Posts

Muffins! 1 mix-4 happy kids

/0 Comments/in /by

Muffins for Breakfast!

 I want to make all my kids happy at once–making muffins is not the best way!  One likes the strudel topping, one kid doesn’t, one kid likes the blueberries in the mix, one kid wants chocolate chips!  What’s a mom to do?

One mix–4 different muffins!

I use Simply Mornings from Duncan Hines.  I’m not married to the brand, it is what I can find at my Target (sometimes).  (I live in a food desert.)  What I like is the “natural” ingredients–I can pronounce almost everything.  

Keep in mind–this is NOT health food.  It is basically a donut.  But it does have several redeeming qualities!

  • no milk!  If you don’t know why I don’t like milk–read about it here.
  • makes everyone happy
  • makes the house smell awesome!  I could buy muffins but waking up to the smell of warm, chocolate and blueberry-ness is a wonderful thing.
  • gets the kids thinking about breakfast in a new way–not the same bowl of cereal.
  • lets the kids know that I try to make them all happy (points in the mommy bank!)
  • they get to see how creative I can be with one box of muffin mix.  I want to model creativity, DIY, frugalness and playfulness.  

 

chocolate chip muffin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://instagram.com/p/644dQnOmm6/

 

 

Did you find this helpful?  Want more?

I journal my eat and live with L.O.V.E. philosophy on Instagram, I have a daily show on Periscope at 10:00 am CST, twitter @reneebaude and I send out a weekly (unless things get crazy) email with my tips and tricks of being a Full Time Four Time Mom /Food Writer/Jewelry Designer!  It’s crazy busy, super organized, and lots of fun.  Sign up here!

Be Blessed as you eat and live with L.O.V.E.

 

 

 

Banana Muffins Vegan Style

/0 Comments/in , /by

vegan muffinsVegan Muffins?  Blech!

I miss baked goods.  I miss making banana muffins with my kids.  

The warm smell of melted chocolate and banana . . . that–get’s me excited.

One of my final steps in being Vegan was the problem with eggs in baking.  The problem . . . is kind of complicated.  I have a CSA egg share and I don’t want to cancel it for a few reasons . . . really, do you want me to bore you with the details about my eggs issues?  I won’t.  Just know, that being a Vegan Mom among non vegans isn’t always easy.

I’m lazy!

Not exactly true–I’m more like the energizer bunny ;-) or a race horse.  But some times I just can’t battle the little things.  Like eggs!  I love my muffin recipes and I didn’t want to go and find another recipe (from some weird vegan cookbook) that I had to then tweak, just so I wouldn’t use eggs.  

I solved the problem by not eating baked goods.  No muffins, cakes, cookies.

Did I just say Weird Vegan Cookbook?

Actually, yes I did.  I love going to the library and getting armfuls of cookbooks.  Do I ever make anything?  NO.  I look at the pictures.  When I started to seriously pursue my vegan-ness I checked out vegan cookbooks.  What a mistake.  The cookbooks had all sorts of ingredients that I do not typically buy.  And if you are Vegan, and love using all those ingredients–knock yourself out.  It’s just not for me.

Real Mom, Real Food in a Real Kitchen

I do pride myself on being a real mom with big issues with getting the kids out the door . . . somewhat on time, making food that is healthy with REAL ingredients.  I do cheat on some things.  I will buy those microwavable rice pouches and those salad kits to save time–the kids are starting to have 3rd and 4th dinners at 9 and 11 pm and I’m a “real tired” mom at that point and they are on their own.  My point is I don’t like processed fake vegan food.  But having just said I don’t like fake foods . . . 

Fake Eggs

In this recipe I finally used my “egg replacer”.  A box of . . . what?  I’m going to admit something here–I just bought the egg replacer because I didn’t want to eat eggs but DID want to eat muffins AND didn’t worry about what was even IN the egg replacer.  That was not forward thinking!  What is even in it?

  • Potato Starch–that doesn’t sound bad.
  • Tapioca Flour–I’ve used that before in thickening my famous pies!
  • Cream of Tartar–I’ve used that before too!
  • Cellulose Gum and Modified Cellulose . . . hhhmmmm.  These are not on my spice rack!  Definition: A chemically modified form of cellulose (the principal component of plant cells) used to prevent ice crystallization in foods.  I can live with that.

This website is a great resource for crazy ingredients.  http://www.vrg.org/ingredients/  I use it often to figure out what I’m eating–then decide if I can live without it or not.  It’s all about making the best choice at that moment in time.  

[Tweet “Check out this amazing vegan banana muffin recipe at Renee’s Kitchen! #veganRenee #Yumilicious!”]

Finally!  The Recipe!

 

[yumprint-recipe id=’15’] 

 

 

 

Recipe Organization

/2 Comments/in /by

I love cooking.  I love food.  I love the smell of cooking.  I love dinner time with all my kidlings sitting around the table and laughing, talking about their day, enjoying the moment of being together.

Before kids I cooked very elaborate meals both at home, in my catering and in the various restaurants that I worked in.  Now my meals are less complex but still delicious and wholesome.  Over the years I have worked with some awesome chefs and I have always kept lots of recipes.  Too many really for one person to ever cook in “real life”.

One day I decided to get rid of the zillion cookbooks that I had and just keep the recipes that I used.  I found a 3 ring binder and began filling the page protectors with my favorites.  Some of these included recipes from my wedding shower (I had asked for a fat quarter of fabric and a recipe) these heirloom recipes are so wonderful to have and I really do treasure them.  I did make a beautiful wedding quilt as well. 

I have continued to add to this three ring binder as I try new recipes that everyone enjoys.  I have also started writing down the recipes that I want my kids to have.  You see when my Mom died she had lots of cookbooks and tons of handwritten recipes.  It is so special to follow a recipe that is in her handwriting–it feels like she is really with me in my kitchen.  My mom also had tons of recipes stuck in books that were held together with rubber bands.  The year after my Mom passed I decided to replicate all of her Christmas cookies–she made dozens of different kinds–no exaggeration, plus fudge and chocolate covered cherries–crazy amounts of baking.  I had success except for her date pinwheels. 

I tried every date pinwheel recipe and none of them tasted like hers.  I don’t even LIKE them but I felt consumed to find that one cookie recipe.  I gave up.  I gave up on chasing a memory of a cookie.  It wasn’t really about the cookie, it was about sharing something with my Mom after she was gone.

What I want for my kids is to have the recipes that I use.  I want them to work with me in the kitchen, not only because it makes it more fun for me but I want them to have something that I don’t have.  I want them to have my muffin recipe. 

I make muffins every two weeks–24 muffins and I freeze 18.  You see every week we have Muffin Monday.  I usually make pumpkin or banana–it needs to be predictable for the kids.  I always have 3 weeks worth of muffins in the freezer.  It lightens my mental load to know that one breakfast every week is taken care of with food the kids love. 

Thank you God for giving me the gift of organization so the my house might run smoother giving me even more time to serve you.  Thank you for giving me the gift of cooking and nourishing those closest to me.  With Your grace I hope that I can feed their souls as well as their stomachs.