Easy Kid Approved Zucchini Muffins!

Posted on January 12, 2023 by Bhanu Misra Marya

For the longest time, I was the mom who couldn’t trick her kids into eating veggies. I would listen to the stories of moms who would chop, blend and bake veggies into their kids foods, longing for the day that I would be able to experience that.

Not because I needed to LOL but because I wanted to :P

I’m not the biggest fan of cooking (I do it out of necessity). Yet, I still want to be able to make the best chocolate chip cookies for my kids (spoiler alert: they completely prefer the pillsbury eat raw or bake option and I’m not mad about it) or maybe even have a family recipe to pass along.

And I think my day has finally come!

BOTH my kids have FINALLY enjoyed a healthy baked good that I’ve made from scratch. I think because it doesn’t have cinnamon, peanut butter or almond flour makes a real difference. It doesn’t have that heaviness to it and is also school safe!

Best part it’s incredibly easy to make! Moist on the inside with a light crunch on the outside. It has zucchini and no white sugar or flour. And just for balance – a good helping of dark chocolate chips.

My kids loved it (after a highly persuaded first bite)!

Recipe for “Easy Kid-Approved Zucchini Muffins”

Ingredients:
– 2 cups of shredded zucchini
– 2 eggs
– ½ to ¾ cup of maple syrup
– ¼ cup coconut oil (room temperature)
– 2 cups oat flour
– 1 teaspoon baking soda
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– ½ teaspoon salt
– ½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions:
– Put the wet ingredients in a bowl and stir together
– Put the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix together
– Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well
– Fill 12 greased muffins tins evenly and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes

A Dreamy Nutella Crepe at @Sugarhill_Desserts Vaughan

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Bhanu Misra Marya

I love desserts and specifically chocolate desserts. Chocolate chip cookies are my fav!

I’ve tried creating cleaner options of my most treasured dessert (which you can find here, here, here and here).

BUuuuuuut once in a while, I’ll indulge! And I’ll go all in!

Into the richness of the chocolate and sugar at an actual dessert shop. I don’t do it often and because of that – I really savour the experience 🥰

The last time I had dessert shop dessert was in Las Vegas (Sugar Factory).
We had a waffle and crepe and it was covered in Nutella and cookie crumbs and it was pure joy.

I definitely felt like I didn’t need to eat dessert again for at least a month
(spoiler alert: I had desert before that)

Enter Sugar Hill Desserts 💕

This cute little place was lively, modern aesthetic decor, had a heated patio and an amazing variety of desserts.

Of course I opted for yet another Nutella crepe & and did no disappoint. Nutella spread inside, Nutella drizzle outside, Nutella-esque ice cream on top, Oreo crumbs for the crunch & bananas (because balance – right?!)

Conveniently located across from Vaughan Mills and right off the highway exit this is a MUST try any time you are in the area, on the way to or back from cottage country or even if you are a local looking for a fav dessert spot!

My go-to healthy pancakes

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Bhanu Misra Marya

So easy, yummy-hit the spot pancakes. I got you! These pancakes 3 ingredient (minus optional toppings) pancakes are refined sugar & gluten free – incredibly simple to make and you probably don’t even need to go to the grocery store!

Pancakes, Gluten Free, Healthy, Good Food, UGC, Ikea dishes, Window, Natural Light, Food Photography

I never liked making pancakes from scratch, the flour would be all over my counter and the batter was always clumping. The beauty of this recipe, any high speed blender does all the work!

What you need:

2 spotted bananas
2 large eggs
1 cup of quick oats

Instructions

Put all ingredients in a high-speed blender, blend until smooth
Heat a griddle or flat pan and greese with avocado spray or butter
Turn down heat on pan
Immediately, using an ice cream scoop, scoop 1 laddle full of batter and shape with back of spoon
Cook each side for 3-5 min (golden brown)
Let cool on a paper towel lined plate
Enjoy warm, with berries, whip cream, Nutella or pure maple syrup. The choices are ENDLESS!

Pancakes, Gluten Free, Healthy, Good Food, UGC, Ikea dishes, Window, Natural Light, Food Photography, Christmas Morning Breakfast

Pancakes, Gluten Free, Healthy, Good Food, UGC, Ikea dishes, Window, Natural Light, Food Photography, Easy cooking

Want more? Follow my Blogmas 2022 journey here!

Lunch at Restoration Hardware

Posted on March 3, 2019 by Bhanu Misra Marya

You know you are a parent of young children when you feel the best way to describe a delicious child free meal is by quoting Julia, Child. 😂😂

We don’t often do this. Fancy restaurants are just not in the docket with spilt milk and sticky fingers. But we are finding that as the girls are growing we have more opportunities to make time for just the 2 of us.

With that said, we finally checked out Restoration Hardware Cafe. I’ve heard soooo many good things about this restaurant. About how beautiful it is, about the chandeliers, the trees and the furnishings.

At the cafe, we started with their fries and garlic aioli. Ya I know basic, but so delicious. The fries weren’t too thick and were the perfect combination of crispy and fluffy. I enjoyed the fries with a refreshing glass of Pinot Grigio. As I was choosing my main, the Simple Prep Fish (which was a marinate of EVOO, dill and lemon), the server suggested I go with the Gem Salad as pair. All of my favourite ingredients put together in a meal – yes I will!

The filet of fish was thin and so the flavors were evenly distributed. I asked for my salad dressing on the side and thankfully so because it was the perfect accent to the fish. The mister got the RH burger which was a double pattie – which he said was also good.

We did stroll around the store before and after lunch. In my humble opinion, the pieces are more suited for a mansion than a small suburban home. Thankfully the cafe doesn’t give off that vibe at all]. And for me the food was way more delightful.

(Tip from a local: if you are going to the restaurant, get there early. They do not take reservations and the wait time can be anywhere from 10-60 min)

Maghmour Recipe – Eggplant and Chickpea curry

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Bhanu Misra Marya

Since becoming a pescaterian I have re-fallen in love with eggplant! I’ve been trying different recipes and came across this Lebanese Maghmour. It’s garlicky, thick, slightly smokey and incredibly velvety.

Perfect with rice, salad, as a dip or on its own.

So good I had to make twice in 1 weekend 😂

I recently got an Instant Pot so I figured I should put my crockpot into semi retirement. And I’ve swapped my Nutribullet for a big mouth food processor. I also got a hand held emulsion blender. Oh and I got a crank chop – by far the best kitchen tool I’ve tried!

After years and years of not having much kitchen equipment I now have so many options! Safe to say, I’m looking for new recipes to try with all my new tools!

That said I didn’t use ANY of those to make this dish. I also put a little more of a desi spin on it by using haldi (tumeric) and dhannia (coriander powder). They add colour and thickness to stew/curry like dishes respectfully.

What you’ll need:

– 2 large eggplants, cut into 1-2 inch pieces (leave the skin on)

– 1 (15 oz) can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

– 1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes, including juice

– 1 tbsp. tomato paste

– ½ – 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

– 1 large onion, diced

– 8-10 cloves of garlic, minced (you can also use garlic powder to taste)

1 tsp. Smoked Paprika

– 1-2 cups water

– Tumeric, coriander powder, salt and pepper to taste/likeness

What you’ll do:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay non stick foil onto a baking sheet
To a large bowl add the chopped eggplant and add in enough olive oil to coat the eggplant. Mix with your hands to coat evenly. Lay on the baking sheets and roast until done, about 15-25 minutes. Turning half way through. When done, remove from the oven, lightly salt and set aside.
In a large pot add another portion of the EVOO. Add the onions and cook until they become transparent, make sure to stir constantly to avoid sticking. Add a few pinches of salt and pepper to taste and then add garlic. Stirring constantly for about 1-3 minutes.
Add the eggplant cubes, drained chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato paste, smoked paprika and about half of the water. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water, if the mixture gets dry. I like to try the dish and add salt/pepper/EVOO as necessary. I also added tumeric and coriander (1/2 teaspoon here and there as needed).
Serve and enjoy! You can store the dish in the fridge for 5 days (but it will probably be finished before that 😋)

Banana Oat Pancakes + Coconut Cream

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Bhanu Misra Marya

It was one those mornings, when we had no plans, no where to be and all the ingredients to make some fun home made pancakes!

I made some banana oat pancakes using this recipe and the melty coconut cream (lol) was made using this recipe.

We spent the rest of the day getting office space inspo at Ikea, getting my steps in at the mall and just taking it nice and easy! #PerfectWayToSpendTheDay