Double Chocolate Black Tahini Banana Muffins

Yield: 12 standard size muffins
Recipe from The Conscientious Eater
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos in which black tahini is used.  I was intrigued, so I bought some to give it a try.  This was the first recipe I tested using black tahini.  These muffins are terrific.  Perfectly moist and chocolatey.  The author said that regular tahini can be used, but the color won’t be a “rich” looking.  Of course, these are delish with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

2 flax eggs (2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed + 6 Tablespoons warm water)
3 ripe bananas
⅓ black tahini (I'm thinking regular tahini will work, but the color won't be as intense.)
¼ neutral oil
¾ cup coconut sugar
1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour (I used spelt flour because I was out of whole wheat.)
¼ cup cacao powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup mini dairy-free chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease or line 12 muffin cups with cooking spray or silicone or paper muffin liners. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together 2 Tablespoons ground flaxseed and 6 Tablespoons water to create your flax eggs. Set aside to thicken.
In a large bowl mash the ripe bananas until smooth.
Add in the black tahini, oil and coconut sugar and whisk until smooth.
Add in the thickened flax eggs and mix again until all the wet ingredients are incorporated.
Evenly shake the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt over the top of the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into your prepared muffin cups.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the muffins to cool before serving or storing in an airtight container.

Nutrition Information: (1 muffin) Calories: 215; Total Fat: 7 g saturated Fat: 3 g trans Fat: 0 g unsaturated; Fat: 3 g cholesterol: 16 mg sodium: 198 mg carbohydrates: 39 g net Carbohydrates: 0 g fiber: 4 g sugar: 24 g sugar Alcohols: 0 g protein: 4 g

High Protein Vegan Pancakes

Recipe from Pick Up Limes

Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

Makes 16 pancakes (4 servings)

Unlike my husband, who loves to eat the exact same breakfast every single day, I like to change it up a bit.  I subscribe to Pick Up Limes YouTube channel and so when this recipe was featured, I decided to try it out to ramp up my breakfast.  Using silken tofu and soy milk help to make these pancakes high in protein.  These were not "light and fluffy" pancakes that you may be used to.  These were more deliciously bread-like and very filling.  To top them, I drizzled some of my Homemade Cashew Yogurt plus a bit of maple syrup over the stack.  I also sprinkled on some Homemade Coconut-Buckwheat Granola and made sure I added frozen blueberries, pumpkin seeds and 1/2 banana, sliced.  I was full until noon!  

Pancakes:

10.5 oz. (300 g) silken soft tofu

1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk or pea milk (I used oat milk.)

2 Tablespoons maple syrup or agave syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar or lime juice

3 1/2 cups spelt flour or whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon sea salt or Kosher salt

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil for the skillet/pan (I used coconut oil spray.)

Optional Toppings:

1 cup plant based yogurt (I used Homemade Cashew Yogurt.)

1 cup fresh berries (I used frozen blueberries.)

1/2 banana, sliced

1/3 cup mixed roasted nuts (I used Homemade Coconut-Buckwheat Granola.)

2 Tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds or hemp seeds

Maple Syrup

To a blender, add the tofu, milk, maple syrup, vanilla and lemon juice.  Blend until completely smooth.

To a large bowl, add the spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Mix until well combined.

Create a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients from the blender into it.  Mix until just combined.  If the mixture seems too thick, add a splash of milk to thin it out a touch.

Heat a non-stick pan on medium-high heat.  Use the vegetable oil to lightly grease the pan as needed.  (I used just a bit of coconut oil spray.) 

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to pour/scoop the batter into the pan and cook the pancake for 2 minutes on each side.  Continue until all of the batter is used.

Serve with whatever optional toppings you wish.

If you wish to save some pancakes for another day, cool them completely and store (separately from the toppings) in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.  The pancakes can be reheated on the stove, in the microwave, the oven or in the toaster.  

Nutritional Information: (4 pancakes)

649 calories; 21 g fat; 5 g saturated fat; 0 g trans fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 94 carbohydrates; 13 g fiber; 21 g sugars; 6 g added sugars; 28 g protein; 613 mg sodium; 8 mg iron; 1002 mg potassium; 465 mg calcium; 208 mg magnesium; 5 mg zinc; 0 mg copper; 4 mg manganese; 705 mg phosphorus; 18 ug selenium; 58 ug RAE vitamin A; 0 mg vitamin B6; 1 ug vitamin B12; 18 mg vitamin C; 2 ug vitamin D; 2 mg vitamin E; 12 ug vitamin K; 60 ug folate; 0 mg thiamin; 0 mg riboflavin; 9 mg niacin; 44 mg choline

Maple Glazed Spice Cake with Cinnamon Drizzle (Vegan)

Recipe from Vegan Richa

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes 9 servings

This is a super moist, perfectly spiced cake to serve when autumn is in the air.  The original recipe called for a dairy-free cream cheese frosting, but I wanted to try the drizzle that I found on Vegan Richa website that was meant for another cake. This cake is delicious enough to serve with coffee at a party. Or you can also leave it plain and pop it in your lunchbox.  (There were gluten-free, oil-free, sweetening, dried fruit, and flour options for this recipe on the Vegan Richa website., but I’ve not tested those.)

Cake

1 Tablespoon flax seed meal

¼ cup water

¾ cup spelt flour

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons coconut sugar

½ teaspoon sea salt

1½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup chopped pitted dates (Soak in warm water for about 15 minutes.)

¾ cup applesauce (I used unsweetened.)

¼ cup oil (I used grapeseed oil.)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup grated apple, carrot or zucchini (I used apple.) Lightly squeeze with a clean towel to remove excess moisture

Glaze

1 Tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon water

Cinnamon Drizzle

1¼ cup non-dairy milk (I used almond milk.)

2-4 Tablespoons coconut sugar or other sweetener (to taste)

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 drops almond extract

A pinch of sea salt

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon turmeric, for color (optional)

Line an 8” x 8” square pan with parchment paper.  (I lightly sprayed the pan and the paper with oil first, but that’s optional.) Preheat the oven to 350F.  Mix the flax seed meal with the ¼ cup water and set aside.  In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg.  Whisk well.  Fold in the dates. (I used my fingers to “rub” the dates into the mixture so that the date pieces would be well coated with the dry mixture which would allow them to be distributed evenly.) Add the applesauce, flax seed mix, oil, vanilla and apple.  Mix to combine into a slightly stiff batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread the batter to completely cover the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick from the center comes out clean.  Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Carefully remove the cake using the parchment paper as “handles.” Mix the maple syrup and water together and brush over the entire cake.  While the cake is cooling, make the Cinnamon Drizzle. Mix 1 cup almond milk with the sugar, vanilla and almond extracts in a saucepan. Bring to a boil.  Add the cinnamon and turmeric, if using.  Mix the cornstarch and ¼ cup almond butter in a small bowl.  Add to the boiling milk.  Bring it back up to a rolling boil.  Take the pan off the heat.  The drizzle will thicken a bit as it cools. When the cake is completely cool, drizzle with the Cinnamon Drizzle.

Nutritional Information (1 of 9 portions of cake w/no glaze or drizzle): 195 calories; 6.7 g fat (0.9 g sat. fat); 0 g cholesterol; 146 mg sodium; 33.2 g carbohydrates; 3 g fiber; 14.7 g sugars; 2.8 g protein; 145 mg calcium; 2 mg iron; 440 mg potassium Nutritional Information (1 of 9 portions of glaze and drizzle) 42 calories; 1.1 g fat (0.1 sat. fat); 0 mg cholesterol; 83 mg sodium; 8.3 g carbohydrates; 0.4 g fiber; 6.7 g sugars; 0.3 protein; 93 mg calcium; 64 mg potassium

Double Chocolate Orange Banana Muffins (Vegan)

Recipe from Plant-Powered Families by Dreena Burton

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Makes 12 standard size muffins

These turned out way better than I anticipated.  The chocolate-orange combo is a match made in heaven.  The muffins were perfectly moist with a lovely crumb.  I love that they are made with whole-grain spelt flour, and sweetened, not with refined, processed sugar, but with ripe bananas and maple syrup.  Make a batch on the weekend and enjoy these throughout the week for a mid-day pick-me-up.

1½ cups whole-grain spelt flour

½ cup almond flour

¼ cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate cocoa powder.)

2 teaspoons fresh orange zest (from 1 large or 2 small oranges)

¼ rounded teaspoon sea salt

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup pureed overripe banana* (about 2 large bananas)

½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice** (from 1 large or 2 small oranges)

½ cup pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup non-dairy mini or regular chocolate chips (I used bittersweet mini chips.)

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.  (I always spray the liners with a bit of oil spray.) In a large bowl, whisk the flours, cocoa powder, orange zest, and sea salt.  Then sift in the baking powder and baking soda.  (The zest will be moist and will clump in the dry mix.  Use your fingers to rub the zest in so that it’s distributed evenly.) In a medium bowl, combine the pureed bananas, orange juice, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, then add the chocolate chips.  Stir through until just well combined without over mixing.  Ladle the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 17-19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Notes: To make a nut free version, substitute ½ cup oat flour for the almond flour.  They won’t be quite as moist, but will still have a lovely flavor and texture.  *Banana: If you have an immersion blender, puree about 2 large bananas in a deep, large cup, then measure to get your 1 cup needed.  If you are a little shy with the measure, use applesauce to make up the difference. Be sure the bananas are very ripe (black speckled.)

**Orange Juice: I was just shy of ½ cup of the orange juice, so I made up the difference with a bit of water.

Nutritional Information via CalorieKing app: (1 serving = 1 standard-sized muffin) 200 calories; 4.4 g fiber; 13.1 sugars; 5 g protein; 13.4 mg calcium; 201 mg potassium