Lemon blueberry banana muffins

I have been wanting a good lemon blueberry muffin for a while now and though I've attempted many recipes in the past, today's attempt was perfect and sweet and moist and lemony. I just mildly adapted my banana oat muffin to fit this and it turned out to be the best ever!

Ingredients:

-1 C whole wheat flour (soft white or hard white is best)
-1 C oat flour or quick oats (make your own oat flour by putting old fashioned oats into a blender till ground)
-1 1/2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp baking soda
-1/4 tsp salt
-cinnamon (I just thow it in there)
-2 eggs
-1/2 C coconut oil melted
-1/4 C raw honey
-1/4 C maple syrup
-1 large banana roughly smashed
-1 lemon zested and juiced
-1/2 C frsh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, let them thaw a bit before combining)

Directions:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients to a bowl
2. Add in the wet ingredients and stir together
3. Fold in the blueberries
4. Fill muffin tins lined with liners to the top almost
5. Bake at 375* for 15-17 min
6. spread with pastured butter or coconut oil
YUM!!!

Dried cherry pumkpkin seed salad

A little twist on my favorite salad, this one uses some more winter like flavors and spotlights red wine vinegar instead.

Ingredients for salad:
Baby spinach
Spring mix salad or other greens
Pumpkin seeds
Thinly sliced red onion
Crumbled feta cheese
Dried cherries or cranberries
Chopped pears

Ingredients for dressing:
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:
1. Mix salad ingredients
2. Mix olive oil and red wine vinegar in a 2 part oil to 1 part vinegar ratio and then add sweetner to taste (I usually like a few Tbsp of it) then add s&p. Shake in a glass bottle and store for later use with leftovers

Bulgar wheat pilaf

This is a recipe from my neighbor from Saudi Arabia, she shared it with me the other night and I wanted to give it a try with the family. It turned out great and the whole family loved it! It is so simple and fast and a nice change up from rice.

Ingredients:
2 C Bulgar Wheat
Approximately 2-4 cups water
Coconut oil
1/2 onion chopped
2-3 garlic cloves chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste






Directions:
1. Put the grain in a bowl and cover with hot water just until it reaches the top of the grain and let sit for about 10-15 min.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pot and saute onion and garlic until fragrant and translucent.
3. When the onion mixture is done add the bulgar (which will have soaked up the water and be plump) to the pot and fill with water until it covers the mixture 1-2 inches.
4. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or so, until the water is gone and it is easily fluffed like rice.
5. Add salt and pepper and fluff with a fork.

cranberry orange butter syrup

I made this up after having leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving and nothing to use it with. It was a huge success with me and my kids liked it too!  It seriously makes me feel like I am at a bed and breakfast (well I've never been to one but I bet this is what they serve. :)) It takes just a little bit of time but once you have it made it will last for a while in the fridge. And will be handy everytime you have pancakes or waffles.

Ingredients:

-2 oranges
-2 Tbsp butter
-3-4 Tbsp maple syrup
-cranberry sauce


Instructions:

1. Zest the oranges and then peel the orange by cutting with a knife around the edges so the white and segment skin is removed.
2. Seperate the orange slices and try to remove the segment skins from them (easiest if you pull from the side already free of skin.
3. Put the oranges plus all other ingredients into the pan and simmer until a sauce starts to form
(If you like the segments whole, don't let it go too long, otherwise make a sauce) and then smash together with a fork.
4. Pour onto pancakes warm and eat as is or with maple syrup drizzled on it.

cranberry sauce

I made this cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving this year and it was tangy with a hint of sweetness. I then had lots of leftovers because we did Thanksgiving by ourselves this year and I am the only one who likes it so I got creative and made a cranberry orange syrup for pancakes after and that was sooooo delicious. I couldn't stop eating it.

 

 Ingredients:

-12 oz bag of cranberrries fresh
-1/2 C honey
-1 cinnamon stick
-zest of one orange and the juice from it
-1 C water

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients into a pot and simmer over medium heat for 30-45 min and watch to be sure the liquid doesn't run out. Simmer till it is a thick sauce, then let it cool or serve warm. This can easly be frozen and put in the fridge to thaw. It came out just as wonderful after being frozen.

Clean and tasty Orange Julius

I had a hankering for an orange julius, reminisant of the days when I would go to the mall and get them ones loaded with all sorts of things. I hopped online to see if I could find any inspiration and ended up devising my own. So here goes.....

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-4 oranges (or a combo of oranges and manderans which is all I had)
-2 bananas frozen
-about 3/4 C whole fat coconut milk
-1 tsp vanilla
-orange juice fresh or not OR I used coconut water cause that all I had again (enough to get it mixing well)
-Stevia
-Ice cubes

Directions:
1. Combine all but ice cubes in the blender and blend till smooth
2. Add ice cubes to your liking (I love icy drinks so I do about 8 or so)
3. Pour and enjoy!