Tag Archives: flax

Chocolate Muffins with Mini Chocolate Chips!

Posted in Snack, Vegan Baking by

Chocolate Muffins

My kids are really picky and I’ve made many chocolate muffins but this is the favourite in my house! So now that I created a recipe that’s finally a hit with everyone I’m sticking to it! No more playing around with ingredients anymore when it comes to chocolate muffins/cupcakes in my house! LOL These muffins are really fast to make and have very simple ingredients. Sometimes the simpler recipes create the best outcome!

I want to mention that depending on the flour that you choose to use you may need to use a little more milk in the recipe. If you find it a little too dry then add 1 tbsp. more milk at a time. I tried to cut the sugar down in my recipe but that didn’t work out so well with my taste testing crew over here. Ugh! So it’s best to use 1/2 cup for best results. In order to make myself feel better I only add a few mini chocolate chips on top of each muffin instead of adding them into the batter. I cut down on sugar in that sense and the kids didn’t notice. Hey sometimes you have to be a little sneaky if it’s for their best interest right? 🙂

Here is my super easy and kid approved recipe …

CHOCOLATE MUFFINS WITH MINI CHIPS

* Makes 12 Muffins*

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups flour, I usually use brown rice flour or spelt flour. I’ve also used a mix of regular unbleached flour and brown rice flour and it worked really well.
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/3 cup veggie or coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder, you can add more if you like a stronger chocolate taste.
  • 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp. flaxmeal
  • 6 tbsp. water
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond milk. Depending on the type of flour you use you may need up to 1/4 cup extra as some flours draw in the moisture more than others.
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • Handful of vegan mini chocolate chips

You will need:

  • 3 mixing bowls: 1 large, 1 medium & 1 small
  • 1  muffin tin (for 12 muffins)
  • 12 paper muffin liners

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F
  2. Add your flaxmeal to a small bowl and add 6 tbsp. of water to it. Mix and set aside for a few minutes until it thickens up a bit.
  3. Line your muffin tin with paper liners.
  4. Add flour, baking powder, cocoa and sugar into the large bowl and combine well.
  5. In your medium-sized bowl add milk, oil, vanilla and flaxmeal mixture. Mix well.
  6. Add your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and combine. Don’t over mix. Add in a little extra milk if needed.
  7. Scoop up the batter and fill up your muffin tin.
  8. Top each muffin with some vegan chocolate chips.
  9. Pop them into the oven for 20 minutes.
  • Once baked allow to cool off in the muffin tin. Transfer to an air tight container.

* If you wanted to make cupcakes with this recipe then just add the mini chips to the batter instead. Once baked allow them to cool off completely and then ice them. Place them in the fridge for a bit to allow your icing to set nicely*

Enjoy! 🙂

muffins

Quinoa Berry Bake

Posted in Breakfast, Snack, Vegan Baking by
Healthy Quinoa Berry Bake!

Healthy Quinoa Berry Bake!

 

 

My quinoa berry bake is so incredibly easy to make! You can put this berry bake together in about 5 minutes! Yes that fast I swear! I use frozen or fresh berries for this bake. It’s not a fussy recipe so use whatever you prefer. I sometimes buy a frozen berry variety that also has cherries in it and it turned out really yummy too. I only add 2 tbsp. of pure maple syrup to my berry bake but most people will not find it sweet enough so I suggested 3 – 4 tbsp. You might have noticed that I make a lot of fruit bakes or crumbles. I like how by making them I can enjoy a sweet treat without feeling guilty about eating it!  I have a sweet tooth so I’m always trying to create healthy yet satisfying treats. My sweet tooth is happy with this simple berry bake!!! 😀 I’ve had some people ask me for the recipe so here it is ….

 

QUINOA BERRY BAKE

 

You will need:

  • 1 1/4 cup Organic Quinoa Flakes
  • 1 tsp. Cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp. Flaxmeal
  • 1-2 tbsp. Hemp Hearts
  • 3-4 tbsp. pure maple syrup, agave or other sweetener of choice
  • 1 baking or pie dish
  • 2 cups mixed berries (I used blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries and I also threw in cherries)
  • 1 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. Grab your baking or pie dish and add the 1 1/4 cup quinoa flakes, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1-2 tbsp. hemp hearts and 3 tbsp. of flaxmeal.
  3. Next throw in your mixed berries of choice and also add the maple syrup. Give it a good mix.
  4. Even it out in your baking dish and then pour in your 1 1/3 cup milk. You don’t even need to mix it because your quinoa flakes will start to absorb the milk.
  5. Pop it into the oven and bake for approximately 35 minutes.
  6. Allow to cool off a bit once baked in order to cut neat slices.

 

Enjoy!

 

Quinoa Berry Bake Slice!

Quinoa Berry Bake Slice!

Healthy Strawberry Quinoa Bake

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan Baking by

This is one of my most often made recipes at my house. LOVE it! It’s crazy fast and easy to prepare too! Everyone who has eaten it can’t believe it’s made with quinoa. SURE IS and it tastes soooo good!

I add 2 TBSP of maple syrup to my recipe below but you can add an extra one if you enjoy things more on the sweeter side. You could also substitute it for agave if you wanted. One of my favourite things to throw into this bake is protein packed hemp hearts because it adds a bit of a nutty flavor to the bake. I often eat this strawberry quinoa bake for breakfast. Hey why not? It’s full of super healthy ingredients so I feel good about enjoying this yummy treat in the morning. See healthy can taste fantastic!!! 🙂

 

 

A slice of Strawberry Quinoa bake

 

 

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 Cup Quinoa Flakes
  • 1 TSP Cinnamon (I sometimes add more though :))
  • 2-3 TBSP Hemp hearts
  • 1-2 TBSP Dried Coconut flesh (I use Coconut Manna by Nutiva)
  • 1/4 Cup melted Coconut Oil
  • 2 Cups chopped Strawberries
  • 2-3 TBSP Pure Maple Syrup
  • 3 TBSP Flaxmeal (ground flax seeds)
  • 1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

 

 

Method:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 F

2. Add 1 cup of quinoa flakes into a baking dish (I use a round glass pie plate).

3. Mix in the cinnamon, hemp hearts and flaxmeal.

 

 

Quinoa Bake

 

 

4. Next add the 2 cups of strawberries and the dried coconut flesh.

 

Strawberries

 

 

 

5. Pour in 2-3 TBSP’s of pure maple syrup and the 1/4 cup coconut oil and give it a good mix.

6. Even it out in the baking dish and pour 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk on top.

7. Pop into the oven for 35 minutes at 350

8. Once Baked and removed from the oven allow to fully cool before cutting because it needs to set! If your in a hurry like I am at times scoop it into a bowl and eat it hot in a bowl.

 

Enjoy!

 

Strawberry Quinia Bake

 

Banana Vegan Chip Muffins

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan Baking by

My kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Banana Vegan Chip Muffins!!! I have many recipes that I use but this recipe is their favourite one! It’s very fast to make and they taste super yummy and moist. It’s loaded with ground flax seeds (flaxmeal) and even my very picky 6-year-old gives these muffins the thumbs up. By the way she doesn’t even like bananas and eats these muffins! I make these muffins and almost all my baking period with brown rice flour. It has many health benefits such as its rich in fiber, manganese, selenium, zinc, calcium and B vitamins. I also add healthy oats to these muffins but it would work with wheat germ as well. These muffins are made so often that when we don’t have them the kids ask me “mommy where are the muffins???” LOL  I’ve also made them without the vegan chocolate chips and they are still super good! I add in the chips to make the kids happy! I do however sometimes only add in 1/4 cup of them instead of the 1/3 cup and they actually notice! Then they ask me why there are less vegan chips in the batch of muffins when that happens. Sheesh!  This is why I put 1/3 cup in the recipe below! I also added a picture of them cooling off on the wire baking rack but sadly it’s not the greatest picture. Oh well you get the idea …

Yummy Banana Vegan Chip Muffins!

Yummy Banana Vegan Chip Muffins!

 

 

Banana Vegan Chip Muffins

 

Ingredients:

  • 3 Bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil or oil of choice
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 TBSP ground flax (flaxmeal)
  • 6 TBSP water
  • 1/2 cup oats or wheat germ
  • 1/4 cup sucanat sugar or other sugar of choice
  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
  • 3/4 cup almond milk (I use unsweetened)
  • 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

Tools:

  • 2 muffin tins
  • paper muffin liners
  • 2 medium-sized bowls

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F
  2. Place 3 TBSP of flaxmeal in a small bowl add add the 6 TBSP water to it. Mix well and set aside for a few minutes.
  3. With a fork mash 3 ripe bananas in a medium-sized bowl.
  4. add 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup sugar to banana mixture. You can add more sugar if you like sweeter muffins but I think 1/4 cup is enough for us.
  5. In another medium-sized bowl add the 3/4 cup brown rice flour and oats.
  6. Add the baking powder to the flour mixture and combine well.
  7. Add the flaxmeal mixture into the wet ingredients and mix well.
  8. Next add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Now add the 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk. Combine.
  9. Toss in the vegan chips  and give it another mix.
  10. Line 1  12 muffin baking tin with paper liners and fill them half way for medium-sized muffins. Grab another muffin tin and place 4 more paper liners in it. Fill those suckers up too! You could also just do 12 larger muffins and bake them for 25-27 minutes. We prefer medium-sized muffins however.
  11. Pop them into a 400 F oven for 23-25 minutes.
  • Once they are baked I let them cool off inside the tins for about 5 minutes. Then I transfer them to a wire baking rack and let them cool completely before placing them into a air tight container.

*Makes 16 medium-sized muffins or 12 large muffins*

Enjoy! 🙂

Healthy Oat Bars

Posted in Vegan Baking by

Here is my favourite recipe for healthy oat bars! I love this recipe that I came up with because it’s made with healthy dates and prunes. Dates have iron, calcium and fiber in them as well as countless other healthy benefits. Prunes also have fiber in them as well as vitamin C, A, K and they are said to be a good anti colorectal cancer food choice. I really like how the dates and prunes act as a sweetening agent in the recipe! I’ve added the option of adding pure maple syrup to them as well if desired. I’ve made them with and without the maple syrup and both ways taste really good to me. The maple syrup adds a bit of extra sweetness and of course a tasty kick to the bars though. I love oat bars because they are easy to make and can be a great snack to eat on the go! Another bonus is that this recipe is flour free too!

|**The bars do have almonds in them but you can make them nut free if allergies are a concern. **

 

Healthy Oat Bars

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 Cups Gluten Free Oats
  • 1 TBSP Cinnamon
  • 3/4 Cup Cranberries or other dried sulfate free fruit of choice
  • 3 TBSP Flaxmeal
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
  • 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 TBSP Pure Maple Syrup (optional)
  • 12 Dates (I soak mine over night to make them easier
  • 6 Prunes
  • 1/3 cup warm water
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds or you can substitute another seed

 

You will also need these simple items …

  1. Food Prosser or high-powered blender
  2.  You will need a baking pan. Depth will depend on how thick you want your bars to be.
  3. Parchment paper to line your baking dish or coconut oil to oil your dish with.

 

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. In a food processor add the dates and prunes
  3. Add 1/3 cup warm water into the food processor and process until smooth. Add more water if needed until it’s well combined. Also add the vanilla extract and combine all ingredients well.
  4. In a large bowl add the oats, cinnamon, pumpkin seeds and flaxmeal.
  5. Add the cranberries or other dry fruit of choice & finely chopped almonds to dry mixture. Combine well.
  6. Add the date & prune mixture into the dry ingredients. Make sure to mix everything up well.
  7. If you’re adding in the maple syrup then toss it in now and combine well.
  8. Line your baking pan with parchment paper or oil it well
  9. Add the mixture to the baking pan and even it out well.
  10. Bake for 3o minutes

*Let rest until cooled off before cutting into bars*

 

Enjoy them! I know I do & they don’t last long at all! 🙂

 

 

Date Cranberry bars

Healthy Vegan Cranberry Granola Bars

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan Baking by

I love granola bars and I also love giving them to my kids as a snack. I don’t however like the fact that the store-bought types are loaded with refined sugar! I’ve been playing around with different combinations of ingredients and making my own homemade granola bars. In this recipe I use pure Canadian maple syrup as my sweetener. Pure maple syrup is low on the glycemic index and contains manganese and iron which a total plus! 🙂 These bars are protein packed and contain healthy omega! Hurrah! I even eat them for breakfast sometimes when I’m on the go. Here is my easy and healthy recipe for vegan granola bars …

Easy & Healthy to whip up Granola Bars1

Healthy Vegan Cranberry Granola Bars

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups oats
  • 3/4 cup sulfur free dried cranberries
  • 3 TBSP raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/3 cup flaxmeal
  • 2 TBSP vegan protein powder (I used vanilla brown rice protein powder)
  • 1 TBSP cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup melted organic coconut oil
  • 1 TBSP natural almond or peanut butter
  • 3 TBSP brown rice flour
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 TBSP of flaxmeal w/ 3 TBSP warm water
  • 1/4 cup chopped almonds or nut of choice

* You will need a baking pan. The size of the pan will vary depending on how thick you want your granola bars to be*

* Depending on how sweet you like your baked goods, you may want to add more maple syrup to your granola bars. I don’t feel the need for the extra sweetness so I only use 1/2 cup in my recipe.

Super yummy & healthy granola bars!
 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F
  2. In a large bowl add oats, brown rice flour, vegan protein powder, cinnamon, and 1/3 cup flaxmeal. Mix well.
  3. In a small bowl add the 2 TBSP of flaxmeal with 3 TBSP of warm water. Mix and let it sit for a couple of minutes to thicken.
  4. Chop up nuts or process them. Toss them into the mixture.
  5. Add cranberries and pumpkin seeds and mix.
  6. In a medium-sized bowl add the almond butter, maple syrup and coconut oil. Mix well.
  7. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and combine well.
  8. Use vegan butter/coconut oil to grease your pan or cut parchment paper to fit your baking dish.
  9. Add the mixture to the baking pan and even out. Push it down with a spoon to make sure it’s tightly packed in.
  10. Pop into the oven for 35-40 minutes at 350 F.
  • Once you take it out of the oven let it cool off in the baking dish before you cut it up.
  • When the granola mixture has cooled off you can remove the parchment paper and place on the counter. Cut the granola up as desired and place in an airtight container. If you didn’t use the parchment paper just cut it up right in the baking dish. You could also individually wrap them up so you have them ready to go for breakfast on the go or to toss in your lunchbag or purse for a snack.

ENJOY! 🙂

Easy to make healthy granola bars!

Easy to make healthy granola bars!

Blueberry Quinoa cake

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan Baking by

I’ve been on a bit of an organic blueberry kick lately! It seems that somehow I’m always throwing blueberries into my baking these days! These antioxidant rich berries have so many health benefits so I feel good about incorporating them into my baked goods. They also help to boost your immune system which is especially important to me during these wretched winter months. [insert rant] … Yes I HATE WINTER with a bloody passion! Stupid cold never-ending months of torture!

Ok I’m done now. 🙂

As I was saying blueberries have many health benefits such as aiding in heart health, brain function, helps reduce belly fat, helps with constipation and digestion and they are known for being natures anti-depressant!

This recipe is super easy as are all my recipes. I’m a mom of three and I don’t have the time to make fussy recipes! I’m also a strong believer in the fact that less is more when preparing food! This blueberry quinoa cake is also great for breakfast despite the fact that I’m calling it “cake”. Another added bonus is that it is flour free, so our waistlines are thanking us!

 

BLUEBERRY QUINOA CAKE

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cup organic blueberries
  • 1 cup quinoa flakes
  • 1 cup almond or soy milk
  • 1 heaping TBSP of cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or agave
  • 3 heaping TBSP of ground flax seeds (flaxmeal)
  • handful of chopped nuts of choice or raw pumpkin seeds

 

Method:

  1. In a medium-sized baking dish combine quinoa flakes and cinnamon
  2. Add the flaxmeal and blueberries, mix
  3. Next add the melted coconut oil and the maple syrup or agave. Combine well. 
  4. Throw in a handful of chopped nuts or my favourite raw pumpkin seeds
  5. Add the milk and give it one last mix to combine all the ingredients well.

 

*Pop it into the oven at 350 F for 35-40 minutes. Let it cool for a while so it can set properly and you can slice it up.

 

NOTE: If you want your cake to take on more of a bright purple colour instead of having all the blueberries in tact like mine in the pictures you can give it a mix at the 20 minutes mark. The blueberries will be super soft and will release their beautiful bright colour into your cake. I’ve made it both ways and either way it’s yummy!

 

Enjoy!

 

Healthy protein & omega rich cake. Flour free!

Healthy protein & omega rich cake. Flour free!

 

Healthy & simple blueberry & quinoa cake!

Healthy & simple blueberry & quinoa cake!

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Spelt/Oat Cookies

Posted in Vegan Baking by

This is the cookie which is most often made in my home! It’s very easy to make, healthy and doesn’t have  a lot of ingredients. Bonus! 🙂

*Preheat oven to 325 F*

Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup Natural Peanut Butter (I use natural & unsweetened)
  • 1/3 cup Sucanat sugar or Coconut sugar
  • 2 Tbsp of brown rice or quinoa flour
  • 3 Tbsp flaxmeal with 4-5 Tbsp water
  • 1/3 cup Spelt flakes or Oats

Method:

  1. In a small bowl add flax and water. Mix and let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl add the peanut butter and sugar. Combine.
  3. Add flaxmeal and flour and give it a good mix. Make sure the flaxmeal is distributed well!
  4. Lastly toss in the oats or spelt flakes and combine.
  5. Roll into small balls and place on baking sheet.
  6. Flatten slightly with a fork or push down with the palm of your hand
  • Bake at 325 F for 12-14 minutes depending on the size of the cookie.

DSC_0722

Blueberry & Flax Seed Pancakes

Posted in Breakfast by

I came across a great recipe called “Puffy Pillow Pancakes” on www.theppk.com . I had just bought a huge pint of blueberries so I thought I would incorporate them into the recipe and see how it turned out. I’m so glad I did! They turned out super yummy and are one of my favourite recipes to use now! I also made a few other changes to the original recipe. Instead of using all-purpose flour which was called for in the original recipe I used healthier brown rice flour. I also added 1 tsp of Cinnamon as well.

 

Blueberry Pancakes

 

  • 1 1/2 cups of Brown Rice Flour
  • 3 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 2 tbsp of Cane Sugar
  • pinch of Himalayan salt
  • 1 cup Almond Milk
  • 2 tsp of Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup organic blueberries

 

  1. In a large bowl add flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix well.
  2. In a medium-sized bowl add milk, apple cider vinegar and flax seeds. Using a fork mix very well for about a minute until it looks foamy.
  3. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients. Add water, oil, and vanilla as well. Mix well.
  4. Fold the blueberries into the batter.
  5. Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes.
  6. Preheat a pan with vegan butter or coconut oil.
  7. Add the desired amount of batter to the pan and cook for a few minutes, then flip and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown
  8. Serve with 100% pure Maple Syrup & enjoy! 🙂

 

 

 

Blueberry Flax Pancakes