Blueberry Yeast Buns (Jagodzianki)

Yeast Blueberry Buns are they healthy or are they not? 

It's a big generational debate whether yeast cakes and buns are good for us. Older generations in Poland consider them healthy. And they have a point - as yeast desserts in Poland are typically low in sugar, partially because yeast grows by consuming sugar and turning it into CO2 that creates the fluffy texture. And partially because we often add fruits that add natural sweetness.  However, these cakes and buns usually contain white four that is not exactly a health food. So I think it is a break-even! 

Ingredients

Makes: 16 buns

Yeast Dough

• 1 tbsp dry yeast
• 250 g milk of choice 
• 50 g sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 200 g flour
• 100 g butter
• 0.5 tsp vanilla extract/paste (optional)
• 1 egg yolk (optional)

Blueberry Filling

• 350 g blueberries (both high bush and wold work well), washed
• 25 g potato or corn starch (it helps prevent dense, gluey streaks around fruits)
• 20 g sugar 

Instructions

1. Mix dry yeast with 2 tbsp warm water (37c). Let it sit for 5-10 min until you see foam forming on the top.

2. Warm up milk to about 37c. 

3. In the blender add warmed up milk, yeast, sugar. Blend it up and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

4. Move items to a dough mixing machine or a bowl, add flour, eggs yolks, butter, vanilla extract and mix until it is well combined. 

5. Move the dough mixture to a bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it sit for 60-90 minutes to rise.

6. Heat the over to 200c/400F.

7. On a lightly floured surface place the dough. Divide the mixture into 16 pieces and gently flatten each one out. Cover with a cloth and let them sit for another 20 min.

8. In a meantime, in a separate bowl mix whole blueberries with starch and sugar. Let them sit.

9. Take 16 pieces of the dough, flatten them so you can add about 1tbsp of blueberry filling. Close them like you would empanadas or pierogi and form little rectangles.

10. Prepared buns place on a baking sheet and cover with a cloth. Let them rest for another 30 minutes or until the over is warmed up.

11. Before baking you can brush each bun with egg yolk, if desired.

12. Bake for 17-20 minutes until lightly brown.

13. Let them cool off for about 15 minutes (the filling gets very hot!).

14. Enjoy them as a snack, breakfast, or a dessert.

15. If you tried this recipe - share it and tag @healthywithjoanna

Polish Christmas: Millet with Poppy seeds

Over the last couple of years I made another twist on my favourite Christmas Dish - Pasta with Poppy seeds. I decided to replace pasta with millet; and it turned out to be my favourite version!

Wheat berries that are often used instead on pasta in the traditional kutia, the Christmas dish very popular in the Eastern Poland close to the Ukrainian border, are very hard to find in my region of Canada.



Ingredients:
1.5 cup of cooked millet (I like to rinse it a couple of times before cooking, at times I soak it)
1.5 cup of poppy seeds (soaked in hot water for 2 days and rinsed 4 times)
0.5 cup of dried fruits - I use figs and dates, raising work well too
0.5 cup of nuts - I like the best pistachios and almonds in this recipe
1 lemon - juice and zest
4 tbsp of raw honey






Steps:
1. Place soaked and drained poppy seeds in the blender with honey and lemon juice. Blend until it is fairly smooth and poppy seeds are crushed. This is very important step and may require few minutes. Whole poppy seeds are quite bitter and you may need more honey to compensate if you do not crush them enough.
2. Add all remaining ingredients, and mix well.
3. Traditionally it is a Christmas dessert. I also enjoy it for breakfast after Christmas. It can be stored in the fridge for a week.
4. Enjoy!

Oat bran orange and black cherry muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

Today my son was calling for muffins and he picked the ingredients - orange and cherries. I picked oatbran and vanilla powder. So we whipped up some incredibly good muffins.

Makes 10 muffins.

Ingredients:

1 c oat bran

0.5 c buckwheat

0.5 c all purpose flour

4 tbsp flax, milled

1 tsp vanilla powder

10 frozen cherries 

1 orange, peel and 1 cup orange juice

0.25 c honey

50 g butter, melted 

1 tbsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda 

1. Mix all ingredients, starting with dry ingredients.

2. Bake at 177c for about 30 minutes.

3. Enjoy.

Simplicity at its best: Homestyle Cheesecake

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #cheesecake

Here is my favourite cheesecake. It is so simple yet demonstrates beautifully the whole essence of a good cheesecake - cheese!

Ingredients:

500g pressed cottage cheese or quark (look for a very low sodium variety)

7 eggs

0.75c sugar

80g butter

0.5tsp vanilla powder

1tsp baking powder

0.25c flour

A little bit of butter and a mix of 4 biscuits and 2tbspoatbran for the baking pan preparation

1.  Prepare the form by spreading the butter in the baking pan.

Blend biscuits and oatbran, spread evenly in the baking pan.

2. Place all remaining ingredients in a high speed blender and blend for 10 minutes until it is smooth. 

You may need to mix with a spoon occasionally.

3. Baking in preheated oven at 175c for 40 minutes.

Please note that cheesecake collapses after baking, it is normal.

4. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

5. Enjoy!

Raw strawberry cheesecake

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #raw

One of the best desserts is strawberry cheesecake... It gets even better in a healthy raw vegan version when you replace flour, eggs, sugar, and cheese with nuts and seeds.

Ingredients:

Base:

1 c walnuts, soaked for about 1 hour, drained 

1 c sunflower seeds

0.5 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp raw carob powder

15 prunes

Filling:

1.5-2 c. Raw cashews, soaked overnight, drained

4-5 tbsp raw honey 

0.5 tsp vanilla powder 

Topping:

2 c strawberries

1. Place all base ingredients in a food processor. Blend all of them until it becomes sticky.

2. Press base into a pie dish.

3. Place filling ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth, creamy consistency. Stir as required.

4. Pour the filling onto the base, spread evenly.

5. Place strawberries into a blender and blend until smooth.

6. Pour strawberries sauce on top. 

7. You can make swirls with a fork by gently blending strawberries with a cashew creme.

8. Place in a freezer for 2 hour or more.

9. Serve cold.

10. Enjoy!

Broiled Haloumi Peaches

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating

The summer time is all about peaches! 

"If I had my little way I'd eat peaches everyday ... ", just like The Presidents of the USA. 

Ingredients:

5 peaches, perfectly ripe, not too soft yet

150 g Halloumi cheese (other cheeses that do not melt during grilling. Look for  unripened cheese, there are some alternatives around the world) 

0.5 lime, juice and zest

4 tbsp honey

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I used one infused with pears)

Seed mix:

20-30 pistachios (raw, unsalted) 

2 tbsp black sesame seeds

1tbsp milled flax

0.5 tsp cinnamon

0.25 tsp ground nutmeg

6 cloves

4 cardamom pods

1. Cut peaches into eights and remove pits.

2. Cut Halloumi into small pieces.

3. Mix honey, balsamic vinegar, lime and lime zest. 

4. Mix peaches with Halloumi and honey mix. Place in a baking dish.

5. Bake on a broil/grill setting at 177c for 20 minutes. The oven should be preheated. 

6. Prepare seed mix by grinding cardamom seeds and cloves. Chop pistachios into smaller pieces. Mix all seed ingredients together. 

6. Serve warm topped with a seed mix. 

7. Enjoy!

Muffin time: Oat, Apple, carrot and pumpkin seed

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffins

Here is another super easy muffin recipe. This time we throw away flour, eggs, sugar, oil - typical ingredients in baked goods, and replace them with oats, honey, fruits, veggies, butter and spices.

Serves: 10

Ingredients:

2 c oats, grinded into flour

1 carrot, finely grated

1 Apple, corse grated

1/3 lemon, juice only 

100 g honey 

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp baking soda

0.25-0.5 c butter, melted

Handful of raw pumpkin seeds

1. Mix all ingredients together. Let it stand for a few minutes.

2. Bake in a preheated oven at 177c for about 30-45 min depending how moist were your fruits and veggies.

3. Enjoy!

Charming Winter: Snow chocolate ice cream

#winterwonderland #icecream #easyfoodcreations

Over the last few days we received over 120cm of snow. Many people ask what to do with the snow... I'd say take advantage of it! Here is a super fast ice cream you can make using fresh snow. 

Ingredients:

2 tbsp of chocolate powder

1-2 tbsp of icing sugar or other sweetener

0.5 tsp vanilla powder

1 packet of vanilla sugar

0.75c whipping cream (you can use a mix of cream and milk)

3c fresh snow

1. Mix all ingredients other than ice with a whisk.

2. Pour mixture into a bowl with snow and mix with a spoon.

3. Serve right away as they melt really fast.

4. Enjoy!

St. Patrick's cupcakes -Pistachio and Green tea Cupcakes with Avocado Icing

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #stpatricks #vegan

The upcoming St. Patrick's day got me thinking about "green" food and how I can create something new and delicious, and of course at least partially healthy.
I decided to try cupcakes this time, a small change to my usual muffins creations. This recipe will work equally well if you skip the icing so it is up to you.

Serves 7 muffins

Ingredients:
0.5 c all purpose flour
0.5 c oat flour (I grind oats rather than buying oat flour, it is cheaper and does not involve a lot of effort)
2 tbsp flax meal
6-8 tbsp green tea (liquid)
1 tsp green tea leaves, grounded (I used sencha but matcha would work too)
2 cardamon pods, keep seeds only
0.25 c brown sugar
1 packet of vanilla sugar
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 medium size zucchini
25 pistachios
0.25 c melted butter (you can use oil instead, typically I would use grapeseed as a replacement)
pinch of salt
Icing:
0.5 avocado
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water
0.5 ripe banana
1 tbsp icing sugar
(If you want chocolate icing add 1 -2 tsp cocoa powder)

2-3 tsp psyllium husk

1. Grind 20 pistachios, set them aside. Reserve 5 pistachios for decoration.
2. Prepare flax meal - mix it with 5 tbsp of green tea and set aside.
3. Grind zucchini with remaining green tea to a smooth consistency. Set aside.
3. Mix all dry ingredients well. Then add wet ingredients to mix everything well.
4. Bake in a preheated oven at 177c for 20 minutes.
5. Let them cool before decorating with icing.
6. Prepare icing by blending avocado, sugar, lemon and banana. Once the mix is smooth add psyllium husk to thicken the mix.
7. Decorate cupcakes with icing, then sprinkle with crushed pistachios.
8. Enjoy!

Polish Christmas: Pasta with poppy seeds, dried fruits and nuts

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #polishchristmas #kluskizmakiem

For me there is no Christmas without this dish! The dish is quite specific as it is not very sweet in comparison to typical western desserts so I know not everyone will like it. Even Polish people who did not grew up eating it at Christmas may not appreciate its taste.

As a kid, I remember waiting impatiently the whole year, especially Christmas Eve for this dish. Since it is a dessert it always came last after we ate almost all 12 dishes. If I had to choose pasta with poppy seeds or gifts as a kid, I am not sure what would I pick...

Ingredients:

1c poppy seeds

0.5c honey

0.25c Dried fruits: apricots, dates, figs

0.25c nuts and almonds

2tbsp whipping cream (optional)

0.5 lemon or orange - juice and peel 

2c pasta (I used home made pasta, see my recipe for pasta)

1. Run boiling water through poppy seeds 3-4 times. I find poppy seeds in Canada quite bitter so it is an important step. Then pour 1c of  boiling water into a bowl, add poppy seeds and let it sit for an hour or so.

2. Remove excess water. Place poppy seeds in a blender, add honey. Process for a few minutes; you should see milky liquid. 

3. Chop dried fruits and nuts into small pieces.

4. Mix all ingredients together.

5. Serve warm or at room temperature. If it becomes dry after a couple of days you can stir in more cream, honey, and/or orange or lemon juice. It keeps well in the fridge for a week.

6. Enjoy!

Memories from the Island: Conkies

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #desserts #pumpkin

When I was in Barbados I had a chance to try Conkies, which is a traditional dessert Bajan's eat to celebrate their independence in November. This treat had quickly become my favourite dessert of all times. These cakes are so nutritious and filling that they can be served for breakfast.
And what is better on the weekend than a dessert for breakfast that is actually good for you.

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin or squash (about 0.5 kg)

1 sweet potato

1.5 very ripe bananas

1 can coconut milk

1.5-2 c cornmeal 

0.5 c grated coconut (I use unsweetened organic brand, but if you use sweetened you may want to adjust bananas, coconut sugar, and raisins)

2-5tbsp Coconut sugar (optional. I find all other ingredients sweet enough but if you like sweet food you may want to add some sugar)

0.5 tsp grated nutmeg

1.5 tsp grated cinnamon

0.5 tsp allspice

3-7 tbsp raisins

5 tbsp melted butter

1. Bake pumpkin and sweet potato for 40-50 minutes at 220c.

2. In the blender add peeled and cut pumpkin and potato, cut banana, and coconut milk. Blend until smooth.

3. Move pumpkin mix to the bowl and add all remaining ingredients, mix well. The consistency should be fairly dense, you may need to adjust cornmeal quantity.

4. Make packets from banana leaves (gives a superior taste, but this time I could not find them anywhere) or aluminium foil (it sticks a little bit) by putting the mix on the cut out pieces and folding it. I heard that you can also use parchment paper but I did not try it.

5. Put packets in the oven preheated to 180c for 50-60 minutes.

6. Enjoy warm or cold.

Breakfast Dessert: Rice Apple Cake

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #leftovers

This recipe is inspired by one of my childhood favourite dishes and probably most Polish kids  favourite dish - rice baked with cinnamon apples.  I put my own spin on it and it ended up being a great success. 

Typically we eat it as a dessert or a last evening meal; I like serving it for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1.5 c leftover rice (it is an estimated quantity), you can use whatever you have left

0.5 c milk

4 tbsp butter

2 ripe bananas

3 apples

1 tsp cinnamon

0.5 tsp vanilla powder

2 tbsp ground flax 

Grated nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 180c

2. Grate apples on a large eye grater

3. Mix flax with 2 tbsp of water, let it sit for a couple of minutes (you can substitute with 1-2 eggs)

4. Melt half of the butter

5. Mix all ingredients together

6. Spread butter in the baking form 

7. Put mixture in the baking form, level it by pressing firmly

8. On top place few slices of butter

9. Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes

10. Serve warm or at room temperature

11. Typically we serve it with fruits, jams, yoghurt, cream, or whipping cream

Easy peasy - Green Pudding

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #raw

This is a healthy pudding that easily replaces popular desserts packed with chemicals and sugars. My son is not a big fan of any fruits so the only way is to turn them into a smoothie or a pudding. This one is one of his favourites, one serving is hardly ever enough. 

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 avocado

2 bananas

1 orange

5 prunes

1c water

1 handful of spinach leaves

1 tbsp ground flax (optional)

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.

2. Serve cold or at a room temperature.

3. Enjoy!

Wholesome seed muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffins #seeds #vegan

Ingredients:
5 tbsp sunflower seeds (pumpkin would work well too)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp flax seeds

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp poppy seeds

2 tbsp flax meal

0.5 c water

1 c milk (I used coconut milk)

2 tbsp olive oil (you can use butter or coconut oil)

1 c all purpose flour

0.5 c coconut flour

0.75 c oats (I used whole but you can grind them)

5 tbsp honey

2 tbsp baking powder

0.5 tsp Salt

1 lemon, juice and zest

1. Preheat oven to 177c

2. Mix flax with water and let it sit for a few minutes.

3. Mix all wet ingredients

4. Add dry ingredients and mix well

5. Place muffin dough into muffin containers to 2/3 full

6. Bake for 35-40 min

7. Enjoy

Banana Cheesecake

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #cheesecake

Today we are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary. It is incredible how fast time goes.

When we are celebrating we typically have a dessert, which breaks the everyday routine by adding something sweet and special. 

As usual making a regular cheesecake would not be a challenge if I did not try to incorporate some healthier ingredients - today we have oatbran in the thin layer of crust.

Ingredients:

500 g white pressed cheese (unsalted or with minimal salt added). This is a key ingredient so it is important to get good quality stuff or even better making your own. I will show how to make it in a separate blog

150 g butter, leave it outside the fridge for about 20-30 min so it is a little softer

4 eggs

3 bananas, I used 2 overripe bananas and one ripe banana. Ripeness of bananas controls the sweetness of the cake so if you like it sweeter you may want to use 3 or even 4 overripe bananas. 

1 packet of vanilla sugar

8 arrowroot cookies (you can use other low sugar cookies)

2 Tbsp oatbran

0.25 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 150c

2. Spread a little bit of butter in the baking dish

3. Grind cookies and oatbran. Spread it evenly over the baking dish

4. Blend all remaining ingredients until smooth

5. Pour blended mix into the baking dish

6. Bake for 45-50 min
7. Enjoy!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #muffins

I love lemon poppyseed muffins; they are probably my favourite. Unfortunately too often they are  too soggy, too sweet, too unhealthy. I created a healthier version of the muffin and it turned out to be a bit hit.

I make only 6 muffins instead of 12 as there are only 3 of us. So if you want 12 muffins you will need to  double the ingredients.

Ingredients:

0.5 c spelt flour (You can use whole wheat. I prefer the taste of spelt but it is up to you)
0.5 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp baking soda
0.25 tbs vanilla powder
0.25 c raw brown sugar/honey mix (I prefer to use more honey than sugar but it is up to you. You can use other sweetener if you want to.)
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp of flax seed mixed with 1tbsp of water (you can use 1 egg instead or additionally)
0.5 lemon, juice and lemon peel
0.25 c butter or oil (I used grapeseed oil)
0.5 c coconut milk (nut/seed milk, or regular milk)

1. Mix all ingredients well.
2. Pour into muffin forms and let stand until oven is preheated to 177c.
3. Bake at 177c for 20 minutes.
4. Enjoy!

Lemon and Orange Raw Bars

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #rawdesserts

I felt like having some almonds the other day. From my previous raw desserts I knew that almonds and coconut go really well together. I also thought why not add my other favourites - lemon and orange -to the mix. A delicious dessert came out!

Serves: 12

Ingredients:
1c almonds
0.75-1c coconut
10 prunes (you can use dates or figs if you prefer)
1 lemon - juice and zest
0.5 orange - juice and zest
0.5t cinnamon
0.5t vanilla powder

1. Process all ingredients together until they start forming a ball.
2. Place the mix on the parchment paper, flatten to form 1-2 inch thick block.
3. Place in the fridge for at least one hour.
4. Enjoy!

Heavenly Froggies

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #oatmeal

I remember my sister making those cookies when we were young. They are so simple and yet so delicious.

I had some hot dark chocolate mix left so I decided to use it in this recipe. I felt for extra vitamins ovaltine would work in it too so about 3T of the chocolate mix consists of ovaltine.

Ingredients

3c quick oats

0.75c coconut flakes

1 packet of vanilla sugar

4T icing sugar

3T honey

7T hot dark chocolate (if it has sugar added you may need to cut down on adding extra sugar) and ovaltine 

0.75c warm coconut milk (I used the packet ones as you need to add hot water to it and it is quite a bit cheaper than can version. Milk in milk containers is a little too watery and does not have a lot of fat so I am not sure how it would work)

1. Dissolve chocolate and ovaltine in the coconut milk

2. Mix all ingredients together.

3. Spoon them into desired sizes and place on the plate or baking sheet. Store in the fridge for at least 1 hour (they will become harder).

4. Enjoy!

Healthier Popsicle: Blueberry Popsicles

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #popsicles

Serves: 14 large popsicles

Ingredients;
1.5 frozen banana, sliced

0.5 raw medium size beet, cut into cubes

1 handful of raw spinach leaves

1 slice of lemon

2 c fresh blueberries (I used high bush blueberries, also called American blueberries)

200g natural Greek yoghurt (I used full fat)

1. Blend all ingredients together in a fast speed blender.

2. Pour into Popsicle moulds and freeze for at least 5 hours.

3. Enjoy!

Healthier Treat: Mango Popsicles

#easyfoodcreations #healthyeating #popsicles

Serves: 14 large popsicles

Mango Popsicles

1/4c large carrot, cut into smaller chunks
1/4c green cabbage
0.5 large avocado
1 ripe banana
2 c frozen mango chunks
100g-150g plain greek yoghurt

1. Blend all ingredients together.
2. You can serve some immediately as ice cream if you want. Place mixture in popsicle moulds and freeze for at least 5 hours (Usually I leave them overnight).
3. Enjoy!