5 Years

Hard to believe it's been 5 years. 5 years since Take A Bite staked it's claim in the interweb. I really can't beleive it. 

This little website has brought me the coolest experiences, some incredible friends, delicious eats, ups, downs, all-arounds. I can't thank you enough for reading my blog posts, for making my recipes, for snapchatting and texting me pictures labeled #takeabite. It's incredible to think that what started out of the dining room of the OU Kappa house has transformed itself into this. Whatever this may be. 

Take A Bite Quick Facts:

I've written 247 Bites of My Life Posts with another on the way this Monday. 

I've posted 200+ recipe posts. 

This post still remains as my most popular read post, thinking it is much due for an update, seeing as I wrote it 4 years ago. 

These bad boys have made their way to my second most popular post, just as they should. I feel like they are the mascot of TAB. 

You can see how TAB has evolved by reading my 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th birthday posts. 

And it wouldn't be a blog birthday/blogiversary without some Birthday Toast. The stupid easy recipe is linked here. 

Thank you for reading friends. It means the world. Here's to 5 more!

Annie

Bites of My Life

I apologize if you fell for my April Fool's joke yesterday, you weren't alone. However, I'm not sure I've ever pulled off an April Fool's joke more successfully. I was quite proud. I was also blown away by the amount of people who fell for my joke and messaged me saying how sad they would be if TAB really was ending. I've said it before, but you put all this content out and wonder if people even read it. So thank you, thank you for reading my posts, making my recipes and letting me know that you do so! 

Jokes aside, I leave for Hawaii in one week. Did I tell you all I'm going to Hawaii? I haven't been on a real vacation in I can't tell you how long. It's just me and two girl friends, very spontaneously jetting off to paradise for a week.  Did I also mention we booked this trip 3 weeks ago? Really embracing the "YOLO" motto for this trip. 

I also posted 4 times last week. I haven't done that since hmm maybe 2015. TAB was in full force last week. Scroll back through my feed to see said posts. 

-So excited to add Caroline to my Arbonne team!
-That soft boiled runny egg spilling out is giving me all the feels.
-Welcome to the hood Stella Nova. I don't know how you make your almond milk latte so good, but you officially have me hooked on them. 
-Raspberry Lemon Protein Muffins were posted last week and you simple need to make them as soon as possible. 
-Carrot cake protein shake was equal parts festive and delicious. 
-Hello fresh, hello roomie taco dinner!
-When Claire love's espresso martinis, you surprise her with espresso martinis for her birthday.. 
-Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars, loved by all the non-vegan's I fed them too. 
-Successfully pulled off an April Fool's joke for the first time ever. 
-Double desserts and dessert fails are oddly becoming an Easter tradition. Carrot cake fail 2K12, double cheesecakes 2k14, pie crust mishap and two coconut cream pies this year. 
-Eggcellent first Easter for Elle!
-Love our Easter feast tradition at home we have continued that past few years opposed to brunching out to eat. 

Annie 

Goodbye To You

Michelle Branch said it best when she sang, "Goodbye to you, Goodbye to everything that I knew." Goodbye Take A Bite. It's been a stellar 5 years in this corner of the internet with you.

Today is my last day posting at Take A Bite. It took some serious thought and something I have gone back and forth on, then back and forth again, but I'm finally at peace with my decision to close the door on my little food blog.  

I've loved sharing recipes, bites of my life and the occasional fashion inspo post, but after five years I'm saying goodbye to you. 

I hope you understand. I hope you enjoyed the past few years. I hope you were able to make a couple of my recipes. I hope you still come back and visit (the site isn't going anywhere despite my posting coming to a halt). I hope you still following my life happenings on social media. I hope you keep on taking bites.

And I hope you aren't too distracted with all the Easter shenanigans to remember that it is also April 1st.  

Happy April Fool's Day! TAB ain't going no where!! ;) 

Annie 

photos by KGC Photography

Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars

These lemon bars are the brain child of craving lemon bars the second spring hit, being gifted a huge bag of Brandless Oats & Honey Granola while trying to avoid eating granola (due to my lack of self-control when it comes to this crack snack), and the response to an Instagram poll where lemon bars won in a landslide.

These lemon bars are vegan. No, I don't follow a vegan diet, I tried and gained what felt like 5 lbs. in 5 days due to eating pasta and carbs in replacement for protein and dairy. However, I've found that cooking and baking while trying to modify for various diets is a challenge and a fun experiment. It also doesn't hurt to watch your intake of added sugar, animal products and excess dairy. Due to the granola, these bars are not gluten-free, but the are vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, and free of processed sugar. 

Quick plug for Brandless before we move on. This recipe is not sponsored by Brandless, but I have to brag on them. The granola, the parchment paper and the knife (yes the knife) that I used in parts of this recipe are all from Brandless. It's my new obsession. They are a fair-trade, non-GMO, mostly organic, no added sugar food and household item company where everything is $3. And for each purchase made on Brandless, a meal is donated to Feeding America. 

Creamy Vegan Lemon Bars
yields 16 bars

Ingredients:
1 cup raw cashews* soaked
1 cup coconut cream (the hardened portion at the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk)
zest of 2 lemons
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup agave
2 cups plain granola, I used Brandless Oats & Honey, but any kind of honey, almond, or vanilla flavor will work. 
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1-2 Tbsp. powdered sugar (optional)

Directions:
Place your cashews in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Let soak for 1 hour. Line an 8x8 square pan with parchment paper, letting the edges hang over the sides and set aside. 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. In a high powered blender or food processor, pulse the granola until it is the texture of fine crumbs. In a small bowl, mix melted coconut oil and granola crumbs.  Press mixture into prepared pan. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or drinking glass, make sure crust is pressed firmly into pan. Bake for 10 minutes until edges are slightly golden. 

While the crust is baking, start working on the filling. In a high powdered blender, add soaked cashews, coconut cream, juice and zest of lemons and agave. Blend together until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides.. Taste and make sure flavor is where you want it. I added a bit more lemon zest after tasting. You want the lemon flavor to be bright and it to be slightly sweet.

Spread filling mixture over the baked crust. Reduce the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20 minutes until the edges are firm and the center slightly jiggly (LOL jiggly). Let rest for 10 minutes. Chill for at least 4 hours in the fridge or overnight. 

Using the parchment paper to assist you, pull the lemon bars out of the pan. Cut evenly into 16 squares. Lightly sift powdered sugar over the top. Fine served at room temperature, but store in the fridge for optimal freshness!

Annie

Raspberry Lemon Protein Muffins

These muffins. Hearty, fresh, naturally sweetened and filled with 5 grams of protein per muffin and only 170 calories each. 

A friend of mine is the mastermind behind the recipe, but I changed things up a bit making them dairy free. The raspberry lemon combo is everything I want in a muffin. Slathered with shmear of almond butter in the morning and they make for the perfect breakfast. 

Not to mention these would be incredible on your Easter brunch menu, perfect for a shower, and even better for your everyday life. 

Raspberry Lemon Protein Muffins
yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups oat flour*
2 scoops Arbonne vanilla protein powder
2 scoops Arbonne fiber powder (optional)
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup agave
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
zest from 1 whole lemon
juice from 1/2 lemon
10 oz fresh raspberries (reserve 12 raspberries for topping) 

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

*Take 2 cups of old fashioned rolled oats (steel cut will not work) and pulse in your blender until the texture of flower.

In a medium bowl, whisk oat flour, protein powder, fiber powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk agave, almond milk, olive oil, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Fold your raspberries into the batter. Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter into muffin cups making sure you evenly distribute the raspberries into each muffin. Top each muffin with a raspberry. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are just golden and a toothpick comes out clean. 

Annie 

*to purchase Arbonne's protein powder, please email me at annie@takeabiteblog.com!