Morning Glory Muffins

 A.K.A. banana-carrot-apple/pear-coconut-raisin muffins

It seems that every time I talk with my dad, he complains that he wants my mom to bake him something. He was a bit jealous when I told him I made these muffins. They've got pretty much everything he loves in them: carrots, raisins, coconut, banana and nuts. Can you ask for a more tasty way to start off your morning? 

Serves: 12 muffins

Ingredients

1 large banana, mashed
3/4 cup soy milk or other non dairy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup white sugar

2 cups flour, half whole wheat, half white
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt

1 large pear or apple, pealed and chopped
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened up to you, I've used both)
1/2 cup raisins

1/2 chopped pecans for topping

Preparations

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a muffin tin, or line with muffin liners (Do not need to grease if using a silicon muffin tray).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash banana and mix with all wet ingredients and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, spices and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine.
5. To the batter, add the chopped fruit, grated carrot, raisins and coconut and mix well.
6. Distribute the batter evenly, top the muffins with the chopped pecans and place in your preheated oven at 350°F.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes in the muffin tray before transferring the muffins to a wire rack and cooling for an additional 5-10 minutes before chowing down.

Coconut Apricot Bars

       On their own, these tasty Coconut Apricot Bars are a great breakfast or snack option. They are not too sweet but with the addition of a scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream on top or a sprinkle of icing sugar, these bars also make an excellent dessert. 

       The base of the bar has heart healthy omega-3 and omega-6's from the flax as well as fiber from the whole wheat flour. The topping is filled with chopped apricots, almonds and pecans, as well as a coconut caramel-like sauce. These coconut apricot bars are a healthy alternative to traditional "Magic Bars". Just as tasty, but use a lot less sugar and use better fats. Saturated fat from coconut products contains short chain fatty acids, which unlike their animal product competitors are not processed the same way and are less likely to clog up you arteries.       

Serves: 12 large dessert size bars (3"x3") or  24-36 medium-small bars

Ingredients

Base:
1/2 cup margarine
1 tbsp molasses
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp ground flax seed 
3 tbsp water
1/8 tsp ground ginger, heaping
3/4 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour

Coconut condensed milk:
1 can coconut milk
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed

Topping:
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut 
1 cup dried chopped apricot*
1 cup chopped nuts, a combination of pecans and almonds or your favourite
2/3 cup Ritz crackers, about 12-15, chopped or lightly crushed*

optional: icing sugar or vanilla or coconut ice cream   

Preparation

1. Turn on the oven to 375°F and toast nuts for 8 minutes while the oven is preheating and lightly grease 13x9 inch pyrex pan. 
2.To make the base, beat margarine with brown sugar, ground flax seed, water, molasses and ginger and then mix in the flour. Pour into the greased pyrex pan and press with your fingers, bake for 10 minutes at 375°F. 
3. In a small sauce pan combine the entire can of coconut milk and the packed brown sugar. Simmer on medium-low heat for 12-14 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the condensing coconut milk doesn't boil over. If a thin film forms, whisk it back into the condensed coconut milk. Final product should be a medium thick milk of a light caramel colour.
4. Combine coconut, apricot, nuts and Ritz crackers in a bowl.
5. Pour 2/3  of the prepared coconut condensed milk on top of the baked base, this should cover the majority of the base.
6. Evenly distribute the coconut, fruit and nut mixture on top and drizzle remaining coconut milk mixture on top of this layer.
7. Bake at 375°F for 20-25 minutes, the coconut milk should be golden brown around the edges.

8. Chill completely (~2h) before cutting.

9. Eat as is for a snack or for breakfast. If serving for dessert, add a scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream on top of a large square cut bar or dust a fine layer of icing sugar on top before serving.  

*if particularly dry, can be soaked in a bit of water for a couple of minutes

*if you like sweet and salty desserts, you can use Ritz original, otherwise use low sodium Ritz crackers

Vegan Oreo Cheesecake

It was Ryan's birthday last week and we wanted to try out making something new. After I was done my exam, I ran to the grocery store, picked up some tofutti, some Oreos and all the other necessities to make one tasty Oreo cheesecake. I love using tofu in cheesecakes, mostly because it makes me feel like I am way healthier than I am. The cake is much lighter than one would expect and because it has all that heart-healthy protein, I don't feel bad about eating cheese cake for breakfast 2 days in a row.  

My oven is not the greatest. It's old and has a stupid knob to choose between using the top or bottom element.
A normal person would remember to put the oven on bake....but I forgot. So the top is bit darker than expected,
but still ridiculously delicious! 

I've used classic Oreos, but you could use any chocolate sandwich cookie. I've made this recipe so that it uses an entire bag of cookies, about 26, but if you only have 24 cookies its not the end of the world, just take away one or two from the crust or filling.
I've also used coconut oil in this recipe. It is not an ingredient that I use that often, mostly because it is easier and cheaper to use margarine, but coconut oil works great here. Because coconut oil solidifies around room temperature, you get a solid crust. Coconut oil, although it is a saturated fat, is one of the healthiest sat-fats because it is composed of short chain saturated fatty acids, which our body doesn't digest the same way as lard or butter. But, if you don't have coconut oil*, you can substitute the coconut oil with margarine and add 2 Tbsp of flour to help bind the crust. 

Ingredients

Crust
18 Oreos, crushed into crumbs or crumbled 
3 tbsp melted coconut oil (*See note above if you don't have coconut oil)

Filling

Last time I made cheesecake I broke my spingform pan, so
this time I ended up using a cake pan. To avoid scratching up
my pan, I lines it with parchment. The little pieces of paper
sticking out were just there to help us hold down the
parchment paper when we were spreading out the crust.
Looks pretty good though, doesn't it?

1 package firm (or extra firm) tofu, rinsed and squeezed out
2 tubs tofutti cream cheese 
2 tbsp soy milk (or other varieties)
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
Scant 1/2 cup white sugar
4 tbsp flour

4 Oreos, chopped or crushed into medium pieces

Topping
4 Oreos, chopped or crushed into medium pieces

Preparation

Crust
In a  food processor, pulse Oreos, or alternatively, seal Oreos in a freezer bag and crush finely with a rolling pin.
In a medium bowl, stir together melted coconut oil and Oreo crumbs with a fork until well mixed.
Poor mixture into a 9" spring form pan (or pie plate) and press down firmly with a fork or spatula, distributing the mixture evenly to about 1/4 inch thick. 

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Filling
In a medium mixing bowl, crumble tofu, and add all other ingredients for the filling, other than the Oreos.
Mix together roughly, then use an immersion blender or transfer the mixture to the food processor or blender, and blend until smooth.
Spread the filling evenly onto the crust.


Topping
Sprinkle the chopped or crushed Oreos evenly on the top of the filling. Lightly push the Oreo peices into the filling, just slightly so they don't fall off while serving.
Bake at 325°F for 70 minutes.
After 70 minutes, turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack before cooling in the fridge.
Let chill for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy!