Apple Pie Muffins

I'm very excited about these muffins.  They are moist, fluffy, & delicious and soooooo easy to make.  It's basically a dump-it-all-in the blender kind of recipe, making it the easiest muffin recipe you've ever made.  With your left over time, enjoy relaxing with a muffin in one hand and a cup of tea in the next, or perhaps you'll just grab one as you head out the door in the morning.  

Since all the ingredients are plant-based and there's no raw egg to worry about,  you can taste the batter as you go and adjust to your personal sweetness. I used 6 medjool dates, feel free to add more dates or less dates to achieve your personal sweetness level. 

As all FastBeets recipes are, its foolproof.  Meaning that you won't mess it up even if you run short on an ingredient or are heavy handed with another.  

The Low Down

These muffins are loaded with fiber, protein, and healthy fats.  They will really keep you full and satisfied.  Plus they satisfy like a dessert so its a win-win. 

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups oatbran
• .5 cup raw almonds
• .5 cup apple butter 
• .5 cup almond butter
• .5 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp Acv
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• 1 apple cut into thin and small slices (or julienned) 
• 1 -1.5 cups almond milk 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 6 dates (add more or less dates depending on your personal sweet tooth

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. In a high-powered blender add oatbran and almonds.  Blend until you get a flour.  
3. Add all other ingredients to the blender except the apple slices, blend until a smooth batter is formed.  You may need to add a tad bit more milk if it's not blending smoothly. 
4. Stir in apples. 
5. Spoon batter onto muffin tins and bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Nutritional Info Per Muffin:

Calories 129

• Fat 6grams
• Cholesterol 0
• Sodium 22
• Carbs 16g
• Fiber 3g
• Protein 4g
• Sugar 8g

I'm so glad you're making a FastBeets recipe! Tag me in a pic of your FastBeets Apple Pie Muffins.  I can't wait to see your creation!

xx, SS

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

A real winner.  This is a new and improved recipe for this holiday season.  And the verdict came in with glowing reviews.  Probably the best bars we've made to date. It's healthy, delicious, and guilt-free.  Could you really ask for more?

Try it for dessert, a snack, or a healthy on-the-go breakfast.  It's all good and yummy. 

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups oat bran blended to flour
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1 cup almond or cashew milk 
• 2 banana 
• 1/2 cup pitted dates 
• 1 tsp - 1.5 tsp pumpkin spice 
• 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon 
• 1 tsp baking soda 
• Generous handfuls of chocolate chips.  I use Lily's brand stevia sweetened vegan chocolate chips. 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend oat bran in a blender till a flour forms. 
3. Blend all other ingredients. 
4. Mix in handfuls of chocolate chips and stir into batter. 
5. Place batter in a parchment paper lined baking pan.
6. Bake at 350 for 35 mins or until toothpick comes out clean 

Chocolate-Dipped-Strawberries Breakfast Cake

Please excuse the big photo of my head....

I was conducting a workshop this week on how to make quick meals.  So the night before I quickly made a batch of my famous Mimi's bars.  In a snap, I decided to make another flavor as well that was equally as healthy.  Enter these Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Breakfast Bar.  The ingredients were all things I had lying around and the prep work was ridiculously simple.  

The real shocker was when they were nearly all eaten half way through the workshop.  They were definitely a hit!

“Word to the Wise: Oats are generally heavily sprayed with pesticides, do yourself a favor and purchase organic oats and oatbran. ”

What I love about them (in addition to how easy and delicious they are), is is that they are full of fiber.  Oat bran, which by now, you know I eat daily, is so full of really good for you fiber and protein.  It makes a wonderful on-the-go breakfast that keeps your body healthy. 

 These bars are wonderful for either breakfast or a healthy dessert.  They are also intensely moist, which I personally love!

It was a seamless process to make.  Toss in blender, then bake.  Full recipe deets below. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 cups raw almonds (can sub almond butter or almond flour)
• 2.5 cups oatbran 
• 2 heaping tablespoons coconut butter 
• 3 ripe bananas 
• 1 handful of pitted dates
• 1 pack frozen strawberries 
• 1-2 cups of plant based milk
• 1 pack frozen raspberries (or another pack of frozen strawberries, bur raspberries work best)
• 1 cup sugar free chocolate chips ( I used stevia sweetened Lily's brand chocolate chips)
• OPTIONAL: coconut flakes for topping

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Blend almonds in a high speed blender until a powder is formed. 
3. Throw everything else except the raspberries and the chocolate chips in the blender. 
4. Blend until smooth.  Adjust the amount of milk until you get desired consistency.  More milk will yield more baking time and more moisture in the bars. 
5. Toss in chocolate chips and frozen raspberries.  Mix into batter. 
6. (Optional) Top the batter with coconut flakes. 
7. Throw batter onto a parchment paper lined baking pan and into oven.  Remove from heat when the outside is perfectly cooked and the inside is cooked but still slightly moist.  (About 40 minutes). 
8. When cooled, cut into bars and eat!

As with all FastBeets Recipes, please use your very own tastebuds in measuring the amounts of each ingredient.  You can't go wrong with how much of anything you add or subtract.  

I'm so happy you're making one of my quick + healthy recipes! Please make sure you share it on Instagram and tag @FastBeets so I can see your masterpiece or leave a comment below with any questions! 

xx, SS

Tart Raspberry Granola Cake with Almond Honey Drizzle

The Low Down

A couple things you need to know about this alleged "cake": (can you call something cake when it is this good for you?)

1. The Taste Test: I force fed this to my family.  They love me so they have no choice but to taste test what I make.  Good news tho!  They loved it so you will too. I even caught a couple of them taking some home for breakfast the next day. So basicially, its a real winner.  

2. Health Status: This "cake" falls under the category of better for you than last night's dinner and probably tomorrow's breakfast. Removing all associated guilt with the term - cake.  It's chock full of really good for you fats from the almonds, protein from the oats & almonds, and tons of fiber from all of the ingredients. It's aimed at keeping your waistline slim, your heart healthy, and your inflammation a thing of the past.  It travels well and makes for a wonderful breakfast bar. 

3. You Decide: Its one of the easiest things you can make.  I even broke down 3 different ways to make it (below), so that you decide just how easy making this cake will be. 

4. Frozen for Convenience: I use frozen raspberries, because I always have them in my freezer.  If you wanna use fresh, go for it.  It won't make a big difference. 

5.  Have Fun: This recipe (like all the FastBeets recipes) requires you to have fun making it.  You don't need to fuss about having exactly the right amount of any of the ingredients.  In fact, I'm pretty sure if you skip one of the ingredients things will still be OK.  It is designed to be fool-proof.  So you can't really mess it up.  Its not chemistry or rocket science and you don't need a degree in pastry baking to be able to do it.  As long as you can turn a spatula in a bowl, you've got this. 

You can do this recipes in 3 different ways:  

1. Throw everything except the raspberries into a blender blend it till you get a smooth batter, then add the raspberries, pop into a cake pan and throw it into the oven.
2. Use pre-made almond flour and pre-made date paste instead of blending the almonds and dates.  Throw all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Then transfer to cake plate and throw into the oven. Although making your own almond flour will make it taste slightly better, this is by far the fastest way. 
3. Blend just the almonds into an almond flour, and blend the dates for a quick and fresh date paste. Then transfer to a bowl, mix everything together and pop into the oven. 

This 3rd method will provide you with the best results and my favorite consistency.  The 1st method is the easiest, and will yield a much different consistency, that being a very moist almost gooey like center.  The 2nd one has the best consistency, and is super easy since you won't need a blender, but using fresh almonds and dates in my opinion is always best when you can.

This is YOUR cake though, so you do YOU.  Do whatever is easier for you and that you have time for.  You can't go wrong with any of the methods. 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup almonds (or almond flour)
• 1.5 cups oat bran
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup coconut butter
• 1/4 cup tart cherry butter
• 1/2 bag of frozen raspberries
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 6 medjool dates (pits removed) or more if you need it sweeter
• 2 cups of plant-based milk (or water)

Method

1. Preheat over to 350 (or 450 if you're in a rush)
2. In a high speed blender, blend the almonds until you get a flour like consistency. 
3. Place the almond flour, baking powder, & oat bran in a bowl and mix well. 
4. In high speed blender, blend dates with 1 cup of almond milk until smooth.
5. Add the date liquid, the other cup of almond milk, the cherry butter, the coconut butter and the lemon juice to bowl and mix well. 
6. Add in the frozen raspberries.  Fold them in gently.  Note, they will fall apart a bit in the batter due to the different temperatures.  This is okay and makes the batter taste more raspberry like. 
7. Add parchment paper to a baking tray and pour ingredients in.  You may split the batter in two trays for a thinner cake and a faster cooking time. 
8. Cook in oven for 30 minutes at 350 or 20 minutes at 450 if the batter is split. 

Almond Honey Drizzle

For Almond Honey Drizzle, place equal parts raw honey and equal parts almond butter in a small bowl.  About two tablespoons each. Mix well. Drizzle to top of cake.