Posts tagged under Muffins. Show all posts.
Hi. My name is Denise and I am a carb-oholic. My addiction begins at breads and includes bagels, toast, English muffins, breakfast pita, and my strongest vice, muffins. I love muffins! My biggest challenge with this vice is avoiding temptation. Each morning on the way to work I walk by four bakeries and three coffee shops, all of which sell muffins. The muffins look delicious from the outside, but if you take a look at what’s on the inside, you will discover that most are made with white flour, void of whole grains, loaded with sugar, and very high in fat. Is it is a muffin or a cake?
In my previous life, I would have picked up a coffee and a muffin from my local coffee shop every day of the week, without considering the nutritional (or lack of) value. Today, I am more health conscious and therefore more selective when it comes to the muffins I eat. The most effective way to manage this is to make my own muffins.
I love to bake, and over the years I have compiled a collection of ‘family-favourite’ muffin recipes. Unfortunately, by the time the homework is completed, the bedtime routine is finished, and the dishes are done, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to make muffins from scratch. This is where Grainstorm baking mixes come in. SavvyMom was first introduced to Grainstorm products a couple of years ago and we loved them. Recently, they reconnected with us to let us know about some improvements they had made to their production facility, website and product line. We thought we should ask for some samples. I, of course, chose to try the muffin mix. Grainstorm muffin mixes come in two blends—Ancient Grain Muffin Base and Kamut Muffin Base. These freshly-ground, organic grain muffins are quick and simple to make, rich in wholesome ingredients, lower in sugar than other muffin mixes, and best of all—delicious.
My sons love them just as much as I do, and because they are nut and peanut-free, I can send them to school. I fill a combination of mini and regular-sized muffin tins—perfect wholesome snacks for recess and mid-morning coffee breaks. I am no longer tempted by the ones in the coffee shops. You can either make the muffins from the instructions on the packaging or create your own variation by adding dried fruit, chocolate chips, or ripe banana. These mixes are great to have on-hand in your pantry, too. Available at www.grainstorm.ca.
What is your favourite packaged mix?
Now that the second week of school is officially underway and everyone is getting settled, I’m taking some time to stock my pantry for the busy weeks and months to come.
The freezer is filled with frozen cookie dough balls and tomato sauce, and my cupboards are home to an assortment of homemade muffin mixes: dry ingredients packed together and ready to be turned into baked goods as soon as the need arises.
I like to make muffin mixes for two simple reasons: they are more economical then the store-bought variety, and I can control the ingredients that goes into them. They can be made with any grain I have on hand (oats, wheat, spelt, buckwheat, etc) and then nuts, seeds, chocolate chips and/or dried fruits can be added as desired. Homemade mixes also provide the opportunity to include the additives you just might want in your food like chia seeds, wheat germ and ground flax, just to name a few.
The mixes can be made with almost any muffin recipe. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and store the mixture in large zip top bags. Before you fill the baggies with your muffin mix, write the remainder of the ingredients and the cooking instructions on the outside of the bag to save yourself the hassle of looking up your recipe again when it comes time to make your treats.
Cornmeal Dried Cranberry Muffins
You’ll Need
DRY INGREDIENTS:
WET INGREDIENTS TO BE ADDED:
Prep and Cook
we love mini blueberry muffins….super simple and a big hit in our house, I make them almost every week (and I admit, I stole this from a friend).
3/4 cup plain yogurt (can use fat free if you prefer)
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 egg
1tsp cinnamon (or more if you like lots)
1tsp ground flax seed
pinch salt
mix above ingredients together
add 2 cups whole wheat flour mixed with 1 tsp baking soda & mix in wet mixture
add 1 cup frozen blueberries & mix
put in mini muffin pan (batter will make enough for 1 pan). Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. If you make regular size muffins, increase heat to 375 and you may need to increase cooking time
I love to make Banana chocolate chip muffins and my kids love them…plus they are quick and easy.
3 mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter or marg.
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 ( maybe more, maybe less…I always forget to measure) ground flaxseeds.
Chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 in either muffin tins or a loaf pan.
Early morning football practices have my son leaving the house before 7:30 am these days so breakfast is a grab-and-go affair. Keeping a supply of nourishing muffins on hand helps so he can eat one before he heads out and a another one post-practice.
When I was trying to decide which baked goods would best be suited to these early days, morning glory muffins seemed perfect. Packed full of carrots, apples, wheat germ, nuts and seeds, they boast a nice balance of whole grains, protein and seasonal produce all in one portable package.
I’ve seen similar recipe that swap the carrots for sweet potato, and apples for pears—anything is possible. If you want to send this along in the lunchbox, replace the walnuts with extra sunflower or pumpkin seeds.
Tell me, what are some of your favourite muffins?
Morning Glory Muffins
You’ll Need
Prep and Cook
Good to Know: For a rustic looking presentation of your muffins, use squares of parchment paper to line the muffin tin as opposed to muffin liners.
Comments
Thanks for this info…I just ordered the trial pack of 3 and the Oatmeal cookie mix. I will let you know what my kids think…
Wow..these sounds great. Thank you for the link and the recommendation - I’m going to check it out now.