Monday, March 9, 2009

Makin' Muffins with My Sidekick Chef






I was hoping to get to bed earlier tonight, but here I am at 11 pm just posting. Time flies when it's your "free" evening time, eh? Anyway, thought I'd share some pics of a new muffin recipe that we tried tonight. These Pumpkin Pie Muffins are from EatSmart from the publishers of fine Cooking. I came across it at Costco and thought it looked good. It's actually like buying a recipe book- almost- in price: it retails at $11. Isn't that more book than magazine? I guess not nowadays. (ok, now I sound like an old timer. LOL) Anyway, it was a bit cheaper at Costco than retail at least.

The recipes in it are the creation of Ellie Krieger (not sure if she did all of them) who writes, "I believe that luscious and healthy can be used in the same sentence." I like that! I'm trying to live more fully with healthy, but interesting foods. That's my goal anyway.

Anyway, the muffins are really good. Very dark and moist- like gingerbread almost? or, I guess, Pumpkin Pie. We made them kind of late- by the time we were done, so dd and I just split one, since it was actually after her bedtime. (I need to get her her own apron. She used to have one, but she out grew it. I took a pic cause her floured shirt looked cute to me.)

Anyway, my assistant chef picked off the pumpkin seeds, but gave them a big thumbs up (and wants them in her lunch bag tomorrow.) They will cost you 4 points a piece if you are a ww girl. Not too bad for a big, luscious (and yet healthy!) muffin.

In early (for me) HYC check in news, I was actually down a couple of pounds (unofficially) this morning. I had a pretty good week: same old story: need to exercise more consistently and need to drink more water. Also, need to get to bed earlier! like now! Hope you all had a good week! :)

Here's the nuts and bolts of the recipe in brief as I couldn't find it online. lmk if you have any questions. I left out extra description, as usual.

Pumpkin Pie Muffins
1 c flour
1 c whole wheat flour (or whole-grain pastry) I used a combo flour mixture
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
3/4 c packed dark brown sugar I only had light for 1/2 c and then a brown Splenda mix
3 tbsp unsulfured molasses
1/4 c canola oil I used vegetable oil since we were out
2 eggs
1 c pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c buttermilk
1/4 c unsalted raw pumpkin seeds
Preheat oven 400 F. Coat muffin pan with cooking spray.
In med bowl, whisk flours, baking soda, salt and spices. In large bowl, whisk sugar, molasses, oil and eggs- adding one at a time. Whisk in pumpkin and vanilla.
Alternate adding flour mix and buttermilk. Whisking. Does all this whisking earn APs?
Bake for 20 mins until toothpick comes out clean. :)
Makes 12 muffins 205 cals, 7 g fat- 1 sat, 2 g fiber


5 comments:

carla said...

HOW CUTE IS THE SIDEKICK CHEF!?
how old is she? kindergarten?

(I know, not the point of your post but now Im curious about the mama behind the blog)

Journo June aka MamaBear said...

The muffins sound really yummy! And your assistant is quite the cutie.

Congrats on your loss! Keep making healthy choices! Want a yummy water recipe? It's called Sassy Water from the Flat Belly Diet. 2 liters water, 1 peeled cucumber sliced thinly, 1 lemon sliced thinly, 12 leaves fresh mint, 1t grated fresh ginger root. Let everything sit in a pitcher in the fridge overnight. It's yummy and very refreshing! Makes drinking water even easier.
Path to Health

new*me said...

Your side kick is one cute lil' helper. I'll be your sidekick........... ;)

JanetM97 said...

Thanks ladies! :)

Thanks for the recipe, Mama Bear! that sounds like fancy spa water! I like it! :)

Carla, I won't tell her you thought that. lol. ;) She's 8 and in gr. 3. She's actually pretty tall for her age- like a year ahead of my 11 yr old. She has the baby cheeks still though.

and Annette, you can be my sidekick anytime!

Cammy@TippyToeDiet said...

It still boggles my mind that you actually have all of these ingredients on hand. I have the salt, the pumpkin, the cinnamon, and the vanilla. Oh, and I have some baking soda, but it's in with the cleaning supplies. :)

These look delish, and that picture of your helper is too cute for words!