Lemony Blueberry Muffins

My cousin found a recipe for AIP/Paleo Lemon Blueberry Muffins.
I have reintroduced a few foods so was able to modify these a bit to suit what I'm eating these days.

Here is my modified version ...

1/2 cup vanilla almond milk

2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

2 eggs

zest and juice (about 1/4 cup juice) of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract ... I use my homemade stuff
2/3 cup coconut flower

1/4 cup arrowroot flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

a pinch or two of salt
1 cup fresh blueberries (I have also used frozen)

Preheat oven to 180C (350F).  Line muffin tins with preferred liner.

Combine wet ingredients using a whisk.  Reserving blueberries til the end, combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add dry ingredients a little at a time to the wet ingredients, whisk each time until the batter is no longer lumpy.

Gently fold in the blueberries.

Spoon batter equally into 12 muffin cups.

Bake 20 minutes, rotate, bake another 10 minutes or until a toothpick come out clean.

PS.  I sprinkled some cacao nibs on top of a few of these to see if they would be a yummy addition.  I didn't love them.  BUT ... next time I am going to stir the cacao nibs through a few of them and see if it's better that way ...

Blueberry Pancakes

Jono (10) and I tag teamed the other morning for breakfast.  He made the pancakes ... entirely on his own !  (It took right on an hour ... !  but did I mention that my ten year old made pancakes ?  on his own ! from scratch !)

This is the pancake recipe he used ...

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients til just mixed. A few small lumps is fine. Cook the pancakes using a 1/3 measuring cup to add the batter to the pan. You know how to cook pancakes right ? Depending on how hot your stove is, cook on a medium to low heat. Flip the pancake once the bubbles start popping ...

I made the blueberry sauce.  Easy.  Sweet.  But also Tart.  Delicious.
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Over medium heat,  combine  blueberries, water, sugar and lemon juice. Stir frequently,  bring to a boil.  Slowly add cornstarch mixture.  Let thicken ... only took a couple minutes.  And it happened FAST!!  Stir in vanilla and lemon zest.  

All that's left to do is pour it on top of your pancakes !

Blueberry and Zucchini Muffins

I usually make this as a loaf but decided to try it as muffins this morning. It was a huge success ! I doubled the recipe and made 24 muffins ... Here is the recipe ... already doubled !!

3 cups zucchini (grated, squeezed and drained)
1 cup brown sugar ( i didn't double the sugar ... )
1/2 cup oil
1 cup greek yogurt
3 tsp vanilla extract (oops I forgot the vanilla today !)
2 eggs
2 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup good white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cup blueberries
1 cup pecans (chopped)

Mix the zucchini, sugar, oil, yogurt and egg in a bowl. Sift the flour. I don't know why because I know very little about baking, but I've found sifting the flour to be a good idea when I use straight whole wheat. It seems to lighten it somehow. Mix the sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Fold gently. Add the blueberries and pecans. Pour the batter into lined muffin tins. Bake in a preheated 350F / 180C oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean - these only took 20 minutes this morning, so start with that and see how your oven does ...

Blueberry and Zucchini - Together ??

So, I saw this Blueberry Zucchini Bread recipe over at Closet Cooking ~ one of my all time favorite cooking blogs. At first I was like Blueberry and Zucchini ? Really ? Together ? But, I just HAD to try it. And I'm so glad I did ! I've made it a few times now and it's delicious. We all love it !! LOVE IT !! Try it ... you will be glad you did !!

I modified it a tiny bit ...

1 1/2 cups zucchini (grated, squeezed and drained)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup greek yogurt & 2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 & 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup pecans (chopped)

How to make it ...

Mix the zucchini, sugar, oil, yogurt and egg in a bowl. Sift the flour. I don't know why because I know very little about baking, but I've found sifting the flour to be a good idea when I use straight whole wheat. It seems to lighten it somehow. Mix the sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients. Fold gently. Add the blueberries and pecans. Pour the batter into a lined meatloaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350F / 180C oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about an hour or so.

Maple Walnut and Oats on Fruity Yoghurt

I read on delish.com that you should eat Blueberries and Walnuts together. Apparently eating them together boosts memory, reduces oxidative stress and inflamation.

In an effort to eat these two things together, I came up with this little recipe.

I put a small scoop of oats in a bowl, add a handful of walnuts and some pure maple syrup.

Set aside.

Add a scoop or two of greek yoghurt to a small bowl, add some frozen blueberries and banana slices.

Set aside.

I leave both of these things for a little bit because I like the blueberries to thaw a bit ... and for the walnut to 'candy' a bit. When ready to eat, add oats & walnuts to yoghurt & fruit.

Mix & eat.

Healthy Blueberry Muffins

The inspiration for these muffins was from a great blog called The Gracious Pantry. I've just recently discovered this blog but I love it. Probably because I can eat most everything on it !! Her Clean Eating Kiwi Flax Muffin recipe looked so good and they were ok for us to eat on our whole unprocessed journey this year so the kids and I had a go at making them !! We did make a few changed and I'll post my adapted recipe here ... It will be a bit of a work in progress though. Next time I plan to stew some apples and add them ... these were a bit dry. And pretty heavy. We're still eating them and loving having a baked good but I think apples will be a great addition ... Any other suggestions would be welcome too ...

Here's what I did. I doubled her recipe and got 24 muffins out of it. This is the doubled recipe ...

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup flax seed meal (I might replace this with whole wheat spelt flour next time)
2 eggs
1/4 cup agave ( I actually decreased this ... next time, I'll use none ... just apples)
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk (I used regular milk ... next time, I'll use almond !)
2 cups blueberries (I used frozen)

Put your muffin papers in your tins.
Combine dry ingredients.
Combine wet ingredients, minus the fruit.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and combine.
Fold in fruit.
Put in muffin tins.
Bake on 180C/350F for 20/30 minutes. Mine took about 30 ...

And there you have it. I'm going to make some more tomorrow. With the apple. I'll let you know how they turn out ...

Yummo Apple Oats

Ok ... this is a combination of a few recipes I've seen around. The almond milk is based on an Ani Phyo recipe but with a few omissions.

You'll have to start this two days before you want to eat it (if you make your own almond milk). I know ... crazy planning involved but it's worth it.

To start you will need to soak the almonds overnight.

Then, put the following into your blender :

1/2 cup soaked almonds
1/2 cup pitted dates
5 cups water

Blend really really really well. I don't strain this ... it's not necessary in these oats.

That's you almond milk.

Then ...

Grate (skin on) two granny smith apples
Top with :
1.5 cups of rolled oats
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 cup slivered almonds (and any other assortment of nuts/seeds you might like)
1.5 cups of almond milk

Mix it up, cover it and put it in the fridge ... it'll be ready in the morning !!

All you have to do in the morning is scoop it into your bowl ! I topped mine with chopped nectarine. My children topped theirs with a bit of extra milk and some frozen blueberries. Both ways were delicious !!!

Blueberry Pancake

This was simple.
I just made pancakes as usual but once I poured the batter in the pan,
I dropped frozen blueberries into it ...
Flipped it once.
Voila !
BLUEBERRY PANCAKES !!
They were delish !

Brekky

Years ago, my children started eating raw oats.
They just topped them with milk and ate them. They still do it.
I've decided to add to the oats ... and we all love it.

Here's what I do.
In a big plastic cereal container, I mix :

Rolled Oats.
Sunflower seeds.
Sesame seeds.
Flax seeds.
Slivered Almonds.
Pumpkin Seeds.

To eat we mix through some greek yogurt and top with some yummy fruit.
I keep frozen berries in the freezer. They are easy.
Fresh mango is yummy too ...

Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten
16 oz sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
3 T flour
graham cracker crust
1 cup canned blueberry pie filling

Directions:
In medium bowl, mix egg, sour cream, sugar, and flour.

Place crust (in pie pan) on baking sheet. Spread half of sour cream mixture in crust. Top with pie filling. Spread remaining sour cream mixture over filling.

Bake on baking sheet at 375 for 35 to 45 minutes, or until center is almost set. Cool for 1 hour on wire rack. Pie will fall in center while cooling. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Store in refrigerator.

Lemon Blueberry Muffins

I got this recipe out of "Good Housekeeping ~ Baking" ... a cookbook I got from the library.

2 cups flour
1/2 cups plus one tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
8 ounces plain yoghurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 & 1/2 cups blueberries

Preheat oven. 400F/200C. Line your muffin pans.

In a bowl, mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, with a whisk or a form, mix egg whites, yoghurt, veg oil, lemon peel and vanilla. Stir this mixture into the flour mixture, until flour is moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

Gently fold in blueberries.

Spoon batter into muffin pan. Sprinkle remaining 1 tbls sugar onto top of muffins.

Bake 20/25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

Immediately remove muffins from pan. Serve warm. Or cool on wire rack to serve later.

Makes 1 dozen muffins.

Bonnie's Breakfast Smoothie

I started making this smoothie using the Magical Breakfast Blaster recipe that I saw on Oprah, way back when I had the time to watch TV !
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I have modified it quite a bit though so here is my recipe ... you can modify it to suit your tastes and nutritional requirements !

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Ingredients:

1 banana

a handful of frozen blueberries

soy milk ( maybe 1 cup ?)

a handful of ice

cinnamon ( to taste, I probably use a tsp or a little bit more)

vanilla ( again, to taste, I probably use 1/2 tsp ?)

pyllium husk ( I use a dinner spoon full)

flaxseed (linseed) meal (1 tbls)

a handful of fresh baby spinach leaves

sometimes I add about 1/4 cup of fruit juice for a different flavor but not usually

Throw it all in the blender together. It will look something like this !

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Blend. Pour into a glass and drink.
I love this ! For many reasons. Let me tell you them!

1. I can take it with me. Often, I make it, put it in a take away coffee mug with a lid and a straw and drink it on the way to dropping Jono at school. This keeps me from skipping breakfast ... something of which I have been a lifetime ( after my mom stopped making my breakfast ! ) offender.

2. It is nutritious ! Two serves of fruit. Blueberries are full of antioxidants ! Psyllium for fiber. Flaxseed for my Omega 3 and 6. Cinnamon is an anti-inflammatory. Spinach ...well, it's one of the foods you should eat heaps of and I get it every day at least once when I'm making these smoothies. Soy Milk for protein. And Banana ... I don't know what's good in a banana but I do know that I LOVE THE FLAVOR !!!! Potassium ... they have potassium, right ?

3. The kids love it. I often double the recipe so they can have a glass too !

4. It can be modified to suit tastes or nutritional requirements. Rory doesn't like the psyllium or flax in his. Says they are too earthy. The flax will thicken it so make sure if you are putting flaxseed meal in it that you drink it straight away. Don't let it sit for 30 minutes like Rory did !

Give it a try ... I'd love to know what you think. Of course, many of you are just coming into winter but here in Australia we've just passed the first day of SUMMER !! Smoothie season !!

Blueberry Banana Bliss

Ok ... want to satisfy your sweet tooth in an ice cream sort of way, but without all the fat and sugar ?? Here's a neat dessert I learned about a while ago but had forgotten until tonight when we were having a discussion with Jono ( our walking encyclopedia ! ) about healthy vs. not healthy food !

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If you are like me, you'll already have an over ripe banana or two in your freezer. If not, you can freeze one. So, take the bananas out of the freezer about 20 mintues before you want to make your dessert. Peel and put in food processor with 2 tsp vanilla essence, and a pinch of cinnamon. Process 'til creamy. Don't process too long or it becomes quite "airy". Dish into bowl, top with frozen blueberries and pure maple syrup (optional). I've seen a recipe that topped it with walnuts too ...

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I used 4 bananas for the 4 of us tonight and it was WAY TOO MUCH ! I think 2 would have been sufficient !

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