Two Recipes

Here are two great recipes for you to try out.  I highly recommend them both.  The muffins are sooo tasty! They are even better to me than those really unhealthy muffins you can buy from stores or bakeries. You really cannot even tell that they are predominantly made with whole wheat flour.   The dressing is also fantastic. I used it the other night to marinate chicken and the chicken turned out really well.  Hope you enjoy these if you try them! 

Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins 

Recipe from Martha Stewart

1 cup whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/4 cup wheat germ

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 ripe bananas (about 1 pound)

1/3 cup reduced-fat (2 percent) milk 

[I used skim milk since that is what I keep in my house.]

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup frozen blueberries 

[I used about 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries, since that's what I had on hand.]

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.

With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in frozen blueberries.

Divide batter among muffin cups. 

[As you can see, I got fancy and added some chopped walnuts to the tops of the muffins. Highly recommend this if you like walnuts!]

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

Immediately devour and plot to make again.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Healthy Banana-Blueberry Muffins - Martha Stewart Recipes

Creamy Cilantro Tomatillo Dressing

from Gina's Skinny Taste

1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk

1/4 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt

1 small jalapeno, seeds removed, leave them in if you want it spicy

1/4 cup of fresh cilantro

1 tomatillo, husks removed, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 scallion

juice of 1/2 lime

1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes

1/8 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp salt

Gina's recipe directions are to throw everything in a blender until combined.  I gave everything a rough chop and threw it in my food processor.

Makes 1-3/4 cups.

Yum! Enjoy.