Scrumptious Banana Nut muffins are what's baking!

We love banana nut muffins at our house.

Well, the engineer can't stand them but the rest of us love them. I have tried a few egg substitutions in the last little while with my regular recipe. No luck - the muffins were like bricks.

I googled vegan banana nut muffin and I was pleasantly surprised at all the wonderful comments below the recipe, so I had to print and try!

Can you tell which one is my new favorite recipe?
on the left, old recipe (aka brick)-on the right fabulous new muffin

Delightful Banana Nut Muffins

posted by happyfoody.com

Cookbook: The Garden of Vegan
By Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
½ cup dry sweetener (I like rapadura or turbinado)
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
½ t salt
¾ cup ground flaxseed (or oat bran)
½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 bananas, mashed
1/3 cup olive oil
1 t vanilla extract
2/3 cup soy, rice, or almond milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sweetener, baking powder, baking soda, salt, flax or oat bran, and walnuts. In a small bowl, combine the bananas, oil, vanilla and soy milk. Pour the liquid ingredients with the dry and mix together gently until “just mixed”. Spoon into a lightly oiled muffin pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

I followed the recipe exactly as it was written and the muffins turned out amazing. I usually make a batch of blueberry and a banana nut batch weekly! It is exciting to find a yummy new banana nut recipe.

Än Guetä

Chickpea curry is what's cooking!

I have found out one of the best things about eating healthy is the fabulous support system that is just trying to do the same thing I am - eat healthy. Some do it for health reasons, whatever the reason it is so nice to have friends that also enjoy good food that can be modified to please plenty of people.

Chickpea curry with apricots

Source: Nica, from “Gesund Essen: Säure-Basen-Kochbuch: Genuss im Gleichgewicht Leben” by Elisabeth Tischer

Translated and adapted by Tanya of expatchow

Loved by Jenna

1. In medium saucepan over medium heat, heat

3 TB olive oil

2. Saute until golden, about 5 minutes:

1 onion, diced

3. Add and cook about 1 minute:

2 garlic cloves, minced

Chili powder

Dried oregano

Salt & pepper

4. Add and cook for a 6 minutes:

15oz can chickpeas

80 g dried apricots, chopped (mmm, I double and put in lots)

15oz can chopped tomatoes

5. Add and cook until apricots are very soft:

200mL veggie broth

6. Take off heat and stir in:

1 TB fresh lemon juice

2 TB parsley, chopped

7. Serve over rice.

Optional - serve with a dollop of plain yogurt (soy), sour cream or drizzled with a bit more fresh lemon juice for a tangy finishing touch.

This is such an easy, fast recipe for me to make. I could definitely add it to my weekly list of foods to eat. The engineer and I thoroughly enjoy this dish. The girls on the other hand do not love it like us. They love the chickpeas and pick them all out to eat. How does Miss L who is my tomato lover not like cooked tomatoes? Crazy girl!


Än Guetä

Jenna's Hummus is what's blending!

I posted earlier about Mediterranean night and a hummus recipe. It was one from Everyday food. I found my recipe - it was on the back cover of one of my cookbooks. A great "safe" place to put one of my favorite recipes. This is my double batch recipe.

Jenna's Hummus

2- 3 cloves of garlic (I mince mine first, if you are not a huge garlic fan, use 1 clove)

2 cans chickpeas (1st can, pour in everything, 2nd can, drain, keep liquid)

3 T. Lemon juice (fresh is best, lemon juice from a plastic lemon is fine)

2 T. Tahini

1 t. cumin

1 t. sea salt

1/8 t. cayenne (or to taste)

1/2 t. paprika

Put all ingredients except for the extra liquid from the 2nd chickpea can in the blender or food processor. Blend. Scrape down sides of blender if necessary. Add liquid from 2nd chickpea can until smooth. Olive oil is also a great liquid to use for a smooth hummus. Blend until smooth. Season to taste. Garnish with a drizzle of EVOO, a dash or two of paprika, maybe a kalamata olive or 10?

Of course sun dried tomatoes or roasted bell peppers can be added. Pour out half of the plain hummus from the blender and add tomatoes or peppers. mmm . . .

Enjoy with pita chips, veggies, wraps, etc.

Än Guetä

Booja Booja is what we are loving!

Booja Booja is a dairy free delight I grabbed at the reformhaus Müller's last week.

It looked awesome and sounded amazingly good so I bought it.
It. was. not. cheap!
This little pint size container was 14 francs.

Basically nothing is cheap here in Zürich. So I thought I would get a little treat for our family. I also got some dark chocolate pops that the girls are in love with but this was something exciting and new. Let me tell you that container of booja booja is worth every rappen.

I love how the packaging is in ENGLISH. On one part it addresses their friends in Germany, Switzerland and Austria in German. So cute!

The cool thing is it is so good and simple. 4 ingredients.

water. agave syrup. cashews. vanilla oil.

I am looking forward to trying some of their other flavors. It is so creamy you would think it had dairy in it. Mr. Booja booja is amazing.

The girls L.O.V.E.D. it and were loving their sundaes I made with it!

ps . This last weekend I was feeling crappy. Thanks for the comments on my last post and on Facebook - YoU GuYs RoCk! I was feeling so much better Saturday that I decided to make a little sundae for the girls and I, the engineer was not feeling like a sundae at the time. I made three little sundaes. I am still working on my chocolate sauce recipe. The sundae was really good but not what my body needed. Even though it is awesome for you and RAW I still did not need the agave or the cold perhaps? I learned my lesson and will wait until I feel 100% better to make another treat for me with our little indulgence named booja booja.

Building my immune system is what I am doing!

Do you feel like when the season's change that your body kind of freaks out? Am I the only one? I know stress has a major part of my immune system wanting to crash sometimes.

I woke up with a scratchy sore throat and then by the end of the day I felt achy and gross. I have a list of what I do to try to fight this. Sometimes it feels like as much as I try to fight it I still get a sinus infection that moves into my chest every 6 months. I end up back at my amazing Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist. She is awesome but does that mean I want to feel sick and go see her? NO!

Here is my list of powerful supplements or ideas to knock this, whatever it is, on it's butt:

- LOTS of water

- Grapefruit seed extract in water/juice 25 drops

- capsule with Essential Oils -
oregano - 5 drops
rosemary - 5 drops
Spice of Life - 5 drops

- Oxypure in Water

- Vitamin C - lots of it

- Vitaspray - B Vitamin Spray

- Eucalyptus oil on my back, chest and feet

- ADRENergize

- Green Smoothies with very little fruit

Of course, lots of rest, I am going back to bed.

Do you have any ideas that you want to share? I will definitely try them if I can locate them here in Zürich.

I will be healthy . I will be healthy . I will be healthy ! ! !

Aunt Karlee's Chili is what's cooking!

My cousin Karlee has a fabulous Chili Recipe. My family loves it. I especially love it because it is so easy. The main word I have eliminated from the title is Chicken. Add it if you want. I personally do not think it is necessary. A few months ago I made it, how I always have, with chicken, and told the engineer, "If only it did not have chicken in it, it is really ruining the taste." That meal was the 1st premonition of food for me.

Onto the recipe - luckily this week, in Zürich, we have had a little more "Fall" weather with rain and a nice morning and evening chill in the air! It feels like the perfect time to try out all my new recipes and everyone knows that comfort food tastes so much better when it is cold outside.

Let me be perfectly clear, this recipe is not a chili cook off contender - it is not meant to be!
It is simply a good easy chili that of course can be made into a chili bar where everyone gets to add their own toppings. Are you seeing a pattern here? I really like for everyone to customize their own meal at the end with toppings. I find it is an easy way to make everyone happy and full. In my opinion this chili is not finished without the toppings.

Karlee's Chili Recipe
adapted by Jenna

2 8 oz. cans stewed or diced tomatoes
2 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 can mild green chilies (imported from AZ, of course)
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
Salt and Pepper to taste

Put everything in a medium size saucepan on the stove, heat and stir. Or combine everything in a slow cooker and simmer on low all day.

recipe tips:

- use whatever amount or combination of beans you have or prefer

- if you like your chili super thick, strain beans and tomatoes, if you like a soupy chili, drain everything well

Toppings can include but are not limited to:

- green onions or finely minced onion
- guacamole or diced avocado
- sour cream (soy?)
- cheese - optional(I have not been able to find soy cheese here yet?)
- diced chicken (if you are trying to please a meat eater, try this as a topping)

There are a couple ways we enjoy this chili:

A big bowl of Tortilla Chips on the table to dip chili with! This is always the girls #1 choice.

Served over rice or quinoa.

I have had it both ways many times and I think both options are delicious. After writing this recipe maybe I should change the title to 9 can chili?

Please recycle!

Än Guetä

Willpower is not what's happening ?

I often have people ask me why I try to not eat sugar and lately dairy or meat?

My answer in a really simplified shortened response is - I have NO willpower, none. My post was inspired by Heather of Heather Eats Almond Butter, she is awesome!

If I love something I. eat. it. - a lot of it.

MMM . . . goat cheese feta sprinkled on a salad? um, ya, that sounds great but I would also like to eat it in slices out of the package until the package is empty.

- 1 little popsicle, no thanks I am really craving one and I think 3 would quench that craving.

- potato chip and butter baked fresh fish? not good as leftovers, I will eat two fillets now.

- popcorn? it sounds so good I will pop a whirly pop full and eat the entire thing in 1 sitting.

- smoothie? Yes, Please! I think I will drink the rest of the blendtec container right now?

- Italian figs fresh from the market? you betcha! I will take two containers full! what? those blackberries are on sale 2 for 3 I will take 4 containers!

You get my point.

If I am going to eat I might as well be eating healthy - besides the fact that I do not have enough room in my little fridge for everything that looks great at the market.

I love the saying "you are what you eat" - you know the one you hear all growing up whenever health was talked about in school? I never really believed it until I was in my 20's. I am still trying to learn to listen to my body, sometimes I feel like I know when I am full and sometimes I love the taste of what I am eating and regret it later - kind of like Thanksgiving dinner, you know?

I am trying to instill in my children the desire to be healthy at their young age. I hope to teach them to listen to their bodies and feel whether they are full and whether or not they really need that 5th cookie to feel good?

What tips do you have for getting kids to learn willpower? Do you have any little helps or reminders for you?