Sweet Potato, Squash, Black Bean Enchiladas

Confession time: I'm obsessed with vegan. Follow me on instragram & you def already know. I'm living the thug kitchen life & it's so damn good.

Seven months ago, I bought Thug Kitchen per a friend's recommendation. I was taking photos for Rachel & Casey's Engagement & while the files downloaded on Rachel's computer, Casey made me browse through this book. I had never seen more beautiful photos of food in my life. & the recipes! Yes, it is true Thug Kitchen Chefs do not watch their language -- which actually makes it easier to understand. & fun.

I ordered the cookbook on Amazon the next day - with no clue it was actually vegan. I let many months pass, picked it back up & slowly learned how to cook. Okay, second confession: I'm actually more of a kitchen helper. Either way leaves me feasting.

Clearly I'm drawn to the Mexican dishes, but there is so much variety to choose from. If you're up for a new adventure in the kitchen, I heartily recommend you try the Thug Life.

It is the best $12 investment I've ever made.

Order the book. & thank me later.

Photos taken with iPone 5s & edited with Snapseed, VSCO and Instagram

Dark chocolate.
Almond Butter.

It's okay if you're drooling. This is heavenly.

So a few months ago we bought Thug Kitchen. It'a cook book with amazing pictures that hilariously curses at you throughout the recipe. Everything was so delicious that now we're semi-vegan. In a search for more vegan recipes, we found Healthy Happy Life. I made a few alterations to Kathy's peanut butter chocolate bars to create...

da da da da!!

DARK CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER BARS!!!! Heck. Yes.

YOU NEED:

For the almond butter batter (bottom):

1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon (t) vanilla

1/2 cup oats
2 cups oat flour
1/4 teaspoon (t) salt
3/4 teaspoon (t) cinnamon

For the dark chocolate (top):

1 bag of ghirardelli dark chocolate
2-3 tablespoons (T) coconut oil

Okay. Step one: combine your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

1/2 cup oats
2 cups oat flour
1/4 teaspoon (t) salt
3/4 teaspoon (t) cinnamon

Combine your wet ingredients in a different mixing bowl:

1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup coconut oil (mine was pretty melty)
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon (t) vanilla

Mix it, blend it, shake it!

So then you've got two bowls. Fold your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients.

It will look like this & feel kind of like cookie dough.

Spread that batter into a medium sized baking dish, greased with coconut oil. Note* Can you see a small consistency switch up there? I was making 1/2 peanut butter 1/2 almond butter to see which one worked better. Almond FTW.

Melt 1 bag of ghirardelli 60 per cent cocoa chocolate chips with 3 T of coconut oil over Med-High Heat. Mix this constantly or it will burn. Should only take a few minutes.

Pour the chocolate mixture over the top of your almond butter batter.

& bake at 350degrees for 20 minutes. Your edges will start to crack a little on the side when it's done. Take it out & refrigerate for many hours (at least 2). Cut these into bars & call it a day. Or a week. You won't be able to accomplish anything better than this for a while. Swoon.

Store in the fridge. Eat every day.

#favoriteveganrecipe

Photography: Moi + Jacob Heath

1 cookbook you'll really want: Thug Kitchen

Vegan Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Bars

YOU NEED:

For the almond butter batter (bottom):

For the dark chocolate (top):