Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Blender Carrot Ginger Baked Donuts. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

Blender carrot ginger baked donuts on this marathon Monday.  Everyone needs a donut post Easter weekend, right?  Well my day was filled with running, nervously tracking friends/clients running the Boston Marathon.  So I baked.  A lot!  Then I was glued to my tv and computer tracking.

So donuts.  Let’s chat.  I’m not a huge sugary, sweet kinda gal. Knowing I wanted these for my kiddos and husband’s breakfast – I wanted to do a healthier version that had just the right amount of sweetness to keep my girls interested.  These are a spicy/sweet combination that are moist and quite decadent.  Perfect for breakfast or a snack.

Let’s get on with it 🙂

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— Knead to Cook

Banana walnut muffins. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Muffins, Nuts, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Banana walnut vegan & gluten free muffins. These muffins were inspired by a recipe from the Minimalist Baker.  In my house of 5, I’m constantly in an uphill battle with making healthy snacks to have on hand.  Breakfast on-the-go before school, pre or post workout fuel, snacks with lunch or after-school.  Sound familiar?  I’m always on the hunt for new recipes to work with & after the day I had yesterday (sore from my Monday TRX workout then falling on my run)… I wasn’t in the mood to get creative in the kitchen.  I wanted a tried and true recipe and this recipe hit that target.  I did make some modifications as noted below.

These muffins are packed with protein, omegas and fiber.  Each one has about 326 calories, 16 grams of fat, 7.2 grams of protein and sugars at 12 grams.  These muffins will rival your favorite coffee shop counterpart but without the overload of fats/sugars and gluten/dairy.

These muffins are perfect food gift ideas for friends, new moms or someone in need.  Hearty and quite filling.  

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— Knead to Cook

Cashew Banana Blender Muffins. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Nuts, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 6 Comments

 
Cashew banana blender muffins.  I swear I may have an addiction to making muffins in my Vitamix.  NO joke!

Once you whip up a batch of muffins in this manner, I promise, you will not want to go back to using your stand or hand mixer.  It’s literally the easiest thing on the planet and they come together instantaneously.  With a family of 5 that I cook for… we require healthy snacks to have on the counter when running late/pre or post workout, with coffee or tea & breakfast on the fly for teenagers.  I have a batch cooking in my oven right now as I type this 🙂

These muffins are refined sugar-free.  Although I use maple syrup, the banana adds a nice sweetness.  The flax/chia and hemp add omega’s and necessary fats for your diet.  Fats are critical for hormonal balance and to help keep you full longer! The benefits are endless.  Okay onto this recipe so I can go and grab mine out of the oven.

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— Knead to Cook

Lucy Let’s Go Vegan Eggnog Bread with a Spiced Rum Glaze.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Lucy Let's Go Post, Quick Bread, Snacks, Sponsored, Vegan 4 Comments

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Eggnog bread was a creation of mine from about 15 years ago-  long before I was plant based or an athlete.  Truth be told, it was my go-to holiday food gift for friends/teachers & neighbors for years.  Everyone I shared it with clamored over the flavor and moist texture of this treat.  Plus, it was a nice disparity from the sea of cookies everyone had in their kitchen.  You can find the original, vegetarian recipe here.

As time has passed, I’ll admit, I hadn’t made this treat in several years.  Going plant-based, I never quite found an equal counterpart to a traditional eggnog until now.  I’ve tried this recipe with several vegan eggnogs and I found success with most brands.  I’ve suggested the versions below, in the recipe, that worked best in my opinion.  I prefer to make small loaves for gifting.  They are the perfect size and let’s face it, most people are drowning in other holiday sweets & treats.  However, this recipe would work perfectly in a regular size loaf pan.

This recipe can be subbed out with traditional products like butter and eggnog but I wanted to take a healthier approach as much as possible while keeping with the integrity of my original recipe. I hope you give this recipe a try.  Also perfect on Christmas morning amidst the wrapping paper flying and children giggling for a fun and easy breakfast or brunch idea.

Happy holidays!

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— Knead to Cook

Walnut & Chocolate Muffins. Vegan. Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Holiday, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Nuts, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

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Walnut chocolate chip muffins.

These muffins were inspired by The Minimalist Baker’s Banana Chocolate Pecan muffins.  I’m admittedly not a fan of pecans so I made a few adaptations.  Mainly, I reduced the sugar necessary in the original recipe and increased the baking time a bit.  These muffins are insanely tasty and a perfect morning muffin or snack on the go!

As my oldest heads back to school this week, her final year of varsity swimming is upon her.  I obsess about her nutrition each week because she does many double practices a day and I love to have plenty of options at her disposal.  These muffins will be perfect – transportable, packed with protein and healthy fats along with great nutrition to keep her moving throughout her day & prepared for thousands of meters in the pool.

As I mentioned, I reduced the sugar from the original recipe.  The bananas and chocolate chips, I find, add plenty of sweetness.  These are dense muffins and quite filling.  I store these on my countertop in my cake stand but the fridge would also work well.  Plus freezing these in a ziploc would also work well.  This recipe yields 11 muffins.
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— Knead to Cook

Cinnamon and Spice Blender Muffins. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Gluten Free, Muffins, Nuts, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 25 Comments

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Cinnamon & spice… & yes everything nice!  These muffins are so delectable.  Nutritionally dense, grain & refined sugar free.  I make these muffins for my clients who don’t like sweets. Each & every time I get a call/text exclaiming joy for these.  They are so stupid easy… it’s insane.  If you have 5 minutes to spare – you can totally whip these up for a heart healthy snack for you & your family.

Also, consider making more to freeze or for a foodie gift for a teacher/friend or family member.

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— Knead to Cook

Protein Packed Banana Muffins. Vegan. Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Muffins, Quick Bread, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

 

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If you follow my blog, you know I’m always making banana muffins or bread.  My family loves them.  I always have a bountiful supply of ripening bananas on hand.  Plus, banana bread of any type allows you to add major healthy ingredients to them without your family realizing it.  Plus, with modern families always on the run… who can’t use a banana muffin to brighten their day? Right!

I make muffins every single week to have on my countertop for quick go-to snacking.  On the way to school.  After practice.  When hunger strikes.  Plus these aren’t filled with tons of sugar or preservatives.  I also packed these with healthy fats and protein to help fill you up and keep you balanced.  Don’t be afraid of fats – I removed them from my diet this summer to horrible results. Your body needs healthy fats to keep hormones in balance, skin moisturized and looking good, plus keeping your system running in perfect order.  Trust me.  Okay let’s head into the recipe…
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— Knead to Cook

Banana PB Chia Bread. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Nuts, Quick Bread, Running/Races, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 5 Comments

 

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I have a thing for banana bread.  And with the volume of bananas we have in our house… I pretty much always have super ripe bananas and that means banana bread or nice cream.  I needed an after-school snack so I whipped up this super easy recipe in my food processor.  Made mini loaves – one without chocolate and three with. My kids love banana bread.  My dad has it with coffee and my husband always eats it as dessert after dinner.  I typically like a piece before my runs because it’s easy.  I added some chia and flax to this to amp up the Omega’s and protein.  Totally plant-based and gluten free as the oats serve as the flour.  Can be made in your blender or food processor so that makes it easy to clean up too.

I hope you guys had a great weekend.  Our youngest went on a church retreat.  We had a nice relaxing weekend.  Dog walks, bike rides and a run through Amish country.  This week begins my three week taper/recovery after last week’s peak of 86+ miles.  My body needs a recovery, refueling and a reboot.  I’m still struggling with the new meds I was put on for my restless leg so I’m going to deal with that and focus on lots of stretching and rolling.
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— Knead to Cook

Purely Elizabeth Banana Nut Butter Muffins. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Giveaway!!!, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Nuts, Product Review., Quick Bread, Running/Races, Snacks, Sponsored, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 16 Comments

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When Purely Elizabeth reached out to me to ask if I would like to try their new grain-free, over-the-top, new granola —-well of course I would!  They promptly sent me two flavors (1 Banana Nut Butter and 1 Original Grain-Free Granola), both of which are heavenly and totally addictive.  I created two different recipes, this being the first I wanted to share as they released the product online today!  These muffins were made exponentially better but the crunch from the granola clusters.  These muffins are packed with healthy, delectable goodness that your whole family will enjoy.
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— Knead to Cook

Chocolate Chunk Banana Walnut Muffins. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Lucy Let's Go Post, Product Review., Quick Bread, Running/Races, Sponsored, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 6 Comments

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Returning to reality yesterday after a weekend away with family celebrating Easter was hard.  Training.  Laundry.  Dogs.  Grocery shopping.  You know the drill.  My oldest was off Monday and my youngest is off till mid-week.  I knew I needed a good healthy snack to grab when the munchies hit.  They requested banana bread and I whipped up these up to satisfy teenage hunger.

These are refined sugar-free.  Gluten free and completely vegan.  You can use mini chips or chunks for the vegan chocolate aspect.  I made some without for my husband and topped with banana slices.  These are hearty enough for breakfast or pre-run.  You can also half this recipe for 6 regular muffins or prepare as is for 12 large muffins.
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— Knead to Cook