I've been having a love affair with strawberries this year. Any time I can get my hand on some fresh berries I basically do a nose-dive and scarf them all. I've been getting over zealous with my berry buying too, no doubt. So I've been coming up with all sorts of treats to use up the sad-looking strawbs. They just look so forlorn toward the end of their freshness that I take great care to make them sparkle. This is how you know I'm an empathetic little bean. I feel all the feels. Including the feels my strawbs would have if they had a more complex nervous system. Maybe it's a plant-based thing? No? Just crazy? K. Read on for some snazzy links and this fabulous recipe for strawberry rhubarb crumble bites adapted from my boo Amanda over at Heartbeat Kitchen!

You know what's really great? Two of my fav ladies, Molly & Lily, just announced their book publish dates / times! Molly Yeh just announced her book cover and publish date (hint: there's gonna be a mac n cheese flow chart in there!). And Lily Diamond of Kale and Caramel announced her book-baby (omg there will be so many feels and also probably milkshakes with spirulina in them)! YOU GUYS WRITING A BOOK IS GRUELING AND FULL OF HEART-THINGS. So lets all lift these ladies up and tell them what incredible humans they are! Go leave them love notes <3

After reading this article about a vegan cafe that was attacked by a bunch of meat-wielding neo-nazis in Georgia (the country not the state) I feel incredibly lucky to live in America. Where I have no fear of being angrily shish kabab'ed.

Laura of The First Mess made an adaptation of my FAVORITE summer drink! It's basically whole watermelon blitzed with cold coconut water. She added lime and frozen strawberries and calls it Summer Bliss Juice. UM YES!

In case you missed it! My first Youtube video is up! It's Golden Milk Chia Pudding! Subscribe and leave me some love in the comments!

I don't know about you guys but I'm pretty sure I could live on these single-serving protein waffles! Well, between that and some greens ;)

I'm really intrigued by one-pot pastas. Like this one! Should I make one for the WFFF?

These strawberry rhubarb crumble bites are crazy easy. You press your crumble mix into the bottom of your muffin-liners, bake, add jam on top, sprinkle the rest of the crumble mix on top of that and add a strawberry for garnish. Then you bake it off again. Done! Punchy, tangy-sweet, hand-held pie gems! This recipe pretty much over-rules my desire for traditional, crust-laden pie. But, crumbles always hold that place in my heart. Why make pie when a crumble is perfectly sufficient and delicious? Also making gluten free vegan pie crust is a pain in ass. Thank god for crumble wizardry!

Oh p.s. I didn't just add the chia in there arbitrarily (although I've been known to do that because HEALTH). It helps make the jam a bit thicker and gooier. :)

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Bites (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Created by Renee on May 31, 2016

These crumble bites are perfect for spring and summer get-togethers! I like to set these out at barbecues. They’re a no-hassle crowd-pleaser! Adapted with permission from Heartbeet Kitchen.

• Prep Time: 5m
•  
• Cook Time: 45m

• Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
• 3/4 cup rhubarb, sliced thinly
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• juice of 1 whole lemon + zest of that whole lemon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch or tapioca starch
• 1 cup oats (or 1 1/8 cup oat flour)
• 1 cup whole rolled oats
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup melted virgin coconut oil
• 4 -5 fresh strawberries, greens removed, cored and sliced thinly

Instructions

1. Set a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the strawberries, rhubarb, coconut sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest, vanilla extract and cardamom. Cover and cook everything together for 10 minutes or so, until the rhubarb is meltingly soft. If you used frozen strawberries you might need to use a wooden spoon to smash them down into the jam. Remove the top and stir in the chia seeds. Sift in the cornstarch, stirring as you do so. Set aside to let cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin or cupcake liners. Set aside.
3. Blend 1 cup oats into flour using a high powered blender. The oats fluff up when ground, resulting in about 1 1/8 cup oat flour.
4. In a medium mixing bowl combine the oat flour, oats, coconut sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and coconut oil until you have a sandy mixture.Spoon half of the crust mixture into the bottoms of the muffin tins equally. Press the crust mixture down firmly into each liner.
5. Bake for 10 minutes on the middle rack. Then remove and let cool completely before spooning jam over each crust equally. Sprinkle the rest of the crumble topping over the jam. Garnish each crumble bite with a thin strawberry slice. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Let cool completely before digging in. These are fantastic chilled as well (they firm up when cold and are even easier to handle).