Whole Wheat Vegan Carrot Muffins

For a little while, Gary was juicing in the mornings. We had carrot/apple juice, orange/carrot/tomato/spinach, etc. It was quite interesting and didn't taste too bad. What I didn't like was the waste of the pulp of all the carrots we were using, thus this recipe came forth.

This was so easy to whip up. Within a half hour, Gary had muffins to take with him before he went to work. I met up with a few friends and brought some over, and they were a hit. It's healthy but wasn't dry at all.

I did omit the raisins, as I don't think raisins belong in everything. Gary is in agreement about that :). I also replaced some of the applesauce with oil, since I didn't have enough applesauce.

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Whole Wheat Vegan Carrot Muffins

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from fannetastic food




ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup shredded carrot (or pulp from juiced carrots)

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, flour through salt. In a separate bowl, combine the carrot and the apple sauce. (I didn't have quite enough applesauce, so I used canola oil to make up the balance).
3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk to combine.
4. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter evenly into the liners.
5. Bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yield: 12 servings

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Almond Bundt Cake

It's been a busy summer if you can't tell by the lack of posts. I can't believe it's fall already! A while back, some folks from work and I had to work late shifts for some 24-hr round the clock work. I was scheduled to go to work at 3pm, so I took some time in the morning to bake and bring something to perk people up during the overnight shift. I made this almond bundt cake and the oreo stuffed cookies. The cookies didn't make it past the first shift, and the bundt cake was gone by the time I left!

Since I reduced the amount of sugar, it was perfect for the non sweets people too. Some other alterations were made by looking at the comments on allrecipes. Since I wanted the almonds to shine, I added more almond extract and reduced the amount of vanilla. I only had soy milk on hand so I used that and it worked great. I didn't want the soy flavor to come out on the glaze, so I used warm water instead. The glaze didn't show as some people mentioned, but the almonds still stuck on the top because of the sticky glaze.

This cake was great to pair with the tons of coffee people were downing to keep awake. This is a great coffee cake or an anytime cake!

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Almond Bundt Cake

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from All Recipes




ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cup granulated suguar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 cup ground almonds
• 1 cup milk (I used soy)

• 1/4 cup milk or warm water
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• 1/2 ccup toasted sliced almonds

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray a 10 inch bundt pan liberally with baking spray. Set aside
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, salt, and ground almonds. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of your mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time and combine well. Mix in the extracts.
4. Add in flour mixture alternating with the milk, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. (Start checking early, as mine was done at around the 45 minute mark. Some ovens may take longer. )
6. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert to a wire pan placed on top of a rimmed baking sheet and allow to cool for 10 minutes more. Using a toothpick, poke holes into the cake.
7. Prepare the glaze by whisking together the powder sugar, milk or water, and almond extract. Once the mixture is smooth, add the sliced almonds. 
8. Slowly pour the glaze on top of the cake, while patting the almonds to make sure it stays on. Some will slide off onto the pan. Once you've poured all the glaze, transfer to the rack to another rimmed pan and pour the remaining glaze from the first pan onto the cake. Repeat until you've poured as much  of the glaze on the cake as possible.
9. Allow to cool, then serve

Yield: one 10 inch cake

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Whole Wheat Zucchini Brownies

My sister in law gave me a huge zucchini she grew in her garden. I really didn't know what to do with it savory-wise, so I ended up baking up a few things. One of the things I made were these "healthy" brownies, and it was a great decision! I've baked zucchini in a chocolate cake before and it was delicious, so I didn't hesitate any longer making this.

I first saw this on one of my friend's pins on pinterest. At first, I didn't give it a second look, I had pinned a few other zucchini recipes to try. When I was throwing out some ideas to the hubby, he wanted chocolate. Only one of the recipes I had included chocolate chips. I wasn't really feeling that recipe though, and neither was he.

Since this recipe was still front and center on my pinterest page, I decided to make this and it turned out great. When I told hubby it was "healthy", he didn't want to hear it! It does not taste healthy at all, and each square will cost you about 170 calories, which I don't think is bad at all. I love how hubby told me he liked the frosting, but he was actually talking about the gooey melted chocolate chips inside. Try this soon, you won't regret it!

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Whole Wheat Zucchini Brownies

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Baltic Maid




ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
• 2 large eggs
• 1 TBSP vanilla extract
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 cups grated zucchini (from 1 zucchini), excess water squeezed out (peeling optional)
• 1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Liberally spray an 8x8 baking pan with baking spray, or grease and flour the pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon and cardamom. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract, sugar, salt, and applesauce.
4. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients while whisking to combine. It's ok if it's thick at this point, the zucchini will help moisten the batter.
5. Using a spatula, mix in the zucchini and chocolate chips until just combined.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
   
7. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean (we don't want it totally clean and dry!).
8. Let cool in pan completely, then cut into 16 pieces.

Yield: 16 servings

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Cookies and Cream Cookies

I don't know how to describe these cookies except for heavenly! They're rich and buttery, and I love that they have my favorite cookies baked right into them!

I had a huge box of Oreos in my pantry because my sister helped me get them from Costco. I use some for the base of the red velvet cheesecake per my brother's birthday request, and still had a ton left over. Of course, since I love Oreos, I would have no problem eating the whole box..but it would take a while since I only eat one or 2 a day.

I pinned these cookies a while ago and I'm glad I made them! They're so easy to make and they taste great. It really is hard to describe! I had to stop myself from eating the whole batch! Luckily I was bringing them to a housewarming party, and they went like hotcakes!

I made these dairy free by swapping out the butter for Earth Balance Sticks. They still came out great! I also accidentally added 1 tsp of baking soda instead of the 1/2 it called for, but luckily it didn't make a big difference since there were enough cookies in the dough to keep it from totally flattening out. In the end, these still tasted like perfection. Try these, you won't regret it!

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Cookies and Cream Cookies (Oreo Filled Cookies)

made by cathy's kitchen journey
adapted from Erica's Sweet Tooth




ingredients:

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (I used vegan butter)
• 6 TBSP granulated sugar
• 6 TBSP light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 sleeve Oreo cookies, coarsely broken into pieces (13 cookies/sleeve from a bulk pack)

directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
3. In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combine.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined.
6. Fold in Oreo pieces with a spatula.
7. Using a small cookie scoop, drop cookies onto a greased cookie sheet or a sheet lined with parchment paper.
8. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes on the top rack until edges start to turn golden brown.
9. Remove from oven and let cool on the sheet on a rack for a few minutes before transferring to the rack to cool completely.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

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Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms

This is probably one of the easiest healthy side dishes to whip up even if you're pressed for time and have all the ingredients on hand. I purchased some fresh spinach, I think for the first time ever! Normally, I have frozen spinach on hand. However, I saw some fresh at the Chinese market and picked it up. It was crazy cheap, and it was a big bunch.

This dish is most definitely a power dish as well, considering all or most of the ingredients are basically super foods. Lucky for me, Gary loves all the ingredients, so I didn't have a hard time convincing him how delicious this was! The ginger and garlic added a nice flavor to the dish, and it wasn't too overpowering.

I used a wok for this, but a saute pan should work just as well. The spinach wilted significantly, so there was a lot more mushroom than spinach after it was cooked, so when I make this again, I might use 2 bunches or  try this with frozen spinach next time and see how it goes.

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Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms

a cathy's kitchen journey original




ingredients:

• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 TBSP fresh ginger, minced
• 10 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 or 2 bunches fresh spinach (or a 10 oz package of frozen, thawed)
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• salt and pepper to taste

directions:

1. In a hot wok, heat the oil. Add garlic and ginger and cook while stirring for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
2. Add the mushrooms and stir fry for a minute. Add the spinach and stir until it has wilted, continuing to stir for 3 minutes.
3. Add the soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Mix to coat well.
4. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

Yield: 2 servings

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