Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Today I was in the mood for a muffin. I don't get in these moods all that often, and since the summer temps have finally cooled down enough to turn my oven on, I thought I would create a mildly sweet yet hearty muffin using up some remaining local and organic apples I had sitting on my table. I didn't make them for breakfast, but rather as a mid-morning snack for me and my three year old.

A few months ago my doctor ran some tests on me and discovered that I am hypoglycemic, so I literally have to eat every two to three hours (I've always been a food grazer, eating very small meals and snacks throughout the day, but to have to eat every two to three hours is still quite new to me). And to be honest, I've been in such a rut with my "snacks" that I needed something really wow-ing to get me out of that funk. These muffins did it- wow!

Don't let the gluten free-ness of this muffin recipe give you a moment's hesitation. You'd never know you're missing the gulten. As with all gluten free baking recipes, it can be a bit tricky to find a combination of flours that create a muffin that holds together very well (I was a bit concerned that they would turn out to be crumbly and fall apart with one bite- not so!). And I prefer to use as few starch flours as possible when baking, so as to keep the glycemic load from skyrocketing, and keep the high fibrous flour content high, hence the almond flour and flax. I think the combo presented here is perfect.

A note about the sweetness factor of these muffins: they are mildy (not overly) sweet. Here's why: since I stopped eating sugar a few years back, I just don't crave it anymore (and when I do eat something sweet, it is always a natural, low glycemic sweetner, think: agave, Xylosweet, stevia). So to me, the mild sweetness factor of these muffins is perfect. If you, however, like your sweets really sweet, then you might want to up the ante on the Xylosweet or agave from 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup. Either way, it's a fantastic recipe, and will serve as a base for other muffin variations to come.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Dry Ingredients

1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup Xlyosweet
1/8 teaspoon stevia (optional)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk, cream, or almond milk
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 grated apples (about 1 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin tins with either paper or silicone liners.

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and add milk, oil, and vanilla and mix well. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients bowl and combine. Stir in the grated apples. Spoon muffin mixture into muffin tins, filling about 3/4 of the way to the top.

Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool in pan set on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. Of course, if you can't wait that long, fresh out of the oven will work just fine!

Apple Crisp

Now that it's September, I decided to indulge my oven craving and bake something. I haven't been able to do this in about three months, since before the summer began. It was a relatively cool weekend (compared to the 90 plus temps we had had the week before) and I just wanted to make something that would warm my core. I had a bowl full of organic apples on my table (my first apples of the season!) that were calling to me to be baked in an apple crisp (I mean, really, they were saying, "Kelly, roast me!"), so I did just that.

I used gluten free oats that had been soaked for 24 hours in water and a little lemon juice and then dehydrated for 10 hours as my topping base (they had been sitting in my pantry in an airtight container for a month or so). If you do not want to spend the time soaking and dehydrating your oats, then unsoaked oats will also work just fine in this recipe, you just won't get the added digestion benefits that you get from the soaking process (see Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions for more on this topic). If you are gluten intolerant, allergic, or sensitive, please make sure that you get certified gluten free oats, as oats are one of those grains that can get easily contaminated with gluten (as they are often processed in plants that also process gluten).

My family was in town over the weekend visiting, so they got to taste test this one. My sister in law, my  husband, and I all really liked it, but my brother in law, well, he's a hard one to convince (I call it "healthy," he calls it... "cardboard." But I give him kudos anyway because he ate it and when he finished, he said that it was, "not that bad." I think he just needs some time to come around.). Well, I'm gonna post it anyway because with three against one, I figure my odds for a successful blog post about it are stacked in my favor.

I think the best part about this recipe is that it makes your whole house smell deliciously, cinnamonny (there I go making up words again) fragrant. And who doesn't like a cinnamonny-smelling house?

Gluten Free Apple Crisp

5 medium apples, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons Xylosweet or agave
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Crumble Topping

3 cups soaked and dried old fashioned oats (or 2 cups oats if not soaked and dried)
1/4 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 tablespoon Xylosweet or agave
3 tablespoons coconut oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine first four ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat. Pour into an 8x8 inch baking dish. Add the crumble topping to a bowl and toss to coat using a spatula or wooden spoon, until it resembles course crumbs (feel free to use your hands too to get the oats broken up and absorb some of the oil). Spread the crumble topping over the apple mixture in the pan.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Best enjoyed fresh out of the oven. If you do dairy, it would be awesome topped with fresh (real) whipped cream.

Grapefruit Cilantro Smoothie

I'm sharing this addictive smoothie recipe for our Two for Tuesdays Blog Hop Carnival with my real food blogging gals. It is one of my favorite smoothie recipes of all time and the flavors are so unexpected (I think that's what I love about it). The contrasting brightness of grapefruit and cilantro just seem to "pop" in your mouth, like a firecracker. My inspiration was gleaned from one of Sarma Melngalis' blog posts a year or so back. I was really into her cookbook Raw Food Real World when I was going through my raw vegan episode, and although I am not a raw vegan anymore (thank the Lord, I don't know who's happier, me or my husband), I do appreciate the creativity of this foodie genre.

This recipe just makes me happy as I am a cilantro lover at heart; it is often my splurge at my local co-op (I've tried for five years to grow cilantro in my garden and have yet to be successful at getting it to grow past two weeks, so I've decided to leave the growing of it to my neighbors who farm for a living).

And cilantro is one of the most powerfully healing of all herbs... check out its astounding stats (as quoted from The Global Healing Center):

• Powerful anti-inflammatory capacities that may help symptoms of arthritis
• Protective agents against bacterial infection from Salmonella in food products
• Acts to increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind), and reduces LDL cholesterol (the bad kind)
• Relief for stomach gas, prevention of flatulence and an overall digestive aid
• Wards off urinary tract infections
• Helps reduce feelings of nausea
• Eases hormonal mood swings associated with menstruation
• Has been shown to reduce menstrual cramping.
• Adds fiber to the digestive tract
• A source of iron, magnesium, and is helpful in fighting anemia
• Gives relief for diarrhea, especially if caused by microbial or fungal infections
• Helps promote healthy liver function.
• Reduces minor swelling
• Strong general anti-oxidant properties
• Disinfects and helps detoxify the body (emphasis mine)
• Stimulates the endocrine glands
• Helps with insulin secretion and lowers blood sugar
• Acts as a natural anti-septic and anti-fungal agent for skin disorders like fungal infections and eczema
• Contains immune-boosting properties
• Acts as an expectorant
• Helps ease conjunctivitis, as well as eye-aging, macular degeneration, and other stressors on the eyes

WOW!!! 

This recipe is also great for these last few sizzling summer days, when you want something satisfying, yet light, to get you through a lazy afternoon of soaking up the sun. I admit, I am a tad excited for the cool, crispness of fall to arrive (and those crunchy, sweet, just picked apples from the orchard), but I am trying my darndess not to rush... because, as my fellow Minnesotans out there know, once summer ends, winter is not far behind! So let's not think about winter just yet (even though my son told me this morning that "tomorrow" it is going to snow and he is going to go sledding down the big hill!), but rather let's enjoy every moment of this heat... and the juicy flavors that it brings to our palates.

Grapefruit Cilantro Smoothie

3/4 cup cilantro (I use the stems and all)

1 grapefruit, peeled

1/2 banana

1/4 cup almond milk

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1/4 teaspoon stevia powder (optional)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

pinch salt

Add all ingredients into a Vitamix or blender in the order listed. Blend until completely smooth. Enjoy immediately (trust me, it won't last more than three minutes in your glass). 

!Viva el verano!

Buckwheat Banana Pancakes

No rain this morning, but when I asked my three year old what he wanted for breakfast, he said, "Banana pancakes please!" I'm surprised it was not followed up with a request for a little "Jack." Since he was just a year old, he has had this thing for Jack Johnson, affectionately known as just "Jack" around here. We put some Jack Johnson music on and he'll just start going to town with his little man dance moves.

So whenever I hear the words banana pancakes, I always start singing to myself, "...making banana pancakes, pretend like it's the weekend now... we could pretend it all the time. Can't you see that it's just raining, ain't no need to go outside..." But since today is Saturday morning, it means Bluegrass Saturday Morning tunes were streaming in from my kitchen radio. And my little man always has little man dance moves to accompany the plink plink plink of that might fine banjo.


Ain't no need to be a Jack Johnson or bluegrass fan though to enjoy these hearty pancakes. The hint of bananas is just enough sweetness that I don't even use syrup.


Buckwheat Banana Pancakes

2 eggs
1 mashed ripe banana
1/4 cup raw milk, cream, or almond milk
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 tablespoon xylosweet or agave
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt

Preheat griddle to medium- low heat. Whisk eggs in bowl and add banana, milk, water, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined (may be a little chunky). Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, add pancake mixture to hot griddle, making a small circle (if using non-stick, no oil is needed. If not non-stick, use a tablespoon of coconut oil or butter to grease the pan). Cook for approximately 3-4 minutes and when a few bubbles surface the top of the pancake, use a spatula to flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Makes approximately 6 pancakes.

Enjoy plain (as they are a mild sweet already) or top with extra banana slices, agave, 100% pure maple syrup, or almond butter.

Zucchini Greens Soup with Pumpkin Seeds

When I get on a roll, I guess I get on a roll. It's greens time again, and this recipe is yet another with this unsurpassed food group: dark, leafy greens. The other day I was craving soup; not something heavy and rich like you crave on a cold day, but rather something light and refreshing, reflecting the flavors of summer. Zucchini happened to be the vegetable of choice on my counter when the craving struck, so that is what I decided to turn into soup. And it tastes just like I had it in mind: light, creamy in its own right (without any heavy cream or cheeses), and just delightfully refreshing.

I made this a few days ago and scarfed it down all by myself in one sitting, it was that good. So today when I got home from work, I was craving it again, and since it was leftover night for dinner, I knew my family wouldn't mind if I whipped up another batch to go along with our grass fed steak fajitas from the night before. Afterall, tonight I just needed something refreshing and soupy. I had a good day- don't get me wrong- I mean, heck, it must have been a good day because I wore my hair down (not in the figurative sense, I literally wore my hair down and not in a ponytail like usual) and that only happens on a really good day! But nonetheless, it was a long day, and I was particularly tired when I got home. And soup just always sounds good to me when I'm tired (maybe it's psychological because I know I can even let my mouth rest from having to chew?).

So if you're in need of a refreshing and soupy light summer meal, give this a go.

Zucchini Greens Soup with Pumpkin Seeds

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 of an onion
2 cloves garlic
1 large zucchini
2 cups broth
1/4- 1/2 cup water
5-6 dark, leafy greens (your choice of collards, kale, beet greens, Swiss chard, or a mixture of each)
salt, pepper to taste
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

Heat oil in medium sized soup pot over medium heat. Chop onion and garlic and add to hot pot. Saute for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Chop zucchini into large chunks and add to pot. Saute another 3-4 minutes until soft. Add broth, water, and dark leafys. Cover soup pot with a lid and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, pour into a blender, and puree soup. Return soup to pot, and salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Grilled Kale

Can I just say that I love kale? Well, of course I can, it's my blog, I can say whatever I want to say! Seriously, I could eat this green superfood every single day and be happy as a clam. In fact, I really need to eat this stuff, and/or other dark leafy greens like it, every single day to maintain optimal health (that's a hint, if I need to eat it everyday, so do you!). Remember Popeye? Isn't it interesting that he had to eat spinach to become strong, not Twinkies? Go figure.

I am growing kale in my garden right now and it is getting oh so big and beautiful. My three year old told me the other day, "Mommy, the kale looks wonderful!" (aren't I lucky?). I've been picking a little bit everyday so that it's literally garden fresh when I eat it. Over the weekend, I decided to try my hand at grilling kale, you know, just to see what would happen. And let me tell you, I have found my addiction! I usually end up tossing half the stocks in the garbage (sorry folks, I haven't converted to composting yet). But by preparing it this way, the stocks get all crispy and delicious, dare I say better than the leaf itself!

Even if you think you are not a kale-lover like me (that's you Dad and Brian), be adventurous and try this recipe; I think you are really going to love it. Shoot me a comment to let me know your thoughts.

And it's Tuesday again, so I'm linking up with the Two for Tuesdays blog carnival of some of my favorite real food bloggers. Be sure to browse the wonderful array of yummy looking recipes and find your favorites (even if it's not kale, boo hoo!).

Grilled Kale

8-10 kale leaves (stems in tact)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
salt, pepper

Wash and dry kale. Place in a large bowl and drizzle it with oil and vinegar, then add a pinch of salt and pepper. With your hands, massage the liquids into the kale leaves so they are well absorbed. Take the kale and lay it directly on a preheated grill. Grill for just 3-5 minutes, until bright green.

Herb & Olive White Bean Dip

Well, here I go again with yet another dip recipe. I am on a roll! The thing I love about making dips is that it is so incredibly easy to do, you just throw a bunch of stuff into a food processor and turn it on. Hmm, sounds difficult, huh? And once you get the hang of what flavors go with what, the possibilities are endless. This recipe came to me this morning as I was standing in my kitchen, gazing into my refrigerator at a bowl of cooked white beans I had made a few days before but had not done anything with yet. I wanted something to dip my fresh cucumbers in, so off to work I set, creating this dip as sort of a cross between hummus and pesto. If you have some Parmesan on hand, I recommend adding it to the mix. I think it would be quite lovely in here. (Needless to say, I would have added it, had I had it!)

We just got our grass fed beef order delivered to our house today. We're already pumped about grilling up some of those burgers tonight. Did you know that grass fed beef is naturally lower in fat and higher in omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated lineoleic acid than its grain fed counterparts? In layman's terms, it's totally healthier. Let's just be clear about one thing here: God created cows to eat grass. Period. When we  start messing around with the cow's intended diet and start feeding them corn and soy and grains (and who knows what else), we are asking for some health results that could be dangerous... or deadly.

That's why we made the switch to grass fed beef a few years ago and have found an amazing farmer in our area that delivers right to our door. More expensive, you ask? Sure, initially, but not really when you think that we are not eating hormones or steroids or antibiotics and are therefore setting ourselves up for a life free of cancer and other diseases (meaning that good quality grass fed beef shouldn't necessitate the need to medicate. Because a life on medication? Now that's expensive!)

If you have not already made the conversion to grass fed beef, please do yourself and your family a favor and watch the movie Food, Inc. I guarantee you will never look at a cow or chicken the same (or maybe I should say that a cow or chicken will never look the same to you again! Watch the movie and you'll understand what I mean).

This recipe doesn't have anything to do with grass fed beef (I'll get off of my soapbox now), so all you vegans and vegetarians (and those who already eat grass fed beef and don't need to hear me preach about it), go to town on this one.


Herb & Olive White Bean Dip

2 cups cooked white beans
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup mixed olives (green, kalamata, etc.)
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil and parsley
salt, pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Add all ingredients except olive oil in bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Then run the food processor and while running, stream in the olive oil. Continue processing for 30 seconds to a minute until all ingredients are well combined (I like mine a tad chunky). Taste and correct salt and pepper as needed.

My suggestion for serving is slathered on top of grilled eggplant. Amazing!