“clean out the pantry” zucchini muffins

Posted on February 26, 2018 by dallaswoodburn

Hi everyone! Hope your week is off to a fabulous start! Allyn and I are deep in the process of packing up our lives to move to our new house this coming Saturday! Where does the time go??

I have made it my personal mission to clean out our kitchen cupboards by using up as many ingredients as possible in our meals this week. By far, my favorite improvised recipe has been these zucchini-banana muffins, which I have dubbed “clean out the pantry” muffins because they enabled me to polish off a huge container of rolled oats, bags of flour and sugar, AND use up a zucchini and banana that were on their last legs! For some reason, finishing off almost-empty containers of ingredients makes me feel ridiculously satisfied, and doing so right before our move has increased my excitement level by tenfold. Muffins for the WIN!

I’ll definitely be making these babies again, even when I’m not trying to clean out our pantry. 🙂 They are perfectly moist, with a hint of sweetness, and give me a boost of energy to power through the morning. I especially love them topped with peanut butter!

The only thing I neglected to do, in my packing daze, was to snap a photo. You’ll just have to use your imagination. I hope you make these for yourself — and if you do, you can post a photo in the comments and help a girl out!

“clean out the pantry” zucchini-banana muffins

1 cup flour {I used a mixture of spelt & white whole wheat flours}
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 medium ripe banana, mashed {about 1/2 cup}
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup turbinado sugar {you can use more if you would like a sweeter muffin}
1 large egg
1/3 cup melted coconut oil, cooled to room temperature {or canola or vegetable oil}
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup shredded zucchini
optional add-ins: chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with paper cups or grease well.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour(s), oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and shredded coconut.
3. In a large bowl, combine mashed banana, yogurt, sugar, egg, coconut oil, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
4. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir gently until incorporated.
5. Squeeze the zucchini in a paper towel to remove excess liquid. Fold the zucchini into the batter.
6. Fill each muffin cup about 3/4 full with batter. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

peanut butter coconut flour protein muffins

Posted on November 16, 2016 by dallaswoodburn

Hi everyone! I have another recipe to share with you today, starring another cool flour: coconut flour! One reason I love baking with coconut flour is that it is packed full of fiber: a single serving of 2 tablespoons delivers a whopping 5 grams of fiber! It is also gluten-free, low in carbs, and high in protein. Coconut flour is made by grinding dried, defatted coconut meat.

These muffins are light and airy, while also being filling enough to keep you satisfied all morning. You can easily adapt these by mixing in your own favorite goodies — I think they would be great with nuts or dried cranberries stirred in, or maybe even chocolate chips! I love to amp up their peanut butter flavor even more by topping them with additional peanut butter! {As my brother would say, “Out of control…”} 🙂

I hope you enjoy these as much as Allyn and I did!

{recipe adapted from Eat Good 4 Life}

Makes: 12 muffins

- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup coconut butter
- 2 organic eggs
- 1 tbsp ground flax
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 banana, mashed {about 1/2 cup}
- 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup milk, almond milk, soy milk or rice milk
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin baking pan with paper liners and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix the water and ground flax and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, stir the coconut flour, coconut sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon.

4. In a large bowl, mix the bananas, eggs, vanilla extract, coconut butter and peanut butter. Using a wire whisk or electric mixer works very well! Next, slowly add in the flaxseed-water mixture, yogurt and milk.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently combine.

6. Scoop batter into your muffin pan, filling each muffin cup 3/4 cup of the way.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the baking pan and cool muffins on a wire rack.

8. Store in an air-tight container. These muffins also freeze well!

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if you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like:

banana buckwheat autumn muffins

Posted on October 17, 2016 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Monday, everyone! It has been a rainy weekend here, which is wonderful because 1) we need all the rain we can get here in California! and 2) it actually feels like autumn! I love everything about autumn. The chill in the air, the scarves and boots, the fall leaves, pumpkin spice everything… it always makes me feel the best combination of cozy and energized!

These muffins are the perfect excuse to do some healthy autumn baking. They’re bursting with the flavors of the season — apple, dried cranberries, pumpkin pie spices — and are also way good for you, packed with protein and naturally sweetened with honey and coconut sugar.

I have been exploring different types of flours in my baking recently and was excited to try out buckwheat after reading about its health benefits: it is an excellent source of nutrients and fiber, is great for your cardiovascular system and helps control blood sugar. Buckwheat is actually not a cereal grain, but a fruit seed related to rhubarb and sorrel, so it is often used as a substitute for those with gluten allergies or who are sensitive to wheat. The seed is ground into a flour that is dark in color and has a strong, nutty flavor.

These muffins get sweetened up by the fruit, but they are definitely not cupcake-sweet. I love to eat them smeared with peanut butter or pumpkin butter for an extra kick of flavor! Hope you enjoy them as much as we do around here!

{recipe adapted from Martha Stewart’s sugar-free muffins}

1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup coconut sugar {or substitute sugar of your choice}
1 tbsp ground flaxseed
3 tbsp water
3 eggs
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 apple, finely diced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

2. In a small bowl, combine the ground flaxseed and water; mix together and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix the buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and coconut sugar.

4. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, banana, vanilla and honey. Add the ground flaxseed-water mixture.

5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, then fold in apple, dried cranberries and walnuts.

6. Pour batter to the tops of lined cups. Batter will be very runny, but that is normal!

7. Bake for 30 minutes, until the muffins turn a deep chocolate brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

spinach banana muffins {aka “monster muffins”}

Posted on March 23, 2016 by dallaswoodburn

Hi, guys! I’m just poppin’ in with a little recipe to share with you today. I made these muffins for St. Patrick’s Day and they were a big hit! I promise, you can’t taste the spinach at all! They taste like banana muffins and have an added boost of good-for-you nutrients thanks to the spinach. These muffins would be a great way to get picky kids to eat more greens. Call them “monster muffins” and serve them all year long, not just for St. Patrick’s Day! 🙂

This recipe was adapted from this one by Pamela Salzman.

spinach banana muffins

1 cup white wheat flour
1 and 1/4 cup oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
¾ cup maple syrup
¾ cup milk {I used vanilla rice milk}
¼ cup vegetable oil
6-7 ounces of fresh baby spinach leaves
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
optional: 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
Into a blender, pour in applesauce, maple syrup, milk, oil, and spinach. Process until pureed. {I did in multiple batches in my Nutribullet!}
Add spinach mixture to the flour mixture. Stir until combined, being careful not to over-mix.
Stir in the egg. Fold in the mashed banana and chocolate chips.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin tin. It will be a little runny/thin — that is okay! This means the muffins will turn out moist.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*Note: these muffins freeze very well… if they last that long in your household! They didn’t in mine. 😉

Hope you enjoy! Happy Wednesday. Have a wonderful rest of the week, my friends!

if you liked this recipe, you might also want to try:
– apple oat banana muffins
– carrot cake coconut muffins w/chickpea flour
– berry cream cheese muffins
– coconut zucchini muffins

carrot cake coconut muffins w/chickpea flour

Posted on September 30, 2015 by dallaswoodburn

A couple nights ago I posted a photo on Instagram of some evening baking, and multiple people commented asking for the recipe! So of course I had to share it on here. 🙂

This recipe marks my first time ever baking with chickpea flour! I was inspired by Robyn @the real-life rd to order some, because it is packed with veggie protein, iron and fiber, and she swore it is easy to sub into baking recipes. I have to say I was quite impressed with its soft texture and the hint of sweetness it brings to these muffins. To make these gluten-free, I also used rice flour, although you could use whole wheat flour if you would like.

These muffins are moist, soft, and packed with autumn flavors. They have no sugar, just maple syrup. I love them warmed up for breakfast, smeared with peanut butter, and also for dessert! You could even slap some frosting on these bad boys and call them cupcakes.

Hope you enjoy them as much as we did around here! And I will definitely be sharing more recipes with chickpea flour in the future — I’m hooked. 🙂

carrot cake coconut muffins w/chickpea flour

{adapted from this recipe at Wallflower Girl}

– 1/2 cup rice flour {or whole wheat flour}
– 1/2 cup rolled oats
– 3/4 cup chickpea flour
– 1/2 tsp baking powder
– 1/2 tsp baking soda
– 2 tsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1/2 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
– 1 cup water
– 3/4 cup maple syrup
– 1/2 cup grated carrot {I used one large carrot}
– 1 cup shredded coconut
– 3/4 cup raisins
– 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with liners or spray lightly with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients: rice flour, rolled oats, chickpea flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice.

3. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients: vegetable oil/coconut oil, water, maple syrup, grated carrot, and shredded coconut.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until combined. Batter will seem a little thin, but that is okay!

5. Add raisins and chopped walnuts.

6. Fill your muffin tins pretty much to the top. Bake 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

Have you ever baked with chickpea flour? If so, please share your favorite recipes in the comments section!

if you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like:
– coconut zucchini muffins
– apple banana oatmeal muffins
– gluten free apple pie bites

berry cream-cheese muffins

Posted on November 20, 2014 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Thursday, friends! Can you believe it’s only a week until Thanksgiving?! Where has November gone? I’m trying to savor each day as much as possible, but I’m also really excited to see my parents and brother — and Mr. Mur-dog! 🙂

In the spirit of Thanksgiving baking, here is a delicious and easy muffin recipe that I whipped up the other day when I had some blueberries to use up. I think these would be great with any kind of berry! The sweetness of the berries combined with the cream cheese in the center really makes these muffins a star.

blueberry cream cheese muffins

adapted from this recipe at healthy food for living

1 cup flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup coconut sugar or agave
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk
1 large egg
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 pint blueberries {I used fresh, but I’m sure frozen would work just as well}
1/4 cup neufchatel {1/3-less-fat cream cheese} at room temperature
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin, or line with muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour & coconut flour, coconut sugar, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, oil, and vanilla extract {and agave, if you’re using it}.

4. Toss the blueberries with the flour mixture. Add the wet ingredients into the dry and stir just until incorporated.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the neufchatel and maple syrup.

6. Divide the batter evenly amongst the prepared muffin cups. Make a small well in the center of each. Fill each well with 1 tsp of the sweetened neufchatel. Sprinkle each filled cup with a bit of the sugar.

7. Bake for 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean {cream cheese sticking to the toothpick is fine, but no raw batter!} Cool in pan for 5 minutes; transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Hope you enjoy! These were the perfect combination of sweet and savory… a decadent-seeming treat that is pretty dang healthy! This would be a great holiday breakfast item. Thanksgiving brunch, anyone?

If you liked this recipe, you might also check out:
– apple banana oatmeal muffins
– peach streusel muffins
– chocolate-chip banana muffins
– triple berry muffins

my favorite quick, healthy + gluten-free breakfasts

Posted on August 13, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

I’ve recently began eating a gluten-free diet — my brother found out that he is allergic to gluten and feels much better on a gluten-free diet, and since we share the same genes I thought I would give it a try, too! Breakfast was the meal I felt most stumped by: my quick go-to breakfast used to be a whole-wheat english muffin or toast with peanut butter. I haven’t yet found a gluten-free bread loaf that I love, so I went back to the drawing board.

Here are four of my new favorite healthy, gluten-free breakfasts. They are delicious when enjoyed slowly over the morning newspaper, and are also perfect for busy mornings when you need to eat something quick!

1. Oatmeal with nut butter & fruit. Make sure you use gluten-free oats. I like topping mine with blueberries, walnuts, and a spoonful of almond butter.

2. Greek yogurt + fruit, with a handful of walnuts or almonds on the side. My favorite combo lately: plain greek yogurt + a drizzle of honey + a sliced banana.

3. A smoothie made with greek yogurt and/or a spoonful of nut butter, plus spinach & chia seeds of course! Right now I am loving a combo of strawberries + mango + a sliced peach. And here is a delicious looking recipe from Danica at It’s Progression that I am planning to try out this week.

4. Homemade muffins topped with peanut butter. I try to make a batch of banana muffins or apple-cinnamon muffins {substituting a gluten-free flour blend for the wheat flour} every weekend, and then I get to enjoy them as breakfast and snacks throughout the week.

What are your favorite quick, healthy breakfasts? Please share in the comments below!

year of kindness challenge: week 30

Posted on July 29, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

Happy Monday everyone! Hope your morning is off to a great start. I did a little meditation this morning — love this guided meditation by Heather Waxman, check it out! — and ate a homemade banana muffin for breakfast alongside a warm cinnamony cup of tea. The tea is my new fave and I was introduced to it thanks to my July Foodie Pen Pal; reveal day coming on Wednesday!

In other news, I finally moved forward past the year 2008 and got my first smartphone over the weekend. I think I may have been one of the last holdouts — even my grandma has a smartphone! There was a part of me that liked not having access to my email and the Internet 24/7 right there on my phone, which was why I waited so long. I’m now excited to have the added convenience of Internet and apps on my phone, not to mention the ease of being able to take photos and post them easily on here … and, hey there, Instagram, nice to meet you! I’m expecting to be posting on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest more often now because it is so much easier for me with my shiny new smartphone. But I must admit, there’s a part of my techno-phobe brain that is still a little wary of having the Internet right.there.all.the.time. I’m curious: what tips do you have for balancing screen time? How do you keep yourself from compulsively checking your email every three minutes? Do you have any “technology rules” you try to follow to keep yourself grounded? Please share in the comments section below!

Last week’s kindness challenge was to do a favor for someone without being asked. I was surprised how much FUN I had doing favors for people! I ran a bunch of errands to pick up last-minute things for my brother before his big move and helped him move down to Los Angeles and get his apartment set up. My mom and I drove across the traffic-clogged city to get copies of his new apartment key made {only to later spot a hardware store a block away from his apartment! D’oh!} I also baked some gluten-free treats for my fam and helped my Gramps with some chores around his house.

Another great thing about this past weeks’ kindness challenge is that it made me so much more aware of the favors and sweetness others extend to me on a daily basis! A few examples from just this week: my mom washed my car and cleaned my bathroom as a super nice surprise. An acquaintance from college sent me a nice email about a recent blog post. I ran into a dear old high school friend at Trader Joe’s, and not only was it great to see her but she also invited me to go to a zumba class with her on Wednesday. Again and again, I am reminded that the world is full of kindness and compassion if you just take the time to open your eyes and appreciate what is around you!

The Week 30 Kindness Challenge is to go to a playground {or any place where children congregate} and scatter a handful of “lucky pennies” around for happy kids to find.

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn <AT> gmail <DOT> com.

Have a wonderful week!
Dallas

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year of kindness archives:
– week 1 challenge: donate items to those in need
– week 2 challenge: leave quarters & note at laundry machine
– week 3 challenge: write & send a kind handwritten note
– week 4 challenge: give hot chocolate to someone outside in the cold
– week 5 challenge: do something kind for a neighbor
– week 6 challenge: deliver valentines to a nursing home
– week 7 challenge: donate to a food pantry
– week 8 challenge: donate toiletries to a shelter
– week 9 challenge: post a kind note in a public place
– week 10 challenge: do something kind for a child
– week 11 challenge: thank someone in a genuine & meaningful way
– week 12 challenge: deliver baked goods to a fire station
– week 13 challenge: give someone flowers
– week 14 challenge: donate books
– week 15 challenge: reach out and spend time with people
– week 16 challenge: smile at everyone you meet
– week 17 challenge: pick up litter/trash
– week 18 challenge: write a kind note to a mom figure in your life
– week 19 challenge: leave an extra-generous tip
– week 20 challenge: donate blood/join bone marrow registry
– week 21 challenge: visit a cemetery and pay respect
– week 22 challenge: practice a little patience
– week 23 challenge: call 3 loved ones on the phone
– week 24 challenge: do something kind for a senior citizen
– week 25 challenge: pay for someone’s public transportation
– week 26 challenge: volunteer at a food pantry or soup kitchen
– week 27 challenge: send a care package to someone in the military
– week 28 challenge: give at least one compliment every day
– week 29 challenge: do a favor for someone else

guest post: banana monkey bread muffins

Posted on July 2, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

Today I’m excited to share a guest post from my foodie pen-pal Becca, blogger at BeeSweetSurrender. She always features amazingly delicious recipes, and I asked her if she would mind sharing a guest post recipe with us. Here is her drool-worthy recipe for banana monkey bread muffins! {You can see the original post on her blog here.}

banana monkey bread muffins

for the dough:
– 3 cups flour
– 3 tbsp sugar
– 1 tsp salt
– 1 package Red Star Active Dry Yeast
– 1/2 cup water
– 1/4 cup whole milk
– 2 and 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
– 1 large egg
– 2 ripe bananas

cinnamon-sugar topping:
– 1/2 cup butter, melted
– 1 cup sugar
– 1 1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon (you can also use less if you aren’t that big on cinnamon)

vanilla glaze:
– 1 cup powdered sugar
– 2 tbsp milk
– 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl place 2 and 1/2 cups of flour, sugar, salt and yeast and mix together.

2. In the microwave melt together the water, milk and butter until the butter is melted and it is too hot to touch. Add this to the flour mixture and stir together. Add the egg and mix well. Lastly add the bananas– it will create a very wet dough. This is when you’ll need to add more flour, I needed the full 1/2 cup of flour. Your dough will be ready when it springs back from your touch and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. It will be slightly wet which is ok, but you don’t want it to be too sticky!

3. Flour a clean surface and turn out the dough, kneading well for a few minutes. Add flour by tablespoons if it is still too sticky. Lightly butter (or use a non-stick spray) a bowl and place the dough in, let rest for 10-20 minutes. Place cupcake liners into your cupcake tin.

4. In a medium sized bowl mix together the sugar and cinnamon. In another bowl melt the butter completely. Taking the dough, roll it into small balls, about 1/2- 1 inch in diameter. Dip the ball into your bowl of butter and then transfer it to the bowl with cinnamon sugar, and roll it around (we all like sugar right?!) so it’s well coated. Place 3-5 in each liner until the dough is all used up. I purposefully made only 12 but depending on how large you would like your muffins you could make 12-18. Set aside for 30-45 minutes to let the dough rise a bit more.

5. Preheat the oven while the muffins are rising to 400. Bake for 20-23 minutes and let cool. While they are cooling make the icing. Remove the muffins from the tins and pour the icing generously on each and… Enjoy!

Thanks so much for sharing this recipe with us, Becca!

Check out Becca’s blog at http://beesweetsurrender.wordpress.com/

This post is also linked up to Menu-Plan Monday!

happy mother’s day!

Posted on May 12, 2013 by dallaswoodburn

I feel so blessed that I am able to celebrate my sweet, kind, beautiful, brilliant mama today!

We went for a morning walk at the beach, and now are relaxing on the couch. Later I’m making chili & corn muffins for dinner and pb cup brownies for dessert. Oh, and I whipped up some apple-cinnamon-oatmeal muffins for breakfast this week. YUM!

I hope it’s a restful, peaceful day for my mom — she deserves it! She works a full-time job managing her department at work, and my whole life she has been a living example that it is possible for women to have fulfilling careers AND be amazing, full-time mothers too! She is not just my mom, she is my best friend. We have shared so many fun memories, from hiking Mt. Whitney together when I was in high school to driving cross-country together when I moved to Indiana for grad school — plus innumerable shopping trips, girl talks, chick flicks, and lunch dates! I know I can call her anytime and she will always be there for me. I love you, Mom!

What are you doing to celebrate the mothers in your life today? Whatever your plans, I hope your day is marvelous!

Day-By-Day Masterpiece

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