BESTEST Banana Nut Muffins!!!

So, I fooled around with an old non-vegan banana nut muffin recipe and this one came out tooooooo yummy!!!! I couldn't get enough of them :-)

Very Banana Nut Muffins

Dry Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

1/4 cup of raw sugar

2 tsp of baking powder

1/4 tsp of salt

Wet Ingredients:

Egg substitute equal to 1 egg (2 1/2 tbs of milled flax + 3 tbs of water)

1/2 cup of milk

3/4 cup of mashed bananas

1/4 cup of applesauce

Other Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choosing (we use walnuts)

Grease and flour a 12 muffin, muffin pan. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium mixing bowl combine dry ingredients. Make a small well in the center of the dry mixture and set aside. In another bowl combine all wet ingredients. Add wet mixture all at once and stir till just moistened. The batter will be lumpy. Fold in nuts. Spoon into muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve warm :-D

Coconut Oil

So, there is a lot of controversy out there over the benefits and ill effects of coconut oil. But, there is one use for it that should not affect your cholestorol in any way :-) I began using coconut oil as a moisturizer every night about a year ago. Last winter, my face would stay sooooo dry during the day and it would cause my makeup to peel- even after using lotions and creams. I decided to start applying coconut oil to my face each night after washing it. After only a few days, I began to notice a significant difference in the smoothness of my skin. Then recently, I stumbled across an even better way to use the oil.  I tend to have break outs from time to time and have had a hard time finding a solution to these minor annoyances. My skin cleared some, after going off of meat and dairy, but I was still having the occasional hormonal acne. About a month ago, I purchased a really great all natural clay mask. I began using the mask, 3 to 4 times a week and would apply my coconut oil, immediately following. The next morning my skin would look ALOT clearer and feel more silky and smooth!! This combination, really seems to be working well for me.

Coconut oil is also great for stress relief, conditioning your hair, digestion, cooking and baking, and a whole lot more :-)

Here are a few places to purchase your own container of this multi-purpose wonder:

http://www.vitacost.com/Nutiva-Organic-Extra-Virgin-Coconut-Oil-15-oz

http://thebetterhealthstore.com/ItemDetail.asp?sku=2250600200

A few cool substitutes

Happy Monday everyone. Today is very busy, so this will be another short one, but I wanted to share with you some of my favorite healthy substitutes. These are great for your baking needs :-)

Egg replacer- 2 1/2 Tbs ground flax plus 3 Tbs of water= 1 egg

Oil or butter replacer- equal amount of applesauce

Sugar- agave, maple syrup, date sugar, maple sugar, rice syrup, or honey

Vegan butter alternative- Smart Balance Organic or Earth Balance

Milk alternative- Plain Soy Milk, Rice Milk, or Almond Milk

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Another Yummy Breakfast!

Today the kiddos and I tried some wonderful mixed berry muffins! They turned out GREAT!! Here's the recipe:

Yummy Vegan Mixed Berry Muffins

1 cup of flour

½ cup of oats (quick or old fashioned)

¾ cup of honey or agave nectar

½ tsp of sea salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup of applesauce

Vegan egg replacer = to 1 egg (milled flax or Ener-G Egg)
1/3 cup of plain soy milk
1 cup of fresh (or frozen, thawed, and drained) mixed berries -if they are large, you may want to cut them up a bit!


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. Combine flour, oats, salt and baking powder. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add the honey or agave, applesauce, egg replacer, and milk. Mix all ingredients together. Fold in berries. Fill muffin cups right to the top. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees or until done.

New for Breakfast ☺

The kids and I love our shakes, but have been looking for something different to have for breakfast lately. This week we are going to be trying out several new bread and muffin recipes that we will share with our readers. Our first recipe of the week is a great vegan banana bread recipe that I adapted from an old fashioned recipe I had on hand. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Fast, Healthy, and Very Yummy Vegan Banana Bread

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup of honey

Vegan egg replacer = to 1 egg (milled flax or Ener-G Egg)

1/3 cup of applesauce
1 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
½ cup quick cook or old fashioned oats
1 tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of vanilla
½ cup chopped nuts of your choosing (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a loaf pan. In a large bowl, mash bananas until they are very pasty. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Pour into loaf pan and bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean ☺

Easy Dinner!

This week was rather crazy! So, I had to opt for quick and easy meals such as pancakes, rice and beans, and a few other dishes I keep for busy days! Here's a simple recipe that I LOVE to make and the kids eat it up!

White Bean Pasta

1 package of whole grain bowtie or shell pasta

3 cans of navy or great northern beans

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 small bag of frozen corn

1 small bag of frozen spinach or 3 cups of fresh spinach

6 green onions chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

2 tbs of olive oil

Salt, Black Pepper, and Red Pepper to taste

Boil pasta according to directions. Sautee onions and garlic in the olive oil in the bottom of a large sauce pan until they are lightly browned. Add all the other ingredients except the pasta and cook over medium heat until spinach is wilted and the other veggies are heated through and slightly bubbling. Drain pasta. Pour veggie mix over pasta and serve! Serves 6 people

Enjoy!

Water

I've decided to pick one healthy habit to focus on each week. This way things don't begin to feel overwhelming. One of the habits I have gotten out of over the last several months is drinking plenty of water. I've been drinking soooo much teeccino, kukicha tea, and green smoothies, that a lot of days I will end up only drinking a very small amount of water. Even though all three of those things are  very good for me, nothing can replace pure water! I've noticed that since I've cut back on my water consumption, my skin feels drier and more prone to break outs and wrinkles. Sooooo, this week I am working on getting more water into my diet.

How much water do I need? The typical rule for water consumption is 1/2 of an ounce per pound of body weight. So, for a person weighing 120lbs, you would need around 60 ounces. My personal feeling on the proper amount is to listen to your body. If you eat a lot of raw foods or green juices, you are getting a lot of fluids into your body. So, you may not need as much water as someone who eats mostly cooked foods and drinks a lot of sugary drinks. One thing you should definitely keep in mind is that teas, coffees, and sodas do not count toward your daily water intake! They can actually be dehydrators!

As far as the type of water that is best for your health. I've heard a lot of wonderful things about fresh spring water. That seems to be the type most recommended by alternative health practicioners. Just remember, when drinking spring water, you have to be very careful of where that water came from and how it is packaged and delivered to you. Plastic containers leach all types of chemicals into the water. If you are going to drink spring water, it is best to get it fresh from the source and store it in a glass bottle. 

Our family has opted for filtered water for now. We do not have the luxury of local spring water and there is sooooo much nasty stuff in city or tap water! So, about 10 years ago, we began using the New Wave 10 stage filter. After cleaning the water, the New Wave neutralizes or balances its pH. This is very important. You do not want to drink water that is too acidic. An acidic body is prone to sickness and disease! We have been very happy with our New Wave filters!

If you are interested in learning more about the New Wave or if you'd like to purchase one for yourself, here's a link to the online store from which we buy them:

http://www.vitacost.com/New-Wave-Enviro-10-Stage-Water-Filter

Coffee Break ♥

I thought I would take a break today to discuss a wonderful new product I came across just recently! If you are a coffee addict who is trying to quit, I may have found an answer to your morning coffee dilema. A few weeks ago, I heard about an herbal coffee product called Teeccino. I decided to give it a shot and I was pleasantly surprised! It claims to have really wonderful health benefits! Unlike regular coffee, Teeccino is naturally caffeine-free but gives a marvelously natural energy boost from real nutrients, not stimulants. It is high in heart healthy potassium and rich in inulin too.

For me, there were 2 BIG selling points to drinking Teeccino. The first, obviously, was taste! It tastes Amazing!!!!! There are several flavors to choose from, but so far my favorite is Chocolate Mint! The second big selling point for me, was that it is non-acidic. When I would drink regular coffee- especially decaf- I would always have major digestive issues ranging anywhere from heart burn to nausea! Yuck! As much as I LOVED coffee, I just couldn't deal with the side effects. Now I don't have to ☺

So, if you're in the market for a yummy tasting coffee substitute, you may want to give Teeccino a try! Here are some links for places to get more info on and purchase Teeccino:

http://www.teeccino.com/NutritionalBenefits.aspx

http://www.teeccino.com/NutritionalBenefits.aspx

Here's a video interview with the creator of Teecino:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jk-7ZS5A1mY