Pancake Muffins

Here is a fun recipe to try when you want that maple taste from pancakes but you need to eat on the run - try a maple pancake muffin! (original recipe found here)

Maple Pancake Muffins

1/2 cup wheat flour

1/2 cup white flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 T. sugar

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg

2 T. maple syrup

2 T. butter

chocolate chips

Mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar). In a separate bowl whip together the milk, eggs, butter and maple syrup. Gently combine and spoon into a sprayed mini muffin tin. Top with a few chocolate chips and bake at 350 degrees for 8-9 minutes. Let cool and enjoy your pancake in muffin form!

(about 60 calories per muffin)

Sunday Morning Muffins

Each Sunday my dad spends a good portion of the day at church. Because of those early mornings he often is rushing out the door and doesn’t have much to eat most of the day.

Enter: the Sunday morning muffin.

Either my mom or I try to make muffins or some other food to take in to church for him to snack on. So here is one of the many muffins I’ve baked in the last month or so. They were a hit!

Coconut Blueberry Muffin

2 cups wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1/2 c. applesauce
1/2 c. agave
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
2/3 c. almond milk (or any milk)
1 cup blueberries

First combine the flour, baking powder, salt and coconut in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine the applesauce, agave, eggs, vanilla and milk and then mix into dry ingredients. Finally, fold in the blueberries. Spoon into lined or sprayed muffin tins and sprinkle the top with a little more shredded coconut. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Let me know if you try them!

~What is your “go to” muffin recipe?

Blueberry Muffins

No creative title today. Just good ol’ blueberry muffins. A healthier version of a yummy snack or treat! Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 c. wheat flour
1/2 c. white flour
1/2 t. salt
1 T. baking powder
1/4 c. + 1 T. sugar
1 c. milk
1 egg
1/4 c. honey
1/2 c. applesauce
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. blueberries

In one bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.

In another bowl mix the remaining ingredients: egg, milk, applesauce, vanilla, and honey.

Mix the wet and dry together until just mixed, then fold in blueberries. Pour into lined muffin tin and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

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Some reads you might be interested in:

Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower

Everything You Want to Know About Spin Class

Top Mistakes Made on the Elliptical Machine

30 Sugar Substitutes

Grain Free Raspberry Coconut Muffins

~Happy Monday!

Cocoa Surprise Muffins

No, the surprise is not black beans. After I tried that once and they were a fail among the fam I decided to stay clear of those fiber monsters in place of chocolate.

These, however, have the real deal. Cocoa and the real surprise: peanut butter! Who doesn’t love that combo?

I got the original recipe off Daily Garnish but they were made gluten free, so I changed the recipe a bit. It makes about 7 muffins…so if you are looking for more than you can adjust accordingly.

Cocoa Surprise Muffins
1/2 c. + 2 T. whole wheat flour
2 T. chia seeds
1 banana (or 1/4 c. applesauce)
1/2 c. almond milk
2.5 T. cocoa
1 T. brown sugar
2 T. natural peanut butter, plus another 2 T. for the filling
1 T. honey or maple syrup
1 egg
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. vanilla

In one bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, chia seeds, cocoa, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda & salt)
In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients and the banana, leaving out the 2 T. for the filling. (banana, almond milk, 2 T. PB, honey, egg and vanilla)
Combine until just mixed.

Then fill half of your muffin tin with the batter, drop a bit of peanut butter in, then fill the rest.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Mmmm, ya!

Banana Chia Muffins

Betcha didn’t see this one coming…after Monday’s post all about chia seeds!

Here is a recipe for you to try out. I’ve already added them to homemade granola bars, but this time I opted for some banana muffins!

My camera’s battery was dead, so this is a picture from this blog…I’ve never been to it before but it was the closest picture I could find!

Banana Chia Seed Muffins

1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. oats
4 T. chia seeds
1 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. sugar
2 small mashed bananas
1 egg
1/8 c. coconut oil
1 t. vanilla
1 c. milk

In one bowl mix together the dry ingredients: flour, oats, chia seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar.
In a second bowl, mash the bananas (I just use a fork) and then add the egg, oil, vanilla and milk. Mix until well combined. Then slowly add the liquid ingredients to the dry, mixing until just combined.
Pour into muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

*Makes about 15 muffins. 130 calories each, 4 g. protein, 3 g. fiber, 3 g. sugar. Compare those stats to this banana muffin recipe and you’ve got yourself a pretty tasty, healthy muffin in your hands!

EAT UP!

Ch-Ch-Ch Chia!

Nope. We aren’t talking about those chia pets that grow green hair. Although, those are pretty cool.

Back in July I was given $25 to spend at Swanson Vitamins. I bought some delicious coconut oil as well as some chia seeds! On their website it says:

Nutiva Chia Seeds deliver fiber, protein and omega-3s. This mighty seed is the ancient superfood of the Aztecs and Inca empires who consumed chia seeds for their vital nourishment. These gluten-free seeds can be enjoyed in yogurt, oatmeal, baked goods and smoothies.

Dr. Oz has spent quite a bit of time talking about chia seeds on his show and their importance in our diet. Here are some quick facts about these super seeds!

• LOADED with Omega-3 fatty acids. Why do we need omega-3s?Omega-3 fatty acids are the brain-boosting, cholesterol-clearing good fats (monounsaturated). They help reduce inflammation, lubricate joints, and nourish the brain by helping communication between brain cells.
• They also have antioxidants, calcium, protein, fiber, and many other vitamins & minerals.
• They help keep you full longer! Because chia seeds absorb so much water and have high soluble fiber levels, they help release natural, unrefined carbohydrate energy slowly into the bloodstream.
• Conveniently they are also quite easy to digest. Unlike flax seed, chia seeds do not have to be ground up before you ingest them. The human body can easily digest chia seeds, and with about 7 grams of fiber per serving, they actually help.
• Trying to bake with less fat? You can substitute chia gel for any butter or oil in a recipe. That way you still get the fat…but the GOOD kind. The anti-oxidants in chia can even help keep the food tasting fresh longer.

What can you add these super seeds to? Pretty much anything. The most popular foods to add them to are smoothies, oatmeal, cookies, muffins, cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese, soup and salads.

Give them a try! They are so worth it!

~Ever tried chia seeds?

~What’s your favorite way to eat them?

Back to School

It’s here! Back to the daily school thing. Parts of it are exciting, other parts not so much. Either way, it is time to get back to it. Which for me means packing lunches. I like to have food on hand that I know I want to eat and is good for me to eat. That doesn’t mean boring, though. The blog world is busting with school lunch ideas and posts to keep things healthy and exciting. Here are a couple I found worth checking out!

Healthy Brown Bag Lunches

Thermos Ideas for Lunch

Speaking of back-to-school lunches, you also need some healthy after-school treats! Since we are still on a zucchini kick at our house, I whipped up a batch of Zucchini Muffins.

Let’s just say they were a hit.

Zucchini Muffins

1 1/2 c. wheat flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
3/4 t. salt
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. honey
2/3 c. coconut oil
2 t. vanilla
2 eggs
2 c. shredded zucchini

In one bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients (dry). In a second bowl, mix together the remaining 5 ingredients (wet). After both are mixed well, mix them together. Following that mixing action, fold in the 2 cups of zucchini.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20–23 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins

Let me know if you try them out!

~What are your favorite brown bag lunch ideas?

Banana Muffins (with Coconut Oil!)

Hey, friends!
So, a few weeks ago I was offered a $25 gift certificate to Swanson Vitamins – and online health product store. I was excited and started browsing right away. I ended up ordering three different things: extra virgin coconut oil, sunflower butter, and chia seeds. All things I hadn’t tried! And so far, they are all a hit!
The first thing I wanted to do with the coconut oil was bake! So I decided to whip out some banana muffins with coconut oil.



Just opening the jar was enough to get my taste buds going. I love the smell of coconut. To be honest, it made me think of Samoa girl scout cookies
Let the baking begin!



Banana Muffins
1/3 c. coconut oil
1/2 c. honey
2 eggs
2 bananas mashed
1 3/4 c. wheat flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1/4 c. hot water
cinnamon
In one bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon. In another, mix the coconut oil, honey, eggs and hot water. Then add the mashed bananas and liquid mix to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. This was actually a recipe for a loaf of bread…but I think everything tastes better in muffin form. So I made mini muffins, and added chocolate chips to one batch. Bake at 325 for 10 to 15 minutes. They were a hit!
I’m excited to keep trying coconut oil in other recipes and cooking. It adds flavor and is very good for you! And I’m glad I got the chance to check out Swanson Vitamins online…you should check it out too!
~Are you interested in getting some free Swanson Health Products goodies to review on your own blog? Then check out the Swanson Health Blog for all the details.
~What do you use coconut oil for?