Veggie Staples

dairy free, gluten free, refined sugar free, plant based recipes

Archives for February 2015

Paleo & Gluten Free Chocolate Brownie Muffins

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IMG_2779I apologize in advance for the obscene amount of chocolate recipes I have coming up to share. I’m not sure what’s going on, but all of the days I’ve been in the kitchen for recipe development have ended up with cocoa powder and chocolate chips! Sometimes that is not necessarily a bad thing. I do love brownies, and I do love muffins (check out my awesome Paleo Brookie recipe here), so I thought that I could do the same in this situation! Why not turn a brownie into a muffin? A paleo, gluten free, decadent chocolate brownie muffin? Well, here it is. Look no further for something you shouldn’t feel guilty about having in the morning for breakfast, in the afternoon for a snack, or as a dessert. Taste testers told me these were sweet, but not too sweet, perfectly moist and had a great texture. I hope you feel the same way, cheers!

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Paleo & Gluten Free Chocolate Brownie Muffins
Author: 
Recipe type: Muffin
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 9 muffins
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup coconut flour
  • ½ cup coconut oil + more for greasing pan if needed
  • ½ cup raw cocao powder
  • ½ cup enjoy life chocolate chips
  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ cup almond milk
  • ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
  2. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl, set aside
  3. Mix wet ingredients in a bowl
  4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
  5. Mix in chocolate chips.
  6. Grease muffin tin
  7. Divide mixture evenly into muffin cups (mine made 9)
  8. Bakers Tip: if you fill the empty cups with water the muffins will cook more evenly!
  9. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a knife comes out clean
  10. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes
  11. Enjoy!

 

 

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Vegan Lentil & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

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IMG_2694Do you meal prep? I try my best to every Sunday. It just makes life easier. Lunches & Snacks! I always have a smoothie for breakfast and dinners are always planned on Saturday for the week, so I know I have all the ingredients on hand to make any one of the meals I’ve chosen for the week. Sometimes this poses an issue just because Jake eats meat and I don’t (i.e. I’m making him pot roast tonight and I’ll probably just end up making myself a green smoothie).

I made these last week and ate them every day for lunch. It was a good change to my normal go to salad, even though every week I add different mix in’s. I don’t think you can really go wrong with stuffed anything, stuffed peppers, stuffed mushrooms…. double stuffed oreos… (kidding, unless they are homemade)! These are really easy to make, and can be quick to make if you buy the pre cooked quinoa, quick rice, and beans. These stuffed pepper are vegan, gluten free, full of flavor and full of protein and fiber from all those beans! They also last the week in the fridge, are easy to freeze and the variations of beans/grains can be mixed up! Does it get better than this?!

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5.0 from 1 reviews
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Vegan Lentil & Quinoa Stuffed Peppers
Author: 
Recipe type: Vegan Stuffed Peppers
Cuisine: Entree
Serves: 8 servings
 
Ingredients
  • 8 peppers (any colors) washed, and cut in half (top to bottom)
  • 1 cup of quinoa, cooked
  • 1 cup lentils, cooked
  • 1 cup black beans, cooked
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 medium tomatoes, washed and chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • handful of cilantro (or more) washed and chopped + more for garnish
Instructions
  1. Make the lentils, quinoa and black beans as directed (or use precooked items)
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
  3. Wash and chop yellow onion, and saute until clear in 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  4. Add tomatoes and cook until soft
  5. Remove from heat and add in all other ingredients
  6. Stuff peppers with bean & quinoa mixture, ¼ to ½ cup fit into my peppers each time
  7. Place peppers in a deep enough baking dish to place ½ inch of water into as well
  8. Add ½ inch of water to the baking dish, making sure not to add the water into the peppers
  9. Cover dish(es) with tin foil and place peppers into the oven for 30-35 minutes or until soft
  10. Serve Immediately & Enjoy!

Nutrition per 2 pepper halves:

calories: 198 fat: 1.6g  sodium: 132g  carbs: 36g  fiber: 11g  protein: 11g

veganglutenfreestuffedpeppers

Almond Joy Protein Bites

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If you’re like me, you might have a hard time getting in all of your protein during the day. I eat a lot of beans, but beans equals lots of carbs, and for the moment, while I’m trying to lose this baby weight, I am trying to go easy on the carbs. I do eat fish, but don’t get a chance to eat it every day, so I wanted to come up with a snack to eat that would keep me full longer. This one does just the trick! It’s one of my favorite combinations (Almond Joy bars are my downfall). You can add any protein powder you want, I used plain (but vanilla or chocolate I’m sure would be just fine). My favorite is this one, made by Garden of Life. I like it because it’s plain and I can add anything to my smoothie without worrying if it’s going to overtake the taste of anything else I put in my smoothie. What is your favorite protein powder (non dairy of course)!? I think you will really enjoy these Almond Joy Protein Bites - the fun part about them is you can swap out ingredients to make whatever flavors you like!

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Almond Joy Protein Bites
Author: 
Recipe type: Snack
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 12
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup raw shredded almonds
  • ½ cup unsweetened (or sweetened) shredded coconut
  • 1 scoop/serving protein powder of choice (or gluten free quick oats)
  • ¼ cup enjoy life chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup honey or maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons mila chia seeds
  • 2 tablespoons flax seeds
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, mixing honey last*
  2. *you can use less or more honey if you find that it’s too sticky or not sticky enough
  3. Distribute evenly into 12 bites (roll in a ball with hands)
  4. Place bites on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator and eat when chilled (10-20 minutes)
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 bite Calories: 117 Fat: 7g Carbohydrates: 12g Sugar: 8g Fiber: 3g Protein: 6g

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Valentine’s Day Sugar Cookies

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IMG_2722Do you love sugar cookies? These are a spin off of my Pumpkin Sugar Cookies I made for Fall this year, but we some natural red dye for this holiday full of love. These Valentine’s Day ‘sugar’ cookies are gluten free, paleo and vegan, and are perfect for the one you love! I made a pink batch, too, by using less of the natural red dye (which you can find here). You could also use dried strawberries to dye your cookies pink, just by buzzing them in the food processor for a few minutes! Kids will have a lot of fun with these, chose any cookie cutter you please, dye or no dye, and they’ll have fun getting involved in the kitchen!

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Valentine's Day Sugar Cookies
Author: 
Recipe type: Cookie
 
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cup almond flour
  • 1 cup tapioca flour
  • ⅓ cup apple sauce
  • ½ cup coconut oil (melted)
  • ½ cup honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • drops natural food dye until desired color
Instructions
  1. Mix ingredients all together (no fuss!)
  2. Place dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  4. Roll out dough into ¼ inch to ½ inch thick slabs
  5. Press cookie cutter into cookie dough and place on Silpat or greased cookie pan
  6. cookies should fit on each sheet depending on the size of the cookie cutter
  7. Bake cookies in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until edges are brown

 

 

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Clean Valentine’s Day Chocolate Almond Butter Hearts

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IMG_2663I usually don’t wait so long to create a treat for my husband for Valentine’s Day. This past weekend I made 2 kinds of desserts, but these chocolate almond butter hearts were the winner out of the two, and the easier of the two to make (but don’t tell him that). There isn’t really too much about them that’s too fancy, you only need two ingredients (three if you want to make them crunchy) and you’re done! And who can resist the taste of chocolate and almond/peanut butter together? It’s such a divine combination! These are great for Valentine’s Day, or any occasion (just make them in their normal circle shape instead of crunching the the paper liners into hearts). They taste better than Reese’s peanut butter cups and they don’t have any of the gross filling! They also only take a short time to make! Double awesome!

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I took a mini cupcake tin and mini cupcake liners and pinched one side of them. Then I used a small piece of tin foil to place in between the the opposite side to make it look like a heart! Easy! You could also just leave them circles and they would look identical to a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup!

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Clean Valentine's Day Chocolate Almond Butter Hearts
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Serves: 12 mini cups
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of enjoy life chocolate chips, melted/divided
  • 1 cup almond butter (or any type of nut butter)
  • small nut pieces to make the inside crunchy if desired
  • tin foil(optional) & mini cupcake liners
Instructions
  1. Prepare mini cupcake tin and liners as desired (circles or hearts)
  2. If making hearts, pinch one side of the cupcake lines and crumple up a small piece of tin foil to place opposite the point to make an indentation for the heart.
  3. Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips in a bowl, heating 30 seconds at a time in the microwave, and stirring in between each time until the chips are melted.
  4. Once melted, place a spoonful of chocolate in each of the cupcake liners
  5. Place the cupcake tin in the refrigerator until the chocolate has hardened
  6. Once the chocolate has hardened, place a spoonful of nut butter on top of each of the hardened chocolate pieces, adding slivers of nuts if desired to make them crunchy
  7. Repeat chocolate melting process
  8. Add a spoonful of melted chocolate onto the top of the almond butter to each cup.
  9. Place the chocolates back into the refrigerator until hardened
  10. Chocolate can be served peeled or left in the lining. Keep refrigerated

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Everyday Grain Free Baking Giveaway

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Hello, dear readers! I have another awesome giveaway for you today! My sweet friend Kelly just came out with a new cookbook called “Everyday Grain Free Baking”. It is just fabulous. Last weekend while we were snowed in I made the cinnamon bread AND the pumpkin muffins and they were both just divine. I know you will love this book (head on over to amazon and check it out). Wonderful recipes from muffins to bread to cupcakes!

I’m sharing this recipe with you for Kelly’s infamous pancake muffins. They are so good and perfect for on the go breakfasts! Enter below the recipe to win a copy of “Everyday Grain Free Baking” by Kelly Smith! Good luck! (and buy the book if you don’t win)!


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Grab N Go Pancake Muffins
Author: 
Recipe type: Muffin
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8 muffins
 
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup plain whole milk or coconut milk yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (or coconut oil), melted
  • 1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup)
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1¾ cups blanched almond flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • ¼ cup diced strawberries
  • ¼ cup whole blueberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8 muffin cups in a 12-cup muffin tin with coconut oil. Set aside.
  2. Place all of the liquid ingredients except the eggs into a blender or food processor. Then place all of the dry ingredients on top. Cover and blend on low 10–15 seconds just until well combined. (Batter will be thick.)
  3. Add the eggs and blend on low about 15–20 seconds, then increase to high and blend 20–30 seconds, just until eggs are incorporated into the batter. (Do not overmix or muffins will not be tender.)
  4. Transfer the muffin batter to a bowl and fold in the berries. Evenly divide the pancake muffin batter among the 8 lined muffin cups.
  5. Bake for 15–18 minutes, until slightly golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool 2–3 minutes in the tin. Then run a knife around the edges of each cup and invert the pan over a sheet of parchment to remove.

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Pineapple Kiwi Smoothie & Smoothie Roundup

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Did you like this months plethora of smoothies? I know it’s the first of February,  but I have one final smoothie for you, and a roundup of all the others. Stay tuned this week for a giveaway, a copy of Everyday Grain Free Baking by my sweet friend, Kelly Smith. I’ve made a few things out of her cookbook now, and it really is fantastic.

This smoothie is easy, just a few ingredients, and great for an afternoon pick me up or sweet treat! Pineapple and kiwi just go so lovely together, this really is just such a winning combination. And, for purposes of this smoothie and future use, this is one of the best kitchen gadgets I own. I couldn’t live without it, and it doesn’t waste any of the pineapple!

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Other smoothies featured this month:

Pumpkin Muffin Smoothie

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Apple & Beet Blaster
Orange Detox Smoothie
Ultimate AntiInflammatory Smoothie
Apple Cinnamon Smoothie
Sweet Carrot Zinger Smoothie
Creamy Strawberry Smoothie
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Orange Vanilla Creamsicle Smoothie
Blackberry Bomb Smoothie
Morning Frothy Monkey
Pineapple Basil Smoothie

I hope you’ve enjoyed all the smoothies I’ve posted this month, there will be more in the future! But onward & upward with entrees, snacks and appetizers!

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Pineapple Kiwi Smoothie & Smoothie Roundup
Author: 
Recipe type: Smoothie
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 1-2 smoothies
 
Ingredients
  • 1 cup fresh pineapple
  • 1 cup fresh kiwi
  • 1 cup water
  • ice to taste
Instructions
  1. Prepare pineapple & kiwi as needed
  2. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor
  3. Blend until smooth
  4. Serve Immediately

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