dairy-free

Double Chocolate Muffins

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These vegan Double Chocolate Muffins–spiced with vanilla, coconut, and banana–are moist and delicious!

It was almost nine o’clock at night. The perfect time to whip together a batch of chocolate muffins, right? Well, that’s what I thought the other night as I started jotting down a rough draft of the recipe. (Am I the only one that likes to write “first drafts” of recipes and then “edit” them until I’m pleased? Sigh…I guess I write too much.)

My first objective was to create slightly sweet chocolate muffins for breakfast. The first try was a success. The muffins were moist and great for a light snack or breakfast. The next objective: chocolate dessert muffins. I added extra sweetener and more chocolate chips (why not?), and the end result was an extra moist and delightfully richer dessert version. I’ve shown how to make both kinds in the recipe below. Either way, they’re good, it just depends on your preference.

Double Chocolate Muffins

  • 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1 heaping Tbsp of ground flaxseed (or more flour)
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 large ripe banana (or 1 1/2 small bananas)
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 cup sucanat (or 3/4 cup for dessert muffins)
  • 2 tsp vanilla (increase  to 1 Tbsp if using regular almond milk)
  • 1/3 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (or 1/2 cup for dessert muffins)

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, flaxseed, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, puree the banana with a mixer. In a small saucepan melt the coconut oil over medium-low heat. Once the oil is melted, stir in the sucanat, almond milk, and vanilla. Heat until warm (not hot). Pour into the bowl with the mashed banana and mix until combined. Blend in the flour mixture until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners. Pour the batter evenly into the cups. Bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes or until the tops are set (they should feel springy but not gooey). Cool a few minutes in the pan before removing the muffins from the tin and placing them on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or cooled.

makes 1 dozen

Honey-Baked Carrots

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Simple and delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lbs. whole organic carrots
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • salt and pepper to taste (I do 1 tsp each)

Directions:

Cut off both ends of the washed carrots. Cut into carrot sticks (or desired size). Place in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. Glaze the carrots with the olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper; mix with your hands until evenly coated. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes until tender (or 30 minutes in a convention oven). Serve.

Chocolate-Covered Oranges

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Oranges and chocolate–two of my favorite flavors–are combined to make this quick, delicious, and healthy snack.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life)
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 orange, peeled and segmented

Directions:

Arrange the orange segments on a parchment covered dish. Place in the freezer for a few minutes. Meanwhile melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted. Roll each orange segment in the melted chocolate until coated and place back on the parchment paper covered dish. You may need to melt more chocolate chips and coconut oil depending on the size of the orange and how thickly you coat the segments. Place back in the freezer uncovered for about 15 minutes or until the chocolate is hardened. Serve. Store leftovers (if there are any!) in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Vegetarian Chickpea Sandwiches

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Here is a quick, healthy, delicious, and easily adaptable vegetarian lunch!

Ingredients:

  • 1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tbsp each of mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil, and mustard (or some combination to make a 1/4 cup)
  • 1/4 tsp each of cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and chili powder (or whatever spices you’d like!)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber
  • 1/4 cup diced tomato
  • 2 Tbs finely chopped celery

Directions:

In a small bowl, mash the chickpeas with a fork until partly pasty.

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Blend in the liquids (whatever combination you want).

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Add the rest of the ingredients, and adjust the seasonings to taste. I garnish with extra chopped tomatoes and chili powder.

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Excellent served with pita chips, but any bread will do. Great served with lettuce or avocado too! You can be creative with this recipe, but I love this combination! :)

Banana Nut Muffins

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A glance at the over-ripe bananas in the fruit basket assured me that today would be a good day to experiment with a muffin recipe I’ve been formulating in my head over the past few days. A couple mashed bananas later, and here you have it–Banana Nut Muffins. I wasn’t sure there would be any left for a photo shoot after my family discovered them, but thankfully these three muffins escaped. Let’s just say, these muffins were a hit! :)

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Ingredients:

1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey granules
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat the bananas, coconut oil, honey granules, honey, and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts. Line a 12 cup muffin tray with muffin liners, and pour the batter evenly into the cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes clean. Allow muffins to cool a few minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

makes 1 dozen muffins

Nut Butter

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This flavorful nut butter combines almonds, pecans, and walnuts. It’s great served with apples or topped with jelly on a slice of bread.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup almonds
  • 1/2 cup pecans
  • 1/2 cup walnuts
  • 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Directions:

  1. Place the nuts on a tray and toast at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes.
  2. Place the nuts in a food processor and blend until it becomes butter (5-6 minutes), scraping down the sides as necessary.
  3. Add salt to taste and blend.
  4. Refrigerate or store at room temperature.

makes 1 cup of nut butter

Sweet Potato Muffins

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These autumn-spiced sweet potato muffins are a healthy breakfast treat.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked mashed sweet potatoes
1/3 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
1/3 cup almond milk
1/3 cup applesauce
1/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Cream the sweet potatoes, sucanat, almond milk, applesauce, honey, and eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix. Stir in the pecans if desired. Line 16 muffin cups with muffin liners, and pour the batter into the cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool a few minutes before removing from the muffin tin; cool completely.

Vegan Chocolate Milk

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Here is a simple and yummy vegan rendition of chocolate milk. :)

Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk, or other non-dairy milk*
1 frozen banana
2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in a blender (I use a Nutri-Bullet) and serve!

Makes 2 servings.

*Note: I love the creamy texture I get when I use 1/2 cup canned coconut milk and 1/2 cup almond milk.

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Here is a healthier twist to a classic recipe–butter-free and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 egg
1/2 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
1/2 cup honey granules (or sugar)
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Directions:

In a food processor, blend the beans, oil, egg, sucanat, honey granules, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and blend until combined. Pulse in the chocolate chips until distributed. Shape dough into 1″ balls and place a couple inches apart on a baking sheet. (If dough is too sticky, you can refrigerate it for a little bit before shaping into balls) Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes, or until cracked and set. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool. (I actually like these cookies the best after they have cooled completely)

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Autumn Spice Crackers

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These nutritious crackers highlight some of the seasons best tastes.

Ingredients:

2 cups oat flour
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup ground flax seed
2 Tbs chia seeds
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
generous pinch of cloves
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs maple syrup
2 Tbs water

Directions:

Place the oat flour, pecans, flax seed, chia seeds, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a food processor. Pulse for a few seconds until combined. Add the remaining ingredients and process until combined. The mixture will look crumbly, but should stick together when formed into a ball. You can add additional water if the dough is too dry. Place the dough on a baking stone and roll out to about 1/8″ thick. Cut the dough into cracker shapes using a pizza cutter. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to brown. Allow to cool on wire racks. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes about 3 dozen crackers