Tag: zero fat

Super Moist Vegan Blueberry Muffins

Super Moist Vegan Blueberry Muffins

Getting an invite to Cheryl and Ulle’s farm to pick blueberries is something I look forward to every year. I mean no where else could you pick blueberries among a friendly herd of Sheltie pups, a family of happy quacking ducks, honking geese and clucking chickens in the setting of a gorgeous farm on a hot summer evening. Cheryl and Ulle’s blueberries aren’t just any blueberries. These are the sweetest, juiciest and most flavorful blueberries EVER!! Every year I come home with a big huge bag of berries and dream of all the ways I am going to eat them.

Well today I started thinking about blueberry muffins. A few years back I made a batch of vegan muffins but wasn’t happy with the way they turned out. Yesterday I tried a new recipe in Fork Over Knives and all I can say is OMG!

These muffins are INSANELY DELICIOUS.

The recipe made 12 muffins. Today there are only 5 left. The good news is they are extremely healthy so, in the words of Dr. Michael Greger, “the more you eat the healthier you are!”

It is recommended that we get one daily serving of berries and three servings of other fruit a day. Berries are singled out for their potent anticancer properties. Berries are second only to herbs and spices as the most antioxidant packed food. Among all the berries, blueberries are the star performer.

Blueberry harvest 2023
Picked right off Cheryl and Ulle’s blueberry trees!

Ingredients:

  • 12 dates pitted
  • 1 cup unflavored, unsweetened plant based milk
  • 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 3/4 cups millet
  • 2 tsps. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest
  • 1 cup fresh blueberries
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
Dates, plant based milk, rolled oats, millet, baking powder, cardamom (as shown still in the pod but you can buy powdered in the seasoning aisle of most stores), applesauce, lemon zest, walnuts, blueberries

Directions:

  1. In a bowl cover the dates with the plant based milk and set aside (so the dates soften).
  2. Grind the oats and millet in a high speed blender and place into mixing bowl. Add the baking powder and cardamom and stir with a fork.
  3. Place the dates and plant based milk in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the date mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients along with the applesauce and lemon zest. Mix with a spoon until all the ingredients have been disappeared.
  4. Fold in the blueberries and chopped walnuts. Spoon the batter into a silicone muffin pan or parchment muffin papers filling each cup 3/4 full. Since the batter does not contain oil the muffins may stick to regular cupcake papers.

Note: The use of cardimom and lemon zest add a really special flavor to these muffins so neither should be omitted. Also, the dates give just the right amount of sweetness and have a low glycemic index (between 44 – 53) compared to table sugar which has a high glycemic index (100). Foods with high glycemic index raise blood sugar quickly. Foods with low glycemic index release glucose slowly and steadily.

These muffins are insanely delicious!

Cocoa, Date, Banana Confection

Cocoa, Date, Banana Confection

I had a few recent comments stating that my blog is a bit too heavy on soups and lacking in dessert ideas. Yes, I admit, I love my soups and don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I am going to try to focus a little more on whole food, plant based, no sugar, oil or salt desserts to satify everyone’s sweet cravings.

This quick and easy little dessert concoction is super delicious while also being very nutritious. Warning: it is very rich and filling.

The star ingredient is date syrup which is essentially just liquified dates. Date syrup is super sweet and with the heart healthy benefits of the actual fruit. It is hard to believe something this sweet has zero added sugars, cholesterol or triglycerides. Date syrup can be tricky to find. I have been having good success at Meijer’s but have also ordered it online.

100% cocoa powder is a great way to satisfy your chocolate fix without the extra baggage of added sugar and fat. In fact, cocoa powder contains phytonutrients which have powerful antioxidant properties shown to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke and certain other neurological conditions.

Simply slice a chilled banana, sprinkle a little cocoa powder over and then drizzle with date syrup. Served on a fancy plate, I can easily see this on the dessert menu at a five star restaurant or your next dinner party.

Chilled banana, 100% cocoa and date syrup
To make it even more special you can add a few walnuts

Blueberry Smoothie Bowl

I made this refreshing smoothie bowl over the weekend for a little change from my usual oatmeal and banana breakfast. Smoothies don’t have to be eaten with a straw. Try this thick smoothie and eat it with a spoon! It was delicious and nice to have a little diversity.

Ingredients

  • 1 large banana
  • 1 cup fresh slightly frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk
  • Toppings: Walnuts, kiwi, fresh coconut slices, blueberries, bananas

Directions

Whip together the banana, blueberries and plant milk. The mixture will turn thick and creamy. Pour into your favorite bowl. Top with the walnuts, kiwi, coconut, blueberries and banana slices (or fruit, nuts or seeds of your choice). Enjoy!

Carrot Ginger Immune Cocktail

Carrot Ginger Immune Cocktail

It was a challenging week. Although I have been eating healthy and exercising I still feet drained. So today I whipped up a batch of carrot ginger juice using my Nutribullet juicer. I juiced eight unpeeled and thoroughly washed carrots, two thumb sized pieces of peeled ginger root, one lemon with peel removed and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. I juiced the carrots first and set the pulp aside for carrot burgers which I’ll make later today. Then I threw in the ginger and lemon. I added the black pepper to the juiced liquid. The finished product was refreshing and really delicious. Saturday is off to a good start and, hopefully, with a bit of rest and relaxation I’ll be all set for the upcoming week.

Carrot skin contains concentrated vitamin C and niacin. The carrot core contains calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and beta-carotine which the body converts to vitamin A. Although carrots are low in protein, they do contain all 9 essential amino acids. Ginger is loaded with antioxidants which prevent stress and damage to DNA. Ginger, like tumeric, also contains curcumin which is a powerful anti-inflammatory. The black pepper intensifies the effect of the cucumin. The lemon gives the concoction of nice zingy flavor.
Cocktail on the go!

Roasted Cauliflower Bisque

With so much emphasis on rainbow eating, white colored vegetables are often overlooked. Cauliflower, for example, a cruciferous vegetable in the Brassicaceae family is jam packed with health protective compounds. One of the most impressive benefits of eating cauliflower is it’s ant-cancer powers. The act of eating cauliflower releases compounds called isothiocyanates (ITCs) which inhibit cancer cell growth. These compounds also protect DNA from damage. This is fiercly huge because damage to genetic material transforms healthy cells to cancer.

There are several compelling studies that show a correlation between good nutrition and cancer risk. Consumption of cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage is associated with a decreased risk of cancer. More specifically, daily consumption of vegetables in the Brassicaceae family lowers the risk of breast, bladder, colorectal and prostate cancers. So how about that? A green approach towards cancer prevention!

Roasted Cauliflower Bisque

Ingredients

  • 1 head cauliflower
  • 1 carrot pealed
  • 3 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 1/2 cups plant based, unsweetened milk
  • 1 can white beans
  • 1/3 cups raw unsalted cashews (soaked in hot water and covered for 30 minutes)
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 – 4 scallions (slice the whites in small pieces and keep the greens for garnish)
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. paprika
  • 1/2 tsp. curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano

Directions

  1. Cut the cauliflower and carrot into pieces. Place on a roasting pan lined with silicone or parchment paper. Spray some water over the veggies. Roast uncovered in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Vegetables should be soft and browned.
  2. Place roasted vegetables and broth in a high speed blender and puree. Transfer to a soup pot.
  3. Add the scallion whites, garlic and spices and place on simmer.
  4. Place the soaked cashews, white beans and plant based milk in a high speed blender and whip for a few minutes until nice and creamy. Add this mixture to the pot.
  5. Simmer for 20 minutes while stirring occasionally.
  6. Serve warm with green scallions to garnish.
Roasted cauliflower and carrots
Soaking the cashews in hot water is necessary to make the mixture nice and creamy
This honestly is on the list of my top 10 favorite soups.

Loaded Baked Potato with Cashew Garlic Cream Sauce

Turn a baked potato into an award winning side by adding cashew garlic cream sauce, a sprinkling of nutritional yeast and fresh chives. The cashew garlic cream sauce is a great substitute for sour cream without all the saturated fat. Nutritonal yeast is a deactivated yeast powder that has a cheesy and savory flavor. It is a great substitute for cheese. I like to add cut up chives for a nice oniony flavor. Some other additions could be black beans, broccoli florets, sliced jalapenos, salsa or corn kernels. For a fun dinner party idea set the toppings in individuals bowls and create a serving station.

What is nutritional yeast? Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is grown on sugarcane or molasses. It gets heated and dried then crumbled into flakes or powder. It is low in calories and sodium and – best of all – nutritious. Nutritional yeast is an excellent source of B vitamins (B1 thiamine, B2 riboflavin, B3 niacin, B5 pantothenic acid, B6 pyridoxine and B7 biotin). The only B vitamins it does not have are B12 cyanocobalamin and B9 folic acid (unless it has been fortified). You cannot get yeast infections from eating nutritional yeast.

Where can you get nutritional yeast? I started off buying mine online because the local grocery stores did not sell it. I have since found that Trader Joes sells it near the baking products and Lucky’s Market sells it in their bulk section.

How do you store nutritional yeast? To preserve the B vitamins in nutritional yeast it ideally should be stored in a container with dark glass, tightly sealed to keep moisure out and in a cool dry place or refrigerator. Under these conditions it can keep for up to 2 years.

What are some ways you can use nutritional yeast? Add it to anything that you want a cheesy flavor to. Sprinkle on popcorn, bake it in crackers, stir it in mashed potatoes, cauliflower potatoes or rice, toss it on baked kale chips, add it to salads or add it to the cashew garlic cream sauce (along with some other spices) to make a fantastic vegan nacho sauce for tortilla chips or macaroni and cheese.

Nutritional Yeast

Cashew Garlic Cream

  • 2 cups raw cashews
  • 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
  • 2 large garlic toes
  • 2 tsps onion powder

Directions

  1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Pour in the cashews and cover the pot. Let cashews soak for 30 minutes (minimum) to 1 hour. Drain the water. Note: Soaking pulls the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors out of the cashews making the cream tastier and easier to digest. The longer you soak the cashews the softer they become and the smoother and creamier your cream sauce will be.
  2. Place cashews, vegetable broth, garlic and onion powder in a high speed blender and whip it up for approximately 1 minute until creamy. Note: For best results use a blender. A food processor will not create the satiny smooth texture achieved by blending. If you don’t have a blender a food processor will work but the result will be less desireable.
Allow raw cashews to soak in hot water for 30 minutes to 1 hour
Raw cashews, garlic, vegetable broth, onion powder (not pictured)