Tropical Muffins

Pineapple. Coconut. Orange. It’s like pinacolada in muffin form!! When my husband came home with a pineapple earlier this week, I knew I wanted to make muffins with it. The thought of bitting into a baked good and finding a nice piece of sweet pineapple is what got my creative juices flowing.

My good friend just had her second baby, and as good friends do, I brought her some food. Among all the goodies I brought her, were a version of these muffins. The first version actually. Although I wasn’t a fan of the way the first batch came out, I still delivered them to her because I didn’t have time to bake another batch that day and I really wanted to provide her with something more than just dinner. So she got my test run muffins (Sorry Paige!!). The very next morning I woke up and decided to try again because I just wasn’t satisfied with how they came out. After changing the recipe a bit, I am much happier with this version 🙂 The only thing I would change is adding more fresh pineapple.

Ingredients:

Dry:

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 1/2 cups flour (I used buckwheat)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp tumeric (optional)
• 1 cup oats (I used small)
• 1 cup toasted coconut shreds
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

Wet:

• 1 cup orange juice (I used fresh pressed)
• 1 TBS orange zest
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds in 1/2 cup water
• 2 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBS vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple

• 1/4 cup coconut pieces to top muffins

Steps:

• preheat oven to 350*F
• in a smal bowl combine ground flax with water, stir and let sit
• in a skillet, on medium heat, toast the coconut shreds. Stirring constantly. Pay close attention to this as the coconut goes from not toasted to brunt really fast. This should tie just a couple minutes.
• in a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients, coconut included
• in a blender combine all the wet ingredients, flax seeds included
• barely blend, just enough to mix the ingredients and start breaking down the pineapple. If you have settings on your blender, I would put it on low. If you don’t you could do this in the food processor and pulse a few times.
• put in greased muffin tins, top with coconut pieces and bake about 10 minutes for mini muffins and 20 minutes for larger muffins.

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Apple Carrot Muffins

Just the right amount of sweet thanks to the honey and fruit, these little muffins are sure to give you plenty of energy without the nasty refined sugar crash that can sometimes come from baked goods.

We finally ran out of all the muffins I had made over the fall and winter and stored for later use. Which means it’s time to get baking again! I love muffins. Not to eat myself but to have on hand for my kids. They can be so nutritious as well as versatile.

And if you make a big enough batch, they can be a handy quick snack.

These muffins are packed with vitamins and fiber from the carrots and apples, as well as from the flax seeds. Those also provide a good dose of omega 3’s essential fatty acids (the good kind of fat that helps with cholesterol). The almond base gives  this muffins a delicious flavor while keeping it suitable for gluten intolerant people. And the honey. Well that kind of sweetener just always makes my kids happy 🙂

I am hoping to put some away in the freezer, but at the rate my family is eating them, I better hurry up!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup almond meal or almond flour
• 1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup small oats (regular oats work fine)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds soaked for 10 minutes in 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup shredded apple
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup honey

Steps:

• preheat oven to 375*F (190*C)
• soak the flax seeds in water
• in a large mixing bowl combine first 6 ingredients and mix
• in a blender combine remaining ingredients
• pour the wet ingredients in the flour mixture and mix
• grease some mini muffin tins and put dough in them
• bake for about 10 minutes for mini muffins, around 18-20 minutes for larger ones

This recipe made about 54 mini muffins. I think it will make about 16 large ones.

 

Francais:

• 1.5 cups de farine d’amandes (340 grammes)
• 1.5 cups de farine de sarasin
• 2 cuillere a caffee de bicarbonate de soude
• 1 cup de flocons d’avoine (225 grammes)
• 1 cuillere a caffee de canelle
• 1/4 cup (6o gr) de graines de lin moulues trempees dans 1/2 cup (125 ml) d’eau pendant 10 minutes, bien remuer 
• 1/2 cup de compote de pommes (115gr)
• 1 cup carrotes rapees (225 gr)
• 1 cup pommes rapees
• 1/4 cup d’huile de noix de coco fondue (65ml)
• 1/2 cup de miel  

 

Easy Peasy Peachy Jelly

This is the easiest peach jelly to make. For real. And it has zero refined sugars in it.

My kids love jelly. I do to, but the store bought kind just has too much white sugar in it to make a staple in our house. Although we have found a Trader Joe’s brand that I don’t mind buying every now and then, I still prefer to make it myself, like pretty much anything else I eat 😉

I used frozen peaches here, which I like better than the fresh kind because of the texture. Also, it’s not peach season anymore, so I cannot get the fresh kind at the market. These peaches I froze over the summer so I could satisfy my peach cravings even when the season is over 🙂

This is so easy you can substitute peaches for any fruit that tickles your fancy! Again, since this a raw jelly, I would recommend using frozen fruit. Once thawed they are super soft, just like cooked fruit, which makes their texture work better for this kind of preparation.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup thawed peaches
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 TBS psyllium husk, that I ground finely in the coffee grinder
• 2 TBS sweetener (I used coconut sugar).

Steps:

• Put in blender and blend until desired consistency.
• Let sit for at least 30 minutes before eating. I made mine last night so we could have it for breakfast.
• Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week.

Raw Green Onion Crackers

I eat so many raw crackers, they are a staple in my house. So coming up with new flavors that I love is always awesome. This one didn’t mean to be so tasty. I just really needed to make some crackers as we were out and didn’t have much around so I just did what I could with what I had. What I had was a bunch of green onions. And now I have super simple, super tasty crackers 🙂

Ingredients:

• 4 sprigs of green onions
• 1 1/2 cups of flax seeds, soaked for a minimum of 4 hours in 3 cups of water
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup tamari
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups water

Steps:

• Put the onions, flax seeds, tamari, salt and water in the blender and blend until the flax seeds are broken down
• Mix everything in a bowl
• spread on dehydrator sheet at least 1/4 inch thick
• dry on 105 for about 8 hours
• score, flip and finish drying until crisp, about another 8 hoursStore in an airtight container for weeks!!

Zucchini Pasta with Alfredo sauce

Mmmm mmmm. That was a tasty dinner!!! I truly love spaghetti, and I definitely do not want to be eating the real stuff often. Eating it this way satisfies my craving for pasta. Here I had zucchini pasta with my newly created Rawlfredo Sauce 🙂 Because I wanted to keep the whole dish raw, I dehydrated onions and mushrooms to top it off with. I could have easily sautéed them but as I said, I really wanted to keep the dish raw, and these tasted amazing. (Sorry for my lack of photography skills, this photo definitely does’t make this dish justice.)

Ingredients for mushroom topping:

• 1 large portobello mushroom, thinly sliced
• 1 cup buttons, thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 TBS olive oil
• 2 TBS balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 TBS dried mixed herbs

 

Steps:

• Put everything in a bowl and gently rub to mix all the seasonings in well with the vegetables
• put on a dehydrator sheet
• dehydrate for about 4 hours.
• Make zucchini pasta , mix in the rawlfredo sauce and top it with the mushroom and onion mixture.

It was my first time making a raw mushroom mixture like this, and it came out perfect. I love it and I will definitely do it again. 

Cacao Rawcoroon

When it comes to my taste buds, I can never go wrong with chocolate, well… except for that one time…. but I learned 😉  

My husband is the same. If I present him with something chocolatey, I know he will devour it happily. So I created this rawcoroon after the lemon one. Because, well I love lemon too. And I was actually inspired to start making rawcoroons when I had an expensive store bought lemon one. So here is my chocolate indulgence for today. 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour (made from whole almonds blended down into a flour, not the store bought kind)
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 raw cacao powder
• salt
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• 1/8 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 TBS coconut oil

Steps:

• in a large bowl mix first 4 ingredients
• in a small bowl or blender mix remaining ingredients
• combine everything until well incorporated
• don’t let husband come in and eat everything out of the bowl
• scoop into little balls on the mesh screen of the dehydrator
• dehydrate for about 8 to 10 hours, depending on what consistency you want and also what size balls you made. I like mine crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. 

Makes about 12 golf size balls. 

 

 

Lemon Cashew Rawcoroons

These are a spinoff of macaroons. A wholesome, nutritious spinoff. They are becoming quite a staple of raw treats I like to make for people. This is the first of many rawcoroon recipes I will be sharing. I am having fun experimenting with flavors! Please feel free to ask if you would like to have me try making a specific flavor! I am always up for new ideas! 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 1 cup almond flour (made from whole almonds, blended down into a flour, not the store bought flour)
• 1/2 cashew pieces
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 2 TBS coconut oil
• 1/4 cup agave or any liquid sweetener
• 1/8 cup water

Steps:

• in a large bowl mix first 4 ingredients
• in a small bowl or blender mix all the rest
• combine both mixtures until well incorporated
• try not to eat all the mixture before it makes its way onto the mesh screen
• scoop into little balls and put on mesh screen on dehydrator
• dehydrate for about 8 to 10 hours, or until desired texture. I like mine dry on the outside and moist on the inside. 

Blow peoples minds away with these tasty wholesome treats!! Or eat them all by yourself 😉 

Halloween Teeth!!

I realize this post is a little late, but I still wanted to share it with you. And it doesn’t have to be made just for Halloween. Kids love fun ways to eat food at any time!

My daughter’s kindergarten class had a Halloween party and I offered to bring a snack. Since Halloween is such a sugar filled time already, I wanted to bring a more wholesome snack. I was inspired to make this after seeing it done with marshmallows inside the apple slices. My daughter loved them and still asks me to put teeth inside her apple slices!

Ingredients:

• 4 red apples
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Steps:

• slice the apples
• stick the almond slivers on one slice to create crooked teeth effect
• put another slice of apple on top (some of the almond bits will break, but that adds to the effect i think 😉 )

And voila!! Super easy, super healthy, super fun for the kids!!

Zucchini Hummus

I have a friend who loves hummus but can’t tolerate beans. I made this recipe for her birthday and she was so happy. I myself love all forms of hummus but am particularly a fan of this one because of how quick and easy and healthy it is. In 10 minutes, I whipped this up and now I have a dip and a sandwich spread that will last a few days in the fridge. 

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup tahini ( i like to use raw tahini to make this a raw hummus)
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• dash of chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Process everything in a food processor until smooth. Serve with fresh veggies, crackers or chips. I usually serve mine with raw crackers that I make in our dehydrator. Double this recipe if wanting to make this for a crowd.

Almond Butter Slushy

On a nice warm day like today, a slushy is refreshing. Since I had just made a batch of almond milk and felt a little nutty, I whipped this up for my family at snack time.

• 4 medjool dates, pitted
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 TBS raw cacao powder
• 3 cups  almond milk
• 2 cups of ice

Put everything in the blender in that order, blend, serve and enjoy!

Will make about 4, 8 oz servings. We enjoyed ours with a bowl of sweet strawberries.