Recipe Review: Banana PMS Muffins from Women's Health

FitSugar — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:30:00 -0700

Flipping through Women's Health, I saw a recipe for PMS muffins. How could I not be intrigued? If a muffin could help ease my symptoms, I could become a baking maniac instead of the usual PMS maniac I become.

I baked these Banana Walnut Yogurt muffins and can't tell about my mood yet, but I liked these muffins, as did my hubbie and 3-year-old. My kindergartner is a little picky and abstained from her muffin at breakfast. For a mainstream magazine, I was surprised by some of the ingredients and had to make a special stop to find rice flour and flax meal, because these ingredients were not available at my local grocery.

To see what other ingredients make these muffins PMS fighters, read more.

These banana muffins provide "cramp-busting potassium" along with calcium and vitamin D, which together can decrease PMS symptoms upwards of 40 percent.

Banana Yogurt Walnut Muffins
Women's Health Magazine

Who wouldn't want to cure her PMS, or at least alleviate some of the symptoms, with a banana muffin. I had to try this recipe and see.

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup plain yogurt
3 medium, ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup agave syrup
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup walnut pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a large bowl, whisk together oatmeal, flour, flaxseed, baking powder, and baking soda.
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, bananas, syrup, and oil. Add flour mixture and fold in walnuts.
Divide batter into paper-lined muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 18. Per muffin: 147 cal, 7 g fat (1 g sat), 103 mg sodium, 20 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein

Print recipe with images | without images

My muffins look nothing like the lovely muffins photographed in the magazine recipe. I had to seriously stretch the batter to make 17 muffins and none of the muffins rose over the edge of the muffin tray. Although they looked short and flat, they were fluffy and light on the inside. I must add that they didn't taste "healthy" but they could use a little more flavor, maybe cinnamon or some lemon zest. I will make these muffins again. Let me know if you do.

Do you have a healthy snack or recipe to share? Then share it in the Lite'n it Up - Healthy Recipe Group and I might just post it on FitSugar.

Healthy Recipe: PMS Banana Oatmeal Cookies

FitSugar — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 05:50:05 -0700

When monthly moodiness strikes, I fight back with baking. Having fought the symptoms of PMS in the past by making a batch of banana muffins, I went to the kitchen to see if I could bake a cookie to ease my symptoms. I created a pretty healthy oatmeal cookie that you can eat relatively guilt-free when the craving strikes.

Calcium, magnesium, and vitamin B6 have been found to fight the moodiness that often rides in on the "crimson wave," along with breast tenderness and bloating. Aside from the cramp-busting mineral potassium, bananas contain vitamin B6, as does oatmeal. Peanuts are high in magnesium and add a little protein to these cookies as well as a bit of calcium. Omega-3s ease cramping, so I added some flax meal into the mix. Flax also adds a bit more B6. Nothing related to PMS would be complete without a bit of chocolate, so I added some chocolate chips too.

Check out the recipe and the nutritional information on these cookies when you read more.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies For PMS
Inspired by Cooking Light

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup flax meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup peanuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray.
Cream together bananas, butter, and sugars with a mixer. Add vanilla and eggs, stir until well combined.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, flax meal, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and mix well. Stir in oats, peanuts, and chocolate chips.
Drop tablespoon-size balls of dough onto greased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until browned. Cool on sheet for two minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

Makes 48 cookies.

Print recipe with images | without images

I halved the sugar content in these cookies, since it is best to avoid simple sugars in the battle with PMS. The banana provides sweetness and lowers the fat content, so the cookies require only one stick of butter rather than two. Enjoy one or two cookies with a glass of milk to get even more calcium. Sure do hope they help stabilize your mood and satisfy your craving for something sweet.