Banana Muffins are so moist and so tasty. I always make them when I have a bunch of bananas that have become overripe. The riper the bananas the sweeter muffins.

The fact that the bananas compensate so you need less fat and added sugar is just a pleasant plus.

I usually use less sugar and I add some chocolate chips. The combination chocolate/banana is out of this world.

This must be one of the easiest recipes that was ever made. You make them from scratch in just a few minutes.

I usually make mini muffins since I think a bite size really should be enough. Sometimes it’s not.

No matter how you eat them I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

Banana Muffin Recipe

Ingredients (makes about regular 12 muffins)

3 or 4 large bananas, preferably overripe

1/2 cup white sugar

1 slightly beaten egg

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Mash the bananas and melt the butter. Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and melted butter together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda, baking powder, salt and flour.
Mix wet and dry ingredients together. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pour into greased muffin tins, and bake in 350 degrees F oven for approximately 20 minutes for regular muffins and 12-15 for mini muffins.

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Talk about sneaky. No one would know that I added over 15 garlic cloves to this recipe.

Today I really felt like we needed an anti-virus and immune system boost. Garlic is the easy answer to that. But HOW was I going to get garlic in the kids. Sure I use garlic a lot in my cooking but nowhere near as much as I used in this recipe.

So for dinner today I made my first garlic soup. I don’t even think that I had ever had garlic soup before.

It was so tasty.  It wasn’t spicy and it didn’t taste or smell of garlic. It just had a really full taste. A powerful version of a tomato soup.

We all loved it!

I bet it will give me a calm day tomorrow cause no one will want to talk to me.

This soup will boost your immune system and help you battle nasty viruses.

Ingredients

1.5 whole garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 bouillon cubes
2 cups water
1 can diced tomatoes
1.5 tablespoon paprika powder
and I think it might be a good idea to a a pinch of sugar.

Chop the all the garlic cloves. Saute them in the olive oil.

Add the other ingredients and let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes.

Blend the soup with a hand blender (optional)

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I made this bread yesterday as I was on a 24-hour fast. If you’re not used to making bread from scratch you should really give it a try.

It is:

1. easy
2. healthier that store bread
3. cheaper that buying
4. the smell that spreads in the house is heavenly

I fasted yesterday to cut down calories and lose weight . The fast gave me such an energy kick I just had to bake. This is the bread I had for dinner as I ended my fast. Yum.

I never bother with how breads look. It’s the taste that matters. Here it is was my kids who made the rolls and I think they did a pretty good job.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 1,5 teaspoon granulated yeast
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoons syrup (please chose one without HFCS)
• 3 medium sized carrots
• 2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3,5 cups unbleached all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds (optional)

Add yeast to the water.

Melt butter.

Peel and grate carrots.

Add all dry in a bowl.

Add all other ingredients (except flax seeds)  and mix until the dough is smooth.

Set aside for 40 min.

Split the dough in 15 pieces and make 15 bread rolls.

Put them next to each other on a cookie sheet or oven pan covered with parchment paper.

Set aside for 45 min.

Use a pastry brush to add a little water then sprinkle over the flax seeds.

Bake at 350F (175 C) for 20 min.

When they are done take them apart carefully and let them cool on a rack.

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I can’t help myself. I really enjoy well made sweets and cookies.

The sneaky chef  promotes tricking your kids and husband by hiding healthy stuff in their favorite food.

Why only trick them? I’m perfectly happy to trick myself with the foods I like. Here is a recipe with healthy chocolate chip cookies with white beans. Not only does the recipe cut down on fat and flour it adds one if the best foods: beans.

Beans in cookies?

Yeah, I promise you won’t know the difference.

I make mini versions of these cookies,  inspired by one of  The sneaky chef’s recipes, stuff them in the freezer and take the out one at the time. Prefect treat for me or for the kids lunch boxes.

Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies

- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup pureed white beans
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

> Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove butter from refrigerator to let soften.

> In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

> In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars until creamy. Beat in egg yolks, vanilla, and pureed white beans. Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed. Stir in chocolate chips.

> Make small cookies by dropping heaping teaspoonfuls, spaced about an inch apart, onto parchment- lined baking sheets.

> Bake for 16 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on a metal rack.

> Store cookies in airtight container at room temperature.

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/lara604/ / CC BY 2.0

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According to Madeline Bohannon, a tropical fruit expert from Bonita Springs Tropical Fruit Club, this generous fruit may not be the best known of its kind but it deserves to be. That is because they yield 3 or 4 times as much juice as a regular lemon.

It is even better because they are in season now. They are typically harvested from November through winter. Meaning, they’re just right in time when we need an immune system boost. FYI, vitamin C is known to reduce the growth of free radicals or build up of toxic substances in the body that cause diseases ranging from flu to cancer.

In case you want to try Meyer lemon food recipes aside from the basic lemon juice or lemonade, here are a few of my healthy choices:

Meyer lemon pasta salad with asparagus, almonds and goat cheese
Meyer Lemon ‘Custard’ Island Parfait
Meyer Lemon – Ricotta Muffins

Read the rest of the report about Meyer lemons from News-Press.

Image by alasam.

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Oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat present in these nutritious fruits is responsible for lowering cholesterol level. Avocados are also rich in potassium, which is a mineral responsible for regulating blood pressure.

And did you know that avocado or avocado extract is good for the prevention or treatment of breast cancer and prostate cancer? Scientists have discovered an unidentified toxin found in avocados that can kill cancer cells. They believe that the toxin has a great effect on the heart muscle tissue and tissues of the lactating mammary gland.

Other nutrients present in a creamy rich avocado are vitamin K, dietary fiber, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin C, copper, and reasonable calories.

So what are you waiting for? Start including this nutrient rich fruit in your diet. You may start with this delicious avocado soup recipe.

Image by devlyn.

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But before we jump into cooking, here are a few nutrition facts that you should know about mushrooms. First, they have high selenium content, higher than other items in the produce category. With a significant amount of selenium-rich mushrooms added to your diet, you will have better chances of fighting off cancer. Mushrooms are also good sources of essential B-vitamins such as niacin, riboflavin and pantothenic acid. They also contain potassium, which is responsible for regulating blood pressure, keeping the right balance of water in fat and muscle tissues and making sure that cells are functioning properly. If you’re on a weight loss diet, fresh mushrooms make a good fitness food. 5 medium mushrooms contain only 20 calories, 3 grams of carb and absolutely fat free!

True to my word, here is the recipe that I’ve promised to share. This garlic mushroom with toast by Gordon Hamilton makes a perfect appetizer and it takes only a few minutes to prepare.

Ingredients (per person):

• 5 small, close cup mushrooms (halved)
• 2 clove of garlic (crushed)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of dried sage
• 1 slice of lightly buttered toast
• 1 tomato (for garnishing)

Directions:

1. Put the olive oil in a small saucepan and gently bring up to a medium heat.
2. Add the garlic and sage and heat gently for about thirty seconds, stirring with a wooden spoon.
3. Put the bread on to toast and add the mushrooms to the saucepan.
4. Continue to stir until the toast is ready and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Image by Toni Girl.

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I would really love to start my week right tomorrow and I can’t wait to share with you this healthy quinoa breakfast recipe I found today. Of course, there’s nothing better to start the day than eating a healthy breakfast  for physical energy and brainpower.

Here’s something that’s packed with fiber, protein and whole grain. They are going to give you all the energy that you need. Vegweb.com calls it the Heavenly Breakfast Quinoa. It can be eaten hot or cold and it takes only 5 minutes to prepare!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small banana
• 2 teaspoon peanut butter
• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds, ground
• a few splashes of soy milk

Directions:

1. Mash the banana right in your breakfast bowl with a fork.
2. Stir in the peanut butter.
3. Stir in the quinoa and flax seeds.
4. Add soymilk to taste.

I’m definitely cooking some quinoa tonight and will have this heavenly goodness everyday for this week.

Image by BIANCAROSE.

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Love and Blueberries features one of Doug Di Pasquale’s old fall favorites. I’m sure you’re going to love it too! It’s not just because your taste buds will be wonderfully satisfied but it will also give your body the nutrients that it needs.

To start with, here are the ingredients for your healthy split pea soup:

• 4 cups dried split peas, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 onions, roughly diced
• 2 stalks of celery, roughly diced
• 3 good sized cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, removed from stalk and chopped fine
• 2 or 3 leaves of sage, chopped fine
• Filtered water as needed (about 2 litres)
• Unrefined sea salt

If you’re ready, just follow the following directions:

1. Heat a medium-sized stock pot on the stove top on medium-high heat.
2. Add a couple glugs of olive oil and start sautéeing the onions.
3. Add a good couple of pinches of unrefined sea salt.
4. Once the onions have cooked and turns to brown, add the garlic, carrots and celery. Continue to sautée these for another few minutes.
5. Once the vegetables begun to brown, add in a little (fresh) water to stop the cooking and to get any of the browning off the bottom of the pot.
6. Add in the drained and rinsed split peas.
7. Add enough water to cover the peas by 2 inches. (You can add more water later to adjust the consitency.)
8. Add a little more salt.
9. Stir and cover the pot to bring to a boil.
10. Skim off the thick white foam that forms on the top while it comes to a boil. Be sure not to take off too much of the liquid or any veggies that are floating on the surface.
11. Once the pot is at a full boil turn it down to a simmer (low heat).
12. Give one last skim (it shouldn’t need it anymore once it’s down to a simmer) and add the rosemary and sage.
13. Stir every 5 minutes while allowing pot to simmer.

After a while the peas will start to fall apart and the soup will thicken. Just add more water at any time if the soup seems to be getting too thick. When the peas are no longer firm and the consistency, thick and chunky, the soup is ready to be served. It usually takes an hour but this may also vary.

As an additional tip, make sure that you soak the peas overnight to make your split pea soup easy to digest. Also, use unrefined salt as a healthier option and to avoid the too sharp flavor of the table salt.

Enjoy!

Image by fifikins.

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Now, this brownie recipe I found is so perfect that I recommend you and your family should try. Because it’s raw and vegan, it is packed with all the goodness of enzymes and vital nutrients that will help you improve your digestion and metabolism, as well as, boost your immune system against diseases.

So here’s the raw vegan brownie recipe I got from TriniGourmet. I know you’re already excited to get started, but first, here’s what you need.

Ingredients:

Brownie:
1 cup walnuts
1 cup dates
1/4 cup cocoa powder

Icing:
2 avocados
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
dash salt
dash cinnamon

Directions:

1. Food process the brownie ingredients until blended and dry chunky.
2. Press into a small pan.
3. Put all icing ingredients into vitamix blender, and blend on hi till smooth.
4. Spread icing over brownies and pop in freezer to set for 1 hr. then cut and put in snack sized baggies.

Easy, isn’t it? I hope you enjoy eating your brownies as much as we enjoyed ours!

Image by busbeytheelder.

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