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Brown Butter Blueberry Banana Bread

Brown Butter Blueberry Banana Bread

This Brown Butter Blueberry Banana Bread post is brought to you by the letter B. Actually, it’s brought to you by gigantic container of blueberries on sale at Trader Joe’s. Last weekend when I was out grocery shopping I picked up 2 lbs of blueberries because they were “a good deal”. Once I got home I realized I had no idea how I was going to use all of them! I could have made blueberry muffins, but I looked around my kitchen and saw 3 brown bananas on my counter, so blueberry banana bread it was. 

To make this banana bread even better, I decided to brown some butter to add to this batter. Not only because I love alliteration, but also because brown butter is delicious. It’s even more delicious than regular butter. When butter browns, it gets this toasty, nutty flavor that really adds so much flavor to whatever you put it in or on. 

It also helps that browning butter is very easy! All I do to brown butter is melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat and then let it simmer until it turns a nice amber color, like you see above. It only takes about 5 minutes to get the it perfectly brown. 

So I added the brown butter to the batter and once it was all mixed I folded in the blueberries. To prevent the blueberries from sinking to the bottom, I tossed them in some flour first before mixing them in. Then I poured the batter to a loaf pan lined with parchment so that I could easily remove the loaf from the pan when it was cool. 

Blueberry Banana Bread Loaf

The bread took about an hour to bake, then I left it out on the counter for another hour to cool before I sliced into it. 

Blueberry Banana Bread-6

I have to admit that I am not really a banana bread person, so maybe I am not the best person to judge this bread. But I did eat the small end slice and was pleasantly surprised! The crust on top was a tad crunchy, and the bread in the center was pillowy soft. The banana flavor was subtle (because I only used partially browned bananas, not completely browned bananas) and was perfectly complimented by the nutty brown butter flavor and the tart blueberries. 

Blueberry Banana Bread-9

The true test for this banana bread was taking it in to work. Between the co-worker whose wife is in culinary school and the other at-home bakers like me, we seem to always have some home-baked goodies in the kitchen. Which means that I have some very spoiled and picky co-workers when it comes to baked goods. I knew that if someone tried this and didn’t like it, word would spread and I would be left throwing half a loaf away at the end of the day. 

Blueberry Banana Bread-8

The good news was the bread was gone by 10 am. Which means I can safely assume that it was a hit. Actually, I don’t have to assume…people came by my desk to tell me they had a piece and loved it. 

So if you love banana bread you will love this recipe! If you kinda like banana bread, even you will probably really like this recipe. If it can win over someone like me who it not generally a banana bread fan, it must be pretty stinkin’ good. 

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:48]

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffin

Peanut-Butter-Chocolate-Chip-Muffin-Title

It’s been a while since I have made muffins, hasn’t it? I used to make muffins all. the. time (ex. here, here, and here). It took a special occasion to get me back to muffin making. One of my coworkers and friends had a birthday last week. Her and I did the Whole 30 challenge together the first time, and started our second round together on Monday. Since she was about to give up all the wonderful food groups, like gluten, chocolate, and sugar, I wanted to make her something that packed all of them into one convenient package! Thus was born the peanut butter chocolate chip muffin! 

While this recipe is very similar to my basic muffin batter recipe, I did add in one critical ingredient: peanut butter powder. My original plan was to mix in classic peanut butter, but when I was perusing the grocery store aisle I came across this powder. I figured that this would actually be so much easier to incorporate into the muffin batter and wouldn’t add as much fat. But, since it is peanut butter chocolate chip muffin, I did add in a swirl of peanut butter which add just the right amount of peanut butter creaminess throughout the muffin. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins-6

And for an extra punch of peanut butter goodness (because who can get enough peanut butter?), I mixed together a strussel topping using some of the pb powder. I think it was the topping that made the muffin. I mean, the top of the muffin is the best part anyways; it’s crunchy on top and flaky on the bottom. But this just put it over the edge and gave it even more peanut flavor to balance the semi-sweet chocolate chips peppered throughout the muffin. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins-10

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins-11

So really, when you think about it, this muffin is pretty much a cupcake without the frosting. But what is wrong with cake for breakfast? Especially on your birthday! 

Nothing. Nothing is wrong with that. 

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:21]

 

Paleo Lemon Curd

Lemon-Bars-A-5title

And the lemon obsession continues. How many lemon recipes do you think I can post before Labor Day? The count is already up to three. I bet I can get to six. 

The funny thing about a Paleo lemon curd is that everything I would want to pair it with wouldn’t be Paleo. Like scones, muffins, biscuits, pie crust, etc. I guess I am going to have to learn how to make a Paleo scone or biscuit. Sounds like I have some work to do. 
Lemon Bars A-4

I wish I had taken more pictures of the process of making the lemon curd, but honestly it all went so quickly I didn’t think about it until it was all done. So instead here is a picture of lemon juice to remind you that there is lemon juice in the lemon curd. How on earth could you guys do this without me? 

Other than the lemon juice, there is a bit of lemon zest, a couple eggs and egg yolks, honey, and some ghee and coconut oil. I combine all of those things in a sauce pan over low heat and stir until bubbles form. This whole thing only takes about 5 minutes. I’m telling you, it’s quick! No time for pictures!

The final step is the most critical – straining the curd. YOU MUST STRAIN THE CURD. No matter how hard you whisk, you won’t be able to completely mix up the eggs and inevitably there will be chunks of egg left over. Gross. 

Lemon Bars A-6

Trust me, you will want smooth and silky lemon curd for your muffin (Paleo or not). 

This would be a great filling for a Paleo lemon meringue pie, tart, or other delicious treat. If you aren’t so into the whole Paleo thing, the good news is that you can just sub in sugar for honey and butter for the ghee and coconut oil. 

What other types of curd should I try? 

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:18]

Whole 30 Week 4 Recap and Meal Plan

Whole 30 Week 4

Today is day 30 of my Whole 30 Challenge!!! Excuse me while I go do my celebratory dance in the corner.

Now that that is taken care of….

A lot of people have been asking me, “what is the first thing that you are going to eat when you are done?” Well, I am going to go pretty crazy. I am going to have coffee….with sugar in it! Crazy right!?

Unfortunately, the Whole 30 folks recommend that I don’t jump right in to all those delicious foods that I have been avoiding, and instead slowly reintroduce some things back in. I am starting with sugar, so I plan on having some sugar in my coffee tomorrow. Maybe some honey on chia seed pudding. And maybe, just maybe, I will have some ketchup or barbecue sauce. Living life on the edge here, people. 

I am sure you are wondering how week 4 went. After making such a big deal about how terrible it would be last week, it actually wasn’t that bad. I didn’t have any major cravings, but I did break down and made some bon-bon type goodie with dates, coconut, and cocoa powder. Just like the cookies from last week, anything remotely resembling a treat is strictly forbidden. 

Almond Joy Bites-1

Those bon bons were delicious by the way and I plan on sharing the recipe sometime soon!

The worst part about week 4 was that I just got lazy. I didn’t make breakfasts in advance so I had to scramble (no pun intended) in the morning to whip up some eggs or just grab an apple. I also got kinda lazy with meal planning. I really had to dig deep to motivate myself to make something creative. I turned heavily to my Against All Grain cookbook. 

And since we are on the topic of meals, here is what I had this week:

Monday:

Whole 30-1

Tuesday:

  • Breakfast: Scrambled eggs and ham
  • Lunch: Leftover dinner
  • Dinner: Paleo Beef Stroganoff (recipe to come)

Beef Stroganoff-1

Wednesday: 

  • Breakfast: Apple with almond butter
  • Lunch: Leftover dinner
  • Dinner: Baked chicken with steamed vegetables

Thursday:

  • Breakfast: Chia seed pudding with pomegranate seeds
  • Lunch: Leftover dinner
  • Dinner: Went out – ordered smoked chicken with a side salad

Friday:

Whole 30-2

Saturday:

  • Breakfast: Lara Bar
  • Lunch: Rotisserie chicken and green beans from our favorite, Viva Chicken
  • Dinner: Paleo chicken tenders with steamed vegetables

Sunday: 

  • Brunch: Ate out – Egg white omelet with roasted turkey and vegetables
  • Dinner: Bagged Salad kit with chicken

Monday: 

I would tell you would I am eating tonight, but I honestly have no idea. It will be a game time decision. 

See…so lazy!

Unfortunately the I will have to keep planning for the next couple weeks. Like I mentioned, even though the Whole 30 is over, it’s not really over. They suggest that you introduce one item every three days. So, if I were following this to a “T”, I would introduce sugar on day 31, eat a normal Whole 30 diet on days 32 and 33, then introduce a new food item on day 34. 

Since I am so impatient, I am only doing it every 2 days, unless I eat something that really doesn’t agree with me. Here is my reintroduction schedule:

  • Wednesday – Sugar
  • Friday – Legumes (beans)
  • Sunday – Corn (this is very intentional so that I can have chips and salsa on Super Bowl Sunday)
  • Tuesday – Non-gluten grains (rice, quinoa, etc.)
  • Thursday – Dairy
  • Saturday – Gluten

That means that Valentine’s day will make the first real day of my post- Whole 30 experience. Actually, that works out pretty well! Maybe I will make my husband take me out to a nice dinner after all!

So you guys can look forward to a couple more Whole 30 updates for the next couple weeks. I know you guys are so excited to hear that. 

 

Whole 30 Week 2 Recap and Meal Plan

Whole 30 Week 2

I am officially half way through the Whole 30. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Compared to week one, week two was a breeze. The sugar cravings I had in week one were deafened down to a faint whisper. I even did some baking this weekend and didn’t lick a bowl, spoon, or my cookie-dough covered fingers.

So this is what will-power feels like….

But really, I actually felt really good during week two. The most noticeable difference was in my energy levels. Instead of fluctuating between exhausted and some-what energized multiple times per day, I was pretty stable throughout the day during week 2. I wake up feeling pretty refreshed. I don’t need a morning cup of coffee (which I can’t really have anyways since I require sugar in my coffee) and don’t have any mid-day slumps.

Baba Ganoush recipe coming soon!

Baba Ganoush recipe coming soon!

The other big difference is in my…how should I say it?…digestion. Previously, I always thought that I had a sensitive stomach. Eating certain things or even flying would give me a stomach ache, but I thought that was just normal for me so I dealt with it. For the past two weeks, I’ve haven’t had any stomach aches, I’ve been a lot less bloated, less gassy, and generally less hungry. It’s been amazing!

Now the big question is “have I lost any weight?” Honestly, I don’t know. I didn’t weigh myself before this started and I don’t plan on weighing myself after. I am almost positive that I haven’t gained any weight. After the holidays, my clothes didn’t have a whole lot of room left for me to expand and they all still fit me. At the very least, I think I have lost some of the holiday weight, if not more. 

And now that I am half way through, I finally feel like I know what I am doing. Cooking, snacking, and eating out have all become second nature. It’s still a bit cumbersome to eat out, but it’s doable. 

Here’s what I ate this week:

As usual, for breakfasts I had egg muffins with prosciutto and broccoli, except for Friday, when I just couldn’t do eggs any more. I had a Lara bar instead.

And like last week, lunches were just leftover from dinner the previous day, which were:

Naked Turkey Burger - b-7

Monday: Naked Turkey Burger with Sweet Potato Chips

Tuesday: Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers

Wednesday: Bagged Asian chopped salad with chicken

Hawiian Pork-6

Thursday: Slow Cooker Hawiian Pork with Collard Greens (recipe to come)

Friday:  Ate out – I had a steak with asparagus and baked potatoes. 

Saturday: Ate out – I had a salad topped with lots of chicken and homemade salad dressing

Butternut Squash Soup-2

Sunday: Steak and Butternut Squash Soup (this recipe, but subbed Greek Yogurt with pureed cauliflower)

Now on to week three! I feel pretty confident about this week. I am finally getting the hang of it, plus I have some fun new snacks I am working into the rotation including homemade Lara bars and chia seed pudding. Sometimes I feel like I could keep this going for another 30 days….

…then I go out to eat and am reminded how much of a pain in the butt this is. 

Read about Week 1 here. 

Whole 30 Week 1 Recap and Meal Plan

Whole 30 Week 1

Boy, it feels good to get back to blogging. If you read the last blog post…way back on January 1…you may know that my husband and I spent the first few days of the new year moving to a new apartment. Between the holiday travel, packing, moving, and unpacking, it has really been hard to get around to blogging. But now I’m back and excited to tell you about how week 1 of Whole 30 went for me.

Some background…

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Whole 30, I characterize it as 30 days of eating essentially Paleo, which means only meat, vegetables, fruit, and nuts (except peanuts). The general idea is that you eliminate any food group that may have a negative impact on your body, like dairy, grains, or sugar. Ideally, your body sort of resets and once your 30 days are up, you can reintroduce those items into your diet and see if those items negatively affect your body. 

I had tried doing the Whole 30 back in the Summer, but I didn’t really plan effectively or commit fully, so I lasted a whole 6 days. After how terribly I was eating over the holidays, I couldn’t wait to eat healthier and eliminate alcohol and sugar from my diet. The holidays were baddddd….I don’t want to know how many pounds I gained. 

So how did the first week go?

Well, overall, it went pretty well. I did a much better job planning, not just the meals I was going to make, but where I could eat out. The week before, I planned everything. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, coffee creamer. Ev.rey.thing. 

The first couple days weren’t that bad. Mostly because it was still new and I was feeling totally energized and motivated to accomplish this goal. Days 3-5 were a little bit rough. Mainly just in the face of temptation. Those days I had a serious sugar craving and was almost ready to give up for some chocolate. I also was out more and around other “non-compliant” food, which really upped the temptation. On Saturday, I experienced, for the first time, the feeling of being totally starving and not having anywhere to eat. 

My husband and I were going to Ikea and thought we would stop and get lunch along the way. Well, here is were NOT planning really bit me in the ass. The only places along the way were fast food, sushi, and sandwich spots. My husband recommended Chick-fil-a, saying, “you can just get the grilled chicken nuggets and fruit.” Wrong, the chicken nuggets are glazed in some sort of mixture that includes sugar. We ended up at a local Rotissarie Chicken spot (Viva Chicken, for those in the Charlotte area) where I had chicken and vegetables. 

But as I reflect on the first week now, it really wasn’t bad and right now I feel like I can do this for another 23 days. I learned a few lessons during the first week which will make the rest of the 30 days easier. Hopefully.

What I learned:

  • Keep snacks in my purse at all times! Huger hits at any time and sometimes the only options when you’re in a bind is something totally processed and full of sugar, dairy, grains, etc.. I will now keep nuts, an apple, dried fruit, or a Lara bar with me at all times. 
  • Bring salad dressing with me. For the few times I will eat out this month, salads are most likely the only Whole 30 compliant option, so bringing salad dressing with me will ensure that I will be satisfied. 
  • Tell people why I’m being a picky eater. I HATE talking about dieting. I hate it. I guess it makes me feel vulnerable and lets people know that I am self conscious about my weight. But telling people around me, like my Small Group, coworkers, or friends, that I am not eating this, that, and the other because I am doing the Whole 30 actually makes it so much easier to stick with it and everyone has been so understanding and willing to make accommodations for me. 

What I ate this week:

For breakfast Monday through Friday I had egg muffins similar to this recipe, but with no cheese and added no-sugar bacon (I found the bacon at Whole Foods). I made a big batch on Sunday and portioned them out for each day. For breakfast on Saturday, I made a sweet potato hash with bacon topped with a fried egg. And Sunday I made a fritata with some of the leftovers in my fridge. If you follow me on Snapchat, you saw me make breakfast Saturday and Sunday.

For lunch, I just had what was left over from dinner the night before. Except on Monday, when I didn’t have leftovers, I made a simple salad with greens, chicken, tomato, salsa, and guacamole. 

Because I didn’t as much time to prep snacks over the weekend, they simply consisted of apples with almond butter and almonds. It got pretty boring after day 2 so week 2 will have more of a variety of snacks. 

Dinner is really where I shined. It was fun to look up different recipes and tweak some old favorites to make them Whole 30 compliant. I have a couple recipes that I will share with you throughout the weeks ahead, but for now I will link to similar recipes (if possible).

If any of you are interested in doing the Whole 30 Challenge, I would definitely recommend it. It is a great way to reset your body and get back to healthy eating. If any of you have done it, I would love to know what worked for you and what didn’t. I have read the Whole 30 Guide which has been a huge help, especially on days when my motivation is lacking. A coworker of mine who also doing the Whole 30 this month is reading It Starts With Food, and she is finding it really helpful and motivating. I would also recommend watching the documentary Fed Up (on Netflix) if you really want to be motivated to cut sugar out of your diet. 

I have also saved a bunch of recipes to a Pinterest Board if you want to check those out. I am sure I will be adding more to it as the month goes along. And since I am spending a lot more time in the kitchen, I have been snapping a lot more of my cooking, so if you’re interested in seeing what I cook each night, follow me on Snapchat!

       Follow Lindsey’s board whole 30 recipes on Pinterest.

Here goes week 2!

 

Protein Power Pancakes

Pancakes are one of my favorite things to make on the weekend. All week, I try to have a healthy breakfast – a protein smoothie with berries and spinach or Greek yogurt. On the weekends (especially now that the wedding is behind us) I like to do something slightly indulgent. Or at least pretend to be indulgent.
Truth be told, these pancakes are hardly indulgent (except for the chocolate chips I snuck in some of them). The secret, protein packed, ingredient is quinoa. But instead of whole, cooked, quinoa like I used in these muffins, I ground the dried quinoa into a flour. Genius, right? I can’t take credit. I got the idea off of Pinterest (of course).
And making quinoa into a flour couldn’t be easier as long as you have a blender or food processor. I used our Magic Bullet blender and it took only 15 seconds. 
Once the quinoa is ground, it can be used in place of flour for almost anything. The very nutty and distinct quinoa flavor is still there, so if you are not a fan of the quinoa flavor, then I wouldn’t recommend these. However, if you like quinoa and are in the mood for a hearty and healthy pre-workout breakfast, these are for you!

Enjoy!

A Bushel and a Peck and a Recipe

This past weekend, with no wedding planning to do, I wanted to get out of town and do something B and I have never done before: apple picking!

I had no idea what to expect. Like, how long it would take, how much it would cost, how much effort I would have to put into actually picking apples, etc. And not that I didn’t think it would be fun (it was my idea after all), but B and I just had such a fun time walking through the orchards, picking apples, taking pictures, drinking cider…the whole bit. It definitely helped that the scenery was gorgeous!

The result of all that fun was about 15 pounds of apples! I have no idea what to do with all those apples. There is only so much cider and apple pie you can make.

 

Well, I did get busy making muffins (of course) with some of my many many apples. Unfortunately, that only used 3 apples. So I have about 40 more apples to use up before they go bad.

Can you recommend anything else I should make with all my apples? If you have any good recipes, send them my way!

P.S. Do you notice anything different around here?? I have a new design by the lovely and talented Sarah of A Smitten Design! I absolutely love it and would recommend Sarah to anyone looking to spice up their blog design!

Blueberry Drop Cookies

One of my favorite things about summer are the fresh berries. While I love using their frozen counterpart during off seasons, there is just something about using fresh berries that make a huge difference.

When I saw a huge container of blueberries on sale at Costco, I had to stock up. I did the same thing last summer and made a ton of muffins to bring into work. This year, I decided to try something a little different and make cookies with them.

I altered a sugar cookie recipe by adding lemon zest and some extra levening agents to make these fresh, light, and airy. I also replaced most of the butter with Greek yogurt and half the flour with whole wheat flour. 

In the end, these cookies are almost like eating little blueberry muffin tops! Because they are a bit healthier, I wouldn’t feel too guilty about eating them for breakfast.

Blueberry Drop Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/2 cup 0% Greek yogurt
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 blueberries

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, yogurt, and sugar.
4. Once mixed together, add in the eggs one at a time and mix until just incorporated. Add in the vanilla and lemon zest until combined.
5. Remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and slowly fold in the blueberries.
6. Using a spoon, drop about 2 tablespoons of dough onto a prepared baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch between each cookie.
7. Bake at 300 degrees for 14-15 minutes.

Enjoy!!

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