Lisaopolis.comA Nurse's Journey to a Healthy and Balanced Life

Yesterday I decided to have some store bought waffles for breakfast. I had my favorite (other then home made ones) Eggo waffles. I toasted my waffles and had them with low fat peanut butter and a large banana. It is a quick and easy way to start the day. I feel full for hours after eating it (not like when I eat oatmeal and feel hungry within a couple of hours). The banana also adds some nutrition to the meal. The protein in the peanut butter keeps me sustained until lunch time.

Health wise, the Eggo (buttermilk) waffles have 95 calories in each waffle. Comparatively a piece of whole wheat Italian bread has 100 calories per slice.

I would recommend these waffles to anyone who is a waffle lover. I love home made waffles too, but they take a long time to make.

Yesterday I was in the mood for baking. So I searched for a recipe. Nothing in our recipe books really caught my eye, so I searched google. I found a recipe on this website http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Cream-Cheese-Muffins/Detail.aspx  that sounded really good. I changed the recipe a little, as usual. The muffins turned out super yummy. The many textures and tastes blend together in a symphony of flavor.

If you make these don’t make the same mistake I did. I made them into 12 muffins that overflowed the pan! They still turned out really well but the pan was a mess after. It would probably be better to use 24 medium sized muffin tins. Or if you want huge muffins maybe try making 6 in a 6 muffin tin.

Here is the recipe.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Use 24 medium sized muffin tins

Filling

4-5 oz cream cheese

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tsp brown sugar

Topping

3 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp white sugar

¾ tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp margarine

Muffin Batter

1 ½ – 2 cups pumpkin pieces

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup brown sugar (not packed)

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

A couple shakes salt

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/3 cup olive oil

½ – 2/3 cup skim milk

1-2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tsp rum extract (or real rum)

¼- ½ cup pecan pieces

To Make the Filling

Combine all the ingredients listed under filling in a medium sized bowl. Beat with an electric mixture until a smooth mixture is formed. Set aside.

To Make the Topping

Combine all the topping ingredients in a bowl. Mix well. (It may be easier to cut in the margarine or use a pastry blender). Set aside.

To Make the Batter

In a large bowl combine the flours, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, mix well. Then add the pecan pieces and mix well. Set aside. In a blender add: the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, olive oil, milk, vanilla extract, and rum extract. Blend until smooth. Now combine the blender mixture with the flour mixture. Stir until smooth. Fill muffin tins ¼-½ full of muffin batter. Then spoon some filling into each muffin tin. Now add another layer of muffin batter. Add the topping. Bake until slightly browned and a tooth pick comes out clean. Enjoy.

In our deep freeze we have an abundance of pears. This is because we have two fairly large sized pear trees in the yard. The past fall was a particularly good year for our trees so, we ended up with a huge amount of pears. We have about 30 frozen zip lock bags full in the freezer.

Tonight I decided to experiment with making some pear muffins. This is the recipe I came up with (I think it’s fairly low fat and sugar). The muffins are moist (but not super moist), and have a lovely texture. The pecans make them extra flavorful. Enjoy

Pear Pecan Muffins

Makes 12 medium sized (large) muffins

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup brown sugar (not packed)

2 tsp baking powder

A few shakes of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ginger

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 cup skim milk (with 2 tsp white vinegar)

2 large eggs

2 tbsp olive oil

About 1 ½ cups chopped pealed and cored pears

2 tsp vanilla extract

¼-½ cup pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl place the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Mix well. Add the pecan pieces and stir. In a blender, add the brown sugar, pears, skim milk (that is mixed with the vinegar) eggs, olive oil, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth.

Now add the blender mixture to the dry mixture in the bowl. Mix until smooth. Spoon into prepared muffin tins. Bake for 30-40 minutes (until golden and a toothpick comes out clean).

Tonight I’m working another night shift. Since I am working nights, I got my usual craving/desire to bake some muffins. I found a recipe in: Company’s Coming Mostly Muffins by Jean Pare, that looked interesting. It is a carrot muffin recipe (on page 43). However the original recipe has no spices, or flavorings in it other then vanilla. Consequently, I changed things up a bit. This is what I came up with. Enjoy.

Carrot Cream Muffins

4 oz cream cheese

¼ cup sour cream

4 tsp granulated sugar

¼ cup finely chopped walnuts

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup lightly packed/loose brown sugar

2 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

2 large eggs

2-3 carrots pealed and cut into small pieces

Sour milk (1 cup skim milk mixed with 1 tsp white vinegar)

3-4 tbsp orange juice

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp vanilla extract.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well.

In a large bowl combine the: flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix well.

In a blender, add the brown sugar, vanilla, sour milk, carrot, orange juice, olive oil and eggs. Blend until smooth.

Add the blender mixture into the dry mixture and stir well.

Spoon into muffin tins.

Add the cream cheese mixture on top (make a well first so that it bakes into the top of the muffin)

Bake until a tooth pick comes out clean when pricked (about 30 minutes).

Enjoy.

I was in the mood for baking tonight so, I decided to make some muffins. Here is my Mom’s original pumpkin muffin recipe with my own twists. They turned out super yummy.

Pumpkin Muffins

1 ½ cup all purpose white flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

½ tbsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

½ tbsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

¼-½ cup sliced blanched almonds

2 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

½ cup (or more if needed) sour milk (skim milk plus 1 tsp white vinegar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 cups frozen or canned pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare muffin tins (if needed). Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine all moist ingredients in a blender, and blend until smooth. Add moist mixture to dry mix and mix until completely combined. Spoon into muffin tins. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a tooth pick comes out clean when poked.

Enjoy.

Below are a couple images of the muffins.

Today in the spirit of trying to improve my health (immune system) I decided to make myself a healthy smoothie. Here is the recipe.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

One large banana (peeled)

6-10 frozen or fresh strawberries

100 g no fat vanilla yogurt

100 g no fat strawberry yogurt

1 ½- 1 ¾ cup skim milk (or more if needed)

1 teaspoon lime juice

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.

Makes two large sized glasses of smoothie.

Below is an image of the smoothie.

A few days ago, I decided to keep track of everything I ate for a full day. I decided that since a picture is worth a thousand words, I would take photos of all foods consumed for one day. I did this because something I think I lose track of just how much stuff I eat in a day (in particular how much junk food I eat in a day). So here it is, my food for one day.

Breakfast

a slightly sour grapefruit

A mixed bowl of cereal with skim milk

Many glasses of water through out the day

Lunch

Salad

chocolate covered biscuit for dessert

Snack

banana (between lunch and dinner snack)

Dinner

Today I was in the mood for baking, so I decided to bake some cappuccino muffins ( I had been craving them). I created my own recipe. Here it is…

Cappuccino Coconut Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

½ cup sugar

2 ½ tsp baking powder

3 tsp instant coffee powder

A few shakes of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 cup milk

1 tsp Kahlua

½ cup margarine melted

1 egg beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well. Add all the wet ingredients. Mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Place in 12 medium sized muffin tins. Bake for about 15 minutes (or until a tooth pick comes out clean).

Enjoy.

Below is an image of the muffins.

This evening I was in the mood for baking. I decided to make some muffins. I used a versatile muffin recipe as a guideline from Laura Secord Canadian Cookbook page 26. However I morphed the recipe quite a bit. Here is my version.

Mixed Berry Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour

4 tsp baking powder

A few shakes of salt

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 ½ cups milk

¼ cup margarine melted

¾- 1 cup mixed berries

(raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, strawberry)

Combine dry ingredient in a large bowl. Mix well. Add wet ingredients. Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees until lightly golden (toothpick comes out clean). Enjoy.

The muffins turned out very well. The mixed berries gave the muffins a lovely melody of flavors in each bite. I would definitely make this recipe again.

Below are a few images of the muffins.

A couple days ago I was in the mood for a yummy breakfast. I decided to make some bacon and eggs. I used European style bacon from a local deli. I think overall, it tasted almost the same as when I make bacon and eggs with packaged bacon from the meat section of a food store. The only slightly noticeable difference was that the bacon tasted slightly more “smokey”. I must say I did enjoy the breakfast greatly.

To make this breakfast I first fried the bacon in a medium sized cast iron frying pan. I drained the fat once from the pan and then continued to fry the bacon to make it more crispy. After I was satisfied with the crispyness of the bacon I scooped the bacon out of the pan and placed it on a plate with a couple paper towels under it to absorb the excess grease. I then proceeded to fry my eggs in the same pan. I didn’t use any extra oil and no cooking spray. I fried my eggs until they were lightly brown but still had a liquid yolk. Then I removed them from the pan and placed them on my plate. I made some multigrain toast had that with my bacon and eggs. Here is an image of my breakfast.

When I am frying things I find my most useful tool to be something that many people may not find in their kitchen: goggles. I don’t wear glasses and have been told (several years ago that I have perfect vision). I want to keep it that way. That is why I think “safety first” when in the kitchen. In my opinion frying food with no eye protection is one of the most dangerous activities that takes place in the kitchen. When I was much younger before I ever had my goggles I was always afraid of frying things because many times as a child I was sprayed by grease on my arms when wearing t-shirts and cooking. Now when I am using a frying pan I always wear goggles and oven mits. I might not be the most fashionable but at least it’s safe.  See below for an image of my goggles.