The craziest thing happened to me Tuesday night. I had some friends over to play games and right before they arrived I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies to serve alongside of the kettle corn I had already made . Usually when I make desserts for Brett and me I use whole grains, unrefined sugar and coconut oil, but I decided to simply "veganize" a normal chocolate chip cookie recipe by using flax eggs and vegan butter. Basically these were your typical 2-cups-of-sugar-plus-one-cup-of-butter kind of cookies.
They turned out amazing and all my friends loved them. I even ended up having two alongside of a few handfuls of kettle corn. Now I don't think there is anything wrong with having a couple cookies, but here's where the craziness starts. Before my friends even left my head started hurting. An hour or so later, after they had left, my head was starting to pound from all the sugar. I ended up eating a tortilla with peanut butter in hopes that some non-sugary food would help get rid of the effects of all the sugar. It helped a little, but I still went to bed with a my head spinning.
The next morning I woke up in a daze to our alarm blaring. Brett was already out of bed (which never happens) so I had to try to figure out how to turn our alarm off in my loopy state. I eventually made it to the bathroom and when I looked in the mirror all I could say was, "Oh gosh." I looked like I had been hit by a truck. Now I'm no beauty queen when I wake up, but Wednesday morning was a doozy. I had huge, black bags under my eyes and the sides of my face had tons of pillow and sheet wrinkles embedded into them. On top of that, I still had a head that ached and felt fuzzy. I couldn't focus.
All I wanted to eat on Wednesday was greens. Green smoothies...roasted veggies...raw carrots. It wasn't even until noon that I started to feel somewhat normal. I had a meeting at 2:30 and was feeling alright to head into the city, but after my meeting I decided to go home. I even had plans to stay in the city for a friends birthday party after my meeting, but I just felt so awful that I ended up going home and crashing on the couch until bed.
I'm amazed at the effect two cookies had on my body...at least I think that's what did it. Yet, at the same time, I've been realizing lately that I really don't eat much sugar. The other night I mentioned to Brett that I crave veggies over sweet things. I used to want ice cream or cookies before bed, but now if I'm hungry I find myself eating some leftover roasted veggies before bed. Even in the mornings if I want a sweeter bowl of oatmeal I use bananas or berries for sweetness.
I'm not sure about the whole situation, but I do know that I won't be having a cookie like that again anytime soon. Bring on the veggies!!
Speaking of veggies, this Butternut Squash Pot Pie with Whole Wheat Biscuit Topping is chalk full of veggies. In addition to the butternut squash this recipe calls for onions, leeks, mushrooms and peas. It's thickened using flour with almond milk and flavored with thyme and parsley. It's a great dish for fall and, even though it's meatless, it's hearty enough for any omnivore!
📖 Recipe
Butternut Squash Pot Pie (with Whole Wheat Biscuit Topping)
Ingredients
POT PIE FILLING:
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 small garlic cloves minced
- 2 leeks thick green top removed and chopped/rinsed
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 10 ounces mushrooms chopped (about 3 ½ cups)
- 3 cups diced butternut squash
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup plain almond milk
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
BISCUIT TOPPING:
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 cup plain almond milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 °F and spray 8 ramekins with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large sauce pan sauté the onion, garlic, leeks and carrots for about 3-4 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and butternut squash and cook 6 more minutes until the mushrooms have lost their water and shrunk and the butternut squash is starts to become tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle the ¼ cup of flour over the veggies, stir to coat everything, and let cook for about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the broth and milk and let the mixture simmer over medium heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. If it's too thin add in another tablespoon of flour.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the frozen peas, thyme and parsley. Season to taste with more salt and pepper.
- Spoon the mixture into your 8 prepared ramekins and set aside.
- Now prepare your biscuits.* In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Add in the vegan butter and use your hands to break up the butter until you get a crumbly mixture that has no butter pieces large than pea size.
- Pour in the milk, starting with ¾ cup, and stir. Add in more milk until you get a ball of dough that holds together, but isn't too moist.
- Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 10 times. Pat it into down until it's about ¾ inch thick. Cut out 8 biscuits and place the biscuits on top of your veggie mixture in the ramekins.
- Place all the ramekins on a baking sheet to catch any overflow and bake for 15-17 minutes until the biscuit topping is cooked through and the veggie mixture is bubbly.
Serve and enjoy!
Suzanne says
I can relate to craving veggies but unfortunately crave sugar still too :-(...home baked goodies are a must for me! I do remember eating M&M's once a few yrs ago after not having had them in awhile - I had intense headache too! I have not had them (or any candy other than dark choc) since then...sounds like you got a clear message from your body...good for you to be in such a healthy place
Faith says
You said it perfect..."a clear message from my body" for sure!! Yeah, I guess it's a good thing, but sometimes ice cream just sounds so good!! 🙂
Julie @ Running in a Skirt says
Beautiful recipe and pictures! I'm inspired!
Faith says
Thanks Julie!! 🙂
Nicole @ Fitful Focus says
Stopping by from the Meatless Monday linkup. This looks so tasty! I'll have to try it with a gluten free biscuit 🙂
Faith says
Thanks Nicole! I think just switching the flour to an all-purpose gluten free blend would work great! Let me know if you try it out:)
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner says
now that looks fabulous! Already pinned for later. Thanks for linking up with us today. Please remember to visit the hostesses sites for some fab recipes too.
Faith says
Awesome! Thanks for hosting. I always get some great ideas from this link-up:)
Tina Muir says
Faith, this sounds AMAZING! Right up my street! I LOVE butternut squash, and I love the idea of a butternut squash pot pie! You must join us for meatless monday with this tomorrow! YUM! Pinning!
Faith says
Thanks Tina! I love butternut squash too:) I'll definitely post this for Meatless Monday. Excited to see what other people share too!!