Dark Chocolate Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing

  While it's been quite some time since my last post, I hope to update this more frequently this summer as I try out new recipes. I'm also planning to try to make more from scratch and not rely so much on processed, pre-packaged foods. So, we will see where this culinary journey takes me!
This recipe was inspired by my cousin who is an outstanding baker! I made a few changes to her recipe to add some more nutrients and reduce the sugar.

Dark Chocolate Banana Cupcakes 

Ingredients

1/4 c sugar

1/4 c xylitol (or sugar, if you don't have it)

5 T unsalted butter

1 t vanilla

1 1/2 medium, ripe bananas - mashed

1/4 c spelt flour

3/4 c unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

2/3 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy; add vanilla and bananas and mix.  Combine dry ingredients; add dry ingredients alternately with milk until combined. Pour into 12 cupcake papers. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Nutrition Info (based on 11 servings - yes, I only got 11 out of this)

Calories: 135
Carbs: 12g

Fiber: 1.8 g

Sugar: 6.5 g

Protein: 1.8 g

Peanut Butter Icing

1/2 c unsalted butter, softened

1/2 c creamy peanut butter

1/8 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 t vanilla

2 1/2 - 3 c powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients until smooth. Let's not even go there with the nutrition facts on the icing...

All things in moderation - stay healthy!

 

Skinny Chocolate Chip Cookies

Tis the season for baking and Christmas goodie overload! But, with this recipe, you can indulge a little and not feel quite as guilty.  I cut out a lot of the sugar in this recipe though there is still quite a bit. Some people say you can substitute half the butter called for in a recipe with applesauce. I've tried it a few times - sometimes with success, sometimes not. I wanted to make sure these cookies were good, so I opted to leave the butter in them.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 c all-purpose, unbleached flour

1/4 c self-rising flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1/2 c unsalted butter

3/4 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 c white sugar

1 t vanilla extract

1 fresh egg white

1/8 c (2 T) liquid egg substitute 

1/2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

  Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add vanilla, milk, and egg whites/substitute to the butter and sugar; mix.  Add dry ingredients to wet slowly. (This dough is a bit thick.) Stir in chocolate chips.  Bake for 8-10 minutes on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Nutrition Facts  (for 1 cookie, based on yield of 43 cookies):

Calories: 78

Fat: 3g

Carbs: 13.7g

Sugar: 9g

Protein: .9g

Stay healthy!

Spelt Tortillas - Simple!

Homemade Spelt Tortillas

  Tonight's venture was to try making tortillas from scratch - success! This recipe was super easy and turned out really well with extras for the freezer.

Ingredients

2 cups of spelt flour

1 tsp salt

1.5 tsp baking soda

1 T olive oil

.75 cup of hot water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.  Cover bowl and put in a warm place for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, separate the dough into 8 or 16 pieces depending on the size of tortillas you want. I separated the dough into 12 pieces to have some large (~7") and some small (~5").  Let set for another 20 minutes.

Roll the dough out very thin (I didn't need any extra flour - the dough didn't stick to the rolling pin or the cutting board).  Heat a skillet on medium and place tortilla into the pan (no cooking spray necessary).  The tortilla will begin to bubble - flip it and heat it for an additional 30-60 seconds.  Place tortillas on a plate, separated by damp paper towels to preserve the softness.  

They were fantastic fresh; I put my leftovers in the freezer (minus the paper towels) for another time!

Nutrition (per 1 tortilla when you make 8 from the dough)

Calories: 135

Fat: 2.8g

Carbs: 22g

Fiber: 4g

Protein: 4g

Stay healthy!

Whole Grain Banana Muffins

Whole Grain Banana Muffins

  What better to do on a cold, overcast day than to bake some healthy, comfort food? Today's project: hearty, healthy, whole grain banana muffins! I spent some time scouring the web for recipes and combined ideas and ingredients from several to come up with my own recipe.  Here's the recipe!

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 ripe bananas

1 large egg white

1 t vanilla extract

1/4 cup organic sucanat

1/2 T maple or table syrup (next time I make these, I think I will eliminate this but it depends on your preference for sweetness)

1 1/2 T sour cream

Dry Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup spelt flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

1 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 T ground flax

1/2 t pumpkin pie spice

(Next time, I'll add some extra ginger and cinnamon)

Topping

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 T organic sucanat

1-2 T chopped walnuts

thinly sliced bananas

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350; spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray (do not use wrappers).  Combine all wet ingredients until well-blended; combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until moistened. Fill muffin pan about 2/3 full (makes about 12 muffins).  Combine topping ingredients (except bananas) in a small bowl & sprinkle over top of each muffin.  Add a few pieces of thinly sliced bananas on top.  Bake for about 22-25 minutes.

If you like, you can add extra walnuts to the batter; you could also try adding chocolate chips, coconut, or carob chips.

Nutrition

Calories: 134

Fat: 1.5g

Carbs: 30.6g

Fiber: 3.3g

Protein: 3.2

Stay healthy!

Whole Wheat Spinach Pasta from Scratch

Whole Wheat Spinach Pasta 

  Making homemade pasta with a pasta machine is something we've always talked about doing but never done. Well, today the talking stopped and the pasta making began! We've been successful at making homemade whole wheat gnocchi and pierogies, so we decided to try flavored pasta.  The taste ended up being delicious  though the noodles weren't exactly picture perfect. Next time, I'm going to sub in other flours like spelt or tapioca. 

Ingredients

.25 cup all-purpose flour

1.5 cups 100% stone ground whole wheat flour (like Bob's Red Mill organic)

2 eggs

1.5 t olive oil

5 oz. fresh, organic spinach

Directions

Start with 1 cup whole wheat flour and .25 cup all-purpose. Make a well on a clean, dry surface (I used a cutting board). Chop rinsed and drained spinach in a food processor with olive oil until finely minced.

Place chopped spinach and 2 eggs into the well.  Using a fork, scramble the eggs with the spinach, slowly incorporating the flour from the sides.  

The mixture will be crumbly at first; now's the time to add in the extra .5 cup of wheat flour. You may need more or less depending on the weather, moisture in your spinach, etc. I ended up having to add close to .75 cup.

After the flour is incorporated as best as you can with a fork, use your hands to knead the dough. It should be slightly tacky.  When you start to put it through the pasta machine, you'll be able to tell whether or not you need to add more flour.

Add your fresh pasta to boiling water for about 4-5 minutes and enjoy!

Nutrition (a rough estimate based on 4 servings from the dough):

Calories: 228

Fat: 5 g

Carbs: 37 g

Fiber: 6 g

Protein: 10 g

Toss with veggies, lean meat, & olive oil or your favorite red sauce! 

Stay healthy!

Whole Grain Pancakes (Eat Clean!)

It's been awhile since I've made pancakes, and what better to do on a dreary day? This is a purely homegrown recipe, so feel free to tweak it to your needs and ingredients on hand.  They make a great low-calorie, nutritious breakfast or snack and fit into the clean eating lifestyle (but more on that in a future post). AND they are sugar-free!!  There are many variations you could do with these like adding unsweetened cocoa powder, wheat germ, flax seed, chia seed, etc. Experiment! (These do not get real "fluffy" like typical pancakes.)

Whole Grain Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

2 t white vinegar

1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal (stone ground is best!)

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour (substitute soy or whole wheat if needed)

3 T ground flax

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1 t vanilla extract

1/4 cup egg whites/liquid egg substitute (or 1 whole egg)

Directions

Add the vinegar to the almond milk (to make buttermilk) and set aside for 15-20 minutes.  Mix all dry ingredients; add egg whites and vanilla.  Add buttermilk and stir until moistened.  Batter will be runny! Let it sit for a minute or two before using.  Drop by approximately 1/8 cup fulls (I use a coffee scoop) onto a hot skillet coated with cooking spray.  Cook on one side until air bubbles surface and pop; these need to cook longer than regular pancakes due to the density of the wheat flour.  This recipe makes about 24, 2-inch pancakes.

Top with fresh berries, sugar free syrup, or natural peanut butter and enjoy!

Nutrition (per 2 pancakes)

Calories: 71

Total Fat: 1.4 g

Total Carbs: 13.5

Fiber: 2.8 g

Protein: 3.6 g

Stay healthy!

Carrot Cake Makeover

So, this weekend I had the urge to bake something.  But, as is typical of me, I couldn't just follow a recipe I found - I had to find a way to make it healthier.  Sometimes, however, this has backfired on me, and I've wound up trashing my latest creation.  This time the product was great! The recipe has no oil and low sugar; it also incorporates fiber-rich, whole wheat flour and omega-3 rich ground flax. And, did you know that both cinnamon and ginger are thermogenic herbs that improve metabolism?? Hope you enjoy my made-over, low sugar, carrot cake!

Low Sugar Carrot Cake

Ingredients

3 eggs (mine were fresh, organic, and free range from The Veggie Stand) 

1 cup of unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.25 cups unbleached, all-purpose white flour**
.75 cup whole wheat flour

.75 cup white/light brown sugar (I packed brown in the bottom half and filled to full with white)

2 tsp baking powder

.25 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp ground flax

1 tsp cinnamon

.25 tsp cloves

.25 tsp nutmeg 

.5 tsp ginger 

3 cups finely shredded carrots
.25 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

 Pre-heat your oven to 350.  Mix the eggs, applesauce, and vanilla together.  In a separate bowl, whisk together both flours, sugar, ground flax, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.  Once everything is well blended, stir in carrots and walnuts by hand.  Spray pans with non-stick cooking spray before baking.  Baking times will vary depending on what you make: cupcakes = 18-22 minutes; cake = 38-45 minutes.  A toothpick inserted near the center will come out clean when the cake is ready.

Yield

This recipe made about 24 cupcakes.

Nutrition 

 Calories: 95
Total Fat: 1.7g

Total Carb: 15.7g
Fiber: 1.7g
Sugar: 10g

Protein 2.5g

Stay Fit!