Maple Yogurt Banana Muffins

It has been too long since I posted a recipe!   We had a huge change in routine ever since we started karate and violin lessons for all 3 children and mommy!  On top of that, I have been getting my flower beds and veggie patches ready for our short and late growing season.  No wonder I'm tired these days...  

Whew!   

I had a craving to make banana muffins.  Is that an odd notion? Even with my sudden food allergies, I still like to bake things I cannot eat.  It's the act of baking that makes me happy.  I pray that one day, my body will heal itself and I can enjoy the same foods as my family.  In the meantime, it hasn't stopped me from making their favourite classics, like banana muffins. 

I used my Honey Whole Wheat Banana Muffins recipe and used maple syrup and plain yogurt instead of honey and buttermilk.  Hubby had the difficult task of tasting these muffins and he declared them "good".  The children enjoyed them too with a glass of milk after school snack.  They were also convenient for a quick and easy breakfast.   

Maple Yogurt Banana Muffins

makes 12 regular sized muffins 

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

½ cup wheat germ

2 Tbsp ground flax seed

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 large egg

1/3 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup canola oil, melted butter or coconut oil, melted (I used melted butter)

4 bananas, mashed (between 1-2 cups, it's a flexible recipe!)

Preheat oven to 400F

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Add egg, maple syrup, yogurt and vanilla to the dry ingredients.   Add bananas and melted butter.  Mix until the ingredients are well blended together. 

  

Scoop batter in 12 greased or lined muffin tins, each about ¾ full. 

Bake about 15 min or until until done. Check the muffins around 10-12 minutes.  Mini-muffins were done around 10-12 minutes, so check accordingly.

 - Adapted from 100 Days of Real Food:  Whole Wheat Banana Bread

My kiddies prefer the "mini" muffin size for their little hands.  I filled each greased mini muffin cavity up to the top.  I was able to make 24 mini muffins and 2 regular sized muffins in paper lined ramekins.  The mini-muffins were done baking around 10-12 minutes.  

Enjoy!

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Italian Style Turkey Meatballs with Flaxseed - Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free

I am very happy with how my Italian style turkey meatballs turned out.  Hubby loved them so much, I made these two nights in a row!  Ground lean turkey meat is normally very dry, due to its low fat content.  Unlike conventional meatball recipes, I used a magic combination of ground flaxseed and water instead of breadcrumbs and egg to bind the meat together for a moist, soft meatball.  I also add ground flaxseed to my hamburger patties too. 

I quickly pan-fried the meatballs for 2-3 minutes on each side until browned and cooked.  I used a 1" ice cream/cookie dough scooper and dropped each meatball onto the hot frying pan without getting my hands dirty.  Note:  the uncooked turkey mixture is very soft but cooks up beautifully.      

I topped them with a tomato spinach sauce with coconut milk.  Hubby LOVED these and he normally prefers the classic all-beef Italian style meatball.  

Italian Style Turkey Meatballs with Flaxseed - Gluten-free, Dairy-free and Egg-free

1lb lean ground turkey

3 Tbsp ground flaxseed

3 Tbsp water

1 clove garlic, grated or chopped finely

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp dried parsley

1 Tbsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp dried basil or 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1/2 tsp salt or no-salt seasoning

1/4 tsp pepper

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and combine with your hand or mixer. (I used my KitchenAid mixer.)   Form into desired sized meatballs.  Turkey mixture is very soft.  

Preheat pan on medium-high heat with about 2-3 tsp extra virgin olive oil.  Pan-fry each side for 2-3 minutes until browned and cooked.  Serve with your favourite sauce.  

- Adapted from Hamburger Patties with Flaxseed

Dinner tonight:  Italian style turkey meatballs and spaghetti squash smothered in a hearty tomato-spinach-coconut milk sauce.  Served with a huge green salad and sauteed kale with garlic and ginger.  The kiddies enjoyed their turkey meatballs with cheese tortellini and sauteed kale.  

Enjoy!

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Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties with Flaxseed - Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free

I like to simplify breakfast as much as possible.  When I wake up, it's a mad dash to get all three kiddies dressed, fed and off to school. Then is it my turn for breakfast!  Now that I am not eating eggs, I sometimes have lean turkey breakfast sausage patties to help start my day.  I make a batch and reheat them the next few days.   
  

At first, I tried Gracious Pantry's Clean Eating Turkey Breakfast Sausage.  It was a very easy recipe to whip together.  However, the ground turkey's flavour was a little too strong/gamey for me and needed a few more herbs and spices to counter this.  Then I found Food.com's Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties recipe that used more herbs and spices.  It was fun to use a wide range of herbs and spices from my inventory. 

We don't eat spicy food, so I toned down the heat considerably.  I didn't expect the children to eat these turkey patties but they enjoyed them as well!  It is a very forgiving and flexible recipe.  If you choose to make them spicier or more bland, adjust the seasonings as desired.  I played around with this recipe several times and I'm happy with the amounts of these herbs and spices.  I don't use salt, so adjust to taste.  

The addition of ground flaxseed and water helped improve the lean and dry texture of the ground turkey.  It helped bind the meat together (like an egg) and also provided extra fibre and healthy fat.   

I mixed all the ingrediets into my KitchenAid stand mixer and for a minute or until well blended.  Then I used an ice cream/cookie scoop to make large meatballs and patted them out to make 2-inch sized patties. With a digital scale, my ice cream scoop of meat weighed almost 1 1/4 oz.  When cooked, they turned out to be roughly 1 oz each.  Perfect portion control! 

I panfried them with some olive oil.  They cook up really fast!  

Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties with Flaxseed

1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey

1 1/2 tsp ground sage

3/4 tsp thyme

3/4 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/8 tsp chili flakes

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cloves

1/4 cup water

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

Combine all ingredients and blend well.  Refrigerate meat mixture overnight (optional).  Form into patties and cook as needed, freezing leftovers.  Don't overcook or they will dry out--remove from the heat as soon as they're no longer pink inside, but still juicy.  (If you prefer a moister texture, you add a splash of olive oil or an egg to the mixture just prior to cooking)

- Adapted from Food.com's Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties

My lunch today!  Turkey sausage patties served with a fresh mixed green salad, some fruit and a side of brown rice pasta topped with melted vegan cheese.  It was delicious!

Enjoy!

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Overnight Steel Cut Oats and My Favourite Healthy Breakfast

In the New Year, I thought it would be nice to make a better effort to eat less sugar and processed food.  I wanted to try make steel cut oats a part of my breakfast since oatmeal has so many health benefits.  

Steel cut oats are not rolled and they look like broken up bits of brown rice. They take much longer to cook than old-fashioned rolled oats but that is part of its beauty.  Since they are less processed, they take longer to digest and keep our blood sugar even.

According to the package, it takes about 10-20 minutes to cook.  Our busy mornings do not afford this time, so I make a few days worth the night before using an easier method. Whenever I have time (in the afternoons or right before bed), I take 1 cup steel cup oats and 2.5 cups of water.  I like the 1:2.5 ratio.  I like my oatmeal with a little bit of a chew.  

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on LOW for only 5 minutes. 

Oops!  I didn't turn down the heat low enough and it boiled over.  

Just a peek at the oats after simmering for a few minutes. 

Turn off the heat and let it sit on the warm burner overnight or for several hours until cool enough to put in the fridge.  That's it!  I don't have time to wait for 10-20 minutes for breakfast in the mornings.  Reheat oatmeal in the microwave and eat it the same manner as regular oatmeal.  One serving is 1/2 cup cooked steel cut oatmeal.    

Note:  If you like the texture of your steel cut oatmeal to be a harder/chewier or softer/mushier, adjust the cook time and the amount of water to your preference.   

Steel cut oats have become my favourite healthy breakfast in the new year.  This is what I normally do:  I warm up some oatmeal with brown rice protein powder and nondairy milk in the microwave.  Then top with fresh or thawed frozen blueberries, a tablespoon of ground flaxseed, and sweetened with a teaspoon of raisins and a dash of cinnamon.  

I was able to find unsweetened brown rice protein powder as an alternative because I have an egg and dairy intolerance.  I am hoping this food intolerance is just temporary!  

Everything in my "breakfast bowl" can be swapped for different toppings and ingredients as desired.  This oatmeal provide a nice base for a healthy, sugar-free breakfast.  

The combination of protein powder and oats gives me the energy needed to get the kids out the door and my day started.  I found that just 1/2 serving of protein powder (half the amount to make 1 protein shake) was enough to give the oatmeal the last power til lunch. Without protein or some sort, I was ravenous within 2 hours.  

Overnight Steel Cut Oats

1 cup (8 oz) uncooked steel cut oats
2.5 cups (20 fl oz) water

Bring water and steel cut oats to a rolling boil.  Simmer on LOW for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and leave on warm burner overnight or for a few hours until cooled.  Refrigerate.  Makes at least 3 cups of cooked oatmeal.  Reheat and serve like regular oatmeal.  

High Protein Berry Steel Cut Oatmeal

1/2 cup (4 oz) cooked steel cut oats

1/2 serving (15g)  protein powder (I use brown rice protein powder)

2-3 Tbsp milk as needed (I use rice or almond milk) 

1/2 cup (4 oz) berries (fresh or frozen and thawed)

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

1 tsp dried fruit bits (cut dates, prunes, raisins, etc for added sweetness)

optional:  drizzle of maple syrup if not sweet enough

Mix 1/2 cup steel cut oatmeal with 1/2 serving protein powder and 2-3Tbsp milk, as needed to dissolve the protein powder.  Cover and reheat in microwave for 30 seconds or until warm.  Top with 1/2 cup fresh or thawed frozen blueberries, ground flaxseed, dried fruit and a dash of cinnamon.  

I know this is not the prettiest bowl of oatmeal, but it is so hearty and fills this busy mommy's tummy for the crazy day ahead!  

Enjoy!

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