Garden Fresh Muffins & More!

Garden season is coming...Many times this means way too many zucchini and other veggies that can't be eaten fast enough!  While I continue to dream about having a garden, (and yard for that matter)  here is my indoor garden thus far...Yes, I'm growing buttercup squash indoors-yikes! I may just need a WAY big planter real soon.  It's getting out of control.

I came up with this recipe for Garden Fresh Muffins when I was needing to use up zucchini and overripe bananas. (Look in the overripe section of your grocery store for discounted baking bananas=a great excuse to make banana bread!) 
Here you have it-super moist, healthy garden muffins that are secretly filled with loads of fruits & veggies!!!

Zucchini Banana Muffins

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 T canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 cup grated zucchini, squeezed and packed

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup potato starch

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup pineapple tidbits, drained (optional)

Sugar, for sprinkling on top

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray nonstick cooking spray to a 6 cup muffin tin.

Whisk together the agave, oil, salt, & egg.  Add zucchini, banana, pineapple and walnuts.

Stir together the remaining ingredients (minus the sugar for the top) in a separate bowl, then add to the batter.  Stir until just combined.  Don't over mix!  Divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.  Lightly sprinkle with sugar of choice on top.  Let the muffins rest for 5 mins before placing in oven.

Bake the muffins~ 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Don't over bake, as these muffins are to be super moist.  Cool muffins, and enjoy!

*To make non-gluten free...substitute 1 cup all purpose flour for the sorghum and potato starch.  Omit the xanthan gum.

These guac dressings are gluten free and dairy free, and were adapted from elanaspantry.com.  I usually make all of my dressings, as it is hard to find a dressing that doesn't contain both dairy & gluten-Along with that, it is much cheaper to make your own.  These recipes are great for those who can't tolerate dairy, but still want a creamy ranch-like dressing (and get tired of vinaigrette's-like me!)  These are great for using ripe avocados...The first dressing turned out quite thick, so I ended up adding a little more water to thin it out and make it stretch-Avocados are high in healthy fats, so keep in mind that these are calorie-dense dressings, and a little goes a long way;-)  Enjoy!

Creamy Guac Dressing

INGREDIENTS

1 avocado
3 T olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½-3/4 cup water

¼ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Pinch of red chili powder or cayenne (optional)

DIRECTIONS

• Place avocado, olive oil, lemon juice and water in blender.
• Puree until smooth then blend in salt and pepper
• Serve over green or chopped salad

OR...

Green Goddess Dressing

INGREDIENTS

1 avocado

2 T olive oil

1 T apple cider vinegar

1 T lemon juice

1/2 tsp herbes de provence

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp agave nectar

1 cup water

DIRECTIONS

• Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor.
• Process on high speed until smooth and creamy
• Pour over your favorite salad greens
• Store remaining dressing in glass jar in fridge.



Above recipes are gluten and dairy free! 

Pictures from girlevolving.com, koraorganics.com & loftybites.com

Dilled Salmon Cakes

This is a great recipe that uses canned salmon, & is a simple way to implement fish into your diet.  I happened upon this recipe while looking at bonappetit.com...Below is a simplified, lower fat version I have come up with!
The cakes are great on a salad, in a tortilla as a wrap, or in a pita for lunch with roasted veggies & a bit of the mock Dijon mayo dressing drizzled on top.  Enjoy! 

Dilled Salmon Cakes

INGREDIENTS

1 can salmon, drained

Olive oil (for brushing and cooking)

1teaspoon sea salt

1large egg

1-2 tablespoons dill

2 scallions, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons lemon zest (or a hint of lemon juice)

Freshly ground black pepper &  crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Mock Dijon Mayo Dressing

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 T Dijon mustard (I used old fashioned)

DIRECTIONS

Stir together yogurt and mustard of choice in a small bowl.  Season to taste with salt and more lemon juice, if desired. Set aside 1/3 cup for salmon cakes.  Cover and chill.

Lightly beat egg in a small bowl. Add dill, scallions, lemon zest, and 1 tsp. salt & mix with egg.  Add salmon and mix well.  Fold in reserved 1/3 cup Dijon mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and black pepper or red pepper flakes, if desired. Using a 1/3-cup measuring cup, scoop mounds of batter onto prepared baking sheet.

Heat a large skillet or a griddle over medium-low heat; coat surface with 1 Tbsp. oil. Shape salmon cakes into 1/2-inch-thick rounds. Working in batches, wiping skillet clean after each batch, and coating skillet with 1 Tbsp. oil each time, cook salmon cakes, gently flipping with a flat spatula halfway through, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes per side. Serve with remaining Dijon mayonnaise alongside.

Enjoy!!

Picture from bonappetit.com

Homemade Hummus!

Below I've posted a few of my favorite hummus recipes-Hummus is a quick, healthy, and cheap snack to make!  Making it yourself (for approx $1.25 for 16 oz) beats buying a $5-6 tub at the store.  If you prefer a smoother texture, simply add a little more water while blending. 

One of my favorite hummus tricks is this:  I have substituted plain yogurt (of your choice) in the place of Tahini.  Most hummus recipes call for tahini, which is simply ground sesame seeds.  You can buy it in stores as a thick paste, but it is usually quite expensive and higher in calories.  These are lighter versions using yogurt, which cuts down on the fat significantly.


The Smoky Roasted Red Pepper Hummus recipe I have come up with after much experimenting; the red pepper (buy in jars or roast your own in the oven) and smoked flavor adds a fun flair to your ordinary hummus recipes.  The red pepper hummus  can also become a Smoky Sweet Potato Hummus by simply substituting a cooked (and peeled) sweet potato for the red pepper.  Both are great!

The Cinnamon Sweet Potato Hummus recipe can be used as a sweet dip; serve with gluten free plain crackers, gluten free graham crackers, chips or fruit.  I'm serving this sweet dip alongside a savory hummus tonight-both as dipping options!

Add more or less of any of the ingredients listed to your preferred taste.  Enjoy!

Smoky Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

INGREDIENTS

3/4-1 cup roasted red peppers (OR 1 medium sweet potato for sw. potato version)

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1-2 tsp seat salt

3 T olive oil

2 tsp ground cumin

2-3 T lemon juice

3 T plain yogurt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 clove garlic

1-2 tsp liquid smoke (optional for smoky flavor)

dash cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender.  Turn on high until a paste forms.  Garnish with parsley sprigs and paprika.

Serve with gluten free crackers, veggies, or chips.

Enjoy!

Plain Hummus

INGREDIENTS

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/4-1/2 cup water

1 clove garlic

1 T lemon juice

2 T yogurt

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

2-3 T olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender. Turn on high until a paste forms.

Garnish with paprika.

Cinnamon Sweet Potato Hummus

INGREDIENTS

1 medium sweet potato (peeled and cooked)

1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

2-3 T olive oil

1 T honey

2 T plain yogurt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

2 T water

Dash sea salt

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender. Turn on high until a paste forms.

Garnish with cinnamon.

Serve with GF graham crackers, plain crackers, fruit, etc.

All three recipes are gluten free!

Product Reviews & Exciting Tortilla News!

About a week ago, I attended one of our Denver Celiac Sprue meetings.  The association holds monthly meetings & provides speakers who present new research.  (My favorite part of the meetings are sampling the newest gluten free products on the market!)

Rudi's bakery, located in Boulder, was at the meeting sampling their new TORTILLAS!!! Yes. For those of you who can't eat gluten, you know that the one item that is practically impossible to find and make, are tortillas.  Needless to say, I have not had a tortilla in 4-5 years!

I spoke with the lady representing Rudi's, who announced they are unleashing their new product (in Spinach, Plain and Fiesta flavors) this week in stores!!! Whole Foods and Natural Grocers were the two stores mentioned that will sell this product.

They are great-They are tasty, pliable, and nutritionally sound.  They each have 90 calories, around 2 grams of fat, and 5 grams of fiber!  The tortillas are made with a blend of different whole grains!!! 

I tried the spinach flavor today for lunch-YUM! (I happened to win the prize at the meeting and was so excited to get all three flavors to try before they're launched in stores this week:-)
Visit below for more info:

http://www.rudisbakery.com/

http://www.rudisglutenfree.com/press/rudi%e2%80%99s-organic-bakery-and-rudi%e2%80%99s-gluten-free-bakery-unveil-new-products-at-natural-products-expo-west/

One other brand I have found that makes great gluten free tortillas is La Torilla Factory. 

These are awesome tortillas as well, but hard to find.  I have only found them in one bakery in Colorado Springs, called Outside the Breadbox.

Happy Tortilla Eating!!!!

Hummus recipes coming soon...

A Kivu Chicken Recipe

A few summers ago, we made this recipe (a lot!) at Camp Kivu for the campers...After going through recipes the other day, I wanted to share a few of the favorites from camp...This is a much lower fat sesame chicken recipe than Chinese restaurants, being that it is not fried.  Along with the healthy component, this recipe is SUPER easy. I have to laugh every time I read my camp recipes and see how much we had to increase the recipes to serve 300+ campers....to give you an idea, we multiplied this recipe x 70!:-)
Hope you enjoy!

  Sesame Chicken

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce (tamari for GF)

1/2 cup water

1 T cornstarch

1/2 -1 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of garlic powder, to taste

1/2 -1 tsp red pepper flakes (we used cayenne)

1 T toasted sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut chicken breast into 1 inch strips.

2.  Head a large non-stick skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray, over med-high heat.

3.  Cook chicken for about 6 mins, or until no longer pink.

4.  Mix together honey, soy sauce, water, corn starch, ginger, garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

5.  Whisk until no corn starch lumps appear.

6.  Pour sauce mixture into skillet with chicken.

7.  Cook until sauce thickens slightly.

8.  If sauce is too thick, add a little more water.

9.  Cover and simmer for 10 mins or until chicken starts to soak up sauce.

Garnish wish sesame seeds, and serve atop a bed of brown rice and veggies.

Enjoy!!!

Recipe Tips:

*This recipe is gluten free; make sure to buy gluten free soy sauce (also called Tamari).  La Choy brand soy sauce (lite) is gluten free as well, but will not state it on the label.

*When using any soy sauce, always look for the lite version, as it will have about 1/2 the amount of sodium as regular soy sauce.

*I like to add fresh broccoli to this recipe...You could add strips of bell peppers or any veggie of choice!

*Make lettuce wraps with iceberg lettuce leaves...Simply fill lettuce with chicken & veggie mixture!

*I like to double or triple the sauce recipe to have enough to pour over the rice and veggies!

Picture taken from onlinerecipes.com