muffins

Weekend Wrap Up: Good Eats & a Giveaway (Closed)

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If you are looking for the giveaway you’ll just go nuts about scroll down! 

This weekend Neil and I were fairly busy and it seems that things aren’t going to be slowing down anytime soon!  We started the weekend off with a homemade Mexican pizza (recipe to come tomorrow) which was absolutely delicious.

Here it is all fixed up with a sprinkle of baby arugula, fresh tomatoes and sour supreme.  We enjoyed our slices, went for a walk and settled on the couch to watch a few shows.

Saturday morning I got up bright and early to bake up a batch of Babycakes gluten free Pumpkin Spice Muffins for our early morning birthing class.  Around 8:30 our birthing class teacher arrived (we are taking private classes) and we served up coffee, muffins and fruit before starting our four hours of class. In other news our birthing class teacher is also a doula and last week after doing a bunch of reading Neil and I made a last minute decision to hire a doula for the birth.  I checked with Sarah (our birth coach) to see if she had any July openings and she did so after our class we decided to hire her to be our doula (she is really wonderful and so comfortable to be around).  I’ll discuss more of this doula talk in Thursday’s update post.

After our four plus hours of birthing class Neil and I were so hungry we decided to use up the remaining homemade dough and make another small pizza for lunch and then I passed out for a few hours.  When I finally woke up Neil was going a little stir crazy and was ready to get out of the house so we decided to have a date night downtown including window shopping, drinks (beer for him and water for me) and dinner out at A Single Pebble <–Neil had a gift card from work so free (almost) dinner for us! After dinner we headed home and cuddled on the couch while watching the remainder of the Yankees game, we should have just gone to bed though such a bad game.

Sunday we enjoyed a lazy morning before heading out for brunch with friends that we hadn’t seen since last July.  We spent over two hours enjoying food, conversation and having tons of belly laughs at Duino Duende.  It was so nice not to have a rushed meal and really enjoy the company.  After brunch we rean a few errands, took a nap, Neil did a training run and I watched House Hunters International.

While Neil finished up his run I made dinner of arugula walnut pesto with peas and white beans, a side of kale and leftover tofu from dinner at A Single Pebble.  After dinner we went for a stroll and then relaxed on the couch. What did you do this weekend?

Now that you’ve read my weekend recap keep scrolling and you’ll find a great giveaway! 

Review and Giveaway: Doug’s Nuts

A few weeks ago Doug’s Nuts sent me a few complimentary bags of their nuts to try out and ever since then I have been in love.  When I first open the nuts I am expecting them to be sugary based on their shiny coating but they were super mild and really delicious.  They are coated with a flavorful glaze consisting of organic evaporated sugarcane juice, honey, oatmeal stout beer <– my husband saw beer and had to try them immediately, sea salt, organic vanilla extract, and other natural flavors. In the mix are roasted almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, and pumpkin seeds (the hazelnuts and pecans are my favorites).

I unfortunately finished off my two pouches pretty quickly (time to get some more I guess!)  but boy where they good.  I enjoyed them over soy yogurt, by the palm-full and my favorite way as a topping for apple “nachos”.  What are apple nachos? Simply thinly sliced apples (I use my mandolin) drizzled with almond butter and topped with a sprinkling of Doug’s Nuts and a few mini chocolate chips for good measure.

Giveaway Details- Open Until Friday May 11th at 8pm EST: CLOSED

  • Doug’s Nuts will provide and ship one 6-pack of Doug’s Nuts to the winner ($30 + shipping costs value) – OPEN TO US RESIDENTS ONLY
Winner:

To enter:

  • Visit the Doug’s Nuts and come back and leave a comment letting me know something that you have learned. (Mandatory)
Additional Entries: (Leave a separate entry for each)
  • Follow Doug’s Nuts on Twitter
  • Follow Running With Tongs on Twitter
  • Tweet “I’d go nuts to win @runwithtongs @dougsnuts giveaway http://wp.me/pFVWo-3fL”

{Recipe}: Apple Banana Muffins

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Last night I was in the mood to do some baking so I made oatmeal raisin cookies sweetened with maple syrup, raisins and applesauce, Agave Trailmix Cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar  and a new Banana muffin recipe I’ve been working on.  This muffin is tasty and filled with dates, bananas and apples and sweetened with a little agave. I also made a sweetened vegan  cream cheese to top these tasty muffins.  You can find the printable recipe over here.


Good Morning Berry Muffins

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Good Morning! This morning I was in the mood for a tasty baked good and  to my delight when I went to the pantry I had everything to make muffins.  To go with the muffins I decided to try the Godiva coffee from Foodbuzz Tastemakers.

I tried the Chocolate Truffle, it was not bad hot but I had extra to try out a tasty iced coffee tomorrow.  I always find that to me flavored coffee is always better cold.  I guess we’ll see!

To go with my coffee I made up a batch of Berry Good Morning Muffins.


Inspired by Babycakes Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:

  • 2 & 1/4 cups light spelt flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking bowder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt (you can use regular)
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted- however do not melt in the microwave; heat some water and place the jar in a hot water bath to melt)
  • 2/3 cup agave nectar
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract or almond extract
  • 2/3 cup frozen mixed berries (no sugar added)
Preheat oven to 325F.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease with coconut oil.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Then slowly beat in the coconut oil, agave nectar, almond milk, and extracts; mix until combined. Using a spatula, gently fold in the berries until evenly distributed.
Pour 1/3 cup of batter into each muffin cup.  Bake the muffins on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotate 180 degrees after 15 minutes. You will know the muffins are done when a toothpick is inserted in the center and comes out clean.  Remove muffins from the oven and let them stand in the tin for 5-10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely (if you can wait that long).

Whole Wheat- Masa Pumpkin Muffins

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I don’t bake often because all the recipes I find are usually filled with sugar and/or oil; both of which make me cringe at thinking about putting all of that in 12 little muffins.  I was thinking yesterday what can I do to make a yummy baked good without all the sugar and oil and I came up with these yummy little things.

For these muffins I used pumpkin puree instead of oil and I used a little bit of agave nectar to add a touch of sweetness.

Whole Wheat-Masa Pumpkin Muffins

Makes a dozen muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 cups masa harina or fine yellow cornmeal
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 2/3 cups unsweetened almond milk or other non-dairy milk
  • 2 teaspoons coconut vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F and either lightly grease or line a cupcake pan

  1. In a medium bowl stir together the almond milk and coconut vinegar, set to the side for 10 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl mix together the whole wheat flour, masa harina, baking powder and salt.
  3. Whisk the pumpkin puree and agave into the almond milk.
  4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined.
  5. Fill a 12 cup muffin pan and bake for 10-12 minutes, until lightly browned.

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