Chocolate Almond Butter Banana Muffins

I adapted this recipe from the cookbook "Peas and Thank You," "Beg-Worthy Banana Bread." I really like Sarah Matheny's ideas, but she uses a bit too much sugar and processed vegan food for my liking, so I love changing her recipes to my own taste. So here is my version, and it's delicious! I let John help me make these tonight, and he had so much fun. He mostly just played, and made a way huger mess than I would have by myself, but I know we are making fond memories, and he will remember baking with Mama in the kitchen, and how he loved it, and how I let him lick the spoon and the bowl, and even eat the batter out of the bowl with the spoon, and stick his hands in the dry ingredients, feel the texture, and play in it like it was a sand box (until he realized that it makes a fun dust cloud and a mess if you throw it up in the air). It's a good thing we washed his hands very thoroughly before we started. He had so much fun, and I love him, and I love making delicious treats for my husband and son that are much healthier than the alternatives. John could've probably eaten half the batch if I'd let him!

Chocolate Almond Butter Banana Muffins

Makes 24 large muffins

Ingredients:
Dry:
- 4 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour)
- 1/4 cup ground raw flaxseed (don't get roasted. I promise you'll regret it if you do...)
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. nutmeg
- 2/3 cup organic brown sugar or cane sugar

Wet:
-1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/3 cup natural apple sauce (no sugar added)
- 4 heaping cups banana, mashed (about 6-7)
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (or vanilla if you don't have almond extract)
- 1/2 cup almond milk (or non-dairy milk)

AND:
- 2 handfuls of chocolate chips (you can decide how much that is :)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 muffin tins with coconut oil (or line with paper muffin cups and lightly spray with vegetable oil)
2. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients with a whisk.
3. In a medium sized bowl, mix coconut oil, almond butter, and apple sauce (using a fork). Then add mashed bananas, almond extract and almond milk.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until just combined, then fold in chocolate chips.
5. Divide evenly into muffin tins (makes 24).

6. Bake for 21-23 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

P.S. I know that my pictures of the food I post are usually only slightly better quality than you would find on the menu of an authentic Mexican restaurant, but I don't make many dinners or desserts in the morning when the lighting is great like many food bloggers do... And when I photograph our food, it is usually the moment before we pray at dinner and then eat it. So, I just don't have time to get out my giant higher quality camera, and try to make space around my galley kitchen and usually half covered in wheatgrass trays dining room table to set up a beautiful photo shoot space. Some day I will. And when that day happens, all of the children that we have will probably be in school, and at that point, I will probably have invented enough recipes to write my very own cookbook, which I will do. And at that time, I WILL redo all my photos, and they will be gorgeous. I do believe that the photos in a cookbook make all the difference. But, until that time, I will be content with my iphone photos and be grateful that I can take them instantly, and upload them right to my blog. A picture is better than no picture.

Sweet Quinoa and Rice Salad

My parents got me a yummy Quinoa and Brown Rice blend for Christmas, and with it, I created this delicious salad!

Sweet Quinoa and Rice Salad

Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups uncooked quinoa/rice blend (or one of the two) - Cook with water or veggie stock according to directions
- 3 large handfuls of organic spinach, chopped
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes,halved
- 1.5 cups frozen sweet corn, thawed (or canned)
- 1.5 cups (1 can) chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

- Avocado for serving

Sauce:
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 Tb. Tamari or reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 Tb. apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tb. agave nectar (or honey)
- 1 Tb. of your favorite dried spices (oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, etc)
- fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. Cook Quinoa and rice according to instructions
2. While it is cooking, combine all Sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir
3. When quinoa and rice are cooked, put in a bowl for about 10 minutes. Add all other ingredients, and then pour sauce over the salad and mixed until combine.
4. Garnish with avocado. Serve warm or cold.

Wagner Muesli

Dry Ingredients:

Bulk measurements:

14 to 15 cups regular oats/42 ounces of oats

1 cup Chia seeds

1/2 cup whole flaxseed (opt)

4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

3 to 4 cups dried fruit (raisins, or Craisins, etc.)

4 to 5 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.)

Individual serving: - 2/3-3/4 cup uncooked rolled oats
- 2 TB. unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2-3 TB. dried fruit (ie. craisins, raisins, chopped dates, etc.)
- 2 TB. raw unsalted sunflower seeds
- 1 TB. whole chia seed
- 1 TB. ground flaxseed
- Optional: any other nuts you would like to add: almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc.

Tip:
- Making a huge batch is really the best use of time, and it lasts for a while. But if I am doing individual servings, I like to make a week's worth and put them in sandwich bags or Tupperware. It makes for a very quick, easy and healthy breakfast!


Add-in Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 - 2 cups almond or coconut milk (or milk of your choice)per 1 cup dry muesli
- 1/2 - 1 banana, diced
- other fresh fruit (ie. berries, 1/2 diced apple, a peach, etc.) 
- Use agave to sweeten if desired 

Directions:
1. Soak your dry ingredients in your milk for at least 5 minutes. I like to soak mine for 15-20 minutes to get the oats a little softer. You can even soak your Muesli overnight in the fridge like the Swiss do. That's our favorite way.
2. Cut up your banana and any other fresh fruit into your Muesli and enjoy!

Overnight Wagner Muesli by Emily Wagner 2015

Dry Ingredients- Bulk measurements:

- 14 to 15 cups regular oats/42 ounces of oats

- 1 cups Chia seeds

- 1/2 cup whole flaxseed (opt.)

- 4 cups shredded unsweetened coconut

- 3 to 4 cups dried fruit (raisins, Craisins, etc.)

- 4 to 5 cups chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.)

One serving is about 1 cup of dry ingredients. So if you are making the muesli for more than one person, plan accordingly.

Add-in Ingredients per serving:

- 1.5 to 2 cups *almond, soy, or coconut milk (or milk of your choice)

- 1/2 to 1 banana, diced

- Fresh fruit, diced (any kind of berries, 1/2 diced apple, a peach, etc.) 

- Use 1 tsp. agave to sweeten if desired (this is a friendly option for anyone with sugar level problems)

Directions:

- The night before you want to eat your Muesli, pour your dry ingredients in a bowl or container that has a lid. (We do 3 cups of dry ingredients for the 3 of us.)

- Add the desired amount of almond milk and stir. You want it to be a soupy consistency when you put it in the fridge so that the oats, flax and chia seeds can expand. Cover and soak overnight in the fridge.

- In the morning, stir your Muesli and add more milk if you would like it to be less dense. Add your banana and berries (or other fruit). Enjoy!

Alternate Directions:

1. Soak your dry ingredients in your milk for at least 5 minutes. I like to soak mine for 15-20 minutes to get the oats a little softer.

2. Cut up your banana and any other fresh fruit into your Muesli.

*Almond Milk has 50% more calcium than dairy milk and way less fat calories. If you want to up the protein level, you can do half soy milk and half almond milk.

CHALT Sandwich

Cucumber

Hummus

Avocado

Lettuce

Tomato

Put all that on Hearty whole-grain bread

And you can add any of these delicious ingredients that you have on hand.

Pickle

Bellpepper

Olives

Veganaise or light mayonnaise

Mustard

Red onion

Sprouts

Cauliflower Leek Soup

Cauliflower Leek Soup Serves 6 Ingredients: - 1 TB olive oil - 2 TB minced garlic - 1 large head of cauliflower - 3 leeks, cut into 1 inch pieces - 7 cups veggie stock or water (and a veggie boullion cube if using water) - 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed - 1 cup cashew cream - 1 TB lemon juice - 2 TB nutritional yeast (in the bulk section of your health food store) Directions: 1. Heat the olive oil, in a large pot over medium heat, and saute the leeks, cauliflower, and garlic for about 10 minutes adding sufficient amounts of water to keep it from sticking or burning.  2. Add veggie stock/water to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  3. Remove the soup from heat. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or hand mixer.  Mix in the cashew cream, lemon juice and nutritional yeast and continue blending until smooth. 4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Tips: -You can garnish the soup with anything you like really, cashews, sliced spinach, cilantro, bell peppers, avocado... you name it! - You can use this as your main dish, as a side, as a base for another creamy soup. The sky is the limit! - And don't be afraid of substituting other veggies. Use what you have.

Happy Wrap

Tonight for dinner we had what I am going to call happy wraps. Doesn't it look like it's smiling? Delicious and nutritious! And for you meat lovers out there, you can substitute chickpeas with tuna. But I would recommend having both if you're going to have tuna :-)

Ingredients:

Chickpeas drained and rinsed

Romain lettuce leaves

Sliced olives

Sliced tomato

Sliced cucumber

Hummus

Avocado

Sliced or diced red onion

Directions:

Double tube romaine leaves together, and assemble your wrap with all the toppings you like, and enjoy!

PS. John enjoyed eating raw red onion tonight for dinner. Actually he ate all of this except for the lettuce. :) I love it when dinner works out for all of us! (it doesn't always, lately)

Cream of Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Cream of Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Serves 

Ingredients:
Veggies:
- 2 onions
- 4 Tb. garlic
- 2 stalk celery
- 2 cups frozen (or fresh) peas
- 5 cups cauliflower
- 5 cup broccoli

- 6 cups water or veggie stock

Seasonings:
- 1 Tb. dry oregano
- 2 tsp. dry thyme
- 2 tsp. dry basil
- 2 tsp. coriander
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 3 TB soy sauce
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. brown mustard 
Finishing Touches:
- 1 large handful (about 1 1/2 cup) spinach
- 1 can chickpeas or white beans
- 1 cup nutritional yeast (in the bulk section of your health food store)
- 1 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)

- 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. Heat a large pot on medium high heat while you rough chop your onion (but not so rough as to chop your finger :) I've learned that lesson a time or two...), then start sauteing your onion adding sufficient amounts of water to keep it from sticking or burning.

2. While onion is sauteing, rough chop all your other vegetables and add (except for spinach) to the pot. Saute for about 5 more minutes, or until onions are translucent.

3. Add water/veggie stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer.

4. Add all the seasonings and simmer for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat, add nutritional yeast, beans, cashews (that's where the "creamy" comes in!) and lemon juice. Then puree using an immersion blender (or ladle small amounts carefully into a blender).

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tips:
-You can garnish the soup with anything you like really, cashews, sliced spinach, cilantro, bell peppers, avocado... you name it!
- You can use this as your main dish, as a side, as a base for another creamy soup. The sky is the limit!
- And don't be afraid of substituting other veggies. Use what you have. 

Cream of Vegetable Soup

Here is a creation from today that I made up between today's amazing sessions of General Conference with whatever I had available in my fridge. And as we say at our house, "It's blog-worthy!" so I'm sharing it with you. Enjoy!

Cream of Vegetable Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:
Veggies:
- 1 onion
- 2 Tb. garlic
- 1 stalk celery
- 2 cups cauliflower
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 lb. asparagus

- 1 large handful (about 1 1/2 cup) spinach
- 5 cups water or veggie stock

Seasonings:
- 1/2 tsp. dry thyme
- 1 tsp. dry oregano
- 1/2 tsp. coriander
- 1/2 tsp. cumin

Finishing Touches:
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (in the bulk section of your health food store)
- 2/3 cup cashews
- 3 Tb. lemon juice (or to taste)

- 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. Heat a large pot on medium high heat while you roughly chop your onion (but not so rough as to chop your finger :) I've learned that lesson a time or two...), then start sauteing your onion adding sufficient amounts of water to keep it from sticking or burning.

2. While onion is sauteing, chop all your other vegetables and add (except for spinach) to the pot. Saute for about 5 more minutes, or until onions are translucent.

3. Add water/veggie stock and spinach to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer.

4. Add all the seasonings and simmer for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat, add nutritional yeast, cashews (that's where the "creamy" comes in!) and lemon juice. Then puree using an immersion blender (or ladle small amounts carefully into a blender).

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tips:
-You can garnish the soup with anything you like really, cashews, sliced spinach, cilantro, bell peppers, avocado... you name it!
- You can use this as your main dish, as a side, as a salad dressing, as a base for another creamy soup. The sky is the limit!
- And don't be afraid of substituting other veggies. Use what you have. 

Better than Ever Black Beans and Rice a 30 Minute Meal!

I really learned how to cook after we got married when we were in college by... watching FoodNetwork. Yes, the hours I spent learning from Giada and Rachel Ray were truly beneficial. Although I don't eat many of their ingredients in my cooking anymore, I still admire their abilities and appreciate their skill in teaching the average person (me) how to cook. I especially loved Rachel's show, "30 Minute Meals." I've learned in my food/nutrition journey that in cooking from scratch with whole food, plant based ingredients, 30 minute meals are hard to come by. So, I am proud to announce, that I have come up with a healthful 30 minute meal!! Enjoy!

Ingredients
- 2 diced onions
- 3 cans black beans (including liquid - DO NOT drain)
- Optional: 1/2 cup ham for added flavor
- Optional: 1-2 cups diced mushrooms
- Optional: 1 small can green chiles
- 2 Tb garlic
- 2 Tb Soy Sauce
- 1 Tb Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tb apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tb oregano
- 2 Tb nutritional yeast - from the bulk section of health food store (great plant based source of B vitamins)
- 2 Tb lemon juice
- fresh cracked pepper 
(There is enough salt in the beans and soy sauce, so I don't add any)

(Cook 2 cups of rice (or another grain) in a rice cooker with as much water as needed, we love sweet brown rice - from the bulk section of health food store)

Directions
1. Start cooking the rice in the rice cooker (allow extra time for brown rice)
2. Add onions to a large, deep pan and saute on medium high heat(adding 1 Tb. water at a time to keep them from sticking) until they start to be translucent.
3. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer, and simmer until rice is ready.

Tips:
- While the beans simmer, and the rice cooks, you have time to make a quick green salad, and voila! You'll have dinner on the table in 30 minutes!

Sorry folks. No Pictures yet. I'll take some the next time I make it, which will probably be soon. I don't know if Seth has ever raved about any dinner I have made more than this one :)

PB and Strawberry Banana 'Milk'shake

PB and Strawberry Banana 'Milk'shake
Makes about 30oz. or 4.5 cups

Ingredients
- 1.5 cups frozen strawberries
- 1 ripe frozen banana
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (or almond butter or 1/4 c. raw pecans)
- 1-2 Tb. pure maple syrup (or honey or agave)
- 1.5 cups or 12 oz. almond milk (or soy milk)


Directions
1. Blend all ingredients in high powered blender (Vitamix's are the best!!!)





Tips
1. You don't really need to measure everything in the recipe unless you want to. As Rachael Ray says, "I just eyeball it."

2. I usually make a milkshake similar to this for John (obviously not this much) instead of giving him whole milk. Almond milk has 50% more calcium than dairy milk (is also fortified with Vit. D) and your body can digest it better. You pump up the calories and protein with the nut butter, and I occasionally use soy milk to pump up the calories and protein even more!

3. I am careful about not using a ton of soy milk all the time. It's good to trade off. Soy contains phytoestrogens that can sometimes mix up male hormones if consumed in very large quantities (and I mean a large daily amount), but we want to play it safe and reap the benefits but not any side effects.

Fruity Salad Smoothie

Fruity Salad Smoothie
Makes 50-60 oz. or 6-7 cups

Ingredients
- 1 cup pineapple 
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 1 cup strawberries
- 1/2 a ripe banana
- a whole (peeled orange)
- 2 large carrots (quartered)
- 2 stalks celery (quartered)
- 1 apple (quartered with seeds removed)
- 1-2 cups of spinach, chard or kale
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 Tb ground flaxseed (or chia seeds)
- water (or you can use part apple cider/apple juice and part water)

Directions
1. Blend all ingredients in high powered blender (Vitamix's are the best!!!), using enough liquid to help your blender along and reach your desired consistency. I usually add a cup at first and add a half a cup as needed.

Tips
1. You can use fresh or frozen fruit, whatever you have available
2. And if you have fresh fruit, I strongly urge you to wash it first! You can scrub it with water, or you can also use Fit Wash, which we love!
3. And seriously, don't hesitate to substitute! If you don't have and orange, but you have some peaches or half a lemon, go for it. Smoothie recipes usually don't need to be exact.

Note, the color of the finished smoothie would be a bit darker, but I ran out of spinach today :(

Pineapple Stir-fry Salad

 

Pineapple Stir-fry Salad

Serves 4-6

Stir-fry Ingredients
- 2 Tb. veggie stock or water
- 1 large onion, rough diced
- 2 bell peppers, rough diced
- 4 cups broccoli (fresh or frozen), rough diced
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 1 cup pineapple (fresh or frozen, or canned....but only if you have to)

Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Tb. garlic, minced
- 2-3 Tb. agave or honey
- 1 Tb. lemon or lime juice
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2-3 cup pineapple juice (fresh or frozen, or canned....but only if you have to) (or if you don't have juice, just increase pineapple chunks in stir-fry ingredients to 2 cups)
- 1/8-1/4 cup water (as needed to leave enough juice for the sauce)

Cous Cous
- 1.5 cups cous cous dry
- 1.5 cups water or veggie stock
- 1/2 Tb. olive oil (opt.)

Salad
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 2 (packed) cups spinach, torn or chopped

Garnish
- 1-2 avocados
- 1/2-2/3 cup cashews or pecans, rough chopped

Directions:
1. In a large pan or wok, (with veggie stock or little water) over medium high heat, saute all veggies and pineapple chunks  until onions are translucent and other veggies are tender. Add all the Sauce Ingredients as soon as you get all the Stri-fry Ingredients into the pan.

2. In a medium sized saucepan, bring 1.5 cups water (and oil if using) to a boil; add cous cous; remove from heat and cover; let sit for 5 min. Then fluff with a fork.

3. To assemble salads split all the ingredients into 4-6 portions (in large bowls is best) (do 4 portions if this is your whole dinner, 6 if you have another side) Add them in this order:
1. salad
2. cous cous
3. stirfry
4. garnish

Tips:
- I invented this recipe just with items that I had in my fridge that needed to be eaten, and items that I always have in my pantry/fridge or freezer. So be creative and substitute with whatever you have! For example, you could use 
oranges for pineapple, 
almonds for the nuts, 
rice or quinoa for the cous cous, 
etc.
- Obviously, if you want to add meat or beans, go for it! The possibilities are endless, this is stir-fry we're talking about!

Carmelized Onion Gravy

Caramelized Onion Gravy

Ingredients:
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 1 Tb. minced garlic
- Optional: 1 cup diced mushrooms
- 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1/2 tsp. oregano
- 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 1/8 tsp. salt

- fresh cracked pepper
- 2 Tbsp. flour + 3 Tbsp. water
- 2 Tbsp. vegan margarine

Directions:
1. Finely dice the onion, garlic (and mushrooms if using) 
2. In a skillet over medium heat melt margarine 
3. Add veggies, herbs, salt and pepper until onions are caramelized (about 10 min.)
4. Add stock and bring to a boil, simmer for about 12 min.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together flour and water. Add to skillet and stir.
5. Return to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.

I got my idea from this Mushroom Gravy on The Garden Grazer