Tag: raw honey

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Dairy-Free Banana Bread Muffins

If you liked my Banana Bran Muffins and Blueberry Banana Muffins, you’ll definitely dig my healthy Banana Bread Muffins. Like both of those recipes, this one is made dairy-free by using banana, vegan butter, rice milk and apple sauce. They are soft, moist and a much healthier alternative to most bakery muffins which can pack a serious caloric punch at an average of 450 calories a pop. My version come in at under half that number.

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Above being waistline-friendly, these muffins feature folate-full garbanzo bean flour, potassium-packed bananas and nature’s own multivitamin, raw honey. Raw honey contains Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and C, as well as minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, and phosphate.

What You’ll Need:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/4 cup garbanzo bean flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup raw honey
  • 1/4 cup cane sugar
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil or Earth Balance “butter”
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 very ripe bananas
  • 8 oz unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup rice milk (or almond/coconut)
  • 1 tbs vanilla extract
  • Optional: 1/2 cup of any of the following–dark chocolate bits, walnuts, dates

How to Make Them:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F; spray 12-muffin pan with oil or line with fun paper liners
  2. In a bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flours, baking soda and powder, spices and salt)
  3. In a separate, large bowl (or KitchenAid mixer if you have one), vigorously whisk together sugar, honey and vegan butter until smooth. Add eggs and whisk again on high until mixture stiffens. Add in your mashed banana, apple sauce,  rice milk, and vanilla extract.
  4. Slowly fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
  5. Once combined, gently mix in optional treats (dark chocolate bits, walnuts, dates)
  6. Evenly distribute batter across muffin pan; bake for 45 min (or until a toothpick comes out clean)
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Hippie Fuel: MOAR Homemade Granola, please!

Granola is undeniably delicious, but cruncher beware. Like trail mix, granola can be deceptively high in calories and low in nutritional goodness. That’s not to say that there aren’t good varieties out there, but read the labels and look out for ingredients like high fructose corn syrup and ingredients you can’t pronounce. The best way to avoid an unhealthy choice is to make your own hippie fuel from scratch–and it’s pretty darn easy!

Hippie Fuel: MOAR’s Homemade Granola

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What You’ll Need:

  • 2 tbs coconut oil
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened reduced fat coconut
  • 1/4 cup walnuts pieces
  • 1/3 cup dried cherries, unsweetened unsulphured
  • 1/4 cup dark chocolate bits (dairy-free)
  • 2 tbs raw honey
  • 1/4 cup almond butter

How to Make Them:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 ºF.
  2. Heat coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oats, flaxseed, coconut and walnuts to pan, cooking for 3-5 min until toasty but not burnt.
  3. Remove from heat. Add cherries, chocolate bits, raw honey and almond butter to the now-warm dry ingredients. Give everything a good stir until it all comes together.
  4. Spread the mixture in an even layer across a 1/4 or 1/2 baking sheet. Bake at 350 ºF for 20 min.
  5. Let cool at least 30 min then enjoy!

Makes 6 servings at 300 calories a pop. You can stretch this by adding just a few tablespoons to your oatmeal or yogurt to spice up your breakfast routine. If you’re bringing along the whole bag, make sure it’s to fuel you for a hike, run, bike or another physical activity of choice.

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Honey Ginger Carrots and Kale

Carrots and kale deliver a one-two nutritional punch packed with anti-inflammatory properties and potent antioxidants. Inflammation is at the root of much that harms and hurts us as we age, affecting everything from the skin and joints to  our cardiovascular health and risk of disease. Antioxidants are crucial internal warriors, fighting of damaging free radicals at the cellular level. Both veggies feature high concentrations of Vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, important for safeguarding those peepers, and Vitamin K, essential for bone health and blood clotting. Kale is also an excellent plant source of calcium, which is especially crucial for us ladies out there as we age.

This recipe makes for a great side dish to any meal. I served it alongside black rice cooked in green teach (antioxidant obsessed much?) and homemade, slow-cooker BBQ pork ribs.

Honey Ginger Carrots and Kale

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What You’ll Need:

  • 4 cups kale, chopped (thicker stems removed)
  • 2 cups baby carrots, sliced thin
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 2 Tbs coconut oil
  • 2 1/2 Tbs raw honey
  • 1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
  • 2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds

How to Make It:

  1. In a large skillet, melt oils with honey over low heat. Stir in grated ginger and lemon juice.
  2. Stir in carrots and toss to coat. Increase heat to medium and cook 5 min until heated through.
  3. Add kale and cook another 5-7 min, covered and stirring occasionally, until veggies are tender but still bright and al dente.
  4. Add sesame seeds and remove from heat. Serve immediately.
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Cherry Cashew Power Bites


If you’re like me and you’re always on the go, it can get hard to eat three healthy meals a day let alone snacks. Healthy eating takes planning. To help you incorporate more whole foods into your busy lifestyle  I’ve come up with an easy snack recipe that you can make on the weekend, store in the fridge and enjoy for the next 10 days.

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These Cherry Cashew Power Bites are perfect for pre-workout fuel because they’re a balanced combination of fat/protein/carbs that will keep you energized but not overly full (which can detract from the task at hand). Every ingredient is a whole food that your grandma would recognize. Best of all, there’s no added sugar so you don’t run the risk of a glycemic spike and resulting crash.

If you’re not a fan of dried cherries, opt for dried mango or wild blueberries–just make sure they are unsweetened and unsulphured.

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CHERRY CASHEW POWER BITES

 What You’ll Need:

  • 2/3 cup raw cashews
  • 1 cup  dried dark cherries (unsweetened)
  • ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus more for garnish
  • seeds of 1 vanilla bean
  • 1/2 tbs lime zest
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric (optional)
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder (optional)

How to Make Them:

1. Soak cashews for 3-4 hours. Drain and rinse.
2. Soak cherries for 20-30 minutes until slightly softened and plump.

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3. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until a sticky dough is formed.

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4. Use a teaspoon to spoon out enough to make a 1″ ball. Squeeze the dough in your palm to bring it together and roll between your palms until you get a nice ball.
5. Roll in shredded coconut to coat.

Recipe makes approximately 20 power bites. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

At approximately 110 calories per ball. I like to snack on one or two of these 30 minutes to an hour before I workout. They give me the energy my body needs to move and play but don’t weigh me down.