RECIPE: Buttermilk Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Who says Summer Sweets Week can’t be moderately healthy? The great thing about these muffins is that I made two batches at once: one using white flour and sugar, the other with the whole wheat flour and brown sugar listed below. I gave my family a blind taste test, and everyone liked the whole grain version better. Score!!
These are probably the best pumpkin muffins I’ve tried, and they freeze really well, so it’s easy to make up a couple of batches at once and thaw as needed. While I’ve cooked my own pumpkin before, and generally avoid canned foods, this is one time I’d actually recommend the canned over fresh. My experience has been that store-bought pumpkin is creamier than home-cooked, and works better for baking. But if you don’t mind the added “texture” (or are better at cooking pumpkin than me 
), feel free to substitute! Cheers!
Ingredients:
1 cup cooked pumpkin
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts, if desired*
* The nutrition estimate above does NOT include nuts. If you mix in 1 cup chopped walnuts, it adds 60 calories and 6 grams of fat PER MUFFIN.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and eggs. Beat together for one minute. In another bowl, combine flour, spices, soda and salt. Add to pumpkin mixture and stir until thoroughly moistened. Don’t over stir! Fold in nuts. Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners. Pour batter into cups, filling no more than 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve while still warm.
Serving Notes:
If desired, you can pour the whole mix into a 9×13″ pan instead of the muffin tin, or into loaf pans for pumpkin bread. You may need to add a few minutes to the baking time for the loaves, and if your baking pan is very shallow and wide, you might want to reduce the oven temp to 350°. Each muffin is about 56 g, so if you choose one of these options, weigh your slices to adjust the nutritional estimate accordingly.
RECIPE: Cinnamon Dusted Apple Pie
Let’s make this “Easy” Summer Sweets Week — Apple Pie wins for one of the easiest desserts ever, that also looks fancy and is a guaranteed crowd pleaser. (Unless your crowd hates apples. Or pie. But if they do, you’re hangin’ with the wrong crowd! )
The only thing that’s slightly tricky about this recipe is coordinating the filling with the crust. My recommendation would be to make the crust in advance, cover it to prevent drying, and then work quickly to mix the filling. Otherwise, if you prepare the filling first, the apples start to brown. (You can always sprinkle them with lemon juice, which also adds tartness, but I still think it’s easier to do the crust first.)
Ingredients:
2-2.5 lbs Granny Smith apples (about 6 large)
1 cup sugar (+ 1 tsp, set aside)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
0.5-1 tsp cinnamon (+ 1 tsp, set aside)
Dash nutmeg
1 Tbsp butter
Double-crust pie pastry
Directions:
Peel, core and slice the apples. Personally, I like to use a counter-top apple peeler, corer and slicer. I’ve tried the kind that clamp around the edge of the counter (instead of using a suction cup on the surface), but my counters never seem to have the right size edges. If you do get a suction-based one, it helps to wet the bottom of the suction cup with a small amount of water before tightening it.
Combine one cup sugar, flour, nutmeg, and 0.5-1 tsp of the cinnamon. (For a very juicy pie, omit the flour.) Toss mixture with apples to thoroughly coat them. Pour into pastry-lined 9″ pie plate and dot with butter. Cover with top crust*, seal and flute edges. Mix “extra” teaspoons of sugar and cinnamon together, then sprinkle generously over top crust. Cover edges with a crust shield or aluminum foil (shiny side out). Bake for 25 minutes. Remove crust shield and bake an additional 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden. Cool at least 30 minutes. Serve with ice cream or cheddar cheese, if desired.
* I like to do a lattice pattern (see crust recipe for details), but if you add a “solid” top crust, use a sharp knife to cut 6-8 slits in it, to release some of the steam during baking. Otherwise the juices will bubble over…more than they already will! 
Serving Notes:
The nutrition estimate above includes the crust (and assumes you make my crust recipe ). If you make a different basic crust, it shouldn’t change the nutrition significantly, but if your recipe is very unusual (using spelt flour, for example) of course it could. It also assumes a 9-inch pie, cut into eighths.
RECIPE: Basic Pie Crust
As noted throughout my musings and recipes, I’m a fan of more “healthy” options whenever possible. However, for a successful pastry, there’s very little that can make it healthier without losing the flaky-goodness. Which is the whole reason to eat pastry in the first place, right?? Everything in moderation….
In any case, for the recipes below I’ve experimented with butter instead of shortening (makes the crust too tough), and also whole wheat flour. That actually worked fairly well, but sometimes, you just gotta have the original. This is the best basic pie crust recipe I’ve tried, and it’s almost fool-proof. (I say “almost,” because I’ve learned over the years you can mess up just about anything, if you try hard enough. ) For convenience, I’ve created options for single- or double-crust pies, and done the ingredient math for you. Any questions, feel free to contact me.
Ingredients:
Single-Crust Pie (9″)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/8 cup (6 Tbsp) non-hydrogenated shortening
3-4 Tbsp water, chilled in a bowl with ice cubes
Double-Crust Pie (9″), or 2 Single-Crust Pies
2 5/8 cups (2 1/2 cups+ 2 Tbsp) all-purpose flour
1 3/8 tsp salt*
1 cup (16 Tbsp) non-hydrogenated shortening
8-11 Tbsp water, chilled in a bowl with ice cubes
* Not all measuring spoon sets include a 1/8 tsp measure. This one does, and also has non-round scoops, which I find can be easier to insert into spice jars than the “normal” round ones.
Directions:
Sift together flour and salt. Cut in shortening until size of small peas. Sprinkle water in, one Tbsp at a time. When all is moistened, form into a ball (or two balls), flatten with hands onto a pastry cloth, then roll dough from center to edge. You can do this on a plastic/vinyl pastry guide instead (or even a clean, floured counter), but I find the pastry sticks less on cloth. I haven’t tried silicone yet — if anyone out there does, let me know what you think!
Baked Pastry Shell: Prepare as above, except prick bottom and sides with a fork. Bake at 450º for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack.
Pastry for Double-Crust Pie: Prepare as above with ingredients #2. Roll out one half of dough and fit into pie plate, trimming crust even with rim. Roll out remaining dough, cut slits for steam-escape, and place over filled pie. Trim crust 1/2″ beyond pie plate. Fold extra crust under bottom crust and flute edges.
Lattice-Top Pie Crust: Prepare as above for Double-Crust Pie, except trim bottom pastry to 1/2″ beyond rim. Roll out and cut remaining dough into 1/2″ strips, weave over filling to make lattice. Press ends of strips into rim of crust, fold bottom pastry over strips, seal and flute. (If you’ve never done this before, there are detailed instructions here, including pictures and a video.)
Serving Notes:
Alert readers will notice there’s no nutrition estimate above. This is because most people make pie crust to be filled with something. Even if you’re just going to make pie-dough crackers, there are so many ways you could cut up the pastry, into so many different sizes, it’s very difficult to give an estimate that would make sense for everyone. Besides, if you’re eating pie crust by itself, you should probably just declare a “free day” from dieting and go for it. Enjoy!
RECIPE: Orange Juice & Banana Smoothies
Continuing with Summer Sweets Week – here’s the DH’s smoothie recipe, finally! Sorry it took so long — getting him to measure anything is a challenge. But he buckled down and did it, so here goes. Nutritionally, these are very similar to my smoothies; the main difference is that mine are milk-based (creamier) while these are juice-based (more tart). Also, I’ve used calcium-fortified OJ, but if you use non-fortified, obviously that will change the calcium content considerably. Cheers!
Ingredients:
300 g ice cubes, crushed
1 large banana, peeled (approx. 100 g)
2+ cups frozen strawberries (300 g)
1.5 cups frozen blueberries (220 g)
1.5 cups pulp-free orange juice
1 cup + 2 Tbsp nonfat plain yogurt (260 g)
Directions:
Put all ingredients in large blender, in order given (you’ll need at least 54 oz capacity; if your blender is smaller, adjust quantities accordingly). With lid OFF, CAREFULLY pulse the mixture a couple of times, to start to mix it. Between pulses, use a spatula or table knife to aid in stirring. Once the ice has been somewhat mixed in, place lid on blender and blend until smooth. (This may take a while, and you may need to remove the lid and use the spatula/knife a few more times, to get it all thoroughly mixed and smoothie-like.) Initially, the blender will probably be too full to pour easily, so for the first serving, using a ladle helps.
Serving Notes:
The nutrition estimate above is for a single 8 fl oz serving (about 266 g if you prefer to weigh your food). Average serving size is more like 12 fl oz.
RECIPE: Blueberry & Shredded Oat Sundaes
Continuing my theme of fast, easy, sweet-but-relatively-healthy-goodness, here’s a dessert I stumbled on by accident one night. Literally — I found the DS’s bowl of uneaten, partially thawed blueberries and thought, hmm, what can I do to spruce these up? I immediately thought of ice cream (I always think of ice cream when I’m eating berries; yum….), and then spied the box of Barbara’s Shredded Oats on the counter, and voilà! This recipe was born.
It’s not exactly low-calorie, but if you compare it to a traditional sundae with chocolate sauce and peanuts, it’s on the lighter side. The cereal gives it some crunch, without the calories (and potential sodium) of the nuts, and the blueberries — well, blueberries add blueberry-ness. ‘Nuf said. Cheers!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream (I like “natural vanilla bean”)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries, partially thawed*
1/2 cup Barbara’s Shredded Oats Cereal
* You can use fresh blueberries but I actually think it tastes better with the frozen. To partially thaw them, place in a bowl and leave on counter for about 15 minutes (or less, depending on how hot your kitchen is ).
Directions:
Scoop ice cream into a bowl and cover with blueberries, then top with cereal. (If desired, crumble the cereal pieces before sprinkling over the berries and ice cream.) That’s it — get a spoon and dig in!
RECIPE: Berry Banana Smoothies
Oy! Summer somehow got busier even than the school year. I’ve actually been cooking, and experimenting, same as always. I just haven’t had time to blog about it. To get back into the swing of things, I thought I’d finally post a smoothie recipe. This isn’t the DH’s, though, it’s mine, based loosely on, well, nearly every berry-banana smoothie recipe out there. With my own tweaks, of course!
These are relatively healthy, with very little added sugar (one tablespoon of honey — that’s it!), and quite a lot of protein and calcium for the serving size. Great on a hot day, or any time you need a quick boost. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 medium bananas, peeled (approx. 160 g)
2 cups frozen strawberries (280 g)
1 cup frozen blueberries (140 g)
2 cups 1% milk
1 1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt (300 g)
1 Tbsp honey (22 g)*
10 ice cubes
* If you like your smoothies sweeter, add more honey. Or, you can use flavored yogurt instead. However, either of these options will obviously change the nutrition estimates, so if you’re counting calories, be careful how much sugar you add.
Directions:
Put all ingredients in large blender (at least 54 oz capacity; if your blender is smaller, adjust quantities accordingly). Blend until smooth. The blender will probably be too full to pour easily, so for the first serving, using a ladle helps. After that, it should be “pourable.”
Serving Notes:
The nutrition estimate above is for a single 8 fl oz serving (about 250 g if you prefer to weigh your food). Average serving size is more like 12 fl oz.
RECIPE: Rosemary & Onion Sweet Potato Medallions
I love me some sweet potatoes — especially made into homefries. This is an elegant side dish to any entrée that isn’t too sweet on its own. (Although a hint of sweetness is fine; for example, I served this with Maple Glazed Pork, and it was YUMMY.) This is another easy one, so without further ado…. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, or about 1.25 lb/600 g, sliced into thin medallions (DON’T peel them first!)
1 medium onion (about 1.25 cup, or 250 g), thinly sliced
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp dried rosemary
Directions:
Preheat large skillet over medium heat, until cold water tossed in the pan forms little balls that “dance” over the surface. Add olive oil, then potatoes, onions and rosemary. Cook uncovered over medium heat until sweet potatoes are soft and onions look clear, about 20 minutes. (You can speed up the process a little by covering the pan initially, but you’ll need to remove the lid in plenty of time to boil off the liquid accumulated by the trapped steam.)
Serving Notes:
This makes about 4 servings of 100 g each. It goes very well with light sour cream, and makes a nice change from the standard russet potatoes or rice/bread-type side dish.
RECIPE: Maple Glazed Pork
Another case where I started sautéing the pork and realized it needed something — a flavor to make it really pop, but nothing that would clash with the Rosemary & Onion Sweet Potato Medallions I planned to serve on the side. I’ve never invented a glaze before, but for some reason, this sounded like a good idea. Based on the ooh’s and ahh’s of my family, it was.
Ingredients:
1.75-2.0 lbs boneless pork top sirloin chops, sliced into 1-2″ strips
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp maple syrup (I prefer dark amber)
Cinnamon to taste (1/2-1 tsp is plenty)
Directions:
Preheat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. When cold water tossed into the skillet forms little balls that “dance” across the pan, it’s ready. Add olive oil, then meat. Stir to sauté. When meat is about half-cooked, add maple syrup and cinnamon, then continue to cook uncovered until liquids reduce and glaze begins to blacken, about 10-15 minutes. (Scrape the pan frequently with a metal spatula, and keep an eye on it — if you step away, it can quickly burn.)
Serving Notes:
This makes 5 servings, with a typical serving size of about 100 g. The main trick while cooking is to not overwhelm the meat with the glaze, or it gets too heavy. If you like, brown rice and a dollop of light sour cream on the side makes a nice contrast, especially with the above-mentioned Rosemary & Onion Sweet Potato Medallions. (Just to add to the mix, the DH likes his rice with some Trader Joe’s Sweet Chili Pepper Sauce.) And of course, a nice chilled white wine completes the flavor circuit.
Cheers!
RECIPE: Jalapeno Ranch Chicken Tacos
I really should break the “Fast & Easy” category into two: ”Fast” and “Easy.” It seems obvious now, that some fast things aren’t all that easy, and many easy things are not fast. This is one of the latter, at least for me. I’m not big on chopping and grating (goes along with the “no pre-planning” thing ), so although not difficult, this took awhile for me to finish. But it was so tasty, and even the kids loved it, that I’ll definitely be making it again.
As usual, I stole this from was inspired by a recipe I saw on a box of taco shells. But I’ve modified it to suit our tastes, so — so there!
Ingredients:
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed (I prefer the kind NOT injected with saline, to keep the sodium down)
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup light ranch dressing
1/4 cup Litehouse Jalapeno Ranch Dressing*
1/2 packet low-sodium taco seasoning (about 23g)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup onion (or green onion), diced
1 tomato, diced
10+ taco shells (I love Old El Paso Stand ‘n’ Stuff shells – SO much easier than the pointy kind!)
Salsa & light sour cream (or plain yogurt) to taste
* Check the refrigerated dressing section of your grocery store. If this isn’t available in your area, or if you want the recipe to be less spicy and slightly lower in fat/calories, you can simply use 1/2 cup of light ranch dressing alone.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325° and prep the taco shells by placing them on a large cookie sheet, slightly overlapping them so they aren’t completely separated. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. When cold water dropped in the pan forms little balls that ”dance” across the bottom, it’s ready. Add olive oil and sauté the chicken until cooked, 5-10 min. When chicken is about half-done, put the cookie sheet of taco shells in the oven and warm for 6-7 minutes.
When cooked through, remove chicken to a 2-qt bowl or serving dish. Add the ranch dressing(s) and the taco seasoning and toss to coat. Serve immediately with remaining ingredients.
Serving Notes:
50g of the filling per taco shell is about all they can hold, and still have room for the toppings. This recipe actually makes enough for much more meat per shell — more like 75-100g, or 15-20 shells’ worth instead of the 10 listed above. If you wish, the filling quantities can be halved, or you can make the full recipe and have leftovers. (The topping portions are about enough for the 10 shells, max.)
Comfort Food
If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you’ve probably noticed that the weather sucks this year. (Excluding Alaska — the whole time I lived there I think it got into the 80′s maybe once or twice. This year, my friends up there are saying it’s “too hot” — up in the 90′s. Grrr. )
Anyway, today as I look outside again at the cold, windy, wet weather, I notice I’m seriously craving all the “bad” foods I usually avoid: warm, buttery, cheesy goodnesses like pasta or potato chowder; creamy soothers like hot mochas with full-fat whipped cream on top; bags (and bags and bags) of Doritos. (Yes, for all my health-c0nsciousness, sometimes, I just really want a big ole pile of over-priced hydrogenated crunchiness. Yum.) In fact, I could go for pretty much anything made by Paula Deen.
What about you — what’s your favorite comfort food? Leave me a comment (I can’t get the WordPress Polls feature to work, drat it all!) and maybe I’ll post my Canadian Cheese Soup recipe later. Not lowfat by any stretch of the imagination, but on a day like this, I need all the extra padding I can get!
ETA: Ha! I just combined being frugal with needing comfort food. I ate up three different “twid”-bags of chips: a handful of broken mini-pretzels, some low-salt potato chips, and a snack cup of flax chips. What’s more, I dipped the pretzels and chips in my favorite Litehouse Jalapeno Ranch dressing, and the flax chips in Trader Joe’s Spicy Black Bean Dip. Added some milk, and I feel more the thing.
