Monthly Archives: February 2015

MINI BANANA MUFFINS {VEGAN}

February 14, 2015

FOOD & NUTRITION

Mini Vegan Banana Muffins | ineverything.ca

I love carbs. Every time I’m in proximity to a bakery my “carb-radar” goes off, and the smell of fresh baked goods lures me in. Since I changed my diet (read more about that here) I’ve had to stay away from baked goods loaded with butter and eggs. To satisfy my carb craving, I set out on a mission to create a muffin that would allow me to sink my teeth into a steaming hot, fresh-baked snack! And ladies and gentle, this is the result!

Mini Vegan Banana Muffins | ineverything.ca

I started with my of my old banana bread recipes as the foundation and substituted coconut oil for butter, flax seed for eggs, organic cane sugar for refined sugar, and whole wheat flour and oats in place of white flour. The result were these fluffy mini muffins that taste and smell amazing!

Mini Vegan Banana Muffins | ineverything.ca

I chose to use a mini muffin tin because I like being able to choose whether I want the two-bite mini muffins, or whether I want to eat 3 in one sitting to get the equivalent of a larger muffin. I got my mini muffin quite a few years back from Pampered chef, but you can still get the same one here.

I grease my muffin pans with coconut oil spray  (I live right on the Canada/US border, so I get mine from Trader Joe’s) and my muffins pop right out! I’ve started making a double batch of these because my brothers, who are living with us right now, eat them right up! 

I avoid gluten as much as possible in my diet, but I occasionally eat whole wheat flour and whole grains. I make these muffins with whole wheat flour, but you could easily sub it for a gluten-free blend if you’re completely gluten-free. 

bananamuffin1Mini Vegan Banana Muffins | ineverything.ca

 Hope you enjoy as much as we do! Let me know how they turn out! My next goal is to master vegan scones!! 

MINI VEGAN BANANA MUFFINS
Yields 24
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Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
15 min
Prep Time
20 min
Cook Time
15 min
Ingredients
  1. 3 over-ripe bananas
  2. 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
  3. 1/2 cup raw cane sugar
  4. 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seed + 3 tbsp water)
  5. 1 tsp vanilla extract
  6. 1 tsp baking soda
  7. 1/4 tsp salt
  8. 1 cup whole wheat flour (or sub your favourite all purpose gluten-free blend)
  9. 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Grease mini muffin tin.
  3. In a small bowl mix together flax egg and let sit for 5 minutes.
  4. Mash bananas in a medium sized bowl.
  5. Add coconut oil, cane sugar, vanilla and flax egg to the mashed bananas.
  6. Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the top of the banana mixture.
  7. Gently stir in flour and oats.
  8. Add mixture to greased muffin pan. Fill until level so that your muffins rise above the top of the pan.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes or until the muffins begin to brown along the edges.
  10. Enjoy!
In Everything https://ineverything.ca/

POMEGRANATE BEET ANTIOXIDANT JUICE

February 11, 2015

FOOD & NUTRITION

Pomegranate Beet Antioxidant Juice | ineverything.ca

I’ve got another favourite juice recipe for you!  I mentioned a few weeks ago that I started juicing after I was diagnosed with MS to help my body get more of the nutrients it required (In this post I also talk about the kind of juicer I use. You can read more about that here.) Not only is this juice one of the most beautiful colours you’ll find in food, but it’s also a delicious, antioxidant rich drink! 

Pomegranate Beet Antioxidant Juice | ineverything.ca

Beets and pomegranates are both natural antioxidants, helping protect your body’s cells from damage. I find fresh pomegranate a little pricey to use for juicing, so I buy frozen pomegranate seeds (I get mine from Costco) and leave them out to thaw for about 1/2 hour before putting them through the juicer. 

Pomegranate Beet Antioxidant Juice | ineverything.ca

 This vibrant juice has just the right amount of sweet from the apple and pomegranate. It’s definitely worth a try! 

Pomegranate Beet Antioxidant Juice
Serves 1
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Prep Time
5 min
Prep Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. 2 Beets
  2. 2 Cups of Pomegranate Seeds
  3. 2 Apples
Instructions
  1. Wash beets and apples well.
  2. Cut beets and apples into quarters to fit down the juicer chute.
  3. Turn juicer on high and feed beets, pomegranate, and apples through.
  4. Chill & Enjoy!
In Everything https://ineverything.ca/

MY FAVOURITE FOOD BLOGS

February 8, 2015

FOOD & NUTRITION

Over the past few months I’ve been on the search for the best recipes I can find that work into my new diet plan for my management of MS (you can read more about that here). I honestly don’t know what I’d do if it wasn’t for the internet, more specifically, Pinterest! I don’t know how people on special diets survived before food blogs! 

Today I’m sharing 5 of my favourite food blogs. I have personally tested several recipes from each of these blogs and I keep going back for recipes that I’m confident will taste good! 

Minimalist BakerMy favourite source for recipes these day is the Minimalist Baker – http://minimalistbaker.com. John and Dana, a husband and wife team are the creators of the recipes on this site. All of their recipes require 10 ingredients or less, one bowl, or 30 minutes or less to prepare. While they aren’t strictly vegan or gluten free, many of the recipes are special diet-friendly. I love the simplicity of their recipes and I’ve grown to trust that I’m going to get great tasting food from them!

You can find their amazing Vegan Shepherd’s pie recipe here (we have leftovers for days, and you won’t miss the meat!) and their Mediterranean Baked Sweet Potato recipe here. 

 

A House in the Hills

A House in the Hills – ahouseinthehills.com is another one of my favourite food blogs. Sarah Yates is the face behind this blog and in addition to great, fresh recipes, she also talks about how she’s using food to help manage Crohn’s disease. Also she regularly does pretty awesome style posts. You can find her Sweet Potato Quinoa Patties here and her Cranberry Almond Granola Bites here. 

 

love and lemonsI also love Love and Lemons – loveandlemons.com. Jeanine is the creator and voice behind the blog and while she’s also not entirely gluten-free or vegan, most of the recipes are the blog are vegetarian. You can find our favourite vegan waffle recipe on her site here  and a delicious APlle Cardamom Oat Crumble here!

 

The First Mess

The First Mess – thefirstmess.com is a blog by a Canadian girl named Laura, all about fresh produce recipes! Here use of fresh ingredients is inspiring and she posts such creative salad recipes, including dressings, like this Superfood salad recipe here, and this Mango Salad with Rhubarb Ginger Dressing here. 

 

http://ohsheglows.comAnd of course, probably one of the most well know vegan blogs around right now is Oh She Glows – ohsheglows.com.  In addition to great vegan recipes, many of her recipes are also gluten-free. Angela Liddon is the face behind this blog, which she originally started to share about her recovery from an eating disorder and her journey towards health. I absolutely love her cookbook and her recipes are almost always delicious. You can find one of my favourite cookie recipes, Trail Mix Cookies, here and an easy Carrot Ginger Soup recipe here. 

These are just a few of my favourites! I’d love to hear about other amazing food blogs you’ve discovered! 

 

JANUARY UPDATE

February 2, 2015

MARRIAGE & FAMILY

Well it’s already February and that means that I’m one month into my resolutions for 2015 (You can read my New Years Resolution post here)! I’ve set a number of goals for 2015, but I decided to let the world in on 3 resolutions that I was striving to achieve! 

1. RUN A HALF MARATHON

My plan was to begin training for a half marathon as soon as I finished my treatment, but I decided after I posted my goals that I was going to do everything I could to start training now. Why wait? Unfortunately a relapse early in January left me exhausted, extremely dizzy, and barely able to walk, let alone run. However, I started to feel better this past week and I was beyond excited to get out for my first run since October 2014! Clark came with me and we decided that I would just try and go for as long as I could. My expectations were not high. I think we were both surprised when I was still running after 5km! Since our running route allows us to add in additional 2.2km laps around a small lake, I decided I would try to push myself and see how many I could do. So, here it is… I did 9km!!! 9km!!! There was a time when that was a normal run for me, but that definitely has not been the case since being diagnosed with MS. Come on, somebody celebrate with me! Half-marathon, here I come! 

RUnning

2. TRY ONE NEW THING EVERY MONTH

I don’t have a structured plan for exactly what I’m going do each month, but my goal is to make sure I’m always doing and experiencing new things! My “new things” for January made me feel like a true Canadian! I drove a snowmobile for the first time, went curling on a frozen pond, and had an outdoor picnic around a fire on a frozen lake! I hadn’t done any of these things before, and I can’t believe it took me until I was 30 to try them! To be honest, I didn’t even know people had outdoor picnics in the winter! I hate being cold, but I learned that enough layers could make even me ready for an outdoor Canadian winter! 

snow

3. READ THROUGH THE WHOLE BIBLE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

I am loving ready through the Bible this way. Ok, I wasn’t loving it so much when I was stuck listening to Job’s friends give terrible advice for the entire first week of January, but the rest, I love. I’ve read all of Genesis and Job, and I’ve recently started Exodus. I decided to do my reading every night right before bed, so no matter how tired or how sick I feel, I refuse to sleep without opening my Bible. It’s been good for me. Not always easy, but good! Clark is doing this along with me, so we’ve enjoyed being able to talk about it as we go. (You can find the reading plan I’m following here.)

Can’t wait to see what February brings!