Happy Birthday, Olive!

This is Olive.   Olive is the oh-so-sweet Bernese Mountain Dog who joined our pack almost two years ago. If you’re asking yourself why a person would decide to get a third dog, you’re not alone. Our family thought we … Continue reading

Recipe of the Week: Banana Oat Muffins

There are two words we all hate to utter… “Pinterest Fail.” I’m sure you’ve been there. You found something online, followed the directions exactly and somehow ended up with a disappointing finished product. So now you have a clear picture of how I spent my Friday afternoon. I finally got around to making, what looked like, some really yummy muffins that I’d saved a few weeks back. While they were quite pretty when they came out of the oven, they were really heavy and rather bland.  

I see what they were going for with the recipe. It seems that they wanted to keep the recipe relatively healthy and without added sugar. The intention was good. The muffin was not. And so, I tried a couple more batches with some of my own tweaks. I increased the amount of banana and decreased the amount of oats. I soaked the oats for an extended period of time to soften them a bit. Their texture was off before. I also mixed the “topping” from the recipe into the entire muffin for flavor. I tried some dairy-free replacements too! Ultimately, I ended the evening with some solid Banana Oat Muffins that are still healthy, but far more enjoyable. If you have time, they go great with a quiet house and a cup of coffee. More realistically, they’re a great on-the-go snack for you and your family!


Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Serves 12

Ingredients

3 bananas

2 eggs

⅓ cup maple syrup

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 cup Greek yogurt (I tried substituting Silk’s almond yogurt for my lactose intolerant husband. It worked like a charm!)

1 1/2 cups oats 

1 cup whole milk (I also used Lactaid milk.)

Optional but recommended: Dried cranberries, blueberries, chocolate chips, or nuts

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚

2. Combine oats and milk in bowl and set aside

3. In a medium bowl, mash bananas. Mix eggs, maple syrup, salt, baking powder, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and Greek yogurt

3. Stir oat/milk mixture in with other ingredients. Let stand for a five minutes. 

4. Fold optional ingredient of your choice to mixture.

5. Line muffin tins with muffin liners. Pour the mixture into each muffin cup about ¾ full.

6. Bake for 40 minutes.

7. Let cool for 5 minutes before eating. 

Let me know how you like them!


(Here is the original recipe I’d found.)

Recipe of the Week: One Pan Sausage and Veggies

I know I’m not alone when I say that finding a delicious meal that is actually easy is like hitting the jackpot. I found this recipe on Pinterest and tried it for dinner this week. It was incredibly easy and … Continue reading