Category: Recipes

17 Jan 2017

Vegan Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

by Ashleigh Benavides | in Recipes
Vegan Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

My daughters really enjoy these vegan blueberry muffins! They are so easy to make that it’s hard to not make them everyday. (Like all things, too much of a good thing is still too much.)

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats*
1 ½ cups unsweetened almond, soy, etc.
2 Tbspn unsweetened applesauce
¼ – 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbspn coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Directions:

1 Combine oats and milk in a large bowl. Cover and let soak in the refrigerator until much of the liquid is absorbed, at least 8 hours.

2 Preheat oven to 375F. Coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with cooking spray (or use muffin tin liners).

3 Stir applesauce, maple syrup, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, backing powder and salt into the soaked oats. Fold in the blueberries. Divide the mixture among the muffin cups.

4 Bake the oatmeal cakes until they spring back when touched, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

*For a quicker muffin, use quick cook oats instead and you won’t have to wait 8 hours to finish making them.

Adapted from Eating Well’s recipe.

11 Jan 2017

Vegan Green Chili

by Ashleigh Benavides | in Recipes
Vegan Green Chili

I grew up in Pueblo, Colorado and it’s famous for its green chili! It’s so delicious you want to lick the plate! In Pueblo, we would smother burritos, burgers, fries, eggs, and more! But it isn’t the most healtiest … that is until we invented this version! Oh my. If it wasn’t so hot, you might want to drink it! Ok, maybe not, but it’s amazing.
The most authentic green chili actually uses a roasted Pueblo Green Chili, which is only grown in southeastern Colorado, particularly in Pueblo. Since these aren’t available all over the world, I’ve put other chili options that make it taste just as yummy.

Vegan Green Chili Sauce (Pueblo style)

Adapted from recipe by Christine Bettiga

Ingredients:
3 serrano chilies

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-4 roasted green chilies (Anaheim or Ancho)
2-3 jalapeno peppers
16 oz chicken broth
or 1 Tbspn McKay’s Chicken Seasoning with 2 cups water
1-12 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 cup water
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp curry powder
1 tsp seasoning salt
1 tsp fresh cilantro
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
4 garlic cloves, sliced
½ tsp salt and pepper
1 small yellow onion

Directions:

  1. In large pot, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft.
  2. Add flour and stir, browning flour as you would a roux.
  3. Add some of your water or chicken broth if flour is too thick, keep stirring until it bubbles.
  4. Add chicken broth.
  5. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, then turn heat to low.
  6. Cook uncovered about 20 minutes, or until peppers are soft, stirring occasionally.
07 Jan 2017

Qunioa Salad with Raw Ginger & Garlic

by Ashleigh Benavides | in Recipes
Qunioa Salad with Raw Ginger & Garlic

As trainers, we understand the importance of eating right but we also like our food to taste good! This recipe is exactly that – healthy and tastes amazing! This vegan recipe is so delicious that even my 4 year old and 19 month old devour it! (Except I leave out the raw ginger and garlic in their servings … a little spicy for them.)

The nice thing about this recipe is that it’s quick and it’s chalk full of health benefits! Research shows that eating raw garlic can lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, and fight the common cold. You can find out more about garlic’s amazing properties here. Plus, consuming raw ginger helps combat digestive issues and fights inflammation! This is amazing because inflammation causes weight retention and is a precursor to a lot of chronic diseases. (You can learn more about this by attending our 20/40 Project.)

And lastly, this salad is a great source of protein! Organic tofu and quinoa are both complete sources of protein!

Quinoa Salad with Raw Garlic & Ginger

Ingredients:

12 oz prepackaged marinated tofu, diced*
1 cup quinoa
1.5 cups water
1.5 – 2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 – 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2-4 minced garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you like it)
1/2 inch to 1 inch grated fresh ginger (depending on how spicy you like it)
1.5 Tbspn tamari, soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos

Optional:
12 ounces chopped mushrooms
1 Tbspn coconut oil

Directions:

Add the water and quinoa to a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until all water has evaporated.
While quinoa is cooking, saute mushrooms in coconut oil with a dash of sea salt.
In large mixing bowl, add tofu, carrots, cilantro, garlic, ginger, Braggs, mushrooms and quinoa and stir until well combined.

*Instead of prepackaged and marinated tofu, you can make your own. Just dice, saute and season a block of firm tofu. I add it to my sauted mushrooms and add salt, pepper, garlic powder, Tajin and occasionally a bit of dried sweet basil.