Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Muffins

I have raspberries galore right now.  Most of my flower beds are full of berries and it makes me happy, especially when the raspberries are ripe...they are my very favorite.  I was in the experimenting mood last night, so some of my raspberries ended up in muffins and they are amazing!  I actually didn't have any eggs in the house (I really need to go to the store), so I just whipped up some flax eggs and it worked out great. Feel free to sub in eggs if you like.  Seriously these are quite decadent little morsels, and probably should be a dessert not breakfast, but I'm all for it being breakfast food, too. :)

Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Muffins
3/4 cup palm oil shortening
1 cup coconut sugar
2 flax eggs*
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups GF flour blend
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mega Chunks
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup fresh rasberries

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F.  Grease or line muffin tins and set aside.  In a mixing bowl, cream together the shortening and coconut sugar.  Add in the flax eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl combine together the flour blend, salt, and baking soda.  Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix well.  Fold in the chocolate, walnuts and raspberries and spoon the mixture into the muffin tins.

Bake at 375F for about 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*To prepare flax eggs, combine 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons water and allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes until it thickens.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Whole Food Fridays, Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love, and Gluten Free Fridays.

Weekly Menu (9/15/13-9/21/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket we got:

• bananas
• green beans
• mushrooms
• celery
• pineapple
• honeydew
• tomatoes
• yellow squash
• green onions
• cauliflower
• cucumbers
• lettuce

We also got the Mexican add-on pack:

• green chilis
• jalapenos
• tomatillos
• cilantro
• limes
• onions
• garlic
• avocados

Our raspberries, kale, spinach, bell peppers, and eggplant are still going strong in the garden, so we'll be using those as well. I also picked up some apples for lunches.

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually applesauce, mandarin oranges, or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): nothing, sleeping in
• 2nd breakfast (7am):  turkey sandwich with tomato and avocado
• morning snack (9am): nothing
• lunch (11am-12pm): turkey sandwich with tomato and avocado
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm):
• Roasted Chicken with homemade gravy
• basmatic rice
• steamed green beans
• raspberries and honeydew

Monday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and celery
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal
• morning snack (9am): bell peppers and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): cashews and dried cranberries
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• fajitas (using leftover chicken and maybe some steak, too)
• homemade tortillas
• sauteed yellow squash
• green salad

Tuesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and celery
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs with veggies
• morning snack (9am): veggies and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): spoonful of almond butter with a medjool date
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• cauliflower alfredo 
• grilled chicken
• GF pasta
• green salad
• steamed veggies

Wednesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): avocado and toast
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal
• morning snack (9am): dried cranberries and cashews
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner:
• Navajo tacos
• Salsa Verde
• sliced pineapple

Thursday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): sliced tomato and toast
• 2nd breakfast (7am): scrambled eggs and veggies
• morning snack (9am):  cashews and dried fruit
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner: 
• honey oat pancakes
• bacon
• hashbrowns
• pineapple

Friday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): peanut butter and celery
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal
• morning snack (9am): banana
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner:
• calzones or pizza
• green salad

Saturday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): sleeping in :)
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie
• morning snack (9am): veggies and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): sandwich and veggies (I usually use my teff sandwich bread, teff biscuits, or flour tortillas as my bread)
• afternoon snack (3pm): whatever fruit I have
• dinner: 
• potato chip chicken
• oven fries
• green salad

Zucchini Bread

I'm a little slow posting today, but I hope it's worth the wait.  It's the end of summer which means we all have ample amounts of zucchini, right?  Well, here's a classic zucchini bread recipe to help you use up some of it.

Zucchini Bread
(based off of this recipe)

1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar, honey, or maple syrup
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 eggs
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F and grease a medium sized loaf pan (8x4x2-inch).  Combine the coconut sugar, agave, coconut oil, eggs and zucchini in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients, except for the walnuts.  Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well.  Fold in the walnuts and pour into the loaf pan.

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove and allow it to cool completely before slicing.

This post is featured on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Whole Food Fridays, Gluten Free Fridays, and Allergy Friendly Lunchbox Love.

Weekly Menu (9/8/13-9/14/13)

This week in our Bountiful Basket we got:

• bananas
• pears
• mango
• plums
• honeydew
• tomatoes
• yellow squash
• broccoli
• cauliflower
• cucumbers
• lettuce

Our raspberries, kale, spinach, bell peppers, and eggplant are going strong in the garden, so we'll be using those as well. I also have red potatoes and a lot of local peaches. :)

The kids are in school now so breakfasts will consist of their choice of:

• cereal
• muffins (banana chocolate chip, blueberry, pumpkin chocolate chip, or double chocolate zucchini muffins)
• scrambled eggs and toast
• etc.

 lunches will consist of:

• Sandwiches (Peanut Butter and Jelly or Ham)
• or Pizza Flatbreads (Schar crispbread topped with cheese and pepperoni)
• or Crackers, veggies, and hummus
• chips or crackers
• fruit (usually applesauce, mandarin oranges, or bananas)
• milk

Sunday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): nothing, sleeping in
• 2nd breakfast (7am):  smoothie
• morning snack (9am): nothing
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm):
• Meatloaf
• mashed potatoes
• steamed broccoli
• Green salad
• peach crisp (raspberry peach crisp if my raspberries are ripe enough)

Monday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal
• morning snack (9am): cucumber and hummus
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies, crackers (my family's new favorite cracker is this one), and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• spaghetti
• sauteed yellow squash
• green salad

Tuesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): smoothie
• morning snack (9am): banana
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner (5-6pm): 
• tacos with homemade tortillas
• honeydew
• green salad

Wednesday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal
• morning snack (9am): dried cranberries and cashews
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner:
• tamales
• rice and beens
• green salad

Thursday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): pear
• 2nd breakfast (7am): smoothie
• morning snack (9am):  cashews and dried fruit
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): bell peppers and hummus
• dinner: 
• crepes topped with:
• eggs and ham
• peanut butter and jelly
• bananas and raspberries

Friday:

• 1st breakfast (5am): plum
• 2nd breakfast (7am): baked oatmeal
• morning snack (9am): plum
• lunch (11am-12pm): leftovers
• afternoon snack (3pm): veggies and hummus
• dinner:
• calzones or pizza
• green salad

Saturday: 

• 1st breakfast (5am): sleeping in :)
• 2nd breakfast (7am): green smoothie
• morning snack (9am): plum
• lunch (11am-12pm): sandwich and veggies (I usually use my teff sandwich bread, teff biscuits, or flour tortillas as my bread)
• afternoon snack (3pm): whatever fruit I have
• dinner: 
• chicken nuggets
• oven fries
• green salad

Summer Harvest Tacos

I have quite a bit of eggplant from my garden right now and have been thinking of different ways to use it.  A few weeks ago I made some Bhurta, an Indian eggplant dish, which was amazing...and I thought that by changing up the spices I could yield even more possibilities.  So, that's what I did and this taco creation is the end result.  If you aren't an eggplant fan or have tons of zucchini instead of eggplant, you could sub that in the place of the eggplant.  Don't broil it beforehand, just cube it and add it to the mixture when you would the eggplant.

Summer Harvest Tacos
4 small eggplant, about 12 oz total (it yielded 1 3/4 cup cubed eggplant after the broiling step)
2 tablespoons canola, grapeseed or coconut oil (plus more for rubbing on eggplant)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small onion diced, about 1 cup
1/2 large bell pepper diced, about 1/2 cup
1 garlic clove
2 tomatoes, skinned and diced, about 1 cup
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Rub oil on the outside of the eggplant and place under a hot broiler.  Cook until the skin is blistering off, about 15-20 minutes, turning as needed to give even cooking.  Remove the skin and cube the eggplant and set it aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the cumin seeds and toast them for a few seconds before adding the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir until they are tender, then add in the tomatoes and seasonings.  Cook and stir for a few minutes.

Add in the eggplant and over medium low heat for 10-15 minutes.  Serve with flour tortillas or over a salad or rice.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays,Waste Not Want Not Wednesdays, Whole Food Fridays, Allergy Free Lunchbox Love, and Gluten Free Fridays.