Buckwheat & Coconut Muffins

Count 'em down, folks! We're seven weeks away from the most body-punishing event of the year: Christmas. I'm already hyped up on Halloween candy and pumpkin pie. Now comes the downward spiral of unwinding..or unraveling with cinnamon rolls, chocolates, christmas cookies, eggnog and liquor.  By January 2nd, I'll feel like I've been hit by a sugar truck.

This muffin recipe is low in sugar and a candida diet favorite. Candida is a yeast that grows naturally in the intestine. Excess consumption of sugars and yeast can apparently spark its' overgrowth, which some natural medical practitioners link to a myriad of symptoms, from bladder and yeast infections to acne and fatigue. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, there isn't much scientific evidence to support this ailment which could either mean not much research has been done and/or the research wasn't conclusive. Whether candida overgrowth is a real condition or not, consuming less sugar and processed foods in one's diet is supported by both the science-based and alternative medicine fields and I'm heeding their advice.

I've been eating these with Greek yoghurt in the morning. Ruedi added sliced banana and dried cherries to his serving today. Also remember to buy the unsweetened versions of the ingredients below.  I know the coconut was available sweetened, as was the almond milk. If you want a little more sweetness to the muffin, I would double up on the stevia instead.  I vow to feel a little better this Christmas. Lord knows there will still be plenty of opportunities to overdo it. 

From: http://www.thecandidadiet.com

Makes about 15 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups buckwheat groats
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup walnut pieces
• 2 T chia seeds
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups almond milk
• 1/4 cup of almond butter
• 1.5 t stevia
• 1 T alcohol free vanilla

Method

Preheat oven to  375 F.  Oil or butter a 12 cup muffin pan and set aside.  Soak the buckwheat groats in water will a pinch of salt for 6-7 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse thoroughly. Mix all dry ingredients except the stevia in a bowl. Mix all wet ingredients and the stevia in a bowl and whisk until frothy. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and spoon a third of a cup of the mix into each cup of the muffin pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until muffins are brown around the edge and firm to the touch.

Oh-So-Wholesome Muesli

Why make muesli? For starters, muesli is just about the easiest kind of food prep there is so you'll be patting yourself on the back for weeks to come over having fed yourself wholesomely.  Second, making bulk batches will save you money over the store bought varieties. And finally, it gives you the freedom and control to choose your ingredients. If you've got nut allergies for example, or other food sensitivities, this is a must. 

Consider the recipe below as your baseline and expand your ingredients list from there. I eventually added dried cherries and hazelnuts to this batch because I found them loitering in the pantry. I top my muesli with chopped or grated apples and bananas as a way of getting fruit into my diet. Fruit typically isn't of interest to me unless it's battered and fried, paired with cheese or coated in chocolate. I have however, found other, less obnoxious ways to enjoy fruit and muesli is one example.

Adapted from: http://www.gatheranddine.com

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats 
• 1/2 cup barley flakes
• 1/2 cup rye flakes
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds (I used whole)
• 2 T sunflower seeds
• 2 T pumpkin seeds

For Serving

• 2-3 cups of yoghurt (1/2 cup per serving)
• fresh fruit of choice
• honey or jam to top

Method

Combine dry ingredients and store in an airtight container. To prepare, combine the yoghurt and muesli in a bowl and mix well to ensure the yoghurt coats all of the muesli. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve the following morning with fruit. and top with either jam or honey as desired.

Honey-Balsamic Roasted Strawberry Parfait

My smoothies, while delightful, look like dirty snow blended with compost, thanks to less-than-perfect blending technology. I have a decent blender, but it doesn't pulverize my ingredients like our nation's most coveted blender, the Vitamix Pro Series 300 (one day....one day).  I end up with bits of green and seeds floating in a purple-grey fog. I drink these little numbers at the office almost daily, but get odd looks and a number of questions from passers by. I also get all sorts of stuff in my teeth.

This weekend, as I was perusing through my favorite recipe resource, Tastespotting, I found a delightful looking snack that became a contender as an alternative to my compost smoothy. I put these into jars so they were portable and had one today following my cardio-intensive, morning email review. Two words: Deeee-lish.  Wait..just one: Yum.

From: http://www.2teaspoons.com

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced
• 2 T honey
• 2 T balsamic vinegar
• 2 cups plain, Greek yoghurt
• handful of oats and/or chopped nuts to top

Method

Preheat oven to 350 F. Toss the strawberries in honey and balsamic vinegar and pour onto a baking sheet. Roast for 25 minutes, remove from the oven and allow the strawberries to cool completely. Layer bowls or jars with a few dollops of yoghurt, then the strawberries and repeat with both ingredients. Top each serving with chopped nuts, oats or a combination of your choosing.

Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Raspberries in Syrup

It's now just after 6 am and I am currently sinking my teeth into some delectable pancakes, my craving now satisfied. As an eggs and bacon advocate, I tend to go for the savoury breakfasts with the exception of my once-a-year attempt at pancakes. I tried a banana recipe last year and while delicious, I don't think I bothered posting it. My photos of these charred, lumpy-looking turds didn't sell it. But these, when smothered with fruit and yoghurt, hide the charred spots that I can't help but get every time I make pancakes. If I wasn't lazy, I'd wipe down the pan with each round to avoid getting darker pancakes each time. I also learned this time to make small pancakes so I have better control over how they cook. 

Oh yes...the other reason I don't make pancakes that often is because they don't sustain me for very long. There isn't enough in the way of complex carbs and protein to keep me going. Well, after having spotted a number of cottage cheese pancake recipes, I thought I might have a go at one of them. This one in particular looked easy and after having read some Martha Stewart versions, I wanted one that took less effort (Martha, I'm just not up for foraging for elderflowers at 5 am). The protein in cottage cheese, just might help bridge that energy gap I need and today is no exception. We're cycling 100kms just north of Edmonton today and I need energy. Let's see how this breakfast holds up compared to my Sunday egg on toast.

A bit less turd-like than last year's batch.

Adapted From: http://weelicious.com

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 T honey or agave syrup
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• cooking spray or vegetable oil for the fry pan
• Container of frozen raspberries in syrup (shockingly lazy, I know)

Method

Whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another. Add the wet to the dry again, mixing well. Heat a non-stick fry pan on medium heat and coat with either cooking spray or vegetable oil. Spoon a few tablespoons of the batter on to the fry pan (I seemed to have better luck cooking three pancakes at a time). Cook pancakes for 2 minutes on each side and set aside on a plate. 

Serve with fresh fruit, the thawed raspberries and a dollop of thick yoghurt.

*After having eaten I thought these might be even more hearty if I were to add a fistful of thick cut oats to the recipe. I might have to adjust my wet ingredients to balance out the extra dry. Just a thought!

Cinnamon Apple Quinoa Parfait

To stay or....

One of very few breakfast recipes I've made in the last year, but if you're on the go a lot, this breakfast is worth a try. It's easy to carry with you and keeps for a week. I just ate the last of them yesterday and it tasted as good as the first.

I pulled this recipe from www.PreventionRd.com because of its use of quinoa; the super grain. Packed with amino acids, fiber, protein and magnesium, this little gem will help you stay in the game. Magnesium-rich foods help your muscles relax and I've been honing in on this mineral to help my muscles do just that. Kids will love the layered simplicity of this dish, and if plain yoghurt doesn't cut it for you, throw in a flavoured yoghurt of your choice. This isn't just food, this is high-octane fuel.

To go!

Adapted From: http://www.preventionrd.com

Ingredients

Oat Crumble

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 T sunflower oil
• 2 t granulated sugar
• 1 t ground cinnamon

Apple Compote

• 4 apples, cored and chopped
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 T granulated sugar
• Handful of nuts (walnut pieces & almonds went in mine)
• 1 T water or more for cooking

Quinoa

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 2 cups greek yoghurt (I used plain 2% greek yoghurt, but feel free to get a richer or leaner yoghurt if you prefer)

Method

Cook the quinoa according to package instructions adding the cinnamon to the quinoa after it has cooked. 

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine all the ingredients for the apple compote, mixing well. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Partially cover the mixture until apples are soft and any liquid in the pan becomes syrupy, approximately 10 minutes. Add more water if necessary. When cooked, remove from heat and let cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all ingredients for the oat crumble and distributed on a baking sheet. Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

To assemble, place a 1/4 cup of the yoghurt, 1/4 cup of the quinoa and a 1/4 cup of the apple compote in layers in a bowl or jar. Repeat the layers and top with the oat crumble. Serve! 

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

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• In the interest of using up the canned pumpkin from my pumpkin pudding experiment, I threw it into a pot with some oats, spices etc. and savoured every bite of it. I discovered this idea last year when surfing for other pumpkin recipes and thought this was marvellous. Chopped up walnuts, hazelnuts and dried fruit would spice this recipe up even more.
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•     ·      1 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

·      3/4 cup water, or as needed

·      2 T milk 

·      1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

·      1/2 t cinnamon

·      1/4 t cardamom

·      1/4 t ground ginger

·      1/4 t nutmeg

·      2 T maple syrup

·      Handful of nuts (I used almonds)

·      Yoghurt to top

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• Mix the oats and water in a pot on medium heat letting the oats absorb the water. Add the pumpkin puree, spices, nuts and syrup, stirring well. If dry, add a the two tablespoons of milk to moisten the mixture. Top with yoghurt and a few more nuts.
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