Banana Blueberry Muffins

I really loved baked goods that contain banana. Banana bread, muffins, and banana oatmeal cookies are often found in my kitchen.  I get really excited when I see bananas starting to brown...and I start dreaming of how I will use them.

This recipe was given to me by my acupuncturist, who shares both my love of baked goods - and my love of eating well. The original recipe was not vegan, so after a few tweaks it is now perfect for me and is one of my favorites.

Banana Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

3 tbsp flax meal (ground flax seeds)
1/2 cup water

2 ripe bananas (they develop a lot of flavor as they become over-ripe where the peel is blackening)

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup natural sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup oat flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup blueberries

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray a muffin tin with cooking spray.

Mix the flax meal with the 1/2 cup of water and stir well. Set aside to let thicken. In another small bowl mash the bananas and set that aside as well.

In your mixing bowl combine the melted coconut oil, the sugar, and the vanilla. To that, add the flax and water mixture as well as the mashed bananas. Stir to combine these wet ingredients. Next, add the dry ingredients which are the oat flour, the whole wheat flour, the baking soda, and the salt. Mix until it is just combined, but don't over-mix. Finally, fold in the blueberries.

Put the batter into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 18 minutes.

For 12 muffins. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 60 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  135 Calories from Fat  51

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  5.7g 9%

Saturated Fat  4.0g 20%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  103mg 4%

Potassium  118mg 3%

Total Carbohydrates  19.9g 7%

Dietary Fiber  1.9g 8%

Sugars  7.2g

Protein  2.2g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 4% Calcium 1% • Iron 5%

Nutrition Grade D+

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Spiced Collards with Lentils and Potatoes

I love how nourishing this dish is. The stewed greens are delicately seasoned with lentils, and served with oven roasted potatoes. Sometimes, I skip the oven roasted potatoes and serve the lentils over a baked potato instead. Either way it is a great combination.

Spiced Collards with Lentils and Potatoes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup lentils
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups water

3 large russet potatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch collards, diced
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp coriander
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes

Directions:

Put the lentils, bay leaf, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a low boil, cover and let simmer for 30-40 minutes. At 30 minutes start checking the lentils for doneness. You want them cooked through, but not mushy.

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Wash the potatoes and dice them into even bite-sized pieces. Use a paper towel to dry off any moisture from the cut potatoes before drizzling them with the tbsp of olive oil. Then add the seasonings which are the salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and garlic powder. Toss to distribute the seasonings, or just use your hands to rub the potatoes and mix it all around. Put the potatoes on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Stir the potatoes halfway through. If they are not done at the 20 minute mark, put them back in for 5-10 more minutes.

While the lentils and potatoes are cooking, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Add the diced onion and let it cook down for 7 minutes. You want the onions to soften up.  When the onions have soften and started to turn translucent, add the minced garlic and give that a stir. Let the garlic heat through for a minute and then add the collards. Stir in the collards* and then add the vegetable broth. The collards will begin to wilt in the moisture fairly quickly. When this happens, I like to add the spices. So in goes the pepper, cumin, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, and cloves. Stir to distribute and bloom the spices and then add the diced tomatoes with the juice. Finally, add the cooked lentils to the pan (discarding the bay leaf). If your lentils have a lot of water still left then drain them, if there is just a little moisture, no big deal just dump it all in together. Let it continue to simmer until most of the moisture is evaporated and the flavors have combined.

Taste and adjust the seasonings and then serve the collards and lentils alongside the potatoes for a hearty, warming meal.

*I like to use the whole collard leaf. Cut off the ends of the stems and then stack a few leaves on top of each other. Cut the leaves in a diagonal criss-cross pattern to get small pieces.

For six servings. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 425 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  248 Calories from Fat  42

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  4.7g 7%

Saturated Fat  0.7g 3%

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  282mg 12%

Potassium  1152mg 33%

Total Carbohydrates  44.3g 15%

Dietary Fiber  11.3g 45%

Sugars  4.8g

Protein  9.1g

Vitamin A 44% • Vitamin C 93% Calcium 8% • Iron 16%

Nutrition Grade A

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Seitan Bourguignon

I love to re-imagine classic recipes. My theory is this; if a dish has endured for many generations than the flavors must be pretty solid. So a dish like bourguignon makes perfect sense to veganize with seitan. I wanted to really boost the flavor so I married the classic Julia Child recipe with that of Eric Lechasseur (an awesome vegan macrobiotic chef). The original recipe calls for bacon, so I added my beloved shiitake mushrooms and some liquid smoke. Also, a bit of nutritional yeast adds some body and some herbs really bring the dish alive.

This is wonderful over brown rice or as a stew. This time I served it alongside oven roasted cauliflower steaks, for a very satisfying dinner.

Seitan Bourguignon

Ingredients:

1" piece of dried kombu
4 dried shiitake mushrooms

1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sesame oil

8 oz pearl onions, peeled and halved
2 carrots, diced
8 oz button mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
8 oz package seitan

1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp parsley
1 bay leaf

1/3 cup dry cooking wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp vegetable bouillon

Directions:

Prep the stock, by simmering the kombu and shiitakes in 2 cups of water for 20 minutes.

Heat the salt and the sesame oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat.

The pearl onions take a bit of prep. I like to cut the ends off and then slice them in half. From here, it is easier to peel off the brown outer layer. Once the onions are ready, place them cut side down in the saucepan with the heated oil and salt.

Once the onions have started to brown, add the carrots and the sliced button mushrooms. Also, remove the shiitakes from the stock and chop them and add those to the pan. Raise the heat to high to get the mushrooms to release their juices. Once the mushrooms have cooked down and softened, add the garlic and the seitan to the pan. Let these heat through, but be careful not to let the garlic burn (burned garlic tastes very bitter).

Now it is time to really build the flavor. Add the nutritional yeast, whole wheat flour, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Stir to distribute and evenly coat everything. Then add the wine, the 1 1/2 cups of the reserved stock (discarding the kombu), the soy sauce, liquid smoke, and the bouillon. Let it continue to simmer for another 20 minutes to thicken.

For 6 servings. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 300 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  252 Calories from Fat  39

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  4.4g 7%

Saturated Fat  1.0g 5%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  982mg 41%

Potassium  359mg 10%

Total Carbohydrates  15.9g 5%

Dietary Fiber  4.8g 19%

Sugars  5.1g

Protein  32.0g

Vitamin A 68% • Vitamin C 9% Calcium 2% • Iron 11%

Nutrition Grade B-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Mighty Macro Brownies

Brownies. Fudgy, chocolatey, dense, moist, warm, gooey brownies. Who doesn't love them! Finding a great vegan brownie is not easy. I have tried to make them using tofu, applesauce, bananas, and various egg replacers. I once even tried adding marshmallows to get that nice chewy texture (it didn't work). None was quite right, until I stumbled upon this genius recipe. The secret is in boiling the flour to make a paste. Weird, but it really does work, and I would know because I searched for 10 long brownie craving years, and I refused to settle for anything less than perfect. To me a perfect brownie is very chocolatey with a nice chewy texture.

These days, I am sticking to whole grains and natural sweeteners for their groovy goodness that has me feeling balanced and happy. I am loving eating vegan macrobiotic foods, and am feeling better than ever. This recipe is adapted from the ultimate vegan brownie recipe (linked above) to include whole grains, brown rice syrup and maple sugar. They are also topped with a cocoa frosting that is so smooth and chocolatey. Together they make Mighty Macro Brownie greatness.

Mighty Macro Brownies

Brownie Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
1 cup cold water

3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp ground flax meal

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup natural sugar (maple sugar is really good)
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla

Brownie Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Grease an 11x7 rectangle pan.

Mix the two flours in a large mixing bowl. Take 1/2 cup of that flour and the cup of cold water, and whisk them together in a saucepan to remove any lumps. Turn on the heat and bring the flour and water mixture to a boil, while continuing to stir. Let this thicken to a nice paste (you are looking for the consistency of porridge) and then remove from the heat to let cool.

Next, add the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and flax meal to the remaining flour in the mixing bowl. Whisk this together to break up any clumps of cocoa powder and to every distribute the dry ingredients.

In another mixing bowl, combine the melted coconut oil, sugar, brown rice syrup, and vanilla. To that, add the reserved boiled flour and water mixture and stir well to completely incorporate the oil and ensure there are no clumps of the flour mixture.

Finally, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until it is just combined. Pour into the prepared dish and bake for 25 minutes. Take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool.

Frosting Ingredients:

1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
4 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp vanilla

Frosting Directions:

Melt the coconut oil and stir in the rest of the ingredients, but don't cook them. Once the coconut oil is melted, you want it off any heat...it just needs to be melted to help mix everything together.

Put the frosting in the fridge for a few minutes to let it thicken up a bit before frosting your brownies. It is important to keep your eye on the frosting so you catch it between being runny and totally firming up. You want it spreadable, but not too thin. I just check on mine every few minutes...it doesn't take long for coconut oil to start to solidify at cool temperatures.

Once the brownies have cooled off and your frosting is spreadable, frost the brownies. To serve, cut into squares and dig in.

For 16 brownies. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 76 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  254 Calories from Fat  115

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  12.8g 20%

Saturated Fat  10.3g 52%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  198mg 8%

Potassium  201mg 6%

Total Carbohydrates  36.9g 12%

Dietary Fiber  2.5g 10%

Sugars  21.3g

Protein  3.0g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 3% • Iron 9%

Nutrition Grade D-

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Cornbread Muffins

This weekend I was making Chili con "Carne" and thought cornbread sounded like the perfect accompaniment. Over the years, I have tried several recipes in my search for the best vegan cornbread. I like cornbread to have some sweetness, and great texture (crisp and chewy outside with a fluffy inside). So I consulted Betty Crocker's recipe and used my favorite vegan adaptions to finally find a vegan cornbread that is perfect. I love to serve these alongside hearty soups and stews.

Cornbread Muffins

Ingredients:

2 tbsp flax meal
6 tbsp water

1 cup soymilk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/3 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup corn kernals (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees and lightly spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.

Combine the flax meal with the 6 tbsp of water and stir to mix. Let it stand to thicken up.

Combine the soy milk with the vinegar in a measuring cup and let it sour.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. You will add the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Then make a well in the dry ingredients and add the soured soy milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, and flax-water mixture. Stir just enough to combine all of the ingredients. Divide the dough evenly in the muffin pan by filling each about 3/4ths of the way full.

Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

For 12 muffins. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 65 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  154 Calories from Fat  52

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  5.8g 9%

Saturated Fat  4.0g 20%

Trans Fat  0.0g

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  164mg 7%

Potassium  261mg 7%

Total Carbohydrates  24.0g 8%

Dietary Fiber  1.5g 6%

Sugars  6.1g

Protein  2.8g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 0% Calcium 9% • Iron 7%

Nutrition Grade B

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Oven Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Garlic Spread

If you have never tried cauliflower sliced thick, this is the way to do it. Paired with garlic and lightly seasoned, these steaks are very satisfying when roasted. I love when simple ingredients come together to make something spectacular like this. I love the way they look, too.

Oven Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Garlic Spread

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower
1 head of garlic
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
parsley
thyme
paprika

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Wash and slice the cauliflower  into 1/2 inch - 3/4 inch thick slices. The ends are hard to keep together, so expect to only get 2 or 3 steaks from the head of cauliflower. I made some smaller steaks out of the outside pieces and used the remaining loose florets in another dish.

Cut off the top of the head of garlic. Put the garlic and cauliflower on a baking sheet and drizzle the cut side of the garlic with olive oil, as well as both sides of each slice of cauliflower. Rub the cauliflower with your hands to distribute the olive oil evenly.

Next, sprinkle everything with a little salt and pepper, and add a dash each of parsley, thyme and paprika. Then, wrap the garlic in a square of tin foil, and put everything in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping the cauliflower after the first 15 minutes. When the cauliflower is done, check the garlic at the 30 minute mark. If the garlic is not golden brown and soft, put it back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes until it is very soft and easy to spread.

Serve the cauliflower steaks with a little of the roasted garlic smeared on them.

For 3 servings. Nutritional information from caloriecount.about.com

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 54 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories  59 Calories from Fat  43

% Daily Value*

Total Fat  4.7g 7%

Saturated Fat  0.7g 3%

Cholesterol  0mg 0%

Sodium  14mg 1%

Potassium  154mg 4%

Total Carbohydrates  4.0g 1%

Dietary Fiber  1.2g 5%

Sugars  1.1g

Protein  1.2g

Vitamin A 0% • Vitamin C 37% Calcium 2% • Iron 2%

Nutrition Grade B

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet