My mom and sister asked me how, or even if, I’d be able to keep ValeCooks going while traveling. Although I wasn’t sure how it would work or whether I’d manage to make 7 new recipes a week, I wanted to give it a try! Even with just a carry-on, I packed my measuring cup set. 🧳

Before heading out, I saved some trending, simple recipes from TikTok and found that Pinterest is the best place to search for recipes with minimal ingredients. On Pinterest, you can easily search for “almond cookies with few ingredients” or “chia pudding recipes,” and you’ll find dozens of options!

Once I found a recipe that required simple ingredients, I looked up similar recipes that used those same ingredients. I picked up everything I needed at my first stop and carried them from place to place. Yes, it meant carrying a little extra weight, but the challenge was worth it! 🧂🍪 For anyone wanting easy recipes with simple ingredients, these might be right up your alley.

Recipes Made So Far This Year:

Goal: To try seven new recipes each week 🗓️, aiming for 365 this year!

 Number of Recipes Made this Week: 7 (Week 41) ✅ & 7 (Week 42)✅

Number of New Recipes Tested as of 10/20: 357

Weeks Achieving Seven or More New Recipes: 40 out of 42

This Week’s Recipe Test Summary

Impress Someone🌟

Padrón Peppers (Pimientos de Padrón) from Craft Beering 🌶️
We’ve been to so many pintxo/tapas bars recently, and my go-to dish has been pimientos de Padrón! I grabbed some from the grocery store and topped them with large grains of salt, and they were fantastic. H loved them too. I’ll be looking for these in SD, as they’d make an excellent appetizer for a special dinner at home!

Would Make Again 👍

5-Ingredient Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Truffles from Minimalist Baker🍫🥜
These are a healthier take on chocolate truffles and are so satisfying!

3-Ingredient Raffaello Coconut Balls from Happy Food Tube 🥥
I first tried Raffaello on a family trip as a child and was hooked! These were so tasty; I’d try coating them in white chocolate next time.

Pan con Tomate (Spanish Tomato Bread) from The Mediterranean Dish 🍅🥖
I tried grating the tomato this time, but it got messy, with tomato juice flying everywhere! I prefer the method of rubbing the tomato directly on the bread.

3-Ingredients Date Caramel from Clean Eats for Kids | Instagram Reel 🍯
I’d tried making date caramel before, and it was a total failure. This time, I loved it! Using coconut milk instead of cashews for texture worked perfectly.

Matcha & Pistachio Chia Pudding from Laura Stevens 🍵🥄
Another chia pudding success! The combo of matcha and pistachios was delicious.

Matcha (Green Tea) Soda from oh, how CIVILIZED🍵🥤
So simple to make, and a perfect treat for any matcha lover!

Would Not Make Again 👎

These recipes didn’t live up to expectations or weren’t to my taste

Chocolate Banana Froyo Clusters from essentaileveryday | TikTok Post 🍌🍫
I’ve seen so many frozen cluster recipes on TikTok, but biting into layers of frozen fruit is tougher than they make it seem!

Viral Chocolate Blueberry Bark from @briannajoye_fitness | Instagram Reel 🫐🍫

Frozen Banana Yogurt Bites from littleveganeats | TikTok Post 🍌🥄

Almond Butter Fudge Bites from upbeet & kaleing it🍫

Date Cookies (2-Ingredient, No eggs, No Sugar) from the conscious PLANT KITCHEN🍪
I tried a few healthier cookie options, but I wasn’t a fan of the consistency.

Coconut Almond Cookies from the conscious PLANT KITCHEN🥥🌰

3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies from the conscious PLANT KITCHEN🌰🍪

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or any recipe requests you might have. Just respond directly to this email.

See you next week. Keep cooking! 👋 

Vale from ValeCooks