Whole What Wild Blueberry Pancakes

{By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.}

Raise your hand if you at too much over the holidays.

It's okay, I'm guilty too.  And I'm not even sorry.

But now it's a new year, a new beginning, and we're gonna start it off healthy.

It's time to get back on track, guys, and I've got just the recipe: Whole Wheat Wild Blueberry Pancakes.  They're sort of amazing.

I don't know if you've heard of wild blueberries before, so I'll tell you a bit about them. They're uncultivated blueberries, known for their small size and stronger taste.  Whereas "normal" blueberries are plump and mostly water, wild blueberries are tiny little spheres that are pure blueberry flavor.  If you've ever been to Maine, you've probably seen and heard a lot about this fruit.  In terms of health benefits, wild blueberries are bursting with them.  They're super good for you, with twice the antioxidants of cultivated blueberries.  Also, their cute size makes them even more fun to eat.

Paired with whole wheat flour and made into a delicious batch of pancakes, wild blueberries help to create a breakfast for champions with this delicious recipe.

Whole Wheat Wild Blueberry Pancakes

• 2 cups milk
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp chia seeds, ground
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 cup frozen wild blueberries

In a medium bowl, combine milk and vinegar.  Set aside to curdle.  Meanwhile, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk ground chia seeds into milk mixture and add to flour mixture along with water, oil, maple syrup, and vanilla.  Mix until just incorporated.  Do not over mix.  Add oats, wheat bran, and wild blueberries and mix again.  Cook as you would cook any other pancakes.  But because these are thick and hearty, be extra careful to make sure that each pancake is cooked all the way through.  Recipe makes 5-6 thick pancakes.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm going to be completely honest.  I've got no clue what to write about this post.  At this point I've probably written and then erased four different beginnings.  Sorry?  Though delicious, I've got no sentimental connection to these muffins, and nothing weird happened while baking them.  In fact, as my recipes go these guys are pretty darn normal.  Maybe that's it.  I've got no clue what to write when I actually make something that's not weird.

Forgive me if this is somewhat boring, but I've got to find some way to use up the space between pictures.

Soooo... muffins!  Muffins with sweet banana and melty chocolate chips.  Muffins that, providing you're a frozen banana hoarder like myself, you probably have every ingredient for in your kitchen already.  Muffins that no one will ever be able to tell are non fat, whole wheat, and healthy.  That's the best type of muffins.

Make them, eat them, and then freeze any leftovers for later snacking (although i doubt they'll be any because these muffins are delicious).  It really is that simple folks.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

• 1 3/4 cup spelt flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup mashed banana (3 large bananas)
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup greek yogurt
• 1/3 egg whites (2 egg whites)
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease 2 muffins tins (you'll need all of one and one or two cups on the other).  Mix together flours, baking soda,  and salt in a large bowl.  In another bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients except chocolate chips.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until a smooth batter forms.  Mix in chocolate chips.  Scoop about 1/4 cup batter into prepared muffins tins.  You should get 12-14 muffins.  Bake in preheated oven for 16-18 muffins, until muffins are firm and a toothpick comes out clean (except for melted chocolate).  Store muffins in an airtight container for 3 days before freezing the leftovers.

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Apple Currant Bran Muffins

Zucchini Raisin Muffins

You know what's weird?  I'm crazy about putting weird stuff in my desserts, but when it comes to vegetables that are commonly used in sweets (zucchini, carrots, etc), the recipes on this blog are seriously lacking.

I'm 90% sure the absence of carrot cake and/or zucchini bread has to do with my aversion to grating vegetables.  It's just so annoying.  If I had that handy-dandy shredding blade for a food processor then everything would be super easy, but I lost that thing so now I'm stuck doing everything by hand.

It really throws a damper in dessert baking.

But anyway, with zucchini in abundance this time of year, I decided to suck it up and make some zucchini muffins.  And... they were really yummy!

It's been a while since I posted a recipe that's specifically meant for breakfast (as supposed to a dessert that's healthy enough for breakfast, I mean), so I'm glad to present you with some muffins that will definitely spice up your mornings.

Things you should know about these muffins:

• They're hard-core muffins.  They're not petite little muffins that won't keep you full.  Nope, these guys are whole wheat, dense, and packed with zucchini and raisins.
• This isn't one of those recipe where you can't believe it's healthy.  After all, you've got whole wheat flour staring you in the face.  Instead, this recipe is one that makes you rethink how delicious healthy can taste.  Like "Oh my god, even though these are whole wheat and have a vegetable in them, they taste super duper good!"
• Just 24 hours after making these muffins, only 4 were left.  They. Were. Devoured!
• Minimal vegetable grating is required.  Yay!!

Basically, this is an awesome use for zucchini and you should make these muffins this instant.

Zucchini Raisin Muffins

• 1 cup spelt flour
• 1/2 whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cups shredded zucchini, drained of excess liquid
• 4 egg whites (12 tbsp if using egg whites from a carton)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a muffin tin.  Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In another bowl, combine zucchini, egg whites, maple syrup, applesauce, and vanilla.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until a thick batter forms.  Do not overmix.  Gently mix in raisins until incorporated.  Distribute batter between grased muffin tins untiul all batter has been used.  Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until muffins have browned and a toothpick comes out clean.  Store in fridge.  Recipe makes 10-12 muffins. 

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Mini Carrot Cake for One

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

I hope you don't mind more muffins.  I certainly don't.  After all, muffins are basically cupcakes you can eat for breakfast.  What's not to love about that?

And these particular muffins are chocolate.  Chocolate!  Are you getting all this?  So far we have a recipe that is essentially a chocolate cupcake that's ok to eat for breakfast.  Now who's complaining about two muffin recipes in a row?

But I'm not done yet.  Oh no, not even close.

As if little guys don't have enough going for them already, I also made them, you guessed it, healthy!

Instead of using all spelt flour, which is what I would normally do, I decided to switch it up with a half whole wheat, half spelt flour mixture.  Let me tell you, you cannot tell there's whole wheat in these guys.  The texture is just perfect!  None of the dense and gummy stuff that sometimes comes along with whole wheat flour.

The awesomeness continues with the fact that these muffins are 100% fat free.  There aren't even any chocolate chips it them to ruin that claim (although if you'd like to add them I won't complain).  But like with the flour, you can't tell.  PERFECT texture.

Can you tell I just love these muffins?

It's just so much fun when you find a recipe that's healthy, but doesn't taste it at all.  And it's even better when said recipe entitles you to chocolate "cake" before 9am.  Hey, these muffins do have pumpkin, whole wheat flour, and no fat.  Totally breakfast acceptable ;)

Fat Free Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup honey (if you like things really sweet, you may want to add more)
• 1/3 cup egg whites
• 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup spelt flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a muffin tin well (!!!).  In a medium sized bowl, mix together pumpkin, honey, egg whites, yogurt, and vanilla.  In another large bowl, combine cocoa powder, flours, baking soda, and baking powder.  Min until incorporated.  Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture.  Mix until a smooth, but thick batter has formed.  Your batter should be almost like brownie batter, it's so thick.  Scoop batter evenly between 12 muffin tin cups.  Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool before removing from pan and storing muffins in an airtight container.  Muffins will keep for 3-4 days on the counter, and can be frozen as well.

See that texture up there?  You must make these!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

More muffins for you: Nutella Swirl Banana Muffins

Chocolate Chip Blondies

So what's up?  How's your weekend going?

Mine's going pretty good... probably cause I just ate one of the best blondies of my life.

It was gooey and chocolatey and super thick and I loved it.  And then I remember that it was actually somewhat healthy.  And I was like, whaaaat?  Because that blondie really didn't taste healthy.

Like, at all.

And then I realized that those blondies I made were really making my weekend awesome.  And that they could even make a Monday awesome.  Serious Blondie power right there.

So then I decided that I should really share the awesome recipe with you all.  And then I figured out that I was really not in the mood for quality writing.  So I just threw some words together and managed to use the word "and" no less than ten times.  No really, I counted.

Sorry about that guys.  This recipe will make up for it, though.

Chocolate Chip Blondies

• 1 cup spelt flour (all purpose is ok too)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 1/2 tbsp sugar (brown, white, turbinado, etc)
• 170 grams tofu
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp date paste (this can be replaced with honey or maple syrup)
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.  
3. Place all wet ingredients in a blender and blend until completely smooth and creamy.  
4. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until a smooth batter forms.  Fold in chocolate chips.  
5. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.  Scoop batter into pan and spread into an even layer.
6. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Let cool completely before slicing into 16 squares.

Despite my awful writing skills in this post, you really have to make these.  They're amazing x100!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Mousse Frosted Chocolate Chip Cake

Honey Cinnamon Pretzel Twists

Today is about pretzels.

I like pretzels.  I like the crunchy ones, the gigantic ones, and the ones dipped in chocolate.

I also like the healthier whole wheat once covered in honey and cinnamon that you can make entirely from scratch.

But c'mon, honey and cinnamon and carbs and the promise of no guilt.  Who wouldn't love these guys?

Plus, they're totally do-able to make at home.  As long as you keep yeast and whole wheat flour handy, you probably have everything you need to make them in your kitchen now.  Oh yeah, and don't let the bit of yeast in these pretzels scare you.  It's nothing to worry about, and you don't even have to wait for the dough to rise in this recipe.  How awesome is that?

Let's talk about the glaze now.  It's pretty yummy.  All ya do is mix some honey, cinnamon and water together, and then pour a bit on top of the pretzels when they're done baking.  If you wait to eat them long enough, the mixture sort of dries and creates a sweet coating.  So. Good.  Or you can eat them right after adding the glaze.  That's good to.

Actually, pretty much everything about these pretzel twists is good.  Soooo... I think all just stop talking and give you all the recipe.  How does that sound?

Honey Cinnamon Pretzel Twists

• 3/4 cup warm water (lukewarm)
• 1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast (1/2 package)
• 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (see notes below for substitutions)
• 1/4 tsp salt

Glaze:

• 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tbsp water

Preheat oven to 425F.  In a large bowl, mix together water and yeast.  Let sit a couple minutes, until yeast is dissolved.  Mix in honey and salt.  Slowly add in 1 cup flour and mix until combined and sticky.  Continue adding flour, a bit at a time, until dough is no longer sticky.  If the dough bounces back when poked, it's time to knead.  Turn onto a floured surface and knead for roughly 5 minutes, you want a smooth ball to form (see first picture below).  To make 'twists', cut off a small piece of the dough.  Cut that in half and roll out each half into a log shape (the thinkness/length is up to you).  Twist the logs together and pinch at the ends.  Repeat until all dough has been used.  Bake for 5 minutes, then change oven to broil and broil another 3-5 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning.  Meanwhile, make glaze by whisking together all ingredients in a small bowl.  When pretzels are done, pour a bit of glaze on each one.  Glaze can also be used as a dip if desired.  Makes 18 twists.

A few notes:

1. These pretzels are whole wheat, and they use whole wheat flour.  However, if you'd prefer you can use all purpose or even spelt as a substitute.  With all purpose the pretzels will obviously be lighter in color, and they'll probably also be a bit fluffier as well (the whole wheat ones are fluffy too, though).

2. Not into sweet pretzels?  No big deal.  Though the honey glaze on these guys is delicious, you can easily leave it out if it's not your thing.  How about an egg wash and salt instead?  The choice is yours.  Just make the base pretzel recipe above and add whatever else you like.

Enjoy the recipe everyone!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Whole Wheat English Muffins

Whole Wheat English Muffins

If I learned one thing from this recipe, it's that toasted English Muffins taste really good with warm peanut butter.  Really good.

Call me crazy, but I've always overlooked English Muffins.  I mean, they're sorta boring, right?  People always put jam on them to make them good, and I'm not really a jam person, so I didn't really know what to do with them.  Well, I know now.

Two words: Peanut Butter.

Oh my god, so good.   It's all melty, and sticky, and just plain yummy.  Can you guess where all my homemade English Muffins went?

Yeah, along with all my Peanut Butter.

Ok, so let's talk about the actual recipe I'm sharing today.  It's one for Whole Wheat English Muffins.

They're tasty, they're healthy, they're surprisingly easy.  You should make them and then slather peanut butter on top.  Enough said.

Whole Wheat English Muffins

• 1/2 cup warm water (115F)
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 2 cups spelt flour (or all purpose)
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 2 tsp ground flax
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• cooking spray
• 1/4 cup cornmeal

1. Combine warm water, honey, and yeast in a large bowl.  Let stand for 5 minutes or so, until yeast has dissolved.  In another bowl, mix together flours, oats, wheat bran, salt, and flax
2. Add dry ingredients to bowl with yeast.  Pour buttermilk into yeast bowl.  Mix until flour is almost completely incorporated.
3. Turn mixture onto a well floured surface and knead until a smooth ball of dough forms.  
4. Lightly coat a large bowl with cooking spray.  Place dough in bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in size, 1-2 hours.
5. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for another 1-2 minutes.  Roll out dough to a 1/2" thickness.  Use a 3-inch round cutter (I used the top of a cup) to cut out rounds of dough.  Continus to roll out and cut the scraps until all dough has been used.
6. Place rounds on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until puffy, about 20 minutes.
7. Heat a large griddle or 12 inch skillet over low heat.  Dust rounds with cornmeal before placing on griddle in batches of 3-4.
8. Cook for 8-10 minutes on each side, until dry anf slightly browned.  Let cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.
9. English muffins will keep for about a week in the fridge.

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Lemon Zucchini Bread

Ginger Oatmeal Cookie Sanwiches with Creamy Yogurt Filling

'Tis the season for cookies.  Lots and lots of them!

I love how during the holiday season you can walk into almost any party and see plates and plates of wonderfully unique cookies.

I may not sample every kind at each party I visit, but I sure do love looking at the huge spreads.  They provide so much inspiration for future recipe creations.  For example, there's this salted chocolate cookie that my friend makes and I've been meaning to create a "clean" version for, like, forever.  I just keep forgetting to ask for the recipe so I know what the salt to chocolate ratio is.

Today, however, I have a different clean Christmas cookie to share.  And it comes in the form of a cookie sandwich.  And you know what that means... you get TWO cookies, but get to count it as only one.  Therefore, you get double the cookies for the same amount of guilt.  And because these cookies are relatively good for you, that amount of guilt it almost nothing.

How awesome is that?

You know what's even more awesome?  The flavor of the cookie itself.

It's like a gingersnap, crossed with an oatmeal cookie, crossed with a whoopie pie.

Ummmm... hello.  Incredible, right?  Give 'em a try!

Ginger Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with Creamy Yogurt Filling

For Cookies:

• 2 tbsp flaxseeds, ground
• 1 egg white
• 1 banana
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 tbsp molasses
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp applesauce

For Filling:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tbsp cream cheese
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar
• about 1 tsp water

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl, mix together flax and egg white.  Set aside.  Microwave banana for about 45 seconds, then mash in a large bowl.  Add in remaining cookie ingredients.  Mix well until a thick dough is formed.
3. Drop dough by rounded tsp onto 1 or 2 greased baking sheets.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove cookies for oven and press down so that they form cookie shapes instead of balls.  Bake for another 3 minutes.  Take out of oven and let cool.
4. In a cereal bowl, stir together yogurt, cream cheese, and vanilla extract (ingredients from filling section).  In a ramekin (or other small dish), combine the brown sugar and water.  Let it sit for a couple minutes.  After that time, add it to the yogurt mixture and mix again to combine. 
5. Take 1 cookie, and spread it with a thin layer of the yogurt filling.  Top with another cookie. Repeat until no cookies remain, or there is only 1 left over.  Store cookies in fridge.  They also freeze well.

Enjoy!

Revisited Recipe of the Day:

Pumpkin Raisin Baked Oatmeal Bars

Multi Grain Waffles

Happy father's day everyone!

Are you doing anything special today?

I made my dad a special breakfast of multi grain waffles.

He loved them!

But with good reason, of course. These waffle were simply amazing! Though they're very healthy, which can sometimes hurt a recipe, I'd honestly say they were the best waffles I've had in a really long time (perhaps forever). The fact that they were good for you was really just a reason to eat more.

And that's what everyone did!

Multi Grain Waffles

2/3 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
A pinch salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon (if you like cinnamon you can use more)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup yogurt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp canola oil

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ones in 1/2 cup amounts at a time. Then spray a preheated waffle iron and pour batter on until the surface of the waffle iron is about 2/3 coated. Cook for as long as your waffle iron requires, (my waffles took about 5 minutes) and then serve while still warm.

Warning: dough is very sticky

I highly recommend serving these waffles with some sort of fresh fruit as the slightly nutty taste of the waffles pairs quite nicely with the sweetness of, for example, berries.

I personally served them with some beautifully red cherries. With the cherries and a sprinkle of brown sugar on top, these waffles were like heaven. They provided a great start for what I'm sure an enjoyable and super fun fathers day!

And guess what? You can preserve their delicious-ness for up to 4 days in the fridge and 1 month in the freezer. Just preheat them in a toaster or microwave and your good to go.

The perfect breakfast for any occasion!