I've been a busy bee in the kitchen today! Baking really can be addictive, but the outcome is so worth it :-). The theme of today's baked goods was "bite-sized." Portion control is key, and I find when I make a pan of brownies or bake banana/pumpkin/cinnamon bread I don't always observe an (ahem) normal serving size. So here are some treats I made today to keep the cals under control.
1. Pumpkin Cornbread Millet Mini Muffins (recipe modified from Whole Foods Pumpkin Cornmeal Muffins)
Ingredients:
Wet:
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/8 cup plain greek yogurt
1/8 cup kefir (if you don't have this, just use 1/4 cup plain yogurt)
6 TBSP TJ's Egg Whites (or 2 eggs, or 2 flax eggs)
1/4 cup canola oil 2 TBSP unsweetened applesauce
Dry:
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup millet (optional- if you omit use 1 1/4 cups cornmeal)
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup granulated splenda (Or stevia, or baking splenda)
1/8 cup splenda brown sugar (or sucanat, or brown sugar)- optional
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Spray muffin tins- I used a 24 ct mini muffin tin. You can also use a standard 12 tin- just cook for ~7-8 minutes more.
3. Combine wet ingredients in one bowl, and dry in another. Pour wet into dry and stir until combined.
4. Spoon into muffin tins and bake for ~17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes clean. (For larger muffins, bake 20-25 mins).
See- bite sized! Spread them with your favorite buttery spread, pumpkin or apple butter, jam, peanut butter, etc.
2. Cute Fruit Bites (adapted from OSG Pumpkin Glo Bites)
Ingredients:
Crust
- 1/4 cup Smart Balance spread (or butter, warmed)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup spelt flour (might work with whole wheat flour as well)
- 1/4 c ground flaxseed
- 1 t cinnamon
- 3 TBSP unsweetened vanilla soy milk (or plain)
Toppings: Assorted jams, butters, etc. Feel free to use whatever you like. These are so versatile!
~2 TBSP each of pumpkin butter, huckleberry preserves, Crofter's 4 Fruit Jam, Fig Preserves
~ 1 TBSP pecans
~1 TBSP dark chocolate chips
~1 TBSP peanut butter chips
Sprinkle of unsweetened coconut1. Mix together spelt flour, flax, butter, cinnamon, and soy milk in a bowl.
2. Spoon ~ 1 TBSP dough into greased muffin tins (I used normal size). The crust should only be about 1/2 inch high- thus the "bite" size.
3. Top with jam/preserve/fruit butter of choice and nuts/seeds/coconut/chocolate chips/peanut butter chips. My 4 types included:
1. "Pumpkin Pecan Pie"- spoonful of pumpkin butter and sprinkle of chopped pecans
2. "Peanut Butter and Jelly" spoonful of huckleberry preserves topped with peanut butter chips. Also made this with 4 Fruit Preserves
3. "Chocolate Berry" spoonful of huckleberry preserves and dark chocolate chips, also made another w/ 4 Fruit Preserves
4. "Maple Apricot Fig Delight" Spoonful of fig preserves, spritzed with maple syrup. Topped with a dried apricot and coconut flakes.Maple Apricot Fig Mini
Bake at 350 for 15-20 mins. Enjoy!After the baking fun I went for a run (~6 miles) and set to work on dinner. I made a carrot butternut squash stew and tempeh stir fry. It was delicious but got a little complicated, check back for the recipes later!
NOTE: this is a slow month for me clerkship-wise. I usually don't have this much time to cook but I take advantage of it whenever I get it!
Hope you had a fabulous (and healthy) day!
Allie
