Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Seriously Healthy Food

I could kill for a vacation out to the west coast of Canada right now (where Valli of More Than Burnt Toast lives!). I can see it all... walking along the beach and shopping in White Rock, maybe a few days at the Harrison Hot Springs, and of course a lengthy stay with my aunt and uncle (who have offered their home to me before so they can take me to some naturopaths out there), visiting and just being babied by them!

But yet, I have no plans to. Why? *Note: scroll down if you don't want to read my whining* Well, I'm chicken for one - I'm a control freak in the kitchen, and since I can't usually eat what the rest of the household does, I'm either getting in the way or they spray *ahem* gratuitous amounts of Lysol air freshener in an attempt to restore their kitchen ambience (I use a lot of spices in my meals, and if anyone's smelled kasha cooking before, you know it's an acquired smell). I don't like imposing on other people's houses and families with my needs and random shopping requests, especially when it requires extra trips out of the way. Since I wouldn't have a car (and can't afford to rent one), it would leave it all up to them. I'm also kind of freaked out by the notion of yet more doctors, even though these are natural healers... I'm so sick of them! Eventually, though, I'll get my butt out there - I know it would be a lot better for me, a nice change of pace, (and easier to shop too).


For now, I'll settle with baking instead, I guess. These are the newest babies from the oven, whisked off by the wonderful mom I have to feed the starving hordes at her office! I filled these with flax seed, chia seed (yes, like the pet), hulled hemp seed, pecans, carrots, pumpkin puree, apples and 4 kinds of whole grain flours: rye, barley, spelt and oats. Also, these are totally vegan and wheat free (but sadly not gluten-free... haven't mastered the GF bake-age yet!). Whew! It's like Vancouver at your door. Which is good, 'cause we can always use a little B.C. in our lives.
Due to the supreme goodness shoved inside these muffins, I think they'd be a great accompaniment to Sweetnick's ARF / 5-A-Day event. I also have a feeling that those busy office workers will be using these as breakfast, and with all the stuff in 'em, I don't blame them! Hope Melissa thinks so too this BBD!

West - Coast Muffins
Makes about 18 regular or 8-9 jumbo muffins½ cup sugar
½ cup orange juice
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 ½ cup pumpkin puree
½ cup spelt flour
½ cup barley flour
½ cup rye flour
½ cup rolled oats (not instant)
2 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp chia seed
1 tsp ground flax seed
1 tsp hemp hearts
1/3 cup toasted, chopped pecans
2 large carrots, coarsely grated
1 large apple, peel on, diced
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin cups.
  2. Beat together sugar, orange juice, water, applesauce, and pumpkin until well blended. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, oats, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, seeds and hemp hearts.
  4. Add the liquid mixture and stir briefly - just to moisten.
  5. Fold in pecans, carrots and apple. Do not overmix.
  6. Bake 25 minutes (for regular muffins) or 35 minutes (for jumbo muffins).
  7. Immediately turn out onto wire rack and cool completely.
Amount Per ServingCalories: 98.1
Total Fat: 2.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 77.2 mg
Total Carbs: 19.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.7 g
Protein: 2.0 g

And, as another addition to the party, why not enjoy one of the salads being shown on GreedyGourmet's Snackshots event this month? Here's mine: simple bed of lettuce, green onions, tomatoes and black beans in a mustard viniagrette (which I'm leaving out next time... ick). Topped off with a shake of Montreal steak spice!

1 comment :

  1. What a healthy looking salad. Thanks for participating in SnackShots, see you at the roundup!

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for the feedback!