Wild Black Rice & Edamame Salad

I don't know how many of you have heard of or watched the show "Chopped." To say that my husband loves it is an understatement, so by default I end up watching it with him. Not that it's boring or lame, I just am not so much a TV person. But in all honesty, it's actually a pretty great time—definitely inspiring and nail-biting to watch talented chefs create not only edible but gourmet dishes from three sometimes-obscure ingredients.

Well, yesterday I found myself at home without a car and the perfect opportunity to pretend I was on "Chopped." I glory in a good challenge, especially when it means being creative with what I already have. So I said, "Okay, Katie. Come up with dinner using only the ingredients in this house." (No cheating and running over to the neighbor's to borrow a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.) And I promise, there really wasn't much! I'd gone to Costco the day before and bought coconut oil and grapefruit (and a 2-year supply of kitchen trash bags!), but I hadn't made it to the grocery store after we'd been out of town all weekend.

I looked in our pantry and saw a small bag of wild BLACK rice I'd bought a few months ago just to give it a try, and it definitely called out to me! I'd been wanting to try it. Ingredient number 1. (Ingredients number 2 and 3 were Brussels Sprouts and Rosemary, but those ended up in a veggie side dish and in the main course.)

I googled "wild black rice" recipes and came upon this amazing dish! It's not only pleasing to the eye but also to the tastebuds! I made a few changes to make it my own, as I highly recommend you do too. It's way more fun to cook when you put your personal stamp on your food!

Ingredients

1 tablespoons white sesame seeds

2 cups cooked wild black rice or regular wild rice (This was about 1 cup uncooked rice)

About 1/8 cup red onion, diced (I just cut a 1/2-inch slice from the middle of the onion and then chopped. Use a shallot if you have that instead.)

1 cup shelled edamame

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced small

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/8 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place the sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat and toast, stirring often, until golden brown. About 5 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a large bowl.

2. Add the rice, onion, edamame, carrots, and cranberries to the bowl and toss.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, and a few shakes (or cranks) of salt and pepper. Pour over the mixture in the large bowl and toss. Taste to see if it needs more salt, pepper, or vinegar.

4. Cover and chill for at least one hour before eating.

5. Make enough for lunch tomorrow!

Lentil Veggie Marinara with Angel Hair Pasta

This is a delicious hearty marinara packed with protein from the lentils. It's both gluten free and vegan, which makes my body super happy! It's also pretty darn tastey, which makes my mouth happy.

The first time I made this dish I created a smaller batch, so this time around I didn't hold back. I've honestly been eating this pasta for lunch every day this week, and I'm not yet sick of it. Pretty astonishing. Granted, I don't want it to go to waste either—lots of hard work and goodness down the drain—so part of me is wishing I'd frozen some or taken some to the neighbors. PS, I love sprinkling feta over top—yum!

Serves 8

1 cup uncooked brown lentils
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 tomato, diced
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 tablespoons homemade Italian seasoning (click here for recipe)
Gluten-free brown rice angel hair pasta, cooked (or any pasta or veggie noodles of your choice—we love spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles)

To cook the lentils, put lentils, water, and salt in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Lower to simmer and cook with the lid off for 45 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. The water will be nearly gone.

Add oil to a large skillet and sauté garlic and onion. Once the onions are soft, add bell pepper. Cook for another few minutes. Then add tomato, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and cooked lentils. Let it simmer until the bell pepper are cooked as thoroughly as you like.

Spoon over top a steaming plate full of pasta. (Okay, not literally a whole plate full, because that would not be a very balanced "green" meal, so maybe fill half your plate with a spinach or kale salad.)

Horchata Rice Pudding

I found this recipe in Veg News magazine and then slightly tweaked it to make it my own. It's great warm or chilled. Promise to share!

serves 6

3 cups rice milk
2 cups coconut milk
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated cardamom
6 tablespoons raisins, toasted unsweetened coconut chips, for garnish (optional)

1. In a large saucepan over high heat, combine rice milk, coconut milk, rice, and syrup, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 30 to 40 minutes, or until rice is soft and mixture has a thick, pudding-like consistency.

2. Stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and cardamom. Remove from heat. Serve warm or cold, topped with raisins or coconut chips. (I prefer it without toppings.)

Homemade Italian Seasoning

This blend is some marvelous stuff. We toss it in salsa, stir it into veggies, sprinkle it into pasta salad, and add it to marinara. You're going to love having a stash of this in your cupboard or pantry. It's a great go-to seasoning to replace any prepackaged Italian seasonings that may have unwanted fillers.

1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
1 tablespoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
2 tablespoons sea salt

I found I was going through this amount really fast, so I like to double this recipe.

Vegetable Laksa

May this curry find its way into your happy little heart . . . and belly. It is definitely one of our new favorites! Will and I didn't quite bond with the rice noodles like we'd hoped (as seen in this photo), but we loved the Vegetable Laksa over brown rice. The next time I make this recipe my plan is to either use Singapore rice noodles, which are much thinner than these Pad Thai rice noodles, or cook the rice noodles longer so that they're softer—they were too stiff to enjoy in the same bite with the veggies and curry.

3/4 pound (350 grams) rice noodles, Singapore noodles, or brown rice, cooked according to package
2 tablespoons coconut oil
5 tablespoons Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste
1 (14.5 oz.) can vegetable broth
3/4 cup carrots, sliced into batons
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup red bell pepper, sliced into strips
3/4 cup small zucchini, sliced into batons
1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari*
Cilantro, chopped

1. Place coconut oil in frying pan and add curry. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
2. Add vegetable broth and carrots, and bring to a boil. Cover and let cook for 1minute.
3. Add coconut milk, zucchini, and red bell pepper, and cook until tender.
4. Remove from heat. Add soy sauce and cilantro.
5. Pour over noodles or rice and serve.

*If you are making this recipe gluten free, make sure you use gluten-free soy sauce.

Honey Cornbread Muffins (and, yes, they are gluten free!)

I feel like I'm constantly on a quest for gluten-free recipes for waffles, pancakes, muffins, breads, etc. Most of them I just don't rave about. It's always a thrill when I create something in the kitchen that is made with a flour other than wheat that actually tastes delicious, is light and fluffy, and is a similar consistency to the wheat version! Are you with me? Well, tonight I present to you a very tasty cornbread muffin recipe that literally tastes like it came from the comfort of your mama's kitchen.

Makes 18 muffins

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup brown rice flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup unrefined cane sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup coconut milk
2 medium eggs
3 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup raw honey*

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.
3. In a separate large bowl mix together milk, eggs, apple sauce, coconut oil, and honey.
4. Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, stirring to combine.
5. Place paper muffin liners in muffin tins and divide the muffin batter evenly.
6. Bake 15 minutes or until golden.

*Suggestion: If you love spreading honey over your cornbread or you know your family will still want to put honey on top of these muffins, consider eliminating the honey from the batter or at least lessening it. The muffins are sweet and delicious without needing honey spread over top.

Massaman Curry

Thanks to Kenny, one of my past authors who first introduced me to the unforgettable Massaman Curry at a small Thai place in American Fork, and even more thanks to Sam, my best friend, for passing on the actual recipe for Massaman Curry to make it for dinner any time we want. We love it!

 

Massaman Curry

2 tablespoons coconut oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste
1 small piece ginger (approx. 3/4-inch thick), minced
3 tablespoons sucanat brown sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/3 cup organic peanut butter (or sun butter if you're allergic to nuts)
1/2 cup cubed sweet potatoes (the white ones)
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup fresh green beans
1/2 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped cauliflower
2 (13.5 ounce) cans coconut milk
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Steamed brown rice

Optional:
1. Heat coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in curry paste and ginger. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in sucanat, fish sauce, peanut or sun butter, sweet potato, carrots, green beans, and then the coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Add broccoli and cauliflower, and cook until tender, about 10 more minutes.

3. Add lime juice and cook for an additional 5 minutes before serving. Serve over brown rice.

Just a heads-up: If you make this recipe without the sweet potatoes, make sure you not only replace them with another veggie but add in some other extra veggies. The potatoes absorb some of the sauce, so when you nix the potatoes there's a lot more sauce than usual.

La arepa...both exotic and gluten-free

I was first introduced to the arepa 11 years ago when I moved to Venezuela. I lived there for a year, and from the time I arrived to the time I left I went from eating 1 of these bad boys a day to eating up to 3 or 4! It's an understatement to say I fell in love.

In the last few years I started making arepas a lot more frequently. When I became allergic to gluten 2 1/2 years ago, the arepa became an easy and safe go-to since it's made from corn flour. And my food-connoisseur of a husband has declared the arepa tasty enough to eat on a weekly basis, so after being married only 2 months I'd say we've had arepas 4 or 5 times for either lunch or dinner.

Where can you buy arepa mix? A local Latin market or even your local grocery store. I was pleasantly surprised to find some at Target!

What ingredients do you need to make an arepa? 
2 1/2 cups filtered water
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups harina P.A.N. arepa mix
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil

What do you put inside an arepa?
Tuna mixture: tuna w/ chopped onions, tomatoes, and cilantro w/ a little garlic salt, mayo, and lettuce, spinach, or beet greens.
Tuna mixture: tuna w/ chopped kale and purple cabbage w/ a little garlic salt and mayo.
Replace mayo with veganaise, guacamole, or smashed plain avocado.
Organic nut butter and raw honey.
Other sandwich condiments of your choosing—some people love butter and cheese, others love a good ole turkey arepa w/ lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

How do you make an arepa? 
1. Pour water into a bowl and add salt.
2. Pour arepa mix into water and squish and knead together with your hand. (The water soaks in fairly quickly, so it's better to have the dough more wet than dry.)
3. Separate dough and form into 4 balls.
4. Then one at a time gently flatten the balls into your hand to form a patty, similar to forming a hamburger patty.
5. Warm some coconut oil or olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat.
5. Gently place the patties into the frying pan. Flip when golden brown.
6. Remove from heat when both sides are golden and let cool for a few minutes.
7. Using a knife, slice the arepa in half, forming a pocket. Sometimes the arepa separates completely, pulling apart and making it hard to keep it as a pocket, which is fine—it'll be more like a hamburger bun then with a top and a bottom. The dough on the inside of the arepa will be soft and sticky, so just in case you think it's not totally cooked, it is.
8. Add your choice of fillers.

I will always be grateful to Venezuela for introducing me to the deliciously wide-open world of arepas! Let me know what other great combinations you discover to put in your arepa.

Energy Balls for a Sweet Healthy Snack

A fast, easy snack that is packed full of healthy goodness. A no-bake cookie sprinkled with ground flax seed, packed together with nut butter (or sun butter in our case, for Will's nut allergy), and sweetened with raw honey and carob chips. This is definitely our top go-to sweet source of enjoyment, with the recipe sticky-noted on our cupboard.

1 cup dry oats (gluten-free for those of you who choose)
2/3 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup nut butter (I love organic almond butter, but sun butter works great for nut allergies, as it's made with sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed (We grind our flax seed in our Blendtec.)
1/3 cup raw honey or maple syrup (The last few times I've used all-natural syrup and it's really good too!)
1/3 cup carob chips (or dried fruit if you prefer)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir it all together. It's a pretty good bicep workout, so plan ahead and on the day you make these maybe don't work out your right arm when you go to the gym. Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes and then roll into balls. If the balls don't stick together very well, next time add a little less oats or a little more nut butter or honey. We roll ours into balls that are about 1-inch in diameter, which makes about 20 energy balls.

Recipes Worth the Wait: Banana Oatmeal Smoothie and Roasted Veggie Burritos

It's been so long, where do I begin? Maybe with a recipe or two? That's easy enough and will quickly bring you into my new married life where I am feeding two instead of just one. Here are two of the hits so far:

Banana Oatmeal Smoothie
serves 2

1/4 cup nondairy milk (We've been using coconut milk.)
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (preferably honey flavored)
2 bananas
1/2 cup cooked oatmeal
Dash of cinnamon and cardamom—we love cardamom!
2 cups ice cubes

Add ingredients to blender in the order listed. Use a turbo blender if you have one, as the ice can be hard on a standard blender. Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable and Black Bean Burritos
serves 12

I found this recipe (with slight changes) on tasty kitchen.com, and we loved it. The only thing is it ended up making enough for about 18 rather than 6. My guess is that our tortillas were smaller than what the original creator used and maybe my red onion and sweet potatoes were larger. Who knows, but I'm just warning you that you may end up with enough food to feed the neighborhood. I also changed the cooking times since the sweet potatoes were still crunchy for us.

2 orange sweet potatoes, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed (or 2 cups black beans, soaked and cooked)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 cups shredded organic cheddar (optional)
2 packages Rudi's gluten-free tortillas or corn tortillas (or whole wheat tortillas if you eat gluten)
Extra olive oil or coconut oil for greasing
Aluminum foil, torn into individual pieces to wrap around each burrito

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place all chopped veggies in a 9 x 13 baking dish. In a small bowl combine spices and mix. Then sprinkle over veggies and stir to evenly distribute. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring half way through.

Add black beans, cilantro, and lime to veggies and stir. At this point you can store mixture in the refrigerator if you want to make the burritos later.

Lower oven heat to 375 degrees. Warm tortillas in a skillet or griddle, and place two large spoonfuls of veggies in each tortilla. Top with a handful of cheese. Wrap the tortilla burrito style so that all the goodies stay inside. Make sure not to add too many veggies or the tortilla won't stay closed. (If you're using corn tortillas, you'll probably only be able to fit one spoonful of veggies in the tortilla and will need to eat it taco style.) Place burritos seam side down on individual pieces of aluminum foil and wrap around burrito. Consider rubbing the foil with olive oil or coconut oil to keep the tortilla from sticking. Place burritos in a clean 9 x 13 pan or other baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes.

This recipe is great because you can wrap all the burritos, baking the ones you're going to eat right then and refrigerating the others you want to save for later.

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

1 tsp Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked Quinoa
1 1/2 cups Vegetable broth
1 tsp ground Cumin
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup frozen Corn kernels
2 (15 oz) cans Black beans, rinsed and drained (would be healthier to make your own)
1/2 cup chopped fresh Cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
2. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated thoroughly.
4. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Enjoy!

Roasted Summer Squash

This recipe is easy, relatively fast (fast prep, semi-fast bake time), and delicious. Can't beat that. Oh, and it's healthy.

Yellow squash
Cloves garlic, chopped
Thyme
Rosemary
Red pepper flakes
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Coconut oil or olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Cut the squash lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds to create a small cavity in the center.

2. Lightly grease a baking dish or pan with coconut oil and place squash on top.

3. Into each squash half, put a little of each of the seasonings to taste—it's all up to your tastebuds. I sprinkle on a little of everything, but the red pepper flakes sparingly.

4. Drizzle oil or spread a little coconut oil over top. Cover with foil. Bake for 25 minutes and then remove the foil. Then bake at 300F for another 10 minutes, or until soft.

I promise this will be one of those go-to recipes that you crave—the seasonings really make the squash come to life. This recipe was inspired by The 28-Day Cleansing Program cookbook.

Carrot Fries

This past week my mom and I flew to Washington to visit my adorable niece and nephews and equally adorable brother and sister-in-law. We tried a lot of new recipes, and among them was this yummy treat . . . carrot fries! Yes, you will want to keep eating them and maybe even growl like my baby nephew when your bowl is empty.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Peel carrots and chop into thick shoestrings.

3. Drizzle lightly with olive oil or coconut oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat (or use your hands).

4. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spread carrots out in a single layer.

5. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, or until slightly brown.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chia Pudding

I subscribe to Veg News magazine (thanks to my thoughtful friend Karina!) and have had the Chocolate Chia Pudding recipe dog-eared since June. Last night I finally made it, specially for my boyfriend who loves chocolate pudding, and it was a huge hit! He said it reminds him of tapioca pudding.

Serves 6

3 cups non-diary chocolate milk (I used rice milk.)
1/2 cup chia seeds (If you buy them on a Tuesday from Whole Foods you get 15% off!)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (This is optional, but it sure makes this pudding taste amazing!)
2 tablespoons agave
fresh raspberries, for garnish

1. In a medium-sized bowl stir together non-dairy milk, chia seeds, and vanilla. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour. Remove bowl and stir in agave.

2. Return bowl to the fridge and chill for another 2 to 3 hours. (When I first tasted the pudding after it chilled for only an hour, the texture of the chia seeds wasn't too appetizing to me. But the longer the chia seeds soaked in the fridge, the more they swelled and resembled tapioca.)

Sprouted Lentil Wrap Mix Recipe

Soak overnight:
2 cups Lentils
1 cup Sunflower seeds
1 cup Almonds
1/2 cup Sesame seeds

Drain in the morning and allow to sprout 24 hours, rinsing occasionally. Process in a food processor to be a coarse mash and add:

Handful of chopped cilantro, basil, or parsley
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Onion, diced
1/4 cup Lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Extra-virgin Olive oil
2 tsp. Sea salt
1 Anaheim pepper, diced (optional)
2 Tbsp. Flax oil (optional)

Use as a filling in cabbage, lettuce leaves, or sprouted-wheat tortillas. (I put slices of avocado on top and it was delicious.)

*This recipe makes a lot, you can freeze leftovers or cut the recipe in half.

Red, White, & Blue Skinny Muffin

If you can't tell, I'm really into skinny muffins. They are so good for you and so versatile! You can pretty much throw anything in there as an experiment, and it almost always ends up amazing.

For the 4th of July I decided to take my patriotism to a new level via the skinny muffin, of course. A red, white, and blue muffin just so happens to be good on any day of the week, though, even the 5th of July, which I found out for myself this morning.

Here's how the Red, White, & Blue Skinny Muffin is made.

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1-ince slice of a medium banana, mashed
1 cage-free egg
2 packets Xylitol natural sweetener (Xylitol comes from the fibrous parts of plants, and compared to table sugar, it has a very low glycemic index and 40% fewer calories. I buy XyloSweet.)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 medium strawberry, diced
10 small fresh blueberries

1. Stir together everything except the strawberries and blueberries in a coffee mug.
2. Carefully fold in the berries.
3. Microwave for 75 seconds.
4. Remove from microwave and turn mug upside down to let muffin fall onto a plate.
5. Enjoy, and maybe even exclaim, "Happy birthday, America!" if you so desire.

The Banana & Nut Butter Skinny Muffin

Can you tell I'm enjoying the Skinny Muffin concept? I was in a peanut butter mood this morning and thought, "Hey! Why not make a peanut butter muffin?" I think most of my enjoyment in eating something I've created is in knowing that I was the artist of my food. It's so fun! Have you come up with any new food combos lately? I'd love to hear.

Serves one

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon all-natural nut butter (almond, peanut, etc.)

2 tablespoons mashed banana

1 cage-free egg

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 packet stevia

1. Put coconut oil and nut butter in a coffee mug and pop in the microwave for about 15 seconds, or till coconut oil is melted.

2. Add banana and egg to mug and beat. 

3. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well. 

4. Microwave 70 seconds. 

5. Remove mug from microwave and turn upside down over a plate to let muffin fall out. And, literally, it slips right out! This muffin is a beautiful golden brown.

6. Cut muffin in half and take a bite! Prepare to be amazed.

Cantaloupe-Blueberry Smoothie w/ Flax Seed

1 cup water
1 tablespoon ground flax seed (or flax seed meal)
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup purple grapes
1 cup small squares cantaloupe
2 handfuls kale or chard

Optional:

Protein powder

Stevia to taste

Agave to taste

Xylitol to taste

Blend it all up in your trusty old power blender. Remember, the more frozen fruits going into your smoothie, the more water you want to add so your blender doesn't jam. Sweeten to taste with protein powder, stevia, agave, or xylitol.

The Friday Muffin

So it being Friday and all I was craving more of a "party" muffin. You know, like a muffin to let me start my Friday off with a little thrill and excitement. And that's when the perfect idea came to me. This Skinny Muffin I've been eating all week long for breakfast needed some chocolatey goodness!! Who's with me?

I looked in my fridge and what did I behold but a mason jar filled with Homemade Vegan Hot Chocolate I'd made the night before. (Basically when this hot chocolate recipe says it's "vegan," it means it's dairy free. I don't know any hot chocolate recipes to date that call for meat.)

Over night the hot chocolate I'd made had solidified a little, making it resemble a runny chocolate pudding. Perfect! So I added 2 tablespoons to the Skinny Muffin recipe and then spread a little more hot chocolate pudding on top with some coconut oil. So perfect for getting Friday started off right in a healthy-yet-chocolatey sort of way! Move over donuts. We've found The Friday Muffin.

Serves one

1 teaspoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon mashed banana

1 cage-free egg

2 tablespoons cold Homemade Vegan Hot Chocolate

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1. Put coconut oil in a coffee mug and pop in the microwave for about 15 seconds, or till coconut oil is melted. 

2. Add banana and egg to mug and beat. 

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. 

4. Microwave 60 seconds. 

5. Remove mug from microwave and turn upside down over a plate to let muffin fall out. And, literally, it slips right out! 

6. Cut muffin in half and spread coconut oil and more hot chocolate pudding over top. 

Happy Friday to you!

The Skinny Muffin—as seen on Dr. Oz

If you're looking for a fast, easy, and healthy breakfast, here's Jorge's Skinny Muffin as part of his "lose 80 pounds belly fat" diet. This muffin is gluten free, dairy free, and vegetarian, and it's oh-so good. Who knew flax seed would make such an amazing flour! This muffin is light and fluffy, unlike any gluten-free recipe I've tried.

The recipe you see below is after a little tweaking on my part. My first attempt at the recipe created a muffin that was too bland and too dry for my liking, so I experimented with adding apple sauce and then some banana, along with some more stevia. See what you think about my changes and feel free to do your own tweaking.

Serves one

1 teaspoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons mashed banana
1 cage-free egg
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 packets stevia (I'd avoid the Steviva brand. I personally am repulsed by the taste.)
2 tablespoons blueberries

1. Put coconut oil and banana in a coffee mug and pop in the microwave for about 15 seconds, or till coconut oil is melted. 

2. Add egg to mug and beat. 

3. Add the rest of the ingredients except the blueberries. Stir well. 

4. Now add blueberries, mixing without crushing the berries. 

5. Microwave 60 seconds. 

6. Remove mug from microwave and turn upside down over a plate to let muffin fall out. And, literally, it slips right out! 

7. Cut muffin in half and spread coconut oil over top. Add honey if you'd like it a little sweeter. ¡Buen provecho!