berries Archives | Page 17 of 20

I’m not sure what the heck I was thinking yesterday when I turned on my oven as the temperatures climbed past 100 degrees. My air conditioner already has enough problems cooling my apartment to a tolerable temperature without the added heat from my oven. I don’t really have the luxury of baking in the morning during the week so usually I have to suffer the sweat and repressive heat in the afternoon if I want something. I guess you make certain sacrifices when you want something bad enough.Despite the heat yesterday, I was on a mission. I don’t think anything could have persuaded me from turning on my oven (except maybe a broken oven…or a power outage). Since my little mint plant has started to grow like crazy, I’ve been thinking of ways to incorporate fresh mint into baked goods. I had leftover zucchini and blackberries from the farmers market in my fridge, begging to be used up in some delicious way. Since mint pairs well with zucchini and berries, my decision wasn’t too hard. And, since I can’t really pick up gluten free baked goods anywhere in town, I decided to make some hearty muffins.

The mint gives these muffins the most interesting flavor. They have a lovely refreshing taste that is so quintessentially mint but they also have hints of citrus. The zucchini doesn’t provide too much of a flavor difference though it does boost the nutrients and keep these guys moist. They are just sweet enough to enjoy both in the morning and as a snack or dessert. I always know something is good when it causes me to do a little happy jig upon taking the first bite. I’m pretty sure these have become one of my favorite muffins to date. I hope you make them (during a somewhat cooler part of your day) and enjoy them, too 🙂

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I seem to be rather fond of making desserts into breakfast lately. I think part of it is that I want to see if I can make a dessert healthy enough to eat for breakfast. The other part, if I can be honest, is that I get excited about being able to eat a “dessert” for breakfast. I typically eat the same thing during the week (granola, overnight oats, more granola, etc.) so it’s nice to change it up on the weekends when I have more time to invest in what I can make.

These crumbles came about when I brought home a large box of local blackberries from the farmers market. I really wanted to enjoy some for breakfast but not in the “throw them on top of some granola” way that I normally do during the week. For some reason I really wanted to use some quinoa flakes, so I figured I could make a topping with them for the berries, sort of like a crumble. I couldn’t leave well enough alone so I ended up adding some almond meal, shredded coconut, and chia seeds to the quinoa flakes. And, I ended up making a maple-spiked yogurt to top it off. The yogurt gives you some added protein and healthy bacteria and creates a nice contrast both in texture and flavor. It only took one bite for me to realize this was the perfect Sunday morning breakfast, and I hope you’ll agree. Oh, and in case you have some leftovers, the crumble makes a lovely dessert as well 🙂
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Minty Blackberry & Zucchini Muffins

Blackberry Breakfast Crumble with Maple Yogurt