Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Black and Blue Banana Muffins. {clean eating}

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Muffins, Quick Bread, Snacks, Vegetarian, Yogurt 8 Comments

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This was my second attempt at making a “clean” muffin meaning no refined sugars or oils.  The first batch wasn’t a failure but it was too boring and dry.  I needed to get more creative and that is just what I did!  I also added protein to these with the addition of Greek yogurt (I used Chobani honey) and that kicked the muffin flavor up a notch.  I used berries I had on hand (black and blue) and added a banana for extra moisture.  These are so good!  Guilt free.  No sugar.  No oils. Kids to adults – everyone loved these!
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— Knead to Cook

Haricot Vert Salad. {green bean salad}

by Filed Under: Brunch, Gluten Free, Party Foods, Salads, Vegetarian, Vinaigrette, Wheat Free 6 Comments

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Haricot verts are a thinner green bean to the domestic green bean.  I found these beauties at our farmer’s market and I thought they would make the perfect salad (dinner for me) side dish for my family.  Easy to make.  I used my roasted red pepper balsamic vinaigrette dressing to dress it.  It a great dish for these hot days of summer when you don’t want to eat anything super heavy.  Can also be prepped ahead of time and leftovers taste better the next day after absorbing lots of the flavors.  Again, I encourage you to use what extras you have on hand to add to your salad to make it your own.

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— Knead to Cook

Overnight Peanut Butter and Banana Oats. {no cooking or baking.}

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, No bake/cooking required!, Nuts, Vegetarian 11 Comments

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I need to add more oats to my diet.  I am a total creature of habit.  I pretty much have the same breakfast and lunch every day.  I needed to mix it up – variety is the spice of life, right?  I kept seeing overnight oats everywhere I looked – like a subliminal message, I thought I would make a batch last night (after three days away in three states for a short holiday) and see how it tasted.  Well as you may or many not know, I’ve been clean eating for about 8-9 months.  Avoiding pretty much anything processed, loaded with preservatives, meat and striving to be as clean as possible.  Okay enough about that!  So I wanted to add only clean ingredients to my overnight refrigerated oatmeal.  It took me about 2 minutes to assemble and have in the fridge.  I anxiously awaited the morning and the taste test… to be continued.

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— Knead to Cook

Clean Cherry and Walnut Granola Bars.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Gluten Free, Holiday, Nuts, Snacks, Vegetarian 5 Comments

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My friends over at Oh Nuts!  sent me a care package of some of their products.  I’ve been a long-standing customer, I love their nuts/dried fruits, and was thrilled to start making some favorite recipes with their goodies.  I’ve been meaning to whip up some granola bars that are very clean and wanted something that would have a good consistency and not be overly sweet.  I’ve been eating clean,  no refined sugars amongst other things for eight months now with huge changes to my body and the way I feel.  PLUS, I prefer my family eat non-processed foods/snacks and they love granola so it was a must.  These make a great road-trip snack idea too!  We are headed out for two trips this week and I will have these on hand for the beach!   [Read more…]

— Knead to Cook

Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cupcakes. {dairy free}

by Filed Under: Brunch, Desserts, Frozen Pops, Fruit, Gluten Free, Ice cream, Vegetarian, Vitamix, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

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These are the easiest and one of the healthiest ways of enjoying one of summer’s most treasured treats… ice cream!  BUT, these are healthier, dairy-free, and packed with so much protein!  Three ingredients.  Takes only about 2 minutes to make – the worst part is waiting for them to freeze!

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— Knead to Cook

Healthy Carrot Date Coconut Muffins.

by Filed Under: Breads, Brunch, Muffins, Quick Bread, Vegetarian 12 Comments

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I love healthy muffins! These are packed with great ingredients without all the guilt of fat-ladened traditional muffins.  The Medjool dates add a bit of sweetness (think of raisins in muffins), the carrots add some great texture and the coconut oil and flakes is a double whammy of flavor!  Plus using coconut oil is so much healthier for your heart than tradition butter.  I promise you will be reaching for these every time you sit with a cup of coffee or tea.  Also great for a breakfast substitute.
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— Knead to Cook

Oatmeal PB and Chocolate Chip Scones.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Easter, Snacks, Vegetarian 7 Comments

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After cuddling up  with my daughter to start reading a book authored by a dear friend, I decided to start my creative juices flowing in the kitchen.  It has been a crazy week!  So scones came to mind on this rainy day.  Healthy?  Well, I would definitely say these are MUCH healthier than the traditional scones that you buy at a local bake shop. I still used butter because I feel that it is an integral component of the recipe.  Other than that… I did keep it healthy using powdered organic peanut butter, dark chocolate is good for you and by using whole wheat flour.  As this recipe is cooling on my rack, it smells heavenly!  It even caused my youngest to pause and ask what I was baking.  Definitely a lovely treat with tea or for a weekend breakfast or mid-morning snack.

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— Knead to Cook

Cookie Butter Chobani Banana Bread.

by Filed Under: Breads, Brunch, Cookies, Quick Bread, Valentine's Day, Vegetarian, Yogurt 4 Comments

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I always have a lot of bananas on hand.  I eat several a day.  But by the time Monday rolls around, I’m feverishly cleaning out my fruits and veggies to prepare for my Farmer’s Market trip tomorrow morning.  While out walking Sam (our dog) I thought COOKIE BUTTER!  Why not?!  Okay so not everything I make is crazy healthy, although this bread isn’t THAT indulgent and has NO sugar in it except for the cookie butter and cookie fragments.

This is a special week, my daughter turns 12 and I wanted to make recipes all week that I know are favorites or creations that she will flip over.  Extra bonus…. my teeny tiny almost 12 year old is finally going through a growth spurt and eating like a champ.  This bread will send her over-the-top, along with the rest of my family.  {my thought process.}

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— Knead to Cook

Pesto egg a la baguette.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Cheese, Easter, Egg dishes, Holiday Baking Ideas, Party Foods, Vegetarian 8 Comments

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This is such an oldie but goodie recipe and I haven’t made it in about a year.  My family loves it for dinner and then for breakfast the next morning.  I added some leftover kale pistachio pesto (from last week) into the eggs – click here for that recipe and this was over the top.  The pesto adds so much flavor to the eggs it will make them unbelievable good.  Thankfully I made enough for leftovers this morning which made the start of the day seamless (love when that happens).

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— Knead to Cook

Turkey Quinoa Mini Meat Loaf Muffins.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Ground Turkey, Italian-inspired, Party Foods, Turkey 4 Comments

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Tuesday night was a busy night for us.  One kid going in one direction and the other going in the complete opposite.  My husband and I were running equally split with them.   I needed a fast and easy dinner my father could throw in the oven for me that would be ready when we all got home. This one worked perfectly, especially with my leftover quinoa and shredded zucchini I had in the fridge.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of lean ground turkey (94% lean)
1 cup of quinoa (cooked)
2 shredded carrots
1/2 shredded zucchini (skin on)
1/4 onion, diced finely
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup of panko or bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and Pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon parsley (dried)

Directions:

Blend all of the ingredients in your stand mixer.  If the mixture is too wet, add additional bread crumbs.  Spray your mini muffin pan with olive oil and scoop the meat mixture into each well.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or more.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Bake these for 25-30 minutes or until no longer pink on the inside.  Serve with veggies, a salad or whatever you like.

— Knead to Cook