Adventures in Bakeland...

Hey guys, today I baked something without a recipe. Aren't you proud? I've always been one to improv when cooking and I've even played with spices and flavouring with baking recipes before but until today I was one to stick to the letter of the law when baking. I had some old bananas and an avocado sitting on my counter and I thought...why don't I make avocado banana muffins? I googled away and came up with nada, so I decided to make my own and they turned out fantastically :). I find myself running out the door each morning and love having muffins that are decently nutritious to take on the go. I used white whole wheat flour, a little brown sugar, and canola oil to make these and they definitely can hold up to some substitutions. I added dark chocolate chips and cut back on the sugar, and I would be interested to try substituting honey and adding some nuts. I also used just one bowl and the prep time was only about 5 minutes. The avocados have monounsaturated fat and allow you to cut down on the oil, which is great and they make the muffins really moist.

Kale and Quinoa: Making Healthy Food Taste Good 101

Hey guys... it's my first post ever! So be nice. I'm new at this. I thought I would do my first post on what I had for dinner tonight. I, like mostly everyone, am constantly trying to eat healthy, fresh food on a regular basis. Lately I have been trying foods that my eight year old self would turn her nose up at. I never thought I would be someone who would try dark leafy greens like kale, but I gobbled them up, thanks to Joy the Baker. I have been reading her blog for ages and when I was thinking about what to make for dinner tonight, her Kale and Quinoa cakes popped into my head. They aren't the simplest weeknight meal...it really helps to have the quinoa pre cooked and in the fridge though. One major tip is to use a mini ice-cream scoop (I used a coffee scoop) to form the "patties" and be very gentle because these babies are fragile! I topped them with a dollop of sour cream and they were gone faster than I could cook the next batch! Here's a link to the recipe (I added some corn instead of the sun-dried tomatoes) So, without further ado...