Strawberry & Peanut Butter Whole Wheat Oat Muffins

Somehow I always end up missing strawberry season because it seems to go by so quickly, so this year I was determined to bake at least one thing with strawberries. 

We don't really want a lot of desserts around right now though, so I decided to bake something on the healthier side.  And because we are only two people, I wanted something that can freeze well.  Enter muffins!

I had it in my head to make peanut butter and strawberry muffins, which surprisingly I could find almost no recipes for, so I decided to make up my own.  Peanut butter and jam goes together, so why not pb and fresh strawberries!

Because I wanted these to be on the healthier side, I used all whole wheat flour combined with oats, only a bit of pure maple syrup for sweetener instead of sugar, natural peanut butter, unsweetened almond milk, only a tablespoon of oil, and fresh strawberries instead of jam.

While they're not exactly low-fat because of the peanut butter, and not vegan because I included an egg (I haven't really had success with eggless baked goods in the past and don't have any problems personally with an egg being included), I still consider them a wholesome snack that is perfect for afternoon cravings as they satisfy hunger pretty well!

These were photographed over a day after making them, so the strawberries I had placed on top aren't looking so hot, but I assure you that these still turned out great!

I also love slathering these in chia jam for more strawberry goodness.  If you've never made chia jam before, I encourage you to give it a try!  It's super easy and quick to make and so much better for you than regular jam.  I used the jam recipe from these strawberry oat squares by Oh She Glows, another strawberry recipe I'll have to try soon before the season is over!

Strawberry & Peanut Butter Whole Wheat Oat Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 cup natural peanut butter, melted slightly to mix in better

1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or I used 2 T maple syrup + 2 T honey)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 cup diced fresh strawberries

12 slices strawberries for the tops, if desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a regular 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Whisk the dry ingredients (flour through salt) together in a medium bowl.  In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients until just blended (egg through oil).  Add the wet ingredients along with the diced strawberries to the dry ingredients and fold together until just combined.

Divide batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups.  If desired, add a strawberry slice to the top of each muffin.  Bake muffins in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle of a muffin comes out clean.  Let cool for a couple minutes in the pan then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta with Chicken, Spinach, & Tomatoes

I don’t buy chicken that often anymore because it’s so expensive (and the cheaper stuff scares me a little) and now that I know I like tofu, I’m more likely to buy it for much cheaper.   When I saw some of the “good” chicken on sale the other day I impulsively threw it in my basket, then got home and had a hard time actually thinking of something to make with it!

In the end I decided to go with pasta because I've been thinking about this sundried tomato pesto dish from Oh She Glows that I made last summer and really loved, and chicken and sundried tomatoes go together much better than any other proteins I could think of.

But since I did my grocery shopping at a small market instead of a grocery store, they didn't have any of the ingredients I needed to make my own pesto.  They did, however, sell prepared sundried tomato pesto, so I went with that instead, which made this dish even easier!

They also sold this whole wheat fettucine with flax and chia, which cooked in only 3 minutes and was delicious. In the past I used Catelli's sundried tomato and basil spaghettini, which also goes great with sundried tomato pesto!

In addition to the pesto and chicken, I decided to add more sundried tomatoes, some sauteed grape tomatoes (cherry tomatoes would have also worked), and a bunch of spinach for added nutrition, though you could easily leave the spinach out if you're not fond of it.

All the flavours came together perfectly in a nice light-feeling summer meal.  If you have the time to make your own sundried tomato pesto (and/or you want a lighter version than the storebought heavy-on-the-oil type), I still recommend Oh She Glows' version, though I was happy that the few minutes I saved not making my own pesto meant a few more minutes to sit outside and relax after dinner before going back to schoolwork!

Whole Wheat Pasta with Sundried Tomato Pesto, Chicken, Tomatoes, & Spinach

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

85g (3oz) sundried tomatoes – dry in a bag (not oil packed)*

1 (341g or 12oz) package of whole wheat pasta – I used fettucine

2 teaspoons olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup sundried tomato pesto**

5 oz baby spinach (I used a spinach/arugula mixture)

Salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese for topping

Directions:

Season chicken breasts, if desired (I used salt, pepper, and dried basil) and cook however you prefer.  I saute mine in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes per side, let rest, then slice.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add sundried tomatoes and blanch for 2 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon, let dry, and thinly slice.  Use the same boiling water to add your pasta and cook according to package directions.  Reserve 1 cup cooking water then drain pasta.

While pasta is cooking, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and grape tomatoes and sautee until softened, about 5 minutes.

Toss together the pasta, reserved cooking water, pesto, chicken slices, garlic & tomatoes, and sundried tomatoes.  Stir in the spinach so it gets slightly wilted.  Season the dish with salt and pepper if desired.

Serve hot, topped with parmesan cheese.

Notes:
*I used dried sundried tomatoes to add to the pasta because there was already so much oil in the pesto I used, but you can use oil-packed sundried tomatoes if you prefer.
**I used storebought pesto, but you could easily make your own, lighter version, in which case you might want to use more than 1/2 cup.  Use your own judgment and preferences to determine how much pesto to add.

Monthly Recap - June 2014

Summer's here!

I am so happy that summer has returned, even if our weather has been a little unpredictable over the past month.  It's still been bringing us beautiful sunsets!

Lately I've been loving stepping outside as the sun goes down to take a little break for reading (for pleasure, not school!).  Sometimes with tea..

.. and sometimes with beer (my preference, but I'm trying to limit my beer consumption!)

I've also been loving simple meals, like avocado toast (and I'm waiting for ripe local tomatoes to join the party!)

Grilled cheese is always a nice easy meal - this one had mushrooms added in for a little added nutrition!

Of course, dinner out is always nice too! I loved this pizza with chicken, sundried tomatoes, spinach, garlic oil, asiago, and mozzarella from Veloce.

Ice cream has been a must. Pictured above is actually one ice cream, one gelato, and one frozen yogurt - my bowl contained quinoa milk frozen yogurt which was surprisingly good!

I also made some banana soft serve (just frozen bananas pureed in a food processor until they reach soft serve consistency) for the first time in a while this month and remembered how much I love it! This version had a little natural peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon added in - so good!

I've also been refreshing myself with these naturally infused waters that Zpirit kindly sent me.  It's water infused with fresh herbs and fruit, with no artificial preservatives, flavour, or sweetener.  I love that you can see the actual pieces of fruit floating in the water!  I think the spiced pear & vanilla flavour was my favourite because I loved the vanilla scent, but the others (pineapple & sage, mandarin & mint, and peach & basil) were all good too!

For my sister's birthday dinner this month, my parents made a delicious Greek-themed meal of chicken souvlaki with tzatziki on pitas (and halloumi as a vegetarian option), Greek salad, and roasted potatoes, with a delightful strawberry shortcake for dessert!

On Father's Day, our whole family went out on a guided foraging expedition. We went to several different locations to learn about and forage naturally growing food in forests and along trails. At some points we were so deep in vegetation we felt like we were in Jurassic Park!

Here's a picture of some wild leeks we collected. We also gathered some cattail shoots, wild ginger, nettles, and a few fiddleheads.

That evening, my mom made a nettle soup using everything we'd collected and it was so good!

That afternoon we had lunch at Monforte in Stratford, where we all shared a bunch of small meals, including a lovely selection of cheeses and a ginger cookie ice cream sandwich with buffalo milk ice cream!

For dinner on Father's Day, we were all still full from our late lunch, so we set out a variety of appetizers and charcuterie to share throughout the evening. Easy and fun!

I went to one of my favourite healthy restaurants (and restaurant in general) this month, Thrive, where I had the banh mi sandwich, which has fresh and pickled vegetables, avocado, thai basil, sesame tempeh, and garlic aioli.  SO good!

And I had a ginger white tea kombucha to drink - I love kombucha!

I made healthier versions of pancakes a couple times this month.  First were these oatmeal chocolate chip banana pancakes from Ambitious Kitchen, which had a dense texture but tasted great, especially topped with a little melted peanut butter and maple syrup!

I also  made these gluten-free oatmeal cookie pancakes from Yammie's Gluten Freedom, which again had a different texture than regular panacakes, but taste like oatmeal cookies!

After a trip to the beach one day we picked up some fresh-caught lake pickerel to make baked fish and chips for dinner.  I cut the fish up and coated it in some seasoned panko breadcrumbs (I didn't have any eggs so I just dipped it in some milk to help stick) then baked it along with some oven fries using this recipe.  It definitely tasted 'light' compared to regular fish and chips, but we both enjoyed it!

One of my favourite meals I tried this month was this peanutty quinoa bowl with baked tofu from Oh My Veggies.  The tofu is marinated in a soy dressing (giving it that funny colour) and baked, and the quinoa is tossed with broccoli, red pepper, grated carrot (my addition) and a delicious homemade peanut sauce.  I doubled the recipe to have leftovers and am so glad I did!

Finally, I had three versions of strawberry rhubarb crisp this past month.  The first (on the left) was a regular rhubarb crisp, which was good, but needed strawberries and vanilla ice cream to balance out the tartness.  Next I attempted to make a healthy version (top right) with oats, dates, fruit, and a little maple syrup for sweetener, but it didn't turn out that well, unfortunately.  Then I got to enjoy my mom's classic strawberry rhubarb crisp which was of course the best!

That's it for June!  Hope you're all having a great summer so far!