Guilt Free Banana Muffins (GF)

I needed to use up an avocado one day before it went bad, and came across a banana bread recipe that uses avocado in place of butter! Yes, avocado. Sounds disgusting you might say, but honestly you cannot even taste the avocado. In fact, when combined with coconut palm sugar, it tastes like butter.

These muffins are absolutely delicious and taste like they are chalk-full of butter, when really, they're guilt free! I also used a technique I came across to help the muffins get more of a 'rise', which is often hard to find in gluten free baked goods. The trick is to bake the muffins at 400 degrees, which allows them to have more of a dome look.


These muffins are absolutely delicious and taste like they are chalk-full of butter, when really, they're guilt free!




I apologize for the horribly lit images, I made these one evening and my wonderful daylight was gone. On top of that, these muffins were practically gone by morning and I didn't have a chance to re-shoot.




Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice flour
1 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup mashed/pureed avocado
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 eggs (room temp)
1 cup coconut palm sugar
6 tablespoons room temp almond milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, mash/mix together bananas, honey, vanilla, avocado, and coconut oil until mixed well. Whisk in eggs, coconut palm sugar, and almond milk and set aside.

In a separate bowl combine brown rice flour, almond meal, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda.

Pour wet ingredients over dry and mix until just combined, do not over mix.

Pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick once inserted comes out clean.

Blueberry Crisp Bars (GF)

I apologize for the severe lack of postings lately. I've been a combination of lazy and busy. But here's a delicious recipe for blueberry pie bars, which are surprisingly gluten free and almost guilt free! A slightly gooey and creamy interior sandwiched in between crispy cinnamon-y crumble. It tastes exactly like blueberry crisp…but in bar form!





These bars are great for breakfast, or even dessert with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice-cream on top. There is very little sugar in them, because I sweetened them with stevia as well.



My husband loved them. They're best in the first day or two, but my husband ate them for breakfast all week. I'd recommend storing them in an airtight container in the fridge and reheating prior to eating. But to be honest, they're best straight out of the oven, still warm, and crispy on top.

 Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup gluten free oat flour
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar (you can use regular sugar if you do not have coconut)
2 packets of stevia
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon psyllium seed husks
8 tablespoons cold butter, cubed

 Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons honey
1 packet of stevia
juice of half a lime
5 tablespoons oat flour
1 cup fresh blueberries

 Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients and cut in cold butter, until it forms into small balls and set in the fridge. In a separate bowl mix together yogurt, egg white, vanilla, honey, stevia, lime juice, and oat flour until well combined. Fold in blueberries and set aside.

Remove crumble mixture from fridge. Using an 8 x 8 pan, line the bottom with wax paper, leaving enough wax paper showing on the sides to help you take out the crumble once it's baked. Take half of the crumble mixture and evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Press down the crumble to form a thin layer on the bottom of the pan. You want to make it as uniform as possible.

Then add the wet ingredients and spread into a thin layer. Top off with remaining crumble, scattering on top of batter as evenly as possible. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until top is crispy and batter is set. (My oven is broken and is way too hot, which is why the cook time in this recipe is so broad).

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

Simple Red Sangria

This sangria recipe is super simple and super delicious. I'm not a huge fan of sweet drinks, but I love this sangria.



It's the perfect combination of sweet and tart, with deep red wine and vanilla notes. You can choose to add club soda or sparkling water if you prefer a fizzy drink, I personally do not.

I promise that this sangria will please any crowd.




Ingredients:

1 bottle of red wine, I used a Cabernet Sauvignon
1/4 cup brandy
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 oranges
2 limes
1 apple
1-3 tablespoons agave, depending on how sweet you like it

In a pitcher combine wine, brandy, vanilla and agave (1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches desired sweetness) and stir until the agave is dissolved.

Cut the orange in half and squeeze all the juice into the pitcher. Do the same with one of the limes.

Cut the remaining orange and lime into thin slices and add to pitcher. Chop up the apple into chunks and add to pitcher as well. Allow mixture to sit in the fridge at least 8 hours and up to 36. Serve chilled, with or without ice, and with or without club soda.

Vanilla Bean Donut Muffins with Peanut Butter Glaze

Sometimes you just crave things that are really bad for you. For instance, donuts. I've tried to make baked donuts at home, they're just not that great. I mean, compared to fluffy, fried donuts.




There are just some things that aren't okay baked.



Which brings me to this post. I wanted donuts. My husband needed breakfast for the week. So I made donut muffins.

When these muffins came out of the oven, I decided I needed a glaze for them. I quickly threw together some powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk...but it just wasn't great, so I threw it out. I opened the fridge and looked around, trying to decide what I could put on top of these muffins. Maple syrup? Meh. Butter and honey? Maybe, but no.




Then it hit me; peanut butter and honey. I mixed together a small bowl, drizzled it on top of a warm muffin and took a bite.

HOLY CRAP. These were good.

They're best straight out of the oven, though my husband ate them all week.

They're borderline cupcakes, that's how delicious and sweet they are. That's why I consider them a mix between a donut and a muffin.




Slightly crisp on the outside, warm and fluffy on the inside, like an old fashioned donut. They really have little to no nutritional value, but nothing wrong with that! I did use spelt flour and coconut sugar instead of white flour and white sugar, so that helps.

I sprinkled them with extra coconut sugar before baking, to enhance the crispy, sweet outer layer.

Ingredients: Makes 6-8 muffins

1 1/2 cups spelt flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup coconut sugar
6 tablespoons butter, room temp
1 egg, room temp
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup soy or almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Peanut Butter Glaze:

1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
1-2 teaspoons milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together and set aside. In a standard mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy, then add egg and cream for another 30 seconds or so. Add in yogurt, milk, and vanilla bean paste and mix until incorporated.

Gradually fold in the flour mixture, about a half cup at a time. Divide the batter into six paper lined muffin tins and bake 12-15 minutes, making sure not to over bake.

Remove muffins from sheet and allow to cool for 5 minutes. While muffins are cooling, mix together glaze ingredients. With a spoon, carefully scoop a small spoonful of glaze on top of each muffin, spreading it around the tops so the entire muffin is covered. Serve warm!

Creamy Cauliflower and Veggie Soup (GF)

So I know it's the middle of the summer...



But the other day, I was in the mood for creamy soup.



I didn't want anything with cream in it. So I came up with this recipe.

I might be the only person in Los Angeles that's okay with eating hot soup while it's 90 degrees outside.



I could honestly eat soup every day, it doesn't matter how hot it is.

But back to the soup...

I pretty much just threw in whatever veggies I had in the fridge. Luckily, I had zucchini and asparagus, and they worked perfectly.



We also had some spicy chicken sausage in the fridge, so I grilled it, chopped it up and threw it into the soup too.

The result was a hearty, healthy, deliciously creamy soup without all the guilt. Honestly, I was full for hours.



Ingredients: Serves 4

1 large head of cauliflower
1 1/2-2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into 1 inch strips
1 large or two small zucchini's, chopped
2 links of sausage (optional)

Cut the cauliflower head up and steam in it in a pot of simmering water, drain and set aside.

In a sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté veggies in medium heat with salt and pepper, until they are al dente. Make sure avoid over cooking. Set veggies aside.

When the cauliflower has cooled, add it to a blender or food processor along with the 1 1/2 cups chicken broth, 1 cup milk, and parmesan cheese. Process until the mixture has a smooth, soup-like texture, adding more chicken broth if needed.

In a pot on medium-low heat, sauté the garlic with the olive oil and carefully add cauliflower puree. Stir in veggies, and chicken sausage, if you like. Add salt and pepper to taste, as well as more broth if the soup is too thick. Stir soup until just hot, you do not want to cook the veggies too much more.

Serve with grate parmesan cheese and basil on top.

Heathy Italian Chopped Salad

One of the easiest ways to save money and eat healthy meals at home is to buy a rotisserie chicken. If you work long hours, but you're tired of eating out all the time, you could easily pick up a rotisserie chicken from a grocery store and use it all week. You could make your own roast chicken at home, of course, but for time sake, rotisserie is the way to go.



One of my favorite salads of all time is an italian chopped salad. Salami has held a special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. Some people are grossed out by it, but I love it.



So I decided to make one at home and try and spruce it up a bit--make it healthier. I used organic baby romaine lettuce and organic spinach, and chopped the greens up. In addition, I made my own vinaigrette with fresh basil, lemon juice, olive oil and red wine vinegar. I used part-skim mozzarella and good quality salami, free of nitrates and chemicals.



The thing with italian chopped salad is that you can pretty much throw in whatever you want, that's what makes it so great. You can obviously omit any of these ingredients and change the salad to your liking. I had to throw in some cheesy garlic bread with mine (Brett's request). But with these simple ingredients, I assure you, this will be one of the best salads you've ever had.




Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 cups chopped organic spinach
3 cups chopped organic baby romaine
1 cup chickpeas (drained)
1/2 cup julienne cut salami
1 cup chopped chicken
5-7 leaves of basil, chopped
1/2 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded light mozzarella

For the Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon whole grain mustard
1 tablespoon of chopped basil
1 tablespoon fresh parmesan cheese
pinch of salt and pepper (to taste)

In a large bowl mix the greens together. Top with chickpeas, salami, chopped chicken, cheese, tomatoes, and fresh basil. In a small bowl (I prefer mason jar) whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, basil, and parmesan cheese until it emulsifies. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dress salad with vinaigrette right before serving.

Zucchini Bread Donut Waffles

Zucchini Bread Donut Waffles. That's a mouthful.



But that's exactly what they are. The flavors of zucchini bread, but with a dense, donut-cake texture, cooked in a waffle iron instead of fried. It's the best of all worlds! Actually, if I'm being honest, they would be even better fried...but I'm trying to be healthier.

Nonetheless, these little breakfast treats were delicious. I served them with powdered sugar on top, and a side of maple-vanilla bean-cinnamon glaze.



They're best straight out of the waffle iron, they lost their crispiness and texture the next day. I also allowed the batter to sit in the fridge for 12 hours (after making a first batch immediately). Both batches were delicious, however the batch that rested for 12 hours was more dense, so it's up to you!

These treats are a great way to sneak in some veggies without sacrificing flavor. I mean, who doesn't like zucchini bread??? They're also filling and gluten-free!



Ingredients: (makes 10-12 small 'waffles')

1 cup all-purpose gf flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup finely grated zucchini, with juices squeezed out
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or just vanilla extract)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup greek yogurt mixed with 1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons melted butter

Maple-Cinnamon Glaze:

1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

In a bowl mix together flours, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk zucchini, egg, vanilla, maple syrup, brown sugar, greek yogurt, and melted butter.

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, whisking until there are no more lumps. If you like a more dense, cake-like donut, allow batter to sit in fridge for several hours. If not, prepare waffle iron on medium-high setting. Spray with non-stick spray and add batter 1 hefty tablespoon at a time.

Serve with powdered sugar or maple-cinnamon glaze.