Practice Makes Perfect
Hi friends 🙂
Happy Monday! Thank you so much for all of your support and words of love about Vies going to college. Foxy lady is already settled and living it up with her new family in Phoenix <3
So, since I’ve gotten to Tucson, I’ve made up for lost Mexican food 😉
Last night, we dined at Guadalajara Grill, where they make the salsa and guacamole fresh at your table (according to your spiciness preferences), give you magical sangria glasses that refill on their own
and warm tortilla chips that will envelope your soul in a warm sarape.
For my entree, I rolled with the guaco-tacos: homemade tortillas filled with fresh guacamole and lettuce, refried beans
and rice, which I subbed veggies for.
It was uhhhhmazing.
Since I’ve gotten to Tucson, I’ve also started to feel more adventurous with my food (hi, chicken), and am experimenting with foods and recipes that have always been on the backburner (pun?).
Like last night… this girl made muffins.
So I pretty much never make muffins, unless I make these blueberry ones for the Pilot. My carb of choice is either a doughy piece of bread or a gooey piece of cake. The muffin is like the middle man.
After perusing some recipes online, I remembered one was in my Babycakes cookbook and decided to give it a whirl.
Per usual, I didn’t follow it exactly.
I added lemon to the almond milk, to make vegan buttermilk (you can also use apple cider vinegar to do this), flour was Bob’s gluten-free baking mix, no agave in the casa (my bro made me throw it away since it was banned at Canyon Ranch) so I used Stevia baking mix, added some flax and mixed organic berries because I was feeling a little wild 😉
Turned this:
Into this:
Mmmmm. Multi-colored lopsided muffins
Ewww. Haha :oP
I incorporated one of the culinary disasters into this morning’s Mexi-meal:
Leftover veg and frijoles, scrambled 2 farm eggs, topped everything with farmer’s market hot salsa
The muffin was ok, but I still prefer bread or cake 😉
I’m off to walk Bella before yoga and then lots of work to do.
See ya laterrrrr <3
xoxo
Gina
Something to do: Sign up to follow me *here* for all of the sahweet OpenSky deals we’re offering. You’ll be entered in the Vita-mix giveaways that start this week- one lucky follower gets a Vita-mix every 10 days! When we get up to 10,000 followers, a winner will be chosen for a two-year supply of Sun Warrior.
Today’s workout jam: “Bring Night” by SIA – a fun, happy song for upbeat, steady state cardio. You’ll love this one 🙂
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We have a few places around Chicago that make guacamole right at your table. I always prefer it and can taste such a difference between fresh, and slightly older. It always tastes so good!!!
I’m with you…Give me bread any day. I’m not a big muffin fan. But those actually look really good!
I’m so glad you were able to find Viesa a good home with people you know 🙂 She ‘s a lucky pup! I made muffins last night, too – thanks for the vegan buttermilk tip!
I want a magical sangria glass! 🙂
I think the muffins look great!
Just wondering, what is Canyon Ranch and why was agave banned there?
it’s a health resort- it was banned because of articles like this: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/30/beware-of-the-agave-nectar-health-food.aspx
….this is a HUGE debate in the “health food world.” The problem lies in over consuming “fructose” in general. If you looked at any sweetener, you could find a ton of things wrong with them. I think the media gets a little obsessive when articles like this come out. The bottom line is that people get so wrapped up in thinking these foods are “healthier” and they over consume it. I don’t think Agave is worse than HFCS. But if people take HFCS out of their diets, and replace it with tons of agave every day it is certainly worse for that person!!! Just my opinion 🙂
I follow a lot of Mercolas articles, he also knocks The China Study big time (which is a book I highly respect):
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/01/08/chris-masterjohn-criticism-of-the-china-study.aspx?aid=CD945
Oh, and lopsided or not…the muffins still look pretty amazing 🙂 Blueberry is my favorite!
oh my word your mexican dinner looks to die for!!!!!!!!!! yum!
how do you like the gluten-free four mix?
I’ll take a chewy bagel or a hunk of crusty toast and butter any day over a muffin! but these look super yummy and would make a great snack option.
i don’t really love the gluten-free flour.. it tastes “beany” to me :/ brown rice flour is a better option for savory stuff, but i haven’t found something i love yet for sweet stuff
Can I ask why agave was banned?
Also, crossing my fingers for a vitamix. What great promo!!!
it was banned because starting last year, a lot of articles stated that it was worse than high fructose corn syrup http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/30/beware-of-the-agave-nectar-health-food.aspx
of course, there are conflicting articles on it, but to err on the safe side, they stopped using it in their dishes
huh. Good to know! Thanks for think link!
You’ve got to try different recipes sometimes… Even if it’s just to prove that you don’t like them as much!
I had no idea about the banned agave! Thanks for the link. Also glad Vies is already living it up in her new home. Those muffins actually look really good!
I’ve never been a muffin person either, they just don’t do it for me. I’d take cornbread, fruit crumbles, carrot cake and coffee/crumb cake over muffins any day. 😉
As a mutual gluten-free lady, I know my way around the GF flour block quite well.. 😉 Try combining millet (use the most millet), sorghum, brown rice, and a touch of buckwheat flour for a sweet recipe.. I think that would work well! Also, almond flour works wonderfully to add a buttery texture to sweet GF recipes. As for a sweetener, try coconut palm sugar! It’s my new favorite, and works to substitute any sugar, and has lovely caramel undertones which make it a fabulous replacement for brown sugar. I like sweet tree brand as well as coconut secret.
<3
awesome- thank you so much!
You’re so welcome! If you ever need some GF baking tips, never hesitate to ask. I’m always experimenting with different flour combinations. I have over 12 assorted flours in my house. Kind of ridiculous.. 😀
Just FYI- when you go to follow you on opensky your full name is listed-
Those tacos lok yummmy!!!! so do the muffins and I don’t like blueberries 😛
I was wondering could you ask your bro if canyon ranch has any summer internship oppurtunites for culinary/nutrition? I graduated from culinary school and am going to school for nutrition to become an RD!
Mmmm Sangria, my favorite!! Everything there looks Amazing!
I think there is Agave Nectar in Bethenny Frankel’s SkinnyGirl Margarita, I’m not that concerned though, I’m drinking it anyway 😀
So, would agave taste sweeter now that it’s banned? 🙂
Homemade guac and endless sangria? Yes, please!! And your breakfast looks epic! Your eats lately have been looking amazing- I literally want to eat everything you’ve posted about. Nom nom 😉
I’m glad Vies made it okay. I am sure this is hard for you regardless of her new happy home. I would be a wreck!
cant wait to see Viesa’s face once and awhile still, such a cutie-pie.
I love all that food, i want it all right now too.
i enjoy muffins, however i never make them, ive been thinking about making muffins and granola lately. weekend project maybe?
Oooh guaco-tacos sound so yummy!
Those guaco tacos look beyond amazing.
Sangria is the best, I can drink a pitcher of that on my own : p it just doesn’t taste like alcohol, and it can be dangerous! Ha! Lets just say I had a too much sangria night when the fiance had to carry me in : p
Love blueberry muffins, I actually LOVED making these as a kid, I used to smother them with butter, and it was heaven : )
Have a great day girl!
Wow the Guadalajara Grill sounds like heaven on earth! One more reason to get down to Tucson one of these days 🙂
Glad Viesa is settling in! Those blueberry muffins look lovely. 🙂
Oooh those muffins look yummy! But yes if I am splurging on carbs I want some fluffy cake or even sugary cereal. So I am starting marathon training today in Denver and with the weather and full time job I am going to have to treadmill train most days ;-/ DREADMILL!!! Any tips on training on the treadmill or other ways to keep up the cardio?
Gina the muffins looks awesome! I have heard the babycakes cookbook is good but that it needs tweaking to make things GF…which is a challenge, of course! Finding the right balance of flours so things don’t taste bean-ey, gritty, grainy, or dry…is an ongoing life project for me! Which is why I’ve ended up more on the raw/unbaking/nobaking side of desserts…GF baking can be tricky…well for me at least 🙂
Your muffins look great!
Glad you had a great Mexi meal and a cocktail after your day yesterday 🙂
Those muffins look good to me! I wouldn’t turn it down!
I didn’t know about the agave ban! My dad will be heartbroken 🙁
I’m glad Viesa is getting settled in well.
If I eat muffins, they’ve gotta be warm ones. I think yours look great! What’s the story on agave being banned from Canyon Ranch?
I love Mexican, nothing like fresh guac. I am a big guac snob though and really like it only in a certain way. Amazing eats, I have eaten 4/7 Mexican inspired dinners this week and I never feel its foreign as its just an extension of my Indian taste buds 🙂
Glad to know that V is nice and settled in!
I’m glad you found a new place for you pup. What type of dog was she??
mmmm, mexican food! i went out for mexican and margaritas this weekend too! it was a yummy treat. i’m not a muffin girl either. give me a big hunk of bread any day.
Those muffins look pretty tasty to me!!
Just catching up from the weekend– glad that your sweet pooch is happy in her new home as an “only child” 🙂
I love table-side Guacamole! It’s worth the splurge 🙂
Those sangria glasses sound just my style 🙂 And I agree….cake or bread always beat muffins. I’m an extremist!
I had a mexi- inspired breakfast this morning, too! It featured cabbage, eggs, black beans, tomato and avocado, yum 🙂
Have a good day and yoga class!
I think your muffins look perfectly delicious!! And I need to make me a guaco taco stat!
Ran accross this company from some emails I subscribe to and they sound awesome and the cause they support is wonderful…has anyone else heard of them or know where to get them?
http://www.facebook.com/TwoDegrees?v=app_4949752878#!/TwoDegrees
Crazy – I just heard about Guadalajara Grill this morning on the radio. Judging from your description I NEED to go there pronto. 🙂
Hi! I asked for the baby cakes book for my birthday! Just a quick question, how come Canyon Ranch banned Agave? Thanks! Melissa
Never mind! I scrolled up and found the link. Thanks! 🙂
Mmmm! I love Mexican! Great song recommendation also!
“The muffin is like the middle-man” haha. I am not a muffin person either, but I love scones (homemade vegan scones of course!). I’ve tried Bob’s Red Mill GF flour and was NOT a fan. Now, I use Bob’s GF Oat flour for all my baking now and it works perfectly!
good to know- i’ll look for it!
i’m with you…muffins are not my fave! but give me a cupcake and i’m a happy, happy girl 😉
It’s so hard to know what things are good for you and what things aren’t. I’ve read the conflicting reports on the agave. STILL not sure what to make of it!! I stick to stevia anyway, or erythritol. I LOVE the way your muffins looked! I’m actually big on muffins. I like to make low calorie protein muffins for after my workouts so I can eat my recovery instead of drink it 😉
I always make the funkiest looking muffins. I don’t know what it is, why can’t they look perfect like Otis Spunkmeyer, why? I’m glad Vies is doing great at college some just don’t adjust perfectly to it 😀
I am hispanic so Mexican food is in my blood…breakfast lunch and dinner and I still could never be sick of it <3
I wish I could use stevia but honestly I cant stand the taste. It leaves a weird taste in my mouth :/ I do use agave sometimes, but after that article it makes me a little weary. How do you feel about brown rice syrup?
I love how you always switch around recipes! Looks delicious! And love the vitamix giveaway–hope is work out! I’ve been wanting one FOREVER 🙂
ah! the babycakes cookbook is so much fun 🙂 i made the red velvet cupcakes once…they were deliiiicious — even to all my non-vegan friends! the muffins look super yummy!
Blog Stalker – 1st time Poster:
Glad you had a good move & I’m sad to see your baby go to college!
I wanted to ask you where you got that Raw Goat Milk Cheddar from since I’ve been searching for it forever here in Orlando.
thanks for saying hi 🙂
it’s at whole foods by the deli cheeses (next to the yogurt in the back)- alta dena raw goat cheddar
Thank you! 🙂
MMMMMM doughy bread and caaaaaaake. YUM Some days, I might even choose the bread over the cakes HAHA! I am weird. ;P
Agreed on muffins, I’m more of a bread person too. The guac sounds amazing, there are a few places around here that make it fresh which I prefer too.
Do we only sign up for open sky once or each time there is a giveaway
just once and you’re good to go!
That drink looks awesome!!! Hey Gina do you have a recipe for salsa? Not a pico de gallo but an honest to goodness salsa that you might get in a mexican restaurant? Be awesome if you posted it if you do!!!