Green Options

Life flies past us so quickly, and sometimes I’m certain the sound of the wind is actually the sound of life flying by.  That’s the way it’s felt lately; a whirling blur, a constant hum, non-stop motion.  Since my last post in August, I’ve gone on a 14-state road trip, moved from the East Coast back to my beautiful California, and re-entered the corporate world after a year-long hiatus.  My husband quit his job to launch a graphic design business, we found a goat living on our new property, summer faded away into the brilliance of autumn, and I discovered almond flour.

Yes, that’s it.  I discovered almond flour. Extraordinary, delicious, versatile almond flour.

It’s not cheap — I paid about $35 for 5 pounds from my local co-op — but I’ve never enjoyed gluten-free baked goods more.  A single cup of almond flour provides the following nutrients:

• 140% of the RDA for vitamin E
• 80% of the RDA for magnesium
• 60% of the RDA for phosphorus
• 48% of the RDA for protein
• 32% of the RDA of calcium
• 16% of the RDA for folic acid

There’s more.  Almond flour also makes the best banana-nut bread/muffins ever.

Going Meatless on Mondays doesn’t have to mean deprivation of all your favorite foods. By making some simple changes to recipes, you can easily swap out the animal products for vegan options. Here is a simple veganized muffin recipe, so you can start your Meatless Monday off with delicious, healthy, energizing and decadent baked good.

Tibetan Goji Berries are regarded in Tibet as the “Fruit of Longevity and Well Being”. Goji berries have been traditionally regarded as a food that offers your body longevity, strength-building, and sexual potency. Goji’s are a complete protein source and a low calorie snack that strengthens your immune system, increases energy and helps to curb cravings. It has one of the highest antioxidant contents in all food, which helps to fight free radicals, keeping you young and vibrant. Goji’s contain 18 amino acids, vitamin C, beta-carotene, 20 rare trace minerals, vitamin B1, B2 and B6 and vitamin E.

In honor of this Meatless Monday, let’s boost our energy, keep ourselves looking and feeling young and chow down on some delicious vegan, anti-aging muffins.

Of the adjectives used to describe gluten-free baked goods, the word “fluffy” rarely makes the cut.   Heavy,  solid, crumbly, dry — yes, any and all of those. Those of us living sans gluten have gotten used to the slice-and-toast routine when it comes to wheatless breads.  Fresh-out-of-the-oven-fluffy has all but vanished from our vocabulary. These fruit-sweetened beauties, though, change all of that.

For starters, the batter actually rose above and beyond the baking tin’s edge.  When’s the last time you remember anything gluten-free doing that? These muffins even manage to disguise shredded fruits and vegetables without coming anywhere near the dreaded dense description.

Goodbye flat, vaguely muffin-shaped globules.  It’s time to move on.

My girls love themselves some pancakes, but there is something that I just cannot handle about standing at the stove for half an hour flipping pancakes first thing in the morning. It’s like I can feel my life passing me by while I stand there, flipping and flipping and flipping.

Instead of flipping and flipping and flipping these days, now I bake my girls these pancake muffin cuties–they’re pancakes, baked in the oven instead of on the griddle, and they’re delicious, portable, and amenable to the same yummy variety of toppings that makes pancakes so awesome.

Here’s how I make them:

I think “muffin” was one of my son’s first words. He says it even before he fully wakes up from a nap and it’s hard to keep him down to one per day. I’ve been baking muffins for many years, but I only learned recently that the trick to jumbo muffins is to fill the tins over the top (not 2/3 full as most recipes suggest).

My favourite recipes are those that can be adapted in so many ways that they almost never taste the same. To keep it healthy (and kid friendly), whenever a recipe calls for flour I use a combination of whole wheat, all purpose, and wheat germ, plus some flaxseed. I keep a large bag of this combo flour in my fridge and use it in cookies, pancakes, bread, and muffins. My husband was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure, and was told to cut salt out. I was surprised to learn that you could buy no sodium baking powder and baking soda. We use Featherweight. 

My preschooler is going through a meataterian phase (can a phase last two years?). She won’t eat fruit or vegetables in their bare naked state. These muffins have both, plus no added sugar or salt. I call them Cinnamon Muffins, because my daughter associates cinnamon with yummy. (When it’s time to add the cinnamon, make sure your picky eater is around to help!)

Recipe for Jumbo Cinnamon Muffins after the jump.

Coal Mining Canary: Photo Courtesy of petcaretips.netTen years ago, I first became aware of the dangers of nonstick cookware from a student who had a pet bird. Apparently, when you cook with nonstick cookware, it gives off a gas that can be fatal to pet birds. If nonstick cookware is fatal to pet birds, isn't this the canary in the cave for human use of nonstick cookware?

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