Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

This is the time of the year when I start getting summer squash weekly in my CSA share.  One fun way of enjoying some of the squash is to hide it in delicious & healthy chocolate muffins.

I use this Oil-Free Chocolate Zucchini Walnut Muffin recipe and make it with or without the nuts.  Either way the muffins are delicious and we find them plenty moist - not needing any margarine to enjoy.   Adults & kids alike enjoy them for breakfast or dessert.

My yield on this recipe is 18 muffins.

Another simple & healthy Mexican dinner

This recipe is not as low fat as most that I share here.  However, most of the fat comes from whole foods and can be kept even lower if you water saute the peppers & garlic instead of using oil.

I made the recipe exactly as instructed and everyone loved it - including my pickiest eater.  I also love the simple one pan clean up.   This recipe is definitely a keeper!

One Pan Mexican Quinoa
http://damndelicious.net/2014/04/09/one-pan-mexican-quinoa/

The original recipe blog has great step-by-step instructions with photos... but here is a photo of my finished product - right before serving to my family.

Chipolte Pasta

http://www.forksoverknives.com/chipotle-pasta/

This Mexican style vegan pasta dish is easy to make, healthy, and a hit with the entire family.  Well, the little one doesn't love the sauce, so I prepare him a dish with everything mixed together (pasta, beans, corn, tomatoes) just before I add the sauce.

I can put together this dinner fairly quickly because I have all these ingredients on hand in my pantry.   However, I remember back to my early months cooking vegan and had no idea what miso was much less where to find it (and neither did most of the grocery store employees I enlisted to help me find it).  I'm happy to report, three years later, I see miso everywhere!   I've found it at Whole Foods, Wegmans, Trader Joes, etc.   Nutritional yeast can also be found in most grocery stores now.  I prefer buying it from the bulk bins at the natural foods grocery stores (for less than $10/lb) for the cost savings.  I store it in a cleaned out empty jelly jar.

A few notes on my prep: In the summer, when tomatoes are in season here in Maryland, I use fresh tomatoes in this recipe. Otherwise, I use one can of (drained) diced tomatoes.  Also, I use an entire 12oz. package of pasta.