Category Archives: Recipes

Classic Bran Muffins

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by: Robyn Youkilis

I always say I learned to cook as a baby and that is in thanks to my incredible chef of a mom.  My mom would cook a huge family dinner every single night and put me down for my nap in the bassinet beside her while she made each meal with love.  Coq au Vin, Chocolate Souffles and Chicken Piccatta (all from scratch) were regular nightly occurrences.  You’d think she was born in the kitchen but that certainly was not the case!  Before my mom met my dad she could barely boil water!  My dad’s favorite thing in the world was to eat (I come by it honestly!) and so she figured she’d better get cookin’!  She enrolled in some cooking courses with the famous chef Paul Martin, found her love of cooking and the rest is history.

As soon as I could hold a spoon I was begging to mix whatever she would allow me to and this was the recipe I was typically mixing (while she begged me to stop mixing so I didn’t ruin her creations!).  I followed my mama everywhere and it seemed that these classic Bran Muffins did (and still do) too.  They’re her favorite breakfast, toasted with a little jam and butter, a perfect treat for Mother’s Day.

So Happy Happy Mother’s Day mama and thank you for being my biggest cooking inspiration, fan and best friend.  I can’t thank you enough for all the hours we spent together in the kitchen while I sat on the counter mixing away just talking about our days.  I wouldn’t have any of this without your patience, and love, inside and outside of the kitchen.  Love you always.  And I promise to make you a healthier version of these muffins ASAP.  :)

This recipe uses traditional baking ingredients but I’ve included some swaps in parentheses below if you’d like to make it a little more {Healthy} Cooking Campified.  They contain a lot of fiber, perfect for busy moms.  ;)
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Classic Bran Muffins
Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12

Dry Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup brown sugar (swap for coconut sugar)
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup cranberries, raisins or chopped dried apricots (Robyn’s favorite) -Optional
Wet Ingredients
  • 1 cup All Bran cereal
  • 1 cup of milk (cow’s, almond, soy or coconut would all work)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil (swap for melted coconut oil)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Take one large bowl and mix your dry ingredients together.  In another bowl mix the cereal and milk and allow to sit for a couple of minutes to soften.  Add remaining wet ingredients and dried fruit if using and combine.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just barely combined (don’t pull a baby Robyn and over mix!).Spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray (we recommend coconut oil) and divide muffin mixture evenly.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Pull from oven cool and serve.

Southwest Sweet Potato Falafel

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by Quinn Asteak 

For mothers day, I wanted to share one of my mom’s favorite recipes, my Southwest Sweet Potato Falafel.  Moo, this one is for you! (Yes, I call my mother “moo”)

I’ve been making this for years and finally posted it on my website a couple months ago after I made them for a big meeting.  The person we were trying to impress said (and I quote), “these things are stooopid delicious”, which still ranks as one of my favorite food compliments ever.

Since my mom checks my site literally every 2.5 seconds, right after the recipe went live she called being like “I WANT THOSE!”.

The Southwest Sweet Potato Falafel are awesome because they have a great mix of unexpected flavors.  They’re perfect in a pita, on a salad or on their own, dipped in some great cilantro yogurt sauce (recipe below).

You bes’ believe that the next time I was at home I whipped up some of these spicy, sweet balls of goodness and my whole family noshed in delight.  I don’t think my mom called them “stooopid delicious” but they are definitely one of her favorites.

So, Moo, if you weren’t off on a business trip somewhere I’d be coming home on Mother’s Day to cook you anything you desire!  Thank you for feeding me my whole life (even if all I ever wanted was peanut butter on a spoon or chicken teriyaki).  When I’m teaching a newbie cook I always use your classic line “if you can read, you can cook”.  And let me just say: woman, you can READ :)

It goes without saying that as a perfect Jewish mother you made the best Jewish food, but watching you whip up things like Moroccan Tagines, Indian chutneys and roasting a whole goose like it ain’t no thang still serve as my inspiration to get bold and creative in the kitchen.

As I started really learning to cook, you were my first guinea pig and I never would have learned without your constant encouragement and constructive feedback.  These days, you are my favorite sous chef, dish washer and diner.  Not only that, but you’re also my my role model, biggest supporter and best  friend.  I love you like crazy.  Happy Mother’s Day!

And now…FOOD.

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Southwest Sweet Potato Falafel
Total Time: 2 hours
Active Time: 15 minutes
Yield: about 18-24 (serves 4-6)

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes
  • 1 cup chickpea/garbanzo bean flour
  • 1 teaspoon chili flakes/red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 big handfuls of fresh cilantro/coriander, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
  • 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt and pepper, to taste

Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

  • 1 cup sheep’s milk yogurt
  • Zest and juice of 1 lime
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  • Sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.  Scrub the sweet potatoes and stab in them the aid the cooking/heat venting.  Place them on a baking tray in the oven and let them cook for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until fork tender.

Allow the potaoes to cool, then peel off the skins.  Put the flesh in a mixing bowl with all of the other ingredients and mash with a fork or potato masher until smooth (no large chunks).  Take a little taste and adjust accordingly.  Maybe it needs more garlic?  More salt?

Stick in the fridge to firm up for an hour, or the freezer for 20-30 minutes. When you take it out, your mix should be sticky rather than really wet. You can add a tablespoon or so more of chickpea flour if necessary (the water content of sweet potatoes varies big time).

Reheat the oven to 400F. Using a couple of soup spoons or a tablespoon scooper, place balls on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake in the oven for around 15-25 minutes, until the bases are golden brown.

To make the Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Our Favorite Cookbooks Right Now

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As constant cookers (is that a word?  Quinn’s grandma says it, so let’s roll with it) we are constantly looking for new and fresh ideas.

Sometimes divine inspiration strikes when strolling through the grocery store or farmer’s markets, but sometimes we need to take it up a notch and seek it out at a stellar farm-to-table restaurant or in a kickass cookbook…

And our video below is all about the latter!  Watch to see our current faves for getting our “foodbrain” juices flowing and make sure to stay tuned until the end because we have a special announcement.

We created our own cookbook!

We are SO freaking excited to announce the arrival of our new baby, {Healthy} Cooking Camp’s {Healthy} Basics Cookbook!

It includes over 30 of our most tried and true recipes for mind-blowingly delicious, healthy food, and features some of our signature dishes that can only be found in this cookbook, like:

  • No-Bake Brownie
  • HCC Grab-n-Go Bar
  • Gorgeous Glazed Salmon
  • Mmm mmm Miso Pesto
  • Free Up Your Fridge Frittata

This is the perfect cookbook for someone who wants to start cooking healthier food but needs to know exactly where to begin. 

We totally break it down so you know exactly how many servings each recipe yields, how long it will take AND for each recipe we include 5 suggested “swaps” so you can play around with the ingredients and really make these recipes feel like your own.

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To purchase our brand new cookbook, click here!  

We hope you’ll add {Healthy} Cooking Camp’s: Healthy Basics Cookbook to your list of favorites too.

And a quick lil favor, we would reeeeeally appreciate if you could help us spread the word about our new cookbook so click here tell all your tweeps!  Think of all the recipes you and your friends can make together!  (And as we can tell you, together is oh so fun.)

We’d also love to know, what are your other favorite cookbooks for culinary inspiration?  Please share in the comments!

 

 

Two Food Filled Holidays!

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Passover and Easter.  Easter and Passover.  Both awesome holidays and both have their own fun food traditions.

Since we’ve been mega busy this time of year traveling, giving cooking classes and loving up our clients, we turned to the blogosphere for divine recipe inspiration.

If you’re looking to make your own matzoh or enjoy Easter the naturally sweetened way, our foodie friends have got you covered!

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Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s Gluten-Free Passover

Sweet Loren’s Homemade Matzoh

Health Coach Quinn’s Vanilla Mint Macaroon’s


 

Eastersamoa

New Power Couple

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Barack + Michelle
Brad + Angelina
Jay-Z + Beyoncé
Tom + Giselle
Robyn + Quinn
…and now, Beans + Greens

Yup, The New York Times has named a new power couple and it’s not exactly what you might have thought.

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We’ve had a long standing love affair with this nutrient dense duo and now they are finally getting the glory they deserve.  Read on to see what the NYTimes has to say about this winning combo.

The article include a great recipe, but you can get our five minute beans + greens recipe in our 5-in-5 cookbook.  Just add in your email address and it will be sent to you automatically.  In the Tempeh + Greens just swap the tempeh for a can of beans.  Simple.