Just me, trying to live a healthy and happy life
It’s really awesome cooking eggs in cast iron! Actually better than non-stick. A little bit o’ heart healthy olive oil in a hot pan and the eggs cook up wonderfully.
And clean up is a breeze. I don’t think I’ll be using my non-stick pan for eggs anymore!
I found the book Muffins & Quick Breads (Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library) at the library a few weeks ago and after browsing through the many recipes, I found so many that I was excited to try! A lot of the recipes were lower in sugar, and that was even better.
I searched for it on Amazon and was thrilled to find a used copy for less than $4. Yay! It was from a 3rd party seller, but “fulfilled by Amazon” which means it qualified for free shipping if your total order was $25 or more.
I ordered it immediately! I highly recommend this book if you are into muffins and quickbreads. Read my review for more details.
UPDATED 2011-07-14
This recipe is inspired by the “Peanut Butter Bread” recipe found in Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton’s Favorite Bakery.
I altered the sugar quantity, added dark chocolate & sunflowers, and of course replaced the white flour with whole grains (whole wheat and barley flours).
Continue reading “Whole Grain Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Muffins”
Baked some yummy healthy muffins this afternoon! I’ve been dying to try some of the recipes from the book Tate’s Bake Shop Cookbook: The Best Recipes from Southampton’s Favorite Bakery for Homestyle Cookies, Cakes, Pies, Muffins, and Breads. I found it at the library months ago, and copied a few of the recipes I wanted to try.
My muffins were inspired by her Whole Wheat Quick Bread recipe.
Makes 11-12 large muffins
I bought a box of fresh local apricots the other day and I wanted to use them up, along with one overly-ripe lonely banana. Wouldn’t a nice loaf of whole wheat sweet bread would do the trick!
So, I googled, and would you believe most of the apricot/banana bread recipes use “dried” apricots. These were yummy FRESH apricots. Then, I thought, wait, apricots are just like peaches, so why not find a nice peach bread recipe and modify it with apricots instead.
I found what looked like a good ginger peach bread recipe over at honestfare.com – yummy, never thought of adding ginger. Great idea! So, this recipe is inspired partly by Honest Fare and partly by my other two sweet bread recipes. Of course, it’s made with whole wheat flour, and it’s got less refined sugar and more fiber than most sweet breads.
I got two larger zucchini squash this week in my CSA share and I decided to try baking a zucchini bread. To add a little extra flavor & nutrition, I tossed in wheat germ, dark chocolate, walnuts and sunflower seeds too. Yum! DH is not a fan of zucchini, and he even thought it tasted good.
I found inspiration from the Zucchini Bread recipe on All Recipes, but similar to my banana bread, I wanted to reduce the sugar. I think I’ve done that for this particular recipe.
Continue reading “100% Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread (with Dark Chocolate, Nuts & Sunflower Seeds)”
Yesterday, I made a sandwich for lunch with some Campo de Montalban cheese inside one of my strangely unique wheat rye sunflower caraway rolls.
I love cheese but let me tell you, this particular cheese really rocks! The flavor melded so well with the flavors of rustic wheat and caraway seeds in my bread. I savored every single bite!
Campo de Montalban cheese (the name brings a smile on my face because I immediately think of Ricardo Montalban) is a yummy blend of cows’, sheeps’ and goats’ milk from Spain. I purchased a little wedge from Whole Foods on sale last week for $10/lb, which was cheaper than the yummy raw sheeps’ milk Manchego cheese. I think I am enjoying the Campo de Montalban cheese more than the Manchego!
This morning, I thinly sliced a few pieces to put on my breakfast Bruschetta with olives, garlic and basil. It melted beautifully under the broiler, keeping it’s shape. It didn’t get runny or stringy. It’s a “hard” cheese, not as hard as Parmesan though.
Nutritional Data per 1 oz serving
Calories 108 Calories from Fat 81
Total Fat 9g
Saturated Fat 7g
Cholesterol 30mg
Sodium 160mg
Total Carbohydrate 0
Dietary Fiber 0
Protein 7g
This fruit sauce is sweetened from all natural sugars (no added sugar). It’s delicious on its own, or can be used as a dessert topping. It can also liven up a bland oatmeal breakfast!
You can cook on the stove or in the oven. I like to slow cook in the oven.
Continue reading “Rhubarb Strawberry Apple Fruit Sauce – Recipe”
IMPORTANT: I had originally calculated the nutritional data incorrectly. It’s been updated!
I had three over-ripe bananas, and of course I thought of baking some delicious banana bread! I wanted to utilize a lower sugar (or at least lower processed sugar) recipe that uses whole wheat flour, and I think I have it!
At 211 274 calories, it’s a good afternoon snack. Add a scoop of peanut butter (+100 calories) and it’s a nutritious healthy breakfast!
I originally found the Moist Whole Wheat Banana Bread recipe on the web site Breadtopia.com. It’s a great recipe (originally from the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book), and there are lots of helpful comments and even an instructional video!
I modified some of the ingredients from the original recipe, using coconut butter/oil in place of butter, adding more nuts, and lowering the sugar content slightly.
Oh I have been dying for peaches all winter, but I refuse to purchase the conventional ones from outside the US. The other day at Whole Foods Market, they had organic peaches from Mexico. Yeah, I rarely ever buy anything organic or not from Mexico, but I couldn’t resist buying just one.
I kept it in a paper bag for a couple of days, and it ripened quickly. Then I stuck it in the refrigerator. Oh it was definitely ripe! I cut it up this AM and it was delicious. Sweet with a bit of sourness.