Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

The best zucchini brownies ever. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Brownies, Brunch, Desserts, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Nuts, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 4 Comments

These brownies came out so unbelievably awesome… and I’m not even a brownie fan.  The best & only recipe you’ll ever need.  Seriously.

My dad harvested a behemoth zucchini from our garden yesterday and I wanted to do something different with it instead of bread or grilling it.  The key with baking anything with zucchini is removing every last bit of water from it. Be patient and these delectable brownies will reward you, pinky promise!  I’m not wasting anymore time chatting… we need to get to this, now!  Happy Monday friends ~ ox.

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— Knead to Cook

Zucchini banana muffins. Vegan and gluten free.

by Filed Under: Breads, Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Gift ideas, Gluten Free, Muffins, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 3 Comments

Vegan & gluten free zucchini banana muffins.

After harvesting a behemoth zucchini from our garden this week… I quickly pondered a new recipe idea to use it up fast. I love to add zucchini to my smoothies, yes – it’s perfect for adding bulk and fiber without a ton of flavor to smoothies.  But I always have muffins, bars or cookies on my counter for grab and go snacking so I opted for muffins.  These muffins are so moist, not overly sweet and very filling.

Zucchini is a great veggie to sneak into food without kid-detectives seeing or tasting it.  It’s virtually flavorless.  Okay, so let’s get on with it.  See below for pics and the recipe.  Enjoy!

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— Knead to Cook

S’mores Popcorn. Vegan. Gluten Free.

by Filed Under: 4th of July/Patriotic, Desserts, Gluten Free, Holiday, No bake/cooking required!, Popcorn, Snacks, Sponsored, Wheat Free 2 Comments

S’mores popcorn.

Hi friends!  I’m excited to say I’m starting the next chapter of my life, an exciting job I’ve been dreaming of for  along time.  With that being said.. I’m promising to posting one new recipe per week as I’m not ready to step away from blogging and enjoy the interactions with you all.  Recipe creation.  The creative outlet.  All of it.  I hope to still educate, share and inspire you in the kitchen to eat whole, real vegan foods.

This week’s recipe is a fun take on s’mores.  We’ve been in a serious Seattle-ish band of weather with quite a bit of rain.  S’more in our fire pit have been far and few between.  I thought this would be a super fun take on what we all love – popcorn, chocolate, roasted marshmallows and graham crackers.  You can make as much as you need, perfect for a party or movie night, and I promise… leftovers will not exist.  Even my 80 year old father devoured it!

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— Knead to Cook

Breakfast oatmeal chocolate chip muffins. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Muffins, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free, Your Life Edit Foundations Leave a Comment

Hello dear friends!  Happy Monday, fresh new week and hopefully beautiful weather.  Pennsylvania has converted over to Seattle last week & I started to think the rains were never going to end.  However, the sun finally came out today, beautiful temps and everything is so lush and green!  Doors are opened and we are breathing in all the wonderfully clean air till the allergens pop back up. Ha.

Today, as it is every Monday, the day to refresh snacks for the week.  These oatmeal muffins are a long-time fave. The recipe morphs a bit each time I make them, depending what I have on hand, but they are delightful nonetheless.  Packed with fiber and healthy fats to keep you satisfied for hours.  My kids love these when running out the door to school, work or babysitting jobs.  They also make a nice, healthy dessert after dinner.  Pack up well in lunches.  Great on-the-go snack.

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— Knead to Cook

Green Pea Ricotta Spread on Baguette. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Appetizers, Brunch, Cheese, Easter, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Holiday, Italian-inspired, Party Foods, Side dish, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 5 Comments

Green pea ricotta spread.  Vegan.  Gluten free.

Happy Monday friends.  I hope your mother’s day weekend was incredibly fun, food-filled and joyous.  This weekend we hosted Kira’s friends for her 17th birthday party.  Then after a trip to the gym early Sunday, we went to Philly for brunch and shopping.  It was the best.  My heart was filled along with my stomach.

I’ve been recreating a bunch of old Lucy Activewear recipes that were lost since they merged with North Face.  This is a big favorite for summer, outdoor dining with friends.  Easy and prep-ahead!  It’s light and filling.  Great appetizer or side for dinner or soup.  Great for parties too!  All of the ingredients can be found at Whole Foods or local specialty food markets.  Vegan and gluten free!

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— Knead to Cook

Coconut Pineapple Smoothie Bowl. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Desserts, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fruit, Gluten Free, Smoothies, Snacks, Sponsored, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free 2 Comments

Pineapple coconut smoothie bowl.  Originally, this bowl was just a tropical delicious breakfast.  Now, per my naturopath, I’ve been making these daily as a snack or even dinner.  My allergies are in full bloom, thanks tree mold, and she highly recommends that I eat pineapple daily…
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— Knead to Cook

Easy Cinnamon (no banana) muffins. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Gluten Free, Holiday, Quick Bread, Snacks, Vegan, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

 

Happy Boston Marathon Monday!  Did you watch it?  OMG so excited to see a US woman win!  Plus all of my friends absolutely crushed it & I’m so excited for them!  Okay, so if you could care less about the marathon… let’s talk about the weekend and the fleeting warmth we had on the east coast!  Did you enjoy it? Do anything fun?  My friend Joy texted me Thursday about a early morning walk Friday.  I bagged the gym and we hit the road.  5.5 miles before the mulch was delivered.  We worked all day gardening, cleaning, weeding and enjoying the sunshine and warmth.  It was heavenly.  Saturday was still nice so we went for our first of the season trail biking.  It was fun and an experiment on how my new knee would hold up.  2 hours of bumpy, rocky and super fun.  My a$$ hurts but it was so much fun riding along the river.  Then Sunday the cold/windy/rainy weather resumed.

Today was yet another dreary day and I’m in need of making muffin stash for the family.  Every week I make muffins or bars for easy snacking, running out the door food.  These cinnamon mini muffins came out perfectly!  Vegan and gluten free too!
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— Knead to Cook

Easy Lentil “Meatballs”. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Fitness., Gluten Free, Italian-inspired, Lentils, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

Happy Tuesday my friends!  Okay we survived Monday & that folks, we will call a win.  Actually my Monday was very productive.  We came off a spring cleaning, doing all the projects we didn’t want to do, feeling super duper productive so Monday was a bit of a continuation.  I’ve been cleaning out cabinets, drawers and it truly astonishes me that amount of things we accumulate.  I’m now, at 46, in this phase of my life where I want to downsize, get rid of everything and live a very minimalist life.  Truly.  I’m done with all the things.  But we have a few years to go before that happens so I continue to donate, sell, or clean out my possessions.

Last week I made these yummy “meat”balls out of some frozen lentils and they were so good.  I teamed them up with this stew I made a few days prior, added rice… and we had a meal!  They’re great on hoagie or sub rolls and in a lovely marinara sauce with your favorite pasta.  I also was caught eating them cold out of the fridge.  Yes, they’re that good.

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— Knead to Cook

Easy Almond Banana Blondies. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brownies, Brunch, Desserts, Gluten Free, Snacks, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 10 Comments

When you have an abundance of spotted bananas… you get creative and then add chocolate for an over-the-top, healthy treat!  These almond banana blondies were gone in less than 24 hours in my kitchen.  In fact, I pulled these out of the oven around 4p yesterday and when I got up at 4a to hit the gym… there were 2 left!  Ummm okay, I get it.  I’ll make more!

Think of these as if banana bread and fudge had a baby.  They are dense and delectable.  The banana and almond flavors are very pronounced.  These little squares are so dessert-like, filling and so good. Seriously, you need these in your life.  The blonde version to an undercooked, ooey gooey brownie yet better!  Mmmm kay?  Now go, make these.  Thank me later 🙂

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— Knead to Cook

Almond butter nut and seed granola bars. Vegan. GF.

by Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Gluten Free, Holiday Baking Ideas, Nuts, Snacks, Vegan, Wheat Free 4 Comments

Did you think I’ve abandoned my blog?  I’m starting to feel that way but life has been super busy and sadly, free time cooking & playing in the kitchen has suffered.  Last week I got to speak to speak at my husband’s company (three groups of awesome people) about nutrition & exercise.  I had the best time but planning and then speaking took up a lot of time.  Then the last (yes, I’m saying that) Nor’Easter arrived and dumped about 12 inches of snow on us.  We had dodged three prior storms so we were due.  Thankfully the remnants are now gone but I’m left with a bit of head cold now.  Excuses galore.  l’m sorry.

Yesterday, I scoured the internet for a healthy granola bar recipe and landed on this one from Minimalist Baker.  I changed it up bit but it came together quickly in time for me to watch basketball and nurse my pressurized head.  These are portable and great breakfast on-the-go type of bar.  My daughter adds these to her yogurt for breakfast. Bill loves them as a dessert post dinner.

I’m hoping my kitchen inspiration kicks in this week along with my cold moving along… until then, let’s get started…

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— Knead to Cook