RANDOM SAM SHORKEY FACT OF THE DAY:
Did you know that I used to work on a cruise ship?

Yes, vegan friends! Many years ago, for six months of my young, then vegetarian life, I was paid (very little) to be that singing, dancing, annoying idiot in charge of all onboard passenger activities.

It was my job to ensure your cruise was as fun and memorable as possible. It was also a memorable time for me porking on close to 20 lbs.

How is that even possible? Well, when I wasn’t hosting karaoke or harassing passengers to dance the electric slide with me, I was eating the greasy, salty, meatless buffet options and/or drinking copious amounts of cheap liquor. What most people do during the course of their one week cruise, I was doing for SIX MONTHS STRAIGHT. And truth be told, some of my “entertainment staff” duties were so cheesy and brutal, I needed a good buzz just to get through them.

Exhibit A: Who’s up for some line dancing?!

On the plus side, I did meet a lot of cool peeps on that ship– some passengers, many staff. And some, I still keep in contact with to this day– one of them being fellow Canadian & “Ship Photographer” Roby Pavone.

Roby has always been a pal and a HUGE supporter of my vegan bodybuilding endeavours. And although he’s not “full vegan,” he’s a wicked chef and loves experimenting with plant-based foods in the kitchen.

After a recent hangout and photoshoot with him in Toronto, I challenged Roby to create a Jacked on the Beanstalk vegan dessert recipe. The rules were that it had to be high in protein, low in carbs, low in fat and yet, still taste rich and decadent. Not an easy task though– especially for a non-vegan!

Man-oh-man, Roby did not, however, disappoint. Instead, he came up with a KILLER vegan smores recipe that contains all of my fave vegan bodybuilding foods and it was so good, I’m now forcing him to contribute recipes on the regular for my e-newsletter. 🙂

Anyway, let me know what YOU think. And I promise you will not gain 20 lbs. eating these. 😉

Roby’s Vegan Smores Chocolate Cookies

Cookie Ingredients:

1 can cannellini beans/ white beans (19 oz. can)
1/2 cup PB2 powdered peanut butter (mixed with water)
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 scoop Jacked on the Beanstalk Vegan Protein Powder  (vanilla)
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips
1 tsp. baking powder

Topping Ingredients:

Handful of Dandies vegan marshmallows (chopped)
Nabisco Original Graham Cracker (crumbs)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place all ingredients into a food processor or good blender except for chocolate chips, marshmallow and graham crackers. Blend until nice and smooth. Fold in chocolate chips until well-incorporated.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Depending on the size of cookie you want, you could use a tablespoon or a ladle to drop your ‘cookie dough’ onto the parchment paper.

Bake for 17-20 mins (17 for softer cookies, 20 for harder.)

Let cool for roughly 15 minutes before sprinkling graham cracker crumbs and chopped marshmallows on top. (You dont want them to melt.) And finally, lightly toast the marshmallows using a culinary blow torch (because we all have one of those) or broil for a few minutes in the oven until lightly browned.

Even gross, gluttonous “Cruise Ship Sam” approves!

Exhibit B: I stole this giant Easter egg from a display and ate 2/3 of it in my cabin at 4am one night. “Ew” indeed.

Happy healthy vegan baking, kids!