Big Beautiful Blueberry Muffins

What do you do to relieve stress?

I like to:

• listen to music
• read (cookbooks)
• draw/doodle
• make crafts
• take pictures
• hike
• yoga
• watch movies
• and last but not least, BAKE!

I decided to bake this weekend because it has been one heck of a busy week. Plus, I haven’t had blueberry muffins in forever! These muffins taste out of the world, but are surprisingly simple to make!

Ingredients:

500mL white all-purpose flour
20mL baking powder
2mL salt
125mL sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
250mL 2% milk
80mL oil
250mL frozen blueberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line muffin pans with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. In another bowl, whisk the egg, oil, and milk.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, and pour the liquids into the well. Mix until dry ingredients have almost disappeared.
5. Fold in frozen blueberries. Do not over mix!
6. Scoop batter into 12 paper liners until they are 3/4 full.
7. Evenly top 12 muffins with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. (1/2 teaspoon each)
8. Bake for 20 minutes until muffins are golden in colour and spring back when lightly pressed.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

❤ Jessica

You Son of A…

Bi—

Biscuit!

😉 My favourite course I have ever taken was Foods Studies in junior high.

My BFF was in my class, the teacher was super chill, and it was easy to get good marks. Most importantly, we got to make an assortment of delicious food!

The other day, I found my Foods Studies binder again when I was looking through my stuff from junior high. All of the recipes were simple and straightforward since we only had an hour to prep, bake, and clean up afterwards. I was super excited and wanted to try them all.

Problem is… my mother and brother, the main consumers of my baked goods, are at my grandma’s place. That leaves me here with my dad, who unfortunately isn’t very keen on baked goods. I decided on a small batch of blueberry jam biscuits in the end.

Ingredients:

• 500mL white all-purpose flour
• 20mL baking powder
• 2mL salt
• 125mL firm unsalted butter (~100g)
• 180mL milk
• 2.5 tablespoons of your preferred jam

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl.
3. Cut in firm butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture has the appearance of fine crumbs.
4. Gradually add milk while stirring with a fork.
5. Lightly flour clean surface and rolling pin. Gently knead the dough.
6. Roll dough to 0.75 inches thick (~2cm). Press cookie cutter into dough.
7. Make an indentation in the centre of the biscuit with your thumb. Fill with 1/2 teaspoon of jam.
8. Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet.
9. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Allow biscuits to cool on a cooling rack.

Yields: 15 biscuits
Nutrition: If you use skim milk and sugar-free jam, each biscuit should have approximately 5.9g fat, 13.2g carbs, 2.6g protein, 1.5g sugar, and 116 calories.

Have a fantastic Friday!

❤ Jessica

Eating My Veggies

What do I turn to when I’m trying to intake more veggies + keep lunch light?

The tortilla pizza, of course!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with tortilla pizzas… see below. Here’s how to make a tortilla pizza in five steps!

1. Place whole grain/whole wheat/high-fiber tortilla on pizza pan.
2. Spread one to two tablespoons of your favourite low-calorie sauce on tortilla.
3. Top with your choice of protein and vegetables.
4. Sprinkle cheese on top. (Or skip the cheese if you want to cut more calories!)
5. Bake for ten minutes at 350°F. Set oven to “grill” and place pan on the top rack for another five minutes.

Bon appétit! Give this tortilla pizza a try some time if you haven’t already!

❤ Jessica

Crustless Chocolate Cheesecake with Toasted Coconut

Things you may or may not know about me:

1. I love cheesecake.
2. I love chocolate.
3. I love coconut.

One day I thought to myself, is it possible to create a dish using cream cheese, chocolate and coconut?

Furthermore… is it possible to create a healthy, low-calorie, diet-friendly dish with these ingredients?

The answer is yes, and YES!

Enter CCCTC, a.k.a. crustless chocolate cheesecake with toasted coconut!To make this delicious dessert, start with my trusted Dukan cheesecake recipe.

Modifications:

1. Omit the crust.
2. Add two tablespoons of cocoa powder to the batter.
3. While cheesecake is baking, toast six tablespoons of unsweetened shredded coconut.
4. When the cheesecake is slightly firm, evenly spread toasted coconut on top and continue baking.
5. Increase the total baking time by ten minutes.

Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too? 😉

❤ Jessica

I Might Have An Addiction

I seriously cannot stop myself from buying discount bananas.

I mean… how could I not buy them?

1. They are incredibly cheap.
2. I love bananas.
3. My family loves bananas.
4. I frequently bake with banana.

I kinda need to stop because I am running out of room in my freezer. It’s currently stuffed with frozen bananas, greek yogurt, mixed berries, coffee ice cubes, grass fed beef, and pomegranate raspberry sherbet.

Good news is, I used up seven ripe bananas today by baking my Seven Banana Banana Bread. (Yeah, I’m totally original when it comes to recipe names.) Ingredients:

• 1 cup white all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 7 medium-sized ripe bananas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two medium loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, sift both flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Combine applesauce and brown sugar in a separate bowl; stir in mashed bananas and eggs.
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry mixture. Do not over stir!
4. Divide batter into two loaf pans, and bake for 40-45 minutes. Turn off the oven and take the loaves out when they are done; the toothpick should come out clean when inserted into the centre of the loaf.
5. Allow banana bread to cool before slicing.

I like to cut each loaf into 12 slices. You can divide yours up even more if you wish, but I find that 1/12 of a loaf is the perfect size for an afternoon snack – not too big, and not too small.

The best part?

Each slice is only 79 calories!

Comment below if you have a favourite banana bread recipe! I’d love to try them all!

❤ Jessica