Pumpkin Balls

I had some more leftover pumpkin to use up so I decided to try some "no bake" pumpkin balls. I tried two versions - both have similar ingredients and take about the same amount of time to prepare. Here they are in order of which I preferred!

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Recipe from Gimme Some Oven. I liked these, definitely no lack of sweetness due to both the dates and honey. I also like the combination of spices. I would definitely make these again.

I used medjool dates.  I toasted the coconut (unsweetened) and pumpkin seeds for 10 minutes at 350F.

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Recipe from The Lean Green Bean. This version was also good, not as sweet. These balls were not as textured looking due to the grinding up of the ingredients and as a result held together slightly better.

Raspberry Chia Seed Jam Oat Crumble Squares

As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to try it!  It's from Oh She Glows.  I made this over 2 days which I would definitely recommend to do since the chia jam needs to cool.

I enjoyed these squares, however, the next time I make them I might be tempted to use a 9x13" pan instead as I almost found them too "oaty" in the 8x8" pan.  Maybe it's just me…

A few notes:

• Since I happened to have frozen rhubarb in the freezer, I used 1 cup rhubarb and 2 cups raspberries for the jam
• For the chia jam, I excluded the maple syrup.   I'm glad I did this as I think the maple syrup and honey in the crust made this square sweet enough
• For the crumble, I substituted honey for brown rice syrup
• If I did try using a 9x13" pan, I'd increase the chia jam to between 1 3/4 to 2 cups depending on how "jammy" you wanted.  I'd still make the crumble mixture as per the directions but I'd put way less crumble on the top and use it for the crust instead

Raspberry-rhubarb chia see jam

Base layer

Middle layer

Top layer

Just out of the oven

Ready to eat!

Chai-Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes

I saw this recipe from Ambitious Kitchen - thought these pancakes looked delicious!

Well, my pancakes did not turn out as fluffy looking as the author, but they tasted quite nice!  Perhaps it could have been due to the fact I substituted in rolled oats processed into a coarse "flour" rather than whole wheat flour that the recipe called for!  Maybe I should try making the recipe according to the original ingredients first before attempting substitutions, especially since I really know nothing about the properties of flour.

Back to the pancakes, I had to make sure that they were quite thin for them to cook all the way.  I also had to cook them on each side for about 4 minutes. Also, due to my brilliant rolled oats substitution, the batter kept getting thicker as it sat so I kept on having to add milk to thin it!

Yes, I will make these pancakes again, but try them with plain old whole wheat flour!

Topped with maple syrup!

Green Monster Smoothie

I eat the same breakfast almost every day (2 pieces toast with peanut butter). In an effort to be more adventurous when it comes to the first meal of the day, I'm consciously making an effort to try some new things in the next month or two.  First up is this spinach-banana smoothie from Oh She Glows.

This smoothie was pretty good.  I usually have all the ingredients on hand (almond milk, banana, spinach, chia, almond or peanut butter) so this is a smoothie I could make regularly. 

A few notes:

• I used almond butter (instead of peanut butter)
• I skipped on adding protein powder

Pumpkin Cheesecake

For Canadian Thanksgiving, I wanted to find a pumpkin cheesecake recipe to try. I've made cheesecake many times before but I've always tended to gravitate towards a lime or chocolate version.

This recipe is from allrecipes.ca. Not too many ingredients and only 2 packages of cream cheese (my requirements!). This cheesecake was pretty good. The pumpkin flavour was subtle.  Perhaps I could have increased the cinnamon and nutmeg as suggested by some reviewers of this recipe. I enjoyed the gingersnap crust too but next time I'll omit the chopped pecans, I don't think they added anything.

Overall, a nice cheesecake!

Pumpkin Zucchini Chocolate Chip Bread

I was in the mood to make something with pumpkin - I tried this recipe from Ambitious Kitchen. This bread was yummy! Definitely on the "make again" list.  In fact, I will probably use the rest of the pumpkin from the can to make another loaf!

A few notes

• I used slightly less honey and chocolate chips (probably 1/4 cup honey and a heaping 1/4 cup chocolate chips)
• My batter seemed quite dense when mixed so I had a feeling it wouldn't take 50 minutes to bake in the oven.  I checked the bread at 40 minutes and it was ready.

Zucchini Noodles with Basil Vinaigrette

This recipe is from Ruffles & Truffles. Only a few ingredients, and minimal prep work to assemble this dish. I especially enjoyed the vinaigrette, more than I thought I would!

A few notes:

• After I prepared the zucchini noodles, I let them sit in a bowl while the sweet potatoes were baking. Before tossing in the vinaigrette I drained off the accumulated water.
• I used this julienne peeler

Basil Vinaigrette