Showing posts with label ginger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ginger. Show all posts
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Blackberry Lemon Ginger Muffins Vegan And Gluten Free
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| Blackberries blend beautifully with lemon and crystallized ginger. Follow Foods For Long Life on FACEBOOK ! |
Blackberries Everywhere!
If you live anywhere near blackberries, you know that they grow like weeds and around this time of year, they are everywhere! We have some growing all along a trail near our house which we occasionally nibble on but this year Doug discovered blackberries growing through our back fence. How exciting to have these healthful little berries right there for the picking!
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| Blackberries growing through our backyard fence! |
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One cup of these little jewels are only 62 calories. They provide half the RDA of vitamin C and manganese and have 8 grams of fiber! Blackberries are rich in polyphenols and anthocyanins and are very high on the ORAC scale which measures antioxidant properties. |
Gluten Free Baking
After learning a lot about the effects of gluten on the body from Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzos lecture at the Raw Health Expo, I started to develop more gluten free recipes. Since we love making fresh muffins and other baked goods, I quickly had to find a substitute for wheat flour. Its hard enough to make vegan baked goods without butter or eggs, so I thought this was going to be an even greater challenge. But luckily, I found Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour . It works much better when you add Xanthan gum to the recipe. If you dont want to make the muffins gluten free, you can substitute your normal flour in this recipe (I suggest white whole wheat) and eliminate the xanthan gum.
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| For best results, add xanthan gum to gluten free flour. For cookies, add 1/4 tsp xanthan gum per cup of GF flour. For cakes, add 1/2 tsp per cup of GF flour. For muffins/quick breads, add 3/4 tsp per cup of GF flour. For breads, add 1 to 1 1/2 tsp per cup of GF flour. For pizza crust, use 2 tsp per cup of GF flour. |
Blackberries, Lemon and Ginger
I love crystallized ginger. I pop a few pieces in my mouth, from time to time, like they were candy. So I thought theyd match well with the tartness of blackberries. In this recipe, I also add a little lemon zest to bring out the flavors even more.
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| Penseys is my favorite crystallized ginger. Its minced into tiny pieces, each delicately coated in sugar. |
Blackberry Lemon Ginger Muffins
[Vegan, Gluten Free]
makes 12 muffins
Earth balance for greasing muffin pan
2 cups Bobs Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour *
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum *
2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
1 tablespoon aluminum free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup organic cane sugar or Sucanat
zest from one lemon
2/3 cup apple sauce
3/4 cup gluten free soy milk
1 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh blackberries
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, minced
* For non-gluten free muffins, substitute either white whole wheat or regular multi-purpose flour for the gluten free flour and eliminate the xanthan gum.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Generously grease a muffin tin with a vegan buttery spread like Earth Balance and set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, xanthan gum, flaxseeds, baking powder, salt and sugar and stir until combined.
In another bowl, mix lemon zest, apple sauce, soy milk, vanilla extract and olive oil. Blend with a fork, whisk or hand beater until combined.
Add to the flour mixture and stir until well blended.
Gently fold in the blackberries and crystallized ginger until they are uniformly distributed.
Scoop batter into muffin tins with a spoon and bake for 24 minutes at 350 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean when placing it in the middle of the muffins.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes.
Take a butter knife and gently go around the edge of each muffin. Remove muffins from pan.
Serve warm or place on rack until cool before storing them.
Per muffin: 163.1 calories, 5.8 g fat, 0.7 g saturated fat, 2.8 g protein, 27.9 g carbohydrates and 3.5 g dietary fiber.
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| Gently fold blackberries and crystallized ginger into the batter. |
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| Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Serve warm! |
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Low Calorie Vegan And Gluten Free Zucchini And Turnip Soup With Fresh Ginger Perfect For Weight Loss!
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| Zucchini turnip soup has less than 50 calories per cup! Follow Foods For Long Life on FACEBOOK . |
Turnips
Have you ever eaten a turnip? Theyre a delicious root vegetable which when peeled looks a lot like a potato but with fewer calories and carbohydrates. Turnips have a slightly bitter taste and add a wonderful and interesting flavor to soups. You can also mash them up like potatoes or roast them with a little olive oil and salt.
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| Turnips are a great source of fiber, vitamin C and manganese and are also a good source of vitamin B6, folate, calcium, potassium and copper. |
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| Peeled turnips look like potatoes. Potatoes have 116 calories per cup and 28 g of carbohydrates. Turnips have only 36 calories and 8 g of carbohydrates! |
Great Soup for Weight Loss!
This soup uses up lots of that garden zucchini. Its quick and easy to make with a few simple ingredients and blends up into a delicious, low calorie, low fat soup. Eating a 45 calorie cup of this soup before a meal will definitely curb your appetite. Or make a whole meal of it with a 2-cup serving and a mixed green salad.
Zucchini and Turnip Soup
Vegan, Gluten Free
[makes 8 cups]
8 cups diced zucchini
4 cups peeled and diced turnips
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 cups water
1 large Rapunzel vegan vegetable bouillon cube
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste if needed
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Place the zucchini, turnips, garlic, ginger, water, bouillon cube and bay leaf in a large pot. Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium and cook, partially covered, until the vegetables are soft.
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| After vegetables soften, remove bay leaf and blend. |
Remove the bay leaf and place the soup in a blender and blend until smooth. If you dont have a high-speed blender, make sure you mince the ginger very small.
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| Place in a blender. |
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| Blend until smooth. |
Adjust for salt (remember many bouillon cubes already contain a lot of salt) and add freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with additional freshly ground black pepper if desired.
Per cup: 45 calories, 0.5 g fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 2.6 g protein, 8.6 g carbohydrates, 2.1 g dietary fiber and 309 mg sodium.
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