Mesquite Chocolate Chia Seed Muffins

I had a lot of chia seed and mesquite powder laying around which I barely use, so when I found this recipe, I was definitely interested in trying it out. These are tasty, healthy, and gluten-free. I would be down for making these again sometime.

(Recipe from Pure2Raw)

Makes 8-9 muffins

1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup mesquite flour ( may use carob, any flour on hand, or more cocoa for a more rich muffin)
1/2 cup cacao
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2-3/4 cup coconut milk (or milk of choice)
1 cup xylitol

Directions:
Place all dry ingredients into your bowl. Whisk together.
Add in your eggs, sugar and slowly add in milk
Stir till just combined.
Scoop into your muffin liners and bake in a 350 degree oven. For about 16-18 minutes, till toothpick comes out clean.

 

Spinach Mushroom Frittata

(adapted from Comfy Belly)

about 10 ounces of chopped organic spinach (fresh or frozen)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of organic extra-virgin olive oil (or more as needed)
1.5 cup of chopped mushrooms
4 ounces of parmesan cheese (non-rBHG treated)
6 eggs (organic omega-3)

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Saute the spinach, onions, and olive oil in a large frying pan for about 5 minutes, and then add the mushrooms. Saute for another 5 minutes, or until the onions are becoming clear.
3. Turn the heat off, cool for a moment, and the add the eggs, and cheese to the spinach mixture. Blend well.
4. Pour the spinach mixture into pie dish.
5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the egg and cheese are baked into the frittata.

Quinoa & Chia Crunchy Cereal

I love cereal, but I’ve cut back since switching to my healthier diet due to all the processed ingredients in cereals. If I do eat cereal, I like to buy a raw brand cereal, making sure there’s no bad sugars in there. So when I saw this recipe from Oh She Glows of homemade cereal, I was intrigued to try it out.

Makes 2 servings

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 T chia seeds
2 T pure raw agave nectar
1/2-3/4 t cinnamon
1 t vanilla
pinch or two sea salt

1. Soak quinoa 2 hours prior and rinse
2. Cook quinoa with water, with amount as directed on package
3. In a small bowl mix everything together. Pour onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Break up into chunks with a spoon and flatten with a hand as if you were making flatbread.
4. Cook for 40-50 minutes at 375F, being sure to check half way through and adjust cooking time if necessary. Cereal should be slightly golden brown when finished. Remove from oven and cool.

It was good and crunchy. I enjoyed it with some almond milk. I would make it again except it is time consuming just for 2 bowls of cereal. If I make it again, I would double the batch next time so at least it’d last a little longer.

Fluffy Coconut Flour Pancakes

Gluten-free pancakes without any “bad” sugars

(from Nourishing Days)

This makes ~4-5 servings

I followed the recipe, using:
4 organic, omega-3 eggs
1 cup organic almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of stevia
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt

Served with raw organic agave syrup

Fluffy! It was good. It has a bit of an egg sponginess to it. There was a lot, so I froze the leftovers and stuck them in the toaster to warm them up after, and they tasted just as good.

Baked French Toast with blueberries and pecans

Brunch galore! I made a huge brunch feast one day =)

I’ve never been a french toast lover per se, but I recently had this extraordinary french toast at a restaurant (which I’m sure was not full of healthy ingredients). However, that made me a french toast believer. I searched for a delicious french toast recipe to try out but somehow make it healthy. Here’s what I came up with:

(Recipe adapted from AllRecipes)

2 servings

4 bread slices (I used Ezekiel 4:9 bread, which is organic, flourless, whole wheat bread)
2 organic omega-3 eggs
0.8 cups almond milk
0.9 tbs stevia
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/3 cups organic raw pecans, chopped (I soaked them beforehand to get rid of the enzyme inhibitors)
“Sweet butter” substitute: 3/4 tbs organic coconut butter, 1/4 tbs organic coconut oil – mixed together
2/3 cup frozen or fresh organic blueberries

1. Arrange bread in a greased (with olive oil) 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, stevia, vanilla and nutmeg; pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Sprinkle pecans over egg mixture. Drizzle the sweet butter over the top. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with blueberries. Bake 10 minutes longer or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Served with raw organic agave syrup

—

Delicious! Definitely a breakfast recipe staple for me!

Spinach onion scramble

I was looking for some sort of breakfast scramble to use up my spinach and onions, and I found this highly rated recipe. Of course, I adapted it to make it healthier (more or less). I made 2 versions, one for myself and one for my hubby. He is a meat lover and really does not like eating anything vegetarian, even fake meats. The only fake meat that he actually likes is this meatless sausage sold at Trader Joe’s, so that’s his version (first picture). Mine is sans any meat, just veggies (second picture).

(from AllRecipes)

Ingredients I used: olive oil, +/- meatless sausage, garlic, onions, nutmeg, oregano, fresh spinach, organic omega-3 eggs, sea salt, black pepper

Yummerz! Would make again =)

Blueberry Muffins

Gluten-free, “bad” sugar-free

(from Elana’s Pantry)

Coconut flour, frozen blueberries, grapeseed oil, sea salt, baking soda, eggs, vanilla extract, agave.

Comments on Final Outcome:

I LOVED these. So soft and moist. You wouldn’t have been able to tell that they were guiltless dessert, free of junkie ingredients. I’ve stopped eating muffins from grocery stores or cafes since they usually aren’t too good for you, so I’m glad I found this recipe. I will definitely make again!

Blueberry Quinoa

Cooked quinoa with almond milk and some cinnamon, topped with blueberries.

Comments on Final Outcome:
This is a great breakfast, in replacement of oatmeal. However, it’s a pain to prep! It’s not a dish where you can make in, like, 10 min. I had to soak the quinoa for ~4 hours to get the saponin off, then rinse it several times to make sure it’s washed well. Otherwise, I’d make it more often.

My reason for keeping this ingredient around in my life:
Quinoa is high in protein and it’s actually complete protein (has all 9 essential amino acids), so it’s good for vegetarians. Also, it’s gluten-free.