Food for Thought

Pumpkin-Apple Spice Muffin with Milk

A lot of people are shocked when they hear that I don’t eat store-bought cereal for breakfast.  I used to, but no longer–today’s cereals are packed with sugar, refined grains, sugar, additives and chemicals, sugar, damaged fats, sugar…and sugar.  (On the more upscale cereal boxes, you may see words like “evaporated cane juice” or “fruit concentrate.”  To wax Shakespearean, sugar by any other name is still sugar.)  A sugar breakfast doesn’t exactly give you a good start to your day.  It’s also a great way to guarantee that you’ll be hungry again by 10:00 a.m…at which point you’ll probably reach for a breakfast/granola bar that’s loaded with sugar.  (I speak from experience:  I used to down two bowls of cereal and two granola bars in the course of a single morning.)

Nowadays, I have a lot of different things for breakfast:  I blend fresh fruit and whole milk/coconut milk for a satisfying smoothie, I poach or scramble an egg or two (fantastic with fresh salsa!), I make a batch of muffins that will serve as breakfasts for an entire week, I make my own granola, I enjoy whole grains I’ve soaked overnight (such as groats, quinoa, or bulgur), or I simply have whatever tasty leftovers are in my fridge.  All of these options are low in sugar, high in protein and healthy fats, and don’t make me reach for something else an hour later–in short, they’re a great way to start my morning.

One of the easiest things you can bake are muffins.  Enjoy them plain or with milk poured over the top, in your kitchen or on the road, sweet or savory…they’re endlessly adaptable.  Here’s a basic recipe I developed for a friend who’s making the transition from the American Standard Sugar Breakfast to a healthy one:

Basic Muffins

Dry ingredients:

2 cups flour (not white flour!)*

1 T. aluminum-free baking powder (i.e., Rumsford)

½ tsp. sea salt

Wet ingredients:

2 large eggs (organic and containing omega-3s; preferably from pastured hens)

1 cup organic, whole milk**

2/3 cup raw agave nectar or maple syrup (Grade B)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

(For savory muffins, decrease the sweetener by 1/3 cup and add additional 1/3 cup of milk.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 12-muffin tin or line each cup with paper liners.

Using a whisk (or fork), mix dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Use the same whisk to mix together wet ingredients in a bigger bowl, then pour in dry ingredients and use a mixing spoon to combine everything.

Spoon batter into muffin tin. (Using a large soup spoon is best.) Bake for 20 minutes, then pull out of the oven and stick a toothpick in one of the center muffins. If the toothpick comes out clean, muffins are done—if it doesn’t, bake for another 2 minutes and check again.

*Note:  you can substitute non-gluten flour for up to half of the amount of wheat flour.  Try cornmeal, coconut flour, bean flour, or ground nuts for new flavor combinations.  Gluten-free grains like teff and quinoa are also tasty options.

**Note:  you can substitute different flavors for up to half of the amount of the milk:  pumpkin, mashed banana, applesauce, Greek yogurt, grated zucchini (squeeze out the moisture first).  Or you can use coconut milk or non-dairy milks like almond and hazelnut for part or all of the dairy milk.  (If you do opt to try denser semi-liquids like pumpkin or banana, you may have to add 1 T. of so of additional liquid if the batter seems too thick and dry.)

Any dried fruit, chips, cheese chunks, etc. should be stirred in at the very end of the mixing process.

Enjoy your fresh new start!

Tags: apple, breakfast, cereal, muffin, pumpkin