Sweet Potato Maple Muffins

This makes a great breakfast on the go or good snack option for busy days. I freeze them and throw a couple in my bag for Rae and me. By the time I'm ready to enjoy it, it's thawed out. Or if you can reheat in a 325 degree oven for 10 or so minutes.

2 eggs

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 Tbs olive oil

½ cup crushed pineapple with juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup grated raw sweet potato

½ cup raisins

½ cup sunflower seeds or chopped walnuts

1 ¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour

¼ cup wheat germ

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1. In a large bowl, blend together the eggs, syrup, olive oil, pineapple, vanilla, sweet potato, raisin and seeds. In another bowl, stir together the flour, wheat germ, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. Preheat oven to 375. Grease 12 regular muffin wells. Combine the wet and dry ingreditens and mix only until just combined. Spoon into prepared muffin tin. Divide all the dough into 12 muffin cups.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Recipe note: if you want a smoother muffin, put the pineapple and sweet potato in a blender or food processor before stirring them into the flour. You can also blend the raisins if you want to disguise them.

Baking with Honey

Last night I went to a girls night that focused on health and wellness. It was very informative and fun to learn what we should eat and why. I take a lot of pride in raising my children and a husband ;) and I want them to eat well. My next calling in life will probably be a nutritionist or dietitian and having a chef background will give me an extra edge because I know what I'm talking about when it comes to food.


This being said, I LOVE dessert. Those that know me, know that I am truly in love with it. BUT those that know me also know I am very much into health, fitness and healthy eating. I have always known that sugar is bad for you, but it's a must in baking! My 2 professional jobs were baking and dessert making and I was surrounded by the white stuff. After really learning about what sugar does to my body though, it has got me thinking this morning.

Because I cannot give up dessert entirely, I have been researching how to replace sugar in baking recipes with better alternatives like honey or agave nectar. This is what I have learned...

·    When baking with honey or agave, you use a 1 to 0.75 ratio. Meaning, if a recipe calls for 1 cup sugar, you would use 3/4 cup honey or agave.

·    Because honey and agave are part water, you must reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup. For example, when making banana bread that calls for 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk, you would use 3/4 cup honey or agave and 3/4 cup milk. Or if banana bread calls for oil, reduce oil by 1/4 cup.

·    In baking cookies for instance, because there is no liquid besides eggs, you need to increase the flour. For every 1 cup of honey used, increase flour by 2 tablespoons. Also, when baking cookies, add 1/2 tsp extra of baking soda for every cup of honey used.

·    Honey causes baked goods to brown faster, so you need to reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees.

I am famous for chocolate chip cookies and am anxious to try making them with honey the next time around. When I do, I'll let you know how they turn out. If you know of any other tips or recipes with using honey or agave as sweeteners to replace sugar, leave a comment and let me know! Happy baking :)