Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Even though me and my husband bought a house last week and have been busy with moving/updating I was still able to go outside and notice the crisp cool mornings and slowly changing leaves. Fall is officially here and in my first post I told you all about my obsession with anything fall related. That being said I had to take time to recreate one of my favorite fall recipes, cinnamon apple muffins.

Muffins has always been one of my favorite things to eat in the morning. There’s nothing better then waking up to a fresh muffin with a hot cup of coffee. These are vegan and healthy as always. I would recommend starting your day off with a smoothie with lots of fruits & veggies and then enjoying a couple muffins as a snack. If you love fall recipes half as much as I do then you will definitely want to give these a try, Enjoy!

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Cinnamon Apple Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 T ground chia seeds + 3 T water
• 1 1/2 C oat flour
• 1/2 C coconut sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 T cinnamon
• 1 C chopped apples
• 1/2 C unsweetened original almond milk
• 1/4 C applesauce

Method:

Combine the ground of chia seeds and 2 T of water in a bowl and set aside. In separate bowl mix together the oat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, salt & cinnamon. Once mixed add in the almond milk and applesauce, mix in the chopped apples at the end and bake for 15 min at 400F.

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“Beefy” Mushroom Pasta

From the time I was a kid one of my favorite dishes was beef stroganoff. Being that I can no longer eat beef without wanting to throw up, and dairy is out of the question, I decided to try to make my own version that would satisfy my craving without having to restrict the amount that I eat.

I cooked this twice, the first time in a pan on the stove and the second time in the crock pot. I prefer using the crock pot only because it’s less clean up for me & lets face it, a lot less effort. But feel free to do whichever way you prefer. If you use a crock pot I suggest making it easier on yourself by inserting a crock pot liner so all the sauce doesn’t stick to the side (who wants to clean that up)!

And for all those who are wondering this recipe is husband approved. I was going to tweek it more but he told me he loved it the way it was, so here you have it. An easy weekday dinner that your whole family can enjoy. This recipe served both of us with about one portion leftover so if you’re making it for a large family I would recommend considering doing 1 & 1/2 times the recipe or doubling it. Enjoy!

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“Beefy” Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

• 16 oz cremini mushrooms
• 1 medium sized sweet onion
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 1 1/2 c low sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 c water
• 2 T herbs de provence
• 1 T lemon juice
• 2 T minced garlic
• sprinkle of salt & pepper
• 3 T white whole wheat flour
• 1 package of your favorite pasta (I used brown rice spaghetti noodles)

Method:

Cut all of your mushrooms into thin slices and chop up your onion. Add all the remaining ingredients except the noodles  and flour in a crock pot and put on low for 8 hours. About half an hour before it’s done add in 3 T of flour and mix in to thicken the sauce. When it’s done cook your noodles according to package instructions and add as much sauce as you want on top. It’s that simple!

Note: If you want to cook this in the pan it works just as well. Start by sauteing your mushrooms and onion on medium heat until soft. Instead of using oil add one tablespoon of water at a time to prevent the vegetables from sticking. After they’re soft add in the rest of your ingredients except the flour and let the mixture simmer for about 15-20 minutes, 5 minutes before its done add in your flour to thicken it.

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Apple Baked Oatmeal

In the spirit of the upcoming fall season I decided to put a healthy twist on one of my favorite desserts and turn it into a healthy breakfast. Like every other girl, I have a complete obsession with fall, it’s almost the time of year where we see pumpkin flavored everything & the smell of cinnamon in every house. This is the time of year where I bake the most & so I decided to start my blog off with one of my favorite breakfasts, Apple Baked Oatmeal.

I can assure you that if you love apple cinnamon flavored anything than you will surely love this recipe. Its perfect microwaved in the morning with a glass  of almond milk, or if you feel like indulging a little bit you can have with 2-3 Tablespoons of your favorite non dairy ice cream (I used soy) as a tasty dessert. As with all my recipes that I will be posting, feel free to eat until your satisfied. You won’t find any serving sizes on my recipes (unless it’s labeled as a treat!), which means you can eat the whole batch if you want to. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did and rest assured there will be many more fall inspired recipes to come!

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Apple Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 T coconut sugar
• 3 T whole wheat flour (feel free to sub oat flour)
• 3 medium sized apples
• 1 3/4 T cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• pinch of Salt
• 4 T pure organic maple syrup
• 6 T of your favorite non-dairy milk (I used almond)
• 3 drops pure vanilla extract
• 3 T unsweetened applesauce

Instructions:

Start by preheating the oven to 350 & mix together in a bowl: oats, oat flour, applesauce & 3 T maple syrup, 4 T of the almond milk, 1 T coconut sugar & 1 T cinnamon in a bowl. Chop the apples into small squares and put them in a separate bowl with the remainder of the ingredients & mix together. Lightly grease a 8″x 8″ glass baking dish with coconut oil and layer the apple mixture on the bottom of the bowl. Pour the oat mixture over the apples, if the oat mixture gets sticky you may need to crumble it over the apples with your hands. Top with a small sprinkle of organic cane sugar or coconut sugar if desired and bake in the oven for 35 minutes-45 minutes depending on how soft you like your apples & Enjoy!

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Welcome to my Blog!

Hello & welcome to my new blog! About 8 months ago I watched a documentary called Forks Over Knives, which completely changed my viewpoint on dieting and what was “healthy”. I immediately started my journey to eating a low fat plant based diet. I began educating myself on the benefits of a plant based diet and it very quickly turned into my biggest passion. As a Registered Nurse I personally see the devastating effects that a poor diet can have on our health on a daily basis. My motivation to eat this way first started with the intention of helping myself get healthy, but now is quickly growing into my passion to help others as well. Through this blog I hope to change the way people look at food & their health, and provide many delicious healthy recipes that everyone can enjoy. Thank you for visiting my website.

~Jessi