Today I'm going to switch it up a bit with some recipes! With 3 weeks until my job starts, I am trying to do a lot of preparation to help ease the transition. I love the idea of making things in advance and freezing them for later to keep every-day life simpler. So, if you need some ideas for nutritious homemade food that is freezer friendly, look no further!
Muffins are a favorite in our house. Josh likes simple breakfasts that are easy to eat on the way to work, and so I made a double batch of these Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins and froze them. To make it even more hassle-free, I froze the amount we would need each week in separate bags so they can be thawed one week at a time. What I love about this recipe is that it uses whole wheat flour, contains no butter, very little sugar, and uses yogurt and applesauce to get a naturally sweet, smooth consistency.This recipe is very forgiving, and you can make several adaptations, including using all of one type of flour, or using more/less white or wheat flour. You could add nuts if you want, and if you are really bold, you could try substituting the oil with applesauce.
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients:
1 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/4 C vegetable oil
1/4 C applesauce
1/2 C plain (or vanilla) yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C mashed ripe bananas
2/3 C semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to combine egg, oil, yogurt, applesauce, and vanilla
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until moistened
4. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips and mix until combined
5. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full and bake for 22-25 min.
In addition to muffins, I have made lots of soups and entrees for easy heat-up if/when I get busy with work and don't have time to cook. I had a whole bunch of baby portabella mushrooms from Costco, so I decided to make some mushroom stroganoff. I froze just the sauce, and when we thaw it, we will cook some pasta to serve it over. I recommend using Ziploc freezer bags and laying them flat to freeze, and then storing them vertically once frozen completely. This method allows for easier storage, and much quicker thawing. Simply put the frozen bag into a warm water bath and it will thaw quickly!
The recipe I used is from my all-time favorite recipe blog, Skinny Taste. The creator has wonderful recipes made from scratch, and includes all the nutrition information. She also "lightens up" a lot of classic and family favorite recipes...check it out!
Click here for the stroganoff recipe!
That's all for today, but if you like recipes, I'll post some more soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment