Are you vegetarian? Gluten free? Plant focused? Just focusing on eating healthily? Then likely you’ve experienced what I have at Thanksgiving. A weird feeling of both wanting to fit in, wanting to stay away from certain items, and wanting to eat something that will make you feel good. READ MORE
Category Archives: Recipes
Just when you thought I was done with pumpkin…
You may have noticed a decided lean towards the food aspect of this blog of late. As I mentioned before, I’m enrolled in a culinary nutrition program with Meghan Telpner Inc. and wow, it’s been a little more engrossing than I’d anticipated. So while I’ve been studying food constantly, I haven’t had as much time to share my recipes with you. Also, we’ve been cooking a lot of recipes we’re not at liberty to share.
BUT, I finally have a winner here of my own. And, I’m excited to share it with you before pumpkin season is over.
I have always loved fall-spiced muffins, from way back in the day when my Dad and I used to breakfast together. We’d order them at a local diner, cooked on the griddle then slathered with more butter (OY!). So, when a certain coffee company came out with the cream cheese frosting filled pumpkin muffins that appear every fall, I had a little issue with self control. I’d go into one their many locations for my morning coffee, and even though I knew they were bad for me, even though I knew they weren’t really that tasty, each fall for a couple of years I’d just give in and order one. And feel icky after. And disappointed with the taste.
These sweet and healthy treats are my attempt to upgrade my fall craving. You’ll never want another scary commercial pumpkin muffin again.
For the Cream:
There are two options here. The first is best in a high-speed blender, and tastes a little like a vanilla cream cheese frosting. The second is the coconut whipped cream trick that’s been around the blogosphere for ages, and doesn’t require anything more fancy than your mixer. Either way, trust me, you’ll be happy.
Be sure to read all the way through the instructions even before shopping for ingredients, to make sure you have enough time and ingredients to insure great cream!
Option 1:
Ingredients:
1 Can Full Fat Coconut Milk (organic and BPA free)
1 Cup Raw Cashews (soaked 1 hour and drained)
¼ Cup Unrefined, Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup (or more to taste, or add stevia if you like)
1-2 Teaspoons vanilla extract (I like 2)
Squeeze lemon juice
Optional: 3 heaping tablespoons prepared Irish Moss gel. This will make the cream a little fluffier and add a nice digestive healing component. See Meghan Telpner’s blog for instructions. Completely not necessary for the cream to turn out!
Directions:
- Start at least 24 hours ahead of time, or more if you can. Place the coconut milk in the refrigerator to get cold. After at least 12 hours, or 24 hours if you have the wait time, open the can and scoop out the white cream, which should be on top. If it does not seem to have firmed up, place it in the freezer for one hour, then try again! When you get down to the water, stop scooping. Try not to get any of the water. Save this for yummy smoothies!
- If the white cream is still more liquid than solid, place in the freezer for ½ to 1 hour to firm up.
- Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth. Return to the refrigerator to chill.
Option 2:
The coconut whipped cream trick.
Ingredients:
1 Can full fat coconut milk (organic and bpa free please)
2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
1 Teaspoons Vanilla extract
- Start 24-48 hours ahead of time. Place the coconut milk in the refrigerator to get cold.
- Open the can and scoop out the white cream, which should be on top. It’s great to put it in the bowl of your stand mixer if you have one! If it does not seem to have firmed up, place it in the freezer for one hour, then try again. When you get down to the water, stop scooping, even if there appears to be cream mixed in to the watery liquid.
- Add all ingredients except coconut oil to the bowl of your stand mixer or a medium bowl. Whip with the whisk attachment of your stand mixer on high speed, or with a hand held mixer.
- If you have a properly thickened can, it will eventually look like medium/firm peaks. Put it in the fridge to thicken further and chill while you make the muffins.
Notes/Solutions:
- You may get a watery can. They’re out there. Keep two in the fridge at a time for best probability. I like Native Forest as I have had best “thickening” results with that brand.
- If you do get a watery can that won’t thicken, put the cream into a blender with ¾ cup cashew butter or 1 cup cashews and 1/4 cup coconut oil to make something more like option 1.
For the muffins:
Ingredients:
3 Large Eggs
¾ Cup Pumpkin Puree (if you make your own, be sure to strain it over a sieve for at least an hour to remove excess moisture)
1 Cup Almond Butter
1/3 Cup Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon plus 1 Teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (or 3 tsps. Cinnamon plus ½ tsp. ginger and ½ tsp. nutmeg)
2 Teaspoons Blackstrap Molasses (optional, but very nice for added spice)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ Teaspoon Sea Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
½ Teaspoon Baking Powder (make sure it’s aluminum free)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Line a standard muffin pan with paper baking cups.
- In a medium bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, beat the eggs well. Then, combine all remaining ingredients except baking soda and baking powder, and blend well. Finally, add the soda and powder and blend to mix.
- Let the batter rest for a few minutes. Do not skip this step! The resting gives the soda and powder time to react.
- Distribute the batter evenly among the cups.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the muffins feel fairly springy when pressed lightly with a finger.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
To fill the muffins:
Insert a ¼ teaspoon measure or a small melon baller into the center of your muffin and turn it in a full circle then remove it pulling out the section of muffin and leaving a gap. Be careful not to go all the way to the bottom, I’d say scoop down about 2/3 of the way. Save these crumbs for tasting so you don’t devour the whole batch of muffins right away. Very important!
Scoop a generous amount of cream into a Ziploc bag, sandwich bag or pastry bag and squeeze it down toward the corner. If using a Ziploc/sandwich bag, snip the corner off.
Squeeze a generous amount of cream into each muffin opening then swirl it up and over the top, spiraling up to a peak.
Top with a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spice.
Eat immediately or store in the refrigerator. If you have runnier cream, it will firm up in the refrigerator, even though it might be more of a smooth circle on the top of your muffin than a pretty peak.
These will keep for a few days in the refrigerator, but I doubt they’ll last that long.
Time is Flying
Can you believe it’s mid October already? I can’t. Or, really, I can, but I’m feeling a little pressure to share some of my awesome fall recipes before the season fades! Also, I feel like I’m missing prime fall time in the woods, but that’s another story.
Life has been pretty busy over here. I’m deep into the Culinary Nutrition program I’ve mentioned and what with cooking, taking pictures, doing research, writing papers, listening to webinars, and trying to keep my various clients happy, I’m a little behind on the blogging!
I come to you today with a smoothie recipe. A long overdue recipe. And even though this may seem funny for fall, it kind of fits…it’s got pumpkin! Not the flesh this time, and no cinnamon or allspice to be found, but the seeds, which are packed with nutrition. READ MORE
For the Love of Apples
Today I come to you with just a recipe. No musings. No yoga thoughts. Except, no, I’m trying to incorporate lots of seasonal veggies and fruits to really feel the season and set my system up to thrive. And yours too! So let’s say this is all about the yoga of nourishment and Ayurveda. Nothing is simple!
And yet, this deliciousness is simple to create and perfect for travel. If your apples are big, make two servings at once. It will keep for a few days so you have two “ringers” in the breakfast rotation for your week, all for a small amount of prep. READ MORE
Rolling Into Fall
Happy Moon Day everyone! Did anyone get to sleep in? I didn’t. But that’s ok. Sleeping in just makes me groggy. Or so I tell myself…
So here we are at Friday, and I thought you might need a treat for the weekend. Happy to oblige! I wish I could drop these little gems off at all your houses and shalas, but sadly I’m just not that fast. Remember that cartoon guy who could run really really fast? What was his name? I need to be him. READ MORE
More Things Beginning With [P]
I wanted to experiment with a very special pumpkin recipe for you. I wanted to practice with Tim Miller last weekend. I wanted to do a [P]anchakarma with Kate O’Donnel and the Boston yogis this week. But I didn’t do any of those things.
For one, I love yoga. I love Tim Miller, but I had to stretch myself in other ways last weekend. There was a workshop in food [P]hotography that was also kind of a “once in a very great while offering” and it’s time I started making those food photos sing! Also, I love the seasonal cleansing of body and spirit to prepare for the new weather and such, but I think my body is pretty cleansed just now, and it just didn’t feel right.
And so, this week I actually stopped to pay attention to what I really needed. As a good friend said to me, in total shock, “I am so f***ing impressed!” Me too. READ MORE
So, as some of you may know, I recently returned from the delicious gift of a week in the Outer Banks practicing mad yoga with David Garrigues. And I was all set to tell you all about it, share the trials and tribulations, but I find I can’t do it. Not this time.
Cookie Dough is Health Food
Hello my little kale chips! I’ve missed you, and I know, I’ve been a little light on the blog posting. Sometimes a person needs to take a step back from the digital world. Don’t you think?
Anyway, while I’ve been away, I’ve been cooking more than ever, really connecting with my yoga community, and grooving on the yoga in general. Phew, I feel better.
So here I am in the Outer Banks. Actually, I’m leaving, and I’m really sad.
It’s been a great time. I got to practice and breathe and chant and study, every. single. day. But I’ll tell the truth, I was a bit nervous about it. We all know I’m…specific..about my food and habits, and well, going away to an unfamiliar place, with people I’ve never lived with before, I was bound to have a few jitters.
But here’s the great thing: in a house with a kitchen, I am always at home. The other day, as I was feeling a little windy, a little at loose ends, I decided to make dinner and dessert for the posse, and all of a sudden I was singing (and maybe dancing a little bit, but fortunately no one caught it on camera).
Dessert??? What??? Yes, we are all yogis, we are all trying to be healthy and somewhat moderate. But you know, there’s no use denying it, everyone loves treats! And this brings me to a key point of the A Life Delectable food philosophy: Treat Yourself Whole. You don’t want to punish yourself, but you don’t want your little indulgences to make you feel icky either. Eat delectable things and feel delectable after!
So, I got in the kitchen, and found my happy place, and treated the whole workshop to some chocolate chip cookie dough balls. Whole food. Sweet treats. Serious energy for the Mysore room. And no belly ache after. Score.
These are not my recipe, but I have a fall version in the works and coming as soon as I’m out of this southern humidity. In the meantime, hop on over to one of my favorite blogs, Oh She Glows and try these. You won’t be sorry. And maybe you’ll even have the energy to hold that Catwari.
Use Your Noodle (and, it’s GIVEAWAY time)
I can’t get out of my own way today. I tried one thing. I tried another. I dropped a few things on the floor. I wrote and deleted a post. I’m just noodling around apparently. And, although I had a heartfelt yoga musing planned for this week, I think it’s not going to happen. So, I thought I’d finally do a long-awaited giveaway. READ MORE
Summer Lovin’: Massaged Kale Salad
Well, I got that off my chest. And, of course, it’s only one small facet of the issue of yoga and body image and enjoying asana while realizing it’s a tiny piece of the yoga puzzle. Well, I guess that’s what’s wonderful about yoga. There’s always more. I’ll have to post a “retort” to my own post!
But for this beautiful Monday, let’s talk about something a little lighter. Food! I love the summer season. The flavors and colors are so vibrant. Everything is so fresh. The BHH grows an amazing garden and I don’t even have to go shopping to get my greens. READ MORE
