3-1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1/3 cup Plain Greek Yogurt
1-2 TBSP Cocoa Powder (depending on how chocolatey you want it!)
1-2 TBSP Peanut Butter, Peanut Flour, or Peanut Butter Protein Powder (I like Cellucor)
1/2 Cup Milk of Choice (I like Silk Cashew Unsweetened!)
Sweetener to taste
Pinch of Salt

Mix everything up in a jar and pop in your fridge! Let it sit at least overnight, if not two days. In the morning you'll have cool, creamy, oatmeal pudding with a bit of chewiness. SO good. I topped mine with peanut butter cheerios and a spoonful of white chocolate peanut butter. #heaven

Here's to a breakfast to look forward to!

xoxo

Back By (popular?) Demand!

Well hello beautifuls <3

Ew. It's seriously been forever. Whyyyyyy?.....

Here's why. I finished school (yay!). I started working (also yay!). I decided to apply to BYU (wha..?) and move to Utah. So now I'm a 20-something freshman working towards my B.Sc. with an alphabet of letters already attached to my name*.... What on EARTH Annie? For real.

In a nutshell. I love my job. It's so great. But I love learning a lot too... and I wasn't done. I want to SEE more. DO more. BE more!! It didn't make perfect sense when I was applying for school and studying for the ACT at the same time as studying for my graduate tests and two sets of boards exams  either.... and to be honest I'm still stumbling around in the dark a little bit!

Here's what I do know: I'm happy. I'm healthy. I'm learning. I'm starting fresh.

I'm happier than I have been since I can even remember. I feel so much like myself it's scary!

I'm running a lot now that ballet is (seriously) over. It's REALLY hard, and I still cry when I hear my old music. I know I would have loved just one more year... but really it would never be "time" for me to quit. I could dance until I literally fell apart. And even then I'd still try and pick up the pieces.

I'm so wrapped up in this new life and I got sick of just blogging about cake. As awesome as it is.... there's gotta be something else yo ;) AND THERE IS! There's so many wonderful and beautiful things in this life to share and to experience!

Don't worry. Cake will still come. There will always be cake. Speaking of which... want some? In about 5 minutes flat? I got your back.

*Cake in the Microwave*
Attempted by many, perfected by few. This cake is actually HEALTHY and is easily transformed into any variation of your favourite. I've been asked way too many times how I make this so here's the recipe!

2 TBSP Coconut Flour (if you use regular, I'd increase to about 3 TBSP)
1 TBSP Your favorite protein powder (optional, I like Cellucor!)
1 tsp baking powder
Dash of Salt
Sweetener to taste (sugar, splenda, stevia, coconut sugar... whatever you're into)
1 egg or 2 egg whites
Splash of vanilla
2-3 TBSP milk
1/2 TBSP applesauce
Add ins: chocolate chips, coconut shreds, crumbled oreos, canned pumpkin, streusel topping.. anything you're feelin.

Add everything together and whisk until smooth. Pour into a ramekin or mug sprayed with nonstick spray. Microwave for about 1:30-2 mins, just until done. Try not to overbake.

Pop your little beauty out and let it cool. I stick it in the freezer for super fast chilling. Then top it with whatever you like! Frosting, peanut butter, melted chocolate, greek yogurt, honey and butter.... Serious options people.

Here's some ideas to get you started...

 

Top Row: 1. Basic cake stuffed with nutella and topped with nutella sauce. 2. Peanut butter cake with chocolate chips, chocolate frosting and peanut butter swirl. 3. Cookies and Cream cake with peanut butter greek yogurt frosting and a crumbled oreo on top.
Bottom Row: 4. Funfetti cake with chocolate chips, chocolate frosting in the middle, and ice cream and a red velvet oreo on top. 5. Cinnamon streusel cake with honey and butter on top.

So there you have it. Healthy cake in a ramekin just for you in 5 minutes flat. Life is so sweet, right?

XOXO

Annie

*All those letters? Two sets of full ultrasound credentials. Kind of weird. Kind of awesome. #imanadult

Kat's Day Off

So this one time I had a day off. A WHOLE DAY OFF. And it was a Thursday!! When does that happen? I'll tell you when: Freakin Never.

Our beautiful little tree :)

So I got up and put on makeup. Be impressed. Then I cleaned a bit, and got in my car and WENT SOMEWHERE. Where? Safeway. Bought stuff. For treats.

But first, I set a record for the earliest set up of a Christmas Tree ever. November 8th, people!! And I don't even care. I'd been playing Christmas music for at LEAST two weeks by this point. Christmas: too good of a holiday to sell short. And in Canada... once Thanksgiving hits I say roll out the reindeer.

Anyway. Back to the important stuff. Baked goods.

I have this issue with being excessively indecisive when it comes to choosing something to bake. Literally, I riddled out what I wanted to spend Thursday making for at least 3 days. I finally narrowed it down to a cake and a batch of cookies. One of which would be a cinnamon/sugary thing... while the other had to contain molasses. My internal battle went a little something like this: Molasses Cake and Snickerdoodles! Done!.... well... I could do a Streusel Cake and Molasses Cookies!! But if I do molasses cookies I may as well do the gingerbread snowflakes.... Oh wait. No cookie cutters. Okay! Definitely Molasses Cake! But wait. I just had the Gingercake at Earls (to DIE for....) so is that what I really want? Where the heck do I buy candied ginger?? FINE. Streusel Cake. WHICH streusel cake? Too many recipes, and none of these look good. Martha Stewart, you saint. Ultimate Streusel Cake, done. Okay, Gingerbread Snowflakes! Frick, NO COOKIE CUTTERS. Plan B: Snickerdoodles. But wait, no! Too many cinnamony-sugary things!! Molasses. Cookies. Martha.

She saves me from myself.

I even got to christen the BOSCH my mommy sent up for me to use :) since the Kitchen-Aid moved to the States... it has been beyond my reach. And my poor handmixer is well, a handmixer. Great for frosting, not so great for cookie dough. While I am just grateful to have something to make cookies with... When I get my own standing mixer... It. Will. Be. Kitchen-Aid.

The Bosch is a little hard to deal with... I don't get how the attachments work. It doesn't have the capacity to press ravioli and make ice cream and do laundry.... and I have to scrape the outside of the bowl AND the inner tube pretty frequently. And it's just not as nice to look at. Eh, what am I crying about? She got the job done. Who cares if she's the unfortunate sister? I appreciate her toughing it out.

Had to make a well to fit all that yummy streusel :)

Anyway. This streusel cake? I wasn't expecting much. But to put it simply... TO DIE FOR. It uses coarse salt in the cake AND the streusel... so every once in a while you get a little extra salty bite (which I love)! There's no skimping on this filling, I really didn't think all of it would fit. The cake is dense, but not quite a pound cake. The crumb is soft and buttery. It's like a pecan cinnamon roll with cake instead of a yeasty bread! The powdered sugar milk glaze is much more complimentary than it initially sounds (but I know that batch of cream cheese icing would do JUST fine too... :) )

The cookies? Oh. Well. About them cookies. They were big, super soft, spicy, moist, and just delicious. And the recipe says a yield of 12? It's a lie. I made over 30. And they were huge.

Fill

Top with more batter.

USE ALL OF THE STREUSEL!

Bye Bye For Now!

Well Hello There Cake.

Aren't you looking dapper this evening?

 So my roommates came home to fresh baked Cookies AND Cake AND Christmas Music AND a Christmas Tree!

Voila!

So Thursday was AWESOME. Totally in my element. Felt great to bake and decorate and clean and just DO THINGS with no prior commitment. No homework. No studying. No place I had to be....


..... How many days till Christmas Holidays? Oh yeah. 24!!!

Hey, I remember you!!

*Blows off dust*

Holy. Has it ever been a while. I'm not exactly sure why I am posting today... maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm SICK for the first time in a really long time. What's the best thing to do when you're sick?? Well, for me it's do all those little irritating things that you seriously DON'T want to do all the other days when you are perfectly healthy and fit to do so.

You know. Things like... Clean out and organize your bookmarks bar. Catch up on some reading. Recover the old blog you used to do.

I finished my semester last week.. and that was a quick and dirty one. 14 of the longest weeks of my life. I'll spare most of the gory details... but in a nutshell, brownies for dinner practically every night. 10 finals in two weeks. Brink of my sanity.

So this whole "free evenings and weekends" thing is something I've only heard whispers of on phone commercials. Foreign concept.

Since being back in Edmonton not much baking has transpired. My big project this summer was my sister's WEDDING CAKE.

My first endeavor with fondant.

I was a little intimidated. As I was shopping for my supplies, we were told that Michael's does cake decorating COURSES. I considered this possibility... but the schedule was heavy. Why would I sign myself up for cake boot camp on my very last summer vacation??... Oh right. I wouldn't. The saleswoman told me that I might be able to muddle through basic fondant without training... but no way with anything on a larger scale.....

... Are you seriously telling me I can't deal with glorified play dough? Whatever.

There were tears. I'm pretty sure I aged about a decade constructing this cake. I have had so many people ask me how long it took me. Honestly, I didn't time it. But a guestimate?.... about 12 hours.

The inside was The Gold Cake. Aka: That beautiful Martha Stewart cake made with dark brown sugar, coarse salt, and rum. Each layer is then soaked in homemade butterscotch and the whole thing is enrobed in brown butter cream cheese frosting. Then you cover the outsides in toasted pecans.

<---- Yes, this was inside of....



                                       















This. ----->














Yeah, she was a big one.

Anyways. Since the trauma of the wedding cake.... I have done a few other little things.

 Dad's Birthday Cake!! Italian Cream Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. It was stupid good. Notice that awful icing job? This was the first thing I baked since the wedding cake. I still remember saying "I don't even care." over and over as I frosted this cake.

 Classic Red Velvet Birthday Cake!! One for Tera <3 and one for Megan <3

 Tiramisu. Apparently much too strong.

 Momma Carmen taught me to make pie crust :) 

We scratch made pecan, pumpkin, and coconut cream pies! The flakiest crust EVER. 

 Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes filled with Dulce de Leche, and frosted with Dulce de Leche Buttercream. Apparently quite sweet. o.O

Chris and Blair got married, so I made their wedding cake. 4 thick layers of dense chocolate cake filled with Nutella Buttercream. 

So that's a quick little summary of my most recent baking projects! I am happy to announce that... It is officially Christmas Time!!! Who am I kidding, I changed my alarm to Christmas music at least a week ago. Looking forward to MANY baking adventures this holiday season :)

Here's a little bucket list of the must-makes:

Cuban Lunches
Christmas Macarons
Holiday Colored Peanut Butter Rice Krispies with TONS of Callebaut
Ginger Snowflakes
Aged Almond Pecan Shortbread
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Sugar Cakes
Assorted Truffles
Super Secret Decandently Delicious Mystery Christmas Dinner Dessert!!

Also. I'm off for holidays from the 14th of December all the way to the 2nd of January!! I'm SERIOUS!! This means that this Kat (ha.) is heading back to the homeland at quittin time on the 14th. Car packed. Presents wrapped. Treats in tow. Christmas playlist playing. Hair and makeup done, with a cute seasonal outfit.

Speaking of trips home... I happen to be going tomorrow! I always forget at least one thing... and I'd love to have THIS be the time I break that habit and remember EVERYTHING I planned on bringing down. Good to be back! Happy Baking :)