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Banana-Blueberry-Walnut Muffins

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Perfect for breakfast or a sweet snack, these muffins are oil-free and quite easy to make.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups oat flour (I ground down 1 cup oats in the blender)
1/2 cup oat bran
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch nutmeg
1 tsp mixed spice
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk (or other all-plant milk of choice)
1/2 cup liquid sweetener (e.g. brown rice syrup, date syrup, agave nectar, maple syrup)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line a silicone muffin tin with paper or silicone cases.
2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, bran, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and mixed spice.
3. In another large bowl, mix the bananas, plant milk, sweetener, vanilla, and vinegar.
4. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry and stir well to combine.
5. Add the blueberries and the walnuts and fold in, being careful not to overmix.
6. Fill the muffin tins with the mixture, and bake until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.

Triple scoop blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry frozen dessert

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Sometimes you need all three.

Ingredients

3/4 cups frozen blueberries
3/4 cups frozen raspberries
3/4 cups frozen strawberries
3T lemon juice each, separated
1 1/2 cups frozen banana, separated
1/2 cup soft, dried dates, pitted and chopped (or to taste)

Optional: 1t powdered maca root if you like. You could add a little chopped chocolate to the strawberry, ginger to the blueberry, a splash of white wine or 1T roasted red pepper to the raspberries to make the dish more ornate, or just keep it simple. You can leave the bananas out if you prefer or for a more sorbet like texture, but in that case, you may need to reduce the lemon juice a little and/or date more dates to taste.

Method

If your dates are quite dry, soak them a little ahead of time. Puree each set of berries separately with 1T lemon juice, 1/2 cup bananas and 1/3 dates. Scoop out and enjoy!

Blueberry, lemon frozen dessert sweetened with dates

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A simple, refreshing treat.

Ingredients

2 cups frozen blueberries
1 medium frozen banana (about 3/4 cups)
1T lemon juice
1/3 to 1/2 cup soft, dried dates, pitted and chopped

Optional: 1t powdered maca root. Add more dates for a sweeter dessert.

Method

Blend the blueberries and lemon first. Add the dates and blend. Then blend in the banana. Blend in the maca if you’ll be using it. Spoon out and enjoy.

Apple, blueberry brown betty with ginger and cinnamon

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A traditional, easy and rustic fall dessert that combines apples, blueberries and breadcrumbs.

Ingredients
1 gala apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 cup of blueberries
2T of white sugar*
2T of brown sugar*
1T of whole wheat flour
2t of lemon juice
1T of whole wheat flour
1t of fresh ginger, minced
1/4t of dried ground cinnamon
1/2 cup of whole wheat breadcrumbs (about 1 slice of bread)
2T of plant-only shortening, chopped

Preheat the oven to 375F.
Mix the fruit, lemon juice, sugar and spices with half of the breadcrumbs and shorting in a bowl until well-combined.
Transfer to to a 5″ baking dish.
Sprinkle the remaining breadcrumbs and shortening over the top of the fruit mixture.
Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove foil and bake another 10-15 until browned and the apples are soft. Ovens vary; use the colour as a guide.
When done, remove from the oven, let stand to cool 15 minutes to serve warm or chill for a few hours.

*A growing number of table sugars are produced without using animal bone charcoal. Brown sugar is not an unrefined sugar; it’s typically white sugar to which molasses has been added. Beet sugar, organic sugar and unrefined sugars are typically fine.

Blueberry buckle with cashew ginger streusel

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A traditional coffee cake similar to bublanina and other desserts. Trade the cashews for walnuts for something more traditional.

Ingredients

For the buckle
2 cups wheat flour (1)
2t baking powder
1/4t coarse sea salt
3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 cup sugar (2)
1T ground flax meal
1/4 cup, 1/2T and 1 1/2T plant-only shortening, divided
2 1/2 cups blueberries, 1/2 cup reserved

For the streusel
1/4 cup cashews, chopped
1/4 cup sugar (2)
1 1/2T wheat flour
1/2t dried ground cinnamon
1/4t dried ground ginger
1 1/2T plant-only shortening
1/4t coarse sea salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375F.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and sea salt.
Cream the sugar, soy milk, 1/4 cup shortening and flax seed.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients to form a dough.
Add 2 cups blueberries until well mixed throughout the batter.
Grease a 9″ x 9″ baking pan with 1/2T shortening.
Add the batter to the pan and add the remaining blueberries over the top.
Mix the streusel ingredients until well-combined and crumble over the top.
Bake on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes until a fork comes out clean. Ovens vary; use the color, texture, and a fork test as a guide.
Turn off the heat and let cool in the oven for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool another 10 minutes, slice and serve warm, or let cool 30 minutes, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

1. The harder the flour, the more rustic the texture. Use cake flour for something light and airy.

2. A growing number of cane sugars are bleached without the use of animal bone charcoal. Organic cane sugar, beet sugar, and otherwise unbleached sugars are typically fine.

 

 

Single-serve blueberry lime sorbet with walnut banana frozen dessert

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Icy, tart blueberries and lime combine with smooth and creamy frozen bananas for a quick, simple, but elegant dessert.

Ingredients

2T agave nectar, divided
1 1/4 cup heaping frozen blueberries
1T lime juice
1 cup bananas, peeled and frozen
1T chopped walnuts

Directions

For the blueberries, combine 1T agave nectar, lime juice and blueberries.
Puree until smooth.
Freeze for at least 30 minutes to setup.
For the bananas, combine 1/2T agave nectar, bananas and walnuts.
Puree until the bananas are smooth.
Add additional agave to taste depending on the ripeness of the bananas.
Add the blueberries to a cup.
Spoon the bananas over top.
Serve immediately.

Kiwi, blueberry frozen dessert

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A simple, high carbohydrate, low fat dessert or breakfast with lovely shades of green and blue.

Ingredients

2 green kiwis
1 large frozen banana (about 1 cup)
1T lemon juice
2T agave nectar
2T frozen blueberries for garnish

Optional: 1t powdered maca

Directions

You can peel both kiwis or leave the skin on if you prefer kiwi this way, noting that it will change the finished
colour.
Slice one kiwi in 1/8″ slices for the garnish.
Puree the other kiwi with the banana, lemon juice and agave, as well as the maca if you use it.
Season to taste (with extra agave if necessary).
Return to the freezer for 10 minutes to setup.
Remove the mixture from the freezer and spoon into a martini glass or similar.
Garnish with the sliced kiwi and blueberries.

Blueberry frozen dessert with lime and maple accented ginger sesame sauce

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A little sweet, a little sour, a little spicy.

Ingredients

For the blueberries
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 medium frozen banana (about 3/4 cups)
1T maple syrup (or to taste)
1/4t vanilla extract

Option: 1t powdered maca

For the sesame ginger sauce
2t sesame seed butter
1t lime juice
1T warm water
1/4t fresh grated ginger (or to taste)
1T maple syrup
A pinch coarse sea salt

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients for the sesame ginger sauce until smooth and thick. Let stand 15 minutes.
Puree the blueberries, banana, vanilla, and maple syrup until smooth. Add the maca if you’ll be using it. Season to taste.
Spoon out the blueberries into an appropriate dish, spoon the sesame ginger sauce on top and enjoy.

Blueberry, vanilla frozen dessert on a chocolate fudge brownie crust

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A simple but satisfying dish. The miso in this adds a rich, lightly fermented and salty flavor, but you can leave it out if it’s not readily available.

Ingredients

For the brownie
2T soft, dried dates, pitted and chopped
3T walnuts (reserve 1t chopped walnuts for garnish)
1t red miso
2t lemon juice
1.5T cocoa (I use a fairly trade, Dutch processed brand)
A pinch sea salt

For the bananas
2 small frozen bananas (about 1 cup)
1t lemon juice
1t white pickling vinegar
2t sweet white miso
1/4t vanilla extract
Agave nectar, maple syrup, dates, or stevia to taste

For garnish
1/4 cup blueberries (I use frozen, but fresh would be fine)
1t chopped walnuts (as noted above)

Optional: Add 1t maca powder to the bananas for a
decadent breakfast. Add 2T coconut oil to the bananas and double the brownie recipe for a dessert.

Directions

Make the brownie, then the bananas. In a small food processor, grind the brownie ingredients to a crust consistency (it will start to ball up). Flatten out into a 3″ circle. Let dry covered with a clean tea towel for 1 hour, turning once.

For the bananas, puree the ingredients until smooth. Sweeten to taste. Plate the brownie. Scoop the bananas onto the brownie. Sculpt a flat surface on top, add the blueberries, sprinkle with walnuts, and serve.

Chilled blueberry borscht with sour cashew butter ribbon

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Simple, light and refreshing, but you have to like beets for this one. The dark, fruity flavor of the blueberries presents first, followed by the sweet, earthy taste of the beets, and then the salted, sour taste of the cashews. This makes two large bowls, four small ones, and easily doubles.

Ingredients

2 cups blueberries (the smaller the berries, the better)
1 cup red beets, peeled and chopped
1/4t coarse sea salt
1 cup cold water
2T cashew butter
2T plant milk (I use soy)
1/2T white pickling vinegar
A pinch coarse sea salt
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Optional: Replace the soy milk with a little extra 1/2T cashew butter and use 2T cold water. White pickling vinegar is normally double strength white vinegar. So, you can also use regular white vinegar, but you may need a little more cashew butter to get the right texture. You can use cooked or raw beets with this dish, but raw are preferred. You can also use fresh or frozen blueberries. Puree the beets with the sea salt first, and then add the blueberries if you do. You’ll also need to cover and chill the soup a bit if you use fresh. Add a little freshly minced jalapeño pepper to give this soup some additional spicy, citrus flavor. Maybe a little fresh dill.

Directions

Puree the beets, blueberries and sea salt until smooth. Mix the cashew butter with the soy milk, vinegar and sea salt until smooth and fluffy. Let stand 5 minutes to thicken further.

When ready, blend the 1 cup water into the blueberries until.smooth. Add 2t cashew mixture to the blueberries and blend. Season to taste. Ladle out and garnish with the remaining cashew mixture, either in a dollop or in a nice paisley design.