🇺🇸4th of July Breakfast Mini Muffins 🇺🇸

Let's start off Independence Day with an amazing mini muffin that is perfect for the occasion. These breakfast muffins have 3 separate parts that combined make fireworks happen in your mouth. The first part is the muffin base, then a vegan cheese cake layer with fresh strawberries and blueberries and on top a yummy walnut streusel. These subtle red, white and blue beauties are delicious.

 What you will need for these mini muffins are as follow:

 For muffins

1C all-purpose flour

1C whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking powder 

Pinch Himalayan salt 

1C organic cane sugar 

1/4 C melted organic coconut oil

2 flax eggs (see notes for directions)

1 C unsweetened flax milk (room temp)

For berry cheesecake layers

10oz vegan cream cheese

6 heaping tsp powdered sugar 

2 tsp vanilla extract 

2 tsp coconut flour

1C chopped fresh strawberries 

1/2 C frozen blueberries 

For streusel topping 

1/3 C old fashioned oats

1/4 C chopped walnuts 

2 T organic cane sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon 

1 T melted vegan butter

1 tsp all-purpose flour

I know this seems like a lot of ingredients but trust me it's so worth the effort.

Start off by mixing all the ingredients for the streusel topping together in a small bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl add the "cream cheese", powdered sugar, vanilla extract and coconut flour Mix all together until smooth and creamy, then refrigerate until it's needed again.

Next in a small bowl make your flax eggs and set aside. In a large bowl combine both flours, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl combine cane sugar, melted coconut oil, and flax eggs. Whisk together until a paste is formed then add In the flax milk(make sure milk is at room temp and not cold) Whisk together and then pour into the dry mixture. 

Now that all 3 parts are prepped it's time to assemble our mini muffins! Using aluminum cupcake liners(see notes) in your muffin or cupcake tin fill each one with about a teaspoon of the muffin batter, next add a layer of fresh and frozen berries, add a teaspoon of the cheesecake mixture, another layer of batter and lastly about a teaspoon of the streusel topping. Bake them at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until streusel is perfectly golden. Let muffins cool before serving. 

NOTES

• To make 1 flax egg combine 1 tablespoon of ground flax meal with 3 tablespoons of water. Let set for about 5 minutes. 
• You can sub any non-dairy milk for the flax milk I just like the extra omegas👍🏽
• Make sure when mixing the wet ingredients for the batter that the non-dairy milk is at room temperature and not cold, or it with curdle the melted coconut oil. 
• If you want a more vibrant red color in the muffin you can use frozen strawberries as well. 
• VERY IMPORTANT! : use aluminum cupcake liners as they work best in maintaining the shape and texture of muffins.

We hope you all give these a try and if you do please show us, use #btil4thmuffins on social media! 

Happy Fourth of July,

Erica and Emely

Mother's Day Gift Ideas

 
 Today we are excited to be bring you some great gift ideas for Mother's Day which is just few days away! Mom's love it when their kids make them things. For this Mother's Day I (Emely) decided to make our mom a simple gift box. Since I live across seas I chose a gift box, that way it would be easy to ship. The things I used to make this gift box are as follow: a white box with a lid, some pink hay filler, some pink ribbon, card stock paper, scissors, a hole punch and a marker. Those are for the box itself, now all you have to do is buy some small gifts that you know your mom will like and fill it with all the goodies. For my mom I bought some simple cosmetics, a fancy bar of soap and a super cute roller perfume.

Mango and Strawberry Crumble

Ingredients:

Filling:

1 pound of strawberries, halved

2 medium mangoes, peeled, pitted and sliced

1/2 c coconut sugar or light brown sugar

2 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons of arrowroot flour

Topping:

2/3 cup old fashioned oats 

2/3 cup gluten free all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup coconut sugar or light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1 stick vegan butter, chilled, cut into cubes

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and arrowroot.

3. In a lager bowl combine the strawberries, mango, and coconut sugar.

4. Pour in the arrowroot mixture and gently toss until fruit is coated.

5. Pour mixture into greased baking dish.

6. Into the bowl of your food processor combine all topping ingredients except for the butter.

7. Pulse until mixed.

8. Add butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. 

9. Sprinkle mixture over filling and bake for 40-45 minutes or until filling is bubbling and top is light brown.

10. Serve with a dollop of coconut whip cream and fresh strawberry.

We hope you give these gifts a try and that your mom loves them!

If you do please let us know by tagging us on Instagram with your pics.

Love 

Erica and Emely

Life via the Camera + Things We've been Loving

Spring time is almost officially here and we just can wait. Spring is our mom's favorite season so natural we grow up loving spring and everything that comes with it. Fresh blooms, pastel colors, Easter, baby animals and the earth getting a fresh new start after winter. Today we thought we would share some of the things we are loving for the spring and also whats been going on in our lives lately.

Dress

We have been head over heels in love with this dress. Its simple yet chic at the same time. Perfect for this spring paired with some cute sandals, a tiny belt and maybe a necklace. 

Valentines Day Photos with my Mr. 

My Husband loves taking picture so for this Valentines day we went to a lovely park near our home and he took pictures of me. What a lovely man!

Delicious Crispy Tofu Bites with a Honey Lemon Sauce!

Sometimes the best recipes just happen by accident! Made these for my Honey the other day, because he was craving chicken nugget. These are so much better and way more healthy. Recipe coming soon!

Here's some super simple cauliflower tacos that I made last week they were so good! Topped with chipotle slaw and cilantro lime ranch! 

Italian Vegan milk chocolate! So delicious and creamy! 

In the spring my husband and I love having our huge pitcher of infused water in the fridge! It's so refreshing and easy to make. This particular one has blueberries that we picked, sliced lemon and mint.

Melted long wear lipstick in the color fig we Love this color for the spring! And this formula is so creamy and pigment! 

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend and that your Spring is filled with beautiful days, family fun, and great food!

xoxo

Erica and Emely

Our Thoughts On: Blue Apron

We love to cook!! So naturally when we saw an advertisements for Blue Apron we knew we had to give it a try. They have a wide verity of delicious recipes that can be tailored to your food preference.
For those that don't know what Blue Apron is, it's a service that delivers to your home weekly 3 per-planned meals with each recipe and all of its fresh ingredients. All you have to do is prep the ingredients and cook them.

... 

These are only two of the nine wonderful recipes we tired from Blue Apron and we ADORED them!! Everything was fresh and fun to make. We hope you give them a try. The ordering process is fairly easy online, you just make an account and chose your preference of cuisine, which in our case is vegetarian, after that you simply choose the delivery date and pay for the 3 meals. The price without any kind of discount is $59.

Happy Cooking,

Erica and Emely

White Bean & Arugula Hummus

Good morning loves! Today we are bringing you a super yummy, easy and healthy traditional snack with a twist! We absolutely LOVE hummus, it has to be one of our favorite things to snack on or include into a meal. This version is a super fun way to change up your traditional chickpea (garbanzo bean) hummus.

 Here is what you will need:

 

1 8oz can white beans ( Great northern or cannellini)

1 cup baby arugula

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp. lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

 

Drain and rinse beans. Add beans. arugula, lemon juice, salt and pepper to food processor. Pulse on and slowly pour in olive oil. Keep pulsing until desired consistency.

 

 We hope that you all give this amazing recipe a shot and let us know what you think, enjoy with fresh pita chips, pretzels, carrots etc.

 

Love,

Emely and Erica

 

Note: I (Emely) added way more arugula to my hummus, I absolutely love the pepperiness that arugula gives. For some people it could be a bit much, meaning that your hummus won't be as green but just as tasty!



 

 



Healthy Thanksgiving Sides

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. cauliflower cut into 1" florets
• 10 garlic cloves
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. earth balance "Butter"
• 2 Tbsp. Plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. salt
• extra salt and pepper to taste

Boil salted water in a large pot add cauliflower cook until tender enough to prick through with a fork about 15-20 min. DO NOT over cook. In the meantime preheat oven to 400. Place the garlic and olive oil into a ramekin or oven safe bowl and cover with aluminum, place into oven and remove after 15 minutes or when garlic is translucent and somewhat golden. Remove garlic cloves from oil(reserve garlic oil) and add into a small bowl with the "butter" and salt, mash with a fork and set aside. Drain cauliflower well, and return to pot, mash with a potato masher to desired texture.( I used an immersion blender to make it smooth) Add garlic mixture, yogurt, any extra salt and pepper to taste, mix well and enjoy!
Note: If you would like a bit more garlic flavor add a teaspoon of the garlic oil made earlier.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 lbs. frozen green beans
• 2 Tbsp. "Butter"
• 1 onion diced
• 8 oz. mushrooms diced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 Tbsp. GF flour
• 1 C. Vegetable broth
• 1 C. unsweetened almond milk
• 2/3 cup part-skim mozzarella
• salt and pepper to taste

Crispy shallots

• 2 shallots cut into thin slices
• 1/2 C. GF flour
• 1tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

Wash and drain green beans set aside. Heat a large pot over medium heat add "butter", once melted add diced onions and mushrooms, cook until translucent and soft, add in the minced garlic and cook for a minute. Add flour and cook for and additional 1 minute, pour in broth and milk, stir until thickened. Add mozzarella and stir in salt and pepper to taste. Add the drained green beans and mix well cook until green beans are warmed through well. For the Crispy shallot topping, preheat oven to 350 then line a baking sheet with aluminum and spray with nonstick spray ( I used a coconut oil one).
In a large bowl add GF flour, salt, and pepper mix well with a fork, add thinly sliced shallots and toss well until they are all coated, pour into a large sift and shake off excess flour. Put shallots on lined baking sheet in a single layer and spray the top with nonstick spray for added crispiness. Place sheet into preheated oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes tossing shallots every few minutes. In a large casserole dish add green bean mixture and top with crispy shallots. Return to oven for an addition 5 minutes and serve hot!
Note: Some Shallots will be darker than others due to size difference. You may also bake at a lower temperature for a longer period of time if desired.

Life via the Camera

Good morning Beauties! We hope you all are having a wonderful week. Today's post is a little update one what has been going on in our lives recently. With the holidays upon us, we will be trying to do more holiday inspired post. But lets see how that goes, cause life always seems to get in the way lol.



Here is the pumpkin my husband and I(Erica) carved this year. This was my first time carving a pumpkin, and I must say it was pretty hard. My husbands family are big fans of "The nightmare before Christmas" so this is why we chose Mr. Jack Skellington.





I toasted the pumpkin seed from the pumpkin we carved with a little olive oil, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. So good!



Dinner for my(Erica) Honey. Chicken shish kebobs.





 Me(Emely) and my Love at Panera bread. Vegetarian autumn squash soup with Mediterranean veggie sandwich on tomato basil bread.



Outdoor fall décor: different size and color pumpkins, make for a very cute and inexpensive look.

These are some diy flower vases I (Emely) made out of recycled glass bottles. All you need is some burlap and a hot glue gun.

Fall candles from Bath and Bodyworks

Happy Fall,
Erica and Emely

3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

Hello our beautiful friends!! We are so excited to be share this amazing recipe with you all! This recipe is seriously like magic! The first time I (Emely) made them, I really didn't think they would turn out this amazing! They're super easy to make and only require 3 ingredients!! YES! ONLY 3! These delicious treats are gluten-free and full of protein! Here's what you will need

• 1 cup of natural peanut butter
• 1 cup of sugar (I used coconut palm sugar)
• 1 egg



*Note: I added a nice big pinch of sea salt to balance out a bit of the sweetness.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well. Once ingredients are all combined and smooth.



Scoop 1 tablespoon of the mixture onto your palm and roll into a ball. Line the balls of cookie dough on  cookie sheet. Leave about an inch between them. Next with a fork score the top of each ball flattening it down. 

Put into the oven for about 10-12 minutes. Once the cookies are baked allow them to cool for 5 minutes. Lastly, enjoy! these "guilt free" cookies are amazing we hope you give them a try!

 

yields: about 21 cookies

 

Enjoy,

Erica and Emely

Broccli and Cheese Quinoa

Here is a quick and easy go-to recipe for those night where you just don't have enough time, but still want to eat clean and healthy. Although this recipe does have cheese it is not much. If you are a vegan or just don't want to eat cheese, we suggest trying this with cauliflower sauce.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rinsed organic quinoa

1/2 cup broccoli

1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth or water

1/4-1/2 grated sharp cheddar

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan combine the quinoa and broccoli. Then add your liquid to the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Let them cook for about 12-14 minutes or until quinoa and broccoli are tender. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese, it will melts with the warmth of the quinoa. Last add a little salt and pepper to taste.
So simple yet delicious!

Enjoy,
Erica and Emely 

Life via the Camera

We have to admit that we have been really bad at putting up post on a regular basis. And figured this would be a really good way to post more and also share with you what we have been up to...

 

This is our favorite belly flattening detox water! Super easy just sliced cucumber, lemon, fresh mint leaves and ginger. No need for a super expensive bottle this one was no more than $6 at Walmart!

 

We don't drink coffee much but when we do this creamer! It taste so good and is all-natural which is a big plus for us.

 

Can not say enough good things about this granola its simple and delicious. Low in sugar and comes
 in a lot of yummy flavors! We have been eating this for breakfast with almond milk or as a snack.



 

A super great way to end a workout. Berry protein smoothie! Small handful frozen strawberries, small handful of blueberries, 1 scoop protein powder and 8oz of water. Put all in a blender and enjoy!

 

 

We love laying out by the pool getting some sun, of course with sun protection which is very important!

 

 

Oh my! We have been obsessed with coconut drinks for the longest, but a lot of companies have been coming out with some really good stuff recently. This one is excellent! We love to have this as a mid morning pick-me-up.

 



 

Visiting a local strawberry field on a nice summer day. So much fun!

 

 

The best way to enjoy a caprese sandwich is with no bread. That way you can taste all the wonderful flavors. I (Erica) made this one evening for dinner: 1 tomato sliced, light mozzarella, basil leaves or pesto, and balsamic reduction. Perfection!  

 

 

These cookies are so good and pretty low I calories. All thought we try to say away for the sweet something you need to satisfy that craving so you don't crazy later.

 

We hope you enjoyed these photos of our lives' recently, also try finding some of these thing in you area.

 

Love,

Erica and Emely