Peanut Butter Protein Bites for Easter (Soy-Free, Gluten-Free, No Added Sugar)

Happy Easter, everyone! I don't really celebrate it - but when I did my Easters were filled with Cadbury eggs, bunny-shaped cakes and Chinese takeout on a picnic blanket. It was a little personal celebration between my mother and I as I'm the youngest in the family and the only one living at home, and it filled me with glee to decorate butterfly masks and watch old movies with her as we ate the treats. We never actually took the picnic blanket outside, and instead opened all of the windows and turned on the fans whenever it rained into our living room as we decorated the Easter eggs or took the time to unfasten the VHS tapes from their sticky, suctionny packages.

It still makes me happy to think of that and I hope to do that one day with my own children (if I have any).

Although I don't celebrate it as we used to, these treats are too cute to pass up! They're simple, sweet and easy to share.

(Peanut Butter Bites Ingredients)

• 1/3 C. of Peanut Butter
• 2 scoops of Vanilla Protein Powder*
• 2 tbl. Melted Coconut Oil
• Melted Chocolate
• Your favorite Icing
• Rice Krispie Cereal for rolling

(Peanut Butter Protein Bites Directions)

• Roll your peanut butter, oil and protein powder together and place in the freezer. Once hardened, shape into eggs with your hands and two spoons.
• Roll in the rice krispie treats and freeze once more.
• Decorate and freeze.
• Serve and enjoy!

* I use Sunwarrior Vanilla Protein Powder

Jumpy Ghostface Bento (Hero 108)

This bento is based on "Jumpy Ghostface" aka the Rabbit King from Hero 108, a show that I catch multiple times in the morning. I've been wanting to use rice for my bentos and it isn't until recently since I've really started to enjoy them, there's nothing like un-seasoned rice fresh from the steamer basket. To go along with Jumpy I added rice cheese face, nori appendages and eyes, kale, split green beans and of course tonkatsu. Normally Jumpy has a carrot in his mouth (as he is the boss) and a jumprope in hand but this Jumpy is too depressed as he's been made into a bento.

Jumpy Ghostface Bento Ingredients:
Dill Pickles
Watermelon
Seitan Tonkatsu
Raw Kale
Split Green Beans
Brown & White Rice
Rice Cheese
Nori

Tofu Stir-Fry w/Spicy Garlic Sauce (Gluten-Free Option, Sugar-Free Option)

This was incredibly fun to make and I've only made it once before when I tried to figure out one of the sauces for my favorite "treat", stir-fried tofu in garlic sauce. Once a month or so, my family and I will get American-style Chinese takeout and this is my go-to dish aside from dumplings, desserts and steamed veggies. It is quite fattening so I won't eat it often, but it is especially addicting with the conflicting flavors and textures...and probably because I make it extra-spicy. You've probably had it before, and every restaurant has a slightly variating style - so I'm going to put my own little "Shin-Spin" on things. Whatever veggies you have on hand will do, so I'll list what I put in my stir-fry later.

(Spicy Garlic Sauce Ingredients)

• 1 & 1/2 tbl Rice Vinegar
• 2 & 1/2 tbl Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 tsp Raw Sugar or Stevia (optional)
• 1/4 tsp Good Sesame Oil (retains both taste and smell)
• 1 tbl Veggie Oil
• 2 tbl Good Soy Sauce or Tamari
• 1/2 tsp Sriracha
• 5 Crushed & Minced Garlic Cloves
• 1 pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 tsp Cornstarch
• 2 tbl Water

(Directions)

• First, mix the water with the cornstarch.
• Saute your minced and crushed garlic in the veggie oil until softened and is lighter in color slightly.
• Add in your vinegars, soy sauce, and oil. Stir and let bubble
• Squirt in your sriracha and sugar, add a bit of pepper flakes and wait about 15 seconds.
• Mix in the slurry of cornstarch and water, then stir it in until it has thickened to your liking.
• Quickly coat your preferred veggies in this addictively spicy sauce and serve over a nice bed of rice.
• Enjoy!

My personal stir-fry contained mung bean sprouts, brocolli sprouts, carrots, baby corn, pan-fried tofu, steamed mushrooms, sweet peas, green bell pepper and broccoli. Since the garlic sauce is so flavorful and has a lot of sodium, I wouldn't suggest adding salt or anything else to the other ingredients so to keep it healthier.

Sushi Quest Part 2

Some of this is nontraditional sushi and some of it is less-commonly seen sushi. But either way you want it, don't you? You want that sticky rice in your mouth topped with that tofu and mirin - you want that tasty little nublet of tea-smoked "duck". Am I right? I'll just start with the tofu lovin's.

Vegan Tamago Sushi:

1/4 block of Extra Firm Tofu (frozen for 3 days)

1/2 tsp of Turmeric

1/4 tsp Iodized Salt

Granulated Sugar (Optional

A dash of Mirin and Black Pepper

Sushi Rice

After squeezing out your tofu, cut off the corners to make it more oval, make it into thick slices and then added it to a heated pan with some oil. Let it crisp up and add the other ingredients, being especially careful with the mirin. You may even want to add it after it is fully cooked. Prepare your sushi rice and shape it to fit the large piece of tofu. Wrap a thick nori belt around it and place to the side. With the leftover pieces you can make the next sushi.

Tamago Ball Sushi:

Leftover Tofu Pieces

Salt, Pepper, Mirin and Sugar

1/4 tsp of Turmeric

Sushi Rice

Rip the tofu up with your hands and add it to the pan. Make sure to rip it up further with a spatula or whatever you choose to use for this situation. Let them crisp up and then place it into a piece of plastic wrap. Put about a tablespoon of sushi rice into it and form it into a ball. Pull it down and try to make it as round as possible. Set the to side and make the rest of the sushi.

The other sushis were easy and require no recipe. The one in the middle is thinly-sliced tea smoked "duck" on top of rice, the other is steamed asparagus and the one in the background is lightly cooked (reconstitued) dried shiitake mushrooms with a bit of mirin and soy sauce.

Enjoy!

Signed,

<3 Bou Shin <3