Thirsty Thursday: Microwave Mug Muffin!

Sorry, I couldn’t resist the alliteration.

What? Okay, so you can't DRINK it...but it comes in a mug... Drinks come in a mug... Follow my logic train here...

I saw the recipe for this on Pinterest a week ago.  Since I love to sleep in, I pretty well always end up eating breakfast at the office, and I figured this would be a perfect healthy breakfast option.  I can toss all the ingredients into a tupperware container the night before, grab & go, and then make it at the office.

Ingredients:

Base

• 1/4 cup quick oats (or 1/8 cup instant oatmeal + 1/8 cup rolled oats)
• 1 egg (or 1/4 cup egg beaters for less calories)  --NOTE: If I’m prepping this up the night before, I leave the egg whole, & then crack it when I’m actually making the muffin at work.
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• a pinch of baking powder (it adds a little fluffiness)
• dash of salt
• 1 tbsp milk

Fruit (choose one)

• 1/8 cup blueberries
• 1/8 cup frozen or fresh peaches, diced
• 2-3 strawberries
• 1/8 cup blackberries

Optional

The strawberry version is AWESOME with about 10-15 dark chocolate chips baked in as well.  Only adds about 30 calories.

 

Directions:

Couldn’t be easier.  Grab a coffee mug, mix the base ingredients together with a fork.  Then mix in your fruit (plus chocolate chips if you’re going with that option), and microwave for 1 minute.

(Used a glass mug.)

After one minute, check for doneness.  If it still needs to firm up, zap it again for another 30 seconds or so.

(With the peaches, add in a little extra cinnamon & nutmeg & it’s like peach cobbler.)

 

(164 calories of pure decadence.)

 

Now, the original photo looks quite pretty, like the muffin had fluffed up over the top edge of the mug & was then removed from its container:

 

However, I never got this to happen. Which bummed me out because I was really looking forward to the fun photo ops, showcasing the mug I’d cooked it in:

(“Yeahh….I’m gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Saturday. Mmkay? Thanks…”)

 

It does grow a bit, obviously, because it’s oatmeal, but not as much as I thought it would.  So my best guess is that the original user made it in an angled coffee mug/cup, and then removed it to show the more “muffin-like” shape.  Either way, it’s still super tasty and a really filling breakfast, despite being so light on the calories.

 

NutriFacts: (Per Serving)

Calories: 134 (164 if you add 1 tsp of chocolate chips)

Carbs: 22 g

Fat 2 g

Protein: 10 g

Sodium: 126 mg

Shared on Live.Laugh.Rowe

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (And Healthy, Too!)

 

So as I’ve mentioned, the hubs & I are trying to be good, food-wise.  However, it proves difficult a lot of the time because we’re pretty social creatures (in our circles, anyway—I know plenty folks that would consider us total introverts), which means that we always seem to be eating out at restaurants with friends or family, or on Date Nights.  And while I doubt that will change much in the next few months, we will be trying to make healthier choices & have healthier options around the house.

And here is one of my favorites.  It’s no secret that I have a sweet tooth (just look at my “tags” section—’chicken’ & ‘dessert’ are the two most common tags), so having some sort of sweet treat in the house is a necessity.  But sweets don’t have to be awful for you.

This recipe is based off my mom’s, with some changes to boost the health value.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup wheat bran
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup sugar-free maple syrup
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup raisins

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the first 6 ingredients together & stir, then add in the applesauce, syrup, sugar, eggs, and vanilla; beat well to combine.

Then fold in the oats & raisins. (Note: you can also add in chopped pecans or walnuts, or swap the raisins for dried cranberries/cherries if you like—just note that adding nuts will change the calorie count a bit.)

Drop by the spoonful onto a lightly greased cookie sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

NutriFacts: (per cookie)

• Calories 81
•   Total Fat 0.8 g
•   Saturated Fat 0.2 g
•   Polyunsaturated Fat 0.4 g
•   Monounsaturated Fat 0.4 g
•   Cholesterol 10.9 mg
•   Sodium 95.9 mg
•   Potassium 132.5 mg
•   Total Carbohydrate 22.9 g
•   Dietary Fiber 2.1 g (8.5%)
•   Sugars 10.6 g
•   Protein 1.8 g
•   Magnesium 7.6 %
•   Manganese 36.3 %
•   Phosphorus 8.5 %
•   Thiamin 10.2 %

Southwest Cauliflower Pasta Bake

 

Here’s a fun one—we bought a head of cauliflower a while back…for pretty well no reason aside from the fact that it was 29 cents.  Usually, I pretty well only use cauliflower in its raw form as a salad topping, but cauliflower is actually a really great option as a “filler” in casseroles & baked dishes.  It’s really low in calories, and doesn’t have a strong flavor of its own, and once you boil it, it breaks down really easily so you can sneak it into dishes.

…especially cheesy dishes. I mean, surely I’m not alone here: I can remember my grandma trying to get me to eat plain steamed cauliflower, and I fought it like she was trying to poison me.  But then, ol’ Nana dumped cheese sauce all over it.

(Clever Nana…DANGIT, yes, now I DO want it.)

As an adult, I know the benefits of these tiny albino trees.  Despite their lack of color, they’re a great source of antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, fiber, and B vitamins.  Not to mention there’s only 30 calories in a whole cup.

I started with this recipe from Jamie Oliver, and then modified it to give the dish a Southwest feel.

INGREDIENTS:

1 head of cauliflower

1 lb. whole wheat pasta, uncooked

1/2 cup sliced green onions

1/2 cup jalapenos, diced

8 oz. 2% or low fat Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

4 oz. 2% or low fat Pepper jack, shredded

1 cup nonfat sour cream

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp Sea salt

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp Pampered Chef chipotle seasoning

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp cumin

additional seasoning to taste

1 cup sweet corn kernels

1 cup black beans, rinsed

TOPPING:

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/4 cup wheat bran flakes

1 pat butter, melted

 

Directions:

Separate the cauliflower into 1-inch florets and wash well. 

Then boil with the pasta according to the directions on the pasta package (usually 7-10 minutes, depending on your preferred done-ness).

While the pasta is cooking, dice your onions & jalapenos. 

Now, if you read the original recipe, it calls for you to use the pasta/cauliflower pot as a double boiler, and melt the cheese in a bowl placed on top of the pasta pot, while the pasta is cooking.  I found this to be a challenge, because the pasta & cauliflower together require a really big pot, which means you need an equally large bowl to sit on top of the pot.  I didn’t have one, so I ended up having to use a bowl with handles so the handles would rest on the edge of the pot, as shown here:

This results in the bowl actually being in contact with the water, and the pasta, and consequently it got hot really fast & cooked the cheese a little too quickly in my opinion.  It would have been really easy to overshoot & have things start separating out.  Also, having a bowl of hot cheese on top of your pasta makes it kind of hard to focus both on your cheese melting and then, occasionally lifting up the bowl to check on your pasta.

So if you don’t have the proper pots & bowls to make this work, do yourself a favor & just start a separate, smaller pot of water to boil & use that as your double-boiler for melting the cheese.

Anyway… once the cheese is good & melty, and the pasta/cauliflower is done, drain the pasta/cauliflower in a colander, and then return to the pot.  Add the onions, jalapenos, corn, black beans, and finally the cheese sauce.  Add the first round of seasonings, and then season to taste.

Once everything’s tasting good, you can either serve it like this:

Or you can transfer the contents of the pot into a 9x13 baking dish, and then top with the bread crumb topping as noted above. (The wheat bran is optional—I just like to add it along with bread crumbs for the additional fiber & nutritional benefits.)  Then heat under the broiler in the oven until the crust is golden.

(Cauliflower?  What cauliflower?  There’s no cauliflower in here, kids!  Just cheesy pasta!  You love cheesy pasta!)

 

NutriFacts: (makes 12 servings)

Calories 227.4

  Total Fat 4.2 g

  Saturated Fat 2.5 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 1.0 g

  Cholesterol 12.3 mg

  Sodium 120.9 mg

  Potassium 281.5 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 38.2 g

  Dietary Fiber 6.3 g

  Sugars 0.5 g

  Protein 11.0 g

Shared on 33 Shades of Green's Tasty Tuesday