Nutrition Ambition

Welcome to my vegan food blog! When it comes to food, my philosophy is that taking time to lovingly prepare your own meals can result in better health and greater life satisfaction. I use natural, whole ingredients to create nourishing, exciting meals which replenish mind, body and spirit. Enjoy!

Monday, February 19, 2007

Cinnamon, Spice and Everything Nice

Seeing as it's winter and all, I thought it would be fitting to try out some new recipes using cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. These sweet, warming spices are perfect for winter comfort foods and jazz up muffins, breads, oatmeal, or smoothies. First off is my Sweet Potato Spice Muffins. They have just enough sweetness to compliment a spicy bowl of chili very nicely!
Ingredients:
* 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
* 1 cup water
* 1/3 cup canola oil
* 7 pitted dates, roughly chopped and soaked in water for 20-30 minutes until softened. Reserve soak water
* 1 cup cornmeal
* 2 cups whole grain flour (I use spelt)
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon each: dried ground ginger and ground nutmeg
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin pan.

In a small saucepan, combine the sweet potato and water, cover, bring to a simmer and cook over low heat until the potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Reserve cooking liquid.

Remove the dates from the soaking water and finely chop. Reserve 1/3 cup of the soaking water.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well. In a seperate bowl, mash the sweet potato and add the dates, reserved water (1 1/3 cup total), and the canola oil. Stir this wet mixture into the dry mixture.

Fill each muffin cup generously to the top. Bake for 22-24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Note: You can also add chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter (about 2/3 cup) for a yummy crunch.

Now, for my Banana-Soy-Spice Smoothie. It reminds me a bit of soynog--creamy, with a hint of nutmeg and vanilla. Unlike nog, however, this smoothie has no added sugar (but is sweet enough), is low fat, and is a snap to make.
Ingredients:
* 1 ripe banana
* 1 1/4 cup chilled soymilk (you could also use almond milk)
* 1/4 teaspoon each: nutmeg and cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

1 Comments:

Blogger Raw Vegan Momma said...

That looks (and I'm sure it smells lovely.) I'm going to pass this recipe along to a friend. She's love it.

6:00 AM  

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