Not Your Grandma's Bran Muffins

I have been hesitant to try this recipe as I always envision bran muffins to have the texture of a hockey puck and the taste of cardboard. The carton of buttermilk sitting in my fridge just waiting to go bad gave me the inspiration to broaden my horizons. I was able to make some WW-friendly tweaks without losing the amazing whole grain goodness of these babies!

Original inspiration: Super Natural Every Day
Serving Size: 12 muffins
WW: 4 pointsplus per serving






Ingredients: 

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt
• 2 Tablespoons melted, unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup unprocessed wheat bran (I bought mine for 10 cents in the bulk bins at Whole Foods)
• 1.5 cups (4 ounces) plain, unsweetened bran cereal (I used lightly sweetened Nature's Path Organic SmartBran cereal, because that is all I could find at my grocery store)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour 
• 3 Tablespoons natural cane sugar 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 ounce chopped walnuts (optional; other nuts or dried fruit would also work well)

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Either butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan or place paper or silicone liners in the muffin cups. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, apple sauce, melted butter, and maple syrup. Sprinkle the wheat bran and cereal across the top of the bowl, stir, and let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. 

While the wet ingredients are sitting, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. After the five minutes has elapsed, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Immediately fill each muffin cup almost to the brim. If you are adding nuts, top each muffin with the chopped walnuts before you put them in the oven. 

Bake until the edges of the muffins start to brown and the tops are set, which should take between 18 and 22 minutes. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then cool the rest of the way on a wire rack. Delicious served warm with butter or jam!

Heirloom Bean & Farro Stew

There's nothing better than a hearty vegetable stew bubbling away on the stove once cold weather hits. This one is excellent and a great base that can accommodate a variety of different greens, beans, and grains. I cooked a mixture of organic heirloom beans from scratch, but I think you could use canned kidney or pinto beans if you are short on time.

You could top the stew with a healthy amount of freshly grated parmesan cheese or another salty cheese. I followed one of the original blog's suggestions and mixed together 1 tablespoon of harissa, 1 teaspoon olive oil, and .5 ounces feta cheese to dollop on top of each bowl. Exceptional.

Original Source: 101 Cookbooks
Serving Size: 10 servings (approximately 1.5 cups each)
WW: 6 pointsplus per serving

Ingredients:

1 pound (16 ounces) red beans (or mixture of heirloom beans, if available), soaked for at least 4 hours, then drained
10 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
28 ounces canned whole, peeled tomatoes, drained and chopped
8 ounces new potatoes, chopped (I used organic fingerling potatoes)
2 cups (13 ounces) pearled farro
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 large bunch kale, destemmed and chopped (you could use chard, spinach and/or savoy cabbage)
sea salt & pepper

Method:

Cook the beans in a large pot with 10 cups of water according to the directions on the package (mine required boiling unattended for 2 hours). When they are tender, remove a big scoop of them from the pot, mash them up in a bowl, and then return the mash to the pot.

In a separate pan, saute the onions in the olive oil over medium-high heat and add them to the bean broth when they just begin to brown. Stir in carrots, celery, potatoes, farro, and tomatoes. Bring the liquid to a boil again, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the farro and vegetables are cooked through.

Add vegetable stock to the stew one cup at a time until it is the consistency you prefer. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and taste - you may need to add more based on your own taste preferences. I also added a good amount of fresh ground pepper.

Stir in the greens and cook for a few minutes more. Serve topped with harissa and feta mixture or fresh grated parmesan.

Wild Rice Casserole

This is going to be a new comfort food in my house. It's creamy, hearty, and smells amazing bubbling away in the oven. You can make this with just wild rice or brown rice, or a combination of the two. I followed the author's suggestion and made 1/2 wild rice and 1/2 brown rice. Delicious combination!

Original inspiration: Super Natural Every Day

Serving size: 6 main-course sized portions (could be served as a side-dish as well)

WW: 5 pointsplus per serving

Ingredients:

2 eggs

1 cup (8 ounces) low fat cottage cheese

1/2 cup (4 ounces) low fat sour cream

2 teaspoons Dijon or whole grain mustard (if your Dijon is super spicy, use less)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

10 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 ounce gruyere cheese, grated

1 teaspoon fresh tarragon or thyme, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups wild rice and/or brown rice (I made mine fresh, but you could use frozen)

sea salt

Method:

Bring a pot of your rice(s), 3 cups of water, and about 1/2 teaspoons of salt to a boil. Let simmer for 45-50 minutes or until the water is all absorbed and the rice is tender.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a baking dish (about 9" by 13") with olive oil or butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cottage cheese, sour cream, mustard, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

In a large skillet, combine the olive oil and a few pinches of salt and turn the heat to high. Stir in the mushrooms and then do not touch them again for 5 minutes (until any water from the mushrooms evaporate). Continue to cook the mushrooms until they are browned, stirring every minute or two. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes until they become translucent. Then, stir in the garlic and cook until it becomes fragrant (about a minute). Remove the skillet from the heat.

Add the rice mixture to the skillet and stir until it is combined well, then add everything to the cottage cheese mixture. Mix well and then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Spread the mixture evenly into the baking dish and top with the grated gruyere cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the casserole gets golden brown along the edges (about 20-30 additional minutes). Serve the casserole hot, right from the oven, with minced tarragon and another sprinkle of grated gruyere, if you want it (extra pointsplus). I served this as a main course with a side of arugula salad with apples, blue cheese, and apple cider vinaigrette. Excellent!

Lemony Millet Muffins

I just found out that I have a snow day tomorrow. Happy Halloween! I decided that baking was a good way to celebrate. This is another recipe from Super Natural Every Day and you can expect quite a few more over the next few weeks. Such a great cookbook!

These muffins are delicious, nutty, and lemony. They are healthy, but a bit high in points. I am going to try to find ways to make them a bit lower calorie without losing the wholesomeness. Maybe just less butter? I don't think applesauce would work as a butter substitute in this recipe. Suggestions are welcome.

Original Inspiration: Super Natural Every Day

Serving Size: Makes 12 large muffins

WW: 6 pointsplus per muffin

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups (10 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup (2 ounces) uncooked millet

1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup (8 ounces) plain yogurt (I used fat free greek yogurt)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup agave nectar or honey (I ran out of honey, which is what the original recipe calls for, but the agave tasted great)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Zest from 1 lemon

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with your rack in the top third of the oven. Butter a muffin tin or put liners in the pan (reusable silicone for me).

Whisk together the dry ingredients - flour, millet, baking powder, baking soda, and salt - in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients - yogurt, butter, eggs, agave or honey, and lemon zest and juice - until everything is smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until everything is incorporated.

Spoon 1/4 cup of the batter into each muffin cup. Each cup will almost be filled to the brim. Bake for around 15 minutes, until the muffin tops are browned and beginning to crack and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of your biggest muffin. Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.

I enjoyed my muffin plain, but they would be delicious slathered in salted butter, lemon curd, or honey. Enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal with Apples & Pecans

It snowed last night. It's October. I hate the cold and snow, but I do love warming my house up with delicious cold weather food. My mom is visiting from Maine, so I thought I should make something special for breakfast. I grabbed my favorite new cookbook - Super Natural Every Day, which makes me drool and want to quit my job to cook all day - and found the perfect recipe. The author (Heidi Swanson) made hers with bananas and huckleberries, but I only had delicious, in-season macoun apples on hand. Here's my version of this perfect cold-weather breakfast bake.

I love that Swanson gives me the weights of the ingredients, as well as the standard baking measurements. I always use my food scale for recipes when I'm given the weights, so I am adding both measurements below.

Original inspiration: Super Natural Every Day (Swanson)

Servings: 6 main course portions or 12 portions if you are serving with other breakfast/brunch items

WW: 7 pointsplus

Ingredients:

2 cups (7oz) rolled oats

1/2 cup (2oz) chopped pecans, toasted

1/3 cup (2oz) maple syrup (brown sugar or agave would also be delicious), plus more for serving

1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

2 cups milk (I used skim)

1 large egg

1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups (7.5 ounces) apples, peeled and diced

Method:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter the inside of an 8" square baking dish.

In a bowl, mix together the oats, half of the pecans, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

In a second bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, milk, egg, butter, and vanilla.

Arrange 2/3 of the apple on the bottom of the baking dish. Top with all the oat mixture. Then, slowly pour the milk mixture over the oats. Move the baking dish around on the counter a bit to make sure that the milk gets all the way through the oats. Top the dish with the rest of the apples and pecans. I pushed the apples and pecans down a bit with a spatula to make sure they are in the wet oat mixture.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the dish is set and golden brown on top (mine only took 35 minutes, but my oven runs a bit hot). Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Serve with additional maple syrup for people to drizzle on their dish, if they prefer it a bit sweeter.

Lentil Tacos

This recipe is absolutely delicious. I'm saying that as a person who doesn't particularly like lentils. Usually the texture is too lentilly for me. Lentil tacos changed all that!

Original inspiration: allrecipes.com
Servings: 4 (3 tacos each serving)
WW: 10 pointsplus when I make it (depends on the tortillas you choose)

Ingredients:

1 cup lentils (I prefer sprouted green lentils, but I think anything can work)
1 cup salsa (whatever kind you like - I've used green and traditional and both turned out great)
2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
2 cups onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons olive or canola oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon ground oregano
12 taco shells or taco-sized tortillas (3 per serving - I typically use blue corn crunchy shells, but you can find lower pp options)

Method:

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet until hot, then add the onions and garlic and saute until tender.

Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin, and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes while mashing the lentils slightly. Stir in salsa. Each taco should have approximately 1/4 cup of filling. Top with all of your favorite taco fillings: cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream or guacamole (additional pointsplus).