Whole Grain Zucchini-Sunflower Seed Bread

Zucchini showed up at the farmer's market this week, so of course I scooped up a couple of those lovely squash. You can stir fry zucchini, put it in a salad, saute and toss with pasta...or make bread out of it. Can you tell I like making quick breads? Well, here's another one, and I promise, it's well worth the time to make it (and that's not very much time at all!). Zucchini helps make this bread nice and moist, while the combination of honey and spices give just enough sweetness and depth of flavor to satisfy. Even with 100% whole grains, the bread has a tender and delicate crumb, with a nice crunch from the sunflower seeds (especially the ones on top!). And no, it doesn't taste like zucchini, so you don't have to like zucchini to love this bread. It turned out so well that I had to keep myself from eating the whole loaf at once - just to warn you.

 

Adapted from NPR Kitchen Window zucchini bread recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal (or more flour)

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

pinch salt

1 1/2 cup zucchini, unpeeled, coarsely grated (1 medium or 2 small)

1/2 cup honey (I used wildflower honey)

1/4 cup canola or sunflower seed oil

2 eggs

1 Tbsp orange zest (or 1 1/2 tsp bottled orange peel)

1/2 cup + handful raw sunflower seeds

Directions

1. Combine dry ingredients in a small mixing bowl.

2. Add zucchini, oil, honey, eggs and orange zest to a medium mixing bowl. Stir by hand until evenly blended.

3. Add dry mixture to wet, mixing by hand just until combined.

4. Fold sunflower seeds into mixture.

5. Pour batter into a lightly greased & floured 9x5" loaf pan. Sprinkle a handful of sunflower seeds on top, if desired.

6. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 55-60 min, or until outside is golden brown and bread springs back when lightly pressed.

7. Cool bread in pan for 10 min, then turn out of pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Almond-Strawberry Yogurt Muffins

Strawberry season is ending this week in Illinois, but just getting started elsewhere. It's just the beginning of summer's bounty of fruit, and I've tried to take full advantage. I usually eat strawberries raw or in a sauce, but I decided to try incorporating them into a baked good. This one took a couple of tries, but the end result was something hearty and delicious. Chopped strawberries and slivered almonds, oat flour for a little texture (and source of whole grains!), a mixture of honey and sugar for some subtle sweetness, plus yogurt to make for a moist muffin with just a little tang - put these things together, and you've got a great muffin to celebrate the start of summer!

Note: Allowing the strawberries to drain after chopping is important - my first attempt was pretty soggy, since the strawberries were too moist to allow the bread around them to properly cook. Also, while honey works well as a replacement for sugar, here using just honey led to an off flavor, so a mixture of honey and sugar was best.

Ingredients

1 cup oat flour, sifted*

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup clover honey
1/3 cup sugar

4 Tbsp butter, cold

3/4 cup plain lowfat greek yogurt

1 egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup fresh strawberries, washed, hulled, & chopped

2/3 cup slivered almonds

Directions

1. Once strawberries are chopped, allow them to sit and drain in a colander.

2. Sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. Add in chunks of butter, and cut together with a fork (or food processor) until butter pieces are smaller than peas.

3. Mix yogurt, egg, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl. Add flour-butter mixture and stir just until blended.

4. Fold in chopped strawberries and almonds, being careful not to overmix.

5. Spoon mixture into paper-lined muffin cups or a 9x5" bread loaf pan.

6. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25-30 min (muffins) or ~1 hour (loaf).

7. Allow to cool in pan for 10 min, then transfer to a wire rack. Give in to the urge to bite into a muffin before they've cooled completely. Delayed gratification can be so overrated sometimes.

*Don't go out and buy oat flour; there's no need to overload the pantry. If you have a blender or a food processor, you can easily make your own in about 2 minutes. Take 1 1/4 cup rolled oats (not quick/instant oats), add to blender/processor, and turn on, stopping it to check every 30 sec or so until it's reached a flour-like consistency. Once that's done, just sift it through a sieve to get out the chunks and you've got yourself some fresh flour. This technique will give you whole flour for basically any grain, seed or legume you have lying around.

Egg Muffins with Curried Yogurt Sauce

Everyone knows about egg muffins. They're the ultimate handheld convenience breakfast food. However, you don't have to resort to the rubbery, greasy, tasteless monstrosities at the drive-thru if you want a filling breakfast in a hurry. You can whip up this nutritious high-protein delight in less than 10 min, with fresh ingredients that are full of flavor. You'll never see fresh greens on your typical fast-food egg muffin, but they have loads of vitamins and minerals, and add a wonderful crunch to the sandwich here. Curry-seasoned yogurt ups the flavor ante, so much so that you won't even want to put cheese on an egg muffin again. The yogurt sauce is simple to put together, and you can really mix up whatever flavor combination you desire based on the seasonings or herbs that you have on hand. The meat, of course, is entirely optional, but adds protein; I had bacon around, but deli meats or even seasoned cooked black beans would be an equally delicious (and healthier) alternative. Put all of it together on a whole-wheat english muffin with a hot cooked egg, and you've got yourself a real breakfast. Or, dinner, as was my case. ;)

Ingredients

4 whole wheat english muffins

4 eggs

handful of fresh spinach leaves, washed (or your favorite raw leafy green)

8 slices uncured bacon/turkey bacon, cooked (or 4 slices deli ham)

1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp curry powder

1/4 tsp cumin

pinch salt

pinch cayenne (optional - for extra heat)

Directions

1. Split and toast english muffins. Meanwhile, cook eggs as desired (scrambled, poached, or fried).

2. For sauce: Whisk together yogurt and spices until well-mixed. Adjust amounts as desired (it's always good to start conservatively and add from there). Yogurt sauce can store in the refrigerator for a few days, if you wish to make it ahead of time.

3. Layer cooked egg, meat and spinach leaves on bottom half of english muffin. Spoon sauce onto other half of muffin and sandwich two halves together.

Serves 4

Energy Bars

2011 was pretty horrible for me as far as running goes; with grad school it's easy for things to get in the way, and I was running inconsistently with low mileage. Over the past month or so after recovering from a fall, I've turned over a new leaf, working my way up gradually from a mere 12 miles a week (3 miles/4 days) to some serious mileage, with the hopes of being able to get back to running fast 5Ks again. I'm part of the way there (I'm up to 25-30 miles/week), and I'm starting my first speed workout today with the local running club - the first time I've done that in a good while! With an increase in training intensity, of course, also comes an increase in the need for fuel. For women who are serious competitive endurance athletes, proper fuel is especially important.

One of my favorite books on running is John Parker Jr.'s Once a Runner. However, at one point, as the protagonist digs into a huge pile of greasy food, he proclaims, "if the furnace is hot enough, anything will burn." While it is true that competitive runners can get away with consuming inordinate amounts of food (and I most certainly take advantage on occasion), not all calories are created equal, and putting the right kind of fuel in your body can make a big difference in your ability to train and compete at a high level. You can't drive a car with an empty tank, and neither can you run without any fuel. Also, a number of studies have shown that the first 30 min after a workout are the most important for refueling, and doing it the right way can speed recovery and help complement the effects of your training to make you stronger and faster. Of course, most of us are not likely to be able to whip up a meal within 30 min of working out (even assuming you have the energy after a tough workout!), so it's important to have something that's easily accessible, portable, and readily digestible. Energy bars perfectly fit this bill.

Energy bars come in all shapes, sizes and flavors, and most grocery stores have a daunting variety. However, many of them are loaded with refined sugars and processed ingredients that are difficult for non-chemists to pronounce or are prohibitively expensive for most of us. Luckily, making energy bars at home is super easy, quick, cheap, and healthier than you're likely to find in the store. The recipe that I use is adapted from this one, which I found in Running Times (click for a good explanation of why they're good for you). The recipe specifies these as a pre-run snack, but they're great both before a run and after. The other nice thing about these is that you can whip up a large batch and throw a bunch in the freezer, so that you can keep them fresh for when you need them - just take them out an hour or two before you want to fuel up. When stored in an airtight container, these will last at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Note: These bars are all-natural, but they do have a fair amount of sweetener in the form of honey (if you want them vegan, you can probably switch out the honey 1 for 1 with agave nectar). This is great for runners who are looking for a quick energy boost going into a run, but if you're looking for a healthy, high protein snack to just get you through your day and/or can't consume very much non-fruit sugar, I'd give these bars a try instead. They're also delicious - they just need to be stored in a fridge or freezer, since they go bad sooner (a couple notes: I used soy protein powder, since hemp protein's a bit out of my price range, and you can leave out the maple syrup entirely - the bananas provide plenty of sweetness).

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped (or raisins or chopped dates)

3/4 cup raw sliced almonds

1/2 cup unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup unsalted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup sesame seeds

2 Tbsp chia seeds

1 1/2 cups tahini (or natural peanut butter)

1 cup REAL clover honey*

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Mix together oats, coconut, dried fruit, almonds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and chia seeds in a large mixing bowl.

2. Stir together tahini, honey, and vanilla and microwave on high for 1 minute.

3. Pout wet ingredients over dry and mix well.

4. Spread mixture onto a greased baking sheet and smooth out the top.

5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for ~15 min, until edges have browned.

6. Allow to cool, then cut into 16 bars.

7. Enjoy, then get running!


*I mean, seriously, use real honey, it makes all the difference in the world nutritionally and flavor-wise. Honey with the pollen in it, not the processed, questionable "honey" in the teddy bear jars. Find your local apiary or farmer's market and load up (our local apiary here sells a large jar for $15). It's one thing even a frugal Dutch person like myself will not skimp on.