Recipe: Baked Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Squares

Happy Labor Day! Here’s hoping all of you are enjoying some time away from real life and indulging or participating in something that makes you very, very happy.

Now onto the recipe.

Oatmeal chocolate chip squares. 50% breakfast, 50% dessert, 100% wonderful.

I know, I know – another oat-based recipe? Really, Vanessa? Yes, really. But! These squares are really tasty and so easy to throw together, I just had to share.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are my kryptonite. Never have I ever been able to turn down their chewy and chocolatey goodness. This is my take on my favorite cookie, which just happens to be cruelty-free and a smidge healthier than the traditional recipe we all know so well.

While the flavor of flaked coconut is delicious , I used it more for the chewy quality it adds to the recipe. You can skip it if you want, but the texture is that much better when you don’t. Just sayin’.

Baked Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Squares

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 30 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

*Flax Egg Prep: mix 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal with 2 tablespoons water and set aside

Dry ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup oat or spelt flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pink himalayan salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Wet ingredients

1/2 cup almond milk

3 tablespoons coconut sugar

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted and slightly cooled

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add-ins

1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate, chopped

1/4 cup coconut flakes

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

In a medium bowl, add wet ingredients and stir. Add in the flax egg you made at the beginning of this recipe.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until together until they are completely mixed.

Fold in chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate and flaked coconut.

Pour batter into baking dish, spreading out evenly.

Bake for 20-23 minutes. To make sure squares are completely done, poke with a toothpick – the toothpick will come out dry.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack for an additional 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

My weekend in photos: Instagram Edition

How’s everyone doing on this sunny Monday? I can’t believe we are in the last moments of summer – it’s too soon! I’m trying my hardest to make the most of these warm days full of sunshine, especially since the Pacific Northwest is about to be all sorts of gloomy very, very soon. Pray for me.

Just kidding. Kind of.

I have some exciting stuff coming up in the next few weeks that I can’t wait to share with you all. But first, here’s a recap of my really wonderful and relaxing weekend.

A trip to the library made me all kinds of inspired – sometimes you just need to read some fiction to take you out of your own mind. Oh, and a little Buddhism never hurt anyone.

I spent so much quality time hiking and walking with the pup – nothing helps me reset more than tuning the rest of the world out and (literally) moving forward.

Some kitchen meditation and yet another delicious recipe thanks to Isa Does It. Chunky Vegetable Miso Soup FTW!

The perfect ending to a chill weekend? Sunday morning brunch at Harlow. Alex and I split the Lemon Babycakes (lemon poppyseed quinoa pancakes topped with strawberry compote and lemon cashew cream) and Mercy Blues (steamed kale, herb polenta and stewed black beans and corn with roasted tomatoes, topped with smokey tempeh and a vegan hollandaise sauce!). I also tried their Lover’s Latte which was made with housemade hazelnut milk and cardamom. So. Damn. Delicious.

If you’d like to see what I’m up to on a regular basis, feel free to follow me on Instagram at thewh0lestory or just click on this link.

Cheers!

Local Love: Harlow Restaurant

I’m not going to sugarcoat it people – being a vegan in Portland is exactly like being a kid in a candy store. The possibilities are endless and there are very few restaurants that don’t want to cater to you.  This city has spoiled me rotten.

If I could, I would eat out 5 times a week and share all of my delicious food experiences with you. Maybe in the future I’ll make restaurant reviews more of a regular thing, but cost and time kind of get in the way of that at the moment. Oh, real life…

The good news is that I had an absolutely delicious meal at Harlow this weekend and I wanted to share my experience.

Harlow is located at 3632 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Rustic tables, mason jars and shiny chandeliers give the space a welcoming yet chic ambience that I just loved. With a completely vegetarian and vegan menu, their focus is on clean and nutritious food for every meal. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and everything sounds amazing!

That’s the one thing about being a vegan who is so used to having just one or two options when going into most restaurants – indecisiveness rears its ugly head when I’m overwhelmed with choices. One of everything, please!

I started off with their Super Green Lemonade. Harlow starts off with fresh, house-made lemonade and adds in a healthy twist: cucumbers, spinach, kale and chlorophyll, giving this beauty its vibrant green color.

Look at that ombre effect! This was so refreshing and delicious and it gave me a great energy boost. This was so much better than a plain ol’ cup of joe.

For my main course, I decided to go raw and try out The Lone Star salad: shredded collards and spinach topped with dehydrated tomatoes, chili lime walnuts, guacamole, house-made jalapeno cashew cheese, almond  parmesan and chipotle hot sauce.

Oh. My. Yes. This was of one of the best salads I’ve ever had. Like ever. Filled with so much flavor and texture, I could have devoured two of these entrees. Even though I’m not a raw vegan by any stretch, I absolutely love trying raw dishes at home as well as when they’re offered at restaurants. As a foodie, nothing is more exciting than realizing how much you can do with bare bones, all-natural ingredients. This salad was a great testament that raw food is anything but boring.

Keeping it classy, as always.

I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. Vegan/vegetarian or not, I guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself. I can’t wait to go back to try one of their breakfast entrees!

Would you like to see more restaurant/food reviews? I love trying new places and products and sharing them with everyone – let me know what you think!