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.

Chocolate Coconut Energy Bars

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. So when I ran out of energy bars and realized that I was also out of the tahini that I normally use for these bars, I had to get creative. Luckily, I had a jar of almond butter and a craving for chocolate, so out came a new version of energy bars. The cherries of the original version would be just as tasty here, but I decided to switch things up and add in banana chips (bananas are rich in potassium, a useful electrolyte). Dark chocolate is rich in antioxidants, and is also delicious, so the touch of chocolate and cocoa in these bars will certainly encourage you to get the energy you need for running...or whatever activity you've got going on.

See the link above for my rant on how important fueling is for running (spoiler: it's very important!). These bars will help you take in the calories you need, with loads of protein, carbohydrates, and nutrients to keep you going. They are gluten-free (if you have celiac disease, make sure the oats haven't come into contact with wheat), and can be made vegan if the honey is swapped out for maple syrup. The best part of all is that they taste great, and they're cheap and easy to make, so you can feel good about yourself all around!

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

3/4 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup sesame seeds

2 oz good quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup dried unsweetened banana chips, chopped

2 Tbsp chia seeds

1/4 cup natural cocoa

1 1/2 cups almond butter (or other natural nut/seed butter)*

1 cup wildflower honey (or 3/4 cup maple syrup if you want it vegan)

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Soak banana chips in water for 20-30 min (basically until they're chewy), then drain.

2. Combine oats, coconut, almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chocolate, and chia seeds
in a large bowl.

3. Stir together honey (or maple syrup) and almond butter in a glass 4 cup measure, and heat in microwave for 1 min. Stir in vanilla.

4. Add wet mixture to dry, and stir in banana chips as well until mixture is well combined. Spread mixture onto a lightly greased 13x9" baking sheet.

5. These bars can be easily eaten raw, but can also be baked for 10-15 min in a 325 degree F oven. Slice into bars (I usually cut it into 20). Store in an airtight container at room temp for 1-2 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months.

*if you choose to use almond butter (I use it, because I have a husband who's moderately allergic to peanuts), don't go running out to the store to buy a jar, which costs $9 or more for a 1 lb jar. If you have a food processor, you can make any nut or seed butter you want. Just buy the raw or roasted nuts, roast in a 325 degree F oven if needed until fragrant, then cool and process, adding in small amounts of a neutral oil (canola or sunflower) until desired consistency is reached. You can process them raw as well if you prefer, and you can flavor it however you want. You've just saved half your money and made a much more delicious nut butter yourself!

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.

Energy Bars

2011 was pretty horrible for me as far as running goes; with grad school it's easy for things to get in the way, and I was running inconsistently with low mileage. Over the past month or so after recovering from a fall, I've turned over a new leaf, working my way up gradually from a mere 12 miles a week (3 miles/4 days) to some serious mileage, with the hopes of being able to get back to running fast 5Ks again. I'm part of the way there (I'm up to 25-30 miles/week), and I'm starting my first speed workout today with the local running club - the first time I've done that in a good while! With an increase in training intensity, of course, also comes an increase in the need for fuel. For women who are serious competitive endurance athletes, proper fuel is especially important.

One of my favorite books on running is John Parker Jr.'s Once a Runner. However, at one point, as the protagonist digs into a huge pile of greasy food, he proclaims, "if the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn." While it is true that competitive runners can get away with consuming inordinate amounts of food (and I most certainly take advantage on occasion), not all calories are created equal, and putting the right kind of fuel in your body can make a big difference in your ability to train and compete at a high level. You can't drive a car with an empty tank, and neither can you run without any fuel. Also, a number of studies have shown that the first 30 min after a workout are the most important for refueling, and doing it the right way can speed recovery and help complement the effects of your training to make you stronger and faster. Of course, most of us are not likely to be able to whip up a meal within 30 min of working out (even assuming you have the energy after a tough workout!), so it's important to have something that's easily accessible, portable, and readily digestible. Energy bars perfectly fit this bill.

Energy bars come in all shapes, sizes and flavors, and most grocery stores have a daunting variety. However, many of them are loaded with refined sugars and processed ingredients that are difficult for non-chemists to pronounce or are prohibitively expensive for most of us. Luckily, making energy bars at home is super easy, quick, cheap, and healthier than you're likely to find in the store. The recipe that I use is adapted from this one, which I found in Running Times (click for a good explanation of why they're good for you). The recipe specifies these as a pre-run snack, but they're great both before a run and after. The other nice thing about these is that you can whip up a large batch and throw a bunch in the freezer, so that you can keep them fresh for when you need them - just take them out an hour or two before you want to fuel up. When stored in an airtight container, these will last at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Note: These bars are all-natural, but they do have a fair amount of sweetener in the form of honey (if you want them vegan, you can probably switch out the honey 1 for 1 with agave nectar). This is great for runners who are looking for a quick energy boost going into a run, but if you're looking for a healthy, high protein snack to just get you through your day and/or can't consume very much non-fruit sugar, I'd give these bars a try instead. They're also delicious - they just need to be stored in a fridge or freezer, since they go bad sooner (a couple notes: I used soy protein powder, since hemp protein's a bit out of my price range, and you can leave out the maple syrup entirely - the bananas provide plenty of sweetness).

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped (or raisins or chopped dates)

3/4 cup raw sliced almonds

1/2 cup unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

2 Tbsp chia seeds

1 1/2 cups tahini (or natural peanut butter)

1 cup REAL clover honey*

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Mix together oats, coconut, dried fruit, almonds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and chia seeds in a large mixing bowl.

2. Stir together tahini, honey, and vanilla and microwave on high for 1 minute.

3. Pout wet ingredients over dry and mix well.

4. Spread mixture onto a greased baking sheet and smooth out the top.

5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for ~15 min, until edges have browned.

6. Allow to cool, then cut into 16 bars.

7. Enjoy, then get running!


*I mean, seriously, use real honey, it makes all the difference in the world nutritionally and flavor-wise. Honey with the pollen in it, not the processed, questionable "honey" in the teddy bear jars. Find your local apiary or farmer's market and load up (our local apiary here sells a large jar for $15). It's one thing even a frugal Dutch person like myself will not skimp on.

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

Southwestern Quinoa

I may be a bit late to the game, as I only discovered quinoa in the last several months, but I am a wholehearted convert. The stuff is wonderful - plus, it's one of the few plant-based protein sources that is a complete protein, and it's a good source of fiber to boot! It's like rice, but better, and it's another one of those versatile bases that serves as a canvas for culinary creativity. I came up with this combo recently, and I think it's my favorite. Add in a touch of chipotle powder and cumin, plus some roasted corn, peppers, and tomatoes, and extra fiber and protein from black beans, and you've got the makings of a fast, tasty, and healthy dish. This is great as a side dish with some cilantro and lime as a garnish, but I found that it's equally delicious piled on top of a freshly baked corn tostada (as illustrated below; I sprinkled a little cheese on it, but without that, it's 100% vegan). I suspect it'd also be good wrapped in a burrito with extra beans.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups corn, freshly shucked or frozen (thawed)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 cup quinoa, rinsed (otherwise it'll have a bitter taste!)

1 14 oz can low-sodium vegetable stock, or ~2 cups

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

2 medium sweet bell peppers, rinsed & roughly chopped

1/2 pint grape tomatoes, rinsed
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, rinsed

fresh cilantro, for garnish

lime wedge, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add corn, and cook, with stirring, until corn starts to brown (about 10 min).

2. Add quinoa, and stir until quinoa starts to pop (about 2 min).

3. Pour in vegetable stock, then stir in garlic, chipotle powder, and cumin. Allow mixture to come to a boil, uncovered, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer until quinoa becomes tender (you'll see little "curlies" come off the quinoa when it's done - after about 15 min).

4. Meanwhile, drizzle a small baking pan (9x9") with olive oil, then add peppers and tomatoes and stir to coat. Roast in oven (or toaster oven, which is what I did) at 425 degrees F, stirring every 5 min or so, until vegetables start to brown (about 20 min).

5. Once quinoa is tender, stir in roasted vegetables and black beans, and stir on medium low heat for a couple of minutes, until beans have warmed.

6. Serve warm, topped with cilantro and spritzed with some lime juice as a garnish. 

Serves 4-6

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.