I stuck the Pepper Steak in the crockpot to start cooking while I mixed up a batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.
We're experimenting with replacing refined sugar at our house right now so I redid this recipe to see if I could tweak it enough to make it healthful but still delicious. I used fresh-ground whole wheat flour, farm-fresh eggs, and 1 1/2 cups sucanat in place of the sugar.
They ended up turning out quite delicious! They are a little heavier than usual and wee bit less moist than the original recipe, but they are still very good and the girls didn't seem to notice any difference. I'm pretty sure that they'll gladly eat just about anything so long as it has chocolate chips in it!
Now if I could just replace the oil, make my own pumpkin puree, use chocolate chips made without refined sugar, and replace the storebought milk with organic farm-fresh milk, these would be the most nutritional muffins you ever did eat. But it's all about making little changes and babysteps, right? So I'll just guilt-lessly feed my family these healthified Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins!
Next up: Turkey Meatballs and Farmhouse Chicken
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Hey everyone!
I am new to the baking realm. My hubby is buying me a grain grinder and some wheat berries for Christmas.
I’d like to know what wheat berries to get and if there is anything else I will need to hit the ground running once the time comes. We’re looking forward to making our own breads, pizza crust, tortillas, pita pockets, muffins and pancakes and waffles. Sooo, could anyone recommend the things I need to get started? What wheat has worked best for you? Feel free to email me: shiela.horton@yahoo.com.
Thanks all!!!
I’ve started replacing vegetable oil with coconut oil as well (or organic/natural applesauce). I am eliminating vegetable oils (such as corn, canola, etc not olive) from my family’s diet…they are highly processed with lots of chemicals (and are toxic when heated), and aren’t as healthy as once thought. Here’s some good (but lengthy) reading on the topic: http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/oiling.html
I was intimidated at the thought of making my own pumpkin puree–until this year. It was so easy and it turned out great in some pumpkin cookies. My dad is a farmer and I always hated to see those extra pumpkins go to waste. Thank you for inspiring me with your cooking posts!
I don’t know if anyone else mentioned this or if you are already doing this, but when you replace the white flour in a recipe with whole wheat flour you don’t want to do it cup for cup. IThat may be why your muffins turned out dry. Whole wheat flour weighs more than white flour and really flour is best when added by weight. So when I sub whole wheat for white I always use less whole wheat – like take about 2 tablespoons out of each cup of wheat flour. Does that make sense? For example, my favorite recipe for rolls calls for 3 1/2 cups of flour. I do it with whole wheat flour and only use 3 cups. Comes out perfect. If I use more than that they are dry.
I made these yesterday and made these changes: of the flour called for I used white whole wheat flour for 2/3 of it and reg. flour for the remaining 1/3, cut the sugar in half and used 3/4 cup of plain (whole fat) yogurt and 1/2 cup oil. I also used Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips and threw some freshly ground flax seeds in as well. They were really great! Perfectly moist and light. I’ll be making these again soon. Thanks for sharing!
I get lighter whole wheat results with pastry wheat – it mills up nice and light. You can also use some applesauce to replace part of the oil – usually half, and that will cut the fat and increase the fiber a bit without sacrificing taste and texture too much.
I always cut the amount of chocolate chips, and no one notices. Also, if you use the mini chips, the flavor is more spread out!
http://www.tenthingsfarm.blogspot.com
I wholeheartedly agree with Caroline about fats being good for us. Coconut oil is a wonderful fat and I have been substituting it for almost all the oils in my baking. I look for ways to incorporate coconut into my diet (and I don’t even really like it – but you don’t taste the difference in baked goods).
Heavenly Homemaker has a great recipe for making your own healthy chocolate chips.
These sound yummy – can’t wait to try them.
Thanks!
This may sound really strange but you can substitute beans for oil or butter in baked goods recipes. You just pick a cooked bean that has about the same color as what you’re baking so the color doesn’t look strange in your recipe and mash them up before putting in. I seriously do this a lot and my family can’t tell the difference. It makes things a lot fluffier and has the added fiber benefit. You do need to make sure you grease your pans well though because you are taking the butter or oil out. The substitution ratio is the same.
In our pumpkin bread, I add more pumpkin in place of some of the oil. In a banana bread recipe I have, it just has lots of banana – and no oil. Both work great for me.
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