As part of my New Year's Resolution I promised myself that I would exercise more and eat healthier this year. Normally, my motivation for my resolution gets thrown out the window a few weeks after January 1st rolls around. But, this year it's almost Summer and I'm still sticking to my plan! I started my resolution by doing a 3 day juice fast from Healthy Blender Girl {the winter juice} and plan to do it every season {every 3 months.} I know what you're thinking…that's impossible or that the results don't last. But let me tell you, it was definitely hard the first day. I was starving and wanted to quit only a few hours in! But, by day 2 I was feeling better and actually felt satisfied with my juices and midday herbal teas.
After successfully completing all 3 days of juicing, I weighed in. I had lost 4 pounds! While this may not seem a lot for some people, that was really all I wanted to lose. The next 3 days I needed to restrict my intake to raw veggies and fruits. This part was easy because I had a ton of my juicing veggies and fruits left over. The next 3 days I was able to introduce other meat/dairy items back into my diet. That is where this recipe comes in. The muffin base is an adaptation to my Pumpkin Bread recipe. Swap out the pumpkin puree with your leftover day 2 midday carrot/butternut squash pulp that you saved after straining it from your juice. This pulp still has a lot of the vitamins left in it, and great flavor!
*PS notice my new carrot logo on my photos? From now on I am going to add this to my healthy posts! What you will need:
1 cup flour
1 ¼ tsps. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
2 slightly beaten egg whites ½ cup leftover juice cleanse pulp½ cup sugar
¼ cup canola oil
Nonstick spray
2 muffin pans In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together egg whites, juice pulp, sugar, and oil.
Stir flour mixture into juice pulp mixture until well incorporated.
Liberally spray your muffin pans with nonstick spray. Spread batter into pans and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Another variation I tried for these muffins was my day 2 evening juice of broccoli/romaine/cilantro pulp.
Enjoy! Any questions or comments about juicing just ask away!
The idea for a Champagne cork picture holder came about when I made my Monogram Jute Initial, it just took me this long to get around to posting about it! I like the look of the jute letter with the cork holder, it gives it a country-ish feel.
What you will need: Champagne cork (or any cork really) Nail with a flat head Hot glue gun
The first thing you want to do is to start making the hole into the cork {remember to make a hole in the side that will NOT be facing outward.} Make the hole by simply pushing the nail {pointy side} into the cork. You may need a little help from mr. hammer for this part.
Next, take the nail out of the cork. Then, push the nail back into the cork flat side first. Once the nail is 2/3 into the cork hot glue around the base of the cork to ensure that the nail won't come out.
Now just stick that baby into the wall and hang away!
I have been experimenting with new ways to build upon recipes that I already have in order to have more variety and versatility in our meals/snacks. I wanted to create a custard filled cupcake with an unexpected twist, rumskey! The recipe is based off the ingredients used in my Pumpkin Bread recipe.
What you will need: Cupcake: 1 ½ cups flour 1 ¼ tsps. baking powder ½ tsp. baking soda 1/8 tsp. salt 2 slightly beaten eggs 1 cup finely cut pineapple ¾ cup sugar ¼ cup canola oil Nonstick spray 2 cupcake pans cupcake liners Custard: 1 cup Rumskey 1 cup milk ½ cup confectioner's sugar 2 TBSP flour In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together egg whites, pineapple, sugar, and oil.
Stir flour mixture into pineapple mixture until well incorporated.
Line your pans with the cupcake liners and lightly spray with nonstick spray. Spread batter into pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes to set up. Use a knife to cut out a cylinder from the middle of each cupcake, making sure you don't cut all the way to the bottom, otherwise as you unwrap it to eat it will all leak.
While the cupcakes are baking, start the custard reduction. In a medium pot, add the rumskey and turn the heat on high until it starts to bubble. Lower to medium heat and let that start to reduce. Add the milk and confectioner's sugar and whisk until completely combined. Allow this to reduce another 10-15 minutes, whisking occasionally. When the sauce looks like it is thickening up, remove 1/4 cup of it into a small bowl in order to incorporate the flour evenly. Add the flour mixture back to the pot. Let the custard reduce for another 5-7 minutes, or until really thick. Once done, remove from heat and transfer to a container. I refrigerated my custard for an hour before piping it into the cupcakes as it was easier to handle. Once the custard and cupcakes are ready to be filled, just fill a clear plastic bag with the custard and cut off the tip of the bag. Pipe the custard into the center of each cupcake.
Today I have a delicious recipe for Hamantaschen that can be filled with whatever filling you desire! {Just think a cookie version of a burrito or taco} Hamantaschen are a pocket filled cookie and are recognizable for their 3 cornered triangular shape. They are the traditional food eating during the Jewish holiday of Purim. They are usually filled with poppy seeds, prunes, apricot, apple, or any variety of fruit preserved. I have even filled them with chocolate or marshmallows. Why are they called Hamantaschen? The word itself is Yiddish for "Hamans pockets." Haman is the villain in the Purim story. We eat Hamantashen till today on Purim as part of the celebration of the holiday, which commemorates how the Jews escaped Haman's plans to massacre the entire Jewish population. Why are the cookies triangularly shaped? Haman wore a 3 cornered hat.
What you will need: 4 eggs ½ cup oil (or 1 cup margarine) 2 tsps. vanilla extract 1 Tbsp. orange juice ¾ cup sugar 4 cups flour 2 tsps. baking powder Filling: Strawberry preserves
Preheat the oven to 350°. Lay parchment paper down on cookie sheets. Place all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat together. You may need to add a drop more juice or flour, depending on the consistency of the dough.
Roll dough into a ball and then divide into 4 equal parts. Each ball will make 1 dozen Hamantaschen. Divide the large ball into 12 equally sized small balls. On a floured surface, flatten one of the balls into a flat 3” diameter circle.
Place ½ to 2/3 teaspoon of your desired filling in the middle of each circle.
To shape into a triangle, lift up right and left sides, leaving the bottom down, and bring both sides to meet at the center above the filling.
Bring the top flap down to the center to meet the 2 sides. Pinch edges together.
Place each Hamantaschen on the cookie sheets 1 inch apart and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
