Something To Go With The Smoothie....

Last nite I told you about the Spinach Smoothie.  Today I'm giving you the recipe for the muffins that were in the background of the smoothie photo.  I snuck vegetables in those too!

I adapted this recipe from Happy Herbivore Light and Lean cookbook.  My recipe isn't vegan but it's equally delicious and I'm pretty certain it has less fat.  

Orange Zucchini Muffins
Makes 12 regular or 30 mini muffins

Ingredients

1.5 c flour
1 T baking powder
1 small banana
.75 c skim milk
.5 c fat free Greek yogurt
zest and juice of a clementine/blood orange
1 cup shredded zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray a muffin tin (I made mini muffins as you can see)
2. Squeeze all the water out of your shredded zucchini and set aside
3. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
4. In a blender or food processor puree banana, milk, yogurt, zest and orange juice
5. Mix banana mixture into flour mixture.
6. Fold in zucchini
7. Bake 18-25 minutes for regular muffins and 15-20 minutes for mini muffins

These were delicious.  The orange stood out but didn't overpower.  The zucchini added a nice bit of moisture.  You can actually substitute the orange for any citrus probably.  The original recipe calls for lemon.  It would be nice to try with grapefruit.  

Happy Herbivore Book Review

I'm really excited about this month.  It's only the second day but it already seems to be going well.  The girls and I sat and watched Christmas shows and movies yesterday and I got a bit of Christmas shopping done today.

I'm having issues figuring out what to get Kaylee and Mo.  I want to get them everything and I can't make up my mind.

Are you having issues finding the perfect gift for the foodie in your life?  Well I have a suggestion.  The new book from Lindsay Nixon, The Happy Herbivore.  The Happy Herbivore is a blog that I follow religiously.  I received her book, Happy Herbivore Light & Lean a few weeks ago to review.   

This book is great.  There are over 150 recipes.  The first half is recipes and the second half has some exercises and workouts.  Perfect healthy living book.  I would say that if you are new to the healthy living scene, this book is definitely something you should pick up.  

All of her recipes contain no added fat or oil and are plant-based.  This is the description from the blog.
  
"I don't cook with oils or other added fats. All my recipes are fat-free or low fat and I focus on using whole, unprocessed plant foods -- but nothing obscure or bizarre! I use normal "everyday" ingredients we all have on hand and most of my recipes come together in 20 minutes or less, too!

I keep it healthy, affordable, easy, no fuss and most importantly: delicious!"

Her recipes are perfect for my dietary restrictions.  

As soon as I opened the book I was in love.  Every single recipe looked delicious and called for me to try it.  Since I received the book 2 weeks ago I have already made 3 recipes and have 6 more on the menu for December.  

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is one of my favorites.  When the girls and I have smoothie and muffin nite I like to try a new recipe.  Luckily, smoothie nite was planned for a few days after the book arrived in the mail.  

 

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

Makes 12

Soy-free, Fat-free, Quick

If I had to pick a favorite kind of muffin, I think blueberry muffins would be it for me. With their hint of lemon, these muffins make me think of sunny, relaxed mornings. I also love that they’re made with vegan yogurt (a boost of protein!) and very little sugar.

2 c white whole-wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

pinch salt

¼ c raw sugar

1 ripe (spotted) banana

½ c vanilla nondairy milk, divided

6 oz vegan yogurt (plain, vanilla, or blueberry)

¼ c unsweetened applesauce

1 c blueberries (thawed, if using frozen)

3–4 tbsp lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line muffin tin with paper or silicone cups or use a nonstick pan, and set aside. In

a mixing bowl, whisk flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. In a small food processor or

blender, whiz banana with 1⁄4 cup nondairy milk until silky smooth. Stir into flour mixture, then add yogurt, applesauce, and remaining nondairy milk. Stir a few times, add blueberries and lemon zest, and stir gently, folding in blueberries, until just combined. Spoon into muffin cups and bake 15–20 minutes

or until muffins are golden, firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Per Muffin Calories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Fat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.8g Carbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25.6g Fiber. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2.9g Sugars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.8g Protein. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3.5g WW Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3

 

Do you have any favorite bloggers?  How excited are you for this holiday season?

Fruity Fat Free Muffins (with next to no sugar added)

One of the girls favorite dinners is one of the easiest too.  Smoothies and muffins.  This is a meal that I incorporate into every month's menu.  {There are 5-10 other standard meals that I put on first also} Last nite's muffins were apricot blueberry.  I stuck a few too many blueberries in so the insides were a bit gooey.  But, on the upside, it made the inside taste like blueberry cobbler.

Look at those beautiful muffins!  Chunks of blueberry in almost every bite.  The apricot added just enough sweetness and there's next to no sugar in these.

Apricot Bluberry Muffins
Servings: about 16
Calories: 106
Fat: 0.3 g
Carbohydrates:  22.3 g
Sugar:  7.1 g
Protein:  3.8 g

Ingredients
2.25 cups flour
2 T sugar
1T baking powder
1 15 oz can of apriciots (make sure to get the ones without added sugar)
2 egg whites/ egg substitute equivilent to 2 eggs
1 cup skim milk
1/4 cup applesauce
1 t vanilla
1 cup blueberries (frozen or fresh)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Drain apricots and puree in food processor.
3. Whisk together apricot puree, egg whites, skim milk, applesauce and vanilla
4. In a separate bowl sift together flour, sugar, and baking powder
5. Mix wet ingredients into dry
6. Fold in blueberries
7. Grease muffin tin and fill with muffin batter (I use an ice cream scoop to measure out the batter.  You get the same amount every time.  A measuring cup would also work)
8. Bake for 18-25 minutes until done

These paired perfectly with our mixed berry-banana-peach smoothies.  The apricot adds a je ne sais quoi.  You can tell there's something special in there but you just can't figure out what it is.  You can actually substitute the pureed apricot for whatever fruit you can puree and substitute the blueberries for whever fruit you're in the mood for.  But if you're using a bigger fruit (like strawberries) make sure to dice it up small.  Just don't use kiwi as your puree.  It doesn't work well.  

Do you like smoothies?  What are your favorite smoothie flavors?

Carrot Zucchini Bread

Which is more important to you, pretty baked goods or tasty ones?  These muffins fit perfectly into my personal food perspective.  "It doesn't matter how they look, all that matters is that they taste good."  I am always the first one to admit that my baked goods are really ugly.  And MAN, are these ugly!  They are delicious though.  

I used the big holes on my grater and I think that's part of the reason they were ugly.  If I had shredded them smaller they would have been prettier. I found this recipe on Happy Herbivore.  It's basically the chocolate zucchini muffins that I have posted about before without the chocolate.  Sunny helped me with these.  I measured, she dumped and mixed.  These muffins are so easy a 4 year old can do it {it's really scary to call her a 4 year old....still can't believe she's that big}

Zucchini Carrot Muffins
Adapted from Happy Herbivore
Makes 12
Calories: 67
Fat 0.3 g
Sugar 1.5g

Ingredients
1.5 c whole wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 c sugar free maple syrup
6 T applesauce
1 t vanilla
.25 c skim milk
.75 c shredded zucchini
.75 c shredded carrot

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spray a muffin tin with pan spray or use muffin liners
3. Mix together flour and baking powder
4. Add in syrup, applesauce, skim milk and vanilla.  Stir to combine
5. Fold in zucchini and carrot
6.  Fill muffin cups 2/3 full
7. Bake for 18-25 minutes  (I think mine actually took about 30 but, start with 18) or until a toothpick comes out clean

  Happy belated National Zucchini Bread Day everybody! Do you have a zucchini bread recipe?

National Banana Bread Day

Bananas.  One of my most favorite fruits.  I actually eat a banana 6 mornings a week (occasionally 7.)  So when I found out that today was National Banana Bread Day I couldn't help but jump on it!  I wanted to put my own spin on the day though.  Banana Bread Pops using my new never been used cake pop pan.

Why make pops?  Well, for one, I wanted to use my pan and since we are on the health train in this house, cake doesn't make an appearance often anymore.  I also like to do things differently.  I like to be unique.  Plus, it's conveniently pre-portioned for you!

This recipe was taken out of my handy-dandy very loved Cook This, Not That!  350 Calorie book.  It made 36 cake pops and one large muffin.  For the nutritional I just put in 36 servings so, it's actually a bit lower in calories then the facts say because I'm betting the muffin was equal to 3 or 4 pops.

Ingredients 4 large ripe bananas
3/4 cup grated carrots (you could also use zucchini, but if you do make sure you squeeze out all the water)
2 cups white or whole wheat flour (I used 1 cup of each)
1/2 cup greek yogurt (I actually used fat free vanilla regular yogurt)
Egg substitute equivalent to 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

Direction

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mash your bananas (I like to give them a whirl in my food processor to make sure they are fully smushed)
3. Mix together the bananas, yogurt, egg substitute (or egg whites), and vanilla
4. In a separate bowl mix together carrots, flour, baking soda and baking powder.
5. Stir dry ingredients into the wet
6.  Spray your cake pop pan and fill each hole with batter
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until done
8. Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and then place on a cooling rack
9. Repeat steps 6-8 until all your batter is gone.

Look at the calories.  It's crazy!   Only 44 calories per serving and 0.1 gram of fat!  These are going to be my new snack for after the gym.