Mom's here: eat your vegetables and fiber!
My mom has come to visit, and I prepared a couple of recipes for her that I knew she would like. She loves quick breads and muffins, but she doesn't like things that are too sweet, so these were a perfect blend of healthiness and a touch of sweetness. These are also low in oil/fat, with no eggs or oil in the Whole Wheat Quick Bread, and just ~1/2 cup of oil and 4 eggs for 24 Zucchini, Carrot, and Apple muffins. Just what she likes.
The Whole Wheat Quick Bread is dense, nutty, and has just the right amount of moisture while being sturdy enough to eat like toast, spread with jam or butter. Our variation of adding pine nuts and dried cranberries introduces tart and buttery elements that I think make it even more delicious.
The Zucchini, Carrot, and Apple muffins are super-moist and yummy. The coconut adds a pronounced toothsome texture while the walnuts add crunch. The grated veggies and fruit blend together to make a fragrant sweet background taste without being overpowering, and they are definitely the reason why this muffin is so moist!
Hope you have a chance to make these healthy and delicious breakfast/snack options, which are also from the same famous bakeries that brought you the cookies and brownies!
Whole Wheat Quick Bread (adapted from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook)
Ingredients:
1 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses (I only had 1/4 cup left, so I used honey for the remainder of the volume)
1/2 cup raisins (optional, we used dried cranberries instead)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or other chopped nuts (our variation, not in original recipe)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine dry ingredients (wheat bran, wheat germ, flour, salt, baking soda). In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and molasses/honey until smooth.
Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Mix well and fold in raisins/nuts if desired. Batter will look like a pile of wet bran, very thick and fluffy. Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread it evenly.
Bake for 1 hour or until you see golden brown bits on the edges and it is firm on top. Inserted wooden stick will come out clean.
Remove bread from oven, over turn it onto a rack, flip it over right side up, and let it cool. After about 15 min, you can slice it and eat it warm, or let it cool completely for slicing and storage (fridge or freezer).
Makes one large loaf (9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan).
Zucchini, Carrot, and Apple Muffins (adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread)
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups AP, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1 & 1/8 cups sugar (I cut this down to just shy of 1 cup)
1/2 cup & 2 tablespoons sweetened coconut (I think this is optional, if you don't like coconut)
2 & 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (I used a tablespoon, which is 3 teaspoons)
2 & 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups peeled and grated carrots
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups grated apples (they recommended Granny Smith, but I used Fuji...'cuz I like Fuji)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup & 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup toasted walnut pieces (coarsely chopped)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare 24 normal-size or 12 large-size muffins (I would recommend greasing a non-stick pan rather than paper linings due to the low oil content...they may stick to the paper).
In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, coconut, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder.
In another bowl, combine and gently toss together all the grated fruit/veggies. (Note: I would recommend using a smaller, but not the smallest, size on your box grater--I would prefer not to crunch on large chunks of carrot or apple, but at the same time I don't want it so small that the veggie liquifies while you're grating it)
In a third bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the grated veggies/fruit and fold gently to combine.
Pour dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and fold gently until almost fully moistened, and then add the walnuts and fold them in gently until just combined and evenly distributed. The batter will be thick and hard to mix at this point, but do not overmix it.
Scoop batter into muffin cups using a large spoon or ice cream scoop. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate pan and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. If you are making normal-size muffins, bake 10 minutes more and test for doneness with toothpick (mine were done at this point). If you're making large-size muffins, the original recipe says to bake for 22-25 min at the reduced temperature (total 32-35 min baking time), or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 min, then take a small paring knife or plastic knife and run it around the edge of each muffin (if you didn't use paper liners) to loosen. Remove from pan and allow muffins to cool completely on wire rack. Serve on same day or seal/wrap in plastic to keep fresh.
The Whole Wheat Quick Bread is dense, nutty, and has just the right amount of moisture while being sturdy enough to eat like toast, spread with jam or butter. Our variation of adding pine nuts and dried cranberries introduces tart and buttery elements that I think make it even more delicious.
The Zucchini, Carrot, and Apple muffins are super-moist and yummy. The coconut adds a pronounced toothsome texture while the walnuts add crunch. The grated veggies and fruit blend together to make a fragrant sweet background taste without being overpowering, and they are definitely the reason why this muffin is so moist!
Hope you have a chance to make these healthy and delicious breakfast/snack options, which are also from the same famous bakeries that brought you the cookies and brownies!
Whole Wheat Quick Bread (adapted from Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook)
Ingredients:
1 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 & 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses (I only had 1/4 cup left, so I used honey for the remainder of the volume)
1/2 cup raisins (optional, we used dried cranberries instead)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or other chopped nuts (our variation, not in original recipe)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a bowl, combine dry ingredients (wheat bran, wheat germ, flour, salt, baking soda). In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk and molasses/honey until smooth.
Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture. Mix well and fold in raisins/nuts if desired. Batter will look like a pile of wet bran, very thick and fluffy. Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread it evenly.
Bake for 1 hour or until you see golden brown bits on the edges and it is firm on top. Inserted wooden stick will come out clean.
Remove bread from oven, over turn it onto a rack, flip it over right side up, and let it cool. After about 15 min, you can slice it and eat it warm, or let it cool completely for slicing and storage (fridge or freezer).
Makes one large loaf (9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan).
Zucchini, Carrot, and Apple Muffins (adapted from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread)
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour (I used 2 cups AP, 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1 & 1/8 cups sugar (I cut this down to just shy of 1 cup)
1/2 cup & 2 tablespoons sweetened coconut (I think this is optional, if you don't like coconut)
2 & 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon (I used a tablespoon, which is 3 teaspoons)
2 & 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups peeled and grated carrots
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups grated apples (they recommended Granny Smith, but I used Fuji...'cuz I like Fuji)
4 large eggs
1/2 cup & 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup toasted walnut pieces (coarsely chopped)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare 24 normal-size or 12 large-size muffins (I would recommend greasing a non-stick pan rather than paper linings due to the low oil content...they may stick to the paper).
In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, coconut, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder.
In another bowl, combine and gently toss together all the grated fruit/veggies. (Note: I would recommend using a smaller, but not the smallest, size on your box grater--I would prefer not to crunch on large chunks of carrot or apple, but at the same time I don't want it so small that the veggie liquifies while you're grating it)
In a third bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Pour the egg mixture over the grated veggies/fruit and fold gently to combine.
Pour dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and fold gently until almost fully moistened, and then add the walnuts and fold them in gently until just combined and evenly distributed. The batter will be thick and hard to mix at this point, but do not overmix it.
Scoop batter into muffin cups using a large spoon or ice cream scoop. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate pan and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. If you are making normal-size muffins, bake 10 minutes more and test for doneness with toothpick (mine were done at this point). If you're making large-size muffins, the original recipe says to bake for 22-25 min at the reduced temperature (total 32-35 min baking time), or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 min, then take a small paring knife or plastic knife and run it around the edge of each muffin (if you didn't use paper liners) to loosen. Remove from pan and allow muffins to cool completely on wire rack. Serve on same day or seal/wrap in plastic to keep fresh.
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