The perfect dozen
Finally after 6 months of attempting a gluten-free, vegan muffin, I have concocted the tastiest, moistest muffin a girl could ask for! After some very awful tasting mistakes, my persistence has paid off. These muffins even remind me of oatmeal ones since I used some quinoa flakes which give it a slightly oatmeal-ish texture.
Avocado soup with grilled asparagus and tortilla chips
Avocados and tomatoes seem to be a match made in heaven. At least that’s what every avocado recipe out there tells me. Since I ain’t diggin the deadly nightshades (sadly including chili powder which is avocados closest friend), I created a recipe that excludes these and lets the avocado shine on it’s own.
And how did this little number turn out? Well my father detests avocados. Even when made into a flavourful guacamole. After many attempts to include them into his diet by sneaking them into dips, salads and on top of dishes as a garnish I was very curious to see how he would find my soup. At first I was sad to see at the end of the meal he still had a full bowl. When I asked him how he liked the soup he replied, “I’m working on my second bowl! This is really good!”
So there you have it. But don’t take my word for it, try it yourself because avocados are not a food you want to ignore!
Avocado Soup
Ingredients:
5-6 small to medium avocados (very ripe)
1 Tbsp olive oil (or veg. oil)
2 small onions (finely diced)
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
2 cups of vegetable broth
1 cup soy milk (or any milk you want to use)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 heaping tsps cumin
pepper to taste
Garnish:
Vegan sour cream
tortilla chips
Directions:
Slice and mash the avocados very well. (you can also puree them in a food processor). Set aside.
Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and dice your onions. Fry the onions and garlic till soft and browned.
Add in the vegetable broth, the avocados, and the “milk” and stir well (keeping all this on medium heat).
Add in the remaining ingredients.
As soon as it’s hot it’s ready to serve. Add some tortilla chips and maybe a dollop of vegan sour cream!
I ate mine with some grilled asparagus. Not exactly a complete meal but I had already eaten quite a bit of protein throughout the day.
Cardamom Banana balls
Seemingly sweet, these little desserts may not actually satisfy a sweet tooth. My family gave them the go-ahead but I wasn’t too impressed. Not bad for an experiment though and filled with fiber and nutrients. They certainly weren’t unagreeable.
Ingredients:
1 cup dates (soaked for an hour or so)
2 ripe bananas
1/3 cup shredded coconut (plus extra for rolling)
3 tbsp psyllium husk
1 heaping tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cinnamon
2-3 dashes of fine sea salt
Directions:
Drain the dates and in a food processor blend them up to the consistency you desire. In a medium sized bowl mash the bananas, coconut, cinnamon, cardamom, psyllium husk. Add in the dates and a few pinches of salt.
In another bowl put some extra coconut for rolling (about a half cup). Roll the mixture into balls as best you can and roll into the coconut.
Place on a rack in your food dehydrator or eat them raw!
