Vegan Ginger Bread

Tis the season for delicious, warm and festive treats! This Vegan Ginger Bread is the perfect treat for the holiday season!

Vegan PB+J Cookies

     Everyone loves a good peanut butter cookie, right? Well, these have been taken to the next level by adding jam and making PB+J cookies! Vegan, delicious and super easy to make!

Easy Vegan Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry muffins are one of the best things for breakfast, snacks and every thing in between! A balance of sweetness, tartness and the deliciousness of baked goodies! This vegan recipe is sure to win you over, whether you're vegan or not!

Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

     Its hard not to love peanut butter cookies. They're gooey and crunchy, sweet and salty....a perfect balance! Peanut Butter cookies have always been a favorite in our house and we've tried several recipes, but by far this one is my favorite!

Good-Bye Sugar- Why and How to Remove Sugar from Your Diet

     Most of us have a sweet tooth. We all love to enjoy a piece of cake, brownie sundae, chocolate bar...cupcake.... but these things are all jam packed full of SUGAR!!! Why don't we like sugar? Well, our taste buds love it, but the rest of our body could probably do pretty well without it!

Berry Lemon Muffins

I know, these aren't the greatest looking muffins ever, but they are delicious all the same! The muffins are the perfect blend of the tartness of the berries and the sourness of the lemon! They are perfectly moist and delicious!

Ingredients:
1 cup Coconut Flour
1 Tbs. Chia Seeds
1 Tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp. Lemon Zest
Pinch of Salt
3 Eggs
1/3 Cup Coconut Oil
1/3 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Cup Coconut Milk
1 Cup Frozen Berries

Start by whisking together the dry ingredients. Make sure that the Baking Soda doesn't clump up.

Next, beat the eggs and add to the bowl along with the lemon juice and coconut milk. Make sure to mix well!
Heat the coconut oil and honey together in the microwave and mix into batter.
Then fold in the frozen berries. The more you mix this the more color will come out of the berries, so keep this in mind! If you want a purple-ish batter like I did, mix fairly well. If you want to keep the colors separate, just fold to combine.

Grease a muffin tin and then scoop the batter into the molds. These muffins don't rise too much, so fill them fairly full.

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 mins. They smell so good while baking!

Once they are baked, let cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan and allowing to cool completely.

They are just simply delicious! A perfect spring and summer breakfast, snack or even dessert! I love how the berries just burst when you bite into them!

So, even if they aren't beautiful in looks, they really pack some yummy flavors!


Please share this post and this blog with your friends and family to spread the love of healthy living!
You can follow the blog via email, Google, Twitter @ SpinachisGood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett.

Stay tuned for more healthy post every Monday and Friday!

Keep healthy and Safe!
H. Banana

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Muffins

Chocolate and peanut butter is a match made in heaven in these muffins! They are the perfect blend of the rich cocoa and nutty peanut butter flavors. Even though they have bold flavors, the muffins are light and fluffy for a great, healthy breakfast, snack or dessert!

The other day Mom was wanting some muffins for breakfast the following morning, and like usual I jumped to make some for her! They problem was that there are so many flavor combos to chose from! How do you chose between apple and cinnamon, lemon and blueberry, oatmeal raisin, etc. ? My family loves chocolate  no matter what, and peanut butter is a great partner for it, so I went with that and the result was pretty delicious , if I do say so myself!

So, let's get on with the recipe, shall we?

Ingredients:
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Honey
1 Egg
1/2 cup Unsweetened Greek Yogurt
1 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
1/3 cup PB2 ( You can also just use regular peanut butter and use a little less coconut oil.)

Preheat your oven to 400 F. Beat together the honey and coconut oil. You want the oil to be soft but not liquid. Add the egg and beat until well combined. Next, add the yogurt, almond milk, vanilla and flours. Mix until combined. Add in the baking powder, salt, and baking soda along with the cocoa powder and PB2(or regular peanut butter if that is what you're using). Mix this together until the mixture is lump free and smooth.  Grease or line a muffin tin and spoon in the batter. I filled mine about 3/4 of the way full. This is enough for 12 muffins. Bake for 15 mins. or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for 10 mins. and then remove them and let them completely cool on a wire rack.

These muffins smell so good while baking and they taste just as delicious! Enjoy them for breakfast with some fresh fruit, as a snack or even a dessert! They are the perfect thing to grab for a quick bite to eat, or enjoying with a nice cup of coffee!

You can also make a pile of mini muffins like I did here! They are perfect for little hands and they're super cute!

I hope you enjoy this post, and if you make these muffins, please let me know what you think! Share this post with a friend and don't forget to check back for more healthy recipes like this one!

Keep healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

Follow the blog on Twitter @ Spinachisgood and on Pinterest @ Hannah Plunkett. Also, please give the blog a follow to stay up to date on my post!

Delicious Cinnamon Baked Apples

These baked apples are so good! I saw a picture of baked apples on Pinterest and I knew I had to try and make some! These are perfect to warm you up on a cold day and satisfy your sweet tooth with out having an unhealthy dessert! I wrote this recipe myself and I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
2 tsp. cinnamon
5 packets of Truvia
5 Apples
1 stick of Butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. Maple Flavoring
1 cup of oats.
Lemon Juice.

The first thing you want to do is to wash and dry your apples (Remove any stickers they might have on them) and core them. Coring apples is a lot easier with an apple corer, but I didn't have one so I just used a knife and cored them the best I could.

Once you have cored them, place them in a bowl and splash a little lemon juice on them, to keep them from going brown while we make the filling.

To make the filling, first melt your butter in a microwavable bowl. Once melted, add Truvia and Vanilla to the bowl and mix well.

Then, add maple flavoring and cinnamon. I suggest using a whisk to mix this together.

Now, just add your oats and mix it till combined and the oats are coated with the liquid.

 

Take a pan (I am using a 9x13 pan) and cover the bottom and sides with tin foil. Then place the apples in the pan, making sure there is plenty of space between them. Fill the middle of the apples with the filling. Try to get as much as you can in them because it will cook down. You can just sprinkle any leftovers in the bottom of the pan.

 

 

 

Set your oven to 350 F and bake for 25-30 minutes. Then add some tin foil of the top and bake for another 15 minutes.

 

They are done when you can push a fork through them easily. Take them out of the oven when they are done and let them cool a bit before serving them.

See all that lovely sauce in the bottom of the pan? Save that to drizzle over the top of the apples.

 

 

To serve, place an apple on a plate and spoon some of the sauce from the bottom of the pan over the top of the apple. We drizzled a little half-and-half over ours and my little sister added Whip Cream.

 

 

These are so good! I made them for a mid-day snack and everyone loved them! The fact that they are delicious and fairly healthy for you is awesome! Try these yummy treats and let me know what you think! I hope you all love them as much as we did!

 

Remember to follow me on Pinterest and tell a friend about my blog!

 

Keep Healthy and Safe!

H.Banana

 

 

 

 

Calorie Saving Holiday Food Swaps.

Have you ever wondered whether there was a healthier way to make your favorite holiday treats? Well, there are so many healthier recipes out there from pumpkin pie to turkey dressing, but what about just tweaking the recipe you already love? Here are a few food swaps that might help you. Now, just be clear not all of these will taste good in everything. Use your imagination and have fun with it!

Oil:
Oil can be substituted with applesauce 1 for 1. So, if you use a 1/2 cup of oil you can use a 1/2 cup of applesauce instead. This is a great tip for things like muffins and sweet breads!

Sugar:
Sugar can be substituted with Stevia 1 to 3/4. So if you use a cup of sugar you can use 3/4 a cup of stevia. Stevia can be found in almost any grocery store now, but if you can't find it in your local store try Whole Foods or Fresh Market. The brand of stevia my family uses is Truvia.

Butter:
Butter can be substituted with coconut oil 1 to 3/4. So, like the sugar and stevia, if you use a cup of butter you can use 3/4 of a cup coconut oil. Now, I must say this taste better in some things than others. It does give a slight coconut flavor, which is great in chocolate cookie but maybe not so much in sweet potato casserole. Have fun with it though! Maybe sweet potato and coconut with become the next popular flavor combination!

Cow's Milk:
Cow's milk can be substituted with unsweetened almond milk 1 to 1. So, if the recipe calls for a cup of cow's milk, you can use a cup of unsweetened almond milk. I have used this tip a lot and I have never tasted an almond flavor as a result from it.

Milk Chocolate:
Milk chocolate can be substituted with 70% dark chocolate 1 to 1. So, if you use a cup of milk chocolate, just use a cup of 70% dark chocolate instead. This gives anything a richer and darker chocolate flavor and I love this tip because of it!

Heavy Cream:
Heavy cream can be substituted 1 to 3/4 with Raw Cashew Cream. So for a cup of heavy cream just use 3/4 of a cup of raw cashew cream. I have never used cashew cream so I can't tell you how it will taste, but if you use it I would be interested in knowing what you think about it!

These tips came from HeandSheeatclean.com

I hope these tips inspire you to try new things and hopefully make your holidays a little healthier! Let me know if you try any of these and what you thought!

Keep healthy and Safe.
H.Banana

Quick and Easy Sweet Potato

I love sweet potatoes but if I want to have one for lunch, I have to plan it out at breakfast so they are done by lunch time! Not anymore though! With this new recipe, that I found on Pinterest, I can have a sweet potato at short notice! For the original recipe, see my recipe page.

You will need:
 1 potato per serving
Butter
Parmesan Cheese(Shredded)
Cinnamon
Honey
Salt and Pepper

To start with, wash and dry your potatoes and use a fork to poke holes in them. Place them in a paper plate and microwave them for about 10 minutes (If your potatoes are smaller you might not need that long. I did two at a time and they took about 12-13 minutes)

When the potatoes are soft to the touch, take them out of the microwave. Slice them in half and then make little slits along the cut side. Don't cut all the way down though, just half way.

Cut up the butter into little squares.

Add them to the tops of the potatoes

Now, decide whether you want to do cheese or cinnamon. If cinnamon, add cinnamon and honey to the potatoes. If cheese, add salt and pepper along with the cheese to the potatoes.

I did some of both. Now, set your oven to broil and place the potatoes in the oven for 5-8 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the butter and cinnamon start to bubble. Take them out and allow them to cool for a bit before trying to eat them!

They smelled so good at this point!

Place them on a plate and enjoy!

I made these for my family for lunch and we all loved them! My personal favorite was the cheese one but the cinnamon/honey ones were really tasty too! If you try these let me know what you think!

Keep it Healthy and Safe!

H.Banana

Coffee Cake in a Mug

Some times I get the cravings for something sweet, but I don't all ways have time to make a whole batch of something, so why not make a single serving in a mug??!
This recipe I found on Pinterest, and for the link to the website see my recipes page.

Ingredients:
1tbsp butter softened but not melted

 1tbsp truvia

 1 egg

 1/8 tsp baking powder

 A few drops of vanilla

 2tbsp almond milk or heavy cream

 1/4 cup almond flour
(I added a dash of cinnamon to mine)

For the topping:

1tbsp butter softened

 1tsp truvia

 2tbsp almond flour

 Dash of cinnamon

Cream the butter and Truvia together in your mug. Then add the egg and mix well.

Add the rest of the ingredients  (except for the ingredients for the topping) and mix it all together.

Now, mix up the topping.

Add the topping to the top of the mix and pop it in the microwave. The recipe called for 1 and a half minutes but I had to add another minute.

I must say that it doesn't look anything like the picture on the website, but I have never made a mug recipe and it turn out exactly the same.
My little brother loved this little coffee cake! He kept asking for more!

Let me know what you think it you try this recipe!

Keep it healthy and Safe!
H.Banana

Halloween Candy

   Halloween is almost here and you might be looking forward to eating all of your favorite Halloween candy. But what about being healthy?  I found a few tips for staying on the healthy side of things during Halloween and still enjoy some of your favorite treats!

How much to eat?
 So you still want to eat your candy-corn, M&M's, Snickers, Almond Joys, or Caramels, but you still want to watch your calories. Here are a few examples of 100 calories of different candies.

29 M&M's = 99 calories
4 Three Musketeers Minis  = 97 calories
1 Butter-Finger = 96 calories
4 Milk Chocolate Hershey Kisses = 89 calories
2 Mini Reese's Peanut Butter cups = 86 calories
4 Tootsie Roll Midgees = 93 Calories
2 Snickers Bar Minis = 85 calories
2 Twix Bar Minis = 85 calories
1 Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffle = 79 calories
2 Milky Way's Minis = 79 calories
1.5 Crunch Bars =  75 calories
1 Kit Kat Bar = 70 calories
This information came from dailyburn.com

Now, what about avoiding those, not-so-good-for-you candies, and stick to some healthier options?
Here are a few I recommend.

1. I've already done a Healthy Almond Joy recipe, you can see that here - Almond Joys
2. Clementine Pumpkins!
     Making these adorable snacks is so easy! Peel a clementine and stick a little piece of celery in the top of the 'pumpkin'. Make as many as you like, they are great for kids!
3. Booo-nanas!
   To make these yummy treats, take a banana and peel, cut in half. Stick a popsicle stick, or cake-pop stick in the flat end of the banana. Cover the banana in peanut butter or almond butter and then roll in chopped pecans, coconut flakes or chopped up chocolate chips! then take a chocolate chips, raisin or anything that will make good 'eyes' for you Boo-Nanas, and use a bit of peanut butter or melted chocolate to stick the 'eyes' on. Enjoy!
3. Apple Chompers!
     Theses treats are so cute! Slice a red apple into slices and spread peanut butter on one half of two slices. Place anything from peanuts, marshmallows, banana cubes, or yogurt-covered raisins to make the 'teeth' on one half then place the other half on top and enjoy!

Well those are just a few of the many healthy treats to make this Halloween! Stay tuned because I might me posting some more healthy Halloween treats soon!

Here are the links to the websites were I found these cool treats!

onelittleproject.com -  Clementine Pumpkins and Boo-Nanas (I add to the Boo- Nanas a bit, but this website gave we the idea!)

www.allthecooks.com - Apple Chompers (I used Peanut butter instead of jam)

I hope you enjoyed these ideas, and be on the look out for more Halloween treats. I will be posting a more step by step post on the Boo- Nanas and Apple Chompers soon, so be on the look out for those too!
Keep it healthy and safe!
H. Banana

Ginerbread Cookies!

I love Gingerbread cookies and I have been on the look out for a healthy recipe for a while! I found one on Pinterest and I added and tweaked it to make it my own! for the original recipe go here- food52.com

The ingredients:
2 2/3cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for rolling)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2teaspoon baking powder

1teaspoon cinnamon

 

1 teaspoon ground ginger

 

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

 

1/2 teaspoon ground Nutmeg

 

1/2 teaspoon salt

 

1/2 cup Sorghum or Molasses

 

1/2 cup melted coconut oil

 

1/2 cup Honey

 

1/4 cup almond milk, soy milk, or rice milk (I used Almond)

 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

 

Add the dry ingredients to a bowl and mix together

Then add wet ingredients and mix together. I used an electric mixer for this step.

Flour the surface where you are going to roll out the dough and place the dough on it. Sprinkle with a little more flour and then roll out.

Cut your desired cookie shape out. I used a biscuit cutter to do mine, but any shape will be lovely! Just remember to keep them all around the same size and thickness!

Yum! They look so good already!
Place them onto a pan. I used a stone pan so I didn't need to butter or grease it, but if you aren't using a stone pan you need to butter or grease it.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for around 8 minutes. If your cookies are smaller or thinner they may not need all 8 minutes to get done.

They smell soooo good!

I also made half-moon shapes!

Let them cool on a cooling-rack. While you do that, you can make some yummy icing for them!
Here is the recipe I used!

Half a block of cream cheese
Tablespoon  Honey
Sprinkling of  ground Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Ginger
A small splash of Almond milk.

Whip this up until its creamy and delicious!

Put the icing in a zip-lock bag and push it to one corner. Snip a tiny end off the same corner and decorate your cookies! I did smiley faces, swirls, dots, letters and more! Let me know how you like to decorate your cookies!

I am not an artist, but I tried my best to make these look cute!

I love to half-moon ones!

My family and I love these cute, delicious and healthy cookies, and I hope you do too! If you try them, let me know how it went and what you thought!

Keep it Healthy and Safe,
H. Banana