Vegan Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

I find myself wanting to bake at the randomest times.  Take for example, this evening...I had an insanely long day at work, but still felt like baking when I got home.  I hadn't made a bread in awhile, so I decided to throw some stuff together, and it came out pretty delicious!

Ingredients

• 2 c. Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 c. Quinoa (ground into a flour)
• 1.5 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1.5 tsp. Baking Soda
• 1.5 tsp. Cinnamon
• 0.25 tsp. Nutmeg
• 0.25 tsp. Allspice
• 1 tsp. Salt
• 1.25 c. Stevia in the Raw
• 0.75 c. Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1.5 c. Pumpkin Puree
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 medium Zucchinis (shredded)

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, quinoa flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt

In a large bowl, mix Stevia, applesauce, and pumpkin puree

Add the vanilla

Add the dry to the wet and stir until just combined

Cut the tops off of 2 medium zucchinis

Coarsely grate the zucchini into the bowl

Fold in

Spray 2, 9"x5" loaf pans with cooking spray, and divide the batter evenly

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool, and slice

Avocado Zucchini Burgers

My sister-in-law gave me a great recipe for Avocado Zucchini cakes.  I decided to clean it up a bit, make it higher in protein, and make it a main dish rather than a side dish, so I turned it into burgers.  You can make these whatever size you prefer.  I made 4 large burgers, and the nutrition stats are pretty great.  I bought Florida avocados this time around rather than Hass, because the store didn't have any ripe Hass.  The sticker on the avocado caught my eye, and I'm not entirely sure I buy into it, but who knows.  This avocado was called a Slimcado and boasts half the fat and 1/3 the calories of Hass avocadoes.  That's pretty awesome if that's the case.  Read more about it here:  http://www.brookstropicals.com/slimcado/.  Using the Slimcado and making this into 4 large burgers, each burger has 275 calories, 11g of fat (again, all from the avocado), 9g of fiber, and 12g of protein.  YUM.  Today I cut one up and ate it on top of a Baby Kale salad with some fat free dressing.  SO GOOD!

Ingredients:

• 1 Florida Avocado, mashed
• 2 Medium Zucchini, coursely grated
• 1 c. Quinoa
• 1 tbsp. Flaxseed
• 1/2 c. Liquid Egg Whites
• 2 tsp. Spicy Mustard
• Spices to taste including NuSalt, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Oregano, and Garlic Powder

Instructions:

Mash the avocado in a large bowl

Coarsely grate the zucchini into the big bowl

In a Magic Bullet or food processor, pulse the quinoa and flaxseed until it resembles a coarse flour

Add the  mixture to the bowl

Add the spices

Mix together until well blended

Use your hands to form into patties of whatever size you choose, and place on a baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then flip and bake another 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Roasted Pepper Salsa

I've been wanting to make my own salsa for awhile, and rather than go the traditional tomato route, I decided to make sweet peppers the primary ingredient.  I bought a huge bag of mini sweet peppers at Costco, and roasted them with a bit of olive oil...so delicious!  Next time I do this, I will also roaste the tomato and jalapenos myself, but for those of you who want a quick option for a healthy appetizer, the canned varieties are perfectly delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb. bag of Mini Sweet Peppers
• 2 tbsp. and 2 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 1, 28 oz. can Diced Tomatoes (low sodium variety), drained and rinsed
• 1, 4 oz. can Diced Chilies, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 c. Balsamic Vinegar
• Spices to taste - black pepper, cilantro, garlic powder, NuSalt

Instructions:

Rinse the peppers thoroughly and allow to dry

Place peppers in a ziplock bag and toss with 2 tsp. olive oil

Spread peppers out on baking sheet covered with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 400 degrees for ~20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes.  Cook time may vary based on the size of the pepper, so check for softness

Whlie the peppers are roasting, put the diced tomatoes and chilies in a large bowl

Allow the peppers to cool before handling them

Roughly dice the peppers, removing all seeds

Add to the large bowl

add the vinegar, remaining olive oil, and spices, and stire to combine

Enjoy with pretzel crisps, veggies, tortilla chips, on top of chicken, etc.

Avocado Egg Salad

Avocados are my new obsession.  I've only recently discovered that I like them, and now I like to try to incorporate them into recipes.  I've blogged before about making Clean Egg Salad using only the egg whites and subbing fat free Greek Yogurt instead mayo.  Adding avocado kicks this recipe up a notch.  It's packed with vitamins and healthy fats, and it really amps up the taste....the color takes a little while to get used to, but it's kind of like Green Eggs and Ham...minus the ham.

Ingredients:

• 4 Hard Boiled Egg Whites
• 1/2  an Avocado, mashed
• 2 tbsp. Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 tsp. Spicy Mustard
• Spices to taste including Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Garlic Powder, and NuSalt

Instructions:

Cut the avocado into chunks.  To preserve the other half of the avocado, lightly coat the cut side in lemon juice, place into a ziplock bag, and refrigerate...you can usually get another day or 2 out of it this way

Mash the avocado with a potato masher

Add the egg whites (a little yollk residue is okay, but avoid adding to much yolk)

Mash the eggs, add the yogurt, mustard, and spices, and stir until well combined

The nutrition stats for this dish are pretty fantastic.  250 calories, 15 grams of fat (all from the avocado), 21 grams of protein, and 7 grams of fiber, plus lots of vitamins!

I usually eat this on top of a bed of baby spinach leaves.  It's literally the perfect lunch.

Green Tea Ice Pops

The perfect calorie-free summer treat!

Ingredients:

• 2 green tea bags (you could really use whatever kind of tea you like.  My tea of choice is Yogi Muscle Recovery Green Tea
• 1-2 packets of PureVia (or sweetener of your choice)
• 1-2 teaspoons of Lemon Juice

Instructions:

Assemble your ingredients

Cold brew the tea in a large cup with the lemon juice and PureVia

Pour into popsicle molds (or ice trays if you don't have molds).  Freeze and Enjoy!


FUN FACT:  Your body can't absorb the antioxidants found in green tea unless they are ingested with citrus!  Always add a little lemon juice to your tea to get the most bang for your nutritional buck!

No-Bake Puffed Rice Protein Bars

These delicious little wonders were inspired by my granola-hating husband.  We are gearing up for a 3 week honeymoon in Hawaii, and we'll be doing lots of hiking/biking/kayaking, so I want us both to have clean, satisfying energy sources that are easy to pack and eat quickly. 

Ingredients:

• 3 c. Rice Krispies (or other puffed rice cereal)
• 1/4 c. Splenda Brown Sugar Blend
• 1/2 c. Stevia Simple Syrup (make syrup by boiling down 1 part Stevia to 4 parts water in any quantity you desire)
• 1/2 c. Natural Peanut Butter (unsweetened)
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 1/3 c. Mini Dark Chocolate Chips
• 2 scoops Vanilla flavored Whey Protein (or protein of your choice...I use MRM All Natural Whey)

**Other ingredients that may up the delicious-factor:  Raisins, Shredded Coconut, Chopped Nuts**

Instructions:

In a large bowl combine Rice Krispies and Chocolate Chips

In a small saucepan, combine Splenda Brown Sugar Blend and Stevia Simple Syrup and bring just to a boil (this picture shows the recipe made with honey, but I've since cleaned it up to lower the sugar content)

Stir in peanut butter and protein powder

Pour into bowl with Rice Krispies and Chocolate Chips

Stir quickly as it firms up fast!

Press into an 11" x 7" dish (sprayed lightly with cooking spray) and allow to cool

Cut into bars...for storage, I individually wrapped in waxed paper and stored in a sealed tupperware in the fridge.  They lasted about 10 days!