Meet Monique
Girl behind the blog. Ambitious by nature. Passionate about pancakes, life, and laughter. Here to inspire you.
Food Photography
Popular Posts
Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing {vegan & gluten-free} 
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies {flourless, no butter} 
Healthy Chicken Chickpea Chopped Salad 
Nutella-Stuffed Brown Butter + Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies {my favorite cookie ever} 
Brown Butter Snickerdoodle Cookies 
Flourless Chocolate Chip Chickpea Blondies with Sea Salt {vegan, gluten-free & healthy} 
Kale, Edamame, and Quinoa Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette 
Vegan Detox Green Monster Smoothie {with kale, strawberry, cucumber, & banana} 
Easy 5-Ingredient Fudgy Nutella Cookies with Sea Salt 
Best Ever Vegan Avocado Chocolate Birthday Cake with Vegan Chocolate Ganache
Whole Wheat Coconut Banana Waffles with chocolate chips & roasted almonds
Monday’s here! Don’t cry… I made you waffles.
Man, I love waffles. They remind me of when I used to go to the diner with my Dad; I always ordered the giant, crispy Belgian waffle with strawberries. Mmmmmm.
I’ve been hoping that waffles make an epic comeback for years. Instead I’ve watched cookies-stuffed-in-cookies, cupcakes, mini pies, and baked donuts take over. So I need you to get on the waffle train with me. If you need convincing, these waffles should do the trick.
Cinnamon-Raisin Peanut Butter Oat Bran Muffins
Have you guys seen all of the new peanut butter flavors popping up? What a dream.
Wait, maybe that’s just a dream for me? You know I love my nut buttahhhhhhhhhh. Here’s a confession: I secretly want to have a pantry devoted to all of the nut butters I can hoard. (Probably a bad idea for my waistline, although I think my tastebuds would appreciate it very much.)
Did you know that today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day?! You think I would have made you a cookie recipe but nope; you get good old healthy bran muffins.
In reality, they’re actually really, really good bran muffins! Come on, you know I wouldn’t lie to you.
Oatmeal Cottage Cheese Banana Pancakes {high in protein, gluten-free}
I recently caught up with one of my best friends from college; we hadn’t seen each other in over a year! How does time pass that quickly? I’m not sure, but life does happen and as I’m hurling my way through my twenties, it has increasingly become more difficult to maintain the relationships I once had.
I feel like this should be an article on Thought Catalog.
Anyway, Callie (pictured in the middle) and I lived together throughout college, which reminded me of our absurd obsession with oatmeal. WE LOVED IT. I can’t tell you how many times we ate it for both breakfast AND dinner; it was just SO filling, good-for-you, and comforting! Big bowls of cinnamon oatmeal bliss for dinner topped with anything we could find. I miss those days.
In fact, I MISS ALL OF MY FAVORITE COLLEGE GIRLS! Life slow down for just a minute please. At least so I can find the time to make some oatmeal.
Upside-Down Orange Caramel Pecan French Toast Bake
Let me tell you why I blog: I do it because sharing food is my passion. I wake up for it! I LOVE creating recipes and content (it’s my job) because every single day is riveting and different. Lastly, it has encouraged me to be more of an entrepreneur. And at the age of 24 that’s pretty scary, but it’s probably also the best thing that’s ever happened to me!
So let me just start off by saying thank you! YOU all have inspired me so much — and I mean that from the bottom of my heart! I read every single email and comment; they are very much appreciated. Whether it’s inspiring you to try something completely new, teaching a new skill, or encouraging you to eat a little better, this blog has grown into something I can truly be proud of! My goodness I’ve learned so much and have met incredible people along the way (including my internet friends). The opportunities have been endless.
Now I don’t mind sharing aspects about my life on here either, because like you, I’m learning something new about myself every single day. So today I’m encouraging you to step out of your comfort zone. What’s your passion? What do you want more than anything right now? I asked myself that same question and came up with a cross between french toast and caramel rolls with a hint of orange.
Okay enough with the sappy stuff, Brunch time is serious business!
Dark Chocolate Covered Coconut Almond Granola Bars
I bet you’re hungry. I mean, it’s been a week since I’ve given you a recipe!
I’m not back from vacation just yet so I’m going to keep this short and sweet; I have to enjoy my last day in the sunshine!
Before I go, we must discuss these granola bars. They’re simple, delicious, and full of good-for-you ingredients and healthy fats to keep you satisfied. Plus they are incredibly easy to make!
First we toast the coconut, oats, and almonds in the oven.
Then simply mix honey, almond butter, a little coconut oil, vanilla and cinnamon in a saucepan to heat thoroughly. The wet ingredients are then added to the dry mixture and then tossed to combine. Easy!
Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins with Walnut Oat Streusel
This past weekend was tough! I was in the midst of a juice cleanse and could not stop thinking about how much I wanted a salad the size of my face. Or grilled fish with a glass of wine followed by some Fro Yo with major amounts of sprinkles and pink-frosted animal crackers.
Then to make matters worse, I watched The Food Network again. They were playing Red Lobster commercials which nearly caused me to drool on myself. I guess you could say my cravings were pretty ridiculous; then again it was probably my own fault for watching Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
There is good news though: I truly feel incredible and since I enjoy sharing my discoveries with you, I journaled my experience with the cleanse. I plan on posting it sometime this week. Perhaps it will inspire you, too!
Okay enough chatting, can we get to the muffins?
Fluffy Greek Yogurt Blueberry Pancakes with Strawberry Maple Syrup
There are usually only two things on my mind when I roll out of bed in the morning: coffee and checking emails. However, this morning I woke up with a huge craving for a stack of fluffy blueberry pancakes.
Wait, that’s not a big surprise is it? My Instagram account is populated with pictures of pancakes plus I even had them for dinner last night. Don’t judge, you know Brinner (breakfast for dinner… duh) is pretty much the best thing ever.
My pictures really don’t do the pancakes any justice so I’ll have to annoyingly describe to you just how perfectly good these are. Brace yourself for an overload of adjectives…
Thick. Fluffy. Melt-in-your-mouth. Unbelievable. Crispy edges. Perfectly golden. Outrageous. Awesome. Fantastic. Lick-your-plate good.
There, now do you get my point?
