2012 goal, take more tea breaks!

Phew!
This year is already off to a speedy start!
My goal this year is to take a few minutes from my sometimes hectic schedule, relax, and just BE. Put my swanky new iphone to the side (I can beat my bakery game high score later), take a breath, and forget my stresses for a bit.
Maybe start having more tea breaks?

I think this present from my grandparents will help me do just that:

How do the flavours Green and Fruity, Forever Nuts, and Read my Lips sound??
Well, got to run... I can hear the kettle boiling!
~Princess

Big batch muffins!

At home during the holidays, with nothing but time on my hands! What to do?
Why not bake a huge batch of muffins?!

source

When I start January all motivated to make great lunches to take to school with me, I'm going to be so ready in the snack department. Just grab some muffins from the freezer, and they'll be perfectly defrosted by snack time. No effort required!!

I started with this basic muffin recipe (it's good to double or triple it):

Note: It uses light spelt flour, which gives a more 'cake like' texture.

Basic Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups light spelt flour
• 2 tbsp wheat bran
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup evaporated cane juice
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In a small bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, beat egg with a fork. Stir in milk and oil. Pour all at once into the well in the flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until moistened, but do not beat. The batter will be lumpy. Pour the batter into paper lined muffin pan cups.               
3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.         

I followed this recipe, but before I poured them into the muffin tray, I separated the dough into a few batches and made some variations. Look ma, no recipe!!!

Granola muffins: Kashi granola, dried fruit, sliced almonds. (Top right)
Blueberry walnut: fresh blueberries, chopped walnuts, vanila, cinnamon. (Bottom left)
Tropical muffins: flaked coconut, rum extract, toopped with banana slices ( Bottom right)
Cinnamon bun muffins: cinnamon, raisins (Top left)

Hope everyone had a great new years, and your heads feel okay today ;)

~Princess

Strawberry oat squares = impressive family breakfast :)

A house full of family...
What could be better than an impressive, tasty, healthy breakfast treat??

HEALTHY BERRY OAT SQUARES
(adapted from Oh She Glows)

Ingredients:

For Oat Base:

• 1.5 cups regular oats
• 1 cup whole-grain flour 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup Sucanat (or brown sugar)
• 1 egg 
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp heart healthy margarine (or you can use butter), melted
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 tbsp  milk (low fat, skim, soy, almond, anything!)
• 1 tbsp flax seeds (or shredded coconut!)

For Strawberry Jam:

• 1 cup healthy jam
• 1/4 cup chopped berries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a square pan (I used a 9×9) with parchment paper and oil the sides of the pan and base.
In a large bowl, mix the oat base dry ingredients: oats, flour, Sucanat/brown sugar, baking soda, salt.
In a small bowl, mix the melted margarine, maple syrup,  milk, and egg. Stir well.
Add the wet mixture (reserving 1/2 cup of the mixture) to the dry and mix well, using hands if necessary. Pour the oat mixture onto the square pan and press down with fingers. Use a pastry roller to smooth out if desired.
Pour on healthy jam and smooth out. Evenly drop on chopped berries.
Now sprinkle on the reserved 1/2 cup oat mixture and sprinkle on 1 tbsp of flax  seeds or coconut.
Bake at 350F for approximately 30 minutes. Allow to fully cool for at least 30-40 minutes before gently removing from pan. Slice and then store in a container in the fridge to keep firm.


It's definitely a crowd pleaser!!

My favourite kind of jams to use for this is:

Crofter's Just Fruit:

 Smucker's no sugar added:

PC Blue Menu Twice the Fruit:

Anything sweetened with 100% fruit juice instead of sugar is the best!

Have fun making, eating, and sharing them!
~Princess

Falling Off the Face of the Earth

Wow!! I've been completely missing in action for the past week!
Exam week just seems to have that effect on me...
But despite the increase in work and stress, I've managed to keep my healthy eating and training on track! Probably because:

One thing that gives me more time to study is cooking less. Which means making large quantities of food at one time. Like casseroles! But no boring ones of course, or else those will just live at the back of your freezer until the end of time.

Spanakopita Casserole

Clean Eating

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
• 3 large bags fresh spinach (9 oz each) or 36 cups loosely packed spinach
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh mint, finely chopped
• 1 large egg white
• 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
• 4 sheets whole-wheat phyllo dough (13 x 18 inches each; Try: The Fillo Factory)
• Olive oil cooking spray

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add pepper and onion and sauté for about 2 minutes. Add spinach in batches, waiting 2 or 3 minutes between intervals; cover tightly and cook, tossing frequently, for about 15 minutes.
2. Drain spinach mixture in a colander, removing any excess liquid, before placing it in a large bowl; set aside. When spinach mixture is cool, mix in dill, mint and egg white. Then fold in feta until well blended. Set aside.
3. Working quickly, roll phyllo out onto a clean work surface. Carefully cut each sheet lengthwise into approximately 4 3-inch-wide pieces. (TIP: Or cut each sheet in half lengthwise, then half each of the 2 sections again to create 4 equal pieces.) Place 3 or 4 strips across the center of a 1 1/2-qt or 9 x 9-inch casserole dish misted with cooking spray, leaving about 3 to 4 inches of excess hanging over on both ends. The strips should be overlapping slightly. Mist strips with cooking spray. Turn the casserole dish clockwise and place 3 or 4 strips across the original layer, at a 90-degree angle. Mist strips with cooking spray. Continue turning and layering until all strips have been used, about 4 layers in total, misting with cooking spray after each layer.
4. Spoon spinach mixture into center of phyllo-covered dish. Fold phyllo hanging over edges into the center of spinach mixture, covering the top (no spinach should be visible). Mist with cooking spray.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly brown and crispy. Let casserole sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. Cut into 6 pieces and serve.  TIP: Phyllo can be cut with a knife, kitchen scissors or a pizza cutter.

Happy Friday!
~Princess

Banana Chocolate Protein bars

 Just gotta say, I love weekends when I actually have time to get things done. Important things. Meaningful things. Like bake stuff!!!!

BANANA CHOCOLATE PROTEIN BARS

adaptedfrom Eating Birdfood

Ingredients:

• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup whole grain flour
• 1/3 cup protein powder
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds (optional)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt

• 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 3 egg whites (or 1 whole egg and 1 white)
• 1/2 cup milk (regular, almond, soy, anything!)
• 2 Tbsp your favorite nut butter (I used peanut butter)
• 1/2 Tbsp honey or agave
• 5 drops of liquid stevia (or 1 Tbsp more of honey or agave)
• 1 tsp vanilla

• 1/4 cup carob or chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. In a bowl combine all dry ingredients – oats, flour, protein powder, chia seeds, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a large bowl combine all wet ingredients – bananas, egg, milk, nut butter, honey, stevia and vanilla.
4. Slowly pour and stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until everything is well mixed, then gently stir in the carob or chocolate chips
5. Pour the batter into a greased 8 x 5 in. or 8 x 8 in. baking dish.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, remove from oven and cool for 15-20 minutes.
7. Cut into 8 squares and enjoy 
8. Wrap the left over squares in plastic wrap and store them in a ziplock bag or storage container in the fridge.

These baked goods are CLEARLY going to help me kick butt on my final food science exam next week.

Happy living,
~Princess :)

Whooooopie! ... Pies

I've got my Christmas shop on!!
One of my favourite buys so far is this baking book for my bf's little sis:

If someone has any sort of interest in baking, I try to help it flourish. More cookies for me haha. So when I saw this whoopie pie book, I had to buy it for her.

In case you don't know, whoopie pies are just delicious cookies sandwiched together with icing. It's an amazing invention!

I even research a few different recipes, so you can make them for any kind of person!

For the The No Nonsense Girl

Basic Whoopie Pies, from Food Network

I've made these before, and they're delicious!!!

For the Health Nut
Guilt-free Strawberry Whoopie Pies, from Family Fresh Cooking

For the Exotic Foodie
Pistachio, Cardamom, Whoopie pies with Rosewater buttercream, 
from Serious Eats

For the Veganista
Cacao Cinnamon Pecan Whoopie Pies, from Rawmazing

And for anyone who loves the holidays:

Chocolate peppermint whoopies pies, from Joy of Baking

Gingerbread Whoopie pies, McCormick

Now go have some fun, and relieve your stress by squishing cookies together with icing :)

~Princess

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

What a wonderful morning I had!
Any day that starts with pancakes is headed for success :)

 Today I went with Apple-Cinnamon!

I started with a bit of a short cut:

Then threw in a chopped up apple and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Who said a healthy breakfast had to be time intensive to prepare?


I find that a fruit and a dash of something are the perfect match in pancakes. Like:

Blueberry & Vanilla

Pumpkin & Pumpkin pie spice

Lemon & Poppyseed

Pineapple & coconut

 

Banana & Cacao powder

So go find your favourite whole grain pancake recipe, or find a good mix from your grocery store, and make tomorrow morning pancake perfect.

~Princess