Gluten Free Maple-Cinnamon Granola

My favorite breakfast has always been yogurt. When I wouldn't drink milk growing up, I would always eat yogurt and "bodadah" (granola). In high school when I went through a cereal hating phase, I would still eat yogurt. I eat yogurt in the morning several days per week, I usually have another one as a snack at work and I also freeze yogurt for popsicles.

I recently received a yogurt maker for a birthday gift. I can make my own yogurt anytime now and I can be sure it doesn't have any preservatives or additives. It is delicious and also fun for me to be able to make it at home!

As much as I like yogurt by itself, I also like it with a crunch element. This granola is very healthy and tasty. It is just nuts and some coconut, so it is gluten free as well. I would also be great mixed into oatmeal or even having a handful for a snack. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Maple-Cinnamon Granola

Adapted from The Metabolism Miracle

2 cups nuts of your choice (I used pecans, walnuts, sliced almonds, sunflower seeds and chia seeds. Flax seeds and pumpkin seeds would also be good)
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 egg white
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used a maple-agave blend syrup from Trader Joes)
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Combine nuts and coconut in a bowl. Add the egg white and stir to combine
3. In a separate bowl combine the coconut oil, maple syrup and cinnamon
4. Pour cinnamon mixture over the nuts and stir to combine
5. Distribute nuts in a layer on the parchment paper
6. Bake in the oven for about 30-35 minutes or until toasted and starting to brown. Stir every 10 minutes until done.
7. Allow to cool on a cooking rack. Store in an airtight container.

Spring Salads

Ah! Finally the time has come for fresh produce like strawberries, zucchini, and asparagus. These are of course not growing in North Dakota right now, and as much as I would love to only buy local, I would have to wait until July when the farmer's markets start. I am too impatient for that, so I have been buying up all of the spring fruits and vegetables that I can find. Having these makes eating vegetables so much easier! Here are a couple of salads that take only minutes to make and will add some color and flavor to your next meal. Enjoy!

Strawberry Spinach Salad
Serves 1

1 cup raw spinach or other salad greens
2 large strawberries, diced
1/2 celery stalk, diced
1 tsp walnuts, chopped
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp agave or maple syrup
fresh ground pepper

1. Combine spinach, strawberries, celery, and walnuts (Gorgonzola or blue cheese would also be a great addition)
2. In a small dish combine vinegar, oil and agave. Pour over salad and top with fresh ground pepper.

Zucchini Saute
Serves 1-2

1 tbsp olive oil
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch coins and then cut into thirds
1 clove garlic, chopped
~8 dry roasted almonds, chopped
salt and pepper
1 tbsp Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a non-stick pan
2. Add zucchini  and garlic. Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add almonds and cook for about 1-2 more minutes
4. Sprinkle with cheese and serve

Parsnip Muffins

Parsnips- kind of strange thing to add to muffins I know. I bought a bag of parsnips a couple of weeks ago to make a recipe from Around My French Table. That was really my first exposure to them and the rest have just been sitting in the refrigerator. I was planning on roasting them, but this morning I was flipping through a magazine and in it was a recipe for parsnip muffins. I decided to try it, but my recipe is loosely adapted from the one I found. I manipulated the recipe quite a bit to make the muffins higher in fiber and lower in fat. 

While I was doing this, it reminded me of my days working at Billings Clinic as a research dietitian. I spent hours making wheat, oat, and sugar beat fiber muffins for a cholesterol study. We had to make the muffins low in fat and calories plus flavorful and tasty so the test subjects would really eat them. I was so tired of baking and muffins by the time the study was done. I promise these parsnip muffins are very edible even with all of my tweaking. Actually they turned out very moist and surprisingly good. They are not very sweet, but the currents give a little bite of sweetness and the walnuts add a pleasant crunch. If you happen to have some parsnips, these are a delicious way to use them! Enjoy!

Parsnip Muffins

Inspired and adapted from Fine Cooking

yield: 16 muffins

1 tbsp Canola oil

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 large egg

1/4 cup ground  flax seed

1/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup light sour cream or plain non-fat yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 cups grated parsnips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup currents or raisins

9 oz whole wheat flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

pinch of salt

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a standard 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. 

2. Beat together the oil, sugar, yogurt/sour cream, applesauce, vanilla, flaxseed, egg, and water until combined. 

3. Stir in the parsnips, walnuts, and currents. 

4. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the moist ingredients and stir to combine. 

5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean- about 20 minutes. Cool pans on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto the rack to cool.