Morning Glory Muffins

When I was a little girl I used to LOVE making muffins with my Mom on Saturday morning. Now I will be honest, this wasn't an every Saturday type of thing, but when she did decide to make muffins, I was right there stirring the buttermilk and helping measure the flour and oil and crack the eggs... well, you get the picture.

But now that I am older and wiser I realize that sometimes an ordinary muffin can really be a... vessel of sorts... to deliver important nutrients to my son and husband to get them through the day. Am I saying my Mom's muffins, loaded with oil and sugar and all purpose flour, were unhealthy? Well, not in so many words... but basically, if breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, why not pack some important vitamins into it, and heck, let's even hide a serving or two of fruits and veggies in there.

Oh and to go for the Trifecta: let's make them moist, savory, and irresistibly addictive...

How does that sound?

Yeah, I know!

Thus I began my search for the perfect "Morning Glory" muffin recipe. You know, those yummy muffins you can find at coffee shops and bakeries? Well I found a recipe that seemed... well... Okay. Just okay. It was packed with all the things that I didn't want in the first place: oil, white flour, tons of sugar, added fat, and just a fraction of the amount of fruits and veggies I wanted to see in my muffins.

So I fixed it.

It was pretty simple actually. I used one of my favorite recipes of all time, my mom's Carrot Bread/Zucchini Bread recipe, as inspiration. I traded the oil for all natural unsweetened applesauce. I swapped the white flour for whole wheat flour. I sprinkled in some wheat germ and flax seed. I added a ton of shredded carrots and apples. I added a handful of raisins and craisins. Oh and that pesky sugar problem? I swapped the almost 1.5 cups of white sugar for 1/2 cup brown sugar. And even at that I think it could use less (how does 1/3 cup sound compared to 1.5? I know, right?!). I made a few other changes to, and all in all, it was a brilliant success.

So after about 10 requests for this recipe via my Facebook, I decided to comply. Here you go! I hope you enjoy these as much as my husband, my picky 2 year old, and of course, ME!

Virginia's Morning Glory Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 c packed brown sugar (1/3 if you want less sugar)
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
pinch or so of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 cups shredded carrots (about 4-5 medium carrots, maybe more)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 large granny smith apple - peeled, cored and shredded
3 eggs
1 c natural, unsweetened applesauce
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Sift together the dry ingredients, then fold in the carrots, apple, raisins, craisins, and nuts. This is when I sprinkle in some wheat germ and flax seed. I don't really measure, I just kind of shake it in until I think it looks like enough. If you really want a measurement, start with just 2 T the first time and then you can decide if you want to increase it or not.

Beat the eggs with the applesauce, molasses and vanilla... Then combine with the dry mixture. Spoon by 1/3 cup fulls into muffin cups (definitely use liners) and bake for about 22 minutes at 350.

There is a lot of shredding and grating involved, but if you have a food processor it makes easy work of it!

Also, it wouldn't be a "Like Mom Made" recipe if it wasn't customizable. And, OF COURSE it is!

You can feel free to swap out any combination of the mix ins.

In place of the applesauce you can use pureed pumpkin, a mashed banana, or if you REALLY have to, you can use the same amount of oil.

Don't like raisins? Toss in some dried cherries and replace the pecans with macadamia nuts.

Use zucchini in place of the carrots for a different texture and taste (more like Zucchini bread... yum!).

Change any kind of nut, dried fruit, or oil replacer that you can think of.

The possibilities are endless!

Enjoy! :)

Oh and to all my Mom readers: remember, this is a GREAT way to sneak extra veggies and fruit in to your child's diet... but they don't HAVE to know that! ;)

Tuna Burger Wraps!!!

For lunch today I found myself digging through the pantry asking "what am I going to make for me and the kid!!!" Explanation: it is the day before grocery day and my house is barren...

So I ended up finding a can and a packet of tuna: about 7.5 oz total... ish... and a bunch of fresh spinach and lettuce.

So I made tuna burgers and wrapped them in lettuce, and made some cheesey creamed spinach which I will post next.

Tuna burgers are WAY better than they sound, and they are a great way to get kids to eat a little fish, as well as a great break from plain old tuna fish sandwiches... another plus: they don't stink like regular tuna fish sandwiches do! I put my tuna burgers on lettuce leafs, more like a lettuce wrap than a burger, but you can serve yours on toasted buns, bread, or just by themselves!

Take a can of tuna (I used 1 5 oz can of tuna and a 2.5 oz pouch of tuna and got 4 small bun sized patties, if you need to feed more people, double the tuna and just adjust the bread crumbs and mayonnaise, but don't add an extra egg) and drain it.

In a small bowl, mix a heaping spoonful of mayonnaise, a good squirt of mustard, and an egg until blended. Then add about 1/3 a cup bread crumbs and your tuna. I think I ended up adding at least 1/4 more bread crumbs. I wanted it to make a good enough mixture to handle and flatten into a patty.

**Added on May 15** I forgot to put that I added a good handful of chopped parsley to the mixture!



Divide mixture into equal servings (eyeball it depending on how many people you are feeding) and flatten into patties. Then coat in more bread crumbs until it is no longer sticky to the touch.

Drizzle a little bit of olive oil in a pan big enough to fit all the patties, then lay each patty in the pan. Spray the tops of the patties with cooking spray (I know that is totally cheater town, but it works so well that I can't help myself!). Cook on med hi heat about 4 minutes on each side, or until each side get nice and goldeny brown.



While they are cooking, tear some big pieces of lettuce and wash and dry them. Cut a red onion and grab your pickles. If desired, keep your mayonnaise and mustard out, though I skipped extra condiments.

Put a patty on a lettuce leaf, top with pickles and onion and any other desired ingredients (avocado and bean sprouts would have been delicious!). Enjoy your ten minute lunch! (Or dinner!)



Healthy kids tip: Some grated celery, zucchini, and/or carrots and add them to your mixture. Don't over do it, but a rib of celery and a small carrot, or a small zucchini should blend in nicely.



I served Landon's to him cut into small "baby burger" pieces each topped with its own pickle!