Stupid People & The Never-Ending Neapolitan Pancake Stack Attack

I hate people. I love all of you, but sometimes, people suck. I opened the door for a lady at Whole Foods the other day, and she didn't even acknowledge me! Someone said that my food choices are stupid and living organic and free of pesticides and most dairy products will equal the most boring-est life ever, because apparently eating healthy is too stupid and you "only live once", and yolo actually really means eating all the junk in the world because who wants to spend a life eating healthy crap that tastes like cardboard? (So does that mean that you've eaten cardboard and healthy stuff at the same time? Or are your taste-buds just too cool for nutrition??) Oh, and my sisters are only friends with wifi and they have not gone outside (except for school) in forever. And last but not least, my sweet potatoes all burned in the oven last week because I forgot to take them out and set a timer. (I guess I sucked there, too)

I am not trying to be a hater on the gator. I am just trying to distinguish the difference between holding your tongue and being just plain blunt like a side of plain mashed potatoes for dessert on Thanksgiving at grammy's. Saying the phrases "no offense" and "to be honest" does not cut it, people! So, no-offense-but-I-think-your-new-natural-makeup-makes-your-face-look-just-like-Rod-Stewart's is okay? Just because no offense links a mean comment does not mean that everything should be taken lightly. This is another reason why sometimes people (including myself) suck. Words and wording words the right ways can get really tricky. 

Anyway, that was a rant I needed to get out into the world. So without some more ranting on sucky people, here is my favorite pancake stack and the recipe included down below. These pancakes are so fluffy and moist with rich flavors of carob, berries, and of course the ever lasting vanilla. I often feel the slightest bit of sympathy for vanilla, because berries and chocolate often over-rule the simple, but divine  flavor of vanilla. Vanilla beans are elegant and strong. Their magical essence embraces and pops even the dullest of dullest juices out. Vanilla is the new chocolate touch- and so beware when you stumble across vanilla bean extract in almost all of my recipes. Enjoy!

THE NEVER ENDING NEAPOLITAN STACK OF YUMMY(and what you will need):

*2 Tbs. of pure, organic and raw carob powder (I used Bob's Red Mill brand from Whole Foods)

*4 egg whites from the carton

*1 NOT FROZEN smushy and mushy and spotty-dotty banana

*2 Tbs. of coconut milk

*2 tsp. divided, each of coconut sugar, vanilla bean paste/pure vanilla bean extract (I use TJ)

*A handful of an assortment of berries

*1 Tbs. of honey/agave nectar and lemon juice- freshly squeezed or from the bottle, and maple syrup

*1/3 C oat flour (you can either make this yourself, or buy it very expensive at a health food store. All you have to do is blend up the oats in either a very high-speed blender or food processor.)

*handful of cacao nibs/carob chips

**OPTIONAL: 1 tsp. of mesquite powder for an extra superfood boost and caramel taste***

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST STACK THAT NEAPOLITAN HAS EVER SEEN: 

1. Pre-heat your stove to medium-medium low. Stir the oat flour, egg whites, honey/agave, coconut milk and mushed banana together. Set this aside for 5-10 minutes. 

2. Separate the pancake batter into 2 equal parts in separate bowls. In one bowl, add the carob powder, a tsp. of vanilla bean paste, maple syrup, and optional mesquite powder. 

3. In the other bowl, stir in another tsp. of vanilla bean paste, lemon juice, and carob chips/cacao nibs. Very gently fold in the berries. You should have two flavors of berry-bean and carob-caramel. 

4. Spray some coconut oil or veggie oil onto your stove and turn the heat down to low. Alternate flavors on the stove until you have a pattern of berry, chocolate, berry, chocolate. 

5. Now it's done! Take the extra time to drizzle maple syrup on your pancakes. You can top this with more berries, kisses, sliced fruit, carob sauce, more carob chips/cacao nibs, desiccated coconut, and even greek yogurt mixed with fresh berries for a beautiful pink-berry "frosting". 

ENJOY, MY LOVELIES!! Xxx, Alli <33

                                        I want that costume for Halloween; What a cute kid!

Peachy Pear and Plum Maple Banana Ice Cream (vegan, gluten free, vegetarian)

          Ahh yes. These are the wondrous days where I get to cozy up with a warm blanket and drink packs of yogi tea and eat pumpkin-spiced everything! I was at Trader Joe's last Sunday and I noticed that there was pumpkin everything! There was pumpkin cornbread, butter (that stuff is quite divine), granola, breads, pie pumpkins, pie, and even….. wait for it…. PUMPKIN BODY BUTTER!! Oh my goodness gracious-the body butter is the best stuff I've ever  slathered on! It has a perfect autumn aroma and a crisp pumpkin scent that adds sparkle to it. Anywho, am I making your tongue watery? I cannot wait to shower you guys with pumpkin recipes that are perfect for fall.

   Another fruit that is very compatible with the season are peaches! My favorite peaches in particular are Hale peaches; They are huge babies. A couple weekends ago, I went to the Sandy farmer's market with my grammy, my little twin-sisters Audrie and Arissa, and my adorable cousin Madi (Go check out her blog! It is http://madiriye.blogspot.com ). It was so fun walking around and piling wooden crates sky-high with the juiciest and most delectable peaches we'd ever seen. You can never have too many peaches, am I right? Pears were also abundant as I tried more samples than I should have. 

        Crisp fruits and veg are my favorite things to eat during this chilly season of black cats and ugly witches.

This recipe for Peachy Pear and Plum Maple Banana Ice Cream will literally melt you away. Blend it up and put in the freezer, eat it in a mason jar and jump outside into the pumpkin colored leaves, or even catch up on ANTM whilst snuggling up to a heat-blankie. Needless to say, Autumn has officially arrived and so lettuce make the best of it. 

What you will need:

*2 small or 1 very large super squishy and spotty-dotty FROZEN banana(s)

*1/2 frozen D'anjou pear and large Black Velvet plum

*1-2 very ripe and juicy Hale peaches or 3 small peaches

*1/2 tsp. each coconut sugar and vanilla bean extract (I use TJ for both) 

*4 oz. any plant based milk you desire (I use Almond Breeze almond milk)

*5 ice cubes

*either 1 tbs. pure maple syrup or 1 tsp. maple extract (I used the extract)

**OPTIONAL: 1 scant tsp. lucuma or maca powder

How to make this beauty: 

1. With your Blendtec blender(what I use)/food processor/vitamix, put in all of the ingredients except the coconut sugar and peaches. press the ice-cream or frozen yogurt button for 50 sec.

2. Add in the last two ingredients and pulse. You should have a really creamy and smooth ice-cream like texture.

3. Top with any ingredients you would like. You could use: coconut sugar, sliced nuts, granola, grawnola, maple syrup, agave, more delectable fruit such as apples or slice pears, pumpkin seeds, or even some carob sauce. My carob sauce recipe will be up with the next post.

4. ENJOY ;D