Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

Well, winter does not seem to be kicking it around here.  Despite the fact that we are officially into spring, the ground is still covered with snow and the forecast predicts potentially more of it on Tuesday. Boo.  I have spring fever.  Next weekend will be Easter....so much for a spring egg hunt!

Here is a healthy but tasty comfort food recipe for a quiet morning with a cup of coffee....if you get any of those mornings! And yes, it's chocolate!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

Wet Ingredients

~2/3 cup peanut butter

~1 mashed banana (you could add another if you need to get rid of some bananas!)

~1/2 cup honey

~2 tsp vanilla extract

~2/3 cup milk of your choice

Dry Ingredients

~2 cups white whole wheat flour

~1/4 cup coconut flour (you can use all white whole wheat flour if you do not have coconut flour)

~1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

~2 tsp aluminum free baking powder

~1/2 tsp baking soda

~1/2 tsp salt

~1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix all of the wet ingredients with a mixer.  Add dry ingredients, except chocolate chips, and mix thoroughly.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Spray a muffin tin and/or use muffin liners.  I used an ice cream scoop to evenly spoon out 12 muffins into the tin.  Place into the oven and reduce heat to 375 degrees.  Bake for 19-21 minutes or until a knife comes out of the muffins clean.  Let cool in the pan for at least 10-15 minutes before removing.  Enjoy with a cup of coffee or cold glass of milk!

 

 

My 3 year old said these were dee-licious! That never gets old.....

 

And congratulations to all those runners out there who had great races over the St. Paddy's Day weekend....I saw some amazing PR's on the race reports! I am still trucking along on the elliptical and spinning bike....11 weeks to go until baby #2 arrives!

 

Have a great week!

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's my favorite holiday of the year! Although I will not be enjoying a festive ale or lager this year, we started our day with St. Paddy's Day Green Pancakes over here.  They don't quite fill my heart like a full Irish breakfast, but they are a delicious, festive and a healthy start to the day.  This recipe is a modification of our Sweet Pea Pancakes recipe that quickly became a staple over here.

St. Patrick's Day Green Pancakes

~1 cup milk

~generous handful of kale or spinach

~1 mashed banana

~1/2 cup whole wheat flour

~1/2 cup oats

~1 egg

~1 tsp vanilla extract

~cinnamon to preference

~chocolate chips to preference

In a blender, puree the kale or spinach and milk (you can add greens until you get the color you want).  Mix the dry ingredients (except chocolate chips).  Add the egg, mashed banana and vanilla.  Mix in 3/4 of the milk/greens puree thoroughly.  I did not need to use the last 1/4 of the puree, but you can add if you prefer a less thick pancake.  Fold in the chocolate chips.  Heat a skillet with your choice of oil.  Cook on each side and serve with pure maple syrup.  That's it!  This recipe made enough to feed me and two 3 year olds hungry after a sleep over!

The green would be so much prettier in natural light, but my little one gets up too early!

Doughnuts and Random Things

I have to give an internet shout out to two recipes that I have fallen in love with.  The first is Chocolate Covered Katie's Homemade Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.  I have actually never been a die hard doughnut fan.  I usually gravitate towards muffins, which can be even worse, despite the unexplained "healthier" connotation the word "muffin" brings. That said, it is quite relaxing on a weekend morning to sit with a fresh baked good and a cup of coffee.  The problem is that I am not so sure that most doughnuts or other "baked goods" that can be purchased would qualify as a "fresh baked good."  I stumbled across one of Food Babe's older posts "Sabotaged at Starbucks" this week.  I could not get the quote "The reduced fat cinnamon swirl coffee cake has over 75 ingredients..." out of my head.  75?  What possible 75 things could be in that cake?  Silly me, I thought the recipe would have such things as eggs, milk, butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon.   I have caved to such things on the run or given in to the doughnut at work for that quick energy pick me up....only to come crashing down and not feel so great afterwards.  Well, this recipe is bliss to satisfy that craving for a sweet, fresh baked something and not feel gross afterwards. 

The first time I made it, I did not have spelt flour or any healthy sweetener substitute so I went forward with the all purpose flour and sugar.  I don't yet have a donut pan so I threw the batter into mini bundt pans and they still came out great.


Delicious!

I made them again this weekend.  This time I used spelt flour and substituted maple syrup for the sugar.  I baked them as "donut muffins" and then topped them with the amazing second new recipe that I found.  This one is from My Whole Food Life and I used the chocolate glaze from her pumpkin donuts recipe.  It is so simple- a small amount of chocolate chips of your choice melted with milk of your choice (I only used approx. 1/4-1/3 cup for my small batch of doughnuts).  Fantastic...simple....no nasty ingredients.  Note: I am also going to need to try that pumpkin donut recipe at some point. 

The only mistake I made was not being patient to let them cool in the pan before removing because I was hungry :)  One of them fell apart so lesson learned!  Wait...they are worth waiting for.  Once I got the glaze on them, I popped them into the freezer for a few minutes to set and done.  The recipe made 6.


Definitely worth a few minutes baking...

Other random things I am loving this week include the avocado, my Vitamix blender and the elliptical trainer.  I used to stay away from avocados because of the reported fat content.  I'm learning differently now and loving them.  More on that another time.  My Vitamix blender is Ah-mazing.  I am starting each day with a handful of fruit and veggie servings thanks to this easy green smoothie recipe that I have gravitated towards:

Green Smoothie

~1 cup water

~2 generous handfuls organic spinach

~1 scoop organic wheat grass powder

~A generous heap of frozen berries

~1/2-1 banana or orange or apple

 

Throw into the Vitamix, turn on low and use the tamper to make sure the produce gets to the blades.  Blend until desired consistency (takes less than 30 seconds every time).  Enjoy!

 

I am sure there are tons of other healthy things that can go into a green smoothie and would love to hear any recipes you want to share!

 

Lastly, the elliptical trainer.  It's my favorite pregnant workout.  I have a spinning bike at home, which is my most used equipment just because of its convenience.  Although a good workout and it keeps the body moving, I psychologically like to see some miles add up and the spinning bike I have does not measure distance.  I'm sure there is something I could buy to set the bike up with mileage measurement, but I've always done my spinning workouts just based on time and I think that works fine and do not want to invest more money in it.  In contrast, the elliptical gives me that quasi-running feel without the bouncing belly and elevated heart rate so I am loving it and comfortably complete 3-4.5 miles per workout.  3rd trimester starts this weekend :)  Where does time go?

 

This weekend some friends of mine are participating in a local St. Paddy's Day 5 mile road race.  Good luck to everyone!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Lemon Coconut "Shortbread" Cookies

I did not realize how much I love unsweetened coconut.  It all started with this granola recipe from 100 Days of Real Food.  Since that first batch, I have been adding unsweetened coconut to breads, muffins, cookies and even pancakes.  It is delicious and adds the taste of a treat without a bunch of nasty stuff to go with it. 

This week, I played around with a couple different types of flours that I do not usually have on hand.  I have been seeing many different recipes with spelt flour, almond flour, coconut flour etc. and my baking has pretty much been reserved to regular all purpose flour or whole wheat flour.  So, I geared up for a baking experiment.  The final product came out with a thick shortbread like texture that is nice to enjoy with a cup of tea...and the hint of lemon flavor is refreshing during what I hope are these last days of winter!

Lemon Coconut "Shortbread" Cookies

~1/3 cup coconut oil

~1/3 cup honey

~2 tsp vanilla extract
~1/3 cup organic milk (you could substitute your own choice of milk)

~zest of 1 lemon

~1 cup spelt flour

~1/3 cup coconut flour

~1/3 cup oats

~1/2 tsp baking soda

~1/2 tsp baking powder

~pinch of salt

~3/4 cup unsweetened coconut

*this recipe made 18 cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix honey, coconut oil and vanilla extract with electric mixer until blended smoothly.  Add milk.  Zest 1 lemon into the wet ingredients and mix again. 

Coconut Oil, Honey & Vanilla "Creamed" Together

Add dry ingredients (except coconut) and mix until well incorporated (batter will be thick).  Fold in coconut.

Drop by rounded spoon or melon baller onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Use a fork to press down the cookie.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Brew a cup of tea and enjoy!

 

 

I plugged the recipe into the My Fitness Pal app and came up with a calorie count of 108 calories per cookie.  For my next batch, I am going to modify the recipe a little bit and use orange zest and add some dark chocolate chips for that heavenly orange and chocolate combination!

 

And yes, this truly was a baking experiment. I had to work on this recipe a couple of times to get these cookies.  Just to prove it and maybe give you a giggle, please see this photo of my baking follies:
 

It's a good thing I like baking because my first recipe was a flop!

 

As we all gear up for another busy week, let's try to go with the flow, squeeze in those workouts that make us happy and remember this:

 

Funny cartoon I came across this week & had to share!

 

 

Have a great week!

Hello QVC!

Honestly, I have never shopped on QVC or any other home shopping network....until about 2 weeks ago.  As you may be aware, I have been working to incorporate more green smoothies into my daily diet.  I'm trying to squeeze in as much healthy produce as possible for myself and this little bundle that is still growing, kicking and tumbling inside of me right now.  I'm in love with the promises of increased energy and glowing skin that I read others credit to their commitment to veggie intake.  That said, I have had my eyes on a Vitamix blender for a while.  Health blogs galore rave about them.  A good friend of mine has one and swears by it.  It is pricy and an investment, but I figured I would get to it after some planning and buy one....eventually.  Until then, I was committed to using the blender that was a welcomed hand me down from my parents when I was living away in college well over a decade ago.  Who cares that it barely shreds spinach and it feels like ingesting flakes with a fish-food like texture as you gulp the veggie goodness down, right?

So that was my plan....until my good friend the Vitamix owner sent me a text one Sunday morning noting that Vitamix was the "Deal of the Day" on QVC.  She said that she had never seen a deal this good and this girl did her research when she bought her magical blender.  I check the link out and there was considerable savings....and they were throwing in the dry container with it...free shipping....and I had a $50 credit from my bank card (I guess I am still rationalizing)....and then they throw these words in of "3 or 5 easy payments."  QVC people are smart.  After a few quick questions by text to my friend to confirm my commitment to the product, the deal was done and processed within less than minutes.  QVC made it way too easy.

Several days later, this beauty arrived on my door step:

Except mine is in red!

I have only had the blender for less than a week.  I am not yet organized enough to share recipes, but I can say that this thing pulverizes fruits and vegetables.  Green smoothies are fast and delicious.  I have also made my first batch of "soft serve ice cream" using frozen bananas instead of milk or cream...more on that another time for sure as I practice these recipes!

On the fitness front, this week was pretty slow due to some extra work commitments. I only squeezed in a few short spinning sessions. I also seem to be having these random blood pressure drops that go away once I sit down, but they leave me feeling uneasy so I have tried to rest up a little extra this weekend.  Anyone else experience such pregnancy weirdness? 

Anyway, I wish you a good week.  I'm going to avoid QVC in case there are any other "Deals of the Day" that catch my eye....they just make it too easy!

Movies and Popcorn

Once upon a time, I was a movie buff.  I would make it a point to have seen every "Best Picture" nominated flick before the Academy Awards, read entertainment magazines galore and enjoyed lively arguments discussions about whether or not the Academy picked the best when they selected their winners (as if I was some sort of qualified person to do that).  In graduate school, solo trips to the movie theaters were my escape and stress relief.  The movie theater was about a 2 mile walk away from my Beantown apartment.  It was the perfect distance: 2 mile walk, roughly 2 hours of screen time and 2 miles home feeling refreshed.  I would go to major blockbuster theaters and small independent flick theaters....I sort of miss that stuff now that I am thinking of it.

Anyway, the Academy awards are coming up this weekend and although I am unfamiliar with the majority of films being highlighted and reviewed (I did see Argo though and would recommend it!), movies make me think of popcorn and that is what brings me here today.  Who doesn't love a good movie and some popcorn? 

Popcorn can be a healthy, whole food and delicious snack.  Admittedly, I went through a phase where calories or points were really my only focus of "healthy" eating and I was a microwave popcorn fanatic.  I can eat this whole bag for 3 points? Woohoo!  The microwave popcorn bags were in my cupboards, my desk at work and packed for trips home to visit the family.  In addition to the microwave popcorn, my next highly used food accessory was spray butter.  You know, this stuff:

I cringe now when I think about it. 

Yes, I lost weight and got back to a healthy weight but I am confident that I was not putting the healthiest stuff into my body.  Here is a look at the ingredients on a package of microwave kettle corn, which is one of my favorite flavors:

TBHQ?  Argh, that doesn't sound like something I want to inhale at the rate I can devour some popcorn.  Then there is the current controversial information about the chemicals in those bags that potentially leak into the food as we zap them to popped perfection.  Finally, spray butter? What is spray butter anyway?  At zero, yes zero, calories per serving, what is this stuff?  You would be horrified if you saw how I use to hose that stuff onto popcorn, toast, muffins....whatever.  I understand the ingredients are the following:

Water, Soybean(s) Oil Liquid, Salt, Buttermilk Sweet Cream, Xanthan Gum, Soy Lecithin, Polysorbate 60, Lactic Acid, Potassium Sorbate Preservative, Sodium Benzoate Preservative, Calcium Disodium EDTA Preservative, Flavor(s) Artificial Colored With, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Palmitate

These days, I am back to an old fashioned air popper, which can be purchased almost anywhere for $20-$30.  It's quick, it's easy and most importantly, it just pops those corn kernels without any additives that I will be scared about years later. Also, there is the bonus that little ones enjoy watching those kernels pop out into the bowl!

If you are settling in for the Academy Awards or a movie and enjoy sweet n' salty kettle corn as much as I do, here is a quick real food recipe that I find to be delicious and knocks the socks off any microwave popcorn out there:

Air Popped "Kettle" Corn

~Popcorn Kernels

~1 Tbs Butter (Coconut Oil could be substituted for a vegan recipe or preference)

~1 Tbs honey

~Salt to preference

 

Fill your air popper's kernel hopper with the popcorn kernels (mine takes about 1/2 cup of kernels) and pop the popcorn out into a bowl.  In a small pot, heat the butter (or oil) with the honey until combined smoothly.  Pour over the popcorn, salt to preference, shake up and enjoy!  It's that easy...barely minutes.  Also, you can increase the amount of butter, oil or honey if preferred as the 1/2 cup of kernels does turn into a pretty large bowl of popcorn, but I found this amount to be plenty tasty. 

 

I know that the use of Genetically Modified ingredients is concerning and corn and soy are considered to be the most frequently modified seeds in the U.S.  I understand that you can avoid genetically modified corn seed by purchasing a brand of popcorn kernels that is certified organic and/or has a non-GMO label. 

Settle in for a movie and enjoy!  What are your go-to healthy and fun movie snacks?

 



Valentine's Day and Chocolate...

Everyone's favorite hallmark holiday has come and gone again this week.  Flowers, sweets, balloons, teddy bears etc. etc. everywhere.  I am not opposed to Valentine's Day but I don't really think it's a big deal either.  We don't plan any big celebrations or outings at our house.  In fact, I would prefer to stay away from restaurants on such a busy night.  I'm not booking a sitter to wait for a table for an hour!  No fancy gifts necessary.  No scrambling for freshly cut roses for this girl. 

Before you conclude that I am a completely miserable and boring person, please know that there is one aspect of Valentine's Day that I adore: chocolate.  I love chocolate.  And when I say I love chocolate, I mean I looove chocolate. I know it's not uncommon to hear of people who love chocolate, but I would say I am a true chocoholic.  I even have a chocolate lab for a dog....and that's not a coincidence.  It's my thing.  It's wonderful.  I have a little bit of chocolate every day, 7 days a week, 365 days each year.  Don't mess with it.  Don't hide my supply.  And whatever you do, do not and I mean do NOT, chow down on the tiny little bit left right before grocery day.  Just don't- trust me.

With my affection for chocolate, I have made it a point to try a large variety over the years.  I have been fortunate to have had the opportunities to travel a decent amount before starting a family.  Over those journeys, I sampled the chocolates of France, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, England, Mexico and even Japan.  If anyone I know is traveling somewhere I have never been and asks if there is anything I would like, chocolate is always the answer- always.  During my travels, I think I judged whether or not I could live in a particular country by my level of affection for their native chocolate.

One disadvantage of these small chocolate adventures is that they may have turned me into a chocolate snob.  Although not a problem for me, this means that my husband can not just run to CVS the night before or day of a special occasion and grab a pretty arrangement of Hersheys.  It's not going to cut it.  No offense to lovers of Hershey bars out there, but I think they are crap.  I was spoiled on a childhood of rich and creamy Cadbury from my native Ireland.  Try some imported Cadbury chocolates and then try to tell me that Hershey kisses are awesome.  I dare you.

So, how does love of chocolate fit into an overall goal of healthy living?  I could cite research that shows the antioxidant benefits of chocolate and other nutrient dense qualities, but I am not going to do that.  Those things are great but truthfully I don't care.  Even if there were no antioxidants or other redeeming qualities, I would still enjoy my chocolate.  Life is too short and this is where I subscribe to a philosophy of balance and moderation. Here are a few things I use to keep my chocolate indulgences in balance and enjoy it completely:

Chocolate can be enjoyed as a whole food.  Oh Yes, it can.   Pure cocoa is a simple, whole food ingredient.  Like everything else, take the time to read the list of ingredients on the product you are buying.  You should be able to pronounce them all, spell them all and memorize them quickly because the list should be short.  It should sound like your mom's pantry, not a chemical cocktail developed in a lab. Enjoy a made from scratch hot cocoa- it takes barely minutes and has 3 ingredients: milk, cocoa and sugar (optional- or you could use less refined products such as honey, maple syrup or coconut sugar).  Easy peasy and delicious.

Indulge in a high quality bar of chocolate, especially dark chocolate. There is a local chocolate shop making their own confections relatively near us.  I do not go there often and I am not claiming that it is health food by any stretch, but it's nice to get a high quality, made from scratch treat once in a while that also supports a local business.  If that option is not available, grocery stores now have decent options of high quality chocolate.  One of my new favorites is Green & Black's Organic varieties.  I won't find these options on sale for 70 cents per bar, but the difference in taste versus a standard candy bar is worth it in my opinion.  Also, it is highly unlikely to devour more than a few pieces at a time when enjoying a high quality, rich piece of chocolate.  It just doesn't happen....even with a chocoholic like me.

Make Your Own Baked Goods. Ok, myself and others who truly enjoy baking have an edge up on this one, but there are a lot of great recipes out there that are pretty quick and simple to create less processed and healthier options for chocolate fixes.  If you are looking for healthy or whole food recipes, check out blogs like Chocolate Covered Katie, My Whole Food Life and 100 Days of Real Food for information at your finger tips.  Some health enthusiasts subscribe to completely eliminating all refined sugar from their diet.  I'm not there yet.  Some people indicate they feel better with sugar completely out of their diet and I respect that.  I do not use refined sugar in the large majority of my baking, but I do not think there is a health risk to enjoying a homemade or freshly made cookie or cupcake for a special occasion once in a while, even if there is sugar in the recipe.  I would much prefer to make that special treat myself, from scratch where I know what the ingredients are versus grabbing a convenience store bought item with an ingredients list like a NASA experiment.

Exercise.  This one may seem obvious but constant moving and activity keeps things in balance.  I'm still looking for a shirt that says "Will Run For Chocolate..."  Anyone know where I can get one of those? 

It also turns out that the apple does not fall far from the tree and chocoholism is an inherited trait.

This little one had a pre-school Valentine's party, which required treats.  So, we had a baking party and whipped up some whole wheat brownie & chocolate dipped strawberry lollipops.

The Whole Wheat Brownies were inspired by Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism Cookbook and 100 Days of Real Food. 

Whole Wheat Brownies

 

Dry Ingredients

~3/4 cup whole wheat flour

~1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

~1/4 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder

~1/4 teaspoon baking soda

~1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Wet Ingredients

~1/3 cup honey

~1/2 cup butter

~1 teaspoon vanilla extract (you could substitute peppermint, almond or even orange extract for a different hint of flavor)

~2 eggs

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients.  In a small pot, melt together the honey, butter & vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, add the 2 eggs and mix with mixer or by hand until well incorporated.  Grease a baking dish and spread the batter into the dish.  Bake in the oven approximately 18 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.  Let the brownies cool in the dish before removing.  Cut into desired shapes and indulge!







After some decorations and stickers added by the munchkin.....

 

And this pregnant lady knows what to do with those brownie scraps after cutting out little hearts for the kiddos at school!  Throw them on top of some Stonyfield Organic After Dark Chocolate frozen yogurt and settle in for an episode of Mad Men on Netflix.....bliss.

Do you have any go to recipes for those chocolate cravings?