Lemon Yogurt Muffins...With Cauliflower!

I will NOT be saying happy Monday today...daylight savings has kicked my butt righteously, and I know I'm not alone! The hardest part was convincing my daughter to go to bed early (but m-o-o-o-o-m it's still light out!), and then having to drag my poor pumpkin out of bed to get ready for school. I felt so mean! I really wish we could just scrap this pointless time change once and for all like our neighbors is Saskatchewan. But on to a happier topic....

I came up with an all-original healthy, low-cal muffin recipe during my Sunday baking yesterday that I wanted to share with you all. They are delightfully lemony with just a hint of sweetness, and yes, hidden veggies once again. Believe me when I say you will NOT detect the presence of the cauliflower, even if you don't normally like eating it.

The recipe is as follows:

Flour: 1 3/4 cup
Granulated sugar: 1/3 cup
Lemon zest: 2 tsp
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Egg: 1 (beaten)
Lemon extract: 1 tsp
Plain 0% Greek yogurt: 1 cup (8 oz)
Cauliflower puree: 1/2 cup

Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F
- Grease a muffin tin and set aside
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
- In a separate bowl, beat one egg and add the lemon extract, yogurt and cauliflower puree.
- Add to the dry mixture and stir just until combined. The batter will be lumpy, don't over-mix it.
- Pour into muffin tin about 3/4 full and bake on center rack for 18- 20 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove from tin and enjoy! They are awesome warm but great cold too.
- This recipe should yield 12 muffins

These little guys are only 112 calories per muffin, and contain 3.89 g of protein each.

Hidden Veggie Recipes

I've mentioned my spinach/ cauliflower pasta and green smoothies as a sneaky way to get vegetables into my daughter, now I want to share two other tested and approved recipes that please both kids and adults.

Occasionally I will make pancakes on the weekends, and I always use the boxed mix (it's just SO much easier.) However I like to punch it up with some custom ingredients so it's not just empty calories drenched in syrup. I sometimes like to add a pureed banana, some ground flax seed or wheat germ, or my favorite healthy additive: pureed cauliflower. Seriously- you should always have some on hand in your freezer. I added a 1/2 cup to a single batch of pancakes- I didn't alter the recipe aside from that and the consistency was still just fine. A few semi-sweet chocolate chips or raisins for a smiley face, some pure maple syrup, and you have a fun breakfast that gets gobbled right down. It doesn't just have to be relegated to weekends either- I find that pancakes can be made the night before and reheated for those fast-paced school mornings.  Smiley face is optional for the grown-ups ;)

My other recipe comes courtesy of Jessica Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook. Although there have been several pureed veggie based cookbooks published, I like the format of this one the best. Of course it doesn't hurt that I bought it in a thrift store for a couple of bucks in pristine condition! I tried many of the recipes but one of my faves is the spinach/carrot brownies. A couple of notes: I use butter, NOT margarine as suggested in the recipe, and it is important to let the brownies cool completely to mask the veggie flavor.
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Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
Yield: 12 brownies
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
3 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup carrot puree (After peeling and trimming the ends, steam for 10-12 minutes and then puree in a food processor for 2 minutes)
1/2 cup spinach puree (Steam for 30 to seconds, then puree in a food processor for 2 minutes)
1/2 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons trans-fat-free soft tub margarine spread*** (I suggest substituting butter here)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
3/4 cup oat flour, or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8x8-inch baking pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or over a very low flame.
3. In a large bowl, combine the melted chocolate, vegetable purees, sugar, cocoa powder, margarine, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Whisk in egg whites. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a wooden spoon.
5. Pour the batter into the pan and bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 bars.
These brownies are packed with 3 grams of fiber (which is just crazy for a brownie!), while spinach and carrots provide two powerful antioxidants that help your kids' eyes stay healthy.
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Here's my finished product:

Day 19: Cauliflower Prosciutto Souffles

As I've previously mentioned, I am a big fan of sneaking pureed veggies into various recipes. Mainly cauliflower and spinach due to their mild, easily disguised taste. During my recent diet revamping I've been somewhat reliant on hardboiled eggs at lunchtime. They're easy, transportable and satisfying. One thing they DO lack is a lot of flavour. Rather than fall into a rut of the same, bland food day in and day out I decided to experiment with an impromptu baked egg recipe:

Ingredients:                           
6 eggs
1/2 cup pureed cauliflower
1/2 cup 2% plain greek yogurt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Prosciutto or bacon

*Nutritional info (not including prosciutto or bacon):
Serving size: 1 souffle
Amount per serving: 56 calories
Calories from fat: 32.2
Total fat: 3.58 g/ 5%
Saturated fat: 1.25 g/ 6%
Cholesterol: 111.67 mg/ 37%
Sodium: 75.2 mg/ 3%
Total carbohydrate: 0.92 g/ 0%
Dietary fiber: 0.2 g/ 0%
Sugars: 0.69 g
Protein: 5 g/ 10%

Percentage of calories from:
Fat: 53%
Carbs: 6%
Protein: 35%

I blended the whole works in my Vitamix, but it could just as easily be hand whisked, so no need for fancy appliances. (And no- they're not proper souffles...I don't separate the whites from the yolks. I just really like the word souffle!) Here they are before baking:

Pour mixture into muffin tin to just below rim and garnish with the prosciutto or bacon if you desire (I sure do!) This recipe should yield 10 portions. Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins, until golden brown on top. They can be eaten immidiately or refrigerated for later use. A couple of these at lunch, paired with fruit or some raw veggies makes for a very satisfying meal. Bon appetit!

*I get the nutrition info from Livestrong.com's Daily Plate My Recipes. You just input the ingredients and it gives you the details. No guesswork.

Day 9: Insomnia and Healthier Homemade Pasta! (Not necessarily related!)

After my complaints about waking up grumpy on Monday morning, it seems my body decided to play a little joke on me and give me insomnia last night! I did get a good 4.5 hours of solid sleep at least, while reminding myself that I would have been thrilled with that much when my daughter was a newborn. As I tend to do when I can't sleep, I laid in bed for awhile listening intently for random sounds while at the same time trying not to listen so I could actually sleep. My brain is very perverse that way. Finally I got tired of fidgeting and decided on a change of scenery. For whatever reason when I can't sleep in bed, the couch usually does the trick. It worked....until my daughter came wandering to find me in the middle of the night with her flashlight. 

I did try my "happy wake up" tricks this morning and they helped somewhat, although I'm sure they'd be more effective yet if I got a solid sleep. I can still smell the essential orange oil on my wrists. Mmmmm. Crossing my fingers for a better sleep tonight!

On a different note, I had a very satisfying dinner last night. I like to make my own pasta about once a week from flour, eggs and pureed veggies (usually either spinach or cauliflower- they add a very mild flavor that doesn't overpower the palette). I feel good about feeding it to my non-veggie eating daughter. She likes to eat it plain with a little butter and salt. The adults like it with pasta sauce of course, although it is delicious all on its own. I usually have pre-prepared pureed spinach and cauliflower in my freezer so that makes the process fairly quick and easy...crucial when you work full time and arrive home starving!

I use 2 cups of flour, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup pureed veggies. After hand-mixing in the bowl, I turn it onto a floured surface and knead until it has a smooth, elastic consistency. I often add a few more pinches of flour to reduce  the stickiness at this point. Sticky pasta dough does NOT work well in the pasta maker. I pull out my beloved Pasta Queen, which I scored at a garage sale for $5. Technically I bought it as a gift for my mom, but she moved away, and after some negotiating I got to keep it...although she's never let me forget! The dough can be divided into 4 portions. I don't find it necessary to use a rolling pin- I just flatten each piece slightly and feed it through the flattening roller. Often, I will fold the piece back on itself and roll it again to get a nice, smooth piece. Once I'm satisfied, it goes through the pasta cutting roller. I like to sprinkle a little flour in there before feeding the dough through so it doesn't stick together.

I lay the pasta out on parchment paper and make sure the individual pieces are separated so they don't clump together in the water. Once the water's boiling, fresh pasta cooks super-quick. It's done when it floats at the top, which takes a couple minutes max. Voila! A very filling and nutritious dish.