These are so good. They are more of a treat than a healthy snack but that hasn’t stopped them from disappearing from my kitchen in less than 2 days! Every time I turn my head another muffin goes missing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Recipe adapted from Food52.

Makes 20 muffins

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 egg
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk use just under 1/2 cup milk+1 tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice)
• 1/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp dark spiced rum
• 1/2 cup raisins, *soak in rum/vanilla for 1 hour before using
• 1/3 cup pepitas
• 1 tbsp brown sugar+1 tsp cinnamon for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. in a large bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
3. in a medium bowl whisk together the egg, pumpkin, sugar, coconut oil, molasses and buttermilk.
4. combine the wet ingredients with the dry.
5. add the candied ginger and raisins.
6. stir until just combined. Do not over mix.
7. distribute the batter evenly amongst 2 muffin tins making 20 muffins.
8. sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.
9. bake for 30-33 minutes.

*Note: If you want to make this recipe into a loaf simply add an extra 2 tbsp coconut oil and bake in a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Thanks to Antiques on Queen  for the beautiful dishes used in this post.

A few weeks back I had a large amount of limes come into my possession (thanks dad!). We were spending the week at his place; when I mentioned I needed a lime for a recipe I was planning on making, he came home with the biggest bag of limes I had ever seen. They have now been sitting in my fridge for a while and the thought of them going bad was enough to get me searching for the perfect recipes to use up this overabundance of limes. Here was one of my favourites, recipe adapted from the nourishing gourmet

• 3 eggs
• 1-2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 6 tbsp coconut oil, melted then cooled to room temp
• splash of vanilla

In a medium pot whisk together the eggs, ginger and honey over medium heat. Stir in the lime juice, coconut oil and vanilla. Continue to whisk until the mixture thickens and small bubbles start to pop to the surface. You now have two options, you can leave it as is or scrape through a fine sieve placed over a bowl. It has a stronger ginger flavour if you skip the sieve but it will not be as smooth.

To serve: This tastes great warm or cold. It will thicken once refrigerated and should last up to a week in the fridge. Serve alone or topped with whipped coconut cream or with some fresh meringue.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 over ripe banana, mashed
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the sugar and butter until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, making sure the first egg is fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next. Stir in the baking soda with the sour cream then add to the mixer. Add the pumpkin and banana and mix until combined. Add the flour and baking powder. Mix well. Stir in the vanilla. Pour the batter into the pan.

Topping

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 5 tbsp cold butter
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds

Add the sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter to your food processor. Pulse until combined. Stir in the pumpkin seeds. Drop little chunks of the mixture over the top of the cake batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the cake is browning too fast place a sheet of tinfoil over the top of the pan near the end…after about 45 minutes.

Caramel sauce

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp + 2 tsp cream
• splash of vanilla

In a small pot over medium heat whisk together the sugar, butter and cream until it comes to a boil. Continue to whisk at a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let sit for a minute. Add the vanilla then whisk in the icing sugar. Add more icing sugar if you want a thicker sauce.

To serve: Drizzle caramel sauce over the cake. Cut and enjoy!

*recipe adapted from allrecipes 

And so the pumpkin recipes begin. This granola is packed with that yummy pumpkin spice flavour so many of us crave as the seasons begin to change. It’s great as a snack or try it for breakfast served with a little greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. This recipe makes a large batch. It lasts my family 2 weeks….maybe 3 depending on how much we eat per day.

• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 2 extra ripe bananas
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp allspice
• pinch of cinnamon
• pinch of ginger
• 1/2-1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp coconut oil or safflower oil
• pinch of salt (if desired)
• 1/2 cup dried or candied ginger, chopped into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Place the banana, pumpkin, oil, maple syrup and spices into your food processor and pulse until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix together. Spread the granola onto 2 well greased baking sheets. Bake for 20 minutes. Stir frequently or you will wind up with large chunks, and I don’t mean crispy good chunks…I’m talking about undercooked mushy ones. Bake for another 15 – 20 minutes (again keep tossing the granola around every 5 min or so breaking up any large chunks). Bake until granola is nice and crunchy/golden brown. Remove from oven. Mix with dried ginger then let cool completely before storing at room temp in an air tight glass container. Enjoy! *note: Feel free to swap any of the sun seeds for your fave nuts, try pecans or walnuts!

3 cups sliced radishes

1 cup red onion, sliced in half moons

3 cloves garlic, lightly crush with the side of a knife

1 jalapeno pepper, halved length wise

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp honey

1 -1 1/2 tsp salt

1 cup cold water

In a non-reactive pot, heat the vinegar, sugar, honey and salt over medium heat. Stir until the sugar and salt has dissolved. Stir in the water. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Place the radishes, red onions, garlic and jalapeno in a medium sized jar. Pour the brine (vinegar mixture) over the radish mixture, making sure the radishes are totally submerged in the liquid. Refrigerate. You can eat as early as 1 hour later but I would wait a min of 4 hours but ideally I would wait and let them soak over night. These should last up to one month in the fridge ( as long as the mixture remains totally submerged in the brine )

*Note: There are a million ways to enjoy our pickled friends. Here are a few of my faves- serve in salads, on top of rice dishes, tacos or on sandwiches.

I have been craving this particular breakfast for months now but every time I would go to buy granola my health conscious conscience got the better of me. It seems even at the health food stores granola has a ton of extra crap in it that my body just doesn’t need. I don’t know about you but I don’t want salt  + sugar in my breakfast….at least not all the time. In the end I finally decided to just get over my lazy self and make some granola the way I wanted it.

. 1 cup of oats

. 1/4 cup of steel cut oats

. 1/2 cup of shredded coconut (unsweetened)

. 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds

. 1/2 cup of dried apricots, chopped into small pieces

. 1/2 cup of dried figs, chopped into small pieces

. 2 tbsp of chia, flax or hemp seeds (a mixture of, or you can use just one)

. 2 tbsp of coconut oil, melted

. 2 tbsp of maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 300. Dump everything into a large bowl and mix it together using your hands. Spread the mixture out onto a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight glass jar for a week or two.

To serve: I have been eating this batch of granola with some plain greek yogurt and sliced pineapple but you can pretty much serve it with any fresh fruit!

*Want to mix it up a bit? Try adding any of the following to your granola

. sliced almonds

. walnuts, chopped

. pecans, chopped

. raisins

. dried cherries

I went up to my Dad’s for the week. While I was there he asked if I could try and make him a healthier version of one of his favourite snacks. Brownies. This is what I came up with.

1/3 cup of cocoa

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dates + 3tbsp water

1 15oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tbsp vanilla

3 tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 eggs

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl sift together the cocoa and baking powder. In a food processor add the dates + water, blackbeans, vanilla and coconut oil. Mix until smooth ( if the mixture is too thick add a bit more water ). Add the eggs and pulse until combined. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry. Stir in the chocolate chips, feel free to save a few to sprinkle on top. Pour the batter into a greased 9 inch squair baking pan. Bake for 50 to 55 min. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Refrigorate for a few hours and serve.

*note: These brownies are best served cold. The texture is smooth almost like a truffle when served this way.

1/2 cup gluten free flour

3/4 cups parmesan cheese, grated

2 tsp fresh rosemerry, finely chopped ( or 1 tbsp dried )

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup of chickpeas, mashed

2 eggs, slightly beaten

oil for frying ( I used olive ) but feel free to use whatever oil you like. 

In a medium bowl mix together the flour, parmesan, rosemary, salt and pepper. In a separate bowl mix the pumpkin, chickpeas and eggs. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until combined.

In a deep frying pan heat a generous amount of oil over medium heat. Once the oil is heated drop 3 or 4 large tbsp of batter into the oil. Gently flatten each tbsp. Cook for 3-5 minutes per side or until nice and crispy golden. Remove from pan and lay on some paper towel to cool for a few minutes. Enjoy.

*note: If the fritters are browning too fast, turn the heat down to med-low

3 cups self-rising flour ( or 3 cups all purpose or whole wheat + 1 tbsp baking powder + 3/4 tsp salt )

3 tbsp sugar

1 12oz bottle beer of choice, I used guinness

1 stick (8 tbsp) of butter, melted and divided – trying to be healthy?….you can use 1/2 stick of butter (4tbsp) instead.

*if you want to dress this bread up a bit, try some herbs like rosemary and thyme or some crumbled bacon and 1/2 cup or so of cheese. You could also add a little heat to it with sriracha or some jalapeno peppers…..the options are endless and it’s so easy. Have fun and enjoy!

preheat oven to 350. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour and sugar. Add the beer. Mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan. Pour in half of the melted butter. Spoon the batter into the pan. Pour the remaining butter over the batter. Bake for 60 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Enjoy!

*note: This tastes amazing with a good slather of honey or served alongside your favourite soup or stew.

I woke up this morning with the intention to make these for our “Pancake Tuesday” breakfast but due to Poppy’s urgent desire for 100% of mommy’s attention I wound up making them for lunch instead, giving me a bit more time for morning snuggles.

*Warning these are extremly addictive.

1 1/2 cups of flour-reg. or whole wheat

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tbsp melted coconut oil

In a medium sized bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Make a hole in the center and pour in the milk, oil and egg. Mix. Cut banana into 1/4 inch slices. Dip the banana pieces into the batter and fry for about 3 minutes per side. You want them to be nice and crispy. I topped mine with a little sun seed butter and some coconut spread. Beyond yummy…enjoy!

*note-these are also fantastic alone or with a sprinkle of confectioners sugar.

Tip- you can freeze the finished product. Simply pop them in the toaster oven and serve!