Carrot Molasses Muffins

These muffins are staples in our house. I had a link to the recipe in a past post but I noticed recently that the blog where I found this recipe is no longer active. sad. It was a great blog with some really great vegan/GF recipes. For the Love of Leaves was the name of the blog... Luckily, I have committed her recipe for these muffins to memory, so I can resurrect it here! Huge hit of iron in these because of all the molasses, and they are loaded with carrots! so so delicious! They freeze like a dream, so make a batch and freeze half. Pull one or two out at a time and defrost at room temp or overnight in the fridge and then toast them! mmmmmmmm!!

Recipe:

(makes 12 big muffins)

2 cups spelt flour

1t baking soda

1/2t salt

1t cinnamon

2T ground flax mixed with 6T warm water

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 cup Black Strap Molasses

1/2 cup almond milk

1T vanilla

1T apple cider vinager

1.5 cup shredded carrot

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

pre-heat oven to 350*

-prepare muffin tins by either spraying or lining with paper liners.

-combine flax and water and set aside.

-mix together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nuts in a large bowl.

-whisk the flax/water mixture up until gelatinous (30 seconds or so), add coconut oil, vanilla, molasses, milk, vinegar and carrots. mix.

-add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until combined.  

-fill each muffin tin just to top of tin. 

-bake for 30 min. cool and enjoy!

Baked Summer Ratatouille

 My favorite summer dish, inspired by an old recipe Whole Living magazine. I'm still in mourning due to this magazine going out of print. It was and still is my all time favorite.

Baked Summer Ratatouille
The juices that form in this dish after it's baked are irresistible! It's great on its own, or put it over a grain like rice or farro or quinoa or even a thick slice of toasted bread! The juices will run down and soak up into the grains or bread. soooo yummy!!

Recipe:

1 large purple onion

2-3 large tomatoes

2 zucchini

2 yellow squash

1T thyme

1T nutritional yeast (optional)

1-2T olive oil

 pre-heat oven to 375*

Cut onion in half and then thinly slice into rainbow-shaped slices. Cook the onion up in a little olive oil over medium heat on the stove for 6-8 minutes until onion turns translucent and a little brown. Spray your 9x13in baking pan with non-stick spray. spread onions out on bottom of pan. Slice up your tomato, zucchini and squash into 1/4 inch slices and arrange them in the pan similar to what you see in the picture above. You want them to be alternating and overlapping...whatever looks pretty to you! Drizzle over the olive oil, sprinkle on the thyme and nutritional yeast and a little salt and pepper. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 30 min. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes. Let cool a few minutes (because it is HOT when it come out!!) and then dig in!

Chickpea tortillas with spinach

Tell me if this sounds familiar: 

You've planned this great soft taco dinner night and you've prepared all these great bowls filled with tomatoes, lettuce, corn, beans....all these ingredients for each member of your family to create their own beautiful taco. After everyone has prepared their tacos and sat down, you look around and realize that your kids have plain tortillas (probably filled with just cheese if your a non-vegan family) and skipped all the other nutritious ingredients.

The tortilla itself seems like a big opportunity to jam some nutrition! That's where this recipe comes in.

Think of a cross between a pancake and a tortilla. That's what we have here. A savory pancake-like tortilla with loads of protein, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium...!! It's a winner!!

So easy to make. Just 3 ingredients:

Chickpea (Garbanzo Bean Flour), garlic powder, spinach (chopped up).

Recipe: 

(makes 4 tortillas)

1 cup Chickpea flour

1 cup water plus 3T water

1/4 t garlic powder

big handful spinach chopped up

a little salt and pepper

mix all ingredients together.

Heat up a skillet to med-high on the stove and add a bit of coconut oil to coat the pan (or spray with cooking spray). Pour in enough batter to make a small tortilla sized pancakes. when it starts to bubble a little (like a pancake) flip it and cook a bit longer on the other side. Repeat until enough tortillas are made. Let the tortillas cool on a rack as they are done. 

The tortillas alone taste great! 

Try with beans, corn, coleslaw OR roasted sweet potato with sauteed onions and green pepper! Anything that sounds good to you!

Cooking in Season - Baked Fennel & Onion

Fennel is definitely something that is passed over at farmers markets. My sister calls it the "funky onion" because it has an onion-like bulb with long stalks covered in greens that look a lot like Dill, and it smells like licorice! Fennel is actually a member of the celery family and is a great source of Vitamin C. It is also a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium, calcium, iron and folate. 

But how do you fit something that smells like licorice into a meal for your family??! 
I know, right?! But stick with me here, I've got a great recipe for you to try and it only takes about 25 min to pull together!

Baked Fennel & Onion

(adapted from an old Better Homes and Gardens recipe)

4-5 Fennel bulbs

1 medium yellow onion

2 large cloves garlic

1/2 cup unsweetened Almond milk

1/8 cup vegan Parmesan (store bought or make recipe here)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 T vegan butter

pinch nutmeg

bit of salt

pinch of pepper

pre-heat oven to 425*

 get a big pot boiling on the stove and add a pinch of salt. 

spray a shallow baking dish with non-stick spray.

slice up onion and fennel into big-ish slices. boil them for about 5-6 min. 

drain onion and fennel and spread out on bottom of baking dish.

grate the garlic cloves over top, sprinkle pinch of salt and pepper and nutmeg. 

pour almond milk all around on top.

sprinkle vegan parmisan all over on top. 

dot the 1T vegan butter around on top.

bake for 15-20 minutes (until milk is bubbling and edges a slightly browned)

sprinkle chopped walnuts over  top and serve!

**This dish is great over a grain or a pasta. My favorite with it is Farro! **

Helpful tip-How to chop up Fennel:

cut off the stalks on top of the bulb. slice bulb in half and then cut out the core (the core is the small hard area in the bottom-center of the bulb). Then slice up similar to how you would slice up an onion into long strips.

Sauces and Dips

These three sauces are staples in our house. They have made some cameos in previous posts on this blog, but I thought it might be helpful to have them all in one place. They are in an endless rotation cycle in our fridge because I absolutely must have at least one waiting for me at a moments notice at all times. They really don't take too much time to make...it's just a matter of measuring out the ingredients and whisking them up in a bowl (or blending in the vitamix)...but when hunger strikes...sometimes I don't want to measure and whisk, I want to EAT! 

They are so versatile. All three go wonderfully with any kind of roasted, steamed, raw veggie and/or greens. They are all spectacular in a grain-bowl and veggie dish. They all go wonderfully with noodles....AND they are all awesome DIPS for veggies, nuggets, fries....you name it! 

Pick any one of these three and try them out for yourself and your kiddos! I'll give you a little taste description below to help you choose (although it would be totally fine to make all three at one time too!!!) :

The Peanut Sauce leans more toward an Asian feel because it has coconut aminos and ginger. It's sweet and peanuty.

The Red Pepper "Cheese" Sauce is smooth and mild and tastes similar to creamy nacho cheese. The creaminess comes from soaked cashews and the flavor from the rest of the (totally good for you) ingredients.

The Sweet Miso Sauce is not mine. It's Angela's from Oh She Glows and it's completely delicious. It's sweetened with orange juice and maple syrup. If you have never tried a miso sauce on a salad or veggies or quinoa or...whatever....try this one now! It's so sweet and quite irresistible.

WHY DO YOU NEED SAUCES? 

DON'T THEY JUST ADD UNNECESSARY FAT AND SALT??!

Probably the sauces that we are all used to do. Dressings and dips that you buy pre-made at the store have all kinds of nasty stuff in them. Making your own sauces and dips at home allows you to know what you're putting in them...and you'll be able to pronounce all the ingredients, won't have to add preservatives, extra salt....etc. And they taste way better.

WHAT THESE THREE SAUCES HAVE GOING FOR THEM:

(Nutrition Info)

Peanuts and Cashews are good sources of protein, have those good unsaturated fats as well as vitamin E, Folate, Calcium and Magnesium.

Miso is fermented soy beans and therefore contains protein and fiber. The fermentation process breaks down hard to digest oils, proteins and carbohydrates found in soybeans, so we can more easily digest the nutrients. It also provides vitamin B2, vitamin E, vitamin K, calcium, iron, and potassium.

Garlic, Onion and Ginger are healing super foods that provide anti inflammatory benefits as well as aid in digestive health.

Red Peppers are high in vitamin C and contain vitamin B6, vitamin A and magnesium.

Tahini has iron and calcium

Nutritional Yeast has the all important vitamin B12

Chia seeds act as the thickener in the cheese sauce but are rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, fiber and antioxidants.

RECIPES:

Peanut Sauce:

4 T peanut butter

3T coconut aminos

1t minced fresh ginger

1 minced garlic clove

1t sesame oil

1/4 cup water

mix it all together with a wisk!

Red Pepper "Cheese" Sauce:

(adapted from PPK recipe for red pepper cheese)

1 medium onion

1 large clove garlic

1 roasted red pepper

3/4 cup cashews (soaked at least 4 hours in water)

2T nutritional yeast

1T tomato paste

1T tumeric

2 cups vegetable broth

1T mustard

1/2 t salt

4T chia seeds

Chop up onion and garlic and saute in a bit of olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add to blender. Drain cashews and add to blender along with all other ingredients. blend until smooth.

Sweet Miso Sauce:

This recipe is Angela's Orange-Maple Miso Dressing found here. 

The Perfect Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Summer is coming and that means LOTS of reasons to celebrate! Pool parties, Birthday parties, Picnics at the park... and I don't know about you, but when I celebrate I like to do it with CUPCAKES!! :)  My all time favorite cake is carrot cake, but most of the recipes that taste the best have tons of refined sugar in them...until now! I have perfected the carrot cake cupcake! Complete with vegan cream cheese frosting (thanks to ourfourfork's amazing vegan cream cheese frosting recipe...I'm obsessed!).

Recipe:
(makes 12 large cupcakes)

2.25 cups flour (i used a mix of unbleached organic white and whole wheat)

2 teaspoons baking powder

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup applesauce

1 cup almond milk

 2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup dates

 3/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup canola oil

 2 cups grated carrots

remove pit from dates and soak in warm water for 1 hour. preheat oven to 350* and line cupcake tins with paper (or grease). In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In food processor, add the applesauce, soaked dates and maple syrup and process until dates are broken down and it's a syrup consistency. Empty syrup into separate bowl and mix in almond milk, vanilla and oil. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix. fold in carrots and stir until just combined. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Click HERE for Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting. Seriously, even if you don't make the cupcakes, whip up some of this frosting just to have on hand for those moments when you need a spoonful of frosting! It's made with cashews, coconut water (or milk) and maple syrup!

Light and Crispy Oatmeal Waffles

 

Light and crispy waffles that will nourish your body without weighing you down. These waffles come together in no time at all and with ingredients you always have on hand.

Recipe:

1.25 cup oats

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

pinch cinnamon

1 mashed banana

1 cup almond milk

1 flax egg

Turn on waffle iron to medium-low so it can heat up. Place about 1.25 cups oats in food processor and buzz them into coarse powder. This should yield about 1 cup buzzed oats. Mix together ground oats, cinnamon and baking powder. Add mashed banana, flax egg and milk and stir to combine. Start making waffles! Make sure to spray the waffle iron before pouring batter so they don't stick. Also make sure the iron is on medium-high setting so they crisp up. Enjoy! We usually eat waffles with black strap molasses for an extra boost of iron, but these are sweet and delicious on their own or an absolute dream with maple syrup!

Nutrition:

Oats are a wonderful way to start the day. They nourish your central nervous system and provide your body with more essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytonutrients than most other processed grains. Eating oatmeal also supplies you with energy, protein and healthy fat