This recipe is also available in German. / Dieses Rezept gibt es auch auf Deutsch.

It finally feels like summer, the farmer’s market is selling local strawberries and you can see people wearing shorts and sandals all over town. I love the feeling of the first summer days. The warm temperatures have me craving berries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – and dessert. That’s why I came up with these healthy strawberry muffins that I know you’re going to love just as much as I do.

I find it strange that every café in my city is somehow offering blueberry muffins, but I never see strawberry muffins. I know that they are supposed to be too watery for baked goods, but I strongly disagree. Strawberries work just fine for making muffins. I made mine with the first local strawberries that I could get my hands on, and they tasted delicious without turning out too watery. You should definitely not try this recipe with frozen strawberries though as they will definitely make the muffins too runny.

For the batter, I used a mix of oat and brown rice flour, added some arrowroot powder as a binding ingredient and aluminum-free baking powder as a raising agent. I know that many healthy baking recipes do not have baking powder in them, but I think as long as you go for the aluminum-free powder, there’s nothing wrong with adding some rising ingredients to your muffins. It’s just something I prefer in baked goods – but of course, everybody’s taste is different.

For sweetener, I used coconut blossom sugar as they are also suitable for diabetics because they do not have such a strong impact on our blood sugar level as refined sugar has. This has the effect that the energy is released more slowly and sustainably, giving us the power we need to get through a long afternoon at work without craving something sweet an hour after eating the muffins.

Of course, you can also try mixing the strawberries with other berries such as raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries, but I’m all about the delicious strawberry taste at the moment.

I hope you’ll like this recipe – let me know what you think about it in the comments below.

Enjoy!

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag your creations on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

I’d love for this blog to be a dialogue.

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The post Healthy Strawberry Muffins appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

Take your healthy eating to the next level by making whole-grain rye bread from scratch.

This post is sponsored by Le Creuset* Germany. 

Not to disappoint you guys, but since my blog is Germany-based, the giveaway below is only open for people with a German address. However, there is of course the awesome recipe that can be made no matter what country you come from.

So I think it’s time that we talk about bread.

I know that there are many dietitians out there who praise that bread is the root of all evil (aka the reason why you’re not losing weight). Well, unfortunately that might be true, but in my opinion it all comes down to moderation. There is a big difference between having a slice of bread complimentary to your big bowl of vegetable stew and making bread the main part of your meal (which is frankly what the German culture is all about FYI).That white bread is bad for your health is no longer a mystery, and you probably also all know that whole-grain is your healthy go-to option. However, many people think that alternatives such as rye or spelt are always whole-grain, which is why rye or spelt breads are booming everywhere. The thing is, however, that these breads are nothing else than white bread with a fancy name.

To understand the difference between white flour and whole-grain flour, we have to look at the whole kernel. It consists of three different layers: the inner layer, which is the starch, the middle layer, which is the oily part and the outer layer, which is the fiber, hence, the thickest layer. The nutrients of the kernel sit in the middle and the outer layer. These layers are removed for white flour. Yup, all that remains is the starchy inner layer with close to zero nutrients.

White flour can be made of wheat, rye, spelt, barley etc. Only by grinding the whole grains can you get whole-grain flour. Sort of obvious, but many people do not know that. If you have a strong blender or food processor, it is wise to blend your own grains because the longer whole-grain flour is stored, the more nutrients are oxidized, meaning the more nutrients are lost.

For this recipe, I’ve teamed up with the amazing Le Creuset, because I’ve been making my bread mainly in my Dutch oven lately. Since I know that Dutch ovens are not the cheapest, I am more than excited to announce that I am giving away a 22cm Le Creuset Dutch oven in cool mint – one of my favorite colors.

If you live in Germany, here’s what you need to do to win a 22cm Le Creuset dutch oven in cool mint:

1. Leave me a comment below or on the German recipe (if you speak German) until April 25th, 11:59 pm and tell me what recipes you’d like to see more of on HLH.
2. Please provide a valid email address so I can contact you in case of a win (your email address will only be visible to me, please write down the address in the dedicated field in the form, NOT in the comment as this will be seen by the public).
3. I’ll announce and contact the winner on April 26th, 2017.

The giveaway is only open to my readers with a valid German address.

Good luck!

Enjoy!

*Sponsored Post. This post is supported by Le Creuset*Germany. Thank you for supporting the brands that make hour-long recipe testings in my kitchen possible. 

The post Whole-Grain Rye Bread and Le Creuset Giveaway* appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

Healthy Easter Braid to keep those German Easter traditions alive.

There are many traditional baking recipes that are only known in the German speaking countries. This Easter Braid is definitely one of them. What carrot cake is to many English speaking countries during Easter times, the easter braid is to the German-speaking countries. The dough is traditionally made of flour, sugar, eggs and butter (who would have guessed), but my version is of course much lighter with healthier ingredients that make it healthier, better digestible and available for people with intolerances or allergies.I did a quick research on the background of these yeast braids, because I love digging into the past of such traditional German recipes. One legend says that apparently women sacrificed their hair braids when their husbands died, and placed their hair next to their husbands during the funeral. So I guess one smart lady was too sentimental about her hair and came up with this sneaky bread to resemble her braid. You gotta give it to her – this was pretty clever. Don’t mess with a woman’s hair.

So back to the ingredients, which have pretty much nothing to do with the original. If you have tried a traditional German Easter Braid before, then I gotta tell you that this version tastes a lot different. It is pretty much impossible to recreate the taste of the original with healthy ingredients, but I have to be honest: I liked the healthier version much better. The traditional one belongs to the kinds of breads that you just cannot stop eating, because it is made out of addictive wheat flour. I used a mix of brown rice flour, buckwheat and millet flour instead – to keep the blood sugar level steady when you eat the braid. The flours and the lack of butter and sugar make it taste differently, but good.

Different is good, at least in my world.

Instead of white sugar, I used apple sauce, which not only acts as a binding ingredient in this recipe, it also makes it naturally sweet without having to add large amounts of refined sugar. I also swapped the eggs for sparkling water, which makes the dough extra fluffy and moist. If you do not like the taste of coconut oil, you could also use vegan butter (though it is not as healthy as coconut oil) or regular butter (which is actually healthier than vegan butter, because it does not contain any additives.

The only tricky part will be the braiding itself as the dough is gluten-free and therefore a little tricky to form. I’ve added some braiding tips in the recipe section below. Just be patient and treat the dough with respect, and it should work just fine.

With this I am wishing you Happy Easter! There will be a super duper exciting giveaway next week here on the blog, so keep your eyes peeled.

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS, QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag your creations on social media using #heavenlynnhealthy.

I’d love for this blog to be a dialogue.

The post Healthy Easter Braid appeared first on Heavenlynn Healthy.

This bread was the first thing I made when I turned completely dairy-free, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free two years ago. As I started researching for a blood pressure friendly diet, I came across different superfood breads from my four favorite health bloggers such as from my heroine Oh She Glows, the Swedish Health Gurus The Green Kitchen Stories, My New Roots, or the amazing Deliciously Ella.  They all have their own superfood bread, and you will find that they are all pretty similar, and almost all of them use something called “psyllium husk seeds or powder” in their recipes. Psyllium husk is a fiber that is commonly associated with helping increase digestion movement in your bowel. However, this recipe uses only a small amount, and in combination with the amount of flour and other ingredients, it barely has the known bathroom effect. In fact, psyllium husk is shown to have a positive effect on heart health and cholesterol levels.

Contrary to many superfood breads, this one is completely nut-free, because I have had several readers message me that they cannot cook many of my recipes, because they all contain nuts. So, my nut-allergic readers: this one’s for you.
The best thing about this bread is that every single ingredient comes with at least one amazing health benefit. There are no empty carbs or blood pressure increasing ingredients in this superfood bread. I promise:

Health benefits in this buckwheat superfood bread:

Chia Seeds: There are about a million amazing health benefits from chia seeds. They are packed with healthy fatty acids called omega-3, which lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Buckwheat: Gluten-free grain, that is full of protein and lowers the risk of heart disease.
Oats: Oats are extremely high in fiber, which aids digestion and stabilizes your blood sugar level. They are also known to lower the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.
Pumpkin Seeds: High in antioxidants which fight cell-harming free radicals in your body. This way, pumpkin seeds help to prevent chronic diseases caused by cell damage.
Sunflower Seeds: Vitamin E is the most abundant vitamin in sunflower seeds, which is amazing because vitamin E is very important for healthy skin, nails and hair.
Psyllium Husk: The fiber has a positive effect on heart health and lowers cholesterol.
Sparkling Water: Water is the most important resource in the world and it is vital for humans to be healthy and alive. In this bread, however, the baking evaporates the water, but I just wanted to point out once more how important fluids are.
Honey: Since I am not strictly vegan, I use honey for its amazing health benefits. It is highly anti-bacterial and raw honey comes with a long list of vitamins and nutrients such as iron, copper or magnesium which are all important for a healthy and functioning body.
Apple Cider Vinegar: The plant-based cider is shown to lower blood sugar levels, which is great for type 2 diabetics.

Besides from being amazing for your health and well-being, the bread also tastes so good. I almost could not believe that it actually tasted like “real whole-wheat bread” when I tried it for the first time. It made switching to a plant-based diet so much easier. I actually did not even want to eat boring American wheat bread anymore, because this buckwheat superfood bread gave me so much energy. It also filled me up quickly, and a slice or two was enough to get me going for hours. I love the bread with some mashed avocado, tomatoes and a pinch of Sal d’Ibiza (or any sea salt) and a squeeze of lime or lemon juice. It also tastes delicious with almond or any kind of nut butter and bananas. That’s my favorite breakfast besides overnight oats. I hope you’ll love this bread just as much as I do.

Enjoy!

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