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Giada De Laurentiis has always been one of my favorite Food Network stars. Maybe it's her beach view kitchen or her sexy paddle boarding husband or perhaps, it's just the simplicity of her recipes. This nutritimentation was inspired by watching her make Mini Almond Butter & Strawberry Muffins. I couldn't resist the itch to make my version of these, I mean c'mon, the strawberry jam oozing out of the middle, are you kidding!?   Almond Butter & Strawberry Chia MuffinsServings: 8 large muffins 1/2 cup of oat flour 1/2 cup of spelt flour 1/2 tsp of baking soda 1/2 tsp of salt 1/4 tsp of baking powder 1/2 tsp of cinnamon 1 cup of almond butter 1/2 cup of pure cane sugar 1/4 cup of coconut oil - melted 2 tsp of pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (or dairy free yogurt) strawberry chia jam* Preheat the oven to 325-350 degrees.* Fill muffin tins with baking cups. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine the almond butter, sugar, coconut oil, vanilla, and yogurt then mix well. Fold in half of the dry mixture into the wet mixture until combined. Repeat once more with the remaining dry mixture. Fill the individual muffin tins halfway with the dough mixture then add a layer of 1 Tbsp of strawberry jam on top followed by another scoop of dough. They will be filled just about to the top of the baking cup. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the muffins are golden brown. Let cool to touch then remove from pan and serve warm or place on a cooling rack to finish.  Notes:
*You can find the recipe for strawberry chia jam in my Nutritimentation Cookbook :) *Giada's recipe called for 325 degrees but I know my oven runs at a lower temp so I set it to 350.
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Today was one of those mornings I just felt productive. I baked some muffins, ate one of those muffins, took some snap shots of the muffins, anddddd... even prepped some turkey burgers for dinner (I know, you thought I was going to say something else about these muffins). I freaking love muffins. Especially fluffy, warm and toasted muffins topped with melted butter (or in this mornings case, almond butter). Let's call these a lighter version of your typical muffin because you won't feel heavy in the you know what afterwards. If the sweet smell of baked apples, cinnamon, and cardamom isn't enough to get you to try these, I don't know what is.  Thanks to our good friends spelt and oat these babies are also filled with fiber and protein to help power you through your productive morning :)  Vegan Apple Cardamom MuffinsServings: 8 large muffins DRY: 1 cup of spelt flour 1 cup of oat flour 1/4 cup of brown sugar 2 tsp of baking powder 1/2 tsp of baking soda 1.5 tsp of cinnamon 1/2 tsp of cardamom 1/2 tsp of salt WET: 3/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce 1/4 cup of almond milk 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar 1/4 cup of maple syrup 1/4 cup of coconut oil - melted 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place baking cups into muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together DRY ingredients until well combined. In a separate small bowl, combine WET ingredients and mix well. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and gently fold/stir together. Be careful to not over-mix! Pour batter evenly into each muffin tin (filling right to the top of the baking cup for large muffins). Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes then feel free to enjoy warm or place on a cooling rack to finish.
I've tried so many different versions of granola over my years of nutritimentation but never felt quite satisfied with the crunch factor. I wasn't going to give up that easy, that's what nutritimentation is all about. It's experimentation, which means it's not always a guaranteed perfect result. Isn't that the fun part though? Life would be no fun if you always knew the outcome, you gotta' be kept on your toes. No matter what kind of granola life throws your way, don't ever give up! In the end, your effort will pay off.  This recipe sure did pay off. The crunch factor of this granola can't be beat.  Crunchy Coconut Granola ClustersServings: ~ 3 cups 1 1/2 cups of coconut flakes 1 tsp of cinnamon 1/4 tsp of salt ~ 3/4-1 cup of coarsely crushed nuts (I used walnuts, almonds, & pecans) 1 Tbsp of chia seeds 1 Tbsp of flax seeds 1/2 cup of sunflower & pumpkin seed mixture 1/2 cup of dried cranberries cacao nibs (optional) 1 tsp of vanilla extract 1/3 cup of tahini (if the tahini is too thick add 2 Tbsp of coconut oil to loosen) 1/3 cup of brown rice syrup (or honey) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Parchment or grease a cookie sheet. In a medium bowl, combine the coconut, cinnamon, salt, nuts, chia & flax seeds, and sunflower & pumpkin seeds and give a good toss. In a separate small bowl, add the tahini, brown rice syrup (or honey), and vanilla extract together, mix well. Pour the tahini mixture over the coconut mixture and fold together until everything is coated and well combined. Spread the granola mixture evenly onto the cookie sheet then place in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Halfway through (about 4-5 minutes), remove from the oven and give a toss to make sure all sides get toasted evenly and to break up a bit. Remove from the oven. Now fold in the dried cranberries and cacao nibs. Let cool on the cookie sheet until it's cool to touch. If needed, break up into small clusters. Store in an air tight container in the fridge.
Who's guilty of eating almost all of the cookie dough before actually making the cookies? I AM. It's just so good. I just can't stop. I've seen a few versions of this psych-anyone-out cookie dough but I'll admit, I was a doubter - it was too good to be true! With this version, you will prove ALL of the doubters wrong, it will fool anybody. Filled with protein and healthy fats, pop one of these babies pre-workout, post-workout, or really anytime of the day for a power kick in the tush.
This recipe is so simple and I was so surprised at how perfect this bread came out. The coconut components add a subtle sweetness and the spelt flour adds that nutty, earthy taste that bread has. It was so crisp on the outside and had the perfect moist, fluffy texture on the inside. This coconut bread is also filled with health benefits containing essential vitamins & minerals to your bodies health, could it get any better?  Because this coconut bread is only subtly sweet, it's versatile. Toast it for breakfast with some almond butter and toasted coconut (like I did =D) or use it for lunch as your sandwich bread. Perhaps try making a batch of this 'Creamy' Cauliflower & Carrot soup and use your coconut bread for scraping the bowl at the end.  Coconut BreadServings: 1 small loaf/ ~6-8 slices Dry 1/2 cup of coconut flour 1/2 cup of spelt flour 1/2 tsp of salt 1 tsp of aluminum free baking powder Dash of stevia (or 1-2 tsp of sugar) Wet 3 Tbsp of coconut milk 2 Tbsp of coconut oil 3 eggs 2 flax eggs* (or 2 more eggs) *2 flax eggs = 2 Tbsp of flax meal combined with 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp of water: mix together and let sit until the flax absorbs the water and thickens to take on an egg like texture Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a small loaf pan with coconut oil.
Combine dry ingredients and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix well. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry to make your bread dough. Once combined, place dough into your loaf pan and place in the oven for about 30 minutes or until it becomes firm to touch and golden brown on the outside. Let cool before slicing the bread to avoid it becoming gummy. |
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