Vegan Chocolate Cake Waffles

Someone recently told me “listen to your body.” Sometimes your body tells (screams) at you for chocolate. This past weekend I stayed in on the faux St. Patrick’s Day that Chicago celebrates by consuming copious amounts of green beer and purchasing “all you can eat breakfast buffet” tickets at the local bars (honestly, how sketchy does that sound?!) and baked a gluten free, dairy free(+egg free), soy free, corn free + vegan chocolate cake!

Since I had to cut all of these food groups out of my diet due to health reasons, I have struggled to find food substitutions that I once loved in the sweets department. You know when you just crave a piece of cake with some gooey frosting? I had the itch and it needed to be scratched.

By the time Sunday morning rolled around, I still had a minor cake craving. I thought to myself: what if I put a piece of cake in my waffle iron? And it was created….the extremely glutinous chocolate cake waffle. This is the perfect “once and a while” treat for a snow day or celebratory weekend and it is super easy to make!

Personally, I prefer King Arthur Gluten-Free chocolate cake mix which you can find in Whole Foods. I also made this super simple frosting with Califia Farms Almond Milk. For anyone out there with food allergies, Lyme Disease like me or just food sensitivities- this is a fun recipe for you to still enjoy a sweet treat!

 

<3 Al

A Crudité Platter Your Friends Will Actually Want To Eat

Crudité plate at Soho House Chicago

Crudité plate at Soho House Chicago

 

I have always been a veggies over meat kind of girl. I love the crisp crunch of a fresh veggie so naturally vegetables and dip is a staple in my diet. When Soho House in Chicago first opened, they served a gorgeous crudités plate with fresh heirloom carrots, radishes, cucumbers and other bits of colorful goodness alongside freshly smashed avocado. Since I do not go to an office, I often work out of Soho House and the crudités plate has remained one of my favorite things on the menu.

I love to entertain and am always looking for quick but satisfying bites to serve guests. Plus, if you prefer to ditch most of the prep work the day of, you can pre-chop your veggies the day before. The platter is all about presentation and it looks like you put in more effort than you actually did. Freshly chopped vegetables and dips is the perfect, simple and always beautiful appetizer to accompany a few cocktails (try this super easy vanilla Moscow mule!)

Crudite

 

 

img_4301

img_4303

img_4310

img_4314

img_4279

Essentially, the dip that I serve with crudites is a simple guacamole. I smash an avocado with a fork until it is a smooth consistency, squeeze in half a lime and add salt and pepper to taste. If you like spicy dips, add in some red pepper flakes.

 

img_4324

img_4320

I love this little marble serving tray to serve colorful veg on. Would love to hear about any other quick, easy entertaining recipes you may have!

<3 AL

 

Embroidered White

 

Saturday was the first (semi)relaxing day I had in a while. I took my math final in the morning, walked around Green City Market, and then relaxed in the sun. I picked up this simple cotton dress with bright blue embroidery on a vacation in December and am ecstatic that it is finally warm enough to wear it over a bathing suit.

IMG_4366

 

IMG_4372

 

IMG_4382

 

IMG_4367

After a long week, sometimes all you can do is go get a glass (pitcher) of sangria and cozy up to the bar. I stumbled upon a photo of sangria and a cheese board from Black Bull a few months ago. DJ and I finally went and tried it out Saturday night. Black Bull definitely lives up to the food porn photo hype splattered across my news-feed.

On our walk home from the roof a butterfly started landing on me. Health wise, I have had a very rough few months with a lot of tests in the horizon. I have always taken butterflies as a sign of my grandfather’s presence, who passed when I was in high school. I would like to think that this is him keeping an eye on me.

 

LET’S GET SOCIAL: Snapchat: StreetStyleChi / Instagram: Follow Along / Twitter: Tweet Me