3-Layer Banana Split Cupcakes

Joshua and I made 3-Layer Banana Split Cupcakes for my birthday! 

One layer of Strawberries. One layer of Bananas. One layer of Chocolate (Cocoa Bliss!) 

I will layer the layers differently next time. I will have the Cocoa Bliss layer on top!

Since these were Birthday cupcakes --- Joshua HAD to help!!! :)

 and he was the best helper - EVER!!!!

I even used Mexican Vanilla!!! 

Have you entered to win a bottle??? 

Back to the good stuff!!!

My creative wheels were turning - and turning fast!!! Did I mention, these are vegan???      Oh no, I haven't yet. These are vegan, too! 

The Ingredients:
2/3 cups milk (you can use soy, almond, raw, rice, regular - whatever you use, use!)
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
4 TBSP butter (I might try Coconut Oil, next time!)
2/3 cup palm sugar (brown, cane, palm)
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup whole wheat flour (I think I am going to try a fluffy flour next time)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup Strawberries, chopped small
1/2 cup banana, chopped small
2 - 3 tsp Cocoa Bliss
milk to thin Cocoa Bliss


The Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 


In a small bowl mix milk and apple cider vinegar together and whisk. Set aside. 


Chop strawberries and bananas. Set aside.


In mixer, whip butter and sugar together for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and lemon zest and blend more.


In a separate medium sized bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Now add a bit of the milk mixture to the butter/sugar mixture and continue to beat, alternate adding some of the dry ingredients, then more milk mixture, then dry, etc. until fully incorporated. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl when necessary.


Divide the batter into thirds. Each third will serve as a layer. Put each third in a bowl. In one bowl blend in the bananas, in another bowl blend the 1/2 cup strawberries, and in the third bowl add in the cocoa. Add 1-3 t of milk to thin out the chocolate batter since the cocoa thickens it up a bit too much.


Scoop about 1 T of the banana mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. If you have any leftover just redistribute it as evenly as possible. Now scoop an equal amount of the strawberry mixture on top. Finally, the chocolate layer goes on top- you know the drill! Smooth out the chocolate to the sides very carefully to make sure strawberry layer isn’t peaking out too much.


 Bake at 350F for about 22 minutes.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Cool for at least 10-15 minutes. 


My toppings - 
I mix 2 - 3 tsp Cocoa Bliss, 2 - 3 tsp coconut oil, 1 TBSP powdered sugar and a little water. Heat in the microwave for 20 seconds. Stir until smooth. I decorated the plate with some of this mixture and put a few lines on each cupcake.


I then took some Chobani Yogurt. Maybe 1/4 cup of plain 2% Chobani Yogurt and mixed in  my Cocoa Bliss Mixture. I topped each cupcake with some of the mixture. I added walnuts too!


Topping choices are up to you!!! Possibilities are ENDLESS!!!!

Pumpkin Squash Soup

Vacation is quickly approaching. Dinner ingredients are disappearing and I am struggling with planning and preparing meals, since I do not want to have food go to waste.

I am getting creative with dinners. Mixing things, I might have never mixed. And they are coming out great! 

Pumpkin and Vegetable Stir-Fry on brown rice with a Pumpkin Naan

Pumpkin Squash Soup

When hubby saw this meal, he asked, um is this the baby's food? That is kind. When describing the meal to a friend, I said, it looked like vomit... 

It tasted AMAZING... surprisingly!!!

That was totally lucky! The ingredient list may be shocking but TRUST me --- GOOD GOOD GOOD!!!

The Ingredients:

2 Delitaca Squash (winter squash), peel, seed, chopped
1 can pumpkin (I wanted to use real puree but used it all)
1 cup sweet corn
1 cup spinach, chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper
curry powder (I used about 1/2 - 1 tsp)
1/4 cup plain Chobani yogurt
1 squirt or two of Soy Sauce or Braggs


The Directions:


Saute the Delicata Squash (if using real pumpkin - add it here too!) in Olive Oil over Medium High Heat. I browned them real good. Some pieces may have even been burnt. Once tender and the color you desire add 1/2 cup vegetable broth. The squash is going to just drink it all up. Slowly add the rest of the broth. Bring to a boil. Add Curry powder, Salt and Pepper and Soy Sauce.


Into a food processor add the squash and just enough liquid to puree. Add back to the pot. Add canned pumpkin, yogurt (or sour cream) cooked squash and corn. Heat and serve!


ENJOY!!!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I have lots of childhood memories... 

I have a few childhood FOOD memories! One of them is TGI Fridays and their Broccoli Cheddar Soup. I remember having Mother Daughter lunches at the Glenview, Chicago location. I loved their Broccoli Cheddar soup. 

Since those days I have come to find only a handful of Broccoli Cheddar soups that compare (or even come close) to my memories of TGI Fridays (in the 80's and early 90's). The soup is not the same as it was back then. They have changed something... 

I have never made taken the time to make my own Broccoli Cheddar soup, until now. 

Our CSA farmer, had extra vegetables to purchase last week, so I purchased 3 heads of Broccoli, 2 lbs Brussels Sprouts, 2 3/4 lb spaghetti squash and 1/2 bushel sweet potatoes. I froze the Brussels in serving size packages and stored the sweet potatoes outside. 

I was going to freeze the Broccoli but the process was just too long and I was not willing to (waste the time) do it. 

Instead, I attempted making Broccoli Cheddar soup for the first time. 

It came out great. Topped it with RAW Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese.


I used Almond Milk and Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt. I think the only thing I will change next time is add one more Chobani Yogurt to add a little more creaminess. The soup was still AMAZING...  Took me back to my TGI Fridays soup memory. 


The Ingredients:
6-8 cups raw broccoli, florets and stalk, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
3 cups vegetable broth (salted)
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 small red onion, chopped
1 cup Chobani, plain
3 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, rough chop (skin on)
1 cup parsley
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup almond milk, plain flavor
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese


The Directions:


In your soup pot, saute over med-high heat: 2 Tbsp of your olive oil with the shallot, onion and jalapeno. When cooked lightly, add in lemon juice, veggie broth, remaining oil, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium. Add Potatoes and bring broth to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender.


Add chopped Broccoli (florets and steams). Remember to leave out a few florets for later use though.Cover with lid, when broccoli is tender, turn heat off.



Transfer contents of pot into a large mixing bowl. Allow to cool slightly. Add to the bowl the fresh parsley, Chobani and almond milk. Fold new ingredients into the hot soup mixture.
In batches, puree the soup in a food-processor (maybe someday soon, a Vitamix!) style blender. Soup should be smooth-no lumps or chunks. In the soup pot, add the broccoli florets, a dash of veggie broth and saute covered for about a minute until tender. Add the pureed soup back into the soup pot. Add a bay leaf and a few pinches of chopped basil (optional). Simmer uncovered for at least twenty minutes to cook out all the air bubbles. Stir constantly for the first few minutes. Remove the bay leaf before serving or storing.

Serve with a garnish of 1 tsp Chobani drops, a pinch of fresh parsley, a basil leaf and of course some shreds of cheddar cheese.

Homemade Soaked Crackers

CONGRATULATIONS  celestemc, you are the Chobani WINNER!!!! Please email me (enjoyinghealthyfoods (at) yahoo (dot) com) ASAP with your name and mailing address! You have until the end of the day to shoot me an email or I will re-draw another winner. 

Homemade Crackers

3 1/2 cups of whole grain flour (I used 1 cups of whole wheat flour, 2 1/2 cups of quinoa flour for a lighter cracker)
1/4 cup of melted coconut oil
1 cup of water with two tablespoons vinegar (or you could use buttermilk)

Gently mix together the above ingredients, until combined. I used a fork at first, and then kneaded the dough gently in the bowl until it just came together into a ball. Cover and leave out overnight on the counter. The next morning, flatten your ball out on the counter, using a little white flour, if needed to prevent sticking.

Sprinkle over the top:1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

Fold in half and knead gently until salt and baking powder are evenly mixed in (if this intimidates you, you can mix these two ingredients in with the flour the night before. The salt will inhibit some of the soaking process, however. You are now ready to roll it out!

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees, and lightly flour your surface. I liked to roll out a quarter of the dough at a time, for more control. I rolled them to about 1/8 on an inch to make firmer, crisper crackers to serve with spreads and cheese. For baby Micah, I rolled them to about 1/4 of an inch, and this produced a lighter, more crumbly cracker that was very easy for her to eat. Cut into desired size with a sharp knife and gently lay out on a greased baking sheet and prick with a fork.

Bake for about 1o minutes and check. They will be done when they are browning slightly around the edges. Cool on cooling sheets and enjoy!

Next time I will make them Gluten Free... 

Chobani --- ANYONE????

Welcome to Enjoying Healthy Foods FIRST  giveaway!

The kind people of Chobani are sponsoring Enjoying Healthy Foods FIRST giveaway. One (1) lucky reader will win a DELICIOUS 12 pack of Chobani.  (4 strawberry, 4 peach, 4 blueberry)


My family and I love Chobani! Our 3 year old is a huge fan!!!! :) I have begun substituting out sour cream, cream cheese and plain yogurt and replacing it with Chobani.

Chobani Greek Yogurt “Greek” and full of flavor and health benefits:
·      All natural. No preservatives. No artificial flavors.
·      No synthetic growth hormones: No rBST-treated milk.
·      Includes 5 live & active cultures, including 3 probiotics.
·      Made with real fruit.
·      Twice the protein of regular yogurts.
·      A good source of bone-building calcium.
·      Gluten-Free and Kosher-Certified.
·      Safe for people with corn, nut and soy allergies.

There are several ways to win - here is how

1) "Like" Enjoying Healthy Foods on Facebook

2) Suggest friends to "Like" Enjoying Healthy Foods

(let me know by commenting on the Enjoying Healthy Foods facebook)

3) Comment on THIS post and on any post I post this week

(make sure you add your name)

I will announce the winner on Friday November 12. The winner will need to email me at enjoyinghealthyfood (at) yahoo (dot) com to claim the prize by Saturday morning or another winner will be drawn. 

There are LOTS of ways to win so Good Luck and Happy Cooking!!! 

Strawberry & Cream Banana Bread

I love weekends!!!! My hubby helps me make dinner, if not making an entire dish himself! He is a great cook - don't be fooled!!!! He is very creative and loves coming up with new recipes! We work well together! :) 

Sunday we were on our way to the Indianapolis Children's Museum when he declared he was going to make beef and noodles for dinner. 

 They came out great and he seasoned and flavored everything perfectly!!! Not as healthy of a meal as normal but sometimes it is good to have a splurge...

This morning I made Strawberry & Cream Banana Bread (with Chobani Strawberry yogurt)

This may be my healthiest tasting bread yet. I am not sure what to think about it - but my 3 year old LOVES it!!!! There are 2 bananas, strawberries, shredded coconut, 6 oz Chobani Strawberry yogurt, and coconut & quinoa flour!
I think that next time I will need to add more coconut oil or something... Outer crust is dry.

The Ingredients:
1 cup coconut flour
1 cup quinoa flour
1 cup palm sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1 Chobani Strawberry yogurt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 large bananas
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 cup shredded coconut

The Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder together.

 In another bowl, cream together the butter or margarine and sugars. Then add in the eggs, vanilla, sour cream and mashed bananas and mix thoroughly. Stir in the chopped strawberries.

Slowly add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, stirring well as you go.

Pour the mixture into your prepared loaf pan and bake on 350F for around 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

 Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the loaf pan before removing and placing on a wire cooling rack to cool fully.