Pumpkin Chocolate Walnut Muffins

I love making muffins. I think I've already said that before, many times, but it's true. I love how it's an easy snack, a nice quick breakfast and plus they can be really healthy. I have this one recipe I use as a base, I make them so often I know it by heart now. It's from the Healthy Oven baking book. This one here is a tweaked version.
Today I thought it was time to open the can of pumpkin and have a "pumpkin week"...And since anything goes with chocolate I decided to make them chocolate muffins.

Here's the recipe:

Dry ingredients:

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup coco pwder, sifted.
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp EACH of nutmeg, ground cloves and ground ginger
Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 large egg
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Turn on the oven at 350. Spray a muffin pan with some good ol' Paaaam.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, wisk all the wet ingredients until frothy, about 2-3 minutes.
Make a well in the flour mix, pour in the wet mix and stir until just combined. Add the cocolate chips and nuts and mix in, but don't over mix.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and unmold and cool on a rack.

Makes about 10 muffins. They will be gone in 2-3 days I garantee it!
(As I type this the man of the house is having his third one today...)

Blueberry Muffins with Quinoa and Flax

Blueberry muffins are pretty much a classic. In any good bakery you can find a berry muffin, most of the time it's blueberry. I know when I worked at Moguls in Whistler the blueberry muffin was our biggest seller. I'd make at least 2 batches of 24 every morning and by noon they were almost gone. It's quite a good breakfast, especially on the way up the ski hill!



There's no more ski hills in my life now, but I still love my blueberry muffins! The basic of this recipe is my go-to muffin recipe, easily adaptable, and it's low fat and packed with protein. It's from the "Healthy Oven" baking book, by Sarah Philips.
Here's what you'll need:

1 1/2 cup whole wheat PASTRY flour, or all-purpose.
3/4 cup quinoa flakes
1/3 cup ground flax sseds
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 egg
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup frozen blueberries

Set your oven at 350F and set the rack in the middle. Spray a muffin pan with canola oil.
In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and set aside.
In another bowl, mix all the wet ingredients and whisk until frothy, about 2 minutes.
Make a well in the dry mix, add the wet and stri until just combined. Add the blueberries and mix lightly. Carefull not to overmix otherwise your muffins will be a bit tough.
Bake fo 22-25 minutes, until a kinfe inserted in the middle comes out clean.
*My oven is a bit "difficult", it doesn't brown things easily, so for the last 2 minutes I turned on the broiler. But if you do this DON'T WALK AWAY!!
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, unmold and cool completely on a rack.



Have a great day!

Pumpkin-Ginger Spicy Muffins

It's pumpkin season so here's a first pumpkin recipe! I say "first" because there will be a few more in the weeks to come...That one big can of pumpkin puree was BIG.
These muffins are really nice and spicy, with the ginger and the cloves. That's one thing I love about pumpkin. The spices that go with it are some of my favorites. Cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger. Good stuff.



Okay here it is:

Dry stuff:

2 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

wet stuff:

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 egg
1 TBSP canola oil

2 tsp crystalized ginger, finely choppede
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Turn the oven on at 350, set the rack in the middle of the oven and oil-spray some muffin tins.
Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl, set aside.
In another bowl beat all the wet ingredients and the ginger until frothy.
Make a well in the center of the dry stuff, pour in the wet stuff and the pecans and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until just combined. Do not overmix...(this would mean tough muffins, and we don't want that.)
Bake for 20-22 minutes(check after 20 and see...). Cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding.



I found them really good with margarine on it, but also applesauce rocks with these, since the spices go well with apple too!



Enjoy!

Spinach&Feta Omelette

This is my favorite breakfast. I make it at least once a week. There's something about feta and spinach together...and with the dill...well, a-mazing!
Think Spanokopita minus the dough...



When I make omelettes I usually use only 1 egg and 2 eggwhites(for 1 person, otherwise double it!), that way it's lower in fat!
So, for one omelette:

1 egg
2 eggwhites
2-3 TBSP milk
pinch of salt and pepper
1/4 tsp dried dill(i rarely buy the fresh stuff, so I use dry. but if you use fresh dill add more!!)
1/2 baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1-2 green onions

Mix the egg and whites, milk and seasonnings. Add the onion and half the spinach and combine well.
In a pan(med-high heat), melt some margarine or butter, pour in the egg mixture and let it set for about a minute, add the feta and the rest of the spinach.
When it looks like it's set enough to flip and it's slightly gold at the bottom, fold it in half and cook for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Basically you just want the cheese to melt.



What a great way to start the day!

(...forgive me but I'll have a bit of ketchup on the side...)

Banana Chocolate Chip Bread

Whoever invented/came up with using bananas for baking is a genius. I mean, really! They're amazing for muffins, and cakes, and well, bread. And it's kinda recomforting to know that when there's 2 bananas on the counter, dying and blackening as days go by, it's not a total loss...in fact I almost, sometimes, let them "mature" on purpose, so that I have an excuse to bake something!!
So this week I was gonna, again, make muffins, but I decided to make a loaf for something different, and for some new material for this blog(yes, I'm still thinking of you, readers, even if I don't show up on here all that often..:))
This recipe came form "Healthy Oven", yet again. It uses buttermilk, but if you're unable to find buttermilk(or in my case decide at the last minute to make a loaf rather than the usual muffins...)make your own:
2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt+1/3 cup 1% milk=1 cup buttermilk.
It's that simple, and it works!
On to the recipe:

Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour(mix half whole wheat, half all-purpose...)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:

1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup mashed ripe bananas(about 2 bananas)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 large egg
1 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:


Mix all the dry ingredients and set aside.
Mix all the wet ingredients, by hand or with a mixer for about 2 minutes, making sure everything is well combined.
Pour the wet in the dry, add chocolate chips and mix, without over mixing though or you'll end up with a tougher loaf. In this case it's ok if there are still lumps of flour here and there...
Pour in a greased 9x5x3 loaf pan, smooth the top with a spatula and sprinkle more choco chips on top(!!!).
Bake in a 350F oven on the middle rack for 55-60 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes while still in the pan, unmold and cool completely on a cooling rack...



or...if you have no self control like me have a few slices while it's still too hot and burn your tongue...(no seriously, don't. it hurts...)

It's an AMAZING loaf, really, even after 4 days!

Banana-Carrot-Cranberry Muffins

Another day off today...so after a nice little outdoor swim I had to bake something. It was gonna be a "banana-something" because I had 2 very ripe bananas begging to be used.
But I also wanted to make something with carrots, for variety and because I've been making a lot of shakes lately, I want to keep my frozen fruit for smoothies!! So, I looked through some books, found a recipe for carrot muffins, but not using bananas. And then there's my favorite recipe of banana-oat muffins, not using carrots. So I took a shot and kinda combined the two. The carrot muffin recipe looked amazing as it was though, I will try it eventually!

These came out great, they are moist and light. The molasses taste comes out a little, but not over-powering. It gives it a nice darker color too.

Ok. Here's the recipe, adapted from Marg Ruttan's "Biscuits et Muffins":
(yields 9-10 big muffins)



Dry ingredients:

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup quick oats
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Wet ingredients:

2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup molasses
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
1 cup mashed bananas

1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Grease up some muffin molds, and turn the oven at 375F. Set the rack in the middle.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl, set aside.
In another bowl, mix all the wet until lightly frothy.
Pour the wet mix in the dry mix, along with the carrots and cranberries, mix until just combined, without over-mixing.
Scoop in the muffin tins(ice cream scoop works best), and bake for 20-25 minutes.
When they're done they will spring back when you press on them, or do the knife test...
Cool for 10 minutes in the molds, then carefully unmold and cool on a wire rack.

Very nice and tender muffins.



With margarine and a glass of juice, it's a nice little pre-workout snack or afternoon sugar fix.

Peach-Pecan Banana Muffins.

I've never been one to follow recipes very well. I love cook books and food blogs but I use them as inspiration rather that strict guidelines. I always change things, substitute or add. For cooking it doesn't really make huge differences but when it comes to baking recipes, one really has to know what will replace what in a recipe. You can't just, say, replace butter with oil. The consistency is different; the butter molecules interact with the sugar to make those little bubbles, oil won't!! Same thing for sugar v/s honey. It's a little tricky and it takes a few trials and errors to find out what works. Or a good cook book that explains it all...
Today I wanted to use up 2 very ripe bananas in either a banana bread or more muffins. I chose to bake muffins. I'll make a quickbread of some kind tomorrow or the day after anyway, I have a big swim meet this week-end and I need some yummy low-fat, high protein and healthy eats for in-between races.
Ok, so. Back to baking. Same as my cooking habits, I love switching things up in goodies as well. Muffins are great for that. And so is my most favorite book, again, "Healthy Oven"...(I'm gonna slowly bake my way through this thing I can feel it!!). The recipes in there are well explained, and substitutions are easy to make. This recipe is actually quite different than the original, so let's say it's "loosely adapted from...".

Ingredients:

Dry::
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour(o 1 1/2 cup TOTAL of the same kind of flour...doesn't really matter. just NO bread flour!!)
1/2 cup quick oats
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Wet:
2 ripe bananas, smashed up.(or as the recipe called for, 3/4 cup applesauce. fruit purees act in a similar way as butter with the sugar because of the pectin...it's all chemistry, right?)
3/4 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup dried peaches, cut up in small pieces
1/2 cup roasted UNSALTED pecans
*or, as you might have guessed, any other type of fruit and/or nuts you wish...

Directions:
Set oven at 350F, rack in the middle, oil-spray muffin tins.
Mix all dry ingredients, set aside.
Mix all wet ingredients, beat/whisk until slightly frothy, for about 2 minutes.
Add wet to dry, with fruits and nuts, mix until just combined, without overmixing!
*Here it will seem very wet, but it's all good. Put a baking sheet under the muffin tray in case it spills!
Scoop into muffin tins, bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes and unmold carefully to a cooling rack.



**Today, I somehow forgot to set the timer...oups...but I kinda remembered the time it was when I put them in, it was half way through The Bold and The Beautiful(...i know...), so I was able to wing it...they came out fine.
This will give you about 9-10 muffins.
Enjoy!

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Saturday morning is usually muffin baking morning. I always make the same recipe but this morning I was out of appelsauce and maple syrup, 2 major ingredients in this favorite recipe. But I had 2 ripe bananas and plenty of brown sugar so I looked through another one of my favorite baking books called "Biscuits et Muffins"(in french)by Marg Ruttan, and found a banana oatmeal muffin recipe. Perfect.


(now THAT'S a Muffin top!!)

Start by pre-heating the oven at 375F and grease muffins mold.
This recipe will yield about 9-10 big muffins.

Dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, or whole wheat pastry flour.
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup brown sugar(or regular white sugar, but I prefer brown sugar with banana recipes...)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg(magical with bananas, seriousy.)

Wet ingredients:
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil
3/4 cup milk
1 cup very ripe bananas, smashed into a puree.(about 2-3 bananas)

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

-Mix all the dry ingredients, set aside
-Beat the eggs, then add the rest of the wet ingredients.
-Pour the wet in the dry, with chocolate chips, mix until just combined, without overmixing.
-Bake for 20-22 minutes
-Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, demold and cool on a wire rack.



*To make sure the muffins don't break when you take them out, put a cookie sheet on top, flip it and shake the pan a bit to make them come out. It might take a few minutes but that way you won't end up with separate tops and stumps.
**These muffins are very moist and tender, so be careful when they're hot, handle them gently...
***Also they freeze well, but make sure they are completely cooled before freezing, wrap in plastic wrap and in a anti-freeze ziploc.

This morning I couldn't help myself I had 2 of them(it's ok, I'm swimming later...). They go really good with coffee.



Happy Easter week-end!

The Goodness of Oats.

Oatmeal is probably one of the, if not THE, most healthy breakfast. Whether it's cooked hot or eaten cold in muesli, it'll fill you up and do wonders on the inside.
As much as I love bread, I think we eat WAY too much of it. Think about it; toasts for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta(made from wheat) for diner with...garlic bread. Croutons in the salad are made with bread... That's too much wheat. There are other grains out there besides wheat. Oats is one of the best. So is quinoa, millet, barley, etc. So let's ease up on the wheat. What I try to do everyday is to have at least one wheat-free meal(not always gluten-free, cause oats and barley have a little gluten too...). The best way to do that is to have oatmeal for breakfast. It's one of my favorite. When I say oatmeal I mean REAL oatmeal, not the instant stuff that comes in pouches along with sugar and other "flavors"...It's just as easy, and cheaper, to get a big bag of quick-oats, it cooks in 5 minutes, and they haven't been transformed as much AND when things are plain...you can flavor it anyway you want!! Also, you can use them in baked goods, or even meatloaves and stews, etc. Wonderful little flakes!
Here are some nutrition facts:(I did my research!!)
-Oats are a good source of soluble fibre, which helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
-They're rich in iron, manganese, folic acid, vitamin E and complex B vitamins, such as niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, etc.
-They have some powerfull anti-oxidants that help prevent cancer and other diseases.
-It's a good option for diabetics because oats help reduce blood sugar levels and insuline levels as well.
-Since they're high in protein and fiber, they take longer to digest so they'll make you feel fuller longer.
So...oatmeal rocks, basically.
There are so many ways to cook it, usually for quick oats you need 2 parts water or milk(or half water, half milk...) for one part of oats. Thicker rolled oats will take longer, up to 20 minutes, and you may need 3 parts liquid. Check the bag for instructions.
For me, I like my oatmeal with some kind of nuts or seeds, and fruit. Fresh or dried. And depending on those I'll add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or cardamon, or a mix of whatever, and of course almost always brown sugar. Not a lot, but I love the molassy taste of it. But it could be maple syrup, honey, or like this morning I threw in a couple of tespoons of chocolate chips. Yum.

"Banana Chocolate Walnut":


Now I'm not gonna give any recipes for morning oatmeal. But here are some suggestions, good combos, and ideas:
*Apple-raisin-sunflower seed with cinnamon and cloves,
*Pear-Walnut with nutmeg
*Peach-pecan with cinnamon AND nutmeg
*Cinnamon-raisin
*Blueberry-almond with cardamon
*Banana-Chocolate-Walnut...de-ca-dent.
*etc...
Basically, think of you favorite cookie, or pie or muffin flavor and put it in the oatmeal. Possibilities are endless.
So with that said, here are a couple other snaps of my oatmeal breakfasts;
(and notice how it's the same bowl...I know I need new dishes...)

"Cranberry Pear and Sunflower seeds, with nutmeg":


"Apple Raisin and sunflower seeds, with cinnamon":(ok, i really like those little seeds, can you tell?)

Breakfast potatoes.

Potatoes rock! I love them anytime of the day, but breakfast is, in my opinion, the best time to have them. Who can resist sauteed potatoes, really? It's a perfect side-dish to eggs. In restaurants they're usually deep-fried, but it's really easy to make them healthy and delicious without loading up on the fat. So it doesn't have to be a once in a while luxury anymore.
I make those 2-3 times a week. I'm Irish, after all, I gotta have my potatoes!



Ingredients(not really specific, i don't like measuring things unless it's for baking...):

-Potatoes, diced, one medium-size per person.(i keep the skin on but you could peel them if you'd like...)
-Mushrooms(potato's best friend if you ask me...), sliced, about 1/3-1/2 cup...
-Green onion, chopped, about 1/4 cup(1-2 onion...)
-Flat-leaf parsley, 1/4 cup or so, chopped roughly.
-Salt, pepper and paprika.
-1-2 TBSP canola oil

-Heat the oil med-high heat.
-Add potatoes, salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Toss so they get evenly coated.
-Cover, turn heat to medium.
-Cook about 5 minutes(could be more depending on the size of your potatoes, the smaller they are the faster they will cook), check for doneness and toss around to even the browning.
-Add mushrooms and onion, cook until everything is, well, cooked...
-Throw in the parsley at the end.
That's what I call some good potatoes!

Sundried tomato and Feta omelette.

We've already established that muffins are my pre-swim snack. For the after swim I usually go with eggs. Omelettes, sunny-side, softboiled or scrambled...i love eggs. And omelltes are quite easy to make and they're very versatile. Today I went for sundried tomatoes and feta. I looooooove sundied tomatoes. You can buy them dry or in oil; I like them in oil. Then when the tomatoes are gone you're left with this awesome flavored oil perfect for salads. I also love love love feta cheese. So the two together can only be a delicious combo.
Now, today I had a bit of a "sticky" situation with my non-stick pan that's not really non-stick anymore...you can probably tell on that picture. But it was good anyway. Anything with sundried tomatoes...
This recipe is for 1 omelette. For 2 people double the ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 egg
2 egg whites(you can buy just the whites, in a carton. 2tbsp is 1 egg white)
1 green onion(or 2 if they're really thin)
2 slices sundried tomatoes
Black pepper(no salt! the feta is pretty salty already)
Oregano(eyeball it, i love oregano so I put like 1 teaspoon in it.)
1-2 TBSP Feta cheese.(not sure of the exact quantities, i'd say the size of a golfball...)

-Mix egg, egg whites, onion, tomatoes, pepper and oregano.
-Throw in a med-high heated pan(i always put a little nub of margarine, to prevent from sticking to my "non-stick" pan...it works MOST of the time...)
-When it starts to "take" throw in the feta.
-Fold carefully in half, let it go for a minute on one side, flip it and turn the heat off.
-Done!

Fruit&nut quinoa muffins.

Ok. So since I just made muffins this morning, and I make these muffins once a week I think it's fitting that it would be the first recipe I share here. I got it from Sarah Philips' book called "Healthy Oven", which is one of my favorite cookbooks because all the recipes in there are low in fat and healthier than "regular" baking. Now here I made a few changes in some secondary ingredients, since I eat these usually before going to swim practice I always add nuts for extra protein.
You'll need:


Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup oats or flakes of some sort(today I used quinoa flakes, but they could be oatmeal, barley, kamut or millet flakes, or a mix of whatever's in the pantry)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:
3/4 cup UNSWEETENED applesauce
1 egg
1/2 cup maple syrup, or honey
1 1/2 TBSP canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup nuts(walnuts, pecans, sliced almonds, hazelnuts, the possibilities are endless!!)
1/2 dried fruit(raisins, craisins, dried apricots, or a mix of dried fruit...again...so many possibilites!!)

-Set the oven at 350, place the rack in the middle of the oven.
-Oil spray muffin molds.
-Mix all dry ingredients, set aside.
-Mix all wet ingredients until slightly frothy.
-Pour wet in dry, add nuts and fruits, mix gently with a rubber spatula, but do not overmix it otherwise the muffins will be tough and dry.
-Scoop in muffin mold, a little above the rim. Using an ice cream scoop here is the best, it'll give you nice and round muffin tops.
-Bake for 20-22 minutes.
-When they're done, put the tray on a cooling rack for 10 minutes or so, then unmold carefully.

*DO NOT open the oven door once they're in. Wait until 20 minutes, check with the knife test and if they need more time go 2 minutes at a time.
**Also, I usually put the muffin tray on a baking sheet. For my oven I find it works best. And if there's any spills it won't make a mess..!

So that's it! Super easy, super tasty, versatile and healthy.
Enjoy.