Oil-Free Protein Blueberry Muffins

These scrumptious, colorful muffins are studded with wild blueberries and spiced with cinnamon and cardamom. Thanks to avocado and tofu, they are oil-free, egg-free, and vegan! With less than 170 calories and a whopping 5g of protein per muffin, you can feel good about eating these cruelty-free beauties. Adapted from Gimme Some Oven.

“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside. ”

— Wayne Dyer

Oh, friends. These muffins are soooo delicious. I honestly didn't even think I'd be able to post them in fear that they would be rather dense and need tweaking. Yet, alas they were as soft and creamy as could be and just basically freakin' amazing. They're super easy and pretty healthy too. Let me know if you make them and what you think!

I made them this weekend as part of my procrastination plan. Now that our house building has ceased and it's spring, Todd and I should be delving into the maze of confusion and terror that is landscaping. Mission: LAWN! As currently, we just have... dirt #newhouseproblems I can't wait to plant some flowering crabapple and lilac trees, a ton of yummy veggies, and berry bushes. Alas, I'm trying not to be overwhelmed by it all. I like to say, I inherited the great love of all things plant related from my family... but not the green thumb or necessary know-how to actually do anything besides keep my house plants alive and a few potted herbs, kale, and tomatoes. 

So, to pacify the rather harsh critic that is myself, I've decided just to do not much of anything except drown myself in books. It's an avoidance thing. Why do anything when I don't even know where to start!? This whole story brings me to my actual point: I'm almost finished with a new all-time ever favorite book. It's called Every Heart a Doorway and no, it's not a romance in the least. Check it out and let me know if you do read it or have read it and what you thought! Keep up with what I am reading by taking a peek at my Goodreads account on the right sidebar. Okay, now onto muffins! Which, coincidentally go great with a cup of coffee and a great book :)

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Their tie-dye coloring is the most fun thing ever and for some reason made me uncommonly happy. It's the little things I guess!

FYI, when using silken tofu I really like this brand (I'm not affiliated). It doesn't have a strong tofu taste at all!

Oil-Free Protein Blueberry Muffins

By Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

Published 05/02/2016

These scrumptious, colorful muffins are studded with wild blueberries and spiced with cinnamon and cardamom. Thanks to avocado and tofu, they are oil-free, egg-free, and vegan! With less than 170 calories and a whopping 5g of protein per muffin, you can feel good about eating these cruelty-free beauties. Adapted from Gimme Some Oven.

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cardamom
• 1 medium ripe avocado, pitted and skin discarded
• 1 12oz package of silken firm tofu (must be silken!)
• ¾ cup vegan granulated sugar + extra for sprinkling
• 1 ½ tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 ½ cups frozen blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners. Whisk together the flour through the cardamom in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. With the whisk attachment beat the avocado, tofu, and, sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until very well combined; about 2 minutes. Beat in the flaxseed and vanilla extract to combine. Remove the bowl from the machine and set aside.
3. Stir the frozen blueberries into the dry mixture to coat them. Stir the dry mixture slowly into the wet mixture with a wooden spoon until just combined. The batter will be very thick.
4. Evenly distribute the batter into the 12 muffin liners (they will be filled above the top a little bit) and sprinkle the top of each with a dusting of granulated sugar if you like. Bake for 30 minutes until slightly golden brown around the edges.
5. Remove and allow to cool for about 5 minutes in the pan before placing the muffins on a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Yield: 12

This is my latest song obsession. I love this band! Check my other favorite songs of theirs, American Money, Clouds, and Electric Love. 

What music have you been jamming out to lately?

Chocolate Banana Protein Pie

This is a fantastic clean-eating dessert as well as the perfect post-workout snack! At just over 200 calories and 16 grams of protein per slice (with 3 scoops of powder), this vegan pie is a breeze to make and will definitely satisfy those chocolate cravings in a healthy and nutritious fashion. Keep slices in the freezer for whenever you need a boost! Sweetened only with dates and bananas, there’s no flour or oil in this pie either! 

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I prefer to get my protein from whole foods rather than a protein powder. Adding black beans to smoothies, having lentils instead of rice, and quinoa instead of couscous are all ways I easily incorporate more protein into my diet when I need a boost. However, there are times when I do like to use a protein powder and Todd uses a powder quite regularly.

Source: Sunwarrior.com

After a particularly long run (like my two hour run today), if I'm in a hurry for a quick meal, or just trying to increase the protein value in a meal or smoothie I'll throw a scoop or two of protein powder. I've tried many different brands (the good, the bad, and the ugly) and I only use Sunwarrior now. I use the Classic Plus line. It's a vegan, organic certified, rice protein powder with the addition of pea powder, chia, quinoa, and amaranth to perfectly balance those amino acids. It's also gluten and soy-free which I know can be really important to some folks. Many vegan protein powders just aren't quite as mild tasting as whey powder and can be difficult to incorporate inconspicuously into smoothies and meals...especially if you're not big on the taste, but not this one!

Sunwarrior is the tastiest one I've found to date, though I confess it's a bit sweet for my liking. I don't often drink it alone, but I really enjoy adding it to recipes. My best one yet? This pie. It's delicious, kind of portable, stores long-term, and is the perfect calorie and protein count in one slice for a quick snack. I think you're going to really like it!

Chocolate Banana Protein Pie

Recipe by Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

This is a fantastic clean-eating dessert as well as the perfect post-workout snack! At just over 200 calories and 16 grams of protein per slice (with 3 scoops of powder), this vegan pie is a breeze to make and will definitely satisfy those chocolate cravings in a healthy and nutritious fashion. Keep slices in the freezer for whenever you need a boost! Sweetened only with dates and bananas, there’s no flour or oil in this pie either!

Yield: 8 slices of pie

Ingredients

• -Crust-
• ½ cup hazelnut meal (or ½ cup hazelnuts blitzed in the food processor)
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• 6 medjool dates, pitted
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• -Filling-
• 5 medium bananas, sliced and frozen
• 1 cup unsweetened plain, non-dairy milk
• ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-3 scoops of SunWarrior Chocolate Classic Plus Protein Powder, to taste
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp xanthan gum (optional, but recommended)
• pinch of kosher salt
• 1 square of semi-sweet chocolate, for garnish (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. In a food processor, add all the crust ingredients and process for about 3 minutes. When pinched between your fingers, the mixture should stick together.
2. Transfer to a 9 inch spring-form tart pan and press into the bottom of the pan using your fingers.
3. Clean out the processor bowl and add in all of the filling ingredients. Process for about 5 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary, until the mixture is smooth and creamy with no lumps.
4. Transfer to the pan and even out the top with a spatula. Using a vegetable peeler, scrape the side of a square of chocolate to add a sprinkling of chocolate shavings on top, if you like. Cover with plastic wrap and freezer for at least 30 minutes before slicing into 8 slices. Keep stored in the freezer; thaw about 10 minutes before serving (or however long you’d like depending on the desired texture).

*DISCLAIMER*  PRODUCE ON PARADE IS A PERSONAL BLOG WRITTEN AND EDITED BY MYSELF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. MY REVIEWS ARE COMPLETELY BASED ON MY OWN OPINION OF THE PRODUCT REVIEWED. THESE PRODUCTS WERE SUPPLIED TO ME AS GIFTS TO TEST AND REVIEW. OTHERWISE, IF I MENTION A COMPANY BY NAME AND THERE IS NO DISCLAIMER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST, I AM MERELY WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING I LIKE, PURCHASE AND/OR USE. THE FACT THAT I DO RECEIVE A PRODUCT AS A GIFT TO TEST AND REVIEW, WILL NEVER POSITIVELY INFLUENCE THE CONTENT MADE IN THIS POST.

Dark Chocolate Protein Fudge & The Fed Up Challenge

This delicious, rich fudge is full of protein thanks to a little help from good ol' black beans and peanut butter, and is sweetened with dates! No added sugar, maple syrup, or agave nectar here, folks. You won't believe how incredible this fudge is. It's a new staple snack/dessert in our home and the perfect thing to grab for a healthy breakfast on the go. Best yet, it's ready in 35 minutes. Slightly adapted from Peachy Plate.

You know the things that inevitably change your life for the better? Like seriously for the better? They don't happen all that often, or as often as I'd like. Most recently though was creating a Pandora radio station based on Come And Get Your Love by Redbone (think Guardians of the Galaxy). Another was replacing paper towels and mopping pads with reuseable microfiber clothes. Goodbye paper towels. And now, it's this fudge. An odd assortment, I agree, but it is what it is.

“Hold your head! You were not made for failure, you were made for victory. Go forward with joyful confidence. ”

— George Eliot

I have an insane sweet tooth. Sugar is my vice. Speaking of which, Todd and I watched the documentary Fed Up about a week ago. It basically explains how sugar is added to everything (bagels, ketchup, flour tortillas, salsa, etc.) and how cocaine addicted rats (what kind of monsters would do such a thing?), when provided with both cocaine water and sugar water...went for the sugar. Yikes! That shit's in errything, but it's not really shocking. People already know this, right? This should not be a surprise.

Anyways, at the end of the film Katie Couric convinces you to do their 10-Day Fed Up Challenge. No added sugars, no exceptions, no mercy! Not even artificial or zero-calorie sweeteners (goodbye for now, Zevia...though I might have used a few drops of liquid stevia in emergencies...namely coffee). Now, I know added sugar is everything but I don't really care. I need the stuff. Suffice to say I had a mild panic attack when Todd excitedly gasped, "We should do the challenge!" Excuse me, what? What is this world coming to when my junk-food loving husband is willing to give up sugar completely for 10 days. "Oh, yea...well...only if you really want to honey." I managed through clenched teeth and frightened eyes. Could I do this challenge? I guess I was about to find out. 

We only have a few days left. The gig is up on Monday and this girl needs her Silk coffee creamer. Soymilk and a few drops of stevia with maple extract can only be so acceptable*. However, I can't say I didn't come through without a few changed behaviors. I know I'll think twice about which salsa I pick up. Maybe I'll use less sugar in my homemade bread and replace granulated sugar with date sugar in my baked goods, etc. It wouldn't be true to tell you that the challenge really didn't affect me. Though I confess, I honestly thought it would change nothing. *not at all acceptable

However, after five days I desperately needed some sweets. Sweets withdrawal. Tea just wasn't cutting it. Feeling very burnt-out creatively (after finishing up the  manuscript for the cookbook) I decided not to experiment too much and peruse the internet for flour-free (did I mention you're not to have white flour either?), no sugar added (including natural sweeteners!) desserts. I finally landed on a fudge that I had actually already been wanting to make since I came across it several months ago on Peachy Plate. 

Let me first say that I'm almost always unimpressed by such "whole-food" desserts, as they usually end up absolutely dreadful. I've had my fair share of clean-eating dessert run-ins mind you. Every once and awhile I'll decide I absolutely eat entirely too much chocolate, desserts, you name it and force myself to go a on a dessert-clean-eating trip. It usually doesn't end well. Cardboard cookies, crumbly brownies, tasteless muffins, etc.

But this  is different. I won't tell you it's super sweet and sugary and melt-in-your-mouth like regular fudge. It's not really fair to compare the two. But it does have a wonderfully smooth texture, it's rich, slightly sweet, and full of that craveable, deep chocolate flavor. My favorite thing is that it's healthy enough to eat on the regular (as a daily snack). So, I guess it doesn't solve my biggest food issue...eating dessert errryday. Oh well. I'm still tickled pink about this fudge. Just look at those stats! And no, I don't normally calculate the nutritional information for my meals but I couldn't resist finding out how much protein and fiber were in these bad boys. Eat up!

Dark Chocolate Protein Fudge

Recipe by Katie @ Produce On Parade

This delicious, rich fudge is full of protein thanks to a little help from good ol' black beans and peanut butter, and is sweetened with dates! No added sugar, maple syrup, or agave nectar here, folks. You won't believe how incredible this fudge is. It's a new staple snack/dessert in our home and the perfect thing to grab for a healthy breakfast on the go. Best yet, it's ready in 35 minutes. Slightly adapted from Peachy Plate.

Total time: 35 minutes

Yield: 8 large squares

Calories per serving: 155

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup (60g) creamy peanut butter
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup (90g) pitted Medjool dates
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• two pinches of kosher sea salt
• 1/2 tsp instant, freeze-dried coffee (optional)
• 6 drops liquid stevia (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Add everything to a food processor and process until super smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary. If your dates are a bit old and not very soft anymore, soak them in enough boiling water to cover for about 10-20 minutes, then drain.
2. Transfer the fudge to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and smooth out the top with a spatula so it's even.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing into 8 squares. Serve chilled. Store in an airtight container the fridge. One large square has 155 calories, 7 g fat, 19 g carbs, 4.5 g fiber, 7 g natural sugar, 4 g protein.

Information For The Day

Read all about how our modern lives are totally messing us up. For real though, you need to learn about gut microbiomes. Get the scoop, here, from NPR. "Looks like many of us don't have the right stomach for a paleo diet. Literally." Ditch the paleo already.