Single Serving Vegan Brownie

A quick post to share something so delightful with you.  

I just discovered this amazing single serving brownie tonight and immediately came to the computer to share it with you guys.  

So easy to make.

So fun to make.

A healthy twist on a brownie.

And...no huge pan of left overs to trip you up all week.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

I'm craving sweets.  Real bad.  Lots of sweets.  Anything I can get my hands on really.  And this is happening during one of the worst possible times of the year - Halloween candy is EVERYWHERE!!  I overdid it yesterday and felt it in the afternoon.  But, nonetheless I woke up this morning with more sweets on the brain.  Pregnancy, sigh.  After a quick look on Facebook this morning, I found that Team ACT had posted a picture of her Super Easy 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins and decided it was high time for some pumpkin in these parts!  One problem.  No cake mix.  Doh!  SO, online searching I went.  These from Kitchen Treaty are moist and delicious, just like the pumpkin muffins Team ACT made, but they do require a little more time.  Good news, however, (Miss Team ACT :)) ... they're even better if you add chocolate chips to the mix!!

Super EASY Two Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins

I am trying to learn how to rid our house of as much processed food as possible. I'm not throwing away things, but I'm just researching and learning new ways of doing things.  It is fun and I like baking with my kiddies.  So you will see I have a clean chocolate chip muffin recipe I make every week that truly is good and clean.

I'm no fool in the thinking the recipe that I am posting today is clean.  It does have a nice can of pumpkin in it (pureed simple pumpkin) but the other ingredient is a box of yellow cake mix.  Ha!  But you know what? They are fun, fast, and easy to make.  The result is a fluffy pumpkin treat that everyone will love so I say GO FOR IT.

Chocolate Chip Muffins - Soooo Good and Clean

In our quest to start eating less processed food, I stumbled upon these chocolate chip muffins.  OK, first disclaimer, they can be any kind of muffin you want, but I am a chocolate addict so they are always chocolate chip muffins for me.  Second disclaimer, they could be completely vegan, but let's remember I call myself "mostly vegan" so those are real chocolate chips.  If you want them to be completely vegan you can choose another filler.

Back to the muffins.  I tend to make a dozen on Saturday or Sunday afternoon and then we are ready with a good clean snack all week. I always eat them as my morning snack.  Kids love them in the afternoon.  My husband takes them to work.  

I have made them so many times it has become a science.  My daughter LOVES to help me make them and it actually does kind of help. I put the amount in the measuring cup and she just pours it right in.  Of course her favorite part is licking the spoon!

Whole Wheat Muffins - Ready for Mix-ins! : Freezer Friendly

I've been doing a lot of reading online lately about food, our ability to get food, and the kind of foods we eat.  I have high cholesterol.  At 28.  Had I not had Little One I probably wouldn't have learned this little tidbit and it might not have mattered as much to me.  Honestly, my whole worldview has changed now that I'm a mom.  This little life depends on me to be healthy... to set a good, healthy lifestyle example in food and exercise.  Now, I don't love eating healthy all the time (cheese is my weakness!!) and working out on a regular basis (ugh.  it feels soooooooo repetitive.  I just don't enjoy "the hurt" from working out.  But.  My mind has got to change.  I'm really trying to become better at these - for myself and for Little One.  

Now back from that tangent - I am trying to reduce the amount of processed (pre-made) food that we consume and to increase our amount of daily vegetable and fruit intake.  DH and I decided yesterday that we will cut out most fast food, especially if we're eating it because we're being lazy.  I read something a while back that has really stuck with me as it pertains to children and what they eat.  It was something along these lines... children aren't born with the taste and cravings for salty, processed, empty food.  They learn to like these foods because we feed it to them.  I fail daily at this, but it serves as a reminder to me to stop and think about what I'm feeding Little One.  

So you're a busy mom?  Hectic schedule?  Too many things to do in one day?  How can I possibly cook for my family to cut out some of the processed foods?  Check out this site and this site.  Tried and true places to start.

1) Start with freezer friendly meals.  

2) Set apart an hour a week to meal plan (look up some recipes you want to try!).  

3) Prepare your grocery list based on sections of the store.  I'm kinda crazy, but every time I go I always follow the same path.  This allows me to set up my grocery list the same way every time.  This little time I take to categorize my list based on section of the grocery store or aisle saves me A TON of time in the store and I don't have to backtrack.  

4) One weekend day (or week day - it doesn't matter... just sometime when you have childcare or you know your child can be easily entertained while you cook for about 30 - 45 minutes...) prepare your meals.  

5) Start with 2 or 3.  That's 2 or 3 more than you had before you started!  I try to pick meals or foods that have similar ingredients to save time on prep work.  Start small and slowly work it in.  If you don't like something you've made, mark that off the "to-try" list for next time.  If you like it add it to your "regulars" list.  You can do it!!  

I've found this site - 100 Days of Real Food - she has A TON of good ideas and recipes.  These muffins are from her site.  Little One LOVED them.  They aren't sweet like regular muffins - and it's super fun to be able to add your own different "sweet" fruit mix-ins.  Banana was our favorite (but we're a banana muffin kind of family!)  Let me know what you decide to mix in - the options are endless!

 

Baked Broccoli & Rice Cups

My SIL and her sweet husband came for a visit (waaaay back in February).  We had a busy weekend planned and I was looking for vegetarian friendly recipes to meet her needs.  Can I just say I'm so glad I have someone I can bounce ideas off of as I contemplate heading more towards a vegetarian lifestyle for myself?!  I found these baked broccoli and rice cups on Pinterest - old trusty friend - and decided they were exactly what I was looking for! They had a great texture and were very filling.   Great for little ones or those on the go!

Oatmeal Banana Breakfast Muffins

I swear there must be some Thing in our house that says "Bananas.  Since you've just come in from the grocery store I now command you to become brown and mushy."  Good thing that's the exact type of banana you need for this recipe :)  

Side note: In my desperate attempt to buy bananas for the entire week for Little One, I tried out a trick I found on Pinterest.  To keep the bananas from browning as quickly, pull the bananas apart from the stem when you get home.  That's right.  I bought the absolute greenest bananas I could find on Friday night.  When I got home I separated each banana from the group until I had all single bananas.  I laid them out on the table.  And by the next Friday my banana was perfectly ripe and just starting to get the brown speckled dots.  Amazing.  

Back to the original story.  Take a look at these delicious bites.  Let me be the first to say - these aren't your traditional muffins.  They are dense, but oh so moist.  Perfect banana flavoring with a hint of oatmeal.  To me, it felt like you were eating a bowl full of warm oatmeal in muffin form!  My recipe made 18.  Between DH, Little One and I, we ate 6 {half of the first batch} while the second six were baking ;)  I kept the leftovers in the fridge and Little One would pull the bag out and ask for one any chance he got.  They were a definite hit!!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

These tasty treats are good for the Little One and with the addition of some of this ooey gooey chocolate peanut butter dip they become a sweet treat for Mom and Dad!  You can't even taste that they're loaded with zucchini!!  You can use these as breakfast muffins - they'd be delicious with a hot cup of coffee AND you can top them with some icing to fulfill your sweet tooth that {at least for me} rears its head after dinner!   Enjoy these universal muffins!!

Banana Nut Muffins

My LIttle One has a banana for breakfast every morning, so I have to keep a lot on hand.  This particular week we had 2 that we just couldn't eat fast enough.  Normal people would throw these away... but I guess that makes me not normal ;)  I started googlin' Banana Nut Bread recipes and found one that didn't use oil.  I was going to make the loaf of bread but when I looked up to see that it was 9:30 last night, I knew I didn't have time to wait for the hour cooking and then cooling time.  So I decided to adapt the recipe to muffins!  This recipe made 10.  In 12 hours 3 remain.  You do the math!! Our family of 3 is in looooove with these yummy muffins.  That's really all I have to say.  Try them for yourself!! Yum!

Mini Whole Wheat Zucchini Muffins

I've been on a search for ways to incorporate more veggies into Little One's diet. He is a very independent eater (prefers finger foods that he can have complete control over) but this also means that he's not too big on eating in the veggie department.  We've fallen into a peanut butter on pita sandwich for lunch every day the past 2 weeks.  I know he's tired of eating it because I'm tired of making it!!  I finally just bought some zucchini when I was at the grocery store last week.  I knew I could find some recipes for some zucchini muffins... and this one didn't disappoint!

Yum!

Grab a hot cup of tea or a tall glass of milk - you'll want to have something on hand when you enjoy these tasty treats!

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins (eggless recipe!)

Houston, we have a problem. There's only 1 egg in the house and I want to make cookies and muffins, both requiring eggs.  I found this recipe and googled "egg substitutions".  Turns out, you can use 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce in place of an egg (about 1 individual applesauce cup!)  Yippee!! My eggless blueberry yogurt muffins were a surprise hit!  I couldn't believe how great they turned out.  I used greek yogurt in them to give them a little more protein punch.  I'm telling you - they're a must-try!

Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches: Freezer Friendly!

Hello August!  Where did July go?  In honor of "Back to School" month, here is a quick, easy, and freezer friendly breakfast option for those busy mornings. I've mentioned that I'm on a quest for better, quicker, healthier breakfasts.  I found this one and have been meaning to try it for quite some time.  I fiiiinnnnaaalllllly made time this week and boy, they didn't disappoint!  These little egg (and anything else you want to put in them :) cups are made in the oven in muffin tins.  It does make a little bit of a mess, but it makes mornings SO much easier - it's worth it!

Scratch Made Muffins

I've been looking for some scratch made recipes ever since I learned that most pre-packaged box mixes have trans fat in them thanks to some of the preservatives. Not to mention, the money you can save by whipping up your own batch of muffins.  The options are endless as to what you can 'throw in' them.  I wanted some muffins this morning, it is Saturday after all, and googled away to find some easy ones.

I came across this site.  It's true.  I tried her recipe, as is, and it makes a great base.  I added oats, chocolate chips, and cinnamon to my batch and made my own scratch made muffins.  She offers great advice on the different options you can change up to make your recipe more 'you'.