Pumpkin Oatmeal Dog Treats

It's October which means... THE PUMPKIN SPICE RECIPES ARE COMINGGGGGGGG!!! Guilty as charged. But before I get into today's recipe let me just say I have a sweet orange pup named Pumpkin, although we call her P for short. She's a 4 year old cavalier king charles and she's pretty much stolen my whole heart. I got her my last semester of college, while living in NYC. Nate and I drove six hours down to Virginia to get her and six hours back in one day (although he'll tell you he drove about 10 of those hours while I spent quality mother-puppy bonding time). She is the world's greatest companion and my absolute best friend. Sometimes when I look at her I fear my heart may explode and even though she's a dog, I do believe I know what it must feel like to love a child because my love for this little one is intense. 

But like all dogs, she's got her quirks. This one's quirks happen to be a very very sensitive belly. So after a rough start to the week, I decided to make her some pumpkin treats. Pumpkin is known to really help with digestion (fiber!), and allows her to participate in the seasonal pumpkin spice craze along with everyone else. 

These treats are super simple, freeze well, and are a great alternative to a lot of the store-bought treats which are filled with preservatives and mystery ingredients. And Pumpkin can certify they are delicious because yesterday when I baked them was the BEST DAY EVER. I think she knew the baking was all for her.  And I cringe a little when I admit this, but I too gave them a little nibble and am happy to report they were surprisingly moist and flavorful. 

Pumpkin Oatmeal Dog Treats 
Makes about 44 cookies 

1 can pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) 
1 egg 
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp peanut butter 
1/4 tsp sea salt 
2 cups old-fashioned oats 
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour + more for rolling 

In a stand mixer, mix together pumpkin, egg, coconut oil, peanut butter, and sea salt until smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl mix together oats and flour. With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture until completely combined.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment. Transfer 1/4 of the batter to a heavily floured work surface. Sprinkle a good amount of flour over your dough, and using a floured rolling pin roll it out until the dough measures about 1/3 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter dipped in flour to shape the treats; I used a bone-shape. Transfer treats to a baking sheets. Bake 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through. 

Recipe Notes: Since there's no baking soda, the cookies won't rise or expand, therefore you can really pack them tightly on the backing sheets. For softer more human-traditional cookies bake for 15 minutes, for more more traditional dog treat crunchiness bake for 20. 

DIY Sports Drink

I'm dedicating recipes this week to my sweet family. There was a second I almost named this blog "You, Me, and Little P" because I just love my little fam so dang much. But then I figured that was way too cheesy, and a more appropriate name wouldn't stop me from writing about them. In case you live under a rock, or just don't follow me on instagram, little p (pumpkin) is our dog. 

My other half is pretty incredible. The other day while cooking dinner together, he brought up the fact that once upon a time I thought I wanted to marry a tall, dark, and handsome sweater-wearing artist of a man, and what I ended up with was a dorky balding engineer. But turns out that dorky engineer is the man of my dreams in so many ways (and he's really barely balding). And next month just so happens to be our second anniversary, and he just so happens to be taking me to Napa, whose food scene I just so happen to have researched for almost three hours today. To say I'm excited is a huge understatement. But more on that later. 

My dorkalicious love of a man is huge into mountain biking. So huge that he leaves me in bed almost every Saturday morning to wake up at the ass crack of dawn and go for a 2-3 hour ride. Then he comes home covered in a combination of sweat and dirt, which blended together has formed mud, and spandex. Nothing sexier, people. Kidding.

With only minimal resistance he's jumped on the my bandwagon of eating a healthier, plant-based diet, cutting out pretty much all processed foods. That is, with one exception. Gatorade. Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the backside of gatorade? Well it wouldn't really matter if you had because the ingredient list is completely filled with chemicals, additives, and colorings that a normal person could never pronounce nor understand. It's gross, people. "But the electrolytes!" says every person has who ever exercised. 

Enter: my DIY Sports Drink. Complete with all the electrolytes of gatorade and oh so much more! I did my research people, and both citrus and coconut water are natural sources for electrolytes. They contain vitamin C, potassium, and coconut water in particular is cooling to the body, which is perfect after a sweaty hot work-out. The fresh-squeezed citrus and coconut water are naturally sweetened with agave and topped with just a touch of salt which dissolves into the drink (I wasn't kidding about the electrolytes, people). 

The result is a fresh, real, version of gatorade. Don't believe me? Try it yourself. 

DIY Sports Drink 
Makes 1 quart 

1.5 cups freshly squeeze citrus juice (I use 2-3 oranges, 1/2 lemon, 1 lime) 
2-3 tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
1/2 tsp sea salt 
1 cup coconut water 
1 cup water 

Place water, salt, and agave in a saucepan over low heat until salt completely dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside. Using a citrus juicer, juice oranges, lemon, and lime (or whichever citrus fruits you'd like). In a quart size mason jar, combine juice, sweetened water, and coconut water. Refrigerate until cold. 

Ultimate Avocado Sandwiches with Sun-dried Tomato Basil Aioli

A couple things happened when I became vegetarian. My meals stopped consisting of the classic protein, veggie, carb template. I developed an almost instantaneous love for beans. And the turkey in my sandwiches got replaced with avocado. Not a bad swap, if I do say so myself! 

These sandwiches are inspired by my favorite avocado garden sandwich from Cafe Vida in Pacific Palisades. I've probably had this sandwich a dozen times and it's just so damn satisfying. I'm learning that just like a salad is only as good as its dressing, a sandwich is only as good as its aioli. It starts with sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. I use Vegenaise because it's vegan and somehow helps me convince myself it's less bad for you (though probably not true), but you could totally use traditional mayo as well. 

This sandwich is hearty, healthy, messy, and packed with flavor and a ton of avocado. 

Ultimate Avocado Sandwiches with Sun-dried Tomato Basil Aioli {Vegan} 
Serves Two 

2-3 carrots, shredded 
1/2 large roma tomato, sliced 
1/5 small red onion, sliced 
large handful baby spinach 
4 slices multi-grain bread (this is my favorite) 
1 large ripe avocado 
sea salt + pepper to taste 

aioli: 
3 large sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 tsp olive oil (only if your tomatoes aren't already soaked in olive oil)  
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup vegenaise (or mayo) 
8-10 fresh basil leaves 
pinch of salt 
fresh ground pepper to taste 

Grate your carrots using a food processor attachment or a box grater. Set aside. Make the aioli. Pulse sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add in vegenaise, basil, salt, and pepper and blend until smooth. Toast your bread. Spread a generous portion of aioli on half the bread (you will have extra). Top with thick slices of tomato, carrots, thinly sliced red onion, spinach, avocado and sea salt + pepper to taste. Enjoy!