FitSugar

Recipe Review: Joy Bauer's Blueberry Banana Muffins

FitSugar — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 03:30:00 PST

I love baking, and while I do my best to lighten up many of the sweet nothings I regularly make, there is a such a thing as going too healthy. When I read the recipe for Joy Bauer's blueberry banana muffins, I was stoked because I had three past-their-prime bananas in my fridge waiting to be incorporated into something tasty. When I read the ingredients, including whole wheat flour and oat bran, I should have known that my muffins would not look like the magazine photo. But my inner health nut got the better of me, and I baked away.

To see if my muffins turned out anything like those pictured above,

read more. As you can see, my muffins look nothing like the magazine's. They are not light and fluffy, but rather squat and bumpy. For some reason the muffins did not rise at all. I used relatively new baking soda and baking powder, so it was not they they were stale. Plus, I followed the directions, filling the muffin tin 3/4 of the way. When I made the recipe, it yielded 12 instead of the six the magazine says. While the muffins are edible, they are just not very tasty. While none will go to waste, I will not be making this recipe again. Have any of you tried this recipe? If so, share your results in the comments section below. Source

Recipe Review: Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies From Self

FitSugar — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 03:30:00 PST

Christmas is synonymous with so many things, one of them being cookies. Can you imagine Christmas without cookies? Well, now you can imagine a cookie that is relatively guilt-free. I saw a cookie recipe while flipping through the December issue of Self that I had to try: Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies. As you can see by the photo, they look tasty. So I whipped up a batch. To see how these cookies turned out and if mine look as presentable as the ones in the magazine,

read more. These cookies are great and tasted a lot like brownies. The walnuts, aside from providing some healthy omega-3 fatty acids, give the cookies a rich flavor. They may not be the most attractive cookies, but my dinner guests, both kids and parents alike, loved them too. For only 55 calories a cookie, these cookies are a guilt-free pleasure, plus they're easy to make. I didn't even have to get out my electric hand mixer. Like most baking, the secret is to use really good chocolate. I used a mixture of Valrhona and Green and Black's. I think these would be a perfect dessert for any holiday party or cookie exchange. 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. Source

Recipe Review: Banana PMS Muffins from Women's Health

FitSugar — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:30:00 PDT

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.

Slimmed Down Brownies Recipe

FitSugar — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:30:00 PDT

I consider brownies the perfect barbecue dessert. My standard recipe is similar to most; it contains a whole stick of butter, a couple of eggs and a cup and a half of sugar. Shape magazine recently featured brownies in their new recipe makeover column. I was more than curious and since I was craving chocolate I decided to whip up a batch. It didn't hurt that in making over the brownies, the final calorie count per brownie dropped by 170 calories.

To see the recipe and what I thought of these slimmed down brownies, just

Link Time: What to Do With Hemp Seeds

Susannah Chen — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:01:09 PST

What to do with hemp seeds - Vegetarian Times
Starbucks is raising coffee prices, again - Eater
Big hopes for mustard in the new year - The FN Dish
Brand-new critic Pete Wells tackles his first review, Wong - New York Times
How to sub honey for sugar when baking - MyRecipes
Ring in January with a cold-weather Mexican feast - Saveur
5 ways to get into wine this year - Serious Eats

Link Time: 5 Ways to Extend Your Holiday Spirit

Susannah Chen — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:41:01 PST

5 party ideas to keep the holiday spirit alive – The Daily Meal
It's the end of an era: Charlie Trotter's will close - Grub Street Chicago
Another Rachael Ray term to add to your vocabulary: "eaties" - Eater
What to do with extra ricotta - Food Republic
More auspicious meals for the new year - Saveur
Simple ways to cut calories - MyRecipes
Reviewing Elisabeth Hasselbeck's gluten-free cookbook - KitchenDaily
Would you drink Scotch from a can? - Esquire

Now You're Cooking: Alex Guarnaschelli's Tech Tips For the Kitchen

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:32:28 PST

The mother of all cooking holidays is fast approaching, but you don't have to let it stress you out. Thanks to technology, you can keep your kitchen in order and clutter-free. Take it from the Food Network's Iron Chef America star, Alex Guarnaschelli - she's partnered up with Microsoft to mix food and tech to help you move gracefully from Thanksgiving to Christmas and beyond, without burning your nerves.

Ditch the Paper: I used to have a million scraps of paper for grocery lists and recipe ideas, but now I organize it all on my phone instead. There are a lot of apps out there for this, but I really like OneNote, available on Windows Phone 7 phones. OneNote also has an audio-notes feature that I can imagine my mom using to record some notes for me on our family recipes.
Simplify Cooking: Cookies are always a holiday staple and can be made in advance to save time on the big day. I can make my favorite cookie recipes from memory - the ones my mom and I bake every year - but when I’m looking for something new, there are search tools that make recipe hunts a lot easier. For example, Bing has a recipe search tool that includes pictures and can narrow down results by cooking method and occasion.
Keep It Clean: I always feel better when my counters are clean - and I’ve found the same is true for my PC. I like to keep recipes and notes off of my desktop and online. SkyDrive is an easy tool to use to store files for free, and I can access my SkyDrive from my PC or phone, and send photos or meal ideas to my family and friends.
Get Out: As much as I enjoy creating a fulfilling meal for my family, sometimes you just have to let someone else do the work. One of my favorite Windows phone features is Local Scout - anywhere I go I can scroll to Bing on my phone, press the Scout button, and see what restaurants and bars are close by, including reviews.

Hear about the gadgets Alex hopes to find under the tree this year after the break.

Cookbook Review: The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free

Heather Dale — Tue, 10 May 2011 09:48:07 PDT

If you do any gluten-free baking, you're fully aware that baking without regular flour requires some skill and patience in the kitchen. Thankfully, with gluten-free baking mixes, it's easy to make your favorite cookie and cake recipes without ripping your hair out in the process. Anne Byrn - aka "The Cake Mix Doctor" - is at it again with her latest cookbook, The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free ($9), utilizing gluten-free baking mixes in all of her recipes. Always a sucker for gluten-free recipe books, I decided to see if Anne's reputation carried over into gluten-free recipes as well.

Here's what I thought about the book.

Healthy Dose Link Time: Michael Pollan Says Junk Food Is OK

Michele Foley — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 10:34:52 PST

Food guru Michael Pollan says eat all the junk food you want - Mind Body Green
10 moves away from a tighter, toned tush - Shape
Why mini meals may be the key to weight loss - Fit Bottomed Girls
DVD review: Beverly Hills trainer Mike Donavanik delivers Extreme Burn - Vital Juice
Don't deprive yourself! Healthy apple pie and cake recipes for the holidays - Health
Easy ways to avoid Winter weight gain this year - Self

Is Going on a Juice Fast a Good Idea?

Leta Shy — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:07:10 PDT

Going on a juice cleanse, or drinking nothing but pressed juices extracted from fruits and vegetables, has been all the rage lately. The idea sounds like a good one - combat the effects of a wild night out or a life of indulgent eating with a few days or weeks of "detox" to rid your body of lurking toxins. Backed by celebrities and celebrity doctors alike, it's no wonder that drinking your diet has been gaining popularity. But is following a juice cleanse safe? Read on to learn more.

What's the Appeal?
Many of juicing's benefits are more anecdotal than scientifically based, but proponents of juicing are enthusiastic about it. Many claim that juicing vegetables and fruits allows you to absorb the nutrients easier than eating them since less digestive work is needed. Proponents also claim that following a juice-only diet can help your body detox, which may lead to more energy, clearer skin, and fewer digestive and other health issues. With high-profile juicing fans like Nicole Richie, Salma Hayek, and Gwyneth Paltrow and filmed testimonials like Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead - a documentary about a man's 60-day all-juice diet and his subsequent healthy transformation - the popularity of going on an all-juice diet has only grown.

Does It Work?
The lack of peer-reviewed studies on the effects of juicing has led to conflicting information about whether it's a do or don't. Most scientists, however, agree that going on a juice fast is unnecessary for ridding your body of toxins. Our liver and kidneys are already effective at eliminating any unneeded waste, so following a liquid-based diet won't help any more than normal.

Find out more about going on a juice fast after the break.