Plant Based Diet

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

September 20, 2019 by Holly Yzquierdo 10 Comments

We have been on a muffin kick lately! I can’t even guess how many muffins we’ve made recently but I can tell you we love them! Our newest favorite is Apple Oatmeal Muffins!

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If you’ve ever made my Banana Bread, you’ll love this recipe too. They use the same base ingredients but the diced apples, cinnamon and oats help it transform into a muffin that deserves it’s own accolades.

I’ve tested this recipe with whole wheat pastry flour and whole wheat flour. Whole wheat pastry flour is my favorite (it’s my favorite in all my baked goods) but the whole wheat flour was good too, just a little dryer. I’ll be testing it with unbleached white flour soon and I’ll update this post.

The oats make these muffins less dessert like and more hearty. The bananas, apples, apple sauce and sugar give it a nice sweetness, but they are not overly sweet.

I prefer the muffins fresh out of the oven but we’ve exercised self control to enjoy them for a few days and they still taste great!

If you are looking for a breakfast on the go, a mid day snack, or even a healthy dessert, this Apple Oatmeal Muffin is for you! I grabbed one on the way to church on Sunday and didn’t even make a mess! Did you know I’m a messy eater? Thankfully these muffins hold together well.

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 ripe bananas
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup diced apples
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix apple sauce and sugar together.
Add 2 smashed ripe bananas and stir together.
Add the salt, baking soda and cinnamon and give it a good stir.
Mix in the diced apples and the rolled oats.
Pour in the flour, adding a little at a time and stirring to incorporate before adding more until it is all mixed together. If it seems too dry you can add little plant-based milk. Add in 1 tablespoon at a time so you don’t use too much.
Prepare your muffin pan. If your pan sticks you’ll want to use a little cooking spray. If you have a nonstick pan you won’t need to. Scoop batter into a muffin pan. I use about 1/4 cup of batter in each.
Bake for 15 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the muffin, it’s done when it comes out clean.

These muffins can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container for a few days.

Yield: 12

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

These plant-based muffins are easy to make and delicious! Your family will love these muffins.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup sugar
2 ripe bananas
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup diced apples
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cream apple sauce and sugar together.
Add 2 smashed ripe bananas and stir together.
Add the salt, baking soda and cinnamon and give it a good stir.
Mix in the diced apples and the rolled oats.
Pour in the flour, adding a little at a time and stiring to incorporate before adding more until it is all mixed together. If it seems too dry you can add little plant-based milk. Add it 1 tablespoon at a time so you don't use too much.
Prepare your muffin pan. If your pan sticks you'll want to use a little cooking spray. If you have a nonstick pan you won't need to. Scoop batter into a muffin pan. I use about 1/4 cup of batter in each.
Bake for 15 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the muffin, it's done when it comes out clean.

Notes

These muffins can be stored at room temperature in an air tight container for a few days.

You can use white flour, whole wheat flour, or whole wheat pastry flour but whole wheat pastry flour gives the best outcome.

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I can’t wait to hear what you think of these muffins? They remind me of the apple cinnamon oatmeal packets I would eat as a kid! The secret is to dice the apples really really tiny!

Plant-Based Meal Plan

September 16, 2019 by Holly Yzquierdo 3 Comments

I’ve been spending a lot of time working on new recipes and taking new photos of old recipes. It can take a while before those new recipes show up in my Plant-Based Meal Plan! It’s a lot of fun for me though, especially when I know you are going to love the outcome.

Last week I planned to share a new Apple Oatmeal Muffin recipe but I shared my Best Veggie Broth’s instead. I plan to share the muffin recipe this week. I also tested another kind of flour to give you more options.

Plant-Based Meal Plan

This week we will plan to cook a few times and enjoy leftovers throughout the week. I just made a couple of batches of my Veggie Broth Mix that I’m looking forward to including in this week’s recipes.

Plant-Based Breakfast

This week, Instant Pot Breakfast Rice is making a comeback! We love this delicious, hearty breakfast. It’s a great break from oatmeal. I may make a batch of my Pumpkin Granola too.

Plant-Based Lunch

This week I’m planning to eat some of the leftovers in my fridge. I have One Pot Broccoli and Rice, Chickpea and Rice Soup and Taco Soup! I made the soups toward the end of last week and they need to be eaten. Once they are done I fully intend to dive into Veggie Sandwiches! I love having veggie focused lunches.

Plant-Based Dinner

Monday: Vegan Goulash is an easy-to-make recipe I’ve been developing. I haven’t published it yet but I love it! I just couldn’t bring myself to share it over the summer when it is super hot. Now that fall is on it’s way I’ll plan to share it soon.

Tuesday: Instant Pot Black Beans and Rice! This is one of my most viewed recipes! It makes a ton so I’ll sometimes half it if we don’t want to eat it all week. This recipe is a basic, mild recipe. You may want to spice it up but since my kids don’t like spicy foods, I make it this way, then spice up the the grown up servings.

Wednesday: Minestrone Soup is so good! I love all the different veggies! I’ve been thinking about it since I shared my posts about my favorite veggie broths. I’ll cook the noodles separate so they don’t continue to absorb all the broth.

Thursday: Leftover Black Beans and Brown Rice! We may eat this with tortillas.

Friday: Chickpea Nuggets, Mashed Potatoes and Brown Gravy is a family favorite! I don’t make this often because it’s a bit more labor intensive but we always love it when I do!

What are you eating this week? Any new recipes? If you make some of mine, I’d love to see them! Tag me on Instagram!

Best Veggie Broth

September 13, 2019 by Holly Yzquierdo 2 Comments

Do you use Veggie Broth in your plant-based cooking? For us, a good Veggie Broth can make or break a meal. Thankfully, I’ve found the best Veggie Broth options!

Shortly after switching to a plant-based diet I created my Dry Veggie Broth Mix. I missed the deep, savory flavors from my previous diet but wanted to continue to eat healthy. I tried several brands but liked mine the best. Luckily, I’ve discovered a few that I enjoy when I’m not up for making my own.

Best Veggie Broth Options

I’ll share all my favorites and why I like them. I’d love to hear if you know some I should add to the list.

Dry Veggie Broth Mix

I may be biased but I’ve heard from countless people that say this Veggie Broth Mix is life changing. Not just good, LIFE CHANGING! I have to agree.

The good news is that you can easily adapt this recipe to suit your tastes. If you can’t have nightshades, just remove those ingredients. If you can’t have salt, leave it out! It still tastes great. The only ingredient that you need to include is nutritional yeast. It pretty much gives it the flavor and is the carrier for the rest of the spices.

I always double the recipe and keep it near my stove for a quick and easy broth. It lasts a long time in a glass jar.

My recipe uses one tablespoon of mix for each cup of water. If you blend it in a blender or food processor it will be finer and you can use less. I add it to soups (obviously) and many other foods like rice, pasta, popcorn and even sprinkle on potatoes or other veggies.

Veggie Scrap Broth

No doubt you’ve seen videos and heard of people who use veggie scraps to make veggie broth. It’s a great way to use up the odds and ends of veggies. You just need a bag or big jar and room in the freezer. Then once your bag is full, boil, then strain your veggies.

The downside of this is that you will forfeit room in your freezer, first for the scraps, then for the broth. You’ll also want to make sure you don’t have too many spicy or bitter scraps that may give your broth an off putting flavor. No one wants to sit down to a warm bowl of soup and taste bitter flavors.

Store Bought Broth Mixes and Bouillon

Seitenbacher Vegetable Broth and Seasoning is a favorite introduced to me by Anne at Recipe for Life. It tastes great and is perfect for a quick broth. The ingredients are really similar to my homemade version but I’ve been enjoying this one. I haven’t made a batch of mine since we started packing up our kitchen to move.

Better Than Bouillon Organic Vegetable Base is another favorite and the first veggie broth I tried. This one has to be kept refrigerated so it might be slightly less convenient but it tastes fantastic! I’m not as crazy about the ingredient list but the flavor might persuade you.

There are many others out there that I haven’t tried. I encourage you to read the ingredients and buy a small package to make sure you like the flavors. I’ve tried some brands that were not good but had so much I didn’t want to waste.

What’s the best veggie broth for you?

That will depend on your dietary needs and tastes. If there are foods you are allergic to, sensitive to, or just avoiding, making your own broth is the way to go! If you have room in your freezer and a good variety of veggie scraps, try making your own and store it until you are ready. If you don’t have room in your freezer, give my Dry Veggie Broth Mix a try!

Using your Veggie Broth

Veggie Broth isn’t just for soups! I use my veggie broth to give a little more flavor to pasta and rice dishes. It also works well when cooking veggies without oil. Just use a little broth to deglaze the pan and keep veggies from sticking.

I’ve even been known to make me a cup of broth when it’s cold. It’s so comforting!

And yes, soups are always a great choice. Here are a few of my favorites!

Do you use veggie broth? What’s your favorite?

Vanilla Coconut Chia Pudding

August 29, 2019 by Holly Yzquierdo 3 Comments

In my last meal plan I shared how one of my son’s recently decided he liked walnuts and has been asking for coconut. I decided Vanilla Coconut Chia Pudding was a great way to put those together.

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Of course, there are many ways to mix and match ingredients in chia pudding. Chocolate has always been my favorite but my youngest loves strawberries to Strawberry Chia Pudding is a great fit for him.

If you aren’t familiar with chia seeds now is the time to give them a try. We’ve been chia seed fans for at least 8 years. I keep them in a shaker bottle and I will sprinkle them on foods often. Toast, oatmeal, anything with peanut butter! I also include chia seeds in most of my overnight oat recipes! Check out my Chocolate Chia Overnight Oats!

Some people love chia water! They just add chia seeds to a bottle of water and shake it up. The seeds soak up the water and congeal a bit. It’s an interesting experience. If you try it let me know!

Chia pudding is a great make ahead breakfast or snack. For those of you who would like to meal prep this recipe is a great one to include, you don’t even have to cook it. Just blend and pour, then wait.

If you aren’t into coconut and coconut milk, almond milk and almonds make a great swap for the coconut. I live in a family of coconut lovers, I’m the last hold out but this recipe may convince me yet.

Vanilla Coconut Chia Pudding

This recipe makes 4 servings. I like to leave it over night before enjoying, but at least 2 hours in the fridge will work.

Ingredients

2 cups plant-based milk (I used coconut)
⅓ cup chia seeds
4 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp shredded coconut

1. Add all ingredients to blender jar and blend for 15 to 20 seconds.
2. Let sit for about 5 minutes. Scrape down sides of blender jar and blend for 20 seconds more (I use speed 3 on my Blendtec blender).
3. Pour into individual jars or bowl, then cover and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 2 hours.
4. Garnish with fruit, coconut flakes, or your favorite nuts or seeds. Serve cold.

Will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. Great for breakfast, snack, or dessert!

If you don’t have a Blendtec, you can use a different blender or just give it all a good stir. I use my Blendtec almost every day, depending on the season, and I love how well it mixes everything up for this recipe. If you shop on Amazon, make sure you are a Prime member (or try Amazon Prime 30 Day Free Trial) and click the box to use the coupon for additional savings.

Yield: 4