Food Fun Family

Banana Bran Muffins – After-School Fuel #BigFatNotebooks

Lolli — Wed, 05 Oct 2016 13:00:27 +0000

This delicious after-school study snack recipe for Banana Bran Muffins is inspired by the Big Fat Notebook series and brought to you in partnership with @WorkmanPub. All thoughts are my own; affiliate links are used to link to the books on Amazon.

We’re more than a month deep into the new school year, and I think we’re pretty nicely settled into our school-year routines. I’m still not used to not having any kids in elementary school, but so far the kids are all thriving where they are, so I can’t complain.

Before the kids headed back to school this year, I introduced you to an invaluable resource for middle school students – The Big Fat Notebooks (I’ve got TWO kids in middle school this year, so I’m a good judge of middle school resources!).

I’m also a good judge of middle school appetites. Holy cow, do these kids come home hungry! I’ve learned that I’d better have some decent snacks available for them when they get home from school in the afternoon or else they’ll end up making themselves dinner at 4pm (I’m not exaggerating. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught the kids making themselves a mini dinner right an hour before we’re supposed to eat dinner as a family).

If you’re a parent of a middle school student, you get the struggle. Before I get to the recipe for the perfect study-time snack, let me remind you about the Big Fat Notebooks >>

About the Books in the Big Fat Notebooks Series for #MiddleSchool Students

The Big Fat Notebook series is built on a unique concept – borrowing the class notes from the smartest kid in class. Inside each book, you’ll find key concepts from each of the main subjects middle school students study – Math, Science, American History, English Language Arts, and World History. These books are engaging to look through and are fun to read just for the heck of it. But they’re also full of helpful resources that middle school students can refer back to again and again throughout the year.

Everything You Need to Ace Math . . . covers everything to get you over any math hump: fractions, decimals, and how to multiply and divide them; ratios, proportions, and percentages; geometry; statistics and probability; expressions and equations; and the coordinate plane and functions.

Everything You Need to Ace Science . . . takes readers from scientific investigation and the engineering design process to the Periodic Table; forces and motion; forms of energy; outer space and the solar system; to earth sciences, biology, body systems, ecology, and more.

Everything You Need to Ace American History . . . covers Native Americans to the war in Iraq. There are units on Colonial America; the Revolutionary War and the founding of a new nation; Jefferson and the expansion west; the Civil War and Reconstruction; and all of the notable events of the 20th century—World Wars, the Depression, the Civil Rights movement, and much more.

Everything You Need to Ace World History . . . kicks off with the Paleolithic Era and transports the reader to ancient civilizations—in Egypt, Greece, India, China, Africa, Rome; the middle ages across the world; the Renaissance; the age of exploration and colonialization, revolution and imperialism, and the modern world and the wars and movements that shaped it.

Everything You Need to Ace English Language Arts . . . covers everything to get you your best marks: grammar, including parts of speech, active and passive verbs, Greek and Latin roots and affixes; nuances in word meanings; textual analysis, authorship, structure, and other skills for reading fiction and nonfiction; and writing arguments, informative texts, and narratives.

Banana Bran Muffins

I got this simple recipe for banana bran muffins from my sister, and I modified the process to make them the easiest, quickest from-scratch muffins you’ll ever make. Just throw everything in the blender, blend it all up, and pour into muffin cups! They are the perfect after-school snack (or grab-and-go breakfast, for that matter!) and they are always a hit.

Yum

Banana Bran Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup All-Bran cereal
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 medium bananas
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Heat oven to 400°F. Line muffin cups with paper liners.
Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
Divide batter equally between 12 muffin cups.
Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through. Cool and enjoy!
These muffins freeze well.

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BONUS: Free Helpful Printables

Enjoy these totally free printables that go along with the Big Fat Notebook series. Click an image to see the full sized image. Enjoy!

Ancient Egypt Timeline

Thinking Like a Scientist

How to Take Great Notes

Displaying Data

FOLLOW @WORKMANPUB & Big Fat Notebooks

Flourless Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Lolli — Thu, 25 Feb 2016 06:00:21 +0000

Thanks for stopping by today! I’m excited to be sharing this Pinterest Remake of a delicious flourless banana oatmeal muffins recipe. You are going to LOVE them!

We go through bananas like crazy.

I’m talking about dozens of bananas a week, people. Crazy.

I use a banana in my smoothie almost every morning, my husband slices one over his cereal every day (usually twice) and my 15-year-old son eats at least one banana as a snack every day. It’s hard to keep up with the banana demand these days.

But every once in a while, a few of our bananas are around long enough to start turning a little brown, and then nobody will touch them. Until I make them into banana bread, of course.

I’ve made the same old banana bread for years. Not that there’s anything wrong with my banana bread recipe. It’s actually quite delicious.

I’ve never had complaints. That’s for sure.

But sometimes change is good.

So I searched on Pinterest for a banana muffin option that was a little bit healthier, and I was intrigued by this pin. I followed the pin to a recipe on NateandRachael.com.

I wanted to customize the recipe in a few ways. I knew that I wanted to add nuts to the banana muffins. And I knew that some of my family members would only eat them if they had chocolate chips. I also had a good stash of fresh blueberries in the fridge, so I was curious to see how those would taste mixed in. But I didn’t want everything in every muffin or I knew nobody would eat them.

It was a mix party, I tell you!

These muffins were SO good!

Don’t expect something with the same taste and texture as traditional banana bread. Because there is no flour in these muffins, the texture is more moist and dense. But we all loved them!

Are you ready for the recipe?

Not only am I going to show you how EASY these gluten-free muffins are, but I’ve got a BONUS for you of a ton of other fantastic Pinterest remakes.

Don’t you always wonder if those recipes and projects you see on Pinterest are as good as they look? I know I do!

Ready for the recipe? Click the button below to see how to make these delicious banana muffins and discover what the hype is all about!

Light Applesauce Blueberry Muffins

Lolli — Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:45:37 +0000

Despite the fact that I’m eating much better lately, I still do have a sweet tooth and a strange desire to bake. Call it kitchen therapy. The act of stirring ingredients, experimenting with different flavors, and smelling my homemade treats heating up in the oven relaxes me and makes me happy unlike anything else.

Last week, I made some blueberry crumble bars using some blueberry pie filling, which got me craving blueberries. I began to wonder if I could make a light blueberry muffin, and after the success of my pumpkin muffins a few weeks ago, I was eager to try making muffins with applesauce. I grabbed a white cake mix, some berry applesauce, an egg white, and some frozen blueberries and crossed my fingers.

Not only did they smell delicious while they were baking, but they tasted incredible. I plugged the ingredients into my Weight Watchers recipe builder to see how they stacked up for Weight Watchers PointsPlus, and was thrilled that one mini muffin was less than a point. When I found that out, I popped 2 more in my mouth. For those of you not on Weight Watchers, what this basically means is that each mini muffin is low in fat. Of course, there’s still sugar and carbs in the cake mix, but by using applesauce instead of oil or butter and an egg white instead of a whole egg, you can cut back on a lot of the “bad” things.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Quick and Light Mini Applesauce Blueberry Muffins

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

20 mins

If you don't have a mini cupcake tin, you can always cook these up as regular-sized muffins. Each full sized muffin is 2-3 PointsPlus. Mini muffins are just under a point a piece!

Author: Lolli

Serves: 44

Ingredients

1 white cake mix
1 egg white
1 cup berry applesauce
1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Instructions

Line mini cupcake tin with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix cake mix, egg white, and applesauce in a medium bowl until the cake mix is wet. Fold in blueberries.
Scoop a spoonful of batter into each mini cupcake cup (I filled to just below the top). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until middle of muffin is set (you can use a toothpick inserted in the center to see if the batter is cooked through).

Enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Muffins Recipe #USCranberries

Lolli — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 03:01:10 +0000

This recipe for Cranberry Orange Muffins with a Sweet Orange Glaze is part of the #USCranberries program, sponsored by the Cranberry Marketing Committee. Although I have been compensated, all views are my own.

Cranberries are one of my favorite foods. From fresh to frozen and dried to juices, they add a zing to dishes that simply can’t be duplicated. Not only are they delicious, but they are incredibly versatile. What other healthy ingredient can you use in a dessert, a main dish, a salad, a breakfast, a drink….you get the picture.

Did you know that Cranberries are:

Rich in antioxidants
Naturally fat and cholesterol free
Low in sodium
A good source of dietary fiber

This month, I was challenged to come up with a recipe using frozen US Cranberries. I’ve used Cranberries in smoothies, main dishes, salads, and more…but my sweet tooth got the best of me and I decided to try baking with Cranberries. I was so pleased with how the recipe turned out. These muffins were as delicious as they were beautiful. Don’t you love the contrast between the white and the Cranberry-red?

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Save Print

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Lolli

Serves: 18 muffins

Ingredients

1½ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cups sugar
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1-2 tablespoons orange zest
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 cup frozen Cranberries tossed with 1 tablespoon flour
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325°. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients: eggs, sugar, yogurt, orange zest and juice.
Add wet ingredients to bowl of dry ingredients and stir until mixed.
Add flour-covered Cranberries to the batter and mix gently.
Spoon batter into muffin cups, about ¾ full. Bake for about 25-27 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool muffins in the tin for about 15 minutes and then continue to cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, mix powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl and drizzle over muffins. Enjoy!

Cranberries tossed with flour

Join us for the #USCranberries Twitter Party!

Date: Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Time: 8:30 – 9:30 pm EST
Hashtag: #USCranberries
Host: @DawnSandomeno
Co-Host: @coryanneettiene
Panelists: @SurfnSunshine, @CleverHousewife, @PlayPartyPin, @MeyersStyles, @foodfunfamily, @TheRebelChick
Special Guests: @USCranberries
Prizes: 2 (two) winners will receive a $25 Amex gift card and the Cranberry Marketing Committee Table Top Cookbook | 1 (one) winner will receive a $50 Amex gift card | 1 (one) winner will receive a 9-Speed Digital Display Hand Mixer | 1 (one) winner will receive a $100 Amex gift card
Get more information about the #USCranberries twitter party on Party Bluprints Blog. They’ve also created a TWUBS for the party here. Hope to see you there!

Connect with US Cranberries:

uscranberries.com (check out for more creative Cranberry recipes)
cranberryinstitute.org (dedicated to research of health benefits)
Facebook.com/CranbeCravers
Pinterest.com/CranbeCravers
Twitter: @USCranberries

For more summer recipe and party ideas check out Party Blu Prints and be sure to try this incredible Cranberry Sorbet (my mouth is watering…and I can’t wait to try it next!).

Carrot and Zucchini Muffins With Oatmeal Crumble Topping

Lolli — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 14:49:57 +0000

Zucchini bread is my absolute favorite kind of bread to make (and eat). For days, I was eyeing the zucchini in my fridge that I had bought to use for a dinner meal (have you seen the sausage and zucchini biscuits that I posted last week?), wishing that I had bought extra zucchini to make bread.

At the end of the day, I was left with a single zucchini…not enough to make a full batch of bread, but enough to inspire me to try something new. I decided to add an equal amount of shredded carrots – another vegetable I love in baked goods.

Wow! The combination was better than I expected, and based on how fast the batch disappeared, I’d say that the family loved them, too.

Carrot and Zucchini Muffins With Oatmeal Crumble Topping

4.7 from 3 reviews

Carrot and Zucchini Muffins

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

Author: Lolli

Ingredients

⅔ cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon grated orange peel
2 cups flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup grated carrots
½ cup grated zucchini (patted dry with a paper towel)
Topping:
¼ cup sugar
½ cup oatmeal
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Instructions

Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix vegetable oil, eggs, sugars, vanilla, and orange peel in a large mixing bowl.
Sift dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to bowl with wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Gently fold in grated carrot and zucchini.
Add batter to muffin tin; fill cups about ⅔ full.
In a small bowl, mix topping ingredients. Crumb toppings work best if the butter is NOT melted. I like to "knead" the crumb mixture with my hands to get it nice and crumbly. Sprinkle generously on top of each of the filled muffin cups.
Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

If the recipe and pictures haven’t convinced you to make these muffins yet, let me just leave you one last hook. See the inside…moist and delicious! And with 2 veggies inside, they’re healthier than the average muffin! You can’t beat a healthy breakfast recipe that tastes great and is perfect for on-the-go eating, right?

Glazed Pumpkin Muffins with White Chocolate Chips

Lolli — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 02:45:17 +0000

I was in the mood for pumpkin muffins this week (it’s that time of year, after all) and I decided to get a little creative with my standard pumpkin bread recipe and came up with this variation.

Because I wasn’t sure how the muffins would turn out, I made some with no chips, some with semi-sweet chocolate chips, and some with white chocolate chips. Some were glazed with a simple spiced glaze and others were not. And the verdict was unanimous: the white chocolate chips with the glaze on top were the winners!

KitKat brought the muffins to school and internship to share with friends and they agreed. We’re definitely making these muffins again.

Glazed Pumpkin Muffins with White Chocolate Chips

5.0 from 3 reviews

Glazed Pumpkin Muffins with White Chocolate Chips

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

35 mins

Author: Lolli

Ingredients

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
½ cup vegetable oil or ½ cup applesauce
½ cup butter, melted
⅔ cup water
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
2 cups white chocolate chips
½ cup finely ground nuts (pecans or walnuts)
GLAZE:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons milk
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
1 pinch ground ginger
1 pinch ground cloves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray muffin tin with non stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, eggs, oil or applesauce (I used ¼ cup of each), butter, water, sugars and vanilla until well blended.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger.
Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.
Add ground nuts, if desired, and white chocolate chips and stir until combined.
Pour batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup about ¾ full.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan and then carefully remove to a cooling rack.
Meanwhile, mix the glaze ingredients (I simply mixed it with a fork). When muffins are cooled completely, sprinkle the glaze over each muffin and let the glaze set for at least 30 minutes before eating.

The “secret ingredient” in these muffins is definitely the white chocolate chips. Although most of the chocolate chips melted into the bread, they made a big difference in the taste. I’ll be adding white chocolate chips to my pumpkin bread from now on! Of course, the glaze was pretty popular as well…I didn’t complain about having to lick my fingers a few times while I was glazing the muffins!

The nuts were a very subtle addition (none of the kids even knew they were there because I ground them quite fine in the blender before adding them to the batter. I’m just a fan of a hint of nuttiness in my breads.

Have you been craving pumpkin recipes like me? I’m already planning my next pumpkin baking adventure (hoping for some energy to spend time in the kitchen tomorrow!). Come back for more recipes next week!