Maple Pumpkin/Squash Muffins

I made these muffins today: Maple Sweetened Pumpkin Muffins with Oats by Cookie and Kate. They were excellent! I used flax eggs (1 Tb. ground flax and 3 Tb. water - stir and let sit for 5 min), and I used butternut squash for the pumpkin, and I ran out of whole wheat flour half way through, so I subbed quinoa flour for the rest! And....I used apple sauce instead of coconut oil.... when I have more time, I will write it out as my own recipe. But this one's a great base for now!

Picture from HERE

Going Dairy-Free - Making the Transition

My friend asked me if I could tell her more about what made the transition to Dairy-free eating easier for me. I thought - that needs to be a blog post. Dairy free is really awesome, and I feel so much better than I used to, and now I know how to eat without dairy which is quite a feat! It's been over a year, and I love it! Here are some of my favorite substitutes:

Milk: 

Almond Milk is my favorite for anything that is not savory. We like regular Almond Milk the bast for cereal, they also have unsweetened and vanilla. (actually they make lots of flavors, but those are the ones we stick to. Almond milk also has 50% MORE CALCIUM than dairy milk! Cool :)

Soy Milk is excellent for savory things. We always get plain because we are not big fans of vanilla soy milk. So we get plain and use it to make sauces (cashew cream), and to cook any savory dishes with. I actually mix half soy milk and half almond milk into my breakfast muesli because Soy milk is full of PROTEIN (and Almond milk doesn't have much protein.

Butter:

Avocado: Avocado is nature's butter. It is full of healthy fats. I love to make avocado toast with a spritz of lime or lemon juice and some salt and pepper for a savory snack. You can slather it on bread to eat with your dinner, and you won't miss the butter or the cholesterol!

Coconut Oil: I really like using coconut oil for baking (if I want to use oil instead of applesauce),

Olive Oil: This is a given substitute, but you would be surprised at far a little bit of olive oil can go!

Margarine: We very rarely use margarine. But if ever we do, we like to get Earth Balance. (I still want to do more research about margarine)

Cheese:

Avocado: I love to put avocado on my sandwiches, salads, soups, really anything that I used to put cheese on. It has truly been a saving grace and has eased my transition to dairy-free. People think avocados are expensive, but if you consider how much cheese costs, and how much healthier avocados are, it's not so bad. Costco sells very good ones in bags that are usually 6 for 5.

Hummus: I also put hummus on sandwiches, use it (with some soy milk to thin it out) as salad dressing with some herbs, put it in soups to make them creamier, dip veggies in it. The sky is the limit! I also use it to make delicious pizza. Slather the pizza crust in hummus, and then cover the hummus with pizza sauce, then add your toppings. There is no greasiness about it, but you still get to enjoy the deliciousness of pizza! (especially it you add avocado after you bake it). You can get hummus from the store (Costco sells a big tub for $5), or you can make your own. Here's my homemade recipe.

 

Nuts: Nuts have kept my diet full of enough healthy fats, and much more good nutrition than I used to have when I ate dairy. Cashews are a go-to in our house. We make cashew cream all the time. They make an excellent cream sauce:

-Soak 1/2 cup cashews in water overnight, drain and rinse

- add 1/2 cup of plain non-dairy milk, blend on high until very smooth

You can make your own sour cream with cashews (add a bit of lemon juice, salt and apple cidar vinegar), and also sweet creams for desserts (add some lemon juice and maple syrup), etc.

Nutritional Yeast: This is has nutty cheesy flavor, and I put it in everything I can. Here is a good explanation of Nutritional Yeast, what it is, why you should use it, and how to use it.

There are many more things I would like to say about eating dairy free, but those will have to come later.

But here are a few of my very favorite cookbooks and blogs that have helped me out a lot!

The Colorful Kitchen

Oh She Glows - she also has an amazing cookbook!!

Peas and Thank You - This cookbook helped me a lot to make the transition, although it has more processed vegan food than I would like, so I often alter the recipes:

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Oh She Glows by Angela Liddon. Seriously, you want this cookbook. You really do! It is my favorite I think. Especially because of the pictures, and also because she does it the way I like, with real, fresh ingredients, not much processed vegan food products (if any), and she doesn't compromise taste for health. (It needs to taste good enough for my husband and son to enjoy it! That's important!

Let me tell you, this one hit it out of the park. Oil-free Chocolate Zucchini Muffins It makes me miss my big garden in Cleveland, and the crazy over producing zucchini plants that made so much zucchini I had to give it away (that was before I knew about Oh She Glows.... :)

Roasted Winter Salad Bowl - Oh She Glows

We made Roasted Winter Salad Bowl from OhSheGlows.com, and it was amazing!!! You'll really want to try it!! It's so good!

John scarfed it down! 

I made some revisions: I doubled the potatoes (I had a lot I needed to use, and my boys love them!), I didn't give John any pepita seeds because they are too tough for him, I didn't have kale, so I used spinach, and I double that too.

I am so not into cold salads right now, and this hit the spot for all of us! Seth said this should be on the menu for the Northstar Cafe in Columbus, and I agree!

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.

Why Juice?

Sometimes people ask me, "Why do you juice?" What's the point? Aren't you just losing all the fiber? Wouldn't it be better to put in a smoothie?"

Here are some of my answers: On most days, my husband, 2 year old son and I drink a juice that consists of Kale, Chard, Bok Choy, Celery, Carrots, Lemon, Ginger, Cilantro, Apple and Pear. (That is just one example of a juice we drank this week). 

It is so delicious that my son immediately chugs 10-12 ounces of it. There is no way I could get him to eat a whole leaf of raw kale a day. His little mouth couldn't chew it, and if you put all this in a smoothie it would be so thick and filling that you wouldn't be able to drink it all down with out a fight and possibly some major bloating....

People ask me why not just put it in a salad or a smoothie; the answer is that I just wouldn't. I wouldn't consume that many vegetables or even that much fruit in one day, let alone a sitting. 

The benefits are that I am arming myself and my family with all of the nutrients from these veggies and fruits in a way that our bodies can absorb them right away, and they can heal us and keep us healthy and strong. Our diet is so full of fiber that we are doing just fine on that account. We do drink smoothies often (and they usually have veggies too), but we can't drink as much in a smoothie. And it's winter time, and I'm too cold to want many frozen drinks!! Brrrr. Juice is just what I need.

Learn more about juicing here: http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/

Stay tuned! I am working on a post all about Wheatgrass Juice! How to grow it, and juice it :)

Raw Pad Thai Salad from thecolorfulkitchen.com

I am so excited to try this Raw Pad Thai Salad from thecolorfulkitchen.com!

Raw Pad Thai Salad  - Update: We tried it, and it's awesome! Seriously amazing. I might eat it every week in the summer time, but even in the winter, it's great!

Seth got me a veggie spiralizer for Christmas, and this salad is going to bring it out quite often!

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.

Honey Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins from ambitiouskitchen.com

Today I made these Honey Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins from ambitiouskitchen.com!

I substituted the egg with a flaxseed egg - 1TB ground flaxseed and 3 TB water - mix and let sit for a few minutes.

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.

Pasta Fresca a la Wagner

I should write the recipe for this down sometime, but it is just so easy to throw together with whatever veggies I have in my fridge. Tomorrow is grocery store day, so we were trying to figure out what we could eat, and we had a zucchini, a bell pepper, and onion, some green onions, some cilantro, garlic, and some whole wheat pasta. So we just sautéed veggies, added some soy sauce and other spices, mixed it all together with a cup of pasta water and a quarter cup of nutritional yeast. Garnish with avocado, and you've got dinner in 20 minutes!

BLACK BEAN, AVOCADO & MANGO SALSA

Our friends, Sam and Emily Barker made this amazing meal for us. You have got to try it! It is going to become a staple dinner for us :) at least during mango season. 

BLACK BEAN, AVOCADO & MANGO SALSA from http://www.thedivineaddiction.com/

INGREDIENTS

For the Salsa:

2 (16 oz.) can black beans; rinsed and drained

2 avocados; diced

2 small (or 1 large) mango; diced

½ cup red onion; small dice

Juice of 2 fresh limes

Sea salt & pepper; to taste

¼ tsp ground cumin

Fresh cilantro; chopped finely; to taste

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)

Superbowl Recipes

Well, I know it's not the superbowl now, but these are some awesome recipes!

I'm going to make this one tomorrow :) Enjoy! Forks Over Knives Super Bowl Recipes

Update - We made it, and it's amazing! You should try it, especially during tomato season!

TheColorfulKitchen.com

My friend Beth is seriously the best at finding excellent new recipes online! This week she shared 2 AMAZING recipes with us from thecolorfulkitchen.com
Delicious doesn't even cut it to describe this pasta, and have you ever thought of making cookies and brownies out of beans? Well, you should try it. It's amazing!

Easy Cheesy Pasta - Seriously, this is going to become a weekly staple in our house!

Black Bean and Oatmeal Brownies - Add a handful of chocolate chips, and a bit extra agave, and these are excellent!



 

Chickpea Chocolate Chunk Cookies - I could eat these everyday! And I could feed to my husband and son everyday without worrying about their health!



A blog that is vegan and gluten free is a dream come true, and this site is definitely that! Check it out!!!

 

thecolorfulkitchen.com

Thai Chickpea Quinoa

Our neighbor, Beth Winder, made us DELICIOUS quinoa one night for dinner swap, and I just had to have the recipe! THIS is it. I have adapted it to our own preferences. It is an excellent way to eat quinoa. 

And HERE is why it is so healthy and wonderful to eat Quinoa.

Thai Chickpea Quinoa 

YIELD: SERVES 4

 

TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 can chickpeas
3/4 cup shredded (or finely chopped) carrots
3/4 cup shelled edamame
2/3 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (or cashews)
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro

sauce
3 TB. agave
1 TB. apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)
2 TB. canned coconut milk (I froze the rest in ice cube trays)
1 TB. honey (or brown sugar)
2 tsp. creamy peanut butter (it mixes in easier if it's melted, FYI)
2 tsp. garlic
1/4 cup lime juice (or lemon)

1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Directions

Prepare quinoa according to directions, which will most likely call for 2 cups of liquid. I prefer to use low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock, so if you have that, use it!

While quinoa is cooking, combine all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well to combine. 

Once quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid, stir in the sauce and toss well to coat. 

Add in chickpeas, carrots, edamame and green onions, stirring to combine. 

Taste and season with a little salt and pepper if needed. 

Toss in half of the peanuts and cilantro, then serve in a large bowl, topped with remaining peanuts and cilantro. 

I like to serve this with a salad, soup or even a little sandwich!

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.