Boston and a Chocolate Cupcake

Last weekend, the Husband and I went to Boston for a short trip to visit our foodie friends/newlyweds, Jon and Ali.  Given that they love food as much as we do, most of the weekend’s itinerary revolved around eating!  We had brunch at The Friendly Toast, tasted beers at Harpoon Brewery, dinner at B&G Oysters,  and another brunch at Buttery.  Our friends treated us well!  Last but not least, we were able to pick up lunch for the bus ride home at Flour.

I’ve been hearing about Flour throughout the blog world forever.  The bakery was made famous nationally by the wonderful pastry chef, Joanne Chang.  (Sidenote: I didn’t know until just now that Joanne was an Applied/Math and Econ major at Harvard.  Incredible!) Anyway, I’m so glad we got a chance to check it out.  Matt picked up a sandwich and jelly-filled donut that looked delicious.  You could see the high quality of jelly when he bit into it.  I got a salad that was really only a way for me to justify dessert;-)

There were so many delicious looking desserts to choose from, especially the cookies and brownies.  However, when I spotted the giant Low Fat Vegan Chocolate Cupcake, I was really curious.  I was no longer on my Vegan Challenge, but I figured if they were selling a vegan cupcake, it had to be good.  The cupcake wasn’t good.  It was delicious.  It was moist and chocolaty and it was all I could do not devour it in 3 seconds flat.  I’m not saying it was good for a vegan cupcake, it was good for any cupcake.  Moist chocolate cupcakes are hard to come by and this one had me at first bite.

Okay, so in my excitement over the cupcake, I forgot to take a picture.  Luckily, I had fallen so in love with it that I immediately went on a hunt to find the recipe.  Much to my delight it exists here.  As soon as I got a chance to pick up all of the necessary ingredients, the cupcakes were in the oven.  That is barely an exaggeration because this is one of the easiest recipes I’ve made in a while!  No fancy equipment needed.

I was excited for my first time using the VALRHONA cocoa my parents brought back from Belgium.   The good quality cocoa powder has a richness to it that you can’t get from your average cocoa.  Additionally, I picked up molasses, which I’ve actually never used before.  It smelled a little funny (I expected a syrup aroma) but it seemed to work out okay! Espresso powder is also often used in chocolate baked goods to add a richness to the flavor.  I picked up some of that as well.

To get started, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and line 18 regular sized muffin tins with cupcake liners.  How cute are these Valentine’s Day liners?

Whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda and salt

Add the chocolate chips and whisk them into the mixture

Set aside

Whisk together all wet ingredients: water, oil, molasses, and vanilla

The mix will look a little like balsamic vinaigrette, don’t be alarmed

Then stir the wet ingredients into the dry, do not overmix

Use an ice cream scoop to fill cupcake liners about halfway (about 1/3 cup of batter per cup)

Bake cupcakes for 8-12 minutes or until a knife comes out clean; allow to cool on a cooling rack

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar before serving

Low Fat Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

Recipe from V02, created by Joanne Chang

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used about a tablespoon less since the VALRHONA is so rich)

2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (finely ground espresso beans)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (dairy-free for vegan)

1 cup cold water

1/4 cup oil canola

2 tablespoons molasses

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and line 18 regular sized muffin tins with cupcake liners

Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, espresso powder, baking soda and salt

Add the chocolate chips and whisk them into the mixture; set aside

Whisk together all wet ingredients: water, oil, molasses, and vanilla

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, do not overmix

Use an ice cream scoop to fill cupcake liners about halfway (about 1/3 cup of batter per cup)

Bake cupcakes for 8-12 minutes or until a knife comes out clean (do not overbake); allow to cool on a cooling rack

Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar before serving

Notes:

Do not leave out the chocolate chips, they add a lot in terms of texture and flavor

While these weren’t quite as delicious as the bakery’s cupcakes, they were still very tasty.  I overbaked mine probably by a minute or two (12 minutes total) and I think that made a big difference

Each cupcake comes out to 4 Weight Watchers Points+

Have you eaten your way through a city lately?

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The Vegan Challenge

Note:  This post is a reflection of my week-long Vegan Challenge.  I thought it would be an interesting change of pace from the norm.  This post does not cover the ethical rationale behind a Vegan diet.

I’m not Vegan.  I’m not even Vegetarian.  I don’t keep kosher either.  When I diet, I use plans like weight watchers for the very reason that I can eat “whatever” I want.  Restriction from any particular foods just doesn’t work for me.  You should see me a few days into Passover when I’d kill for a bowl of oatmeal!

For one week, however, I took what I like to call, “the Vegan Challenge”.  The Husband wanted to go meatless for 7 days as a post-meat-eating binge-drinking-Vegas weekend cleanse of sorts and I figured I’d do it with him.  But then I thought, meatless is too easy, why not take this to the next level?

Let me tell you, that isn’t just one level.  I’d argue that there are a lot of little steps between avoiding meat and going full-out Vegan that make the latter extremely challenging.  Among other things, you can’t eat fish, dairy, eggs, or even honey.  There are probably a ton of other rules that I don’t even know, but those were the basic guidelines I used.

To be honest, I didn’t think that one week would be hard.  I often go days or weeks at a time without eating meat or fish so this didn’t seem like a big deal.  I also already eat a lot of nut butters, nuts and beans, so I could keep those protein sources in my diet.  However, I am highly dependent on dairy (Greek yogurt and string cheese) and eggs for protein as well, especially for snacking.

Here is a recap of my week in terms of what I ate and how I felt:

Day 1:

Pre-workout snack- Apple with almond butter

Breakfast- Oat bran with almond milk, pumpkin, chopped apple and chia seeds topped with peanut butter (fairly consistent with a normal breakfast)

Lunch- Lentil soup, chopped pineapple

Snacks- vegan protein bar; baby carrots; apple; almonds, dried fruit bar

Dinner-Pasta (eggless) with beans and a nutritional yeast sauce

Thoughts: Forgot that there was only cow’s milk in the office and had to drink black coffee.  Felt very hungry all day but could have been related to morning workout.  Happy I happened to have a vegan protein bar in my desk at work! Being Vegan makes it easier to turn down office birthday cake since no one can challenge you on declining a piece.

Day 2:

Pre-workout snack- Banana

Breakfast- Oat bran with almond milk, pumpkin, chopped apple and chia seeds topped with peanut butter

Lunch- mixed vegetables with beans and nutritional yeast sauce, roasted butternut squash, soy crisps

Snacks- almonds; low carb wrap w/ nut butter and banana; mini protein bar*

Dinner-Kale chips sprinkled with nutritional yeast, soy meatballs w/ tomato sauce

Thoughts: Picked up almond milk for my coffee, though not quite as good as regular skim.  Was very hungry all day again.  Was starving at night at the office and ate the *protein bar.  As soon as I finished I realized it wasn’t Vegan!

Day 3:

Breakfast- Oat bran with pumpkin, chopped apple and chia seeds topped with peanut butter

Snack- apple

Lunch- roasted butternut squash, low carb wrap w/ nut butter and banana; high protein cereal w/ almond milk*

Snacks- Peanut Butter & Chocolate Larabar**

Dinner-Lentil soup

Dessert- mango

Thoughts: *Lunch was a little weird but very filling! Had to start getting creative with my protein sources.  **As soon as I finished the Larabar I realized it wasn’t Vegan (because of the chocolate chips).  I had figured it was since most flavors are.  I wasn’t as hungry in general but starting to miss my dairy!  Definitely realizing how it is a little easier to “restrict” “bad” foods since there aren’t as many available to eat on a Vegan diet.

Day 4:

Pre-workout snack- Apple

Breakfast- Oat bran with pumpkin, chopped apple and chia seeds topped with peanut butter

Lunch- roasted butternut squash, low carb wrap w/ nut butter and banana; high protein cereal w/ almond milk*

Snacks- pear; Peanut Butter & Jelly Larabar

Dinner- Edamame appetizer; Salad with avocado, pepitas and salsa as a dressing**

Thoughts: *Repeat of the strange lunch because it worked the first time! **Dinner was challenging because we went out to eat.  Luckily I had looked at the menu in advance to strategize.  I had to order the salad with a few alterations but I do that all the time anyway.  There was only one other Vegan option on the menu.

Day 5 (Saturday!):

Breakfast- Oat bran with pumpkin, chopped apple and chia seeds topped with peanut butter

Pre-workout snack- Banana

Lunch- low carb wrap with veggies and hummus, roasted butternut squash, cereal with almond milk and blueberries

Snacks- low carb wrap with peanut butter and blueberries; pop chips; kale chips with nutritional yeast*

Dinner-Baked sweet potato with vegetarian baked beans

Dessert- Peanut Butter Dough Balls**

Thoughts: *I was really snacky/unsatisfied.  I was also starting to get very cranky as a result of the restrictions.  I didn’t like having a limit to what I could eat and didn’t know what to eat anymore.  I especially missed my high-protein Greek yogurt as a snack.  **These saved me, see details below.

Day 6:

Breakfast- Oat bran with almond milk, banana, blueberries and chia seeds topped with peanut butter

Mini-Lunch- low carb wrap with veggies and hummus

Pre-workout snack- almond butter

Snacks- leftover edamame; popcorn

Dinner-Toast, vegetarian baked beans, corn, butternut squash and broccoli

Dessert- Blueberries with peanut butter, Peanut Butter Dough Balls, Trader Joes Cat Cookies*

Thoughts: *Day 6 was extremely challenging.  I had a super hard workout that left me hungry all afternoon and really needed a big protein boost.  Instead, I ended up grazing my way through “dessert.”

Day 7!!!!!!:

Breakfast- Oat bran with almond milk, pumpkin, blueberries and chia seeds topped with peanut butter

Mini-Lunch- Butternut squash, low carb wrap with banana and peanut butter

Snack- Protein bar*

Dinner-Salad with blue cheese and grilled shrimp**

Thoughts: I didn’t mean to finish Vegan week on such a miss, but I was travelling for work and had limited options.  I had packed lunch but thought there would be Vegan- (or AT LEAST Vegetarian) friendly options at the airport.  *When I didn’t find anything that worked, I ate a non-Vegan protein bar.  **Dinner didn’t take place until late at night at a hotel in Oklahoma City (not exactly veggie-town).  There were no Vegetarian or Vegan options on the menu.  The only thing that could have worked would have been a plain house salad which would have left me starving.

In summary, I am really glad I took the Vegan Challenge.  It helped me take a closer look at what I put into my body.  You might have noted that I ate very few processed foods and that definitely was a positive.  I really enjoyed the abundance of fruit and vegetables.  Although I do eat a ton of that regularly, I liked that there was even more of an emphasis on this.  Additionally, I was very diligent about taking my vitamins.  I’d probably take more vitamins if I were to eat like this on a regular basis.  On the downside, post-Vegan week, I went a little out of control with some desserts in my freezer.  I think that was in part the result of a week of restriction, but also some stress I was dealing with.

The thing I learned about being Vegan is that you really need to plan in advance.  This actually goes for eating healthy as well, but even more so on a Vegan diet.  I tried to stock up on Vegan-friendly foods for the week, but even so, I didn’t feel like I had enough options.  The other major theme was that it isn’t very flexible.  It is really hard to go out to eat at the average restaurant and find something Vegan and filling.

As far as planning goes, one of the best resources I used was Mama Pea’s blog! Whether you are Vegan or not, her blog is wonderfully written and very funny.  Oh, and she has the cutest little girls ever.  Her Peanut Butter Dough Balls, while not the healthiest option, were the highlight of my Vegan eating.  I’d eat them any day!

Do you follow a Vegetarian or Vegan diet? Have you ever tried it?

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Guess the Secret Ingredient

Can you guess the secret ingredient???

MOIST

CHOCOLATE

I bet that if you tasted these brownies, you still couldn’t figure it out;-)

From the Happy Herbivore, I bring you Low Fat Vegan Black Bean Brownies!

I found this recipe on Lindsay’s blog a while back and have been wanting to try it ever since.  Actually, I have heard of adding beans to desserts in many different recipes, but this one peaked my interest the most because it is 1) EASY 2) HEALTHY and 3) VEGAN.  Now, I am not Vegan, nor am I Vegetarian, but I do think that for many reasons it is a good idea for me to eat within the different guidelines from time to time.  Don’t expect me to start baking everything without butter or eggs, but sometimes, Vegan baked goods can be tasty!

To make these brownies you will need:

15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed

2 bananas (preferable very ripe)

1/3 cup agave nectar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 TB cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup raw sugar (optional- I did not use this additional sugar; I tasted the batter and decided they were sweet enough)

1/4 cup instant oats (if you don’t have instant, grind rolled oats in the food processor for a minute)

Once you have all of your ingredients ready, the process is extremely easy.

Directions:

Spray 8×8 pan with cooking spray.  I used a slightly larger pan so I cooked my brownies for a shorter period of time.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend all of ingredients, except for oats, in a blender or food processor until smooth.  Scrape the sides with a spatula and blend some more.

Stir in oats.

Pour into pan and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Brownies are done when  a knife or toothpick comes out clean.  I had the brownies in for 20 minutes but they could take longer in an 8×8 pan.

The recipe is supposed to serve 9.  If you are like me, it might serve closer to 4 or 5;-)  I love healthified desserts!

The verdict:

While I wouldn’t pass these off as “real brownies”, they certainly taste good!  They are fudgey and moist.  I could not detect the black beans at all and would recommend them as a healthier dessert alternative when you are craving something sweet.  The Executive Taster will have to let me know what he thinks…

What is the strangest ingredient you have ever baked with?

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