Sugarfree Zevia Protein Muffins, with beets! (and other options)

As promised, here is a fun Zevia muffin or bread recipe from www.zevia.com! The original recipe on their website used Cola, but since I prefer Dr. Zevia, that’s what I used.  Adding the cola to the ingredients makes a fizzy “concoction” in your mixing bowl, that my 8 year old son thought was WONDERFUL! The recipe suggests opening the soda early, so it’s not so fizzy, but all that fizzy action was the fun part for us!:) We had a great time making this. Go to the link above for the ingredients and directions, and here are my suggestions and what I used:

I prefer to make grain-free recipes if possible, so I used almond meal that I buy at Trader Joes. Almond flour or another gluten free flour may have given it a slightly better texture, but they were still good with almond meal.

I did not have enough protein powder at the time, and they still turned out fine. I used a stevia-sweetened vanilla whey powder.

We made both bread and muffins, and I think the muffins turned out slightly better. Only, don’t use cheap paper baking cups like I did, because they stuck to the bread, which ashamedly, did NOT prevent us from eating every bite (yes, we scraped the paper to get every last bite, I admit it.)

BEST PART: I had an organic beet I wanted to use up, and since the recipe offered that as an ingredient option, I said “heck yeah, we’re usin that beet!”

Well, that’s what makes this the perfect Halloween baking experiment for all of you mad scientists out there! It turned the ingredients a beautiful dark red, (like blood, Halloween, get it?) and when we added the fizzy soda, it was a bubbling cauldron of bloody red goo (insert evil laugh here)! Look at all that awesomeness below!

Now, that bloody red color changes as it bakes (unfortunately), but it was fun while it lasted! So, here’s my full confession: while the beet made it super fun and a really cool color, it wasn’t sweet enough, so I would suggest using the applesauce or banana OR you could add frosting like I did in the picture below! (it was stevia sweetened cream cheese frosting). If you don’t have ingredients (or time) for frosting, you could always add honey on top instead. I especially love www.cloisturehoney.com ‘s whipped cinnamon honey! O MY Amazing!

My last bit of advice would be to make sure you chop/process your beets small enough, if that’s what you use for this. I left a few chunks, and it wasn’t my most favorite bite when I found them:) If you are a huge beet lover, then by all means, leave the beets chunky!

I loved the way this recipe offered so many options, so it has the potential to taste many different ways, depending on what you use. Chocolate chips and pecans would be a nice addition, if that works for your family. If you try this, I hope you have as much fun as we did making it! And please let me know how it turns out, since there are so many varieties possible! Happy Halloween! Enjoy!

Please go to this post  to enter the GiveAway for FREE Zevia! They generously offered TWO free 6packs to the winner, so you can drink some and cook with some! Check out the Zevia website for all kinds of recipes for no sugar foods and drinks.

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

How Zevia Changed My Life: raving product review and GiVe-AwAy!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED, BUT PLEASE READ ALL THE INSPIRING HEALTHY LIFE-CHANGE STORIES IN THE COMMENTS, AND TELL US YOUR STORY EVEN THOUGH THE CONTEST IS OVER! 10-22-12

I know. I know. That title sounds a little dramatic and over-the-top, but hear me out! First of all, it wasn’t the ONLY thing that changed my life, but it was one of the things that changed my life. In my old life, I used to love a certain soft drink, which shall remain nameless, but it has the letters D and P in it. In my twenties, I loved it way too much, having at least one or two every day. Then I got the news that my blood sugar levels were a little high, but that didn’t make me want to change anything (boy was I stupid!). Years went by, I had gestational diabetes which forced me to stop the soda (temporarily), I probably picked it back up after pregnancies were over, I can’t remember,  blah blah blah… and I reached my 40s at about 1-2 cans (sometimes more) per week. Improvement, but far from ideal health. Then the contest that changed everything. Of course those extra calories (not to mention health issues!) had to go during the fitness contest! But oh how I wanted that cold, sweet, fizzy goodness on the back of my parched throat! I didn’t realize how addicted I really was. I was having major withdrawal symptoms, and it was not fun, and there were few alternatives. And then I found Zevia, Dr. Zevia to be exact. That discovery changed everything. I could still satisfy that oh-so-powerful craving for the fizzy, but because it was sweetened with stevia, there were no calories and no insulin spikes! Perfect. Well, almost.  I had never been a fan of diet sodas, so I had to get used to the “diet flavor” first. But I did, and it became the perfect transition drink to get me “off” sugar sodas. For good. For real. Haven’t had one in well over a year now (cheers and applause here!). It enabled me to completely detox off soda, and for that I am forever grateful! No more unwanted empty calories, but more importantly, no sugar addiction and insulin spikes that my body could not handle, and that were causing a long list of problems for me.  I had no idea my issues really were health problems and warning signs. I thought those things were “normal”, until I detoxed off the sugar and grains, and realized all the problems I was NOT having any more! It was so eye-opening for me! Zevia was a game-changer for me, that beat an addiction I didn’t even know I had, and certainly didn’t understand! I know better now, and for all of these things I am very grateful! Zevia, I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

When I met the wonderful Zevia people at Expo East this year, I actually got choked up trying to tell them how much I appreciated their product and what it had done for me. And I wanted to be able to share the opportunity for YOU to beat the sugar soda habit too! They generously offered TWO free 6 packs to the lucky winner of this, my FIRST give away! YAY!!! It’s a big day for Organic Eater! I asked them for two because I want you to be able to drink some and COOK WITH some. Yep, they have recipes at www.zevia.com, so you can cook sugar-free as well, and my next post will show you a fun Halloween-ish recipe I made! Your kids will love it! I hope to post the recipe by Saturday…

So, it’s my first give away, and you’re not going to have to “LIKE” anything.  I don’t want you to “like” my blog because of free stuff. I want you to like and follow my blog because you think there is helpful and encouraging information here! I’d LOVE for you to follow the blog, but I don’t want to make it a requirement to enter a giveaway. Here’s what we’re doing instead: leave a comment here on the blog (see comment “balloon/bubble” at top) telling us HOW Zevia has changed your life (or at least helped!) if you have already tried it, OR tell us how you may WANT/NEED to change your soda-life with Zevia. That’s it. Contest closes at midnight Monday, Oct 22, and I’ll pick my favorite answer on Tuesday! (It will likely be Tuesday evening before I announce the winner, since I just remembered I’m doing a demo at Whole Foods that day!)  Keep your answer brief, let’s say a 100 word MAX.  You are encouraged to follow this blog, follow OrganicEater on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, but I’m not requiring it. I would also like to ask you to RETWEET, reblog, etc. this contest on all your social media platforms. If you tweet or Instagram, be sure to include @zevia and @organiceater, so we can see who’s tweeting it up! It’s important people realize they do have an alternative to sugar sodas, and I want to help spread the word! Thanks guys! I appreciate you all so much. Thanks for being a part of this first GiveAway ever on Organic Eater, and I look forward to hearing from you!! To leave a comment, look for the little  “bubble” at the top of this post. 

Encouraging Health,

Organic Eater

Disclaimers: OrganicEater is not telling you to drink a Zevia every day of your life to be healthy. I’m telling you it can help reduce the sugar intake from sugar sodas you are currently drinking, and that is a great thing to do! If you drink diet sodas, I highly recommend changing from articificial sweeteners to this more naturally sweetened soda. This can be part of an overall #lowcrapdiet that I endorse, not a magic pill to make you healthy. If you need more reason to cut the sugar in your diet, please read here.  Zevia will be mailing coupons to the winner, so please check www.zevia.com to see if it’s available in your area. It is only open to US and Canadian residents.