Mary and I love eating and cooking, and while we love the occasional bit of junk food, in general we try and eat healthy, nutritious food. I'm vegetarian and we're both gluten free, restrictions that limit what we can eat on the go. Which is why we love Plant Bites by Keetz! They're healthy AND delicious. Plus, their purchase supports a small business run by a rad woman.
Keetz is owned by #friendoffriends and all-around super-star human, Katy Peetz. What I love most about Katy is her infectious positivity and her effortless good vibes. I also love her talent! Katy was a pastry chef in New York city for ten years before starting her own snack company, and we're sure glad she did. Keetz plant-based snacks use nature’s most pure, delicious, and nutrient-dense ingredients and we're obsessed.
Katy will be taking-over @friendsnyc Instagram on Sunday, April 19 at 1pm to do a live cooking show! Make sure you have all the ingredients on hand so you can cook along with her.
Quarantine CBD Vegan Pancakes
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp *ground flaxseed
(Ground flaxseeds are great for plant-based diets! Full of omega 3 fats, antioxidants, protein, fiber, and they are easily digestible.)
3/4 cups flour (I like spelt or einkorn)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ cup non-dairy milk (I like Elmhurst Almond milk - or make your own!)
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp avocado oil (or grapeseed or vegetable oil)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
*optional 1-2 droppers cbd oil (Tonic CBD is great and we sock it at Friends)
3-4 teaspoons oil + 2-3 Tbsp vegan butter for cooking
Optional toppings: Maple syrup, vegan butter, coconut yogurt, granola, more ground flaxseed, tahini, peeled and finely grated ginger or turmeric, seasonal fruit
Directions
- In a large bowl stir together water and flaxseed then let sit to congeal, 5 min.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Stir into flaxseed mixture: milk, maple syrup, avocado oil, vanilla, and (if using) cbd oil. Stir flour mixture into flaxseed mixture just until combined. Don’t overmix.
- Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, swirling pan to coat. For each pancake add ¼ cup batter. Lower heat to medium and cook until edges start to look dry, 2-2½ minutes. Flip pancakes, reduce heat to low, and add a few tiny knobs of butter onto pancakes and skillet, swirling skillet to coat both. Cook until golden brown, another 2-3 minutes. Carefully wipe pan with a paper towel in between cooking batches.
- Serve pancakes on a plate and top with vegan butter, maple syrup, and any other toppings.
*Keep it fresh! Store-bought ground flaxseed is called flax meal. You never know when it was ground, and it loses its binding quality the longer it sits on a shelf. Instead, I like to buy whole flaxseed and grind it myself in my blender or coffee grinder (I recommend grinding some rice in your coffee grinder first to clean out any old coffee). Store in freezer or fridge.
We asked Katy a few questions from the Proust questionnaire plus a couple Q's about Keetz plant bites. Check it out below.
Why did you start Keetz and develop Plant Bites? I was disappointed in what were considered "healthy energy bars" one the market. After battling some health issues simply caused by eating too much processed food and sugar, I changed my diet to mostly plant-based and cut out processed foods. Mind you when I say processed food I'm not talking chips and twinkies! I'm talking "healthy energy bars" and other "health products" full of sugar and preservatives. The more I read ingredient labels, the more I realized it was mostly crap. I started developing Plant Bites when I was training for the NYC Marathon in late 2017 and couldn't find anything to keep me feeling good, full, and energized. It turns out lots of people felt the same way and also like them! Friends and family begin asking to buy them so I made it an official business in early 2019.
What has been your biggest challenge as a small business owner? Oof, so many! In the beginning it was understanding all of the small details that made up the big picture to making the business work (which you never ever understand everything). Also, it was having enough confidence and belief in myself and my product that I could make the business work and create a sustainable career for myself. These are still a work in progress.
What is most rewarding about owning your own company? I am a chef and I truly care about people and their health. What we eat really has a huge effect on our physical and emotional well-being! Plant Bites are an on-the-go snack made with real ingredients that nourish people and this is my mission-- to create food that makes people feel good. Lately we have been donating and selling Plant Bites to front line healthcare workers in NYC fighting COVID-19. The feedback has been really heartfelt and knowing my energy bites are helping those heroes get through long shifts without proper meals is worth all of the challenges.
What is your idea of the perfect day? Getting a good night of sleep to wake up early and crush all facets of life starting with taking care of my emotional wellness (meditating 30 min), physical wellness (breaking a sweat for 30 min), business (checking off my to-do list tasks AND working on big picture strategic growth), and having at least one fulfilling conversation that puts positive fuel in my tank! All of this will be accomplished by 6/7pm and I'll make a healthy-ish dinner for me and my husband, which is therapy.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse? When talking to myself inside my head... "If it were easy everyone would be doing it." "You can do this! Don't give up!"
Which living person do you most admire? Hmmm, good question. My dad! He has one of the strongest work ethics of anyone I've ever known. He is a smart, wonderful human who helps a lot of people out of the goodness of his heart. He raised four girls and never wished for a boy :)
What is your dream splurge? Tbh, I'm a minimalist. I don't buy a ton of things and I live in a small apt so am forced not to hoard, but I LOVE to travel and try new foods. A dream splurge would be to take my husband on a trip to Japan and eat our way through the country.
Which talent would you most like to have? Better Quickbooks accounting skills. Oh, is this lame? Okay I would like to be able to sleep less, get out of bed right when my alarm goes off, and be super productive! (I currently hit snooze minimum 30 min and have been trying to break this habit for a while.) I would also like to be a better public speaker!
Where would you most like to live? That dream double life of keeping your apartment in Brooklyn but having a place somewhere else with more nature! Bondi Beach would be nice, but only if there was a super jet so the 20-ish hour flight could be cut in half.
What do you most value in your friends? Honesty, grounding, sense of humor, enjoys food, positive outlook on life (even when things are shitty), and really just being able to share the simple things like eating-in on a Friday night or going for an evening walk after a long day.
What is your motto? I have two. 1. Go big or go home. 2. Teamwork makes the dream work.
