Orange Carrot Muffins

I bought a juicer a few days ago & I hate food going to waste...so I searched for things to do with the leftover pulp & found All About Juicing, and they had soooo much information! I took their recipe & tweaked it a bit. The end result was delicious! I took them to our office's Christmas party & they got an A+ from everybody! Even prompting a few to have seconds and thirds! It's a fairly easy recipe, don't get too scared of all the ingredients!

Ingredients


2 cups flour
1/4 cup carrot/orange pulp (after juicing)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup stevia
1 tbsp orange zest
2/3 cup orange juice (made fresh juice just for this occassion!) 
1/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/4 cup smart balance butter
1/3 cup egg whites

Topping

1 tbsp meltedbutter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

***Keep in mind, these are the ingredients I used...be creative & alter what you need!***

First mix the dry ingredients & then stir in the wet ones. I made mini muffins (and got 35) but you can use the regular muffins & should make around 12'ish. If you're doing the minis, bake at 350 for 10 mins, if you're using the reg cupcake tins, bake for 20-25 mins.

Once you put the batter into the cupcake molds, combine the "topping" ingredients together & sprinkle over each muffin. Voila!

The nutritional information below is based off of 1-cupcake size muffin.

Calories 121
Total fat 2.3g
Saturated fat .3g
Cholesterol 0mg
Total carbs 21.8g
Dietary fiber .9g
Sugars 4.9g
Protein 3g

Good points

No cholesterol
High in selenium
High in Vitamin C

NO BAD POINTS!

Bon appetite!

xo,
Nancy

2nd Juice of the Day - With Swiss Chard!

I think tomorrow I will strictly be juicing & thinking of alternating juicing days. It'll be good. I just hope Christmas falls on a non juicing day! lol. Here is what I had for lunch today.

Ingredients

1 cup kale

2 swiss chard leaves

1/4 cup parsley

2 apples

2 carrots

1 orange

I have learned that kale & some greens don't let out a whole lot of juice, however there is a ton of nutrients in the juice that it does produce, so enjoy!!! Again, this made approx 25-30 oz of juice.

Calories 383

Total fat 1.9g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 330 mg

Total carbs 94.8g

Dietary fiber 20g

Sugars 62.0g

Protein 8.2g

The following is based off of a 2000 calorie diet:

Vitamin A 769%

Vitamin C 418%

Calcium 30%

Iron 27%

Good points

Very low in saturated fat

No cholesterol

Very high in dietary fiber

High in manganese

High in magnesium

High in potassium

Very high in Vitamin A

Very high in Vitamin C

Bad points

Very high in sugar 

Let the juicing begin! Bon appetite!

xo,

Nancy

My First Juice - Sour Green

I finally *FINALLY* got a juicer this weekend & I am super excited for so many reasons. With a lot of things going on that I cannot control, what I put into my body is one of the few things I can control, so I am going to take that & RUN with it! I love how it froths on top & gives you a mustache. Oh, it's the little things in life. Below is the recipe & I used, along with the nutritional information. 

Ingredients:

8 oz spinach 

2 carrots

1 grapefruit (I swear, this was the mother of all grapefruits!!! Local too!)

2 oranges

I can't remember off the top of my head how many oz this made, but I want to say around 25-30 oz & nutritional information is based on this recipe as a whole.

Calories 316

Total fat 1.7g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 263mg

Total carbs 73.5g

Dietary fiber 18.6g (75%!!!!)

Sugars 50.1g

Protein 11.9g

The following is based off of a 2000 calorie diet:

Vitamin A 873%

Vitamin C 518%

Calcium 43%

Iron 39%

Good points (Brace yourselves!!!)

Very low in saturated fat

No cholesterol

High in calcium

Very high in dietary fiber

High in iron

Very high in manganese

High in magnesium

Very high in potassium

High in riboflavin

High in thiamin

Very high in Vitamin A

High in Vitamin B6

Very high in Vitamin C

Bad points 

Very high in sugar

As always, nutritional information was calculated at Calorie Count.

Cannot wait to post more!!! Bon appetite!

xo,
Nancy 

DIY Toothpaste & Mouthwash

I am unsure who the originator of these images are...but I just had to share!!! I have made them both already. They are super easy to make & taste wonderful. Keep in mind, if you don't like peppermint, simply choose another flavor! 

Enjoy & start living the DIY today!!!

xo,

Nancy

Homemade Citrus Cleaner - NO CHEMICALS!

And it smells soooo good! I LOVE the citrus smell & this cleaner is so easy to make!

What you need:

1 container with a larger mouth
5 cups of water (have read you can also use vinegar as well!)
2 cups of citrus peel (I kept a bag in the freezer that I would add peels too until I got to my 2 cups)
7 tbsp of brown sugar

Mix all the ingredients together & let sit for 2 weeks. Every other day or so, open the lid to release the gases.  Then transfer water to a spray bottle & you're golden!!!

Enjoy!!!

xo,
Nancy

Homemade Sweet Potato Pie!!!

OMG! I am such a sweet potato lover, so I couldn't resist in making this yummy treat for Thanksgiving. This is just the recipe for the pie itself; I do have a post with the crust I use a few posts down!!!

Ingredients:

1 lb sweet potato

1/4 cup butter (I used Smart Balance)

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce 

1 cup stevia

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/3 cup egg whites (equals 2 whole eggs)

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-9" pie crust

-First you need to boil the sweet potatoes. How you do it is completely up to you. You can boil with the skin on & it should come off easily once they are soft or you can peel & then boil (that's how I did it)

-Once they are soft, I mashed them & added the rest of the ingredients & mixed til smooth. I don't own any fancy mixing gadgets, so it's just me & my own force! lol.

-Pour mixture into the pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 - 60 minutes. It'll sink a bit once it cools down, don't freak! :~)

The nutritional information below is based off of 1 serving, not including the pie crust. 

Calories 87

Total fat 2.8g

Saturated fat .8g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 94mg

Total carbs 13g

Dietary Fiber 2.1g

Sugars 4.6g

Protein 2.3g

Good points

No cholesterol

High in manganese

Very high in Vitamin A

Very high in Vitamin C

Bad points

High in sugar

Contains alcohol

Rated a B recipe from Calorie Count. Bon appetite!

xo,

Nancy

Homemade Cranberry, Apple & Pear Sauce!!!

I know, it's a mouth full....but this sauce just came out so yummy, who cares how long the title is! lol. I am a lover of cranberry sauce, but ever since I started my weight loss journey, I refuse to buy canned/processed/frozen crap & if I can't make it, I don't want to eat it. So, I made my sauce this year!!! Below is the recipe & it takes about 20 minutes to make, no preservatives or chemicals...just LOVE!

Ingredients:

2 cups of cranberry juice (I used Ocean Spray's CranGrape bc it was on sale, but next time 100% cranberry juice for me!)

1 bag (12 oz'ish) of fresh cranberries

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup stevia 

2 gala apples (peeled, cored & diced)

1 pear (peeled, cored & diced)

2 tbsp cornstarch 

In a saucepan (over medium heat) add the cranberry juice, cranberries, cinnamon & stevia (or sugar!) & bring to a boil & let cook for 5 mins.

Add the apples & pear & cook for another 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. 

Then remove approx 8 oz of the liquid & pour into a small bowl; whisk in the cornstarch & then return the mixture into the pan. Cook for another 5 minutes; stirring constantly. 

Pour into a serving bowl & refrigerate until thickened, about 30 minutes or so.

This recipe serves 12. Below is the nutritional information based on 1 serving.

Calories 44

Total fat .2g

Cholesterol 0mg

Sodium 1mg

Total carbs 11.2g

Dietary Fiber 2.8g

Sugars 5.2g

Protein .2g

Good points

No saturated fat

No cholesterol

Very low in sodium

Very high in dietary fiber

High in manganese

Very high in vitamin C

Bad points

Very high in sugar

And it was suuuuuuuuuper yummy! Bon appetite!

xo,

Nancy