Posts tagged ‘muffins’

March 5th, 2013

What’s Up Doc?

by Tiff

As promised, today I bring you muffins!  These are so carrot-packed, they remind me of this guy.  (Does that make them kid-friendly?)

bugsThese muffins are also super healthy, making them a perfect way to start your morning… or break up your afternoon and end your evening if you’re my husband.  He ate three on Sunday.

Yes, this would be the same hubby who doesn’t like sweets, so keep in mind that these are not super sweet bakery-style muffins.  They’re just plain good.

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As you’ll notice, they also have an extra punch of protein and healthy fats.  Told ya they were healthy…

Carrot Raisin Muffins

Ingredients

  • runny chia or flax egg (1 TBS chia seeds & 3 TBS water)
  • 2 cups flour (I used 1 regular whole wheat and 1 whole wheat pastry flour.)
  • 2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used Sunwarrior.)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger (heaping)
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 cups freshly grated carrots (fresh matters)
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup walnuts (or more if desired)
  • 1 cup milk (I used skim dairy, but almond would have been great too.)
  • 4 oz unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 TBS maple syrup
  • 1 TBS apple cider vinegar

Directions ~ makes 12 muffins

  1. In a medium bowl, make your runny chia egg and set aside.  Grate your carrots.  Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. In a second large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.  (flour through pumpkin pie spice)
  3. Return to the medium bowl, and add the remaining ingredients.  Mix gently.
  4. Add wet to dry, and stir until mixed.  Fill a greased muffin tin with the mixture.
  5. Bake at 350 F approximately 18-20 minutes, checking with a toothpick.
  6. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan about 10-15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

muffins

I hope you like them as much as I do!  According to my best estimation, they’re about 156 calories per muffin.

  • Baked anything good lately?  Would you eat a carrot muffin?
December 17th, 2012

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

by Tiff

This weekend was a bit too food-filled for this foodie.  I had a great time baking, celebrating with friends, and enjoying the season, but my belly is ready for the new year.  *Don’t get me wrong, the rest of me is still loving the holiday season, jingle bells and all.

running      cookies

On Saturday, I went for a much needed run, and lucky for me, the run was fabulous!  I love love love these new Pro Compression socks I won from Kat’s blog.  I later baked cookies and headed out for a neighborhood party.

trees      tree

On Sunday, I whipped up these pretty little things for another holiday party.  (Yeah, on Sunday – I wasn’t too happy about the date; I’m a pajama girl on Sunday evenings.)

pump      chocolate

After the holiday lunch Thursday and holiday parties Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I’m feeling pretty bleh.  Luckily, I did at least whip up something healthy this weekend.

muffins      chocolate

I froze most of these to nibble on through the week.  Due to their lack of fat and such, they don’t puff up like normal muffins, but they freeze and reheat in the microwave incredibly well.

Ingredients:

  • 1 c flour (I used whole wheat.)
  • 1/2 c NuNaturals Fiber Baking Blend
  • 1 packet Stevia (or about 2 tsp sugar)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp (heaping) pumpkin pie spice
  • an extra dash of cinnamon
  • 1/2 c pure canned pumpkin
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 TBS + 1 tsp pure maple syrup
  • 1/2 c milk (approx)
  • 1/4 c dark chocolate chips or shavings

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a muffin tin.
  2. Mix dry, except chocolate.  Separately, mix wet.  Add wet to dry without over mixing.
  3. Fold in chocolate chips.  Divide among muffin tin.  (I got seven muffins.)
  4. Bake 18-22 minutes.  Allow to cool completely if you intend to freeze any of them.

Is your belly sick of the holidays yet, or have you been managing the temptation?

July 3rd, 2012

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

by Tiff

What’s a girl to do when she cannot decide between two recipes?  Two become one, of course!  (Did that remind anyone else of that Spice Girl song?  When two become oooooone…)  I was in the mood for lemon goodies, but I wanted to make something with blueberries.  When I saw that the grocery store had Chobani yogurt on sale last week, I knew just what to make.

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Sometimes things just work together, and in this case, blueberry + lemon = win.

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Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 cups flour (I used whole wheat flour, but any light/all-purpose four should be okay.)
  • 1/2 cup sugar (aka: white devil)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 TBS lemon zest
  • 1 chia egg (1 TBS chia + 2 TBS water)
  • 1 container Chobani lemon yogurt (or other)
  • 1/2 cup milk (I used skim, but I would have preferred unsweetened almond.)
  • 2.5 TBS oil (I used olive, but I bet coconut would work well too.)
  • 3 TBS unsweetened applesauce
  • 1 TBS lemon juice

Directions:

  1. In a medium bowl, mix your chia egg and let it get all gummy while you prep the other ingredients.  Preheat oven to 375 F.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, through salt. Whisk.  Add lemon zest and briefly whisk again.
  3. In the chia egg bowl, add the yogurt, milk, oil, applesauce, and lemon juice.
  4. Stir wet into dry ingredients, but do not over-mix.  Fold in 3/4 cup blueberries. Fill greased muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 22-26 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Leave muffins in the pan for 5-10 minutes before cooling on rack or plate.

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It’s difficult to get a good picture in this house, especially if you want decent morning lighting.  Between a husband who doesn’t understand, “let it cool” and cats who think they run the show, I was lucky to get one decent picture.

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Enjoy the muffins!  If you make them, please let me know what you think.

May 7th, 2012

Muffin Monster

by Tiff

Although I didn’t get cheese dip this weekend, I did get glorious shrimp fajitas and some guac.  Yum!  Cinco de Mayo is always a winner.  I also had some of these.  Everyone has heard of Cookie Monster, but I’m definitely a muffin monster.

muffins

These are Angela’s Love Muffins, and I made them for this weekend’s guests.  Strawberries don’t work perfectly in muffins (almost too moist), so I don’t think I’ll make them again.  However, I haven’t met a muffin I didn’t like, and we all enjoyed these.

After a tough workout Saturday morning, EAS helped me justify a muffin (or two) for breakfast.

muffins

A latte helped turn one (and a half) into a wonderful Sunday morning breakfast.  (Sadly, they’re gone already.)

muffins

A note about the EAS shake: I’m not pleased.  I know I gave this exact same shake a good review before, but the last one was better.  A bunch of the shake didn’t “shake,” so I was left with a bunch of goo in the bottom of the carton.  This has happened to me before with other brands of pre-mixed shakes.  What’s with that???

 

  • Has anyone else had this protein shake problem?
  • Did you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
  
March 12th, 2012

Wine Tasting

by Tiff

I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.  I know I did!  I wish I ate a little cleaner, but I’m still quite happy with the way things turned out.  Even though I ate dinner at home each night, I splurged a bit Saturday.  It was delicious, though I forgot how much more I prefer alfredo to pesto.

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On Saturday, Kevin and I had three other couples over for a wine tasting.  (Have you noticed yet that we love hosting???)  Each couple brought a bottle above and below $15, which is a lot of wine, not that I’m complaining.

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Since it was a cabernet sauvignon tasting, I set out brie and white cheddar.  I also made a garlic and artichoke white bean dip, which I served with veggies and pita wedges.

chocolatebags

Of course, red wine always goes well with dark chocolate.  I served up a version of Laura’s chocolate zucchini muffins.  I mushed up some raspberries to use in place of applesauce, and then I added a few more berries for good measure.  Raspberry and dark chocolate?  Sounds like a perfect wine compliment to me!

As you can see from the bags, this was a blind tasting.  Kevin and my bottles took 1st and 3rd place.  Luckily, the the cheaper bottle won.  Gotta’ love it when that happens!

  1. Sebastiani 2008 Cab
  2. Murphy-Goode 2007 Cab
  3. Santo Stefano 2009 Cab

 

What was the best thing you did this weekend?