Lentil Spinach Cups

Featured Ingredient: Ricotta Cheese

Conjuring up images of gooey lasagna, ricotta is made from the whey that is drained away when making mozzarella, provolone, and other cheeses. Not just for bodybuilders, research suggest that whey protein can bolster immunity and contribute to satiety. Just think about it: You can eat cheese and feel full. Awesome! Fat-free versions of this snowy, white cheese are more protein dense than full-fat versions because they have additional non-fat milk solids mixed in. I almost always use lower fat versions in cooking as I don’t find that I miss the fat very much with respect to this cheese. Other cheeses? Bring on the fat baby! Ricotta also has the benefit of being lower in sodium than cottage cheese. Beyond lasagna, try it in protein shakes, scrambled eggs, pizzas or spread on toast.

These elegant, tasty gems prove that you should live green and eat that way as well. You can use frozen spinach if desired, but make sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Lentils add protein and fiber, making these cups a satisfying meal centerpiece. I prefer dried lentils for their very low cost, better texture and lack of sodium, but canned versions will work as well.

Lentil Spinach Cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry green or brown lentils

8 cups baby spinach

1/2 cup light ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 leek, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Bring lentils and 3 cups of water to a boil in a medium sized saucepan saucepan. Simmer until lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F. In a food processor, pulse spinach in batches until finely chopped. Add spinach to a bowl along with ricotta, Parmesan, eggs, leek, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Drain lentils and add them to the spinach mixture; mix well. Divide mixture evenly among 10 medium-sized muffin cups. Bake until set, about 20-25 minutes. Let cool before unmolding. 

Coffee Chocolate Smoothies

Featured Ingredient: Coffee

The most popular post on this blog is for these frozen green smoothie cups. It seems that others are just as interested as I am in the possibility of whirling up quick smoothies without the fuss of pulling out numerous ingredients from the fridge and pantry.

So I thought I would share another frozen smoothie cup recipe. This one will perk up your day with an infusion of coffee. Banana, almonds and dried dates up the health ante. The protein powder I use is the chocolate hemp from Manitoba Harvest. 

Hemp protein is actually considered a complete protein much like whey is, making it a powerful addition to smoothies. If you are using a vanilla or unflavored protein powder, you can include a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder to add chocolatey goodness.

If interested in trying out a new coffee, may I suggest Doi Chaang from Thailand. It’s superior stuff with a wonderful story behind it. Here is an article I recently wrote about our bike trip up to the coffee growing community in northern Thailand.

I really recommend using silicon muffin trays when making frozen smoothie cups. Because they are non-stick and you can bend and twist them, extracting the frozen contents is a breeze. If using metal, you may need to place the bottom of the tray in warm water for a few seconds.

Java Chocolate Smoothie Cups

3 cups strongly brewed coffee, cooled

2 bananas

1/2 cup chocolate hemp protein or other protein powder of choice

1/2 cup almonds

1/3 cup pitted dried dates, chopped

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Place coffee, bananas, protein powder, almonds, dates, extract and cinnamon and in a blender container. Turn blender onto its low setting and process for 20 seconds. Switch to the high setting and blend until dates and almonds are pulverized, about 1 minute.

Divide mixture among 12 medium sized muffin cups. Place trays in the freezer and freeze until solid. Unmold coffee cups and store in the freezer in a zip-top bag.

When it comes time to make a smoothie, simply place a couple of frozen coffee cups in a blender along with about 1 1/2 cups liquid (I use 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup water) and blend until smooth. If your blender does not have a lot of power, you may want to carefully slice the frozen cups into halves or quarters before blending.   

 

Frozen Pumpkin Cups

Featured Ingredient: Pumpkin

The weather up here in Ontario has now turned foul for the season, but winter squash are still holding strong at our farmers’ market. So what does one do when presented with pounds of dirt cheap squash? Steam, puree and freeze, of course.

Instead of tossing pureed pumpkin, butternut and other winter squash into a container or zip-top bag where it will become a giant brick, a better idea is to break out the trusty silicon muffin cups. This is so great! Just divvy up the squash into the muffin cups and place in the freezer until solid. Once you’ve got your frozen cups, simply unmold and place them in a zip-top bag for future use. The flexibility of the silicon is incredible when dealing with frozen items such as this.

Now, I’ve got a bunch of 1/2-cup frozen pumpkin cups that I can use for soups, pumpkin pie, pumpkin butter and even smoothies. I plan on making pumpkin oatmeal with one tomorrow. As a bonus, I can just defrost small amounts based on my needs and these will defrost much quicker than a huge hunk of frozen squash. Plus, I won’t have to turn to canned pumpkin which comes up short in the taste department compared to a puree made from fresh sugar pumpkins.

I plan on doing the same thing with a bunch of butternut squash, which gives me plenty of opportunity to make soups down the road. 

Matcha Pancakes

Featured Ingredient: Matcha

Green tea, meet your matcha.

Traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies, matcha is derived from lightly steamed tea leaves that are then ground into a fine powder which you dissolve in hot water. Since you're ingesting the whole tea leaf, it stands to reason that matcha provides soaring levels of antioxidants for which green tea is lauded for. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of research pertaining to the health benefits of matcha in comparison to other teas. However, a University of Colorado study discovered that the matcha they tested contained 137 times more of the potent antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate, or less of a mouthful EGCG, than a green tea rival produced by steeping the leaves.

The flavor? I would say slightly grassy with some lingering sweetness. I’m a little concerned that my girlfriend Tabi might be addicted to the stuff. I’ve noticed a slight verdant tinge to her skin. Well, not really, and there is definitely nothing wrong with imbibing daily as a warm mug of matcha in the afternoon is hard to beat.

A caveat: The quality of matcha can vary greatly. I’ve had really good stuff and very lackluster stuff. I’ve always been pleased with the vibrant flavor of the matcha from MatchaSource. Founder Alissa White is really passionate about the emerald green powder. It’s undeniably a splurge, but a worthwhile one indeed.

The use of matcha in desserts has been gaining steam over the last year, with it increasingly breaching the savory world of cooking as well. Here is a recipe from Bon Appetit for pistachio-matcha crusted halibut that I’ve gotta try.

In a previous post, I made up a batch of mini baked mesquite pancakes. In this version, I’ve teamed up two awesome ingredients: matcha and coconut flour. 

Coconut flour has a natural sweetness and is crazy high in dietary fiber. I use the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Keep in mind that this guise of flour absorbs a ton of liquid, so if you want to make these with straight up whole wheat pastry flour, you probably want to cut back on the amount of milk by about 1/4 cup. Most matcha baked good recipes just blend the powder into the dry ingredients, but if you dissolve it first in warm water you’ll end up with more of its lively flavor in the end product.

If anyone has ideas for savory dishes that matcha can shine in, I’d love to hear them.

Coconut Matcha Baked Pancakes

1 teaspoon matcha powder

3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 large egg

1 cup milk or non-dairy milk of choice

2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or melted unsalted butter

Maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, whisk together matcha powder with 2 tablespoons hot water. In a large bowl, combine flour, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg and stir in matcha, milk and oil or butter. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix gently. Divide batter among 18 to 20 greased or paper lined mini muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a pancake comes out clean. Serve with maple syrup. 

Chocolate Cheesecake Bites

Featured Ingredient: Almonds

Woo hoo, I finally turned in the manuscript for my cookbook on Friday. After 4 1/2 months of slaving away in the kitchen, I think I’ve got a pretty good batch of muffin tin inspired recipes. I developed the recipe for these cheesecake bites molded in mini muffin cups with the book in mind, but they didn’t quite fit into any of the chapters. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t truly wonderful.

I would think you could serve these at a holiday party and receive much approbation. The almond base adds a really nice textural contrast to the cream cheese topping. It doesn’t hurt that almonds rock in the nutritional department, thanks to impressive amounts of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and the antioxidant vitamin E. Hemp seeds offer an extra dose of supercharged fats.

You could flavor the chocolate with some chili powder, peppermint extract, coffee extract, or warming spices like cinnamon. The chocolate could even be omitted and just serve as mini cheesecakes. I would not use a darker sugar like palm for the cheesecake topping as you want it to be nice and white for presentation purposes. If not using flexible silicon muffin cups, it’s probably best to use paper liners for these.

Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites

1 cup almonds, roughly chopped

1 1/3 cup quick cook oats (not instant)

1/3 cup coconut palm sugar or brown sugar

1/3 cup hemp hearts (seeds), such as Manitoba Harvest

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup lightly colored natural cane sugar

1 large egg

2 tablespoons reduced fat sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

10 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

Fleur de Sel (optional)

In a dry skillet, toast almonds over medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant, about 4 minutes. Stir often to prevent burning. Let almonds cool and then add to a bowl of a food processor along with oats, sugar, hemp hearts, salt, and butter. Process until mixture adheres together. Divide mixture among 24 greased or paper lined mini muffin cups, pressing down to help stick together. The crust should come about half-way up the muffin cups.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixture until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg, sour cream and vanilla until just mixed in. Divide cream cheese mixture among muffin cups and bake for 15 minutes, or until topping is set. Let cool before unmolding and then cool completely on a wire rack. Place cheesecakes in the freezer and freeze until solid.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl set over a pan of lightly simmering water, stirring often. Or microwave chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 20 to 30 second increments, stirring after each interval until chocolate is melted. One at a time, dip cheesecakes into the melted chocolate and use two forks to turn until fully coated. Let the excess drip off and place on a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet. If desired, sprinkle each with a few grains of Fleur de sel and then place baking sheet in the refrigerator to set chocolate, about 1 hour.

Date Cashew Bites

Featured Product: Thrive Foods

I recently got my hands on the latest book from former professional triathlete and vegan Brendan Brazier called Thrive Foods, or here in Canada, Whole Foods to Thrive. It’s turning out to be a rewarding read.

Brendan is the creator of the lauded line of Vega whole food nutrition products you’ve likely seen in natural food stores. He obviously has a passion for plant-based whole foods and in his book makes a strong case for why more of us should as well. Brendan’s main selling points are that plant whole foods like legumes and jaunty kale provide more nutrient density (i.e. more micornutrients per calorie) and have significantly less impact on the environment than a triple cheeseburger or factory farm raised chicken. 

The latter is point is irrefutable. All the hoopla in recent years surrounding eating locally sourced food has led many people to believe that the 100-mile diet is the best way to reduce ones diet-related carbon footprint. Yet, a recent study found that a dietary shift towards less meat consumption has a much greater impact. Scientists in the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology reported that shifting consumption of red meat and/or dairy to other protein sources such as eggs or a vegetable-based diet a single day per week could have the same climate impact as buying all household food from local providers. Further, a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report addresses why embracing tofu more often can have such a big impact. Their experts determined that raising cattle for burgers is generating more climate warming greenhouse gases, including massive methane production, than often vilified transportation. What’s more, livestock now uses 30 per cent of the earth’s entire land surface which drives up deforestation for pasture leading to further impacts on climate change and wildlife extinction.

A huge chunk of the book is devoted to approachable recipes created by Brendan and an arsenal of natural foods chefs. Ones that have caught my eye so far are Black Bean Chili Pizza (page 250), Nori crisps (page 267) and Coconut, Mango, Curry Smoothie (page 132) – curry in a smoothie, who knew? But the recipe I wanted to give a go right away was the Green Energy Bars. I thought these would be perfect molded into mini muffin cups for an easy to grab snack. Were they ever! Tabi and I whipped them out in just a couple days. Perhaps it was the buttery goodness of the cashews that kept us coming back for more.

Brendan’s recipe calls for nutrient dense wheat grass powder, but I used the stellar chocolate greens mix from AmazingGrass as I think these really benefit from a little infusion of chocolately goodness. If you don’t have a greens powder (which you really should!), you could simply mix in raw cocoa powder. I also included some orange juice as this helps bind the ingredients in the food processor. I’ve professed my love for hemp seeds in previous posts, so any recipe that gives me a chance to work more into my diet is definitely welcomed. 

Silicon muffin cups work really well for recipes such as this as their flexibility makes it much more easy to pop the contents out. If using metal, you may want to give them a light greasing or use paper liners. 

So, if you’re interested in gravitating towards a more nutritionally balanced, less environmentally damaging diet, I’d recommend giving Brendan’s book a read for plenty of inspiration and recipes to whet your appetite.  

Date Energy Bites

Adapted from Thrive Foods

1 cup pitted dried dates, chopped

1 cup raw unsalted cashews

2 tablespoons greens powder or cocoa powder

2 tablespoons orange juice

1/4 cup hemp hearts (seeds)

Place dates, cashews, and greens powder in a food processor container and blend until the cashews have been broken down. Add orange juice and hemp hearts and process until the mixture clumps together. Divide mixture among 10 to 12 mini sized muffin cups and place in the freezer for 1 hour to mold. Unmold and store in the refrigerator. 

Hazelnut Pomegranate Financiers

Featured Ingredient: Hazelnut Flour

For my last recipe post, I tossed out the idea of using mesquite powder in your baking. Now, how about hazelnut flour? Almond flour is becoming increasingly popular meaning that hazelnut flour unfortunately often gets overlooked.

Ground from filberts (hazelnuts), this guise of nut flour is blessed with a rich, nutty flavor that can vivify pie crusts, quick breads, scones and muffins. Compared to flours milled from grains, hazelnut flour has significantly more heart-chummy monounsaturated fat and vitamin E. A recent study from Swedish researchers determined that a high level of the antioxidant vitamin E in the blood was associated with a decreased risk of cognitive decline. Those who are watching their carb intake will appreciate that there is nearly as much protein as carbohydrates in hazelnut flour. Because it does not contain any gluten, you don’t want to use hazelnut flour on it own for most baked goods.

This is my adaptation of financiers, a light French tea cake often made in rectangular molds. For a change of pace, I’ve swapped out the customary almond flour for its lovely hazelnut counterpart and taken a pass on the nutritionally void powdered (confectioners’) sugar for the more wholesome coconut palm sweetener. The browned butter adds an irresistible nuttiness. Pomegranate season is upon us, so I decided to add them in to provide a tart crunch. You could use berries instead or simply omit the fruit.

For this recipe, I used the excellent hazelnut flour from Bob’s Red Mill. You can also try making your own by finely grinding hazelnuts into a powder with a good quality food processor or Vita-mix.

Hazelnut Pomegranate Financiers

1 1/4 cups hazelnut flour/meal

3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup coconut palm sugar or other sugar of choice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/2 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large egg whites

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (arils)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together hazelnut flour, whole wheat pastry flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Place butter in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat, swirling the pan regularly.  Allow the butter to bubble away until it turns a deep brown, being very careful you don’t allow it to go from brown to black. Stir butter, applesauce and vanilla into flour mixture. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites with a whisk or electric mixer until a soft peaks form. Stir in a quarter of the egg whites into the flour mixture and then fold in the remaining whites with a spatula just until everything is incorporated. Divide mixture among 10 medium sized muffin cups and bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool several minutes before unmolding.

Turkey Sandwiches

Want some new ideas to reinvent leftover turkey sandwiches? Here's an article with an arsenal of turkey sandwiches I put together for the November issue of Women's Health magazine.

Turkey on Rye with Sweet Potato Hummus

Turkey, Brie and Cranberry Panini  - This is crazy good!

French Dip Turkey with Mushroom Au Jus

Pulled Turkey Sandwich with Apple-Cabbage Slaw

Here are a couple that cut for space reasons, not because they weren't yummy.

Turkey Salad Pitas

Chockablock with muscle-building protein, Greek yogurt is an upgrade from mayo in this turkey salad. Crunchy pecans are brimming with heart-healthy unsaturated fats while red grapes provide pleasant sweetness and a dose of antioxidant vitamin C.

½ cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt

½ lime, juiced

½ tsp cumin

Dash of cayenne

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup red grapes, sliced in half

¼ cup chopped pecans

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

1½ cups cooked turkey (white meat, without skin), cubed

2 whole-wheat pitas

1. In a large bowl, whisk together Greek yogurt, lime juice, cumin, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in grape halves, pecans, celery, and turkey.

2. Slice pitas in half and stuff the four halves with turkey mixture. 

Mexican Turkey Cemitas

Originally from the Mexican state of Puebla, the festival of flavors and textures that is a cemita has become du rigueur with street food vendors in New York, L.A. and other cities. Here, turkey is a healthier option than traditional deep fried beef, cilantro replaces hard to find papalo leaves and smoky chipotle laced ricotta makes this sandwich sing.

¼ tsp smoked paprika or chili powder

½ tsp cumin powder

½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lime zest

Salt and pepper, to taste

1½ cups cooked turkey (white meat, without skin), sliced

1/3 cup low-fat ricotta cheese

2 tsp minced chipotle chiles in adobo

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice

2 cemita or other sesame seed rolls, sliced in half

½ ripe avocado, sliced

1 plum tomato, sliced

½ cup cilantro

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine paprika or chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, lime zest, and salt and pepper. Add turkey and stir to coat.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta, chipotle chiles with sauce, and lime juice.

3. Place turkey on bottom half of rolls and top with cheese mixture, avocado and tomato slices, and cilantro. Press down lightly with top halves of rolls.  

Mesquite Pancakes

Featured Ingredient: Mesquite Powder

One of the great things about having a blog dedicated to the muffin tin is all the great up-can-coming flours and powders I get to experiment with. Enter mesquite powder.

Ground from the edible bean-like pods of the mesquite tree, mesquite powder has a very distinct smoky and sweet flavor unlike any other flour on the market. Thriving in unforgiving environments, Native Americans in parched regions have long relied on mesquite to meet nutritional needs when a Wal-Mart wasn’t around the corner.

It’s most impressive nutritional attribute is crazy amounts of dietary fiber. A mere tablespoon dishes out 3 grams of this fat-fighter. A recent study in the prestigious Archives of Internal Medicine reported that the highest intakes of fiber – equivalent to about 30 grams per day for men and 25 grams for women – were associated with a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular, infectious, and respiratory diseases of up to 60 percent. Suddenly, bran never tasted so good!

Mesquite flour isn’t exactly cheap, but fortunately the old saw applies here: “A little goes a long way.” The one I used for this recipe is from the always reliable Navitus Naturals. I’m hoping mesquite flour starts popping up at more natural food stores.

In baked good applications, you’ll want to use gluten-free mesquite to replace about 25 percent of another flour a recipe calls for. All on it’s own the flavor would likely be too overpowering. It would also probably be a killer addition to smoothies and something I plan on trying.

The best thing about taking your pancake batter and plopping it into mini muffin molds is that it eliminates any need for flipping the flapjacks and all eaters get to chow down at the same time as opposed to the need to make pancakes in batches. Of course, if you can’t find mesquite these work well with straight up whole wheat flour.

Mesquite Pancake Puffs

2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup mesquite powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt

1 large egg

2/3 cup low-fat milk of choice

2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, mesquite powder, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly beat egg and stir in milk and butter. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix gently. Fold in walnuts and divide batter among 20 greased mini muffin cups. Bake for 12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a pancakes comes out clean. Serve with maple syrup. 

Cast Iron Cooking

When I was growing up, I was really into heavy metal. Stuff like Ozzy and Metallica. Now it's all about heavy metal in the kitchen. This article I wrote for the November issue of Alive magazine about new ways to use your trusty cast iron skillet in the kitchen may inspire a trip to Grandma's attic in search of one.

Recipes inlcude olive cornbread, blackened catfish, berry clafoutis and this butternut riff on pizza.