Easter Morning Glory Muffins

     Easter is just around the corner, which means that it is slowly becoming Spring time! I love the Spring season and all the life and beauty it brings! To help celebrate the Easter Holiday, I wanted to make something that was both delicious and healthy! These Morning Glory Muffins are just that!

     These muffins are both delicious and nutritious! They are full of fruit and vegetables to help your day get started off right! The oil and eggs( found in most muffin recipes) is recplaced with apple-sauce to create a lighter, yet moist muffin! In addition to being super yummy, these muffins are both Vegan and Oil-Free, making them the perfect breakfast, snack or dessert!

Ingredients:

2 cups Flour
1 TBS Baking Powder
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Brown Sugar ( or Maple Syrup and use less Apple Sauce)
1 1/2 cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 Unsweetened Coconut Flakes
1/2 Raisins
1 cup Crushed Pineapple
1 cup Grated Carrot
Oats and extra Brown Sugar for a topping(optional)

First, whisk together the dry ingredients- Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Ginger, Salt and Coconut.

 

In a differnt bowl, mix together the wet ingredients- Brown Sugar, Apple Sauce, Vanilla, Pineapple, and Grated Carrot.

Then, add the wet mix into the dry mix along with the raisins.

Mix it to combine but make sure not to over mix. It should be a fairly stiff batter, but not a dough!

Preheat the oven to 400 F and line or grease a muffin tray. I used parchment paper and made my own liners, but store bought ones will work fine too! Also, Coconut Oil or Vegetable oil is great to grease with.
Fill the tins a little over half way full and top with a sprinkle of brown sugar and oats.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean.

 

Your house will smell amazing and you'll be craving a muffin by now! Thank goodness you have a whole tray full to eat!
 Let the muffins cool for a few minutes before removing them and letting them cool completely on a wire rack.

     These muffins are perfect for Easter Morning or any morning out of the year! They are also great to pack in lunches, have as a snack, or even as a dessert with a cup of coffee or tea! The coconut, carrot and pineapple pair together so well and make these muffins super moist and delicious! Also, its added healthy-ness!

     I hope you enjoy this recipe! Oil Free and Vegan recipes are hard to come by, so when you find a good one, you'll want to hold on to it! Its also a good idea to share those recipes with your friends and family! Please do so with this one too!

You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood, Tumblr @ justrunningforfood, and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

I post every Friday!

Happy Easter!
H. Banana

Vegan Eggs? Easy Egg Subsitutes!

      Eggs pop up everywhere! They are listed in the ingredients list in everything from breads and baked goods to candy bars and packaged snacks. As a vegan, it can be hard to find things that don't have eggs in them, as well as finding recipes that don't use eggs!

     But, how do Vegans and those who wish to go without eggs, live without eggs? Well, its actually pretty simple. There are tons of egg-substitutes out there from natural to more processed. Thankfully, it is becoming easier and easier to find things that are egg-free!

     What if you aren't a vegan or you don't have an allergy to eggs? Wouldn't baking and cooking be so much easier if you could just use eggs? Well, there are alot of perks to not using eggs in your baking and cooking, and to me its totally worth it and even better!

Reasons to Go Egg-Free

1. Eggs are fairly high in cholesterol, so removing them or at least limiting them will help to lower high cholesterol!

2. Consuming raw eggs can be dangerous, but raw cake and cookie batter is just too good to give up! Well, when you use an egg-subsitute, you can eat all the raw batter you want!

3.  Most eggs come from hens that are fed feed that is full of hormones and other scary things, as well as living in tiny cages. Using egg-substitutes is a great way to not support that!

4. Many egg substitutes can add flavor to a dish and make it taste better!

5. Most egg replacers are lower in calorie to an egg, so using a replacer can lower the overall calories of your dish!

There are many more great reasons not to eat eggs, but these are just a few of the main ones. If you want to know more about why not to use eggs, you can easily find them on various websites and blogs!

Egg Subsitutes

     So, now we know why not to use eggs, but what do we use instead? How do we make breads, pancakes, muffins, and scrambles without using eggs? Here are a few simple ways to go egg-free!

1. There are alot of natural ways to replace eggs in your baking and cooking!

1 TBS Ground Flax Seed + 3 TBS Water = 1 egg

 

1 TBS Chia Seeds+ 1/3 cup Water = 1 egg

 

1/2 mashed Banana = 1 egg

 

1/4 cup unsweetened Apple Sauce = 1 egg

 

3 TBSP Peanut Butter = 1 egg

 

2 TBS Water + 1 TBSP Oil + 2 tsp Baking Powder = 1 egg ( used for leavening in baked goods only)

 

1/4 cup Canned Pureed Pumpkin or Squash = 1 eggs

 

2 TBS Tomato Paste = 1 egg

 

2 TBS Potato Starch = 1 egg ( thickening sauces and soups)

 

( These Pumpkin Muffins are Egg Free!)

 

 

2. There are also some great processed egg replacers out there!



 

Brands like NeatEgg or Egg Replacer are some of the more mainstream brands, but there are alot more out there!

 

Tofu is also used alot for savory egg replacers as well as sweet ones.

 

Tofu is also used to make egg-free scrambles and omelets as well as things like puddings

 and custards.

Vegan Yogurts are also great to use in place of eggs in various recipes.

 

Vegetable or Oilve Oil can be used in baking as an egg replacement. 1/4 cup = 1 egg

 

( These Brownies are Egg Free!)

 

So, as you can see, replacing eggs is as simple as not buying them or using them. You can have everything you have now, just without the eggs! Even scrambles, omelets and custards! If you choose to go egg-free, or try out a few of the egg-replacements, you're cooking and baking will never be the same!

 

I hope this post as been helpful to you! I encourage you to try at least one recipe that uses an egg subsitute as see the amazing-ness of it!

 

Please share this post and my blog with your friends and family!

 

You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood, Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett, and on Tumblr @ justrunningforfood.

 

I post every Friday!

 

Stay Healthy, Happy, and Laughing!

 

H. Banana



St. Patrick's Hummus

   St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, and while its not a huge holiday, it's still a fun one to celebrate! Everything has been turning green for weeks in preparation for this Irish holiday! So, I started racking my brain to figure out what I could make that was healthy, delicious and GREEN!

What I decided to make and share with you guys, is some amazing St. Patrick's Day Hummus! I know, its not a traditional Irish food or even inspired my typical Irish flavors, but it is green and it is delicious! I think St. Patrick would approve and I hope you do too!

    To make this hummus, I started with a standard hummus recipe and began to add my own spin on it! To lighten the recipe up, I took out the massive amounts of olive oil and tahini paste that normal recipes use, and just used a little of the chickpea water (sometimes called aquafaba) for the liquid. To make this hummus the festive color green, I used some baby spinach! Not only does this add amazing color, but also an extra boost of protein! What more is there to love? Oh yeah, it's also Vegan, Gluten Free, fairly Low Fat, and a perfect healthy snack for anytime of the year!

Ingredients:
1 can of Chickpeas
2 TBS minced Garlic or 2 tsp of Garlic Powder
2 tsp Ground Cumin
2 TBS Lemon Juice
1 cup Fresh Spinach ( you could also use Kale, Arugula or any other dark leafy green you want)
(Optional) 1-2 tsp Tahini ( ground sesame seeds)
Salt to taste

Drain your chickpeas, BUT KEEP THE LIQUID. What you don't use in the recipe you can save for a later use. This liquid is called aquafaba and can me used to make vegan frostings, marshmallow fluff, sponge cakes and so much more!
Add everything to a blender or food processor EXPECT THE SPINACH.

Blend until everything is incorporated and fairly smooth. Taste and adjust any flavors if needed. If needed, add in some of the chickpea water to make things blend easier.

 

You could leave it as is and you will still have a delicious hummus, but in the spirit of St. Patty's Day, lets make it green!

 

Add your spinach to the blender and blend until smooth.

 

 

Isn't is pretty? Its so much fun to eat things that are fun colors! Taste the hummus and make sure it is to your liking. You might need to adjust the seasonings a bit to make it perfect!

 

Then, transfer your fresh homemade hummus to a dish or container.

 

 

Chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

 

Now you have some beautiful and delicious green hummus that St. Patrick himself would be proud of! This hummus is perfect for a St. Patrick's Day party or for a festive touch to your lunch and dinner!

 

Hummus has become a staple food in our house. We love to eat it with pita chips, carrot sticks, slices of cucumber and bell pepper, and crackers. Its also really yummy spead on toast, used in place of mayo on your sandwiches and veggie burgers, or in wraps to add delicious flavor and extra protein!

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe for hummus! I am sure you will love it as much as I do! Whether you make it in celeration of St. Patrick's Day, or just for fun, this is a recipe you won't want to miss out on!

 

Please share this recipe and my blog with your friends and family to helpe everyone live a healthier and happier life!

 

You can follow the blog vie email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood, Tumblr @ justrunningforfood, and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

I post every Friday!

 

Stay Healthy, Happy and Laughing!

 

H. Banana

Fudgy Mug Brownie

       Greetings! My name is Emma. I'm Hannah's younger sister. She has given me the privlege of guest writing a blog post! I'm super excited to write this! This week's post is on a gooey, fudgy mug brownie to die for!

I developed the recipe for this vegan and gluten free brownie one afternoon when I had a craving for something sweet. I went into our pantry, grabbed some ingredients, and started putting a little bit of this and that into a mug. The finish product was amazing!

 

Heavenly!!!

 

 

Fudgy goodness!

 

Okay, enough chattering, you need to know how you can make this and put it in your belly!

 

 

 

 

 

Fudgy Mug Brownie

(Note: This recipe is vegan and gluten free, so everyone can enjoy!)

 

Step one: add the following ingredients listed to a mediem sized coffee mug.

 

1 &1/2 TBS of cocoa powder

1 tiny pinch of salt

1/4 TSP of baking powder

2 TBS of almond flour

1 TBS of sugar

mix

Step two:  Add wet ingredients to dry.

 

1 heaping TSP of creamy peanut butter

1-2 splashes of vanilla unsweetened almond milk

1 tiny splash of vanilla extract

 

Mix until well combined.

 

Step three: Mirowave for 30 seconds, or until done. ( Note: Cook time may vary, depending on the strengh of your mirowave, also note that it is very easy to over bake this brownie, so be careful!)

 

Step four: Let the brownie cool slightly, and devour!

( opptionaly: add a tiny spoonful of peanut butter to top it off.)

 

 

 

There you go folks, your fudgy mug brownie! I hope you enjoy this brownie as much as I did, and I'm pretty confident  you'll love it too! Be sure to leave a comment below if you tried this recipe or not, and share it with your friends!

 

 

If you enjoyed this post, please share it and this blog with your friends and family so that everyone can enjoy recipes like this one!

 

You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood, Tumblr @ justrunningforfood, and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

 

New Post every Friday!

 

Enjoy this delicious recipe and I'll see you later!- Emma

 

Stay Healthy , Happy and Laughing

 

H. Banana