Crumbs

I really hate wasting food. So much so, that it is even hard for me to throw out the crumbs leftover in the bottom of the cereal box. However, I also have an aversion to starting my day with a bowl of soggy cereal dust. With dismay at these choices, I have decided to opt out of both and have come up with an alternative. Instead, I put the cereal crumbs in a small glass jar in my cupboard and continue to add to the jar until I have saved enough (2 cups) to make my new favorite - Cereal Muffins. This healthy whole grain muffin is your quick breakfast all rolled into one – cereal, milk, banana, orange juice…. All you’re missing is a cup of coffee.


Cereal Muffins
These moist, hearty muffins are a great way to make something out of nothing – cereal crumbs that would have been tossed away turn into a perfect on the go breakfast or snack. It is also a great way to use up any leftover nuts or dried fruit in the pantry.


Makes 12

Ingredients

- 2 cups whole grain cereal
- 1 1/2 cup soymilk (or substitute low fat milk) 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 cup dried fruit
- 1 cup toasted nuts

Preheat the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 12 muffin tins with canola oil. Combine the cereal with the milk and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the brown sugar, mashed banana, canola oil and vanilla extract into the moist cereal. Stir in the dry ingredients (flours, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg). Gently stir in the orange juice. Gently fold the dried fruit and toasted nuts into the muffin batter. Fill the muffin tins just to the top of the muffin rim. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until the tops are slightly crisp and golden brown. Let the muffins cool for 1 minute in the pan. Use a butter knife to turn each muffin on its side to cool completely, or transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. These muffins will keep covered for up to 4 days.

Health-Mex

Roasted Cauliflower Enchiladas
Basic Black Beans and Brown Basmati Rice
Date Bars



Roasted Cauliflower Enchiladas
Roasted cauliflower makes an excellent enchilada filling – it is nutty and flavorful enough to hold its ground under a layer of corn tortilla, cheese and spicy sauce, yet it is tame enough to please anyone’s pallet. I use fresh store-bought salsa as the base of my really easy enchilada sauce. The salsa that I used said, “mild,” but it had a more than mild kick, which actually made the perfect spicy sauce. These enchiladas can easily be “veganised,” by omitting the cheese – just use a bit more cauliflower filling and a sprinkling of pepita seeds over the top of the casserole for the last 5 minutes of baking.


Makes 12 enchiladas

Ingredients

- 1 large head cauliflower
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 3 cloves garlic, cut in half
- salt
- fresh ground pepper
- pinch of cumin
- 12 corn tortillas, warm
- 15 ounces fresh salsa (mild or spicy)
- 1 eight ounce can tomato sauce
- 8 ounces fresh grated jack cheese (about 2 cups), reserving some for the top



Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the cauliflower into 1 inch pieces and place in a large roasting pan. Toss with the olive oil, onion and garlic, season with salt and pepper and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the onions and cauliflower are slightly caramelized. Let the cauliflower cool. Use a fork to mash the cauliflower and onions together. Add the cumin to the mixture.
To make the sauce combine the salsa and tomato sauce in a medium sauce pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce and let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
To assemble the enchiladas, grease one large casserole or 6 individual casserole dishes with a small amount of oil. Cover the bottom of the dish with a few tablespoons of the enchilada sauce; then place one warm tortilla (heat in a wet paper towel in the microwave for 30 seconds) in the casserole dish. Place approximately 1 tablespoons of cheese in the center strip of the tortilla, then top with approximately 2 tablespoons of the cauliflower filling. Roll the tortilla up and repeat this process. (Add more sauce to the bottom of the casserole dish, if needed.) Top the casserole with the remaining enchilada sauce and the reserved jack cheese. At this point the casserole can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350. Cover the enchiladas with nonstick foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more. (If the casserole is coming out of the refrigerator add 15 minutes to the first cooking time.)
Serve warm and top with avocado slices or guacamole.




Basic Black Beans and Brown Basmati Rice


Basic Black Beans
You can certainly use canned black beans, but with a little planning (to soak the beans for 6-8 hours) it is definitely worth making these basic beans from scratch.

Serves 6

Ingredients
- 1 pound dried black beans
- 1/2 onion
- 1 carrot
- handful of parsley
- salt
- pepper
- 2 bay leafs

Place the black beans in a large bowl and cover with water. Let soak 6-8 hours. Meanwhile fill a medium size stockpot 3/4 full with water. Add the onion, carrot and parsley to the water and bring to a boil. Let simmer for 1 hour. Discard the onion, carrot and parsley. Drain the black beans and add to the vegetable broth. Add a bit of salt, pepper and the bay leafs. Bring the beans to a boil, then simmer with a lid for 2 hours, or until the beans are tender. Season with more salt and pepper and discard the bay leafs. Use a slotted spoon to serve.

Brown Basmati Rice
Using brown rice instead of white rice really helps make this meal quite a bit healthier. This recipe is very … I shouldn’t say it… but I will… bland, which I like in contrast to the spicy enchiladas. If you want a more flavorful Spanish Brown Rice, substitute 1/2 cup of water for 1/2 cup of tomato sauce.

Serves 6

Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 bunch of green onions, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 cups brown basmati rice
- 2 tablespoons diced carrot
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped
- scant 4 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

In a medium saucepan with a tight fitting lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the green onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes, or until soft. Reduce the heat to medium/low and add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the basmati rice and stir everything together for 1 to 2 minutes more. Add the carrot, cilantro, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir the rice once, to make sure nothing is sticking on the bottom of the pan, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. Let the rice simmer, covered for 50 minutes. (Do not remove the lid.) After 50 minutes, remove the pan (keep covered) from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork. Serve warm.

Date Bars
A 70’s Sunburst inspiration- these sweet bars are healthy and wholesome. They are naturally sweet from honey and dates and have an oaty top and bottom crust. I enjoyed these moist bars best after being chilled in the fridge. Though I really like these bars “as-is,” I think that the next time I make them I am going to press all of the crust into the pan, bake the crust alone for 15-20 minutes, then pour in the date filling and bake for another 15-20 minutes to see if I can get a crispier crust – more like a shortbread crust. We’ll see…


Makes 16 bars

Ingredients
Crust
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- zest of 1 orange zest
Filling
- 1 cup hot water
- 2 cups dates, chopped
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
To make the crust, combine the oil and honey in a medium size bowl. Add the vanilla extract, flour, oats, baking powder, salt and orange zest and combine. Press half of the dough into a greased 8 by 8 pan.
To make the filling combine the hot water with the dates, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and let stand 15 minutes. Pour the filling over the crust and place the remaining crust dough on top of the date filling layer. (Don’t worry about getting the top crust perfectly distributed over the date filling layer.) Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Let the bars cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve. These bars will keep in an airtight container (in the refrigerator if you like) for up to 4 days.

A Healthy Meal

Moroccan Quinoa with Roasted Fall Vegetables
Green Beans with Toasted Almonds


Moroccan Quinoa with Roasted Fall Vegetables
Though this dish is certainly not authentic Moroccan cuisine (given that I know nothing on the subject), I was inspired to use flavors from the Moroccan kitchen, when creating this healthy dinner. The quinoa is scented with cumin and saffron and compliments the roasted vegetables in both flavor and texture. The quinoa is topped with cilantro and goat cheese to build another layer of flavors to completes the dish. Alongside, I served green beans tossed with nutty, toasted almonds, which goes nicely with the main dish.


Serves 6

Ingredients
- 1 large yam, peeled, diced into 1 inch cubes
- 1 medium (about 1 pound) butternut squash, peeled, diced into 1 inch cubes
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 large carrots, cut into 1 pieces
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- pinch saffron threads
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 cups quinoa
- 4 ounces goat cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large roasting pan, toss the diced butternut squash, yam, carrot, cauliflower and onion with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables for approximately -55 minutes, or until caramelized.
Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa well in a fine sieve. In a medium saucepan heat the water and vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the cumin and saffron, cover and let steep 10 minutes. Bring the liquid back to a boil. Stir in the quinoa, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Season the quinoa with salt and pepper and transfer to a large serving platter or bowl. Toss the hot roasted vegetables with the quinoa. Serve warm. Top each individual serving with the cilantro and some of the goat cheese.

Healthy Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

Basic Banana Muffins

These banana muffins are much healthier than their cake-light counterparts; made with whole-wheat flour and low in sugar and fat. Perfect for a healthy breakfast on the go, or afternoon snack. Of course you can adjust the sweetness to your liking. If you are watching your cholesterol the egg in the recipe can easily be replaced with 2 egg whites, or 1/2 a banana if you want to go vegan.
Fresh blueberries, or toasted pecans are also a nice addition to this basic muffin mix.

Makes 9 muffins

Ingredients
- scant 1 cup whole wheat flour
- scant 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup low fat milk (or soymilk)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 3 small bananas
- sanding sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil 9 muffin tins. Mash the bananas in a small bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine the canola oil, brown sugar and vanilla. Then add the egg and mix in well. Add the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt) and gently mix together. Add the milk and banana and gently stir until combined. Distribute the batter equally into the nine oiled muffin tins and sprinkle each muffin with a small amount (about 1/4 teaspoon) of the sanding sugar.
Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Let the muffins cool 1 minute in the pan, then run a butter knife around the edges of each muffin and transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.