Woman in Real Life

National Burrito Day is celebrated each year on the first Thursday in April - this year it's April 1st! In my opinion there is no bad time to eat burritos though. In honour of this special day, I created a recipe for BBQ Tofu Burritos for my friends at the Reducetarian Foundation. This recipe is very easy to make, tastes delicious and has plenty of gut-healthy fibre.

Use your favourite store-bought vegan-friendly barbecue sauce or whip together a homemade barbecue sauce if you have the time and inclination. In total, including the barbecue sauce, this recipe calls for just eight simple ingredients (including oil and not including optional hot sauce).

But the ingredients are certainly not set in stone. This burrito recipe is very flexible - add vegan cheese shreds or your favourite salad dressing. Switch out the sprouts for lettuce. Do it up any way you like! Eat if for breakfast, lunch (perfect on the go) or dinner.

Head over to Reducetarian.org to get the recipe.

I always think a healthy, homemade chocolate bar is preferable to a store-bought treat. That's not to say I don't buy store-bought treats, or that store-bought chocolate bars don't have a place in a balanced, happy lifestyle! It's just nice to know what ingredients are in your snacks and desserts, and keep them as natural as possible a good portion of the time. 

Healthy or not healthy aside, if you are a vegan or dairy-free eater by choice or necessity, often it's easier to make your own chocolate treats at home. Store-bought vegan chocolate bars in particular can be expensive and difficult to find.

It's surprisingly easy to whip together your own dairy-free vegan chocolate bars at home. Just take a look at the 17 recipes I've gathered here (with the permission of some expert vegan recipe creators). Whether your old childhood favourite chocolate bar was an Almond Joy bar, a Twix or a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, you can produce your own vegan copycat version at home by following these easy recipes.  

Many of these chocolate bar and chocolate confection recipes are also gluten-free. As long as you source your ingredients carefully, those with gluten allergies or intolerances can enjoy a tasty, homemade, dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate bar as well!

This healthy, plant-based vegan apple and cinnamon baked oatmeal recipe gets an added nutrient boost from diced fresh apples. It's delicious, filling and simple to make for a hearty breakfast, snack or even dessert!

If you watch food and recipe videos on Youtube, you can't help but see how popular oatmeal is for a healthy breakfast. Personally I find there's a limit to how many bowls of oatmeal (aka porridge) I can eat. For a (delicious) change, baked oatmeal is a nice choice. You get the health benefits of oats - they help you feel full, they are a good source of fibre, they may lower blood sugar levels and they contain important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants - in a different, palate-pleasing, almost dessert-like format. 

For a nutritional punch that can't be beat, add apples to your baked oatmeal. This apple and cinnamon baked oatmeal calls for Cosmic Crisp Washington Apples, a new and tasty apple variety that's been in development for two decades. Cosmic Crisps are classically bred (non-GMO) to be crispier and sweeter than other apple varieties and naturally slow to brown.

*This post is sponsored by Cosmic Crisp Washington Apples. All opinions are authentic and my own. Thank you for supporting the awesome companies that partner with Woman in Real Life.*