Blueberry Muffins

Muffins are such an easy and delicious item to meal prep for your week! Breakfast is always a rush in our home as my husband and I are getting ready to head to work and take Emma to day care. These muffins have been our saving grace this week so I thought I’d share the recipe! 

Blueberry muffins (makes 10-12) 

1 cup oat flour

1 cup almond flour

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

1.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup washed blueberries (fresh, not frozen) 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with liners (I have been using parchment paper liners and love them!) 

Mix all the ingredients except for the blueberries in a stand mixer or by hand. Then fold in the blueberries.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the mixture into each muffin liner. Then bake for 20-25 mins until a toothpick comes out clean! 

Emma and I enjoyed these fresh out of the oven. Every time I gave her a piece, she’d give me the sweetest smile! I hope you enjoy these as much as we did! 

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins (grain-free)

Hello everyone! I am so excited to share this recipe with you all. I baked these muffins Monday and they turned out so delicious, Emma and I have been snacking on them all week! Here’s the recipe! 

Makes 12 muffins 

2.5 cups blanched almond flour 

2 T coconut flour  

1 tsp baking soda  

1 tsp baking powder  

3 eggs  

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup almond milk  

1/2 cup water  

1 tsp vanilla extract

8-12 stevia packets (or 1/2 cup sugar of choice)  

1 cup sliced strawberries  

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease a cupcake tin so muffins don’t stick!

Mix all the ingredients together except for the berries and chocolate chips. Then fold in the berries and chocolate.

Pour the batter evenly into each muffin tin, then bake for about 20 mins until a toothpick comes out clean! 

Then enjoy! We sure have been :) happy baking!  

Mexican Lasagna

This dish used to be a staple in our home when I was growing up. We loved it and it made such a large amount of food for very little effort, which is always a win in my book! I made a few tweaks to it this time and it turns out delicious!

Here's my quick and easy Mexican Lasagna recipe!  

Ingredients:

1/2-3/4 lb ground turkey  

1 T olive oil  

2 T taco seasoning  

1/4 cup enchilada sauce  

1 can fire roasted tomatoes OR 1 cup salsa 

2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese  

6 tortillas of choice

1 can refried black beans  

Preheat  the oven to 425 degrees F. 

Gather the troops.  

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the ground turkey and start breaking it up into small pieces.  

Then add the taco seasoning and mix thoroughly.  

Once the turkey is cooked, add the enchilada sauce and the fire roasted tomatoes. Turn off the heat. 

Grab a casserole dish and start assembling! Here's how my layers went! 

Tortillas  

Layer of refried beans  

Turkey mixture  

Cheese  

Tortillas  

Layer of refried beans  

Turkey mixture  

Cheese  

Tortillas  

Cheese  

I baked the Lasagna for 25-30 mins until the top got all melty and bubbly, like so!  

This was so easy to whip up and we are still living off the leftovers! We ate this with a southwest salad (courtesy of Trader Joe's) and it paired great together! 

If you are looking for a new dish to add to your routine, this one is definitely worth trying! Easy, delicious, and great as leftovers! 

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

I've always wanted to like Greek yogurt. I mean, with the probiotics and protein, why not right? I just can't seem to get myself to like it though! My husband swears by his yogurt, granola, and berry bowls, and I almost gagged when I tried a bite of his last week. And this isn't a pregnancy thing; I just have never seemed to like the tartiness of yogurt! Unless it's froyo...that's a whole different story...but I digress...

However, these pancakes, I can get behind! We were out of whole eggs yesterday morning, so I whipped up some pancakes with multigrain pancake mix, Greek yogurt, and liquid egg whites and they turned out delicious! Here's the recipe for the easiest pancakes ever! 

Makes 4 medium sized pancakes  (2 pancakes = 1 serving!) 

1/2 cup multigrain or gluten free pancake mix 

1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt  

1/2 cup liquid egg whites 

optional dash of cinnamon!  

Mix all the ingredients together, then heat up a medium skillet, grease it, and pour 1/4 cup of the batter for each pancake. Flip when it starts bubbling! 

I topped our pancakes with frozen berries that I microwaved to make a nice syrup, without the syrup! So delicious! 

Hope you all get to enjoy this recipe soon!  

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Scones

​I have always loved scones, especially from the tea place my mom and I went to ever since I was a little girl. I even had my bridal shower there and loved it! (Tea Rose Garden in Pasadena, CA!) There was just something so magical about tea, scones, jam, and cream. I could care less about the little sandwiches, it was those scones that did me in, and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

This coming weekend, I am hosting an "afternoon tea" for my family, so I decided to test out a scone recipe yesterday. I was torn between just buying a mix (scones from scratch have always seemed so high maintenance to me!) but I decided to test out a recipe I stumbled upon for Brown Sugar Cinnamon Scones (link above). I made a few modifications, and the finished product was delicious!

Adapted from this recipe: http://www.kitchentreaty.com/brown-sugar-cinnamon-scones/

Makes 14 round scones

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup baking stevia (or preferred sweetener)

1 egg

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk

2 T unsalted butter at room temp

4 T unsweetened applesauce

2 t vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a baking sheet. I placed all my dry ingredients into my kitchen aid and mixed thoroughly. Then I added the butter (I cubed the butter so it would be easier to cut it in) then slowly added the rest of the ingredients until it became a sticky dough.

On a FLOURED cooking space (this stuff is STICKY), roll out the dough and cut into circles (I used a cup). Bake for 13-15 minutes until the bottoms start to brown. I let them cool for a few minutes and then tried one with jam...OH MY GOODNESS they were to die for!!!

I recommend hosting an afternoon tea ASAP and making these. They were way easier than I thought and with a few modifications, totally guilt free! I hope you all enjoy!

Black bean & veggie enchiladas

Well, we are finally moved in, unpacked, and settled in our new home. We are so excited to be here. God has blessed us so so much this past year, and we are excited to have a new home to enjoy with each other and with friends and family!

Last night, I cooked our first real dinner in the new house. I have been missing my kitchen so much! I whipped up a black bean and veggie enchilada recipe that was so easy and SO tasty! It was also a treat because we actually have a dining room table to eat dinner on now instead of just plopping down in front of the TV like we did in our one-bedroom apartment. Ohhhh the joys of sharing dinner and chatting about our days on an actual table! :)

Anyways, back to the food...these turned out so delicious and flavorful, so I just had to share the recipe! Enjoy!

Makes 7-8 enchiladas depending on how much you stuff 'em!

7-8 tortillas (you can use gluten free, but this is what we had on hand so I rolled with it...pun intended)

1 can black beans (I love the cuban black beans from TJ's!)

1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

1 T olive oil

1/2 cup diced onions (forgot to include those in the picture...sorry!)

5-6 mini bell peppers, sliced

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

3 cups spinach

1/2 cup enchilada sauce

1/4 cup salsa

1 T taco seasoning

First, gather your supplies, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet and start browning the onions and peppers. Then add the mushrooms and spinach.

Once the veggies are cooked down, add the can of black beans, 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and the salsa!

Mix well, then turn the heat off.

Next, you start rolling your enchiladas! Put about 1/4 cup of the black bean and veggie filling into each tortilla, pack it tight, then place it in a greased casserole dish.

Once you are done rolling, brush the rest of the enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas, then add the remaining shredded cheese.

Pop these bad boys into the oven for about 20-25 minutes, until the top starts to brown! Then, pull them out and enjoy with some avocado! :)

These were so easy to put together, and we had plenty left over for dinner tonight. Plus, you won't even miss the animal protein, because this meal is packed with vegetables and legumes, which provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and plant protein as well (yep, plants have protein too). And it was also approved by my meat-loving hubby, so it's a WIN in my book!

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and are able to try it out soon! Have a happy Tuesday! :)

Banana Coconut Loaf (gluten free)

It's FRIDAY!!! Man oh man, am I happy this week has come to an end! It's been long, and HOT, and stressful at work, so all in all I'd say I am ready for the weekend!

This week was my first week of skipping morning workouts (minus Monday) and only working out once since then (yesterday). I have to admit, it feels great to sleep in an extra 1-1.5 hours in the morning, especially since I work at a dialysis center and have to be at work by 7am most mornings. Waking up at 4 or 4:30am for my workouts was exhausting me, even though I miss my morning routine like crazy! I love the quiet of the morning, working out, and starting my day off with some activity. But, I feel chronically sleep deprived, and sleep is so important for our well being!

This week felt like a recharge, since I got about 7-8 hours of sleep every night, and am feeling much more rested. Moving forward though, I am contemplating doing some morning workouts on days that I don't have to get into work too early, but mostly doing afternoon workouts. Almost like proving to myself that I CAN workout in the PM, since I've always functioned better in the AM. It's a trial and error type thing for me. Being active is a really important part of my life, so I want to make sure I schedule it in and prioritize this time. My motivations to workout have changed. have changed. I do it now for the release of anxiety and the overflow of endorphins that it gives me. Plus I am so grateful to God for a body that can move, so why not move it, ya know?

But enough about that, and onto zee food! Last night, I felt like baking (even though it's been over 100 degrees here in so-cal!) I spotted 2 almost black bananas on our counter, and found some shredded coconut that I hadn't used in forever, and got to work. I made a banana bread loaf with some shredded coconut mixed into the batter, and it turned out better than I thought! And the best part, it is gluten free, contains healthy amounts of coconut (so good for us), and tasted awesome with a smear of PB on top this morning! Here is the recipe!

Banana Coconut Loaf (makes 1 loaf pan, about 8 slices)

1.5 cups gluten free pancake mix (I love Pamela's brand!)

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup stevia (baking blend, cup for cup measurements)

2 eggs

2 bananas, mashed

1/2 cup applesauce

2-3 T shredded coconut, unsweetened

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. First, mash the bananas with the applesauce, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Grease your loaf pan (I used coconut oil), and bake the bread for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. I let it cool off for about 20 minutes before digging in...SO delicious!

My husband came home and had a late-night slice, and immediately wanted another. I can tell this bread is going to go fast! This recipe is such a feel-good treat that won't weigh you down while also hitting the spot! I hope you get to try it soon, or at least when the weather cools down. But for now, I'll still be baking! :)

Spelt flour waffles!

Here is a delicious waffle recipe that is perfect to make in the mornings! It's full of fiber and protein from the spelt flour, plus you can make this large batch and eat them all week long! Much better than frozen waffles from the store! ;) here is the recipe...enjoy! 

Makes 7-8 waffles  

1 cup spelt flour 

3-4 cup all purpose flour or whole wheat flour 

1 banana, mashed  

1/2 cup applesauce 

2 eggs  

1 tsp baking soda  

1/2 tsp baking powder  

1 tsp vanilla extract  

Pre-heat your waffle iron to medium heat. Mix all the ingredients together. Spray or grease your waffle iron. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the waffle iron and cook based on your waffle iron's instructions! 

Enjoy with syrup, peanut butter, or microwaved frozen berries like I did above!