About Me

My photo
Technically speaking, I'm a dietitian, but I see myself as a listener, a motivator, coach and teacher of nutrition. I prefer to end a busy day with a glass of red wine while chopping vegetables. Lover of almost anything pickled and fresh baked scones just not at the same time. I'm happiest when I'm cooking for people I love. Why am I so into food? Because I KNOW how much eating well can change your life. What you eat every day is going to impact your body and your mind. It's a confusing world out there - full of diet and food advice that always leaves you feeling like it's that one next diet that's going to be the weight loss answer. Stop waiting for that magic diet, and begin to take one step at a time in the right direction. I'm here to help you on your life-long journey, there's no better time to start!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Wild Blueberry Breakfast Muffins

Hello Not on a Diet followers! My name is Kaitie and I’ve been interning with Sumner for the past couple of months. My time with Sumner at Not On A Diet, has been such an eye opening and helpful experience. I have learned so much, not only about nutrition, but also about living a healthy lifestyle. Sumner has helped me to learn more about my obsession with delicious food and focus on my passion for health!

So, the other day Sumner and I decided to use some ingredients that we found in her kitchen to try to make some delicious but also healthy muffins! I was a little nervous because baking is not my specialty and normally I would try to follow a strict recipe so that I don’t make something inedible. But, these muffins were SO delicious and I was truly shocked at how amazing they turned out!  Here's what we found in the cupboards to work with (we didn't end up using the oats, but everything else went in!)


These muffins would be a great quick breakfast choice or even an on-the-go snack. So, for all of you out there that never have time to make breakfast or like me, think you have time but then look at the clock and see you only have 5 minutes before you need to leave - this recipe is for you! You could always make these ahead of time and freeze some for later use. You can spread some peanut butter on the top or maybe add some light cream cheese. The recipe was SO easy and surprisingly only took us about 45 minutes to make!

So, many of you may be wondering why we were so proud of this muffin recipe? Well, set aside from the fact that these muffins are delicious they are also nutritious! Each muffin has 3g of fiber, healthy fats from the almond meal, Omega-3s, very little sugar, and are only 140 calories per muffin!  Compare that to a Starbucks “Blueberry Streusel Muffin”, which has more than double the amount of calories (360 calories), 11g of fat - 7g of which are saturated fat- and a whopping 33g of sugar, you will want to have these muffins on hand all the time!

So here is the simple and delicious recipe that could change your mornings:
 
Wild Blueberry Breakfast Muffins


Ingredients: makes 15 muffins. Double the recipe to freeze for later!
1 cup frozen, wild blueberries (wild blueberries are smaller than others, but any will work)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup almond meal *
1/4 cup ground flax (flax seed meal)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce*
1 mashed medium ripe banana*
2  large Omega-3 enriched eggs
1/2 cup plain non-fat European style yogurt (We get it at Trader Joe’s)
1 1/2 Tbsp melted Coconut Oil* (Coconut oil is a solid at room temperature so to melt put the coconut oil in a small microwavable bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the coconut oil becomes a liquid)
2 tsp Bourbon Vanilla Extract (Substitute Vanilla Extract if you don’t have the fancy stuff we used)
3 Tbsp brown sugar (2 Tbsp for the mix, 1 Tbsp to sprinkle on the tops of the muffins)
Cooking spray for greasing the muffin tins

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F and grease muffin tins by spraying cooking spray evenly.
  2. In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients: whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, almond meal, ground flax, cinnamon and salt. Then whisk to blend the ingredients.
  3. In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients: apple sauce, yogurt, melted Coconut Oil, mashed banana, vanilla extract, and the eggs. Mix with a whisk so that all the ingredients combine.
  4. Then add 2 Tbsp brown sugar to the wet ingredients and whisk to dissolve sugar.
  5. Make a well in the dry ingredients and mix the wet into the dry with a rubber spatula just until moistened. Like this! 
  6. Using the spatula fold in the frozen blueberries.
  7. Use a spoon to put the mixture into the muffin tins - making sure that each one is just over half way filled (should make about 15 muffins).
  8. Finally sprinkle a pinch of the 1 Tbsp of brown sugar evenly on top of each muffin for a little crunch and extra sweetness!
  9. Bake for 15 - 17 minutes at 400°F. Test with a toothpick, they're done when it come out clean.


Here are some of the secrets as to why these muffins are healthy yet still delicious!


*Almond meal is, as you may have guessed, ground up almonds with the skins left on. It can be used as a substitute for flour and is high in protein, healthy monounsaturated fat, low in carbohydrates, and is also gluten-free.
*Ground Flax is ground up flax seeds, they are high in fiber and rich with Omega-3 fatty acids.
*Unsweetened apple sauce adds moisture without using oil or butter to reduce saturated fat content
*Banana was used to add moisture and sweetness to the muffin without using refined sugar.
*Coconut Oil, as I learned from Sumner today, can replace butter as a healthier type of fat and adds a nice flavor

Nutrition Facts:
Serving Size = 1 Muffin (standard muffin tin size)
Calories: 140 calories
Fat: 7g
   Saturated Fat: 2g
Carbohydrate: 15g
   Fiber: 3g
   Sugar: 5g
Protein: 4.5 g
Cholesterol: 29 mg


Kaitie showcasing the recipe success!
We made "mini" and regular-sized muffins to have some bite-sized options too. Enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. wow great muffins and what a cool thing to do as an intern
    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
  2. These look great! I woke up early this morning, so maybe Ill try and whip up a batch for breakfast. I'll make them gluten free, so Im thinking I'll sub the 1 cup of whole wheat flour for 1/2 cup sorghum flour and 1/2 cup tapioca flour, and add 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum. Mmmm....

    ReplyDelete
  3. How to Make Vegetable Samosa: Step by Step Recipe in healthtipsschool.com

    The word “samosa” preserve be traced to the Persian sanbosag. The pie names in other countries also derive from this origin, such as the curved formed sanbusak in Arab countries, Vegetable Samosa in India.A samosa is a fried or else baked pie with a savory heavy, such as colored potatoes, peas, onions, lentils, ground beef, ground lamb or ground chicken. Its size and reliability may vary, but naturally, it is clearly triangular. Samosas are habitually accompanied by chutney by its origins in Uttar Pradesh; they are an admired appetizer or bite in the Indian Subcontinent.Go here for more easy recipes.

    Lamb Tikka Recipe | Indian Restaurant Style Recipes By The Curry Guy | healthtipsschool.com

    Lamb Tikka is a conventional Indian recipe for a standard version of tandoor method lamb cooked in the way of an Indian restaurant. The complete recipe is offered here and I expectation you enjoy this standard Indian description of Lamb Tikka. Go here for more easy recipes.


    ReplyDelete