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Tag: oats

Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

I know it is not pumpkin season but these healthy muffins are still really, really good- I make them for my daughter for breakfast. They are great to have in the fridge or freezer all the time. I just take them out, cut them in half, and toast them with butter- really delicious and really good for you! A glass of milk and some berries on the side- it is a perfect breakfast!

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup full fat yogurt
  • ½ cup full fat milk
  • ¾ cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup walnuts, chopped
  • ½ cup dark chocolate, chopped

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 15 to 16 standard size muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and sugar. In a glass bowl, melt the coconut oil and add the yogurt, milk, pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk well and add to the dry ingredients. Add the walnuts and chocolate. Mix well and divide batter between the muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or till the toothpick comes out clean.

Healthy Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

My daughter has been eating oatmeal for breakfast for many many years and then all of a sudden she announced, she was done with oatmeal and does not want to eat it again! So, I had to think about breakfast as I feel it is very important to give her a healthy start to the day. She loves anything with pumpkin flavor, especially this time of year- so I looked at a few recipes and came up with the following. These delicious muffins have whole wheat flour, oats, coconut oil, walnuts and dark chocolate. I make a batch that results in approximately 14 muffins and I am set for a while. A muffin, some fruit and a glass of milk and she is all set for the morning!!

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • 2 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ cup full fat yogurt
  • ½ cup full fat milk
  • ¾ cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ½ cup walnuts, chopped
  • ½ cup dark chocolate, chopped

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line 15 to 16 standard size muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and sugar. In a glass bowl, melt the coconut oil and add the yogurt, milk, pumpkin puree, egg and vanilla extract. Whisk well and add to the dry ingredients. Add the walnuts and chocolate. Mix well and divide batter between the muffin cups. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or till the toothpick comes out clean.

Apple Crisp- Easy Fall Dessert

I am in the holiday/fall mood and all I want to do is cook with all the ingredients that remind me of cold weather. Apples is one of those ingredients that makes me think of  cosy evenings in my house with a cup of hot apple cider or eating a delicious hot apple crisp with some ice cream.

I made this last weekend for a dinner at a friend’s house. I used my favorite apples- honey crisp but any kind of apples can be used-whatever you like.

I used a very typical crisp topping including flour- I used my usual white whole wheat flour and oats. I paired it with walnuts and cinnamon- and butter, of course. You can’t really go wrong with any of these ingredients.

The apples are mixed with orange and lemon zests giving the filling a wonderful citrusy, fresh taste. Everyone enjoyed the dessert. I served it with pumpkin gelato- which I made a few days ago. It came out really well- if I do say so myself.

The whole combination was a very successful one. This is another great idea for Thanksgiving. I will post the gelato recipe soon.

  • 2 pounds variety of apples (about 4 – 5 medium), cut into 2 inch pieces
  • Zest and juice of one lemon
  • Zest and juice of one orange
  • 1/3 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves

Mix all the ingredients in a medium sized baking dish. An 8 X 8 square or an oval shaped will be fine.

Topping

  • 1 cup white whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup turbinado sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup toasted oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In the bowl of a mixer, add the flour, sugars, and butter. Using the paddle attachment, incorporate the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks mealy or crumbly. Stir in the oats and nuts.
Distribute the topping over the apples. Bake for an hour, or until the topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling. Cool slightly and serve warm.

Apple Crisp 1

Homemade Chocolate Granola- Perfect Holiday Gift

  • 3 cups old fashioned oats
  • ½ cup flaxseed meal
  • ½ cup wheat germ
  • ½ cup oat bran
  • ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
  • ½ cup sliced raw almonds
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1½ cups mixed dried blueberries, cranberries, cherries, etc
  • 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup extra light olive oil
  • 1 cup honey
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl add the oats, flaxseed meal, wheat germ, oat bran, coconut, almonds, walnuts and the dried fruit.

In a large measuring cup, add the olive oil, honey, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Heat in the microwave for a minute to liquefy the mixture and mix well.
Add the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.

On a large lined cookie sheet or two small cookie sheets, spread the granola mixture, smoothing the surface evenly.
Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and separate with a fork while the mixture is still warm. Once the mixture cools off, add the chocolate chips. If you want the chocolate to melt all into the granola, add the chips while the mixture is still warm.
Eat with milk, coffee or on its own.

Granola1

Mango Raspberry Crumble- A Memorial Day Dessert Recipe

Mango Crumble5 This is a dessert I recently made and think will be perfect for the upcoming long weekend. Next week I will be posting recipes for a burger and some side dishes including a fabulous drink- so stay tuned.

I love to make fruit crumble in the summer with all the gorgeous fruit in season. In this case I had tons of mangoes in my fridge. My daughter loves, loves mangoes and has at least 2 to 3 everyday.

We were going for a barbecue to a friend’s house and I offered to make the dessert. As I mentioned I had lots of mangoes- so that was a natural choice. I also had fresh raspberries and decided to pair them with the mangoes. I added some raspberry liquor which gave the fruit mixture a delicious flavor- yum!

As far as the crumble was concerned, I decided to doctor it up a bit. I had the usual suspects including oats, brown sugar and walnuts- I also added some sweetened, shredded coconut, ground ginger and nutmeg. Since I was using mangoes, I thought of coconut- a tropical theme.

I brought some vanilla ice cream along and the dessert was a big hit. Everyone enjoyed it. I thought the coconut was a great addition and I especially loved the raspberry liquor with the fresh fruit. Overall it was a huge success.

If you are having a big Memorial Day get together- definitely make this dessert- everyone will love it- guaranteed!
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Summer Dessert Recipe: Peach and Blueberry Crumble

Peach and Blueberry Crumble1 This is my first time making a crumble. I have always liked this easy and delicious dessert but somehow I have never made it- don’t know why. I was recently at a friends house helping her make a blueberry crumble. It didn’t take very long and was quite delicious with vanilla ice cream. I was having our usual Friday evening get together and decided to give it a try- but of course I wanted to change it up a bit. I looked through several recipes and fruit combinations and finally came up with my own- fresh peaches and blueberries. I love the blueberry taste but the peaches add another level of sweetness and unique flavor to the dish. After looking at all the recipes, I also came up with the crumble topping. The one I made at my friend’s house had flour and oats mixed with sugar and butter. I also added walnuts to the mix- first of all, walnuts are my favorite nut and second of all, they are the healthiest to eat- a super food. Speaking of super foods, blueberries and cinnamon are in that category as well- I also used white whole wheat flour and turbinado sugar. I love combining all these healthy ingredients that are so good for us in one dish- I don’t feel as guilty eating it then…

The fruit combination was great- I added pinneapple juice and almond extract to the mix- it gave the dish great flavor- something different- plus almonds always come to mind when I see peaches. The topping was yum as well- the flour and oats gave it a very nice texture and the walnuts gave it a great crunch. The powdered cinnamon and ginger played their parts really well also. Overall it was a big success. I am definitely going to make it more often with different combinations- maybe a mango raspberry crumble or a cherry almond one- hmm- I am getting hungry as I write this…I will go help myself to some more right now!

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