it’s moving day!

Hi Folks!

The Muffin Myth is going to be moving to a new home later today. We’re just working to iron out a few details, and then I’ll flip the switch and poof! Moved!

Subscriptions should, hopefully, be moving with us. Email subscribers will continue to receive email notifications of new posts as before, however, WordPress.com followers will only see new posts in the Reader. If you’re a WordPress.com follower you will not receive email updates unless you subscribe to receive those on your the site, which you will be able do do once you arrive there.

If you’re an email subscriber and would like to unsubscribe, there should be an unsubscribe link at the end of the email that comes with this post. I’ll be sorry to see you go!

If you haven’t seen a new post by Friday, likely something has gone wrong with moving the subscriptions over. In that case, pop on to www.themuffinmyth.com (same url, it’s where you’ll always find me) where you’ll be able to resubscribe if necessary.

See you on the other side!

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kamut and zucchini fritters

Tags

cooking, food, recipe, vegetables, vegetarian, whole grains

It always takes me a bit of time to shake off my vacation. Or maybe it’s shimmying back into work life that takes a bit of effort. Whatever it is, it’s nice to be getting back into a bit of a routine.

Part of our routine, for now, is heading to the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings. The farmer’s market is in principle something I love, but in practice something that makes me want to scratch my eyes out. It’s just So. Damn. Crowded.

Still, it’s totally worth it. The produce is great quality, produced locally, and much of it is organic. I can find things I can’t find anywhere else or at any other time of year, like spaghetti squash, the best eggs, and zucchini the size of small infants.

I think that zucchini may be one of the most versatile foods there is. It bakes up into beautiful cupcakes or loaves. It’s great savory or sweet. Hello, zucchini fries! And I do love a good zucchini fritter.

I’m particularly fond of what’s happening with these here fritters. Loads (loads!) of zucchini is partnered up with chewy kernels of kamut for a fritter that is substantial without being heavy. The kamut takes the fritters from side dish to main affair, and topped with a dollop of saffron scented Greek yoghurt, I dare say they become a complete meal. A poached egg would certainly be welcome on the scene as well.

This recipe uses up a lot of zucchini and turns out a lot of fritters. It is easily halved if you’re so inclined, but also know that the fritters freeze and re-heat beautifully. I’ve got a good stash of them in my freezer now, separated by squares of parchment and just waiting for a busy day.

Nestled beside a green salad and topped with a bit of protein, these zucchini fritters make a great meal at any time of day. I hope you enjoy them.

Two years ago: Garlicky Kale Salad with Mustard Croutons 
Three years ago: Halloumi Sandwich

Kamut and Zucchini Fritters Recipe:

This recipe will take care of a beast of a zucchini – that one in the photos was just over 1kg. You can of course halve the batch if you’re working with less zucchini or want fewer fritters, but keep in mind they freeze beautifully. Don’t have kamut? Sub in another sturdy whole grain. Wheat berries, spelt berries, farro, and barley are all good options.

Makes about 20 fritters.

.

1 very large or 2 medium zucchini (about 1kg / 2lbs)
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups cooked and cooled kamut
4 large eggs
4 green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat, or all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying

1 Tbsp boiling water
1 good pinch saffron threads (about 40 threads)
1 cup Greek yoghurt
salt to taste

.

Shred the zucchini on a box grater and place in a large bowl. Toss with the salt, and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Place the zucchini in the center of a clean dish towel or cheese cloth, wrap tightly, then squeeze as much liquid from the zucchini as possible and discard. You should end up with about 2.5 – 3 cups of relatively dry shredded zucchini.

Return the zucchini to the bowl and mix in kamut, eggs, green onions, thyme, and crushed garlic. Add flour and baking powder and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Line a baking sheet or wire rack (if you’re fritters are going directly into the freezer) with paper towels. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom, and drop heaping tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Fry until golden on one side, about 3-5 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side for 2 minutes more. Remove fritters from frying pan and onto the prepared tray to drain on the paper towels.

If you want to cook all of the fritters before serving, keep the tray in the oven on low heat so that the fritters stay warm.

To make the saffron yoghurt, combine boiling water and a pinch of saffron threads in a small bowl. Let sit for about 10 minutes while the saffron steeps in the water. It should be vibrantly coloured and fragrant. Stir in the yoghurt, and season with salt to taste.

Serve hot zucchini fritters with a generous dollop of saffron yoghurt.

Kamut is a high protein form of wheat. It is a good source of vitamin E, Thiamin, Riboflavin, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, pantothentic acid, copper and complex carbohydrates, and is often tolerable by those who are sensitive to other forms of wheat.

Zucchini is a starchy summer squash that not only provides a good amount of dietary fiber (2.5 grams per cup), but it also provides polysaccharide fibers like pectin that have special benefits for blood sugar regulation. Zucchini is a very strong source of key antioxidant nutrients, including the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin. Since the skin of this food is particularly antioxidant-rich, it’s worth leaving the skin intact. The fat in zucchini’s edible seeds includes omega-3s (alpha-linolenic acid), making it a heart healthy choice. Zucchini is a very good source of vitamin C, magnesium, dietary fiber, phosphorus, potassium, folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin K. Additionally, it has a notable amount of vitamin B1, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iron, and protein.

All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014

what’s good around the web + weekly meal plan

Tags

food, health, meal planning, nutrition, what's good around the web

This week’s meal plan is brought to you by the letter M for Meltdown, which is what I had this weekend. I finished a first draft of my thesis (a whole five days ahead of schedule! who am I?!) in between a lot of tears and irrational yelling, and fuelled by a lethal combination of bourbon and dark chocolate on the hottest weekend we’ve had so far. The beast has been sent off for feedback / proof reading and will be getting some fine tuning this week, but I’d say I’m in good shape for the Thursday deadline.

This is a bit of a funny week because THESIS but also because Thursday is a public holiday here. I’ve made a quick and easy broccoli fried rice for a few lunches this week using a technique very similar to this springtime fried rice. Yum. On Wednesday I’ve got a lunch meeting with the other copywriters at work – we get together once a month or so and talk things out – and it’s supposed to be sunny so we’re going to pick up salads and have lunch in a park. I’ve replicated my favourite salad from the place we’ll be going before. Last time I went there I gambled on trying something new, but I won’t be making that mistake this time! Paul is doing a marathon on Saturday, so our Friday dinner will be his usual pre-race carbo load. And yes, I’m still straight up obsessed with overnight oats.

1. I’m sure you can imagine after having spent a year up to my eyeballs in research on sweeteners, I have a thing or two to say about the whole sugar phobia en vogue right now. It’s going to have to wait a bit, but for now, I like this article, particularly the infographic: Sorry, but there’s no such thing as a ‘healthy’ sugar. (Also, psssst)

2. Soy and cancer. To eat or not to eat?

3. Have you heard that American apples have been banned in Europe?

4. “The first step is promoting self-awareness, the trained realization that we are awash in scientific buzzwords—serotonin, cholesterol, hormones, neurons, vitamins, lipids—about which very few people have any real understanding.” Long but great article about why people believe in the magical powers of superfoods.

5. Obesity has topped tobacco as the #1 global health threat. 

All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014

kale and quinoa salad with smoked feta

Tags

cooking, food, gluten free, kale, plan ahead make ahead, quick and easy, recipe, salad, vegetarian

When we first moved overseas, nearly four years ago now, every time we flew back to Stockholm from Vancouver I would pack an extra suitcase, filled to the brim with foodstuffs. I’d cram exotic flours, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, frozen tempeh, maple syrup, and basically anything I could buy at Whole Foods into an often already overweight bag. And Ziploc bags. Always Ziploc bags.

Over the years I found a few specialty stores around Stockholm where I could hunt down some of my must-haves, and on weekends you could find me traipsing across town to procure cocoa nibs, chia seeds, or coconut oil. In the last year, though, some of those things started turning up in my neighbourhood supermarkets. Chia seeds? No problem. Non dairy milk? My store now has oat, soy, almond, hazelnut, rice, and coconut milk. Alternative flours? You name it, they’ve got it.

Kale has always been, in my opinion, ridiculously hard to get in Stockholm. It’s funny that a cold weather crop was so evasive in a cold country, but it was previously a specialty item found only at the farmer’s market (which runs-mid August to mid-October) or at Christmas time. But suddenly, kale is everywhere. Now I actually can’t remember the last time there wasn’t kale, both curly AND Tuscan, at every store in my ‘hood.

The food situation has improved so drastically in the last year, that when I made this kale and quinoa salad to take to an early-season barbecue last weekend, my biggest problem wasn’t finding the ingredients, but choosing them. You see, when I read the original recipe and saw that it called for ricotta salata I figured I’d have to make a substitution. But no, I found myself standing in the cheese section with ricotta salata in one hand and smoked feta in the other. After a couple of minutes of crippling indecision I ended up going for the smoked feta, because, I mean, smoked feta, and it is definitely a decision I did not regret.

This salad calls for Tuscan kale, also known as Lacinato kale, dinosaur kale, or black kale (svartkål in Swedish), which has a slightly mellower flavour than it’s curly cousin. It’s sliced into whisper-thin ribbons, and after a good toss with a zippy honey Dijon vinaigrette, the kale loses a good amount of it’s bite. Cooked quinoa, crunchy sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and that salty, smoky feta add some meat to the bones of this salad, as it were.

As leafy greens go, I think that kale is uniquely qualified in the plan ahead / make ahead department. Because the dressed leaves only get more palatable with (a reasonable amount of) time, this salad makes great packed lunches or make ahead dinners, and you can be sure that the kale salad you put together on the weekend will still be perfectly good for your lunch on Wednesday. I can vouch for that.

I probably don’t need to tell you that kale is good for you, but I at least want to share some new to me information. My friend Kellie is a cancer-related health educator and nutrition advisor and if you’re not already familiar with her blog I suggest you check it out. She recently wrote about kale and cruciferous vegetables (and a tasty smoothie recipe to boot!), and I learned from her that cabbages (including kale) are now seen as more effective than tomatoes at preventing most forms of prostate cancer. More on kale (and quinoa) after the recipe, as always.

One year ago: Honey Dijon Broccoli Salad
Two years ago: Spicy Squash and Lentil Salad
Three years ago: Kale Chips

Kale and Quinoa Salad with Smoked Feta Recipe:

I’m not sure how common an ingredient smoked feta is, but I have a feeling if it’s turning up in Swedish supermarkets it can’t be all that hard to find. You can of course replace it with regular feta or ricotta salata if those are easier to find.

This makes a nice big salad. Will definitely feed a crowd, and it packs well for weekday lunches or plan ahead meals.

Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

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1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (or 1 1/2 cups cooked)
250g Tuscan kale
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, toasted
1/3 cup dried cranberries (go for unsweetened if you can find them)
2-3 green onions, finely sliced
2 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
150g smoked feta, crumbled

3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp smooth Dijon mustard
1 tsp grainy Dijon mustard
a scant 1 tsp honey
salt and pepper to taste

.

Start with cooking the quinoa. Rinse the uncooked quinoa, then place in a small pot with 1.5 cups of water (I like my quinoa a bit on the drier side, especially if it will be tossed with a dressing later). Bring the quinoa to a boil over high heat, then cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 15 minutes until the liquid has been absorbed. Set aside to cool, or if you want it to cool quickly, you can spread the quinoa out on a baking sheet.

While the quinoa is cooking, get the kale ready. Give it a good rinse, then pat dry and de-stem the leaves. You can cut the thick stems out with a sharp knife, or hold the base of the stem in one hand and pull the leaf from it with the other. Stack the de-stemmed leaves on top of one another, and using a very sharp knife, slice them into very thin ribbons.

Place the kale ribbons in a large bowl with the cooled quinoa, sunflower seeds, cranberries, smoked feta, dill, and green onions. In a small bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients for the dressing. Pour the dressing over the salad, and give everything a good toss. Let the salad stand for about 10 minutes before serving – a longer stint in the fridge is perfectly fine.

Kale is a nutritional powerhouse! It is extraordinarily rich in micronutrients, dietary fiber, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory nutrients, and cancer fighting glucosinolates. Kale is a good source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, manganese, and contains nearly twice the vitamin K (essential for blood clotting and also an important anti-inflammatory agent) than any other cruciferous vegetable (broccoli, cabbage, etc).  Iron, magnesium, vitamin E, folate, and phosphorous are among the complement of vital minerals found in kale. The dietary fiber in kale is known to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

Quinoa not only has a very high protein content (about 18%), but this super seed also contains a complete set of essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. It’s a great source of dietary fiber, phosphorous, and is high in magnesium and iron.

text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014

grapefruit and avocado salad

Tags

avocado, cooking, food, gluten free, grapefruit, quick and easy, recipe, salad, vegan

Sometimes simple is best. This is a lesson I learn over and over, both in life and in the kitchen. There were so many good reminders that simple = good on our recent weekend in Rome; if you put a just a few good-quality ingredients together, magic happens.

A few weeks back when I posted this grapefruit and fennel salad, many of you expressed interest in adding avocado. I advised against it (a texture thing) (but maybe some of you tried it anyways since I’m not the boss of you – how’d it turn out?) and mentioned this other grapefruit salad that features avocado. This is that salad.

It doesn’t get much more simple than this: a plate of grapefruit and avocado, sprinkled with chili peppers, drizzled with grapefruit juice and really good olive oil, and finished with a few bright sprigs of cilantro. The most tedious part of putting this together is segmenting the grapefruit, which, with a good sharp knife, should take you no more than a couple of minutes.

If there’s one thing instagram tells me, it’s that the people are into avocados! For a time they were shunned for their high fat content, but with the current (and sensible) popularity of healthy fats, avocados are in vogue in a big way. And so they should be. Although about 85% of the calories in an avocado come from fat, about half of that fat comes in the form of oleic acid, which is similar to the fat in olive oil, and has been shown to lower our risk of heart disease.

And guess what else? Oleic acid helps our digestive tract form transport molecules that increase our absorption of fat-soluble nutrients like carotenoids. Do you know what avocados are jammed full of? Carotenoids! Even better, this increased absorption isn’t limited to the avocado’s own carotenoids. Recent research has shown that absorption of two important carotenoid antioxidants – lycopene and beta-carotene – increases significantly (like, 200-400% significantly) when avocado is added to a salad. Know what that ruby red grapefruit is rich in? Lycopene!!!

What did I tell ya? A putting few quality ingredients together = magic.

One year ago: Raw Chocolate Pudding (also featuring avocados!)
Two years ago: Pesto Penne with Edamame 
Three years ago: Cranberry Spelt Streusel Cake

Grapefruit and Avocado Salad Recipe:

This salad isn’t the kind of thing you should make in advance, but since it really does come together in just a handful of minutes, it definitely belongs in the ‘quick and easy’ department. If you want to, you could segment the grapefruit and dice the chili ahead of time so that when it’s time to eat it’s simply a matter of slicing up the avocado and putting everything on a plate.

Serves 1, generously, or 2, fairly. Adapted ever so slightly from River Cottage Veg.

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1 ruby red grapefruit
1 ripe avocado
½ a red chili (or to taste), deseeded and finely diced
olive oil (use the best you have)
salt and pepper
a few sprigs of fresh cilantro

.

Start by peeling and segmenting the grapefruit. If you’re not familiar with this technique, there is a good tutorial here. Work over a bowl as you’re cutting the segments so that you capture all of the grapefruit juices. You can just drop the segments into the bowl while you’re working and fish them out later. When you’ve separated all of the segments from the membrane, give the membrane a good squeeze to get all the rest of the juice out.

Deseed and finely dice the chili. Pluck a few sprigs out of a bunch of cilantro.

Lastly, peel the avocado* and then slice lengthwise into thin strips.

Arrange the avocado slices and grapefruit segments onto one or two plates. Sprinkle with the diced chili, and a little salt and pepper. Spoon some of the reserved grapefruit juice overtop, followed by a healthy glug of good olive oil. Lastly, garnish with the cilantro sprigs. Serve immediately.

*Cut the avocado in half, twist to separate the two halves, and whack the pit with the sharp side of a knife. you can twist the knife to loosen the pit and pull it out. Now nick the skin at the pointy tip with a sharp knife. Use your fingers to peel the skin off as if you were peeling like a banana. This technique is important because the greatest carotenoid concentrations are shown to be in the darker green flesh right next to the skin. We don’t want to lose this layer by cutting the skin off with a knife.

Grapefruit, one of the giants of the citrus family, is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also a great source of carotenoids; a pre-curser to vitamin A. Dietary fiber, potassium, and vitamin B1 round out this nutritional powerhouse. Ruby red and pink grapefruits also contain lycopene (good for your prostates, fellas!). Grapefruits also contain pectin, which is a form of soluble fiber that has been shown to slow down the development of atherosclerosis and reduce blood levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

Avocados are an extremely fatty fruit! Around 85% of the calories in an avocado come  from fat, which is about 20 x higher than most fruit. However, about 65% of this fat is healthy monounsaturated fat, in particular oleic acid. Avocados also contain an incredible range of phytonutrients, and many vitamins and minerals. Avocados are a good source of vitamin K, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, and potassium – more potassium than a banana even!

All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014

miso veggie soup in a jar

Tags

cooking, food, gluten free, miso, recipe, soups and stews, vegan, vegetarian

I spend a chunk of my Sunday planning and packing breakfasts and lunches for the week. It isn’t a chore I enjoy, but it’s never a chore I regret having done. When I’m done, our fridge and freezer is filled with convenience food, my way – meals that are ready to grab and throw into our packs, or ready for quick reheating on a night when I get home from work so tired I’d otherwise have the energy only for crackers for dinner.

This little jar of soup is the latest in my arsenal of convenience foods. The idea is simple: a heaping spoonful of salty miso paste, some aromatics to flavour the broth, vegetables, sliced thinly enough to be softened by kettle-boiled water, and some cubes of tofu are layered into a heat-proof jar. All you’ve got to do when you want a hot, nourishing vegetable soup is boil the kettle, fill the jar, and wait about 10 minutes. Seriously, it’s that easy.

I’ve been having a lot of these jar-soups lately, and they’ve totally been feeding my soul.

The other day I got home from work late, freezing cold, feeling a little under the weather, and crackers-for-dinner hungry. I simply filled the kettle and boom! Ten minutes later, hot vegetable soup. It’s just as fast and easy as those salt-laden styrofoam cup-a-soups, but with the benefit of being sooooo much more nutritious, and I tell ya, infinitely more delicious. And when I realized I was still hungry and wanted another jar of soup, I had the veggies torn, sliced, shredded, and stuffed into the jar before the kettle had started screaming. That, friends, is awfully convenient.

A little army of jar-soups could be made in advance and would last the week in your fridge. Got a sick friend? Take them a bunch of jar-soups. Know a new mom? Jar-soups! Like having soup for lunch but worry about it sloshing about in your bag*? Does your office have a kettle**? Problem solved!

*There are two ways I transport soup to work (and I commute on a bike, so they get tossed in my backpack which gets bashed around a fair bit). The easiest way is if you’ve got soup frozen in individual servings (I freeze mine in empty cottage cheese containers which hold 500ml). You don’t have to worry about spillage, and the soup should be close to defrosted by the time lunch rolls around. Otherwise, a jar with a lid screwed on tightly contained within a well-knotted plastic bag should do the trick.

**No kettle? Fill with water and microwave the jar (without the lid on!) until the water is hot. Now screw on the lid and let sit for about 5 min to soften up the veg.

One year ago: Moroccan Carrot and Chickpea Salad and Curried Devilled Eggs
Two years ago: Date Almond Smoothie and Orange Earl Grey Muffins
Three years ago: A little link list (this is back when I was finishing my BSc in nutrition. Good times!)

Miso veggie soup in a jar recipe:

Like so many recipes, this jar-soup is a choose-your-own-adventure situation. Although not pictured here, I’ve often started with a layer of soba noodles in the bottom, and I think that a nest of thin, quick-cooking egg noodles would work well also. Not into miso? Use half of a good-quality bullion cube instead. Choose vegetables that you like, and slice them as thinly as possible.

Serves 1, but I encourage you to make multiples and stash them, with a lid screwed on, in the fridge, where they will last several days.

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1 500ml heatproof jar, with lid
1 heaping teaspoon of miso pasted (I used barley miso here)
½ a clove of garlic, grated
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (I keep my ginger in the freezer for easier grating)
½ a carrot, shredded or julienned
a couple of handfuls of spinach, or other green, torn or shredded
1 green onion, thinly sliced
½ (or to taste) of a hot red pepper, thinly sliced
a few slices of sweet red pepper, thinly sliced
a wedge of lime
soy sauce, to taste (I use Braggs liquid aminos)

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Layer everything into the jar, except for the lime and soy sauce, starting with the miso, ginger, garlic, and hot pepper, and ending with the veggies and tofu. You can simply screw on the lid and stash in the fridge at this point. When you’re ready for soup, boil the kettle. Fill the jar to the top with boiling water and screw on the lid. Wait 10 minutes, then remove the lid and give the soup a good stir. Season with soy sauce and a squeeze of lime juice, and serve. You can transfer the soup into a bowl, or simply eat straight out of the jar.

Miso, fermented soybean paste, is a good source of manganese, vitamin K, protein, dietary fiber, copper, omega-3 fatty acids, and zinc. Additionally, miso is a good source of phytonutrient antioxidants, which are related to it’s fermentation. Try to source out organic miso if you can, since miso is made from soybeans, and most non-organic soybeans are genetically modified.

All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014

fudgy adzuki bean brownies

Tags

beans and legumes, brownies, chocolate, cooking, food, gluten free, grain free, naturally sweetened, recipe

One time while I was at a party that I had made most of the food for, including a few chocolate cakes (this cake, to be specific), a girl came up to me and asked if there was sugar in the cakes. I told her of course there was sugar in the cakes. They’re cakes! Chocolate cakes! She gave me the most bewildered look. It was as if she couldn’t possibly comprehend the words that had just come out of my mouth. Finally she spoke, “but I thought you were a nutritionist?!”

I think there are a few schools of thoughts when it comes to treats.

The first, is that treats should be treats and one should enjoy the ‘real’ thing from time to time in all it’s refined sugared and saturated fatted glory. The second, that we can make some small modifications to our treats in order to make them slightly more ‘healthy’ – subbing in a natural sweetener or a whole grain flour perhaps, yet still enjoying these things more or less in moderation. Then there are those who are in the these-cookies-are-whole-wheat-so-it’s-cool-to-go-gangbusters or this-cheesecake-is-raw-and-organic-so-I’munna-demolish-that-sucker camp.

(this, by the way, is a favourite topic of debate between my beloved sister-in-law and I)

I mostly tend to favour the first camp. Treats should be treats, and I’m going to indulge occasionally (like most weekends) in something I really enjoy. I do also frequently visit the second camp. I’ll use pretty much any whole grain flour in any recipe, and I’m always up for an adventure with a natural sweetener so long as it meets my criteria for being ‘real’ and ‘good’. It should also be noted that what I consider to be a treat has really evolved over the years. However, I am a chronic and unapologetic eye-roller at the last school of thought.

(You’ll noticed I haven’t addressed artificially sweetened or low-fat treats. That’s because I don’t consider them to be in the ‘real’ or ‘good’ food categories.)

And so here we are, with brownies made from beans. Brownies made from funny little adzuki beans, and sweetened with nothing but a handful of soft, caramelly Medjool dates. Brownies that had me reaching for the pan again and again for just one more slice, not because I was throwing caution to the wind since they’re made from beans and dates, but because, you guys, these brownies are the BOMB!

These brownies are everything a brownie should be. They’re dense and fudgy. They’re deeply and darkly chocolately. They’re soul-satisfyingly good. And I hope that since we’ve known each other for a while now, you believe that I wouldn’t be pushing some socks-and-Birkenstocks hippy food on you unless it was genuinely really really tasty. Trust me. You want these.

But before you go eating the entire pan, let’s talk about nutrition. Yes, these are grain free. Yes, these are naturally sweetened (aside from a smattering of very dark chocolate sprinkled over the top). No, you shouldn’t eat the entire pan.

Medjool dates are wonderful things. They truly are nature’s candy. They’re sweet and caramelly, and they are jam packed with sugar. 100g of Medjool dates (about 4 pitted) contains roughly 265 calories, 75g carbohydrates, 2g protein, and only traces of fat. Of that 75g carbohydrates, about 90% is sugar, which is mostly in the form of glucose and fructose. This means that of those 265 calories, about 240 come from sugar. So when we’re baking with dates and saying ‘this recipe has no sugar!’ what we’re really saying is ‘this recipe has no REFINED sugar!’.

But don’t let the calories stop you from eating dates! They are also an excellent source of dietary fiber (about 7g in that 100g serving), and dates are especially rich in soluble fiber, which is the kind that helps maintain healthy blood cholesterol and stabilize blood sugar levels. Plus dates are rich in a host of different vitamins and minerals (more info after the recipe), so eat ’em up! In moderation.

I ran this recipe through a nutrition calculator for those who are curious. The above nutrition label is for 12 servings, which is what I sliced my brownies into. So you can see they’re pretty good – good enough to not feel guilty about reaching into the pan for just one more brownie. But I’d keep it at that. To me, these are in that second camp; made from beans, naturally sweetened, and definitely a treat to enjoy in moderation, albeit in relaxed moderation.

I do hope you enjoy them as much as I did! Now go make some brownies!

One year ago: Cauliflower Pea Soup with Mint and Lemon
Two years ago: Cottage Cheese Muffins and Chocolate Raspberry Torte
Three years ago: No (refined) Sugar Chocolate Coconut Granola 

Fudgy Adzuki Bean Brownies Recipe:

The credit for this recipe goes to my friend Kellie, and if you aren’t already following her blog you definitely should be. I’ve modified her version just slightly, moving from a sugar / date combination to all dates, and eschewing the nut butter she uses for extra olive oil. Kellie has also tried and tested a vegan version using chia eggs.

Little brown adzuki beans are slightly on the sweet side, making them a great choice for this recipe. If you can’t find them or don’t have them on hand, you can substitute the same amount of black beans, another popular choice for grain-free brownies. I bring the entire thing together in my trusty food processor, which makes this recipe one bowl and easy as can be. A small amount of chopped dark chocolate scattered over the top isn’t necessary, but is totally delicious.

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1 1/4 cup cooked adzuki beans
100g pitted Medjool dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
4Tbsp coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
2 eggs
40g (4 squares) 85% chocolate, roughly chopped

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Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a 8×8 or 8×9 baking pan with parchment paper, or grease well.

In the bowl of a food processor combine the pitted dates and adzuki beans. Pulse until they’re broken up and well combined. Add the vanilla, cocoa, oil, and eggs, and run the food processor until the batter is very smooth. Don’t be surprised by how liquidy it is.

Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan, and then scatter the chopped chocolate over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are set but the middle is still just very slightly jiggly. You can bake them a bit less for fudgier brownies if you like. Remove from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes before you cut into them.

Adzuki Beans are a good source of folate, dietary fiber, protein, phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium and vitamin K.

Dates are a great source of natural sweetness. They are calorie dense, but also rich in antioxidant polyphenols, dietary fiber, potassium, copper, and manganese.

 All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014

what’s good around the web!

Tags

food, health, nutrition, what's good around the web

We’re officially out of the circle of darkness! Whooohoo! I love biking home in the not-totally-dark these days. Also, even after almost four years it still gets me that I bike past a royal palace (albeit a totally ugly one) on my way to and from work.

What’s good around the web is a weekly series where I share some of what I’ve been reading around the web. Each week I post links to five nutrition related articles, good recipes, and just general good reads. I hope you enjoy it! If you’ve got at article or recipe you’d like to see featured, please email me.

1. Our foods, our moods.

2. Are you getting enough of these diabetes preventing foods in your diet?

3. The WHO says we should cut our sugar intake to less than a can of coke per day. Cool. But please don’t accomplish that by switching to artificial sweeteners – as regular readers know, that’s the topic of my thesis work, and what I’m uncovering is crazy.

4. But this study (funded by Coke, so take with a grain of salt) says that fructose isn’t the problem.

5. Why the energy balance equation leads to flawed approaches in obesity management and treatment.

And in the world of veggie burgers that are turning out much better than mine did, check out Kellie’s Provencal Lentil and Quinoa Burgers.

All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014

grapefruit and fennel salad

Tags

cooking, fennel, food, gluten free, grapefruit, nutrition, recipe, salad, vegan

I have this notebook.

It’s old and ratty, butter stained, and filled with the years of this blog. The things I’ve made, the things I want to make, recipes, notes, and post ideas. Sometimes, more often than I’d like, the season gets past me before I manage to post a recipe. My grandmother’s applesauce cake, for example, I’ve intended to post each autumn so far.

It’s funny how a season can go flying by. I can hardly believe we’re into March already and I’ve got just three months to go on my thesis project. 91 days, if you’re counting (I’m totally counting). Spring has its official beginnings in a matter of weeks, and thanks to an unusually mild winter, we’re already seeing signs of life appearing here.

This grapefruit and fennel salad has lived for many seasons in my notebook, so I am unimaginably pleased to finally be sharing it with you all. I’m sneaking it in before the winter citrus disappears for the year (not that anything ever really disappears these days, but you know what I mean), and I hope that you make it because its flavour, bright and fresh, tastes like the changing season.

The salad is a tangle of grapefruit, in careful rounds; fennel, sliced paper thin; and red onions, their bite mellowed with a grapefruit juice marinade. A simple but powerful dressing is made of toasted fennel seeds, grapefruit juice, and olive oil, all bound together with a touch of honey and Dijon mustard.

Not familiar with fennel? It’s a member of the Umbellifereae family, closely related to parsley, carrots, dill, and coriander. All parts of the plant are edible, from the seeds to the feathery greens, and it has a deliciously etherial licorice flavour. Fennel contains a unique complement of phytonutrients that give it strong antioxidant activity. Additionally, the fennel bulb (the part we’re using here) is rich in a type of vitamin C that is directly antimicrobial and vital for proper function and support of the immune system. Perfect for this time of year when the dregs of winter sicknesses are ravaging many of us.

One year ago:  Live Well – finding balance
Two years ago: Maple Oat Scones and Green Pea Pesto Ravioli 
Three years ago: Brown Rice Broccoli Tart

Grapefruit and Fennel Salad Recipe:

I’ve used baby spinach in this salad, but I also think that peppery arugula / rocket would work beautifully as well. All of the components of the salad can be sliced, chopped, and whisked in advance and then assembled just before serving.

Serves 4. Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart

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3 ruby red grapefruits
1/4 tsp whole fennel seeds
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small red onion
1 medium fennel bulb
200g baby spinach leaves or other green (see headnotes)

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Slice one of the grapefruits in half and squeeze the juice from it into a small bowl. Slice the onion in half, and then using a sharp knife or mandoline, slice the halves into thin half moons. Reserve 1/4 cup grapefruit juice for the dressing, and toss the remainder with the onion slices. Set aside to marinate while you’re preparing the rest of the salad.

Toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan over medium heat until they are just beginning to smell fragrant. Transfer them into a small bowl, and using the end of a wooden spoon (or a mortar and pestle if you’ve got that situation going on) bash the fennel seeds to break them up a bit. Add the reserved 1/4 cup grapefruit juice, honey, Dijon, some salt and pepper, and the olive oil, and whisk everything together to form the dressing.

Using a pairing knife, slice the ends from the remaining two grapefruits, then cut all of the remaining peel and pith and outer membranes away. Slice the grapefruit into thin rounds or half moons.

Trim the fronds from the fennel, slice the bulb in half, and remove the core. Use a very sharp knife or a mandoline to slice paper thin slices of fennel.

When you’re ready to serve, drain the onions from the grapefruit juice and place them in a large salad bowl. Add the spinach, grapefruit (you may need to drain this a bit as well), and fennel, then pour the dressing over top and give everything a good toss. Serve immediately.

Fennel is an amazing source of vitamin C. It is a great source of dietary fiber, potassium, molybdenum, manganese, copper, phosphorous, and folate. Furthermore, fennel is a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, and niacin.

Grapefruit, one of the giants of the citrus family, is an excellent source of vitamin C. It is also a great source of carotenoids; a pre-curser to vitamin A. Dietary fiber, potassium, and vitamin B1 round out this nutritional powerhouse. Ruby red and pink grapefruits also contain lycopene (good for your prostates, fellas!). Grapefruits also contain pectin, which is a form of soluble fiber that has been shown to slow down the development of atherosclerosis and reduce blood levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol.

All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014

coconutty banana walnut granola

Tags

cooking, food, gluten free, granola, oats, recipe, vegan

I run a rescue operation for unwanted bananas.

I don’t discriminate against age or colour, if there is a neglected, speckley banana I will give it a good home. First, on my kitchen counter until it turns black, then in my freezer where it awaits it’s destiny as a tasty smoothie or as no sugar banana bran muffins (we make a batch of these once a week). I only wish I had a bigger freezer so I could take in more stray bananas.

I’ve had banana bread on my brain for ages (whole grain, naturally sweetened, chocolate studded) but can’t seem to get around to making it. I think mostly because I don’t want to end up at home with an entire loaf of banana bread. Real talk: I no longer have the kind of constitution that allows me to eat a lot of baked goods, even the ‘healthy’ kind. I need to plan my banana bread (cookie, brownie, cake) baking for times when I’ve got a crowd of people to feed, or when I can schlep the extras off to the office.

Granola, though it needs to be tended while it bakes, seems for some reason like less of a commitment. Perhaps because I know I’ll be able to store it in an airtight jar for weeks on end, or perhaps because it’s simply a matter of whizzing a few wet ingredients together, folding that into some whole grain oats, coconut, and walnuts, and not ten minutes later my apartment will smell like the most amazing banana bread you’ve ever eaten.

Here’s what’s awesome about this coconutty banana walnut granola. It uses up your old bananas (or some of the stash in your freezer if you’re a banana hoarder like me). It’s naturally sweetened with the bananas and a touch of maple syrup. It smells AH-mazing. It’s super delish straight out of the jar, as a topping on some plain yoghurt, or even on some ice cream. I won’t judge. Plus, home made granola is always way more awesome than the store bought kind, especially because you know exactly what’s in it. And what makes a better gift than a jar of home made granola?

Folks who are gluten free can make this with gluten free oats, or, if you can’t tolerate oats at all, try it with quinoa flakes instead. Be aware that quinoa is a bit thirstier than oats, so you may need to add extra liquid if you go that route. In any case, I hope you try it, and let me know how it goes.

Other granola recipes on The Muffin Myth:
no (refined) sugar chocolate coconut granola
cranberry walnut granola.

One year ago: My Digital Posse (I should do an update to this post!)
Two years ago: Pea Soup with Smoked Porter and Egg Quesadilla 
Three years ago: How to Cook Dried Beans 

Coconutty Banana Walnut Granola Recipe:

If you don’t have frozen bananas, the browner your bananas are the better. I let mine go black so they become truly sweet, but any stage once they’ve started to get speckled is fine. I used virgin coconut oil, which adds to the delicious coconut flavour, but you can sub in extra virgin olive oil if you’d prefer. This recipe makes about 6 cups of granola.

Recipe adapted from Shutterbean

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5 cups rolled oats (not the quick cooking kind)
1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 cup raw walnut pieces
1 tsp cinnamon
a pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
2 frozen bananas, thawed, or 2 really ripe bananas

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Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a couple of big baking sheets with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor, whiz together the maple syrup, coconut oil, and bananas. Alternately, you can mash the bananas with a fork and then whisk everything together by hand.

In a large bowl, mix the oats, coconut, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt together. Pour the wet mix over top, and give everything a good stir to mix it together.

Spread the granola in even layers on the prepared baking trays. Pop into the oven and bake for 30 minutes, pulling the trays out to stir the granola every 10 minutes, and rotating the trays in the oven at least once. Watch the granola carefully towards the end to be sure the edges don’t burn. It should be smelling amazing and golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the trays. Transfer to a clean glass jar, or you can store in the freezer in plastic bags. Enjoy!

Oats are rich in indigestible carbohydrates called beta-glutens which help to lower blood cholesterol levels. Oats are also host to a number of phenolic compounds which have antioxidant properties, are helpful in stabilizing blood sugar, and are a good source of dietary fiber and protein.

Coconut contains saturated fats, which, for ages were demonized as being ‘bad fat’s. Current research indicates there are actually different types of saturated fats, and some types of saturated fats, including those found in coconut, are good for you. Everything in moderation.

Walnuts are a rice source of monounsaturated fats (good for your heart) and a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Walnuts also have antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties which are protective against cardiovascular problems and type 2 diabetes. Remember that like all nuts, walnuts are calorie dense, so we’re consuming them in moderation

Bananas are a great source of concentrated energy and potassium. They are also a very good source of vitamin B6 and a good source of vitamin C, dietary fiber, and manganese.

All text and photos © The Muffin Myth 2014