Tag Archives: breakfast

saturday upsides & healthy apple oatmeal muffins

Posted on by

7

Hi everyone! Hope you had a wonderful week and are gearing up for a lovely autumn weekend. I am pretty much over my nasty head cold, but am still feeling a little low-energy. As mentioned, I was {un}kind enough to share my cold germs with Mike, who has been battling the bug as well this week. I took him to the doctor yesterday, which was a good thing because he had a build-up of fluid in his ears that easily could have turned into a bad ear infection! He is currently on a regimen of steroids & antibiotics to clear up any infection and woke up this morning feeling much better.  It will be nice for both of us to get some rest this weekend and {fingers crossed} I will be feeling all better and will have an energetic Marvelous Monday post for you in a couple of days!

In the meantime, I was inspired by my blogging friend Bonnie over at Recipes Happen who has created a series called Saturday Upsides in which she posts each Saturday about looking at the bright side of things. {Check out her post today about the upsides of a busy Saturday!}

My Saturday Upsides today are numerous: both Mike and I are feeling on the mend; we get to see his family this weekend; fun pumpkin carving and Halloween activities are planned. And one bright side of struggling through a few miserable days while your body is battling a cold or flu bug is that it makes you more aware of what a blessing it is to normally be feeling healthy!

Before I sign off for the day, I wanted to share this recipe that I made earlier this week for healthy apple oatmeal muffins. I made a big batch of these on Tuesday evening and ate them for breakfast and snacks all week long. They are full of fiber and heart-healthy oats, plus double-apple goodness thanks to the apple pieces and applesauce. A perfect autumn treat! And they are easy to whip up {which was a requirement for me this week! This cold has seriously knocked me flat!}

I adapted this recipe from one I found on Frugal Homemaking for oatmeal chocolate-chip muffins. Hope you enjoy!

healthy apple oatmeal muffins

– 3/4 cup oatmeal
– 1 and 1/3) cups whole-wheat flour
– 1/3 cup brown sugar
– 1 tsp. baking powder
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 2 tsps cinnamon
– 1 egg, beaten
– 3/4 cup milk {I used nonfat}
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
– 1 large apple, peeled and cut into pieces {I used a honeycrisp, my all-time favorite apple, but you could use any kind you want}

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with paper cups.

2. Blend together dry ingredients: oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: egg, milk, applesauce, and vanilla.

4. Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix together.

5. Stir in the apple pieces. Batter will be lumpy and thick.

6. Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way to the top.

7. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

And that’s it! These muffins are like apple-cinnamon oatmeal in baked form. Warm, filling, healthy comfort food.

What are your plans for this weekend? Any autumn-inspired recipes you’re trying out?

Stay happy & healthy,
Dallas

————————-

– Time spent: 40 minutes {including bake time}
– Cost: less than $5.00

marvelous monday & happy october! baked cinnamon-sugar donut holes

Posted on by

0

There has been a briskness in the air lately that feels just. so. autumn! It’s lovely. It makes me want to curl up under a cozy blanket with a cup of tea and a good book. {If you’re looking for a good book, I’ve been devouring Elizabeth Berg’s novels lately … I fell in love with her novels Durable Goods and Joy School back in high school, and she is an author I can always return to and feel like, YES, she gets it — this is why I want to be a writer, this is what I want my books to do for people! I nearly always have at least one good, full-hearted cry while reading her books, and I always feel sad to finish them because I don’t want to leave her characters. I’m reading Open House right now and it is wonderful!}

But, yes, back to autumn … I was thrilled when Maria at Two Peas & Their Pod put together this fantastic list of 50 pumpkin recipes! I found myself checking off every one: yes, I want to make that; ooh, that looks delicious; yes, that one, too! Like a kid in a toy store a week before Christmas: I want them all! 🙂

One of the recipes that immediately caught my attention was baked donut-holes. I’m always looking for a way to health-i-fy things. Hmmm, homemade baked donut holes? Why not give it a whirl?

I am SO glad I did! They are pretty much mini-muffins, but roll them in cinnamon-sugar and they do taste like donut holes. These are pumpkiny, cinnamon-sugary, and perfect for autumn. Make them for breakfast and eat them warm from the oven with a big glass of milk!

baked cinnamon-sugar donut holes

ingredients:

For the Donuts:
1 & 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned plain pumpkin {not pumpkin pie filling}
1/2 cup skim milk

For the Coating:
4 tsp unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with baking spray and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. In a separate, large bowl whisk together oil, brown sugar, egg, vanilla, pumpkin and milk until smooth. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

3. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5. While the muffins bake, melt butter in one bowl and combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in another bowl.

6. Remove muffins from oven and cool for 2 minutes. Dip each muffin in melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar to coat. Serve muffins warm or at room temperature.

{This recipe is adapted from The Craving Chronicles.}

YUM. And easy! And {for a donut} relatively healthy, too! Hard to beat that. 🙂

Happy autumn!
-Dallas

—————————

Time spent: about 30 minutes
Cost: about $5

peach streusel muffins

Posted on by

1

Happy weekend everyone! Hope you are out doing something relaxing, lovely and joyful. It is a gorgeous sunny crisp fall day here in West Lafayette, and I am soaking it in! My plans for the day include lunch at Panera, doing some work there, and then going for a nice walk down by the river. I’m making orange chicken with veggies in the crock-pot for dinner tonight … I’ll let you know how it turns out!

You may remember a few weeks ago I found a recipe on the blog Stacey Snacks for peach streusel muffins … at the time I didn’t have any peaches so I adapted it to make blueberry streusel muffins. They turned out great! However, I was eager to try it with peaches as the original recipe called for, and I finally did.

The results were incredible! These just might be my favorite muffins ever. Stacey was right about the combination of the peaches and the streusel topping … heavenly!

I was a little intimidated first by the streusel topping, but believe me it is super easy to make. These muffins are also a healthy breakfast or snack {or even tasty enough for a healthy dessert!} because they are packed with peaches and use applesauce and protein-packed Greek yogurt in place of oil.

peach streusel muffins

for the topping:
– 1/3 cup uncooked oatmeal
– 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
– 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
– 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

for the muffin batter:
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1/2 cup sugar {or 1/4 cup stevia/truvia}
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 2 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 3 eggs
– 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
– 1 cup Greek yogurt
– 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
– 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
– 2 ripe peaches, cut into chunks {I like mine with the skin on for extra nutrients, but you could certainly peel them if you prefer}

1. For the topping: In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the butter, and mix until well blended. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, from flour to salt, and set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, butter, yogurt and vanilla.

5. Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture. Stir until just moist and blended, being careful not to overmix.

6. Fold in the peaches.

7. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan until the batter comes to the top of the paper liner or pan. Sprinkle with the brown sugar streusel topping, and lightly press the topping into the muffin batter.

8. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until tops are golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Have a scrumptious weekend!

❤ Dallas

—————————-

-Time spent: about 1 hour {including bake time}
-Cost: less than $5

You might also enjoy these previous posts:
–blueberry/blackberry/raspberry muffins
–good morning sunshine muffins
–coconut zucchini muffins

coconut zucchini muffins

Posted on by

4

Happy Friday, everyone!

Now that I’m settling fully into my school routine, I’ve found myself baking muffins even more frequently than usual. When I can make healthy, fruit-or-veggie-filled versions at home, they’re the perfect thing to grab for breakfast on my way out the door or bring as a snack to eat between classes.

Since I love coconut, I was really excited to see this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs Two Peas & Their Pod for coconut zucchini bread. One look at the delectable photos was all it took to convince me I needed to try it out myself! I tweaked it to make coconut zucchini muffins. Here’s my take:

coconut zucchini muffins

– 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1 teaspoon cinnamon
– 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
– 1 & 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (squeezed and drained in a paper towel)
– 1/2 cup brown sugar
– 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
– 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt at room temperature
– 1 large egg, at room temperature
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a muffin tin with papers and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3. In a separate large bowl, combine shredded zucchini, sugar, applesauce, yogurt, egg, and vanilla extract.

4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until moistened. Stir in the shredded coconut.

5. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I also sprinkled some extra cinnamon on top of each muffin about 10 minutes into the baking time.

These turned out great! Delicious and healthy, a perfect breakfast or snack or even dessert.

Have a wonderful day! Happy baking!
-Dallas

——————————-

-Time spent: about 1 hour, including bake time
-Cost: less than $5.00

If you liked this recipe, you might also enjoy this recipe for chocolate spice zucchini muffins!

blueberry streusel muffins

Posted on by

1

I spent a rainy afternoon last weekend at Starbucks writing, reading and grading. Sometimes it’s nice to just get out of the apartment — if I stay inside all day without getting out at all, I start to feel a little claustrophobic. I call it the “closed-in feeling” and when it hits, the only solution is to grab my bag and books and keys and head out! Even just heading down the street to Starbucks is enough to clear my head and get me into productive mode.

I ordered my usual Zen green tea and since I was a little hungry I also tried a blueberry muffin. I really loved the crumb topping and as soon as I got home, I thought: I want to make my own version!

So this morning that’s what I did.

I found this recipe on the blog Stacey Snacks for peach streusel muffins … I didn’t have any peaches so I adapted it to make blueberry muffins. I’m looking forward to trying the recipe with peaches sometime soon though! The photos on Stacey’s blog look amazingly scrumptious.

Here’s how my blueberry streusel muffins turned out:

blueberry streusel muffins

for the topping:
– 1/3 cup uncooked oatmeal
– 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
– 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
– 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

for the muffin batter:
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1/2 cup sugar {or 1/4 cup stevia/truvia}
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 2 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 3 eggs
– 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
– 1 cup Greek yogurt
– 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
– 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
– 1 & 1/2 cups blueberries

1. For the topping: In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir in the butter, and mix until well blended. Set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin cups with paper liners or spray with nonstick spray.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, from flour to salt, and set aside.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, butter, yogurt and vanilla.

5. Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture. Stir until just moist and blended, being careful not to overmix.

6. Fold in the blueberries.

7. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan until the batter comes to the top of the paper liner or pan. Sprinkle with the brown sugar streusel topping, and lightly press the topping into the muffin batter.

8. Bake for 22-25 minutes, until tops are golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Update: These were delicious right out of the oven, and still moist and fresh-tasting a couple days later when I finished the last of the batch. They’re a great way to use up the last of your summer blueberries! I especially loved the streusel topping!

YUM!

Have a delightful day, everyone!

Always,
Dallas

—————————-

-Time spent: about 1 hour {including bake time}
-Cost: less than $5

You might also enjoy these previous posts:
–blueberry/blackberry/raspberry muffins
–good morning sunshine muffins

marvelous monday: strawberry chocolate-chip pancakes

Posted on by

1

Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? Marvelous, I hope!

I had a fun, relaxing and productive weekend. It was a great balance of work and play! I did some grading and lesson-planning, worked some on the novel I’m writing for my thesis, and did some baking! {Delish new muffin recipe coming later this week, hooray!} The highlight of the weekend was definitely Saturday night, when I drove an hour to Indianapolis to see Bob Dylan in concert!!

It was a beautiful summer evening and the concert was held in an outdoor venue, so we got to enjoy the sunset just as Bob Dylan was beginning to play. I loved the casual, picnic atmosphere. There were no assigned seats {at least not in the back section where we were sitting!} Instead, people sat in blankets or lawn chairs in the grass. It was lovely.

And Bob, of course, was rockin’! It was so neat to hear him play so many of his classic songs live. For an encore he played “Blowin’ in the Wind” which might be my favorite of his songs. You can just barely make him out in this photo I snapped — in the middle of the stage in the black jacket, playing the piano. Can you spot him?

What a fun time! I had a blast. What are some of your favorite concerts you’ve ever been to?

I wanted to start the week off on a luxurious note, so for breakfast I made strawberry chocolate-chip pancakes. How can this not be a fantastic week with these babies kicking it off?

I love this recipe for homemade from-scratch buttermilk pancakes I found on the terrific blog Newfashioned Mom, but you could also substitute your favorite boxed pancake mix.

strawberry chocolate-chip pancakes

– 1 cup unbleached flour
– 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 tablespoon sugar
– 5 tablespoons powdered buttermilk (or 1 1/4 c. fresh buttermilk, skip the water)
– 1 egg
– 1 cup water
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 cup chopped strawberries
– 1/2 cup chocolate chips
– butter for greasing pan

1. Heat pan or griddle on medium-low.

2. To make pancake batter: sift together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine buttermilk, egg, water, and vanilla extract. Add egg mixture to dry mixture and stir together until big lumps disappear. {Batter should still be slightly lumpy.}

3. Grease pan with butter and pour in your pancake batter. I use a 1/4 cup scoop.

4. If desired, drop in the chocolate chips and strawberries. I prefer to cook chocolate-chip pancakes and add the strawberries on top after.

Option 1 on the left, Option 2 on the right.

5. When batter begins to bubble in the middle, use a spatula to flip the pancakes over. Cook until golden-brown on both sides.

6. Serve immediately with warm syrup. YUM!

Whenever I make pancakes, my first batch is nearly always a hot mess. Still tastes good, but not as pretty as the others. At least this one kinda looks like a heart! ❤

Hope you have a wonderful week filled with strawberries & sunshine!

-Dallas

———————

-Time spent: 20 mins
-Cost: less than $5

chocolate spice zucchini muffins

Posted on by

4

As you have probably figured out by now, I love baking. I haven’t met many baked goods that I don’t like! {I have an especially hard time staying away from the bakery items at Starbucks … I always go in planning to just get a healthy green tea, but the pumpkin bread and/or maple scones love to call my name!}

That said, I do love baking things myself because I love taking a delicious recipe and tweaking it to make it healthier, while hopefully still retaining the deliciousness level.

Which is why when I came across this recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins, I was super excited to try it out. Anytime you can figure out a way to sneak some veggies into a chocolate fix seems like a win to me!

These turned out chocolatey, moist and I liked the hints of cinnamon and spice. They’re pretty healthy as far as muffins go. You could probably add some frosting to these too if you wanted to make some uber-healthy cupcakes!

chocolate spice zucchini muffins

– 3 egg whites
– 1/2 cup sugar {I used 1/4 cup white sugar & 1/4 cup brown sugar}
– 1/2 cup no sugar added applesauce
– 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
– 1 cup grated zucchini
– 1 & 1/2 cups flour
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
– 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
– optional: mini-chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or line a muffin tin with paper liners.

2. In a large bowl beat the egg whites. Beat in the sugar and applesauce. Add the cocoa, vanilla, zucchini and stir well.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

4. Pour the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture and stir until just moist.

5. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins, filling them about 3/4 of the way full.

6. Optional: For a topping use any, all or a combination of the following: brown sugar, chopped nuts and mini chocolate chips. Sprinkle tops of muffins just prior to baking.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Store loosely covered.

-Time: 40-45 minutes {including bake time}
-Cost: about $3

marvelous monday: chocolate strawberry coconut cookies

Posted on by

6

Happy Monday, everyone!

I’ve been on a bit of a breakfast kick lately as a way to get my week started off right. As soon as I saw this recipe for “Dark Chocolate Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies” on Reini Days {one of my favorite blogs — you should check it out!} I knew I had to try it out myself.

I mean, chocolate? For breakfast? How can you go wrong??

These were the perfect way to use up some leftover strawberries I had in the fridge. They smelled absolutely heavenly while baking! Another thing I love about these cookies is that they are healthy enough to justify eating for breakfast, yet also delicious enough to serve for dessert. I modified the recipe a little. Here’s my take on it!

chocolate strawberry coconut cookies

Ingredients:
– 1 cup uncooked oatmeal
– 1 cup flour
– 2 T ground flax
– 1/4 tsp salt
– 1/2 cup shredded coconut
– 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
– 2 egg whites
– 2 T honey
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 tsp coconut flavoring {if desired}
– 1/4 cup chocolate chunks or chips {could be dark, milk, or white chocolate, or a mix!}
– 1 cup strawberries, diced

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, flour, flax, and salt.

3. In another bowl, combine the applesauce, egg whites, honey, vanilla extract, and coconut flavoring.

4. Pour applesauce mixture over oat mixture and mix well, until all is combined. Stir in chocolate. Then gently fold in the strawberries.

5. Using a tablespoon, place dough on the lined baking sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned and firm to the touch.

These are especially delicious still warm and melty from the oven. Enjoy!

xoxo,
Dallas

———————–

Time: 30 minutes {including bake time}
Cost: $5.00

marvelous monday guest post: energy-packed peanut-butter breakfast cookies

Posted on by

7

Just like a calm, organized and productive morning can set a great tone for the rest of your day, a marvelous Monday helps set the tone for a marvelous week! Personally, the more “together” I feel on Monday, the more prepared I feel to tackle all the projects I want to get done over the week. And what better way to start your Monday off on a marvelous note than with a yummy, healthy and energizing breakfast? I’ve got a recipe for you today that I promise will do just that!

I am so excited to share a guest post with you today: a recipe from my wonderful cousin Julie! I tried making these over the weekend and I’m looking forward to eating them for breakfast all week. YUM! ❤

Here’s what Julie has to say about this delicious and healthy recipe:

“I’ve tried many variations on these cookies — by substituting different nuts and dried fruits, adding some shredded coconut, swapping a teaspoon of honey for some of the sugar, etc. — and they always come out delicious! These make a good hearty breakfast, but if you don’t like too much sweetness early in the morning, they are also great as an afternoon snack or a healthy dessert.”

peanut-butter breakfast cookies

{makes one dozen cookies}
– 1 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 egg
-1/4 cup nonfat powdered milk
-1/2 cup raisins or other dried fruit
-chocolate chips, chopped nuts, and oatmeal to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat egg into sugar. Add peanut butter, powdered milk, raisins, and chocolate chips/nuts/oatmeal.

3. Spoon onto greased cookie sheets and bake for about 10 minutes.

You can make the dough ahead of time, keep it refrigerated, and make up as many or as few as you want at one time. {Making the dough the night before and popping a few in the toaster oven in the morning makes for a quick and tasty breakfast!}

Hope you enjoy! And thanks again Julie for sharing this recipe with us today!

————
Time: 20 minutes {including bake time}

Cost: less than $5.00