Apple Ricotta Mini Muffins
Mini muffins are always a hit with kids. These moist muffins are perfect for a family breakfast on the run or to wrap and tuck into backpacks as a healthy snack.
Topping
3/4 cup (180 mL) rolled oats
1 Tbsp (15 mL) sucanat or natural cane sugar
2 Tbsp (30 mL) maple syrup
1/2 tsp (2 mL) ground cinnamon
Muffin Batter
1/2 cup (125 mL) rolled oats
1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/4 cup (60 mL) flaxseeds
1 medium Macintosh apple, diced
1/3 cup (80 mL) virgin coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
1/3 cup (80 mL) maple syrup
1/2 cup (125 mL) unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup (125 mL) low-fat ricotta cheese
1 large free-range egg, lightly beaten
With oven rack positioned in middle of oven, preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line mini-muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
In medium bowl, stir together topping ingredients until well combined. Set aside.
In large bowl, stir together rolled oats, flour, baking powder, salt, flaxseeds, and diced apple.
In another medium bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil, maple syrup, applesauce, ricotta cheese, and egg.
Pour coconut oil mixture over oat mixture and stir with fork until just combined. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups and sprinkle some topping mixture over each muffin. Bake until golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let muffins cool for a few minutes in their pan, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature.
Muffins can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Yields 34 mini muffins.
Each serving contains:
76 calories; 2 g protein; 3 g total fat (2 g sat. fat, 0 g trans fat); 12 g carbohydrates; 1 g fibre; 42 mg sodium
Source: "Cheese Please," alive #347, September 2011
Apple Ricotta Mini Muffins
Directions
READ THIS NEXT
SEE MORE »
Yogurt Marinated Chicken with Lemon and Cilantro
Yogurt completely transforms the texture of these chicken thighs, making them tender and flavourful with bright notes of lemon and cilantro. Ideal for a day trip, these can be marinated in the morning and cooked in the evening, but they also work well when cooked in advance and packed for a picnic to be eaten cold. Marinade mentions Marinate chicken thighs for anywhere between 4 and 24 hours. Discard excess marinade that has been in contact with raw chicken. It should not be consumed uncooked.
Kale and Napa Cabbage Salad with Sumac Pickled Onions
Citrusy and slightly sour sumac and a touch of maple syrup enliven pickled onions in a perfect complement to this salad. Kale and Napa cabbage stand up for hours to the sweet and puckery dressing, and hearty farro will keep you going while on the road. This salad is sure to be a favourite for picnics, backyard potlucks, or road trip lunch stops. Dressing for dinner This salad stands up well, even while dressed, for up to 4 hours. (Truth be told, I’ve often happily eaten it the next day.) In fact, time helps kale to soften up and become even more delicious. If you’re travelling for a longer period, make the pickled onion dressing as described above: let it stand for about 20 minutes, and then add all the oil and pack it into a separate container so you can finish the salad when you arrive at your destination. The pickled onions are also great with steaks or chicken.
Freeze-Ahead Breakfast Wraps with Sweet Potato, Red Pepper, and Spinach
These wraps are perfect for an overnight journey when you want to have something quick and satisfying the next day. Sweet smoked paprika adds just a hint of smoky flavour to sweet potatoes, which join with spinach and red pepper to dress up eggs in a pleasing way. Make these wraps anytime and stick them in the freezer for your next excursion. Pack them frozen and they’ll have time to thaw on the journey, or put them in the fridge the night before you travel so you have something convenient and tasty to eat before you set off. Leave the ketchup bottle behind, and serve them with your own smoky red pepper sauce. Freeze with ease While foil is convenient for freezing and reheating these wraps, to cut down on waste, freeze wraps in a single freezer-proof container. Insert a small piece of parchment between each wrap so they don’t stick together. This will allow you to remove individual wraps easily when you need them.
Poached Sablefish and Bok Choy with Lemongrass, Ginger, and Chili
While sablefish’s texture and fat content stand up admirably to the heat of the grill, this firm fish is also delicious poached. For this recipe, sablefish’s luxurious taste is combined with a light fragrant broth of lemongrass and ginger punctuated with the heat of Thai chili. Sustainability status Sablefish, also known as butterfish or black cod, is a rich and satisfying fish, plentiful in omega-3s and sourced sustainably from the Pacific Northwest. Skin and bones Sablefish has large pin bones. Ideally, your fishmonger will remove them, but if not, before you begin, locate them along the fish’s centreline and, using a pair of needle nose pliers, grasp them firmly to remove. You can leave the skin on for this recipe, which may help the fish hold together a little better while cooking, but it can be tricky to peel the skin away from the cooked fish and discard before plating. I opted to remove the skin first and simply keep a close eye on the cooking time, being careful to remove the fish from the poaching liquid before it flakes apart.