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!

Kale Chips

Smitten Kitchen is the world's greatest food blog. It is official. Deb, the queen of Smitten, is the wonderful person who first introduced me to kale chips. Oh kale chips...how I love thee. Hardly a week goes by without these crispy little super foods accompanying my dinner. They are great with a burger instead of fries. Delish!

Original inspiration: Smitten Kitchen

Serving Size: 2

WW: 2 pointsplus per serving

Ingredients:

1 large bunch of kale (lacinato or curly - it doesn't matter)

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Method:

The secret to this recipe is the olive oil to kale ratio. Too much olive oil makes them limp. I find that one teaspooon of evoo for every 4 ounces of kale works best. I'm very scientific like that. This recipe can be easily adjusted to make enough for 1 or 10. This recipe is for two large portions.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Desteam kale and tear into small-medium sized pieces. Wash well and dry.

Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper (or any other spices you like). Spread in a single layer on a cookie sheet (you might need more than one). Bake for 20 minutes or until crisp. Let cool for about 5 minutes, then serve.

I love topping them with nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese. So good! An easy way to get your WW healthy oils and veggie healthy checks.