Carrot Cake Muffins (Gluten Free and Vegan)

CARROT CAKE MUFFINS

I made some blueberry muffins (see link below) they other day and they turned out great.  I made a few changes to make the muffins vegan (swapped out soy yogurt for cow’s milk yogurt and used flax egg in place of regular eggs).  The muffin had a nice dense, moisture texture and I instantly thought that I would like to try to make this muffin with different ingredients since I liked the muffins so much.  Today was my attempt at a Carrot Cake Muffin and the results were great!  These muffins are gluten free, oil free, and vegan.  Today I made both the blueberry version and the carrot cake version and now my freezer is well stocked with healthy and easy snacks.

Carrot cake muffins

Inspired by a recipe on www.glutenfreeonashoestring.com

https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/healthy-blueberry-muffins/

INGREDIENTS

2 1/4 cups (225 g) certified gluten free old fashioned rolled oats (or regular rolled oats if GF is not an issue)

1/2 cup (80 g) granulated coconut palm sugar (or light brown sugar)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated if you have it

1 cup (240 g) smooth applesauce, at room temperature

1/2 cup (114 g) plain yogurt (I used Silk brand soy yogurt), may use any other plain yogurt if desired

2 flax eggs (combine 2 tablespoons ground flax need/ground flax seed with 5 tablespoons water, let it rest for about 10 minutes before adding to the dry ingredients), may use 2 eggs if desired

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup coarsely grated carrot (about 2 medium carrots), I used my box grater

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup raisins

• Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease or line the wells of a standard 12-cup muffin tin, and set it aside.
• In a blender (or food processor fitted with the steel blade), place the oats and process into a fine powder. If you’re using coconut palm sugar, place that in the blender, too, and process it too. Pour the oat flour mixture into a bowl. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Stir to combine.
  
  Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the applesauce, yogurt, flax eggs, and vanilla, and mix nearly combined. Add the carrots/pecans/raisins and mix gently until these ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the batter. The batter will be thick but very soft. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared wells of the muffin tin. Shake the tin back and forth to evenly distribute the batter in the wells.
• Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake until the tops of the muffins are nicely domed and they spring back when pressed gently with a finger, 20 to 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
  
  

  

  
  

Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

It like that my husband is trying out a plant based diet with me.  He’s open to trying out lots of new recipes which is fun for me since I love to cook so much.  Some recipes have been hits and there have been some clunkers.  My husband has quite a sweet tooth so yesterday he asked for some cookies.  I did a Google search for “vegan cookies with oil” and tried out this recipe.  I have to admit that my cookies were not 100 percent plant based.  The mini-chocolate chips I used contained contained some dairy.  Dairy free chocolate chips are available; I just have not yet purchased any.  We still have some items at home that we will eventually up that are not 100 percent plant based.  My husband really likes these cookies.  I did not try them myself. I have a yucky head cold and I really can’t taste much.  In this recipe, you can use coconut oil, extra virgin olive, or a neutral oil such as avocado oil.  I went with avocado oil.  The recipe also specifies you can use coconut sugar or brown sugar.  I got some coconut sugar on clearance recently so this was a good opportunity to try it out.  I have to say I was worried about these cookies being weird with the avocado oil and coconut sugar, but my husband gives these cookies two thumbs up.

Recipe source:

https://cookieandkate.com/amazing-chocolate-chip-cookies/

ingredients

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (I used a lesser amount of mini-chocolate chips)
• 2/3 cup lightly packed coconut sugar or 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used coconut sugar)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon water
• Maldon flaky sea salt for sprinkling (optional - I omitted this)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine, then add the chocolate chips and toss to coat.
2. In a large bowl, combine the coconut sugar, regular sugar, oil and water. Whisk until the sugar has incorporated into the oil and the mixture is smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture, then stir just until combined and no more flour is visible (don’t overdo it).
4. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Fill an ice cream scoop two-thirds with dough (or spoon the mixture into even 2-inch mounds), and place the dough onto one of the prepared sheets. Repeat with remaining dough, leaving several inches of space around each cookie.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake until the edges are just starting to turn golden, about 14 to 17 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack and sprinkle the cookies with flaky salt, if using. Repeat with the remaining cookies.

Simple Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

Simple Oatmeal Cookies (Vegan)

In mid-November 2019, I decided to transition to a whole foods, plant based (WFPB) diet. I was compelled to do so after being told my cholesterol levels are still high after maintaining a 30 pound weight loss in the past few years.  When my blood work was taken for the most recent test, I had been following a Whole30 Meal Template and admittedly I was eating a lot of higher cholesterol foods such as eggs and chicken thighs.  A lot!

Since transitioning to a WFPB diet, I have felt amazing.  I really thought I would be hungry all the time or perhaps tired from not having enough protein, but that has not been the case at all. I feel great and I have a ton of energy. I'll have my cholesterol levels checked again in a few weeks and I am anxious to see if changing my diet has improved my cholesterol levels.

I think my husband has been inspired by seeing how great I've felt after eliminating all animal products from my diet. The other day, he was asking if I could make some oatmeal cookies and I was surprised when he asked me to make him some vegan oatmeal cookies.  I found this recipe and he loves these cookies. I think they are great too!  I am sure we'll make these cookies frequently; they are so wholesome I think they would be great even for breakfast.  My husband thinks they would be good if I added in some chopped pecans.  I think I'd like to really go crazy with "add ins" in my cookies... raisins, chia seeds, and sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds sound good to me.

HERE IS THE RECIPE LINK:

https://cleangreensimple.com/recipe/oatmeal-cookies/

Here is the recipe for SIMPLE OATMEAL COOKIES

Author: Jessica Verma

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked rolled oats make sure to use GF oats if you can't have any gluten
• 3/4 cups All-Purpose GF Flour
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup safflower canola, or other neutral oil
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed
• About 3/4 of a medium banana
• 1/2 cup raisins optional - you could also add nuts, or chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl - make sure to blend it well enough that there's no chunks of banana.
• Place rounded spoonfuls of dough onto a cookie sheet and bake for about 7-10 minutes, until light golden brown. Remove from oven and let the cookies finish baking on the cookie sheet for about 5 more minutes. Enjoy!

French Onion Dip and Homemade Pita Chips

Healthy French Onion Dip & Homemade Pita Chips



A few weeks ago, my husband was told he has high triglycerides.  Since then he has done a great job of modifying his diet to get his levels to a better place and I've been doing what I can to show him he eat healthy, have a lot of variety in his diet, and enjoy some treats that are actually pretty darn healthy.  When he first learned his triglycerides were high and what dietary changes he would need to make, he was going on and on about not eating pizza, pasta, as well as chips and dip.  I had a few ideas.  We tried a great recipe for Ranch Dip and he's enjoying eating this dip with raw carrots.  You can see the recipe HERE.


Next I decided to search for a recipe for Healthy French Onion Dip and I decided to make some homemade pita chip for crunch.



Here is the recipe for Healthy French Onion Dip; it's made with Greek yogurt.  My husband really likes the dip on pita chips but he says it's also good on raw carrots.  I was out of town for a few days and my husband said he put a nice dollop of the French Onion Dip on a turkey burger and he said that was also really good.  I should remind you that my husband basically says he does NOT like Greek yogurt, but he likes these dips which are made with Greek yogurt.

The French Onion Dip recipe is a bit of work and you do need to cool the caramelized onions before adding the onions to the cold yogurt.  If you are short on time, you can easily make up the onion portion of the recipe a day or two in advance and then refrigerate the caramelized onions until you want to make the dip.

The source of inspiration for this recipe can be found here on a website called "The Kitchn".  I did not make a lot of changes to the recipe except I used far less thyme.  I find dried thyme to be a very potent seasoning so I just added in two little teeny tiny pinches of dried thyme.  The original recipe calls for "2 springs of fresh thyme".  To prepare my onions for the dip, I used only 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil; however, the original recipe calls for 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil.

The original recipe can be found here.
https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-homemade-french-onion-dip-with-caramelized-onions-and-greek-yogurt-recipes-from-the-kitchn-199360

French Onion Dip

Makes about 3 cups

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 small to medium sized sweet onions (I used Vidalia onions), finely chopped
• Pinch of salt
• 1
  large clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon
  Worcestershire sauce
• 2 small pinches of dried thyme
• 2 cups
  plain Greek-style yogurt (I used Fage brand 2%)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon
  salt (I used kosher) or salt to taste

Add the oil and onions along with a big pinch of salt to a large sauté pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until onions caramelize into a deep brown color. This may take up to 30 minutes. You may need to add a splash of water or wine towards the end if the onions begin to burn.

When the onions are done, add the minced garlic and stir for several seconds until you can smell the garlic. Turn off the heat and stir in the Worcestershire sauce and dried thyme. Let cool.

In a bowl, mix the cooled onions and the yogurt until blended. Stir in several turns of freshly ground black pepper. Taste for salt. If you are serving this with salted chips, be sure to use one for your final tasting so you can adjust accordingly.

Serve garnished surrounded by your dippers of choice.  This dip can be made a day in advance, kept well-covered in the refrigerator.

For the pita chips, I went all out and made homemade whole wheat pita bread and then chopped them up to make baked pita chips. This is a lot of work and a very time consuming process and most folks might not want to make pita from scratch.   Here is a link that gives you directions for how to make baked pita chips using store bought pita bread.  For seasoning, I just used extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and garlic powder since I was making these chips to scoop the French Onion Dip.  Pita chips can be seasoned in a variety of ways and are great with other dips and spread such as hummus, cheese balls, etc.

Here is the link for Baked Pita Chips instructions:  Click HERE.

Here are a few photos of my homemade whole wheat pita bread. I'll share this recipe in a separate post sometime soon.  Tragedy struck when I was making my pita bread! I heard my oven shake and I was baffled by the odd noise. When I went to check on my pita bread, I found that my pizza stone had cracked in to two pieces!



No worries... I ran out to "Bed, Bath, and Beyond" and got a new one.  This pizza stone cost just under $40.00 but it's a good investment in my opinion. I got years and years of use out of my last pizza stone.