Simple Mini Blueberry Muffins

Ever find yourself craving muffins but don’t indulge cause deep down you know you really shouldn’t  Well I can’t say these are completely guilt free but you can enjoy these little guys with a little less guilt. Pop one of these bad boys in your mouth and you are will be completely satisfied.

What You’ll Need:

1/4 cup Earth Balance

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup soymilk

2 cups blueberries

What You’ll Do:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray. Mix all ingredients together until moistened. Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops are firm. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Note: If you are making regular sized muffins, bake them for about 35 minutes.

Honey Oatmeal Bread

If you are a bread lover you are going to just love this recipe.  Even though it makes two loafs it never lasts long in our home. 

What You’ll Need:

2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons salt
1 (½ tsp) package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
4 + cups bread flour
2 tablespoons honey, warmed slightly
2 tablespoons rolled oats

In a large mixing bowl, combine boiling water, oats, 1/2 cup honey, butter and salt. Let stand for 1 hour.

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Pour the yeast mixture into the oat mixture. Add 2 cups of flour and mix well. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 20 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down to deflate it and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and form into loaves. Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Bake at for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove loaves from pans, brush tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons honey and sprinkle with oats.

Enjoy!!

Vegan Waffles

(Courtesey of TripWow TripAdvisor)

Why are you still buying frozen waffles when you can make them yourself? It really is quick and easy. Short on time? Then make ‘em a weekend tradition. You can look forward to fresh homemade waffles weekly and then freeze the extras to pull out when you are in a rush. Just eight ingredients and a few stirs of the whisk and you’re ready to go!

What You'll Need:
3 teaspoon of Energizer Egg Replacers mixed with 4 tablespoons water, this is equal to 2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups soy milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

What You'll Do:
Preheat waffle iron. Beat egg replacers in large bowl with a whisk until well mixed. Mix in flour, soy milk, oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth.

Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot.

You can purchase a waffle iron just about anywhere, Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Macy's, their everywhere. Prices range from about $20 - $150. Mine was an engagement gift purchased from William-Sonoma over 14 years ago and still works great. Thank you Gulie!

Granola

We're excited to share this week's recipe with you, which is a guest post from my friend Sarah-Kate.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 

-Jessie

Baking granola makes me think of my mom. She made this recipe often when we were kids, one of her many gifts of homemade, wholesome food while I was growing up. When I moved out on my own I asked her for the recipe, and have adapted it a bit over the years. I make it quite often and eat it almost every morning with yogurt. The great thing about granola is you can make it differently every time, depending on your mood and what you have in the cupboard: substitute whatever kinds of seeds, nuts & dried fruit you like best. It’s always healthy and delicious.



What you’ll need:

Combine in a large bowl:
7 cups thick rolled oats
1 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
½ cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds
½ cup unhulled sesame seeds
½ cup wheat germ
½ cup flaxseed meal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 – 1½ cups diced dried fruit (my favorites are apples, apricots, dates, and cranberries (which you can leave whole) – if you use raisins, add them after the granola is baked)
½ teaspoon salt
2 generous teaspoons cinnamon

Combine in a roasting pan:
¼ - 1/3 cup safflower oil (or any other vegetable oil will work)
½ cup water
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put roasting pan with wet ingredients into the oven at 350 degrees for about 3-4 minutes. Take it out and pour in the mixed dry ingredients. Stir well until the dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring from the bottom every 7 minutes or so. Cool, then enjoy!

Vegan Banana Bread

I haven’t had banana bread in years. It’s just not one of those things I ever think about making. But, I had a few over ripe bananas and my freezer was already well stocked with frozen bananas…. so I figured -why not?

All of my old recipes called for milk and eggs, so I made a few modifications and came up with a new version that is just as tasty. This version still had to go through the same old trusted and true taste test procedures though, my kids! I called my ‘taste testers’ to the kitchen to report for duty. Two thumbs up!

What you’ll need:

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed bananas (2-3 bananas)
1/2 cup vegetable Oil
Ener-G, 5 tablespoon water + 3 1/2 teaspoon powder)
1/3 – 1/2 cup vegan-buttermilk - combine 1/2 cup soymilk with 2 tsp of apple cider vinegar.
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)

What you’ll do:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Mix bananas, oil, and buttermilk in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the banana mixture with the large bowl containing dry ingredients, and stir well. Add the Ener-G Egg Replacer, and stir well again. If using walnuts add them now.
Pour into a greased 9x5 inch bread pan.
Bake in 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a knife in the middle comes out clean.

Variation: Add chocolate chips for a banana chocolate chip treat.

Vegan Pancakes

If you have kids, you make pancakes. It’s so easy- just add water. Right? Yep. But- have you ever read the label on your Bisquick? We have. It's not pretty, trust us.

Yeah, we've used some more natural brands of pancake mix, but the truth is- unless you are a scientist and know what some of those things are that you can’t pronounce, you are better off staying clear.

Also, the ingredients list includes both milk and eggs- which are at the top of the allergy list. Even if you haven't been diagnosed formally, lots of people are allergic at some level.

So.... stop eating pancakes, right? Wrong.

Relax, we have a simple, yet satisfying recipe with some tasty variations for you and your family to enjoy.

What you’ll need:

1 cup of whole wheat flour
2 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 Tbs baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup (plus a little extra) of soy milk
Butter substitute for frying

Heat up your griddle or frying pan and coat with butter substitute. Mix ingredients together. Pour or scoop batter onto the griddle using approximately ¼ cup for each pancake. When bubbling in the center flip and cook till golden on each side. Serve warm with maple syrup. That’s it, really!

Favorite Variations
Blueberries... lots of them
Bananas and pecans or walnuts
Chocolate chips – only on very special occasions of course
Apples and cinnamon
Shredded carrots and zucchini – great for getting those extra veggies in the morning
Once you have your batter made just add any of these combinations to your batter. Or better yet, create your own variation using your favorite fruit, nuts or really - whatever.

StRAWberry Oatmeal!

I know, I know, for those of you who are new to raw foods recipes, this seems a bit ... strange. I totally understand. But, I've been asked time and time again to provide friends with sample menu's of my daily meals, so I couldn't not post it. It's an easy and deliciously satisfying breakfast. Plus, it's also incredibly nutrient dense!

Somewhere, sometime I promise to post info on the benefits of a living foods diet, but for now...I only want to focus on taste!



Ingredients:

Raw Oat Groats - (1- 2 cups) You can purchase these from a whole foods market in their bulk section. These are what the rolled oats look like before being flattened, steamed and toasted.

Sea Salt - pinch

Your choice of sweetener - couple of tablespoons should do. Use honey, dates, or Yacon Syrup if you want to keep it truly raw. If you don't care so much, you can use Maple Syrup.

Vanilla Extract or Vanilla Bean - Tablespoon or two, or a half vanilla bean pod (only use if you have POWERFUL blender or food processor)

Fresh Strawberries - however many you choose. I used about three large strawberries.

Preparation:

Put raw Oat groats in a glass or stainless steel bowl, cover with water and soak overnight.
In the morning, rinse well and do a taste test for consistency of groats. They should be chewy by now. If you want them softer, soak some more and test occasionally. If you have a really powerful blender or food processor (like a Vitamix or Kitchen Aid) then go ahead and drain the oats and place in blender or food processor. Add remaining ingredients and blend till smooth and creamy. Or, don't - you can just place the oats in a bowl and add your sweetener, vanilla and tiny pinch sea salt. Mix well. Cut up fresh strawberries and garnish. Enjoy!

Bananas in a Blanket

My son helped create this tasty snack, which can be enjoyed anytime of the day. Who doesn't love peanut butter and bananas? This is the classic scrumpious combination with a twist.

Ingredients:

1 tortilla
1 banana
1-2 Tbs creamy peanut butter
1 -2 Tbs whole grain nugget cereal
1-2 Tbs maple syrup, honey, or agave

Spread the peanut butter on the tortilla. Sprinkle with nugget cereal. Then place the peeled banana on tortilla. Roll banana in the tortilla. Drizzle with maple syrup, honey or agave. You can even garnish with extra nuggets. YUMMY!!

Granola Love

This is one of my favorite granola recipes. It's sweet, simple and totally satisfying. Mold it into a bar and eat as is, or enjoy with some nut milk for breakfast.



Ingredients:
1/4 cup Raw Cashews
1/4 cup Raw Walnuts
1/4 cup Raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1/4 cup Raw Sunflower seeds
1/4 cup Raw Almonds
1/4 cup Raw Pecans
1/4 cup Sprouted Buckwheat
1/4 cup Sprouted Quinoa
1/4 cup Raw Coconut Flakes
2-3 Tablespoons Raw Cocoa Powder
1/4 cup Raisins
1/4 cup Sweet Dried Cherries
2-3 Tablespoons Raw Honey
Pinch Sea Salt


Putting it all together:

Chop the dried cherries (optional). Chop or crush nuts to manageable chunks. Put in bowl and mix in sea salt and Cocoa Powder Stir until well distributed Mix in Honey and stir until all is thoroughly coated. Love it!

You can store this in an airtight container/glass jar, or shape into bars and store in fridge or freezer.

* Note - the amounts listed are estimates. Adjust as you go. Many raw recipes are often so simple that they don't require specifics. However, for those of you (Jessie) that like exact measurements, I am working on documenting the amounts I use when creating new recipes. Forgive me.

Cashew Creme Fruit Parfaits

Simple, decadent and satisfying, a household favorite for any age. Great for breakfast, snack (or even dessert!)








Cashew Creme
4 1/2 Cups Raw Cashews, soaked for about an hour and rinsed
1 Lemon juiced
Pinch Sea Salt
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
1/3 Cup Raw Agave
1 1/3 Cup H20 (+/-)




Variety of seasonal fresh fruit.(Photo to the right includes Bananas, Strawberries, Atulfo Mangos,and Pineapples)

Sprouted Buckwheat:
Make sure to purchase Raw Buckwheat (the dark Buckwheat is called Kashi and is not a living food)
To sprout, soak in water for 4-6 hours, drain and rinse in colander. Leave colander on a plate and occasionally rinse lightly to keep it moist (at least a few times a day). In 24 hours small sprouts should appear. If they are not visible by 36 hours, your buckwheat is dead.. try a different source. Keep the process going until the sprout is larger than the actual buckwheat. This should take 1- 2 days. After 36 hrs, unused sprouts should be refrigerated or dehydrated.

Blend Cashew Creme ingredients in Vitamix until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust as needed. Remember that salt and lemon juice bring out sweetness. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but if you need it a bit sweeter, try adding a tiny bit more sea salt or lemon juice.

Putting it all together:
Now that you have your delicious Cashew Creme ready and your fresh seasonal fruit cut up, you can layer the Fruit and Creme (with or without Buckwheat) as you wish.

Non Raw options:
Don't feel like waiting for the sprouts? No worries, just use Kashi or granola, or omit completely. Keep a lookout for our Raw Granola Love recipe....coming soon.

*This is a live food recipe.