I’m giving away three books today:
- my newest (non-food) book, The Book of Ike: an abandoned dog’s [imagined] epic origin story;
- an e-book, crave. eat. heal. outtakes., from 2014 that I’ve updated and turned into a paperback; and
- my collaborative cookbook from last year, It’s Got To Taste Good! Easy Plant-Based Meat Recipes for the Adventurous Home Cook.
About The Book of Ike: On a scorching hot morning in July seven years ago, I pulled into the driveway of our 160-acre ranch after grocery shopping to find that my husband had acquired a furry companion: a mangy black puppy. He was like a second shadow and clearly already devoted to Kel. Neither one of us had even considered having pets – but when this little guy appeared in our yard on that fateful day – we couldn’t bring ourselves to turn him over to the local pound and what would certainly have meant death. We’ve never regretted our decision and if you have a rescue animal, you probably feel the same way.
Over the years we’ve often wondered about where Ike came from and what kinds of adventures he experienced as he wandered the fields and forests of rural Oklahoma. How did a puppy manage to survive hunger, thirst, coyotes, bobcats, speeding cars, and humans at the ripe young age of 3-months (the estimate given to us by our vet)? By sheer wit and instinct! And Ike has proved himself to be one intelligent canine.
I first got the idea to create an illustrated book about Ike and the various activities he loves like playing with his Frisbee, tugging at his Kong, running, swimming, etc., – but after reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy I decided that what Ike needed was an epic origin story. A story that told the tale of how he prevailed against the odds – the slings and arrows, the hard knocks, the near misses. Now, The Book of Ike is nowhere near as epic as the Lord of the Rings, of course (and it won’t take nearly as long to read)! But, for a mangy stray dog, it ain’t too shabby.
The first part of the book relates Ike’s [imagined] journey to our house; the second part is all illustrations showing Ike’s life with us. Every epic tale should have a happy ending! You can find sample images here.
The book is available in paperback on Amazon for $12.95 and is suitable for children. Or, purchase the PDF ($5.99) for immediate download here.
The second book is a refresh of my colorful 16-recipe e-book, crave. eat. heal. outtakes. that accompanied the release of Crave Eat Heal: Plant-based Whole Food Recipes to Satisfy Every Appetite (2014). I updated the design, tweaked a couple of recipes, and turned it into a shiny 8.5″ x 8.5″ paperback. All recipes are gluten-free, contain little or no added oil, and are refined sugar-free. It’s available for purchase on Amazon for $15.95. (BTW, you can purchase a signed copy of the larger Crave Eat Heal here on my site.)
And to really sweeten the pot, I’m giving away It’s Got To Taste Good! because I’m very proud of this collaborative cookbook (with Elaine Spencer & Libby Doughty) and I think you will absolutely love these classic, comfort food recipes. If you are not the lucky winner, you can purchase a copy on Amazon for $10.99.
Below is the recipe for Almond Butter Choco-Berry Crunch Cereal taken from the Crunchy section in crave. eat. heal. outtakes. It’s oil-free, gluten-free and is sweetened with maple syrup.
Print
Almond Butter Choco-Berry Crunch Cereal
- Prep Time: :05
- Cook Time: :50
- Total Time: 49 minute
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
Description
Were you coo-coo for Cocoa Puff’s cereal when you were a kid? I certainly was, but my mom didn’t often buy it because she thought that Shredded Wheat or Life cereals were healthier. (Her efforts to curb my sweet tooth were to no avail, though!) Now that I’m an adult, I know how to satisfy those sweet cravings with healthier, if not completely virtuous, options.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dried cherries, dried blueberries or goji berries
- ¼ cup cacao nibs
- 2 cups toasted rice cereal (such as Chex)
- 1 cup brown rice cereal
- 1 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- ½ cup natural (unsweetened, no added oil) almond butter
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup, or to taste
- 2 Tbsp. cacao or cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250-degrees F and set aside a large baking sheet.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cherries, blueberries or goji berries, the cereals and oats. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the almond butter, applesauce, maple syrup, cacao/cocoa powder and cinnamon. Heat just until melted and thoroughly combined.
- Pour this mixture into the cereal/oats mixture and stir to coat everything. The mixture will be clumpy and stiff. Scrape out onto a baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
- Let the cereal cool completely before storing in an air-tight container for up to 10 days. To serve, add non-dairy milk and top with fresh berries.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 86
Keywords: breakfast, cereal, gluten-free, oil-free, easy, quick, chocolate, almond butter, cookbook
Giveaway runs from today through February 9 and is open for those residing in the U.S. and Canada. Thanks for entering and GOOD LUCK!
What a great giveaway! Your homemade cereal looks tasty. A little chocolate makes everything better, including cereal. I love the idea behind the book about your rescue dog, Ike. Our cat, Molly, was a rescue from when we were living in the high desert. My partner & a friend found her & her siblings wandering. They fed them fast food fries, which was all they had at the time. They decided the kittens couldn’t survive alone in the desert, so they took them. We kept Molly & found a home for the other couple. She’s the queen of our castle!
Wonderful! I’m sure the kitties were grateful for those fries :-). Thank you for finding them happy homes!
Welcome back, really looking forward to trying this cereal recipe! We just got a rescue for the grand about seven months ago. Not totally sure what he is yet but it’s looking more and more like he’s s mastiff/pit mix of some kind. He is going to be huge, any trails after that for your old like you wouldn’t believe.
We were so curious about Ike’s lineage (and another sweet pup that “showed up” a couple of years ago) that we did DNA testing. My husband and I each wrote down what we THOUGHT our pups’ were, put our guesses in an envelope so the other couldn’t see, then waited for the results. My husband guessed just about right – thank goodness I hadn’t made a bet with him! Ike turned out to be mostly pitbull terrier, then corgi and lab.
Right now I have 4 rescue animals, 3 guinea pigs and a cat!
Now that’s a full house!! Awesome!
Welcome back and thanks for doing the cool giveaway! I have two special rescues (is there any other kind?) Both are cats – Ziggy Stardust and Freddie Mercury. They are the best!
With names like that, how could they be anything but special?!!
We adopted a kitten from the SPCA after a huge brush fire in California a few years ago. He and his 6 siblings were brought in from the fire zone. He and our other cat are inseparable and he is the biggest joy every day! Never had such a loving cat. Wherever we are, he needs to be. I believe rescues and adoptees make some of the best pets…ever!
Your sweet kitty is grateful for your love and protection – and he shows it. Wonderful.
Hi Annie! Great to hear from you again. Hope your time off was most enjoyable. My rescues are two beautious black cats – Pyewack and Grimalkin. They are such a joy and teach Hubs and myself about our selves every day. Can’t wait to make the cereal; what a great afternoon snack. Take care, girl!
Hey Angela! What fantastic names! I’ll bet you have some creative nicknames, too. Ike has about 20 different absurd nicknames and d**n if he doesn’t understand/know them all! Hope all is well with you!
This cereal recipe looks amazing. Looking forward to trying. Awesome giveaway.
Thank you for visiting!
I don’t have any pets myself, but if I do get one in the future, it will definitely be a rescued dog or cat. There’s too many that need a good home.
So true! I can’t imagine getting a pet any other way.
We have a dog, a cat and a house rabbit, and all are rescues!
Are they friends? It took ages for our two pups to get along. Well, our puppy adored Ike from the instant she saw him, but Ike… he was not happy AT ALL about sharing his home!
I like to visit a farm animal sanctuary in Campo, CA so those animals are the special rescue animals in my life.
My home seems to be the place for wayward/rescue poodles. We have had 5!
I used to have a special rescue animal in my life – he was nuts but so much fun. Now all my kids have fostered and adopted rescues.
I follow you on Instagram.
Thank you, Vera!
I have a house rabbit who was rescued from a hoarding situation about 8 years ago. Despite her rough start she has turned out to be the most loving, delightful bunny. She would rather have her head petted than eat her favorite treat, which in this house is luckily not a decision she has to choose between. Her sweet face and funny antics are a gift to me every day.
My cat Rhett is my rescue. He inappropriately pees which is a challenge but I love him so it is not an issue.
Sweet boy. And a lucky one, too!
Yes, I have a special “rescue” animal.
I follow you on instagram.
I ordered the Book of Ike 3 days ago and it arrived today. I love your artistic illustrations of Ike, and read the book right away. Thank you for rescuing Ike and making Ike come to life in your book for the rest of us.
Wow! Thank you so much! You just made my day. We count ourselves very lucky to have Ike in our lives.
Looking for vegan recipes, I spotted your book of a puppy, and ordered it for my daughter’s birthday in a couple weeks, of course, I couldn’t wait and read it right away! She’s a dog lover and works at a dog boarding kennel: so a perfect gift 🙂