Sinfully Wholesome Waffles (Vegan)

I've made these twice in four days.  Umm... yeah, they're that good.  Great for an indulgent Sunday morning breakfast, and equally fantastic for a Wednesday night dinner after a less than stellar day. 

And, since there are all sorts of wholesome things in these, you can feel good about eating them.  Oats, wheat germ, flaxseeds, blueberries, and hardly any oil or sugar.  Granted, they are perfect with a bit of fresh fruit and maple syrup, but it's not a standard sugar bomb of a breakfast!  

Also, you can just pop the leftovers into the toaster, and they're just as good as the day before. Win!

This recipe is from my favorite new cookbook - Isa Does It.  I have to say, I love all of her cookbooks and this one is fantastic.  Everything we've tried has been amazing!

These are going to be my go-to breakfast for guests.  When shall we expect you?

Sinfully Wholesome Waffles
(from  Isa Does It)
Makes eight 6-inch waffles

2 cups almond milk (or your favorite non-dairy milk)
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 3/4 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (all-purpose flour works, too)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed
1/2 cup water
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup wheat germ

If using:
1 cup fresh blueberries

For serving:
Fresh berries
Pure maple syrup

In a medium bowl, combine the milk and apple cider vinegar.  Set aside to let curdle.

In the meantime, in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Add the ground flaxseed to the milk and mix vigorously until frothy, 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Add the mixture to the flour along with the water, olive oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Mix with a wooden spoon until mostly combined, and then fold in the oats, wheat germ, and blueberries (if using.)

Preheat a waffle iron and let the batter rest.  Cook the waffles according to your waffle-iron directions, spraying or brushing the waffle iron with oil between each waffle.  Serve with fresh berries and maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Yogurt Multigrain Pancakes

How about a little patriotism for breakfast?

We've made these before, but they weren't the most photogenic.  Mostly because I used our super fancy stainless steel pan (that is still beyond us, apparently) and even with a bunch of butter they burned and stuck pretty badly.  So, today we went with good ole non-stick and coconut oil.  And the results were lovely.  And YUMMY.

To top them off I pureed some strawberries, added a bit of agave nectar and lemon juice and reduced it on the stove.  It made a great syrup that was tasty, wasn't too sugary and complimented the theme of the day.  ;-)

Usually when I eat pancakes I end up leaving the table feeling full and icky from all the sugar and then being hungry 2 hours later.  These are the perfect answer for the desire for pancakes without that gross feeling.  Make and eat without regret!

'Murica!  Happy Independence Day!

Blueberry Yogurt Multigrain Pancakes
(from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes ~ dozen pancakes

2 large eggs
1 cup plain, full-fat yogurt (we used Noosa)
2 to 4 Tbsp milk
3 tablespoons butter, plus extra for buttering skillet (or use coconut oil for the skillet)
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (62 grams) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (68 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (32 grams) barley or rye flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup blueberries, rinsed and dried

Melt half of butter. Remove from heat and stir in second tablespoon of butter until melted. This keeps your butter from being too hot when you next want to add it to the wet ingredients.

Whisk egg and yogurt together in the bottom of a medium/large bowl. If you’re using a thin yogurt, no need to add any milk. If you’re using regular yogurt, stir in 2 tablespoons milk. If you’re using a thick/strained or Greek-style yogurt, add 3 to 4 tablespoons milk. Whisk in melted butter, zest and vanilla extract. In a separate, small bowl, combine flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet only until dry ingredients are moistened. A few remaining lumps is fine.

Preheat your oven to 200°F and have a baking sheet ready (to keep pancakes warm). Heat your skillet or saute pan to medium-low.  (Always better to start lower to avoid the burnt first batch!)  Melt a pat of butter or coconut oil in the bottom and ladle a scant 1/4 cup (about 3 tablespoons) batter at a time, leaving at space between each pancake. Press a few berries into the top of each pancake. The batter is on the thick side, so you will want to use your spoon or spatula to gently nudge it flat, or you may find that pressing down on the berries does enough to spread the batter. When the pancakes are dry around the edges and you can see bubbles forming on the top, about 3 to 4 minutes, flip them and cook for another 3 minutes, until golden underneath. (If you listen closely, after a minute you’ll hear you blueberries pop and sizzle deliciously against the pan.) If pancakes begin cooking too quickly, lower the heat. Transfer pancakes to warm oven as they are done cooking, where you can leave them there until you’re ready to serve them.  Serve with your favorite fixings (a fruit syrup or maple syrup is great!)

Enjoy!

Fruity Recovery Smoothie

Recovery from what, you ask?  Due to the content of this blog, you might not guess that I'm a marathoner.  But hey, I run and then I get tasty treats, so it's really the perfect system.  Anyway, I recently finished a race and thought I'd share a super tasty smoothie that I use for my and the husband's training.

I'd made a version of this smoothie for a long time, but recently have perfected it with some inspiration from Scott Jurek's book, Eat and Run.  He's an amazing ultramarathoner, an inspiration of mine, and he happens to be a great chef as well.  With his crazy mileage, he would know a thing or two about recovery.  Anyway, he had some great tips to amp up my post-run smoothie to not only taste great, but be extra beneficial as well.

There is a lot of flexibility in this smoothie - use your favorite fruits!  Fresh fruits work well, of course, but if you want the smoothie to be more icy (perfect on a hot day), then use frozen fruits.  Additionally, this smoothie could easily be made vegan by taking out the yogurt.

Some nutritional reasons to love this smoothie:
-Refueling within the first 30 minutes post-workout is ideal (fuel is most efficiently absorbed within that timeframe), and a smoothie is an easy and quick way to refuel.  It might be particularly helpful if you don't feel like eating solid food post-workout.
-Potassium from the banana helps maintain the mineral balance in your body and can combat muscle cramping.
-All of the fruit provides quick carbohydrates to restore glycogen to depleted muscles as well as essential vitamins and antioxidants that defend against free radical damage to muscle tissues.
-Protein from the yogurt and protein powder promote muscle repair.
-The miso replaces the salt and electrolytes lost in sweat.
-Flax and chia seeds provide omega 3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory, and may reduce joint pain intensity.
-Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties as well, and may prevent delayed onset muscle soreness.

And, it's simply very tasty!  Perfect for recovery, whether from an intense workout at the gym, chasing your kid around the park, or just a yummy treat on a hot day.

Fruity Recovery Smoothie
(My recipe, with inspiration from Scott Jurek's book, Eat and Run)
Makes ~3 cups - 1 large, or 2 medium sized servings

1 ripe banana (sliced and frozen is great, as well)
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 cup frozen berries (I used a mix of strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries, but blueberries are wonderful too!)
4 oz. yogurt (We love Noosa, but definitely use one that has probiotics in it)
2 tsp mellow miso
1 Tbsp flax seeds, ground
1 Tbsp chia seeds (or just double the flax seeds)
3 Tbsp protein powder (I love the brown rice protein powder)
1/2 tsp ground ginger (or if you like, 1/2 - 1 inch fresh ginger, minced)
1/4 cup Pom juice
1/2 cup Almond milk

Puree all ingredients in blender.  Add more almond milk if it's too thick.  Pour into glasses, and drink up!

Enjoy!

Healthier Banana-Blueberry Muffins

You know those sad bananas?  Abandoned on the counter, and each day they grow a little more brown and unappealing?  I had a few, and was mulling over what to do with them.  The obvious option, of course, is banana bread.  Which I love.  But, I was looking for something a little healthier, perhaps.  Enter the queen of homemaking - Martha Stewart.

The recipe didn't look too healthy - like you were eating granola or something, but definitely healthier.  Whole wheat flour, flax seeds (instead of wheat germ), bananas and blueberries.  All good things.  Besides swapping flax seeds for wheat germ, I also added a bit of cinnamon.  Never a bad idea!

I whipped these up this morning, and the smell of them baking was simply heavenly!  They needed to cool some, of course, mocking the husband with their tastiness.  And we were not disappointed.
 

They were AMAZING.  We ate... too many.  And seriously considered spending our Saturday eating the whole pan.  Go get the ingredients right now - you must bake them as soon as possible!!!!

UPDATE: This recipe also makes adorable mini muffins.  Just grease the mini muffin tins and fill.  (I did have to make a few full-size muffins as I ran out of little tins).  Then bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool in tins for about 10 minutes, and then transfer mini muffins to a cooling rack.

Healthier Banana-Blueberry Muffins
(adapted from Martha Stewart)
Makes 12 muffins

1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds (or wheat germ)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)
1/3 cup milk (I used fat-free)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.

With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.

Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

Enjoy!

Blueberry Brownies (Vegan)

Summer has arrived everywhere else in the country...but not here in the Pacific Northwest.  So, bring on some chocolatey comfort food, but with a bit of a summery twist!

I had a brownie recipe that I had been itching to try in the vegan cookbook that the fiance gave me.  I've been wary of vegan baked sweet treats as I had some misadventures with some black bean brownies (weirdest texture ever) and some other adzuki bean/banana brownies (weirder still).  Expectations were low, to say the least.  But they turned out really well.  Fantastic, actually!

They texture is great, and more of a cakey brownie.  The flavor is really good and doesn't taste 'healthy' or 'odd.'  The the secret ingredient of blueberry spreadable fruit and whole blueberries is a fun surprise that adds to the yumminess.  In the book they also mentioned raspberry as an option (I'm sure we'd be game to try that as well!)

The plan is to bring some of them into work for treats (and independent taste testing)...that is if the fiance doesn't chase me down with a fork to eat them all!  (Don't fear for him, he'll get some in his lunch this week!)

Give this recipe a try, you won't miss eggs or butter!

Blueberry Brownies
(adapted from Veganomicon)
Makes 16 brownies

2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
10 oz. blueberry spreadable fruit
1/4 cup soy milk (I used almond milk and it worked great)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup fresh blueberries

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Melt the 2/3 cup of chocolate chips, reserving the other 1/2 cup to fold in later.  Melt using a double boiler or in the microwave.

In a large mixing bowl, (or KitchenAid) combine the blueberry spreadable fruit, soy (or almond) milk, sugar, canola oil, and extracts.  Mix on high speed until no large clumps of the spreadable fruit are visible.  This could take a few minutes.

Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Stir until well mixed; we use a fork here because the batter is very thick and can clump up in a whisk or mixer.  Mix in the melted chocolate as well.

Fold in the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and the fresh blueberries.  Spread the batter in the baking pan.

Bake for 45 minutes.  A toothpick test doesn't work because of the melted chocolate/chocolate chips make it look wet and the top will appear soft.  It's done in 45 minutes - promise!

Remove from the oven and let cool.  Slice into sixteen squares (or three, or whatever!)  If you want to serve it warm, wait about 30 minutes, so it is still warm but not hot.  For true decadence, serve with vanilla ice cream (vegan....or not!)  and a little bit of blueberry syrup, plus some fresh blueberries for good measure.

(More fresh fruit makes it healthy, right?)

Enjoy!