Breakfast

Purity Coffee

/ Rachel Alexandra / 1 Comment

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone is having a great start to the week! Even though I don’t have any more exams for a couple weeks, I still find myself studying on Friday nights🤓. And when I’m not doing that, I like to find interesting research to apply to my own life and share with all of you! Today I want to fill you in on the latest info I’ve learned about coffee.

As it turns out, a lot of conventional coffee is contaminated with various molds, mycotoxins, pesticides, and carcinogens. Not to mention that most pre-ground coffee has been sitting on store shelves for months and often contains artificial flavors. But if you love coffee like I do, don’t worry! Coffee can actually be really good for you!

Purity coffee (which is recommended by dietitians and certified clinical nutritionists) has tons of health benefits without the dangers of conventional coffee. All the beans are carefully selected and roasted with the most precise techniques to make it safe and higher in antioxidants than most other coffees. The video below does a great job of explaining all the science behind the Purity process.

Click the here below to give Purity a try! Be sure to use promo code: ROOTS to get 10% off your first order!

Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins

/ Rachel Alexandra / 7 Comments

Good morning! Since everything is still closed due to the extreme cold, I figured it would be a perfect time to bake a batch of muffins. Although I’m only egg free, I decided to make this recipe totally vegan for those of you who are. The egg is replaced by flax seed and butter with coconut oil. To make the muffins a little healthier, I used whole wheat flour instead of white and reduced the sugar to only 1/4 cup since the orange juice and cranberries have enough sweetness of their own. The recipe is also super simple and will be ready to go in the oven in only a few minutes.

Ingredients

1 Tbs ground flax seed

3 Tbs hot water

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

3/4 cup orange juice

Zest of one orange

1 cup dried cranberries

Directions

In a small bowl, mix the flax seed and water to form an egg substitute and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400°F and grease a muffin tin or line it with muffin cups.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the “egg”, juice, oil, and zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until everything is moistened, being careful not to over mix. Gently fold in the dried cranberries.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full with batter and bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean. Enjoy!

Mocha Chocolate Chip Scones

/ Rachel Alexandra / 12 Comments

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I’m not sure what took me so long, but just a few months ago I discovered that coffee is actually really good! Back in first and second grade, my school had Friday cooking classes. Well one fateful week, the recipe was coffee milkshakes. All it took was one sip and I didn’t touch coffee for ten years! Yeah, it was that bitter.

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As it turns out though, I wasn’t actually scarred for life. One day, during my second semester of college, I thought I’d give it a try again just to see what I thought. Yes, I was in need of a caffeine source, but that honestly wasn’t the only reason. Besides, there’s only so much sleep coffee can replace anyway.

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I decided to only try it black because I didn’t want to get hooked on any sugary drinks. To my surprise, though it was bitter, I kind of liked it! And ever since then I’ve been drinking coffee…and baking with it. Because let’s be honest, what goes better with a warm cup of coffee than a mocha chocolate chip scone?

Makes 16 scones

Scone

Ingredients

Scones

1 Tbs. ground flax seed

3 Tbs. hot water

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup cold butter

1/4 cup half and half

1/4 cup coffee reduction sauce

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Glaze

Powdered sugar

Cocoa

Half and half

Coffee syrup

Directions:

  1. Make the coffee syrup according to the linked recipe and set aside.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flax and hot water to make an egg substitute. Set aside.
  3. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking mat.
  4. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
  5. Cut in the butter and begin combining the ingredients using a pastry blender. Then, use your hands to make sure all the butter is evenly distributed and there are no large pieces left.
  6. Add the half and half, coffee syrup, and vanilla to the flax mixture and give it a whisk.
  7. Pour the liquid ingredients into the large bowl and stir until the ingredients come together. Again, you may have to use your hands to knead the dough since scones are by nature a little dry.
  8. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  9. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it into two pieces. Form each piece into a circle about two inches thick.
  10. Cut each circle into eight triangular scones.
  11. Place all 16 scones on the baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean when they are done (with the exception of some melted chocolate chip).
  12. While they are cooling, whisk together the ingredients for the glaze. I don’t have an exact recipe for it, so it can be adjusted based on your taste preferences. I recommend using roughly 1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 2 Tbs. cocoa (more or less depending on how much chocolate flavor you want). Then add half and half and coffee syrup until the glaze comes together. The consistency shouldn’t be liquid, but it should be thin enough to drizzle over the scones. If you want a mild coffee flavor, use more half and half and if you prefer a stronger flavor, use more coffee syrup.
  13. Drizzle the scones with glaze using a fork , whisk, or piping bag. Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Scones

/ Rachel Alexandra / Leave a comment

For the past few weeks (or should I say entire school year) I’ve been so busy and stressed out that I haven’t had much time to bake, let alone write. However, I only have one week until graduation, so I figured I could bake something to help get me through my last couple of finals. The result was Triple Chocolate Scones! They’re perfect anytime of day whether it be for breakfast, a snack, or a healthy dessert. This recipe features whole wheat flour and a flax seed “egg” as usual and is low in sugar too! Enjoy a fresh, warm scone with a hot cup of tea or a tall glass of milk.

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The first step to this recipe is making an “egg” with ground flax seed and hot water. Heat three tablespoons of water on the stove and whisk with one tablespoon of ground flax in a medium sized bowl. Then set the mixture aside and preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

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In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking powder. Stir until everything is evenly distributed.

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When all the dry ingredients are mixed, cut in 1/3 cup of cold butter. To get it started, I used a pastry blender, but towards the end, I used my hands to make sure there were no clumps of butter left. It gets a little messy, but the best way to get a sense of dough is to use one’s hands.

Now that the butter is mixed in, add the chocolate milk and vanilla to the “egg” and whisk it well.  Then pour it into the dry ingredients. Be sure to use chocolate milk with no high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors.

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Stir the ingredients the best you can–it can be a little tough since scones are by nature a little dry. Again, you may need to knead the dough with your hands. Once everything is mixed, fold in one cup of miniature chocolate chips.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. As you can see in the picture, I had a little too much flour, but if that happens, they will turn out just fine. Divide the dough into two sections and form each one into a circle, roughly two inches high. Then cut each circle into eight pieces and place them on the prepared baking sheet. If you wish, you can sprinkle each scone with some course, decorative sugar.

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Bake the scones for about 12-14 minutes. When you think they are done, test them with a toothpick. It should come out clean, but some melted chocolate chip is okay. After a few minutes, place the scones on a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Makes 16 scones

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. ground flax seed

3 Tbs. hot water

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup cold butter

1/2 cup low fat chocolate milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Course sugar (optional)

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized bowl, whisk the flax and hot water to make an egg substitute. Set aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking mat.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
  4. Cut in the butter and begin combining the ingredients using a pastry blender. Then, use your hands to make sure all the butter is evenly distributed and there are no large pieces left.
  5. Add the milk and vanilla to the flax mixture and whisk them together.
  6. Pour the liquid ingredients into the large bowl and stir until the ingredients come together. Again, you may have to use your hands to knead the dough since scones are by nature a little dry.
  7. Fold in the chocolate chips.
  8. Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface and divide it into two pieces. Form each piece into a circle about two inches thick.
  9. Cut each circle into eight triangular scones.
  10. Place all 16 scones on the baking sheet and if desired, sprinkle them with course sugar.
  11. Bake for 12-14 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean when they are done with the exception of some melted chocolate from a chocolate chip. Enjoy!