Breakfast Granola

I think I've finally found my staple breakfast! It's super simple but keeps me full and satisfied all morning. I know countless vegan and health food blogs advocate a green smoothie for breakfast, but 1) I can't give up my morning coffee and who would want to drink hot coffee with a cold smoothie for breakfast? 2) I never feel like digging my blender out at 8am and waking up the whole house/apartment and 3) I much prefer green smoothies as a lunch side to a veggie sandwich or wrap. So, I set out to create my own healthy breakfast staple simple enough to replicate every morning that I could enjoy with my hot cup o' Joe. And I think I've found it!

Okay, get ready for this because it's really complicated. While waiting for your coffee to brew, chop the tops off some strawberries, cut them in half, throw them on a plate with some raspberries, and pour a serving of your favorite granola on top (maybe an unsweetened variety with some drizzled agave nectar and a pinch of cinnamon?) Enjoy!

Some notes:

• Finding a suitable vegan milk/cream alternative for my coffee was challenging. I'm not a fan of soy milk and although I enjoyed almond milk in my coffee for a while, it just didn't compare to half & half for me. My secret is coconut milk!! I'm being completely honest when I say I don't taste the coconut at all (and even if I did I wouldn't mind). It tastes just as good as whole milk or cream to me and is 100% vegan- obviously. If you use the vanilla kind, no sweetener is needed but I prefer to use the unsweetened kind with a packet of Truvia.
• Finding store-bought vegan granola is surprisingly challenging just because everyone insists on sweetening it with honey. I could have sworn I double-checked this granola in the store, but turns out it does have honey in it. I don't have the money to just throw a $5 bag of granola away, but when this bag runs out I will be searching for a vegan alternative. (Maybe I should make a homemade batch and write up a post on it?) 
• This is obviously super versatile. When it's not summer anymore and berries cost an arm and a leg again, sliced bananas or other soft fruit would probably taste really good as well. Or if you're like me and love your berries, maybe buying a big bag of frozen mixed berries and letting them thaw in the fridge overnight would be a cost-effective way to hang onto your summer fruit, although I admittedly haven't tried this yet. Also, if you're in a cereal mood this would be fantastic in a bowl with your nut milk of choice (vanilla almond milk sounds amazing).

Vegan Red Velvet Cake From a Box!

My first venture into vegan "baking" (I'm using that term very loosely here) was this red velvet cake mix I made for my roommate's birthday. I'm super intrigued by vegan baking and all the creative egg substitutes that are out there. In my reading, I stumbled across this really simple method and was curious to try it out, especially because you could use it with a box mix. As much as I would love to try to bake some real recipes from scratch, I honestly just wasn't feeling up to all the effort that would require. So box mix it was!!
You may be wondering what the secret "egg substitute" ingredient is... and it's actually soda! To be honest, I was really skeptical about this before I tried it. I have hated soda and all kinds of carbonated drinks since childhood and was certain I would be able to taste the 20 ounces of soda I poured into this cake. But I honestly couldn't at all, despite my aversion to it.

Before I really get into the post, a word on the mix I used:
You probably know that when you make a cake (or brownies or most baked goods) from a box it calls for the addition of eggs, water, oil, and sometimes butter or other ingredients. But even if you use vegan substitutes for the eggs or butter sometimes required, almost all boxed baked goods contain some kind of animal or dairy product in the mix itself, making it not vegan. However, the Duncan Hines brand is an exception- at least most of their mixes are from my (unprofessional) reading of the ingredients lists on a random sample of boxes I picked up in the grocery store; there may be some that are not vegan. So, Duncan Hines box mix and frosting+ soda= vegan cake from a box! :)

You Will Need:
1. Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix
2. Duncan Hines Creamy Home-Style Frosting, cream cheese flavored (can we talk about how weird it is that this cream cheese flavored frosting is actually vegan?!)
3. Soda of your choice (I used 20 oz of Dr. Pepper, but it may be fun to experiment with different brands and flavors)
4. Large mixing bowl
5. Whisk, or electric mixer if you're fancy
6. One or two round cake pans, depending on if you want a one or two-layered cake

Preheat your oven before starting, grease your cake pans (I used Pam spray), and dump the mix and the bottle of soda into the mixing bowl. There's no need to add any oil or water to the mixture- the soda is enough. I like to break apart some of the big chunks in the powder before adding the liquid because I find it's a lot harder to break them up later. Mix the batter until all the lumps are gone.

Isn't it beautiful?

Since the procedure is so simple, I'm going to include a resourceful trick I use every time I make cake. Growing up, I had two cake pans in my house and always made double layered cakes. When I moved into my first apartment after starting college, my roommate brought most of the kitchen equipment and we only have one cake pan. Unwilling to give up my double layered cakes, I have learned to fashion a makeshift cake pan with aluminum foil! It's really simple: you just lay a sheet of aluminum foil into the cake pan you have and mold it so it's the same shape. Because of the dimensions of the foil, one layer is only "tall" enough for two sides of the pan, so rip out another sheet of foil and lay it the other way for a complete circle tall enough to hold your batter on all sides. Make it as smooth as you can so your finished layer isn't lumpy. Take it out of the real cake pan and voilà- you've got an aluminum foil cake pan! Put it on a baking sheet for stability, otherwise it would be really hard to transfer from counter to oven and back. Then you just pour the batter as evenly as possible into both pans.

Ready for the oven!

Bake the batter according to the box directions, depending on the size and color of your pan(s). To check if the cake is done, stick a toothpick or fork into the batter- if it comes out clean, it's done; if not, wait a few more minutes. I found that I had to bake this cake a lot longer than the box directed, and the toothpick never came out clean. I got scared of burning it so I eventually just took it out anyway. Normally that trick works but I think the red food coloring in this batter clung to the toothpick even after it was actually done baking.

Let the cake cool for at least an hour before you frost it. To frost a two-layer cake, you just frost one layer at a time, with a thin layer of frosting between the two cakes. After you put the top layer on and frost the top of that, frost the sides and hide the gap between the two layers. Then you're all set to eat your delicious red velvet soda cake!

The finished product!

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I tried to only take a tiny slice, but ended up getting more... oh well!

Cinnamon Berry Oatmeal

Until a few months ago, I had never had oatmeal in my life. But during the process of becoming vegetarian, I did a lot of reading on healthy, meat-free eating and came across oatmeal as a breakfast staple again and again- and after I finally gave in I realized why. It's high in fiber and protein and low in calories and keeps you full, satisfied, and cravings-free until lunch. Since oats are basically flavorless, they are extremely customizable and you can add in different fruits, spices, sweeteners, nuts and nut butters, and other ingredients for a completely different-tasting breakfast every morning (or stick to the same things over and over again like I do!) In the short time since I tried it, oatmeal has become one of my FAVORITE things to eat for breakfast! I realize oatmeal is extremely basic for most people, but all the delicious-sounding recipes I found online are what pushed me to finally try it for the first time. This is one way I like to make my oatmeal:

You will need:
1. Oats (Whether you use the instant or old-fashioned kind is up to you- I usually use old-fashioned but the instant kind was all I had on hand)
2. Berries- either frozen or fresh (Fresh berries will melt into the oatmeal, allowing you to stir them in and add flavor and color to the entire mixture. Frozen berries usually don't melt unless you reheat the oats after adding them, but tend to thaw completely and warm until they are a nice mushy texture, but still whole. They cool down your oats so you don't have to wait as long to eat them.)
3. Sweetener of your choice (Truvia is my favorite, but you can also use Splenda or whatever you have on hand. If you're not vegan, honey is really good too.)
4. Cinnamon
Optional: Almond milk

The rest is pretty self-explanatory. Prepare the oats according to the package directions; it is up to you whether you want to make them in the microwave or on the stove. I usually make them in the microwave because it's faster, but on weekends when I have more time I like to make them on the stove and mash a ripe banana into the pot while the oats are cooking. When the oats are done cooking, add a little almond milk if you like them soupy and dump in your berries, sweetener, and cinnamon; The amounts are all up to you. Now just sit down and enjoy your fruity warm cereal. I love to drink iced almond milk coffee with mine!