Lemon Blueberry Muffin Batter Smoothie
Anyone who has watched the original film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” has probably been at least slightly imprinted with some strange feelings about blueberries. Have you seen the movie? Remember Violet Beauregarde – that gum-chewing chatterbox who popped a piece of prototype gum into her mouth and began to turn blue and round like a blueberry? I for one watched the movie so many times that that scene is forever burned into my memory: the Oompa-Loompas had to roll the girl out of the room, she had grown so rotund. I must have developed a kind of horrified fascination for the idea of a child turning into a blueberry, for I wrote several short stories and drew a gallery of sketches of scenes based on the frightful metamorphosis portrayed in the movie. I did feel a bit reluctant to eat blueberries after the first time I saw that scene, but the hesitation was washed away when my mom offered me some of the offending fruits bathed in coffee creamer.
If you don’t want to end up like Violet Beauregarde (and most of us don’t), here’s some good news: there are plenty of healthy and delicious ways to consume blueberries without ballooning into a ball or turning blue. Why, blueberries are pretty much designed for the health-conscious, as they are very low in calories and high in vitamin C and fiber. Recently, the American Chemical Society proclaimed that eating berries can benefit the brain, particularly with the prevention of age-related memory loss.
All around, blueberries are a true super fruit. But as with many other foods, people have found ways to turn an innocent health food into a dangerous dish of dietary doom: blueberries are drenched in cream, dumped in sugary pies, and mixed into muffin batter riddled with butter, oils, white flour, refined sugar, all the other things health nuts try to avoid. In answer to a common question: no, the fact that a muffin has blueberries in it does not make it healthy. Not unless that muffin also happens to be made the smart way, with fat substitutes, low GI flour, and real, whole ingredients. Better yet, scrap the whole baking step, and dump the tasty soul of a muffin into the body of a nutritious smoothie. You’ll leave behind a lot of the carbs and sugars found in a baked muffin, and keep the delicious taste and healthy berries.
This smoothie was a successful mish-mosh of unbaked muffin and ice-cold drink. With a generous helping of both fresh and dried blueberries, it turned out a lovely shade of blue-purple. But don’t worry – the color will not manifest itself in your skin after drinking this smoothie. Nor will you grow round, your belt exploding off as Violet Beauregarde’s did in the movie. Nope, this is a smart snack to help you stay slim, packed with filling protein and fiber. Silly Violet should have been a smoothie enthusiast instead of a gum-chewer; it would have saved her a lot of heartache. As a child watching that film, I think I must have resolved to learn from the rotten childrens’ mistakes. That’s probably why I always strive not to drink out of a brown river, and why I’d choose a smoothie over gum any day.
Drinking this smoothie was almost like sipping a hearty blueberry muffin through a straw. It had all the satisfying comfort of homestyle muffin batter, plus the refreshing chill and invigorating flavor of zesty lemon. It was very thick and filling, and I knew I could feel good drinking it because it was truly a delectable glass full of calcium, protein, fiber, and antioxidants. I highly recommend setting aside some time in your busy morning to blend up this smoothie. It doesn’t take too much time to throw together, and it’ll take you scarcely as much time to slurp it all up!
Lemon Blueberry Muffin Batter Smoothie
makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
smoothie
- 1 banana
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 container Chobani brand lemon flavored Greek yogurt
- 2-3 small ice cubes
“muffin batter”
- 3 tbls whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp Earth Balance Whipped or Original Buttery Spread
- 1/2 tbl lemon curd
- 1/2 tbl honey
- 1-2 tbls water
- 1 tbl dried blueberries
Directions:
Place all smoothie ingredients in blender.
In a small bowl, combine “muffin batter” ingredients. (If you like, reserve dried blueberries for garnish.) Texture will be sticky and not at all like muffin batter…so just throw it in the smoothie and smash it all together!
Blend until smooth. Pour into desired glass. If you reserved the dried blueberries, add them on top as garnish. Sip with the soundtrack of the Oompa-Loompa song!
Sources: Nutrition info: http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-blueberries-i9050, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120307145825.htm
Violet Beauregarde Image: http://cher-homespun.blogspot.com/2011/08/flattery-is-like-chewing-gum-enjoy-it.html
Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake Cheesecake
Technology doesn’t like me! I’ve noticed lately that whenever I touch anyone’s phone or computer, it starts to work more slowly, the rainbow ball of death rears its ugly head, things break… I even have one friend who’s wary to let me touch her computer because of incidents like this! It’s not that I’m careless or aim to break things, but somehow technology seems to become more “delicate” when I’m around. In my opinion, all the electronics in the world have conspired to play broken whenever I get my hands on them. And of course, no one ever thinks to blame the contraption! No, those electronics appear so innocent…they’re only concealing the evil within.
A couple weeks ago, I couldn’t get the charger for my camera’s battery to fit into the wall outlet. I tried coaxing it gently, then pushing a little harder. Eventually I got quite a workout jamming it (gently) into the wall, but it just refused to fit. As a result, I couldn’t charge the battery, and the camera kept shutting off. On the screen was the all-too-familiar nag of “charge the battery.” Yeah, right. I just charged it!!! But of course the charger wasn’t working, for some unknown reason…
So we had to order a new charger. Thankfully, it was free, as stipulated under the kind Canon Elph warranty. While I await its arrival, I’ve been limping along by borrowing my brother’s camera. It doesn’t seem to be part of the conspiracy, as it’s been working diligently for me with no issues. In fact, I used it to get the most winning shot of Artemis sneaking some of my water the other night:
Busted!
I’m always trying to think of creative twists on classic recipes. Last week I got it into my head to combine two of my favorite desserts: coffee cake and cheesecake. I envisioned a soft layer of coffee cake with a smooth, tangy cream cheese layer over that. Needless to say, a cinnamon crumb topping would be involved!
As it turned out, the coffee cake layer I made turned out firmer than traditional coffee cake, sort of like a cake-y crust. It still tasted great, though, with the decadent cheesecake, flavorful blueberries, and a hint of lemon. The cinnamon topping adds delightful sweetness to the tart lemon flavor. And of course it was healthier than a traditional dessert. I replaced all the white flour called for whole wheat pastry flour, and subbed in Earth Balance for a trans fat free alternative to butter. The blueberries are a great source of antioxidants, and the lemon zest is high in vitamin C and Potassium. A fun dessert alternative to try!
Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake Cheesecake
Makes one 9″ round cheesecake
Ingredients:
for coffee cake “crust”
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tbl Earth Balance original buttery spread
- 2 tbls lemon curd
- 1 container Chobani Greek nonfat lemon yogurt
- zest of one lemon
for cheesecake
- 1 cup plain cream cheese (I used 365 brand cream cheese spread from Whole Foods Market)
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup organic light agave syrup
- 1 tbl lemon curd
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 3/4 cup fresh blueberries
for cinnamon streusel topping
- 2 tbls Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tbls whole wheat pastry flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Spray a 9″ round pan with nonstick spray.
For cinnamon topping: In a medium bowl, combine 2 tbls Earth Balance, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 tbls whole wheat pastry flour. Mix until a crumbly mixture forms. Set aside.
For coffee cake “crust:” In a large bowl, combine dry coffee cake ingredients and mix. Add wet ingredients and mix, but be careful not to over mix.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and spread evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 3-4 minutes. When done, remove from oven, but leave the oven preheated.
For cheesecake: In another large bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/3 cup agave, and one tbl lemon curd. Blend using an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Add the lemon zest and 3/4 cup blueberries. Stir gently.
When coffee cake has baked a few minutes, pour the cheesecake mixture on top. Over this, sprinkle the cinnamon topping. Return to the oven for another 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let the cheesecake cool a bit, then place in refrigerator to chill. Serve cold.
Update: My new camera charger came a few days ago. I have yet to try it out, but I hope it never reads this blog post and gets in on the technology conspiracy!
I had lots of help for this recipe! Thank you to The Realistic Nutritionist for the basis for my coffee cake base, to King Arthur Flour for the easy cheesecake recipe, and to Southernfood.about.com for the crumb topping recipe.
Source: Lemon zest nutrition info from: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/lemon-zest-lemon-8311647
Weekday Breakfasts, Updated! Monday: Whole Wheat Blueberry Lemon Coconut Muffins
Remember my Lunch Liberation Posts? I felt like my weekday brown-bag lunches were getting unbearably boring, so I challenged myself to a week of creating (somewhat) innovative new lunch ideas and posting them for you to try. That week was really helpful for me as I figured out how to make school lunches I can look forward to eating. This week, I aim to jazz up my breakfast routine. I will try to make a breakfast every day that is healthy, delicious, and quick enough to be assembled on a busy weekday morning. I am a preparatory sort of person (no I am NOT “preppy”, but I like to be prepared) so I anticipate some or all the recipes I post this week will involve some brief prep work the night before, and in the morning will be ready or practically ready to eat.
Since this is a health blog, I think I should include a little tidbit on the importance of breakfast. We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but many people skip breakfast or just grab some caffeine before running out the door to school or work. It’s true weekday mornings can be a big stressful rush, but if that’s the case for you just prepare something the night before, and when you wake up you can just eat and run. If you have something good to eat waiting for you in the kitchen, it’ll be that much easier to drag yourself out of bed on a weekday morning! 🙂
Some people skip breakfast not because of time constraints, but in order to lose weight. They think they are eating fewer calories by skipping breakfast. But in reality, the reverse is true: if you don’t eat in the morning, chances are you will be hungrier during the whole day and end up eating a lot of snacks and a bigger lunch and dinner. Overall, you will consume more calories. Having a tiny little breakfast is not much better, because it will still leave that incessant grumble in your stomach, bothering you all day until you give in and buy that package of Pop Tarts from the vending machine, or order that greasy cheeseburger for lunch. The best option is to make breakfast the largest meal of the day, and have smaller meals for lunch and dinner with small snacks in between if needed.
The best kind of breakfast is one that is balanced, with enough protein and carbohydrates to get you through your day. The amount of protein and carbs to consume depends on the individual, but keep in mind that this is supposed to be your highest-calorie meal of the day, so it should have significant nutritional value. I try to incorporate at least one serving of fruit into my breakfasts, and sometimes more, for fiber as well as other vitamins found in the fruit. Right now I’m into apples with peanut butter (or chocolate peanut butter as the case may be. Not as healthy as regular peanut butter, but I’m willing to make the sacrifice to prevent getting into a rut of the same boring breakfasts every day.) So to stop you from getting into a rut as well, here is the first of this week’s updated breakfast ideas: whole wheat muffins.
I made these muffins late Sunday afternoon, to have throughout the week. I haven’t tried freezing them for the long-term, but it may be a good thing to try. These are the first muffins I have ever made that are 100% whole wheat, and I love them! I think I’ll make them this way from now on. For these muffins, I adapted a recipe from 100 Days of Real Food. I wanted to make blueberry lemon coconut muffins, but I don’t think I added quite enough lemon flavor because it doesn’t really come out quite as much as I’d hoped in the baked muffin. So maybe I would try adding lemon juice, lemon zest, anything to increase the tanginess of the muffin batter.
But that’s really a small detail – the muffins are good overall. Great texture, and the lemon coconut filling I added makes for a splash of tangy flavor! Plus the muffins are healthy: they are whole wheat, contain blueberries, Earth Balance instead of butter, and Greek yogurt for a tad more protein. They also have less sugar than most muffin recipes: there is no granulated sugar in the recipe at all; the only sugars in the muffins come from the sugars in the maple, etcetera. So go ahead and take the time to make these muffins over the weekend and eat during the week – they are so much healthier than sugary store-bought junk. Plus you can customize them any way you like, maybe change out the lemon flavor for something else. Feel free to mix in different fruits, nuts, maybe even chocolate! (Shh…)
Whole Wheat Blueberry Lemon Coconut Muffins
makes 12 regular sized muffins
based on a recipe from 100 Days of Real Food
Ingredients:
for muffin batter
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 eggs (I used 6 tbls Egg Beaters egg substitute)
- 1 Greek lemon yogurt (I used Yoplait brand)
- 1/4 cup Earth Balance Original Buttery Spread (I did not soften this at all, but I recommend doing so)
- 2 tbls pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1/2 cup orange juice (I used Odwalla brand)
for lemon coconut filling
- 1/4 cup lemon curd
- 3 tbls sweetened flaked coconut
Directions:
For lemon coconut filling: In a large bowl, combine the lemon curd and coconut flakes. Stir with a spoon just until combined. Set this aside while you prepare the muffin batter.
For muffin batter: Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cups. (I recommend also spraying the paper cups with cooking spray, as my muffins sort of stuck to the paper once baked. But it’s not too big of a deal if they stick; I just use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the muffin until the paper peels off easily.)
In a large bowl, combine the whole wheat flour, baking powder, and cinnamon. Stir with a spoon until combined. Add the eggs/egg substitute, lemon yogurt, Earth Balance, maple syrup, vanilla, and OJ. Blend well with the spoon until just combined, but do not overmix. Gently stir in your blueberries.
Put it all together: Spoon some muffin batter into all muffin cups, filling each about halfway or a little less. Now, place a little dollop of filling onto each unbaked muffin, trying to keep it mainly in the center. Finally, cover the filling with more of the remaining muffin batter.
Muffin batter topped with filling:
Filling covered with muffin batter:
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 – 15 minutes. Your house will be filled with the delightful scent of warm lemony goodness – mmm…
Please Note: one of these little muffins is not intended to be a full breakfast. It is just a little treat to have along with some more healthy options to create a balanced meal.
Also Note: I’m sorry if I’m sounding like a bossy nutritionist. I’m not a nutritionist, and I certainly hope I’m not bossy! I just want to convey all the information I know about health.
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