Vegan Zucchini Muffins

With garden season is full effect it's time to come up with creative ways of dealing with the sometimes excessive harvest that results.  One of my students from the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition dropped off about 20 pounds of vegetables last Friday so I decided to start cooking.  I made carrot soup, carrot cake, banana bread, banana muffins, chocolate cookies (no veggies in those but what's life without chocolate cookies?), and zucchini muffins - all vegan, of course.

I have also come to the realization that I am a "procrastibaker": someone who makes cupcakes instead of doing something else they should be doing.  I love it!  It's so true.  It's not unusual to find me baking up a storm at 7:00 a.m. in the morning or 11:00 p.m. at night.  I can always find something to bake and I can always find someone to eat it.  From the list above, my best friend said the zucchini muffins were the best so I'm sharing that recipe now.  Keep in mind he has not tried the carrot cake yet because I am 99% that one is going to take the cake :P

 

 

Vegan Zucchini Muffins

 

Ingredients:

1 cup spelt flour

1 cup oat flour

1/2 cup ground flax meal

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. ground ginger

1/2 cup coconut oil

3/4 cup agave nectar (or other liquid natural sweetener)

3/4 cup almond or rice milk

1 tbsp. vanilla

2 cups shredded zucchini

 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line standard 12 cup muffin tin with paper or reusable liners.  In medium bowl, whisk together flour, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.  Add oil, agave, almond milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.  Gently fold in zucchini.  Pour into muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes.  Yields a few more than a dozen.

 

 

 



Avocado Mint Cream Bars

These are amazing!  If you feed them to someone who doesn't typically like avocado they won't even know it!  These are so decadent yet so healthy.  This recipe is not my own, it's adapted from http://www.eatgood4life.com/avocado-mint-cream-bars/

CRUST
1 cup of pitted medjool dates
1 cup raw almonds
1 tbsp. raw cocoa powder
2 tbsp. nut butter (almond or cashew is best)


MIDDLE LAYER
1 avocado pitted and pealed
3 tbsp. coconut oil
3 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. peppermint extract


TOP LAYER
6 tbsp. coconut oil
6 tbsp. raw cocoa powder
4 tbsp. maple syrup

Directions:

Place the crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture starts to clump or stick together. With your fingers or a spatula press evenly into the bottom of an oiled 8x8 baking pan.

Blend the filling ingredients in a food processor until smooth and spread evenly over the crust. Place in the freezer while you prepare the topping.

In a small pot melt the topping ingredients over low heat and pour over the middle layer making sure to spread it evenly.

Freeze bars until firm. To serve let the bars thaw at room temperature for about 20 minutes then cut and serve.  Store in freezer.

Curried Sweet Potato and Chick Peas

I didn't even try one bite of this warming dish but my three beautiful friends who ate it all concurred that it was amazing.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/4 cup filtered water
2 cloves garlic minced
2 large sweet potatoes cut into bite size cubes
14-16 oz can of chick peas drained and rinsed
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 heaping teaspoons curry powder
1-2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp fresh ginger minced
2 handfuls of baby spinach rinsed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro


Instructions:

Heat oil in large skillet.  Add garlic and sauté.  Add the sweet potato cubes and water.  Simmer until potatoes become tender.  Stir in chick peas, tomato sauce, spices, and ginger.  Simmer over low heat for a few minutes.  Add spinach and stir until it's wilted.  Add cilantro last.  Season with salt to taste and serve over rice, cous cous, quinoa or all on it's own.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Stew - Vegan

Love this hearty vegetarian dish! 

Ingredients:
2 cups sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into cubes
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 bell pepper chopped
1 (15 oz.) can black beans rinsed
2 large handfuls of baby spinach
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 cup tomato sauce (see recipe below)


Tomato Sauce:
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup tomato paste
1 cup vegetable broth
salt to taste

Simmer all ingredients in a pot until all ingredients are combined.  Use leftovers as pizza sauce, pasta sauce, etc.


Stew Instructions:
Place sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water.  Bring to a boil then simmer until potatoes are soft.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes.  Add the bell pepper, spinach and beans.  Add spices and salt.  Once the spinach has wilted add cooked sweet potatoes and tomato sauce.  Add lime juice and serve.


Adapted from: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/05/04/vegan-enchiladas-with-cilantro-avocado-cream-sauce-2/

Rice Crispy Treats - Take I and Take II

Rice Crispy Squares are a classic treat.  The only problem is the traditional recipe is full of sugar and lacks any sign of nutrients.  And don't get me started on marshmallows....those white puffy things somehow classed as "food" are most often made with gelatin which, by the way all of you vegans/vegetarians, typically comes from pork skins, pork and cattle bones or split cattle hides.  Not to mention corn syrup, artificial flavour and artificial colour.

The two versions below are sugar free, marshmallow free, gluten free, vegan and taste amazing!

Rice Crispy Treats - Take I

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
3/4 cup almond butter
2 tbsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. vanilla
6 cups crispy brown rice cereal


Instructions:

Place crispy brown rice cereal in a bowl and set aside.  In a small pot stir all other ingredients over low heat until smooth and blended.  Pour the mixture into the bowl of rice cereal and mix with a silicone spatula until all the cereal is coated and starts to stick.  Press mixture into a greased 9x13 pan and refrigerate for an hour before cutting into squares.  Can be stored in our out of the fridge.

Adapted from http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.ca/2011/09/gluten-free-rice-crispy-treats.html

 

Rice Crispy Treats - Take II

Ingredients:

4 cups crispy rice cereal
2/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chocolate chips (or carob chips)
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1 cup almond butter
1 cup brown rice syrup
2 tsp. vanilla


Lightly oil 9x13 pan.  In a bowl, mix all dry ingredients.  In a small saucepan over low heat combine almond butter, brown rice syrup and vanilla.  Heat until smooth and bubbly.  Remove from heat and pour over dry cereal mixture. Mix with a silicone spatula until all of the dry ingredients are coated.  Press mixture into pan and refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting into squares.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - Vegan, Gluten Free

These muffins are a favorite among the kids in my neighbourhood as an after school snack. They are also great as a quick breakfast on the run. 

Ingredients:

Wet Ingredients
2 medium ripe bananas
235 ml almond milk (vanilla or unsweetened)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil

Dry Ingredients
2 cups quinoa flour (if you tolerate gluten, spelt flour works great too but you'll need to reduce the amount of almond milk by about 2 Tbsp)
6 Tbps coconut sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 cup chocolate chips


Instructions:

Mix all wet ingredients in blender until smooth.  Mix all dry ingredients in bowl.  Pour wet mixture into dry and mix well. Fill greased muffin tins.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes.

Green Smoothie

I didn't know what to have for supper tonight but I wanted to use up the last bit of homemade almond milk I made yesterday so I Googled "Almond Milk Smoothies" and found a recipe called Homemade Cookie Dough: Green Smoothie.  Who wouldn't want to eat healthy cookie dough for supper?  I quickly looked at the ingredients and realized I had them all handy.  I played with it a bit and here is what I came up with.  I'm sipping on it now, by the way, and it's fantastic!


1 cup homemade (or store bought) almond milk
1/2 large banana
1 cup kale with stems removed
1/3 cup oats
1/4 cup almond butter
1-2 tbsp. coconut
2 pitted dates
1/4-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Blend all together in a high powered blender until smooth.

I'm not sure what kind of cookie dough it's supposed to taste like but it's smooth and creamy and bursting with flavor.  Breakfast tomorrow?