Flax Bran Muffins

This is the most frequently made muffin in my house.  I love it.  I've always loved bran muffins but the the grocery store kind tend to be full of fat, so I was on a mission to find a healthier version.  I found it.

The nice thing about this recipe is that it's full of flavor, dense and moist and yet very healthy.  You can change up some of the flavors if you want, to suit your own personal taste preferences. I've discovered that adding orange flavors (thank you Emily) brings this muffin over the top for me.

This recipe is easy to throw together in a big mixing bowl and stir together, no need to dirty up your stand mixer.  I refrigerate mine so they'll last longer, just pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds to have a nice warm muffin.

Just look at all the carrot pieces and raisins. So good and good for you.  I never get sick of this one for breakfast or snacking. 

For you Weight Watchers members, this is 4 SmartPoints per muffin. 
Flax Bran Muffins

Recipe from Foodista

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup unbleached white all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3/4 cup oat bran or wheat bran
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup carrots, grated
• 1 large apple, grated
• 1/2 cup raisins (or any dried fruit)
• 3/4 cup milk (I use orange juice sometimes)
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (if you have orange extract it's yummy here)
• I also add orange zest if I have any oranges around. 

Cooking Directions

1. Line or spray a 12 cup muffin pan or line with cupcake liners (this recipe makes 15 muffins)
2. Preheat the oven to 350º
3. In a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, add the first 10 ingredients and stir together.
4. In a small bowl add the milk, eggs, and vanilla together. Beat the eggs prior to adding.
5. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir just until combined.
6. Fill the muffin cups to the top and bake for 15-20 minutes. Use a toothpick to check for doneness.

Sugar Free Chia Jam

By far the easiest jam recipe you'll ever make.  No cooking, no pectin, no sugar.  Only two ingredients and you can eat it straight out of the jar if you want to. Seriously. Crushed fruit and chia seeds and that's it.

The chia seeds thicken up the fruit so it can become spreadable for peanut butter and jelly or topped on your hot cereal's in the morning.  Also great scooped into your morning smoothie. And chia seeds are super healthy for you, so that's a plus. Noted as one of the most nutritious foods on the planet they have ton's of fiber, protein, Omega-3's and various other nutrients.  You can buy them most places these days, they usually come in a see through container and are dry and very tiny. You can also find them online. And best of all they are usually reasonably priced.

I loved this recipe because clearly, it's very easy.  But also very healthy AND it tastes exactly like the fruit itself, the chia seeds don't add any flavor, just texture.

Chia Jam
Recipe from Time

Ingredients

• 1 cup crushed fruit
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds

Cooking Directions

1. Mix together and place in the refrigerator for a day or two in order for the chia seeds to plump up. Enjoy.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

If you're looking for some hot cheesy deliciousness, look no further.  This dish is the definition of comfort food.  Hot, melty and delicious. It requires a little bit of time to stuff the shells but honestly, it doesn't take that long once you get a system down.

I decided to try this one out when I saw that it was a little unusual in that it doesn't have a red sauce.  Don't get me wrong.  I love me some red sauce, but I wanted different. I wanted cheese! Oh boy did I get it.

I am in love with this recipe and I can't wait to make it again soon.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

Recipe from Delish

Ingredients

• 15 jumbo pasta shells
• 1 1/2 cup ricotta
• 1 cup + more for sprinkling Italian cheese blend
• 1 whole large egg
• salt
• pepper
• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• fresh basil for topping (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted, water - cook the shells until al dente and then let cool.
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together the ricotta, cheese blend, egg, and salt.
4. Stuff the mixture into the shells.
5. In the saucepan over medium low heat, melt the butter. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Add the Parmesan cheese and whisk until smooth. Season with pepper.
6. Pour 2/3 of the cheese sauce into a baking dish or oven safe pan. Top with the stuffed shells and then pour the remaining sauce over the top of the shells. Sprinkle with some more of the blended shredded cheese.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes until hot and bubbly.
8. Garnish with basil if desired.

Applesauce Honey Banana Bread

Sorry for the lousy picture...

This bread is pretty darn good, and I wanted to get it posted ASAP.  Now, before you run off all excited about a healthy version of banana bread, keep this in mind.  It's HEALTHY, so it's not going to taste like your favorite sour cream banana bread, or some of the other sugar laden banana breads you might be used to.  However, you can feel good about eating this one.

The banana flavor isn't extremely strong, but it's prominent enough that you know you're eating bananas. It's moist (sorry to those of you who hate that word), dense and wonderful.  After years of eating the other not-so-healthy varieties, I was surprised at what a nice change it was to eat something that wasn't super sweet.  I really enjoyed this bread, I even toasted it and smeared peanut butter over it for a change up (yummy).

I hope you'll give this one a try.  It's good to try new things and this one is even good for you.

Applesauce Honey Banana Bread

Recipe from Just A Pinch by Linda Bailey

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour (I used white wheat)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 overripe bananas, mashed

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray
3. In a medium bowl, add the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer add the applesauce and honey, mix to combine.
5. Add the beaten eggs and banana's and mix.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients until just combined.
7. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-65 minutes.
8. Test for doneness with a toothpick.

Sweet Rice Drink

If you're lucky enough to live near a Public grocery store then you'll understand me when I say, their Apron's meals are amazing.  They make some for you to sample, then have all of the ingredients that you need right there next to the display so you don't have to run around the grocery store searching for it all, and they give you the free recipe card to keep.  I love it.  

This recipe was paired with a yummy Baja Shrimp Taco recipe that was delicious and I do plan to make it eventually, however, this drink had my attention quickly. It's so dreamy.  The cinnamon really sets it apart. It reminds me of a drink for the holidays probably because of the cinnamon but I had to run home and whip it up.  

It's easy to make and comes together quickly (30 minutes) and all you need is a blender and a fine mesh strainer. I loved it.
Sweet Rice Drink

Recipe from Publix Aprons

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 5 cups water
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. In a blender, combine the rice and water and blend for 1 minute.
2. Chill for 30 minutes or up to 3 hours.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together with a spoon until combined.
4. Refrigerate leftovers.

Kids Favorite Stove-top Macaroni and Cheese

As some of you may know, I struggle to find a homemade macaroni and cheese recipe that my daughter actually likes. Well, I finally found one.  It only took 7 years.....

I literally have tried ton's or recipes to come to this moment. I've blogged about the one's I loved even though she hated them.  See the problem was that for the first portion of her life she was in daycare.  They aren't making homemade macaroni and cheese at daycare as you know. So she grew up eating boxed macaroni and cheese and it sort of ruined her for all others.  Eventually we were able to get her to eat and like a frozen variety in a red box.  Then after many trials we found two restaurants that she would eat theirs.  Of course I couldn't find a copy cat recipe for either of those two restaurants.  

So, I began with whittle down her favorite cheese options.  This was actually quite easy considering she seems to have her mom's love for cheese.  So I ended up using two cheeses, mild cheddar and Munster.  I think it's important to use at least half of a soft cheese to achieve that creaminess.

I'm happy to report that she loved this one.  It had the look she loves (she doesn't like melted cheese or bread crumbs on top), it had the creaminess she loves, and it didn't have any strange specks of pepper or herbs in there.  Win Win!  Oh yeah, and she loved the taste obviously.

I hope your picky eaters like it too .

Kids Favorite Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe from The Kitchn

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta, any shape
• 1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 to 3 cups shredded cheese like Colby or Monterrey Jack
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground mustard

Cooking Directions

1. Boil the pasta as directed on the package.
2. While the pasta is boiling, use another medium saucepan to warm 1 cup of the milk.
3. Mix together the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and flour so there are no lumps.
4. When the milk in the pan starts to steam, pour the flour/milk mixture in and whisk until smooth. Cook 3-4 minutes, until thick.
5. Turn the heat to low and start adding the cheese, little by little. Also add the salt and ground mustard and whisk until smooth.
6. Stir half the cheese mixture in with the cooked pasta until fully coated and then add the remaining sauce.
7. Serve immediately.
8. When reheating leftovers, just add a splash of milk to make it creamy again.

Orange Cream Frozen Yogurt

More Greek yogurt deliciousness.  This one is so good for the hot summer days that are quickly approaching.

This yogurt is so fresh tasting, yet creamy.  I loved how I felt guilty for eating it until I realized it's not that bad for me.  It's WAY better than the store bought alternatives.  The orange flavors are blended perfectly with the vanilla yogurt.  It's not too sweet, it's just perfect.

Very much like those orange creamsicle's we had as kids, only healthier.

Orange Cream Frozen Yogurt

Recipe from Food Network magazine

Ingredients

• 3 cups plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 2 Tbsp orange juice
• 1 1/2 tsp orange zest
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until smooth.
2. Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturers instructions until soft-serve texture is reached.
3. Freeze