Recipes

Fall Muffins

/ Varza / Leave a comment

Okay, I will say these aren’t oh yummy yummy like blueberry muffins. They are not overly sweet, or sweet at all when you first eat them but they have a flavourful after taste. I made this recipe up today because I was bored and felt like I would share and I named them “Fall Muffins” because the flavor reminds me of the fall…

p.s. if you don’t like them – not my responsibility. I made em, I like em… I posted the recipe… please note there is a splenda aftertaste… but that happens when ever you bake with splenda I have found but its not horrible.

I would suggest trying these with some butter if you want on them, while warm, or a bit of Apple Butter.

Dry Ingredients:

  • 1 Cup – Whole Wheat Flour
  • 2 tsp – baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp – baking soda
  • 2 tsp – cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup – crushed almonds
  • 3/4 cup – splenda
  • 1/2 cup – Quaker Instant Oats
  • 1/2 Cup – Vanilla Whey Protein Powder (I used EAS which is about 120cals a scoop, any other may add calories so just be aware)
  • 1 or 2 pinches of salt

Wet Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup – Reduced 2% Fat Milk
  • 1/4 Cup of Orange Juice (used Simply Orange)
  • 1 Large Egg Beaten
  • 1/2 tbsp – vanilla extract, pure
  • 2 tbsp  – I Can’t Believe Its Not Butter, Light Melted or Margarine of Choice (please note that if you go with something different, the cals may be different. ICBINB Light has 50 cals per tablespoon)

Fruit Ingredients:

  • 1 Apple – cubed (I used a medium Gala) and peeled
  • 1 Small Banana Mashed

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place about 20 – 35 almonds into a large bag, with a mallet or something, crush them into small broken almond bits.

Mix the dry ingredients by hang in a large mixing bowl. Put to the side.

In another container pour the orange juice and milk in together. Beat egg in a bowl then pour into the milk & orange juice. Keep the melted margainine to the side in a seperate bowl.

Pour the orange juice/milk/egg mixture in with the dry ingredients and stir by hand until well mixed. It will be lumpy but that is okay!

Pour the melted butter and fold into the mixture.

Add the cubed apple and fold into the mixture.

Add the mashed banana and fold into the mixture.

Mix by hand all the ingredients until you can tell everything is well mixed. It will look kinda of dry when mixed: Add about a dash more of the orange juice and the milk then stir only a few more times.

In a muffin pan, line with muffin/cupcake liners then fill with two large spoonfuls of the mixture into the liners. This will bring the mixture to the top. If you have some left over after filling it – just add a bit more to each one until you have no more left. It will look like below.

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Place into the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until you stick a tooth pick in and it comes clean.

This is your final product:

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Nutritional Information (estimated)

84g per serving

Calories: 175
Fat: 3.75g / Saturated Fat – .75g
Sodium: 114.75mg
Carbohydrates: 24.25g / Fiber 2.75g / Sugar 10.83mg
Protein: 7.5g

Blue-Dew Protein Shake

/ Varza / Leave a comment

So, messing around in the kitchen tonight and craving some ice cream. Unfortunatly, eating ice cream is not the best thing for a diet. Instead I decided to see what would happen if I did a shake with a melon and milk. Hey, it was worth a try and I was the only one who was going to drink it. Luckily, I really liked how it turned out. Now I am lactose intolerant but I can take some dairy in my diet each day – lucky me since I love dairy.

Blue-Dew Shake – put the following in a blender or large cup since its about 16 – 24 ounces

  • 8 oz/1 glass of milk – I prefer fat free, but use whatever you want. If you are lactose intolerant try it with your milk alternative.
  • About 1/2 – 1 cup of Honeydew Melon
  • 2 hand fulls of blueberries – washed
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup of crushed ice (I find crushed blends slightly better then a cube of ice)
  • 1 scoop of your preferred protein powder (still using a vanilla flavored Pro Her 5)
  • 1 spoon of fat free yogurt

If you are doing this in a blender – low setting to mix for 30 seconds, then cream for another 30 then whip. Pour into a large cup. If you are using a hand held, just blend it and drink.

What I really liked about this drink was that it had the texture of a milkshake due to the honeydew melon and the crushed ice but was a slight bit less calorie wise. The entire drink was between 335 – 367 calories, depending on how much honeydew you use and it could be more or less depending on the protein powder you use. Mine has 130 calories per scoop. But it turned out really yummy and defiantly staved off the craving for ice cream and was a nice dessert. It does have a fun blue tint to it due to the blueberries, which makes it fun. Doesn’t it?

Nutritional fun facts – I got this from the free online calorie calculator site I use: Calorie Count:

Fat – 1.1% (0 grams)
Protein – 23.5% (20 grams)
Carbohydrates – 49.2% (41 grams)
Alcohol – 0.0%
Other – 26.2%

Daily Sodium Intake – 174 mg
Daily Sugar Intake – 25 grams
Daily Cholesterol Intake – 11 mg
Daily Fiber Intake – 4 grams

Now, health wise I would say this is pretty good. According to Calorie Count this is an A grade of an item. So, yummy and healthy?! Sounds great to me. But there are some other nutritional facts.

Blueberries – from blueberry.org
Antioxidants are thought to help protect the body against the damaging effects of free radicals and the chronic diseases associated with the aging process. Fresh fruits, including blueberries, and vegetables contain many of these naturally occurring antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E. Blueberries contain 14 mg of Vitamin C and 0.8 mg Vitamin E per 1 cup of blueberries. In addition, blueberries contain anthocyanins and phenolics that can also act as antioxidants. Based on data from the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (Boston, MA), blueberries are among the fruits with the highest antioxidant activity. Using a test called ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity), researchers have shown that a serving of fresh blueberries provides more antioxidant activity than many other fresh fruits and vegetables.

And berries are great at helping getting rid of belly fat – another plus.

As for the honeydew melon – extremely high in Vitamin C and a good amount of potassium which will help counter act a high salt diet or if you had too much due to frozen meals during the day.

If you get a chance to try it, please do and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.