Vegan Apple Flaxseed Walnut Muffins

No, I'm not vegan. The great thing, though, is you don't have to be vegan to enjoy these muffins, and you don't have to feel guilty about indulging either. With whole grains, oil replaced with apple butter, and healthy fats and protein from the flax seeds and walnuts, there's a lot to like about these muffins. They're hearty, and yet light, with just the right amount of sweetness from a little maple syrup. Also, they're screaming with apple flavor (grated apples, diced apples, and apple butter), and anything that's made with apples is going to be good. If there's anything better than that, it's that the muffins come together quickly. Really, there's no downsides here.

Ingredients

2 cups spelt flour (or whole wheat flour)

1 Tbsp flax seed

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground allspice

pinch nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 5 Tbsp water

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/4 cup apple butter (or applesauce)

3/4 cup coconut milk (or almond or soy, if you have on hand)*

1 cup peeled, grated tart apple (1 large or 2 small)

1 cup diced, unpeeled sweet apple (1 medium)

1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Directions

1. Combine flax seed and 5 Tbsp water in a small bowl; set aside for 10-15 min, or until a gel has formed.

2. Meanwhile, combine flour, whole flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

3. In a separate bowl, combine flaxseed gel, maple syrup, apple butter, and grated apple.

4. Stir wet ingredients into dry, just until combined.

5. Gently fold in chopped apple and walnuts.

6. Spoon batter into a muffin pan lined with paper cups or lightly greased. Top muffins with extra chopped walnuts if desired.

7. Bake muffins in a 350 degrees F oven for 30 min, or until tops are golden .

8. Allow muffins to cool in pan for 10 min, then switch over to a wired cooling rack. Allow to cool completely, but also don't feel guilty about grabbing a still-warm muffin to stuff in your face. :)

*If you have unsweetened coconut lying around, don't go buying a can of coconut milk. It's really easy to make your own, and you can make exactly as much as you want. For the amount in this recipe, I put 1/2 cup coconut in a blender, then added 1 1/4 cup boiling water, and blended for 15-20 sec. Allow to sit for 5-10 min, then filter through a fine mesh colander to remove solids. I also let the solids dry out, so I can incorporate them when I make this.

Peachy Keen

Having grown up in Michigan, I tend to be a bit particular about my fruits. In my (perhaps biased) opinion, nothing can really beat the flavor and freshness of Michigan-grown fruits. However, there is one fruit that Illinois grows quite well: peaches. This season's crop started showing up at the farmer's market at the end of May (a bit early, like everything else this year), and they are the sweetest, juiciest, most delicious little stone fruits you could lay your hands on. Then, a couple of weeks ago, one of the vendors offered a 12 lb box of their "ugly" peaches (bruises, dimples) for $10, and I could not resist. Of course, this meant that I had twelve pounds of perfectly ripe peaches to use up ASAP. I decided to take the excuse to try out canning by making some peach-honey jam (pretty delicious, although I'd add pectin next time, because it took forever to cook down to a jam). I also made a few other goodies that I'd like to share with you! Keep reading for Ginger-Peach Crisp, Peach Cupcakes, and Peach-Honey Sauce (the sauce is free of refined sugars!).

Ginger-Peach Crisp
Apple crisp is probably one of my favorite desserts of all time, so I'm not sure why I haven't expanded my fruit crisp repertoire before now. Either way, I'm glad I did - you could use the standard cinnamon as the spice here, but I like the flavor twist that ginger gives. It seems completely appropriate for a summer dish. My peaches went au natural, but you can always toss with a bit of honey if you want added sweetness. I topped this delicious stuff with vanilla Greek yogurt and called it breakfast (totally reasonable, right?), but you could also opt for a scoop of vanilla (or ginger) ice cream and have yourself an amazing dessert.
 

Ingredients

 5-6 cups peaches, washed and sliced (again, I kept the peel)

1 Tbsp honey (optional)

1/2 cup brown (or "raw") sugar

5 Tbsp cold unsalted butter

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp ginger (heaping)

1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions

1. Arrange peaches in a 8x8" baking dish. Sweeten by tossing with a small amount of honey if desired (if they're perfectly ripe and fresh, this shouldn't be necessary!).

2. Combine oats, flour, ginger, and almonds in a medium mixing bowl.

3. Cut cold butter into dry ingredients, working with fingertips or fork until mixture is crumbly.

4. Sprinkle topping over peaches, then bake in a 400 degree F oven for 30 min, or until top is brown and peaches are bubbling.

5. Serve warm with a hearty dollop of greek yogurt or a scoop of ice cream.

Peach Cupcakes with Peachy Buttercream Frosting
These are definitely an indulgence; nothing particularly healthy about these. That's not the point, though, right? The surprising twist to these is the cornmeal, which I added on a whim - it adds just a little bit of texture to these delicate, moist cupcakes.
Adapted from a peach muffin recipe on NPR's Kitchen Window
 

Ingredients

For Cupcakes:

3-4 peaches, peeled and diced (2-2 1/2 cups)

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 tsp baking soda

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground mace

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

For Frosting:

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup peach puree

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch salt

Directions

For Cupcakes:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and mace.

2.  Puree enough of diced peaches in a blender to give 3/4 cup puree (~1 cups diced peaches). Set aside 1/4 cup of the puree.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together peach puree, yogurt, eggs, and butter.

4. Stir liquid ingredients by hand into dry ingredients just until combined.

5. Gently fold in remaining diced peaches (1 cup).

6. Pour batter into paper-lined or greased muffin cups, filling each until almost full.

7. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 min, until cupcakes are golden brown.

8. Turn cupcakes out onto a wire rack and allow to cool.

For Frosting:

1. Using an electric mixer, cream butter. 

2. Add sugar in small portions, alternating with peach puree, and beat well after each addition.

3. Stir in vanilla and salt. If frosting is too thin, beat in a little more powdered sugar, or allow to chill, covered, in the refrigerator until it's better set.

4. Once cupcakes have sufficiently cooled, spread frosting on them, or put frosting in a bag and pipe onto cupcakes (I simply cut a hole in the corner of a plastic sandwich bag).

Honey-Peach Sauce

This stuff is incredibly easy to make, and takes about 10-15 min. I had it on top of homemade belgian waffles, which was divine, but I suspect it'd be equally good stirred in with yogurt or piled on top of vanilla ice cream.

 

Ingredients

4 peaches, washed and thinly sliced (you can peel too, I left them with the peel)

1/4 cup honey

pinch cinnamon, to taste

Directions

1. Combine peaches and honey in a small saucepan (you can add a little water if needed to make sure the peaches don't scorch). 

2. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon, and stir over medium heat until cooked down, about 10 min. 

3. Serve warm over pancakes, waffles, or ice cream.

Whole Grain Zucchini-Sunflower Seed Bread

Zucchini showed up at the farmer's market this week, so of course I scooped up a couple of those lovely squash. You can stir fry zucchini, put it in a salad, saute and toss with pasta...or make bread out of it. Can you tell I like making quick breads? Well, here's another one, and I promise, it's well worth the time to make it (and that's not very much time at all!). Zucchini helps make this bread nice and moist, while the combination of honey and spices give just enough sweetness and depth of flavor to satisfy. Even with 100% whole grains, the bread has a tender and delicate crumb, with a nice crunch from the sunflower seeds (especially the ones on top!). And no, it doesn't taste like zucchini, so you don't have to like zucchini to love this bread. It turned out so well that I had to keep myself from eating the whole loaf at once - just to warn you.

 

Adapted from NPR Kitchen Window zucchini bread recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal (or more flour)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

pinch salt

1 1/2 cup zucchini, unpeeled, coarsely grated (1 medium or 2 small)

1/2 cup honey (I used wildflower honey)

1/4 cup canola or sunflower seed oil

2 eggs

1 Tbsp orange zest (or 1 1/2 tsp bottled orange peel)

1/2 cup + handful raw sunflower seeds

Directions

1. Combine dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl.

2. Add zucchini, oil, honey, eggs and orange zest to a medium mixing bowl. Stir by hand until evenly blended.

3. Add dry mixture to wet, mixing by hand just until combined.

4. Fold sunflower seeds into mixture.

5. Pour batter into a lightly greased & floured 9x5" loaf pan. Sprinkle a handful of sunflower seeds on top, if desired.

6. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 55-60 min, or until outside is golden brown and bread springs back when lightly pressed.

7. Cool bread in pan for 10 min, then turn out of pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Almond-Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

Strawberry season is ending this week in Illinois, but just getting started elsewhere. It's just the beginning of summer's bounty of fruit, and I've tried to take full advantage. I usually eat strawberries raw or in a sauce, but I decided to try incorporating them into a baked good. This one took a couple of tries, but the end result was something hearty and delicious. Chopped strawberries and slivered almonds, oat flour for a little texture (and source of whole grains!), a mixture of honey and sugar for some subtle sweetness, plus yogurt to make for a moist muffin with just a little tang - put these things together, and you've got a great muffin to celebrate the start of summer!

Note: Allowing the strawberries to drain after chopping is important - my first attempt was pretty soggy, since the strawberries were too moist to allow the bread around them to properly cook. Also, while honey works well as a replacement for sugar, here using just honey led to an off flavor, so a mixture of honey and sugar was best.

Ingredients

1 cup oat flour, sifted*

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup clover honey
1/3 cup sugar

4 Tbsp butter, cold

3/4 cup plain lowfat greek yogurt

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, & chopped

2/3 cup slivered almonds

Directions

1. Once strawberries are chopped, allow them to sit and drain in a colander.

2. Sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. Add in chunks of butter, and cut together with a fork (or food processor) until butter pieces are smaller than peas.

3. Mix yogurt, egg, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Add flour-butter mixture and stir just until blended.

4. Fold in chopped strawberries and almonds, being careful not to overmix.

5. Spoon mixture into paper-lined muffin cups or a 9x5" bread loaf pan.

6. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25-30 min (muffins) or ~1 hour (loaf).

7. Allow to cool in pan for 10 min, then transfer to a wire rack. Give in to the urge to bite into a muffin before they've cooled completely. Delayed gratification can be so overrated sometimes.

*Don't go out and buy oat flour; there's no need to overload the pantry. If you have a blender or a food processor, you can easily make your own in about 2 minutes. Take 1 1/4 cup rolled oats (not quick/instant oats), add to blender/processor, and turn on, stopping it to check every 30 sec or so until it's reached a flour-like consistency. Once that's done, just sift it through a sieve to get out the chunks and you've got yourself some fresh flour. This technique will give you whole flour for basically any grain, seed or legume you have lying around.

Egg Muffins with Curried Yogurt Sauce

Everyone knows about egg muffins. They're the ultimate handheld convenience breakfast food. However, you don't have to resort to the rubbery, greasy, tasteless monstrosities at the drive-thru if you want a filling breakfast in a hurry. You can whip up this nutritious high-protein delight in less than 10 min, with fresh ingredients that are full of flavor. You'll never see fresh greens on your typical fast-food egg muffin, but they have loads of vitamins and minerals, and add a wonderful crunch to the sandwich here. Curry-seasoned yogurt ups the flavor ante, so much so that you won't even want to put cheese on an egg muffin again. The yogurt sauce is simple to put together, and you can really mix up whatever flavor combination you desire based on the seasonings or herbs that you have on hand. The meat, of course, is entirely optional, but adds protein; I had bacon around, but deli meats or even seasoned cooked black beans would be an equally delicious (and healthier) alternative. Put all of it together on a whole-wheat english muffin with a hot cooked egg, and you've got yourself a real breakfast. Or, dinner, as was my case. ;)

Ingredients

4 whole wheat english muffins

4 eggs

handful of fresh spinach leaves, washed (or your favorite raw leafy green)

8 slices uncured bacon/turkey bacon, cooked (or 4 slices deli ham)

1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cumin

pinch salt

pinch cayenne (optional - for extra heat)

Directions

1. Split and toast english muffins. Meanwhile, cook eggs as desired (scrambled, poached, or fried).

2. For sauce: Whisk together yogurt and spices until well-mixed. Adjust amounts as desired (it's always good to start conservatively and add from there). Yogurt sauce can store in the refrigerator for a few days, if you wish to make it ahead of time.

3. Layer cooked egg, meat and spinach leaves on bottom half of english muffin. Spoon sauce onto other half of muffin and sandwich two halves together.

Serves 4

Whole Grain Banana Coconut Bread

An Improved Method for the Preparation of Banana Bread Mediated by Whole Grains and Coconut

Banana bread is a classic comfort food, a beloved childhood treat. Whenever we had bananas that were past their prime, this was the perfect way to avoid letting them go to waste. Every Christmas time especially, my mom would whip up a huge batch of banana bread as a special homemade gift for friends and family. Needless to say, I've developed quite a fondness for the stuff, and made sure to copy the precious recipe from my mom's aged and stained 1970s marching band cookbook before moving away from home. 

Nonetheless, part of growing up is making your own mark on things, and so over time I've played around with the recipe. One necessity was adding more nutritious ingredients to make the bread more substantive and healthy, to give a bread that tastes like a treat without the guilt. After significant experimentation, I think I've finally hit the jackpot here. A mixture of whole grains amps up the fiber, and honey replaces the refined sugar to give a more complex flavor (plus antioxidants and minerals!), and equal sweetness while lowering the sugar content. The banana chips also give an extra banana-y taste, adding more sweetness without refined sugars. Coconut flakes give some extra moisture and a nice texture. Biting into a warm slice, you'll forget that the bread's nutritious!

The great thing about quick breads like this, too, is that you can make either a loaf or muffins with equally fantastic results, depending on how hungry you are and how many people you're willing to share it with. I've made it both ways. You can make the muffins and throw half in the freezer (in a sealed bag, of course, it'll keep for 1-2 months), so you can enjoy them later on without additional effort. A whole loaf can go in the freezer, too, but I wouldn't freeze individual slices. As a test to my hypothesis as to the deceptive deliciousness of this bread, I baked a loaf to share with my labmates recently. The loaf was gone within 12 hours of its arrival in the group room (and I did not announce its presence, either). Experimental results support the hypothesis. 

Unoptimized Conditions (a.k.a. original recipe):

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3-4 large bananas, mashed

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Optimized Reaction Conditions (a.k.a. my recipe):

1/2 cup butter, softened (or coconut oil, for vegan bread)

2/3 cup REAL honey (wildflower is the best!)

2 eggs (or 2 Tbsp chia seeds + 9 Tbsp water)

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup golden flaxseed meal (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)

2 Tbsp wheat germ

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3-4 large bananas, mashed

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup dried unsweetened banana chips

1/2 cup walnuts (or almonds or macademia nuts), chopped

Experimental Procedure:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. If using chia seeds in place of eggs, mix chia seeds and water in a small bowl and set aside (after ~15 min, it should form a gel of “gloppy” consistency, at which point it will be ready to add to wet ingredients).
3. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and honey, then add eggs (or chia gel) and beat mixture. 
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, flaxseed meal, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.
5. Gradually add flour mixture to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
6. Mix in mashed bananas.
7. By hand, stir in coconut, banana chips, and walnuts (let banana chips soak in water for a couple of minutes before adding, just to give a little extra moisture - they were a bit chewy without a pre-soak).
8. Pour batter into a greased and lightly floured 9x5” loaf pan or paper-lined muffin cups.
9. Bake for 50-60 minutes (loaf) or 30 minutes (muffins), or until toothpick inserted in center comes out fairly clean.
10. Allow to cool in pan for  about 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.


Makes 1 loaf or ~1 1/2 dozen muffins

Tropical Granola

It's important to me to be able to sit down for dinner at home with my husband, particularly without having to go back into the lab afterwards. However, being a grad student in organic chemistry, that means that some compromise must be made, and 8 pm is a late dinner (thankfully, I have a wonderful husband who cooks during the week, otherwise it'd be even later!). Between that and working up an appetite during my afternoon runs, having a snack in lab is an absolute must. We've got a candy bowl in our group room, but I prefer something that's healthier and will give me some real energy and satisfaction to get through my day.

Granola is one of my favorite snacks - it's chock full of complex carbohydrates, fiber, and protein, plus minerals and vitamins from the nuts and dried fruits. Store-bought granola is either flavorless or prohibitively expensive (at least for a poor grad student!), but it turns out that delicious homemade granola is super easy to make, and allows for infinite variety. It's fun to explore the bulk food bins at the local natural foods store for new flavor combinations. I've recently hit upon my new favorite, and I'm excited enough about it that I thought it'd be worth sharing. The secret to this granola is the touch of ginger and orange zest to complement the tropical fruits, combining to make for a snack that's so flavorful, it doesn't even matter that it's healthy. You could easily replace the almonds with macadamia or Brazil nuts, and pick any dried tropical fruits that you can get your hands on. This stuff is great eating by the handful, and would be just as delicious sprinkled on top of some Greek yogurt.

Tropical Granola

6 cups rolled oats

1 cup sliced almonds (or macademia or brazil nuts)

1 cup pistachios

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1 1/2 cups flaked unsweetened coconut

1 tsp ground ginger

1 1/2 tsp orange zest

1/2 cup real clover honey

3/4 cup dried unsweetened mango, diced

3/4 cup dried unsweetened pineapple, diced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Mix together oats, nuts, coconut, ginger, and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. Note on the coconut: you can use storebought flaked coconut if you're really crunched for time, but given that this is a tropical granola, I like having good and chunky coconut flakes to really impart their texture and flavor. To do this, remove the flesh from the shell (the thin brown outer layer is edible, so don't worry about trying to peel it off). I flaked the coconut using the slicing side of my four-sided grater; a vegetable peeler or mandoline will also work.

3. Heat honey in the microwave just long enough to thin it; about 20 sec will suffice. Pour honey over oat mixture and mix well.

4. Spread granola mixture onto an ungreased rimmed baking sheet (to reduce mess, I cook it in two batches in a 13x9" baking pan).

5. Bake for 25-30 min at 350 degrees F, or until granola is golden brown. Stir granola frequently, about once every 5 min, to ensure that it cooks evenly and doesn't burn.

6. Remove granola from oven and mix in dried fruit. Spread out onto newspaper and allow to cool completely.

7. Once cooled, transfer to an airtight container, and enjoy! Stored properly, granola will last for months.