During the holiday season, many different opportunities to spend time with family and friends occur. While festive interactions bring the majority of people great happiness, making the required preparations and the process of cleaning up afterward can seriously detract from that joy.
Eating out at a restaurant or buffet can make things much easier. Not having to cook the meal or clean up after everyone means that enjoying a meal together becomes much easier for everyone. There are other benefits to this, of course, but there are also a few drawbacks that you might want to keep in mind.
It’s true that everyone can choose their own meal, drink, and dessert, but splitting the bill can pose some complications. Does everyone contribute to a temporary fund and everyone pay out of that? What if the fund doesn’t cover everything ordered? Is everyone expected to contribute equally or only as much as he or she can afford? Should the wait staff get the rest as a tip? What if the rest is not sufficient for the tip? These are things that you need to think about and decide on before venturing out.
Keeping in mind that nobody needs to commit hours to cook anything, realizing that favorite traditional foods might not be on the menu can quell disappointment. If a particular element is missing, how much will its absence detract from a person’s overall enjoyment and satisfaction? Those with food allergies already know how difficult eating out can become at times, so this aspect also needs some consideration.
Children and their needs also need to come into play when making reservations. Nap times can clash with a restaurant’s atmosphere, and others might want to interact with younger children. Colds and flu can also create a situation many parents want to avoid. Older children can often feed themselves or even grab their own items at a buffet out of the hot food display, but younger children should have more supervision. Recruiting teens to help can eliminate accidents by helping parents of younger children by entertaining toddlers or loading plates with food.
Each establishment is going to have its own particular set of additional benefits and drawbacks. Wherever you and your family decide to enjoy the holidays together, remember that it is the festivities that are important. Who paid the most or had the best-behaved child are unimportant and trivial. Coming together to spend time with each other is always more important.
Chewy, crunchy or melt in your mouth. No matter what their form or texture, chocolate chip cookies will always be a universal favorite. But just because it’s a classic does not mean you can’t experiment with it. If you are craving for something different here are some mouthwatering and downright amazing twists you can put on the usual chocolate chip cookie. These recipes will tickle the tastebuds of curious foodies of all types, from the adventurous eater to food god level:
Level 1: Adventurous Eater
Bacon Chocolate Chip
Ah, bacon. The crowning glory of any breakfast feast. Bacon isn’t just great for pizza and breakfast anymore, though. In recent years, it has found its way into many unlikely concoctions from artisanal chocolate to brownies. Now it’s time for your favorite cookie to feature this savory ingredient. Here’s how:
Ingredients:
- 1 pound cut smoked bacon
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups melted unsalted butter
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions:
-
- Cook bacon until it is crispy. Once done, place it on top of paper napkins to lessen the grease.
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and arrange parchment paper on the cookie sheets.
- Sift the flour, baking soda and salt and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the melted butter and sugars until they are well blended.
- Beat in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk until the mixture is light and creamy.
- Mix in the sifted flour, baking soda and salt.
- Add in the chocolate chips and chopped bacon and stir.
- Use 1 tablespoon to put the cookie dough on the cookie sheets. Leave an allowance of 3 inches between cookies.
- Bake from 15 to 17 minutes and leave to cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes.
Level 2: Exotic Epicure
Avocado Chocolate Chip
Avocados are a tropical daydream with their smooth texture, rich taste and multitude of health benefits. In recent years, this fruit has become even more popular thanks to all the things you can do with it. You can enjoy it blended into a yummy smoothie or spread over golden slices of toast. Why not enjoy it with your favorite chocolate chip cookie as well? Are you ready to let your tastebuds go on an exotic tropical adventure?
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup mashed avocado
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- a handful of chocolate chips
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Grease your cookie sheets.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
- Stir the avocado, coconut oil, vanilla extract and maple syrup together.
- Mix in the wt ingredients into the flour, baking soda and salt mixture.
- Mold the batter into balls about 1” in diameter.
- Arrange the balls on the cookie sheet and flatten them with the palm of your hand.
- Bake from 11 to 13 minutes.
- Allow to cool away from the oven.
Level 3: Rockstar Ravager
Whiskey Chocolate Chip
Some people love snacks with a kick. If you’re one of those people, then how about you make your chocolate chip cookies worthy of rock-stardom by mixing it with whiskey? That’s right, don’t just serve whiskey on the rocks. Start serving it in the form of crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate chip cookies. Perfect this recipe and you might just have a crowd of foodie fans fawning after you.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate wafers not cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup rye flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon bourbon
- 1 vanilla bean (split)
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt
Instructions:
- Process the 3/4 cup of dark chocolate wafers in a food processor until they are pea-sized.
- Whisk the all-purpose flour, rye flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
- Beat the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add in the egg, vanilla and bourbon and beat until well blended.
- Set the mixer speed to low and then gradually add the dry ingredients until they blend.
- Fold in the chocolate and the last pieces of wafers.
- Divide the dough into 16 balls and then place on a rimmed sheet.
- Tightly wrap it with plastic wrap and chill for at least 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Place the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix the vanilla seeds with the sea salt into a bowl.
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Arrange the dough balls on the onto a baking sheet and flatten with the palm of hand until each ball is about 3/4” thick.
- Sprinkle the balls with vanilla salt.
- Bake the cookies and half way through, rotate the sheets. Bake until the edges become golden brown.
- Allow to cool on the cookie sheets before letting them completely.
Level 4: Food God
With marijuana legalization spreading like wildfire across the United States, it’s unsurprising that this plant has also become a star ingredient in many recipes. Take your baking skills to an unprecedented high (pun intended) by infusing your chocolate chip cookies with cannabis. Try this recipe out if you’re daring enough to experiment and reach food god level with your kitchen concoctions.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/3 cup flour
- 1/3 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cannabutter
- 1 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 egg
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease your baking sheets.
- Combine the all-purpose flour, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.
- In another bowl, mix the canna butter with the white and brown sugar until creamy.
- Add in the vanilla extract and egg once the mixture has set.
- Keep mixing until the mixture becomes light before putting in the chocolate chips.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture in the medium bowl. Keep mixing until the cookie dough looks firm.
- Scoop out the mixture using a spoon and form 1/4 cup cookies on the cookie sheet. Spread the dough equally.
- Put the sheet into the preheated oven and bake from 18 to 25 minutes.
- Once the cookies look golden brown, allow the cookies to cool away from the oven.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle takes dedication, but without it, it is too easy to fall into bad habits. Ensuring there is clean food to eat, making time to fit exercise into your hectic schedule and taking the appropriate supplements, means you are making your health a real priority.
So, how can you let yourself actually indulge? (more…)
Your diet and lifestyle have a direct impact on the health of your heart.
When you prepare your food, it’s recommended you eat something that is rich in nutrients and healthy fats. With oil, there is a difference in the type of fat that you can get.
Before I recommend oils to use for your healthy cooking, let me explain the different types of fats that are found in oil.
Oils are liquid fats that come from the seeds or nuts of plants. The ratio and type of fats contained in each oil usually differ.
Saturated Fats: Also known as Solid Fat, it is usually solid around room temperature and found mostly in animal foods like meat, cheese and milk.
This saturated fat is found less in poultry and fish, but more so in red meat. It is also found in tropical oils like cocoa butter, coconut oil and palm oil, which are used in things like coffee creamers and whipped toppings.
Desserts, cookies and cakes are usually high in saturated fats and can raise your cholesterol level. Anyone embarking on a healthy diet should ensure that the saturated fat in their daily calorie intake should be less than 10%.
Unsaturated Fats: Unlike saturated fats (which at room temperature are in liquid form), unsaturated fats are found in the oil derived from plants or their seeds.
Consuming unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats can assist in improving your cholesterol levels. Two types of unsaturated fats are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.
- Polyunsaturated Fat: Found mostly in vegetable oils like soybean, sunflower, safflower, corn oils and sesame. This is also the main type of fat found in seafood.
When you consume polyunsaturated fat instead of saturated fat, you’re on the path to reducing your LDL cholesterol level.
In polyunsaturated fats, you can find Omega-3 fatty acids (sardines, walnuts, salmons, shellfish, canola oil, mackerel) and Omega-6 fatty acids, found mostly in vegetable oils.
- Monounsaturated Fats: Found mostly in olive, peanut oil, nuts, avocado and vegetable oils.
Foods high in monounsaturated oil can help reduce LDL cholesterol, but when you consume more unsaturated fat without reducing your intake of saturated fat, your cholesterol levels are unlikely to go down.
Here are our best choice of oils for cooking your healthy meals:
Avocado Oil: One of the richest oils in monounsaturated fats and a great way to include vitamin E into your diet. Avocado Oil, unlike others oils that are extracted from the seed of a plant, is extracted from the flesh of ripe avocados and has the highest smoke point of any plant oil (520 degrees Fahrenheit).
You can opt for this if you have a little extra cash to splurge, but try storing it properly, as it’s likely to go off fairly easily if it’s not taken care of. It is highly recommended, as it produces an antioxidant that improves eye health, helps your cholesterol levels and its buttery flavor can complement sauces and salad dressings. It is good enough to be used for any cooking need.
Canola Oil: This great cooking oil isn’t as popular as the rest, but provides a lovely texture, an amazing neutral flavour and an impressive heat tolerance level.
Budget-friendly when compared to other cooking oils, this oil is obtained by crushing the seeds of a type of rapeseed plant, (the canola), which comes from the same family as broccoli and cabbage. It also has the lowest content of saturated fat present in any oil and works well when used for baking, fries and sautéing, as it has a relatively medium smoking point.
A well-embraced oil for making Indian and exceptionally-tasting Mexican dishes.
Coconut Oil: Containing over 90% of saturated fats, which makes it resistant to heat, coconut oil has very powerful benefits and is a great choice for high heat cooking. It becomes solid at room temperature and can last for months (even years) without going bad. It is surprisingly rich in Luaric acid, which is a fatty acid that is known to improve cholesterol, as well as kill pathogens and bacteria. A great source of energy and taste, coconut oil is highly recommended for healthy cooking.
Olive oil: Well-known for the effects it has on the heart, the monounsaturated fat it possesses makes it a great choice to fight breast cancer and heart disease. It lowers the cholesterol level in the body and is ideal for breakfast and a great improvement to the Mediterranean diet. It is fairly resistant to heat and is used widely around the world for cooking. The extra virgin olive oil is great for sautéing and light salad dressing, while the regular olive oil is widely used for frying.
Palm Oil: Derived from the fruit of the oil palms, palm oil contains mostly monounsaturated and saturated fats, but with trace amounts of polyunsaturated fats, making it a recommended choice for cooking. The unrefined red palm oil is rich in Coenzyme Q10, Vitamin E, as well as other nutrients.
Leading health expert, Dr Shikha Sharma, claims that since there isn’t a single oil that contains all the necessary fatty acids (in the ratio at which the body needs them), it is a healthy option to rotate or change the oils that you consume. According to him, “Your body needs different essential fatty acids. A combination of saturated fatty acids, polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats will do well in keeping your body and diet healthy.”
In addition to their diet and lifestyle benefits, oils – especially coconut oil – have also been getting a lot of attention recently for their health benefits, including weight loss, skin regeneration and dental hygiene.
“In the field of dental health for example, you can use coconut oil as part of your dental health to help attack harmful bacteria in the mouth that causes bad breath, fights gum disease, reduce plaque and prevent tooth decay and loss,” says Dr. Cecil Luong of Tigersmile Dentistry.
On a final note, don’t forget to take care of your cooking oils and ensure they do not turn rancid. If you cook a lot and are sure you can use up a lot of oil in a short period of time, then buy in large batches. If not, consider buying small batches, so they don’t get the chance to go bad.
There are different reasons why you do not want to eat, ranging from stress to illness. The big problem in most situations is that you end up losing weight without you wanting this. The problem is that there are no foods that are actually going to make you want to eat a lot more. When struggling, what should be done is to change your entire diet, no matter what dining etiquette rules you want to respect. This is why you want to consider the following as your goal is to increase appetite.
Nutrient-Rich Foods
If appetite is small, you want to eat the foods that you enjoy and that pack in various different calories. Sweet treats and fast food will be what is often considered but a much better idea is to consume high-calorie foods that are healthy. That is going to prevent your weight loss as you get the nutrients the body requires. Some of the options that you can consider include avocados, sweet potatoes, dried fruit, bananas, vegetables, corn and peas. If you want extra protein, add cheese, eggs, nuts and hummus. In the grain group you want to consider the whole-grain breads, quinoa and grape nuts.
Eat More Often
Many people today are breakfast skippers because of the lack of time but this is a really bad idea. You want to be sure that you eat your breakfast and then you increase how many meals you eat throughout the day. Even if you initially eat the same amount spread over different meals, eventually you are going to eat more. Try to focus on a substantial breakfast that packs in calories and that you keep the meals small. Eating more often is going to improve intake as the appetite is waning.
Drink Calories If Appetite Is Small
In many situations the calories are going to go down much easier if you choose them as beverages. Some of the great choices are whole milk and 100% fruit juice. Alternatively, you want to consider a high calorie smoothie with fruits. It is much healthier than what you often consider. Just take one smaller banana, mix it with 1 peanut butter tablespoon and some milk. The result is a smoothie of around 300 calories. Other healthy fruit smoothie recipes can be found online. You can also consider buying some nutrition supplement drinks. Most of them have around 350 calories and can be a good source of healthy protein while including minerals and vitamins.
Food Boosters
If you do not have appetite, all calories are important. This is where the calorie boosters can step in to help you out by adding some concentrated calories to your nutrition. Many high-calorie mixes are possible, mainly included gravy, milk powder, nut butter, butter and oil. Veggies can be sauté in quality olive oil and the favorite grains can be tossed in. It is also a good idea to add some butter to bread, veggies and potatoes as a very strong and tasty calorie booster. Even dried nuts and fruits can be very good when added to yogurt and hot cereal.
In celebration of National Ice Cream Month, why not enjoy mouthfuls of creamy goodness wrapped in sweet rice dough? Typically referred to as Mochi, these ice cream balls make for the perfect summer snack coming in at only 110 calories per serving. Each ball encases exactly a scoop, perfectly crafted to serve to a group of friends out on the patio. Mochi is also a fun way to celebrate this long standing American tradition especially for ice cream lovers that want to try out something new.
A recent article on GeekDad.com discussed how even the world’s pickiest people return to the freezer for another generous helping of this chilled treat. A unique brand that’s been scooping a place out for themselves in grocery store aisles throughout the country is MyMo Mochi thanks to their quality and convenient packaging.
Did you know that United States consumes the most ice cream than any other country in the world? The majority of Americans also keep ice cream in their freezers year-round. On July 22nd (Mango Day), why not enjoy some sweet mango mochi? Visit the MyMo ice cream blog for interesting flavors and tasting ideas, and to see how the sweet taste of premium mango ice cream combined with the tender texture of dough will help anyone soak in the summer. Alternatively, the following day is Vanilla Ice Cream Day – give it that millennial twist by trying out flavors like vanilla bean. Other delicious flavors that may suit your tastes include strawberry, green tea, cookies and cream, double chocolate, and mint chocolate chip.
Eat the mochi straight out of the box or cut them up and use them to dress a variety of desserts from banana splits to ice cream cakes. The best mochi is also made with less air, making it rich both in texture and in flavor. Furthermore, choose a brand you can trust, where the fruit and eggs they use to stabilize are pasteurized using the high-temp/short-time method, killing any adverse bacteria.
Another great aspect of mochi in general is the convenience. When all you have to do is remove the treats from the box and unfreeze, it gives busy people a chance to unwind. You can enjoy them virtually anywhere, even on your way out the door to work, when you’re heading to the gym, even while you’re waiting for the cab to pick you up for an afternoon out. There’s no need to drive to the nearest soda shop every time you get the intense craving for parlor quality ice cream.
If you are ready to take your love of ice cream to a whole new level, mochi can be purchased at a variety of major grocery stores such as Safeway, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Shoprite. Why wait till the ice cream truck comes around the corner before relishing in a delicious treat this July? Instead, try mochi! It’s versatile, it’s fun, it’s shareable, and it’ll help you keep cool during these hot summer days.
Nothing is more exciting than trying out new a health recipe every time you cook for your family and friends. There are numerous nutritious recipes to suit your style and for all seasons, occasions, and even health conditions. Whether you are trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight, you can add these amazing recipes to your diet plan. Check out these highly nutritious and delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes including top quality grocery items to use.
Breakfast Recipe
Egg Hearts on Multi-grain toast with Avocado &Tomato Salsa
Ingredients;
- 2 thick slices multigrain bread
- 2 large eggs
- Finely grated parmesan
- Olive oil spray
- Butter(optional)
Tomato salsa
Ingredients;
- 2 large roma tomatoes
- 1 small ripe avocado, peeled, and chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- I tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Cooking Instructions
- To make the tomato salsa, mix avocado, tomato, chives, and lemon juice in a bowl
- Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and spray with olive oil. Also spray two heart cutters with oil. Place cutters in the prepared pan. Break eggs into each cutter. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until ready
- Meanwhile, toast bread until golden brown. If desired, spread a little butter on toast
- Lift the cutters away from the eggs using tongs. Top each toast with eggs
- Spoon over the salsa and then sprinkle with parmesan
Lunch Recipe
Ingredients
- 200g butternut, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
- 2 sheets ready-rolled short crust pastry
- 1 medium leek, sliced
- ¼ cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 eggs
- 424g tuna, drained, and flaked
- cup reduced-fat sour cream
Cooking Instructions
- Place large baking tray in the oven. Preheat oven to 200 degrees fan-forced
- Line the base of a loose-based and sides with pastry. Place the tin in a freezer for 20 minutes until frozen
- Place the tin on preheated baking tray. Bake for 10-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven. Reduce temperature to about 180 fan-forced
- Mix pumpkin and half the oil on the baking tray. Bake for about 20 minutes until tenders. Set aside. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Throw in leeks and cook for 5 minutes or until tender
- Arrange the pumpkin, tuna, leek, and peas over pastry. Beat the eggs, sour cream, salt, and pepper using a fork in a jug. Pour the mixture over vegetables and bake for around 45-50 minutes. Serve
Dinner
Lamb, Spinach, and Tomato Rissoles
Ingredients
- 500 g lean lamb mince
- 50g baby spinach, finely shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 small tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
- 2 green onions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Tomato sauce, steamed rice, vegetable to serve
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 c fan-forced
- Mix mince, spinach, tomato, herbs, onion, and basil in a bowl. Season with salt.
- Using a ¼ cup mixture per rissole, roll into about 12 rissoles. Place them on a large plate.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper
- Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook the rissoles in batches, 2 minutes for each side or until well browned. Transfer cooked rissoles into prepared tray
- Bake for 15 minutes or until cooked.
- Serve with rice, vegetables, and sauce
Not everyone loves to go to coffee shops and spend time waiting for a cup of coffee. In fact, more and more people are taking their love for coffee home. Thanks to home espresso machines, handheld milk frothers and other coffee making tools available on the market, making delicious cups of coffee at home is easier than ever. These next few tips we are about to discuss in this article will help you make even better cups of coffee from the comfort of your kitchen.
Add Layers
There is no need to settle for a less-than-stellar cup of coffee just because you are making one at home. You too can make a cup of coffee that’s as beautiful as it is tasty. Want to create those layered look the next time you make a cup of latte? This next tip will help you get started right away.
Whether you’re adding frothed milk or cream milk to the coffee, place a spoon on top of the coffee and pour the milk onto the spoon. Be as gentle as you can be and you will start seeing the milk gathering in a separate layer.
The spoon acts as a barrier and the milk will gently float on top of your coffee without hassle. Lift the spoon up as you fill the glass too. Once you’re done, you will end up with that beautiful, layered look that you normally get when buying coffee at coffee shops.
Experiment with Flavours
You should never hesitate to experiment with flavours. Coffee has such a distinct natural flavour that it can work really well when combined with other flavours. Browse through catalogues of coffee flavouring syrups and pick up a few bottles you like the most.
Vanilla and caramel are great flavours to begin with. These two flavours work great with hot and iced coffee. They can also be added to anything from an Americano to a cup of cappuccino.
Hazelnut and almond offer a nuttier take to coffee flavours. They are also among the most popular flavours among DIY baristas, simply because they are easy to manage. There are also plenty of recipes to try with these two flavours.
The Right Tools for the Job
At a certain point, your existing coffee making tools will no longer be enough. Don’t worry, because top manufacturers and brands are making home versions of their professional coffee machines and brewing tools available at great prices.
Home coffee making is turning into a hobby for a lot of people, which is why it is now easier to find the right tools for the job. Machines such as Nespresso and Dolce Gusto may work really well when you just want a quick cup of coffee, but more advanced options are available if you’re thinking about stepping up your coffee game.
It is not difficult to make delicious, coffee shop-grade cups of coffee at home. These tips we just discussed in this article will help you go that much further. You’ll love the different coffee recipes you can try with these tips too.
Vegan choices abound when it comes to desserts. Knowing a bit about a few key ingredients used in many vegan dessert recipes can help you figure out what will bring the most satisfaction to your sweet tooth. Here’s the scoop on coconut milk, chocolate, and dates and coconut, followed by some fancier options.
Coconut milk: a simple staple
Coconut milk, long a staple ingredient in curry recipes, is now recognized for its lactose-free status. It also delivers many vitamins and minerals. Like traditional dairy milk during its processing, coconut milk produces cream. This makes it a natural choice for smoothies, like this blueberry pie smoothie.
Recipe
And how about pumpkin coconut milk ice cream?
Recipe
Chocolate is choice
For some people, chocolate is simply the only choice for dessert. The benefits of dark chocolate is getting a lot of well-deserved attention these days. Traditional chocolate treats, like brownies, benefit when vegan ingredients are added. For example, these brownies make use of baking chocolate and cocoa powder. But they also feature sweet potatoes as the surprise ingredient to bring a fudge-like texture.
Recipe
Cacao is the raw form of chocolate. It is considered to have a higher concentration of phenols and antioxidants. Many people feel it also has a deeper rich flavor. For a new take on the irresistible combination with peanut butter, try these chocolate covered peanut butter bites.
Recipe
Truffles can be the ultimate chocolate treat. These feel good chocolate truffles make use of both cacao and cocoa.
Dates and coconut: a dynamic duo
Dates have a natural sweetness reminiscent of brown sugar, but with more depth. When combined with coconut, the result is the quintessential chewiness of an excellent cookie bar.
The natural sweetness of dates and coconuts combine with the richness of cashews and almonds in an unforgettable way in these coconut cream bars.
Recipe
For a slightly different take on dates, coconuts and nuts with the added attraction of cacao, try these chocolate coconut cream bars.
Recipe
Getting fancy
Vegan dessert recipes cover many standard fancy dessert forms while at the same time bringing healthy benefits from their natural ingredients. Doilies are optional.
Chocolate peanut butter pots de creme are satisfying yet elegant.
Recipe
Lime avocado tart makes use of the creamy richness of avocados.
Recipe
Even red velvet cupcakes are a delectable option, thanks to a vegetable with a rich red color.
Recipe
Of course fruit is a logical sweet choice in vegan desserts, and this peach sorbet delivers sweetness with a delicate touch.
Recipe
From hearty to heavenly, eclectic to sinful, these recipes will meet your diet’s requirements as well as bring a sweet ending to any meal.
This article was written by Hannah Whittenly with help from Simple Dish, a website stocked with all kinds of easy vegan recipes.
Muffins – A Snack
One such snack is the muffins which is a quick bread product. It can be sweet or savory. It is similar to the American cupcakes both in size and method of cooking.
Muffins are taken for breakfast while other baked products like cake are eaten as dessert. Muffins are now made with different flavors such as apple muffins, chocolate muffins etc.
There are American muffins and English muffins. American muffins are leavened with baking powder of baking soda and are small in size. The English muffins require yeast but the texture is very soft.
What are muffin pans?
To make a muffin one would first require a muffin pan which has specially designed cups to hold the muffin batter. Mostly the muffin pan contains 6- 12 cups and are 2 ½ inches in diameter. Giant muffin pans and miniature muffin pans are also available in the market. The muffin pans are mostly made of aluminum.
How to make and bake muffins?
The main ingredients to make muffins are oil, egg, milk, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. The dry ingredients are mixed together and egg is beaten uniformly with oil and milk and is added to the dry ingredient. Then the batter is added to the greased muffin cups and baked.
Paper liners are used for easy clean up of muffin cups.
There are tips to bake muffins in dianadesserts.com which is very helpful for a beginner. One could also understand the difference between cupcakes and muffins and the various types of muffins from this website.
One could do many variations with the recipe according to their taste. The flavors could be changed and you can add toppings to get a colorful and crunchy bite.
Chocolate muffins are a favorite among kids. A writer on her weelicios.com explains how her chocolate muffins got sold even before the kids knew what it was. Chocolate in any form plays wonders with kids. It could solve their fight; keep them high on their spirits.
Ingredients for making chocolate muffins
11/2 cup all purpose flour
½ cup sweetened cocoa powder
½ cup granulated white sugar
11/2 cup baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg beaten (can be made with egg too)
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400 deg F
Grease 12 regular cups of muffin pan
In a bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt
In another bowl beat the egg, milk, oil and then add the dry ingredients and stir till it mixes properly (don’t over stir)
Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full
Bake to 20 mins or until a tooth pick inserted into comes out clean
Muffins are becoming popular because it is very easy to bake a muffin and it could be had with breakfast, lunch or dinner. Kids will enjoy it as a tea time snack too.
The best part is kids will finish it if given in their Tiffin box and it is easy for the mummy to pack it for school.
Featured images:
Chocolate muffins are made in different style and can be made eggless too for non egg eaters. Author V K Rajagopalan gives a simple idea on making and baking a chocolate muffin.
