Miranda Malisani – Nutrition Expert

The Ombre Muffin

I bake a lot of “weird” things (according to my kids) and sometimes these weird things turn out really well. This one did. It started as a Halloween experiment where I was trying to get the “vampire blood’ look, but I think I’m going to add this to our monthly baking rotation. With beets, carrots and Medjool dates I am happy to add it to the kids lunch snacks. I added some chocolate chips because they’ll try anything with a chocolate chip on it. And it actually complimented the sweet earthy flavour of these ingredients combined. Beets are a supportive…

Chocolate Chip Avocado Mini Muffins

  After my Chocolate Avocado cake disappeared into the bellies of my boys in ONE day, I just had to bake something more with this creamy combo. I love how an avocado acts as the perfect fat once smoothed out, I didn’t need any oil for this recipe. I decided to use my Vitamix for this recipe because it’s my favourite kitchen toy and it gets the avocado to a pureed state without any little pieces. Here’s the recipe:  Chocolate Chip Avocado Mini Muffins Makes 24 mini muffins Ingredients:  1 ripe avocado 1 ripe banana 1/4 cup raw honey 7…

Gluten-Free Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Coconut Icing

We are so lucky to live so close to some incredible farms, including Twinkle Berry Strawberry Farm. Yesterday we took the family to their pick-your-own field and we collected these perfect little berries for some healthy baking! It only took us 30 mins to gather a big bucket of strawberries, which is just about the time where the kids attention span runs out so all worked out! This morning I experimented in the kitchen and through together some of my fave baking ingredients and made a batch of Gluten-Free Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Coconut Icing. They could also act as…

Carrot & Cream Cheese Mini Muffins (Gluten-Free)

It’s always a risk when I bake with vegetables (and make it obvious to the boys) that they won’t like them, but these Carrot & Cream Cheese Minis are so yummy that even my selective eater at 3 right out of the oven. Even better, there’s only 1/3 cup coconut sugar for the entire recipe and a focus on healthy fats (chia seeds, pumpkin seed butter and goat cream cheese) I love when carrots and cinnamon collide. Here’s the recipe: Makes 24 minis Ingredients:  3 medium organic carrots (shredded or diced in food processor) I shredded mine 2 heaping tbsp…

Oat & Chia Energy Cookie

If you are looking for a sweet treat, need a quick and healthy snack post-workout or have run out of ideas for your kids lunches, try this energy cookie! Made with natural sweeteners raw honey and maple syrup and healthy fats chia seeds, coconut oil and pumpkin seed butter, you will love the taste as much as your body loves the fuel. (Makes 16) Ingredients: 2 tbsp pumpkin seed butter 1/4 cup coconut oil (melted) 1/8 cup raw honey  (I used avocado blossom) 1/8 cup pure maple syrup 1 chia egg (1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp water) Let…

Alligator Pear & Chocolate Mini Muffins

 There is definitely no better compliment then when your kids say the love your food. They are the toughest critics and these days with my eldest going through a picky-eater phase, hearing him say these are my best muffins is THE BEST. If you’ve been following my posts, you have figured out that I always try to jam in as many nutrients as possible, yet still make it kid-approved, with some sweetness and creaminess and taste-bud friendly texture. This mini is JUST THAT and so much more! I’ve been using my browning bananas for most of my baking lately, but…

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who knew that you could get a chewy, soft, golden-brown chocolate chip cookie without using white flour, butter, or refined sugar. Healthy can be easy and DELICIOUS! Makes 24 Ingredients:  1 cup organic, unsalted peanut butter (or any nut butter) 1/3 cup raw honey 1 organic omega-3 egg or flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water, let stand for 5 minutes before adding) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips Directions: Preheat your oven to 350F In a medium bowl mix all ingredients together. Carefully fold in the chocolate chips to…

Recipe Renovation ~ Quinoa Raspberry Muffins

MYTH: Using “quinoa” in the title of a muffin recipe automatically makes it a healthy alternative. FACT: If you took out the 1/2 cup of quinoa for the whole recipe, you’d be left with a enriched white flour raspberry muffin, made with nutrient-poor, inflammatory ingredients.   We can do better. Come back this week to see how I renovate this Quinoa Raspberry Muffin recipe to be HEALTHY and TASTY!      …