• Vegan margarine can be substituted equally in any recipe
• Vegetable oil is best for muffins or anything requiring a cake-like texture. Use 1/3 cup oil for every 1/2 cup butter. I used oil instead of butter in my Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Latte Muffins with great results!
• Apple sauce will provide a cake-like texture as well as adding some sweetness. This is a great choice for low fat baking
• Nut butters can also be substituted for butter as long as you want to have that nut butter taste

• Flax egg works well for chewy things like cookies as well as breads. This is made by mixing 3 tbsp water with 1 tbsp ground flax seed and allowing the mixture to sit for a few minutes.
• Silken or soft tofu is great for anything with a dense structure like brownies, pound cake, or pies. Use a 1/4 cup blended for each egg.
• Apple sauce or mashed banana can be used in cakes, bars, breads, muffins, and cookies. Use 1/4 cup sauce for each egg. The banana in my Banana Pancakes acted as a great binder.
• Soy yogurt is good for a cake-like structure. Use 1/4 cup for each egg.
• Egg replacer can be used in almost any recipe. Some people don't recommend it for things you want to stay moist like cake as egg replacer is starch-based. Follow directions on box

• Coconut milk for very creamy textures. My Vegan Gluten Free Coconut Pancakes were extra creamy thanks to this
• Soy milk, almond milk, hemp milk, or any non-dairy milk can be substituted in almost any recipe
• Water can be substituted in many basic recipes too but your outcome will lack richness
• Juice is a great option if you want to add a little extra flavour to a recipe. For example you could substitute more orange juice for milk in my Orange Vanilla Poppy Seed Muffins

Before my post today I want to say how sad I am about the earthquake in Japan. About a year and a half ago I went to Japan for three months as an exchange student. I have not been able to contact my host family but luckily they live in a part of Japan that was not affected.
I love Japan so my heart has been broken due to this tragedy. All my prayers go out to Japan and those affected by this disaster.

On a lighter note, this week I participated in my first bake sale! I was so excited. I love bake sales. Nearly every day there is one somewhere at my university. I never was asked to participate in one until a couple weeks ago. Of course I immediately said I would help out.


 



The other day I over heard someone say that they don't like peanut butter. People who don't like peanut butter must be crazy. I think that even people who are allergic to peanut butter must like it! (But if you are allergic please don't eat it)

Honestly peanut butter goes well with anything. You can spread it on toast, eat it with fruit, eat it with veggies, make cookies with it, spread it on cookies, make drinks with it, use it in savoury peanut sauces, or even just eat it with a spoon. Mmmm delicious, I eat peanut butter every day!

One of the possible best combinations is peanut butter and chocolate. Is there any thing better than salty creamy peanut butter paired with silky bitter dark chocolate? How about pairing with it with some coffee?
I thought it sounded delicious too so I put my favourite flavours together and made a muffin!

Happy Vegan Friday!
I mentioned in a previous post about how eating vegan can be surprisingly simple. However, part of being vegan is that you get to experiment with all the fun stuff!
I love trying new things. Especially when it comes to food. Some of my favourites are tofu and almond milk. I also have an obsession with seeking out tempeh, nutritional yeast, and coconut butter because I really want to try those!

Gluten free and vegan. Those words are the essence of health to me. It has been a goal of mine to make a special gluten free and vegan dish for a while.  I have also wanted to experiment with coconut milk. Today I finally got around to doing it! I must say the result were scrumptious.

The perfect winter morning breakfast has definitely got to be pancakes. Especially as the week upon me is going to be freezing. And what better way to dream of summer than with the tropical taste of coconut? I don't know about you but I love coconut. I love the taste, the smell, the texture, and even the shape. Right now I am imagining myself sipping the milk from a coconut on a warm sunny beach. Ahh...

I tried hot yoga for the first time a few days ago! It was excellent and in fact I am going again today!

Hot yoga is an experience every yogi should try. If you don't like yoga because you find it too "easy" then I highly recommend hot yoga because you'll be sweating buckets.
I went in for a 75 minute class and it went by so fast! I enjoyed every second of it. Much to my surprise, my muscles were sore the next day. That was strange for me because I hardly ever get sore muscles.

In case you don't know what hot yoga is, it’s basically a normal yoga class done in a room at a higher temperature.
Some benefits of this form of yoga are: it helps your skin to sweat out toxins, allows you to relax while working harder, relaxes and warms your muscles, its great to escape the cold, and helps flexibility.

I've always been a big fan of yoga so naturally I loved this. If you want to try it, find a class near you and don't be shy!

To help fuel my yoga practice. I have been eating Single Serving Bean Brownies by Kate from What Kate is Cooking all credit goes to her for this great idea! I just changed it a bit and I think it tastes delicious so I want to share it with you. It also has the extra asset of being a healthy indulgence.

It has been too long since my last post! I had some midterms this past week and I was more worried about where the subclavian artery was located than anything else. Sorry! But now I am back. I also have the week off so you can expect a few posts.

So what's new? Well, you may have noticed that little button at the top that says "Contact". I have been working on making an e-mail for my blog and I now have one! If you would like to contact me please e-mail me at cupcakeskat@gmail.com.

I also just got a Twitter so if you like please follow me. I'm really new to Twitter and not so sure what to do so I would appreciate your friendship.

Though university can be stressful at times, it can also be a lot of fun.

My favourite professor, teaches me the Social Science of Sports. She is absolutely crazy but I love her because she is fun, makes class time go by fast, and makes the content interesting.
She also loves cheesecake!
My favourite quote from her recently, which she said upon a student leaving class, "One day, if any of you become a teacher, you'll understand. If a student leaves your class early, all you'll want to do is: pack up your stuff, buy a cheesecake, go home, and have a party"

I think any excuse is a good excuse for cheesecake! And that is why I am so excited to share this recipe with you.

My favorite way to eat Toaster Cheesecake. With honey and cinnamon

Dear Train,

Please never leave me out in the freezing cold again. It was minus 30 degrees Celsius outside at seven in the morning. Yet somehow you collided with a car.
And you made me late for my lab.
Why is it that emergencies like this always happen in freezing weather?
This is the second time you have left me trapped downtown in the winter weather
And like the fourth or fifth time overall that I have been abandoned by you
The first time I was actually a passenger on you when you got into an accident.

Today I am not posting a vegan recipe (sorry to all you vegans) or a gluten free recipe (sorry to all you on a gluten free diet) but I am posting a lovely, healthy, and delicious muffin recipe.

My beautiful pan

Recently I bought a silicon muffin pan. I've never used a silicon pan before so I was very excited to try it. As soon as I found a recipe I wanted to try out, I set myself to work. Plus its heart-shaped! Who can resist hearts, especially as Valentine's Day is nearing?

Last weekend I went to a retreat that focused on the True Colors communications style personality test. This test focuses on what type of person you tend to be when working in a group. It also builds a model for understanding yourself and others. It is called True Colors because you can either be labelled as gold, blue, orange, or green.

Gold is responsible. This color represents a need to fulfill duties in order to organize and structure life. People who are gold are practical and sensible. They believe in hard work.

Blue is compassionate. It represents calm. Blue people are very emotional and caring. They tend to put others before themselves. Blue people are also sensitive and creative.

Green is conceptual. This type of person values intelligence. They are determined and practical.

Orange is spontaneous. They enjoy doing things and being active. Orange people are energetic and like doing things that are different.

I ended up having an equal score for orange and green. This helped me understand a lot more about my personality and I believe that I really am an orange and green type person. I can't stand sitting still and love moving. I consider myself a quirky person and I'll jump at the chance to do something different. I also value intelligence, doing well at school, and I am organized.

If you also happen to be two colors it probably means that you are dominant in a different color in different situations. For example you could be blue when with family but gold at work.

Of course I also realize that you can't always be just one color. For example I recognize that I also share traits from the other two categories as I'm sure all people do.

If you're curious about what color you are, you can take the True Colors test here. If you do be sure to comment back here and tell us what color you are!

And now for something even more exciting... pancakes!!
I made Katie's Banana Pancakes for One and they were absolutely delicious. I love pancakes and make them frequently but I have to say that these were some of the best I ever had.
For my pancakes:
I used lime juice (which I think put them over the top!)
I had to add more liquid to get the consistency of pancake batter I like.
I also left the banana a bit chunky so I had yummy, squishy, sweet pieces of banana in my pancakes.
Here is my recipe with the changes I made.

Three of my pancakes topped with banana slices and sprinkled with cinnamon

Banana Pancakes
Adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie
I got 6 small pancakes

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp fresh lime juice*
1/2 mashed banana
1/2 cup almond milk**

Mix whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, add the mashed banana, lime juice, and almond milk. Stir dry ingredients into the wet.
Now make your pancakes!

* You can try using lemon juice
** May substitute any other milk

These pancakes are honestly amazing by themselves. If you want to serve them with something, you can use the rest of your banana, peanut butter, and maple syrup. I'm thinking that some shredded coconut added into the batter would also make it wonderful.