Brownie Muffins

Here is your swapportunity to take advantage of my new recipe with only 3 ingredients!

I can’t believe it has been a month since my last post, I guess summer gets the best of us and before we know it…the dreaded BACK TO SCHOOL! Yay for me, boo for them 😀

Ok, back to my recipe, you are not going to want to ignore this one! I found this from Hungry Girl and I am always looking for new ways to swap high fats for good fats and so on. I recently tried those black bean brownies you see everywhere…ya that is SO not for me (or anyone else in the house!) THESE my friends….you are going to LOVE. You know that saying you won’t miss a thing when you are subbing an ingredient for another? Well it is so true here! I promise, you will never make these the “regular” way again! The best part is the calorie count for one of these is 143 calories and 3 grams of fat! You can’t beat that for a moist, fluffy, chocolaty brownie treat! 

Count down with me…3, 2, 1…here we go!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Box Duncan Hines Devils Food Cake Mix
• 1 Can Libby’s Pumpkin Puree (15 oz can)
• 1 tbsp. Nestles Chocolate Chips, divided

DIRECTIONS -Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

1. Mix together cake mix and pumpkin puree until well combined.
2. Add about 2 tbsp. mix into muffin liners and top with a few mini chocolate chips.
3. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and let cool before devouring + enjoy!
5. Press the STAPLES easy button 😀

 

If you liked this recipe, you will love these:

• Dark Chocolate Coconut Banana Cake Bites
• Chocolate Chip Nutella Banana Bread
• Ultimate S’mores Bread

 

Strawberry Swirled Lemon Bars

I was feeling in a rut with the foods I had been eating since I have been eating primarily so much healthy stuff. This particular afternoon I was getting ready to head to a Relay meeting, and I felt that thing..you know…that baking itch? I decided to make lemon bars since they are fairly easy and quick to make. However, since strawberries are in season I always have 1-2 quarts of them in my fridge on hand. I got to thinking of strawberry lemonade, then figured why not in my lemon bars? I took a quick Facebook poll (sad I know!) to determine if I should or not, the response was just as I had hoped…STRAWBERRIES! And so…this recipe was born and summer has officially begun in my house here in California!

I am loving nothing more and feeling so honored to be able to share this recipe for the first time with My Imperfect Kitchen readers! Sara is an amazing blogger, friend and person. I hope everyone loves this recipe as much as my Relay committee members and family did. I even snuck 3 of them into my belly!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup coconut flour, sifted
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
4 eggs, beaten
1.5 cups white sugar
1/4 cup coconut flour
½ tsp baking soda
2 lemons, juiced and seeded (zest 1 lemon first and reserve)
4 strawberries pureed with a little coconut water to thin out
Powdered sugar for dusting top (optional)

DIRECTIONS – Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

1. In a bowl, combine butter, flours and 1/2 c of sugar. Mix well.
2. In a greased 9×13″ pan, press crust into the bottom until even.
3. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
4. In another bowl whisk together the remaining sugar and flour, then whisk in the remaining ingredients, except strawberries (don’t forget the lemon zest).
5. Pour the filling over the warm crust.
6. In a blender or food processor puree the strawberries. Dollop 1 teaspoon at a time over the filling until it is all used up. Using a toothpick or wooden skewer, drag the strawberry mixture through the lemon mixture. Be sure not to press all the way to the crust.
7. Put back in oven and bake for another 25 minutes or until center is firm. They do firm more when cooled. Dust with powdered sugar (optional) Cut into squares once completely cool and enjoy!

If you like this recipe, check out more from Sweet Heat Chefs:

• Coconut Strawberry Cake Cocktail
• Dark Chocolate Coconut Banana Bites
• Strawberry Banana Yogurt Popsicles
• Green Smoothie

Strawberry Banana Yogurt Popsicles

This past weekend was a hot one! I found myself browsing recipes to try to find something that I could make to beat the heat. As usual I find many a recipe over at The Slow Roasted Italian. This was no exception, as I found just the recipe I needed. You can see their recipe here. I changed nothing about it, that is how good it is!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds ripe strawberries, washed and hulled
• 3 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Combine strawberries, 2 tablespoons sugar and lemon juice in a food processor and blend until smooth. 

Divide half of the strawberry mixture in your popsicle molds and set it aside.

In a small bowl combine bananas, yogurt, 1 tablespoon sugar and vanilla and stir to combine.

Add banana mixture on top of the strawberry mixture in the popsicles molds, filling them about 2/3 full.

Pour remaining strawberry mixture on top.  Freeze 4-24 hours until completely frozen.

Don’t have a Popsicle mold? Use an ice-cube tray, younger kids love to eat them this way too. Place a layer of plastic wrap over the top and insert toothpicks or popsicle sticks to keep in place while freezing. ENJOY your summer!

Week 2 Healthy Eating

Ah the infamous week 2! It brought both pain, tears and laughter. Apparently I gave myself shin splints as I didn’t have the correct shoes to run in. Without an extra $60+ lying around I had to grin and bear it. Icing my leg after each run, resting with my foot up and later in the week I got smart and bought the old ICY HOT to rub on! Oh boy did I smell “old”. I ended up borrowing the money from my dad to get the shoes I need because the pain became unbearable. Quite frankly I didn’t deserve the pain I was in and due to the fact I was trying so hard to lose this weight, it seemed unfair, so I bit the bullet and asked my dad if he wanted to contribute to the Monica get fit fund! LOL

Right away I could tell the shoes helped. Until I had gotten them I had stopped running and just walked as fast as I could. I still had to ice when I got home, but as the days went by the pain became bearable again. I upped my workout this week to 2 times a day, equaling close to 2 miles each workout. You know you are dedicated when you push through the pain and “just do it” day in and day out. My kids looked at me and wondered why in the world I would put myself through the torment. I think one day they will get it, but they don’t see me as I see myself. I hope I have inspired them as interestingly I have inspired myself. I just want my kids to look up to me and see all that I am doing is to become a better version of me.

This week in food I made sure to measure-measure-measure. Remember last week I only lost 2#? I was NOT going to live through that again. Someone told me, and I know it’s true, that losing 1=2# a week is normal and the way you should lose weight. I am too impatient for that. I do all this work, I want results! HA! So this week as I said I was going to make sure I lost more than 2#. Although that same person told me to go find something that weighed 2# and pick it up to see just how heavy it really was. You know what? She was right, 2# is not light! I felt better after that.

BBQ Chicken Wrap: (in photo above)

1 10″ large jalapeno cheddar tortilla

4.5 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and diced

1/4 cup baby spinach, washed

3 tsp. shredded mozzarella cheese

28 grams of asparagus, cooked but still firm

1.5 tbs your favorite barbecue sauce (I use Bullseye, be careful on the sugar content)

Add all ingredients to tortilla and roll up. I had a side of shelled edamame beans (super great source of protein) the BBQ Chicken Wrap comes in at 450 Calories and 11 grams of fat!

I again ate my Luna bars trying various flavors. so far the Chocolate Peppermint Stick and Chocolate Dipped Coconut are my favorite and I highly recommend them. I have even given them to my kids as a treat and they LOVE them! 

Music motivation this week:

P.O.D. – Here Comes the Boom

Since one of my weaknesses is sweets, I made a yummy version of banana bread that will set your heart a fluttering! Mocha Cappuccino Banana Bread Bites, only 92 calories!! Curbs that sweet tooth after just 1! Freeze them and take out as needed or store in an airtight container. 

When Monday rolled around, I was so excited to step on that scale…the result…4# that means I am down 6#!!!! WOO-HOO!!! I knew I could do this, what a confidence booster! I do not go to the gym, I do not take diet pills, I do eat REAL butter AND had chocolate and lost 4#, SUCCESS= ME!

If I can do this, ANYONE, can do this! Did you have an amazing feat this week? Tell me about it in the comments I’d love to hear about it!

Photo taken from the Spark People Pinterest page

 

Missed week 1? Check it out here:

• Week 1 Healthy Eating

Mocha Cappuccino Banana Bread Bites

In keeping up with my low-fat and low-calorie diet, I still need 2 things: (1) SUGAR and (2) CHOCOLATE! There are a few things I won’t give up because, well, I LOVE FOOD and that won’t change! But the reality is you don’t have to give up foods you enjoy to lose weight. Moderation is key. When I say moderation, I mean moderation sometimes in small amounts. You are giving yourself the satisfaction to please your tummy, mind and soul without having to feel like you blew your day’s workout or the progress you’ve made in losing weight thus far. With all that in mind I came up with these banana bites with chocolate, fruit, & even sugar in combination with fiber and protein  seriously this is a WIN-WIN if I ever saw it!

INGREDIENTS
3 medium-sized ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup sweetened apple sauce (I use Tree Top pre-packaged for convenience in measuring each cup is 1/2 cup)
1.25 cups white whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
2 large egg whites
1/2 tsp real vanilla extract
3 tbsp Jif Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread (YUM!)
Mini Chocolate Chips (optional to sprinkle on top and is not included int he nutritional value of this recipe)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 325°. Spray a non-stick loaf pan, or muffin tin, or brownie pan ( I used brownie pan) with a non stick spray. IF your pans are non stick no need to do this.
2. Mash bananas and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, bananas, apple sauce, Jif Mocha Cappuccino Hazelnut Spread, and vanilla. Beat with mixer until well combined.
4. Add flour mixture, then blend at low-speed until combined. Do not over mix.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan; bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Serving Size: Makes 18 Mocha Cappuccino Banana Bread Bites at 1.75 oz each

 

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Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 18
Calories: 92.1
Total Fat: 2.1 g
Cholesterol: 1.9 mg
Sodium: 197.6 mg
Total Carbs: 18.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.6 g
Protein: 2.0 g

Home Made Plain Greek Yogurt

You know how we LOVE Greek Yogurt, but it takes a toll on our pocket books? Well here is an easy, NO FAIL way to make it yourself at a fraction of the cost in 2 easy steps, AND you can make it savory or sweet! It is thick and creamy just like the store stuff, you will love this, I promise!

INGREDIENTS

1 – 32 oz. container plain yogurt, I used Mountain High Original Style All Natural Yoghurt.

DIRECTIONS

1. Find a strainer that will fit over a bowl and add yogurt into strainer.
2. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 24 hours.
3. Remove from refrigerator and discard the whey in bowl.
4. Place into an airtight container, I used the same one it came in after I cleaned it that way you will know the expiration date. Keep refrigerated.

Add to your favorite savory dishes or dips, like my Spicy St. Patty’s Day Deviled Eggs, or my Tzatiziki; Or try your endless options with sweet toppings like fresh strawberries, granola, honey, or any fresh in season berries!

Strawberry Cake Cookies

I have never heard of cake cookies. I came across a recipe the other day that talked about it, and I had to try it. I usually am about making my food from scratch, but something about this jumped out at me. Moist soft cookies with few ingredients, I just had to do it.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought I’d surprise the kids with a little pre V- Day treat. They loved it, I loved it and I am almost teetering on the fence as to make more! Scary right? Ok, I won’t apologize for making my life easier by using cake mix to create cookies, but I will apologize for not finding these sooner!

These cookies contain a whopping 4 ingredients 5 if you use the optional ingredient. I heart cake cookies and I’m not afraid to admit it. I am sure I will get some flack for even posting this on my blog, but it’s ok. We all need a quick and easy go to recipe, this is a perfect one! Enjoy 😀

INGREDIENTS

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 box strawberry cake mix
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1.5 cups white chocolate chips 
• heart shaped candy (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2. In a medium sized bowl combine, butter, cake mix and eggs. Stir until well mixed.
3. Add white chocolate chips and stir until incorporated.
4. Chill dough for about 2-3 hours or until firm.
5. Take 1 tablespoon of dough and form a ball, roll in white chocolate chips or heart candies and place on cookie sheet. In between batches I keep dough in refrigerator to keep cold.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Ultimate S’mores Bread

Who doesn’t love a good S’more? It used to be it was just a camping affair, but not anymore. Not with all the talented cooks coming up with amazing recipes to create fond memories of campfires past. In fact this S’mores Bread was created by a good friend of mine Becca over at It’s Yummilicious.

Of course if given the chance to make a sweet treat that involves chocolate I have to over do it. So this is why I call it the Ultimate S’mores Bread. Now, there will be no more waiting for summer, no more waiting for camp fires…my S’mores addiction can be curbed at anytime with a few simple ingredients that I tend to keep on hand anyway. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 packages of Crescent Rolls
• 1 cup of mini chocolate chips (reserve a few to sprinkle on top)
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 2 cups of mini marshmallows
• 1 sleeve of graham crackers, crushed
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

• Using a foil or parchment paper lined cookie sheet, arrange the crescent rolls with the large side toward the middle and the points hanging over the edge.
• Crush your graham crackers and sprinkle them down the center of the crescent rolls like the picture below.

• Next add your chocolate chips & white chocolate chips

• Next add your mini marshmallows and begin to fold the points of the crescents up and over the top creating a braid.

• Melt the butter and brush over the top of the braid. (or you can cut up the butter and place on top)
• Next sprinkle the cinnamon, marshmallows and a few mini chocolate chips over the top.

• Cook at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until the braid is golden brown and the marshmallows are too. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting into. Sink your teeth into the blissfully decadent sweet bread that since it is made with croissants, I justify eating for breakfast too! 

You might also like:

• Chocolate Chip Nutella Banana Bread (sweetheatchefs.com) 
• Egg Nog Rum Bread (sweetheatchefs.com)
• Pumpkin Spice Doughnuts (sweetheatchefs.com)

This recipe is being shared at:

 
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Chocolate Chip Nutella Banana Bread

Be prepared to WOW your taste buds! I made some mini tarts with Nutella and topped with banana slices. After that it was on to see what else I could make with Nutella besides my spoon inserted into the container <blushing> So while sitting in the kitchen looking for inspiration I see browning bananas calling my name. I remembered seeing a recipe somewhere recently for Nutella muffins, from my good friend Becca over at It’s Yummilicious. If you want to check out her fantastic page click HERE. If you want to see all her amazing Nutella recipes click HERE.

This is a great recipe to share on Valentines Day for that special someone. Perhaps a neighbor who helps you out, your kids’ teacher, your daycare provider, or even your spouse! Imagine opening up a cute little box of this homemade treat instead of boxed candy this year!! It is quick, easy and ooey gooey bites of chocolaty deliciousness! Here is how…

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil, or coconut oil; or 1/4 cup coconut oil and  1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup Nutella (heaping)
• 2 overripe bananas, smashed
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (no buttermilk? no problem, see additional notes at bottom of page)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup mini milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare two loaf pans by lining with parchment paper. Or you can just spray the tin, I use the parchment because I think it is easier to get out and makes the bread better when cooking.
2. Mix oil, Nutella, and sugar in a large bowl with a stand mixer.
3. Add the bananas, eggs, buttermilk, and baking soda to the Nutella mixture. Mix well.
4. Slowly add flour and chocolate chips, just until combined.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans.
6. Top with a few mini chips or Valentine’s candy or colorful sprinkles.
7. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Make sure to let cool before slicing

Additional Notes:

How to make your own Buttermilk:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbs vinegar

Combine ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes. Then add to recipe. That’s it!

 

You might also like:

• Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars (sweetheatchefs)
• Blackberry Strawberry Goddess (sweetheatchefs)
• 7-Ingredients Breakfast Nests (sweetheatchefs)

Gingerbread Pancakes with Molasses Butter

gingerbread pancakes (Photo credit: emdot)

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups pancake mix
1.25 cups (10-oz bottle) sparkling apple cider
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 tsp Gingerbread Spice Mix

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large bowl Pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake into a lightly buttered skillet.
2. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, flip and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
3. Serve warm with Molasses Butter.

Molasses Butter

• 6 tbsp softened butter
• 1 tbsp dark molasses
• 1/4 tsp Gingerbread Spice Mix

Stir all ingredients together in a bowl until well combined and dollop on top of pancakes.

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