lemon poppyseed muffins

i try to avoid wasting lemon zest and i had just made some lemonade.  super moist!  this recipe is from lecremedelacrumb.com which, from the looks of it, is a recipe blog i need to try from more frequently--everything looks delicious!

muffins

• 1⅓ cups flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup butter (4 tablespoons)
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (or almond) extract
• zest of 2 small lemons (or 1 large lemon - about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ¾ cup plain fat free greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon poppyseeds

icing

• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 and grease a muffin pan. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl cream together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest and juice, and greek yogurt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in poppyseeds.
3. Fill muffin tins about ⅔ full with muffin batter. Bake for 12-16 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
4. To make the icing cream melted butter and cream cheese for 2 minutes until very fluffy. Add powdered sugar and lemon juice and mix well. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired. Drizzle icing over cooled muffins. (If icing is too thick you can warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds ) Serve immediately or store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days.

thermos-ready smoothie

found it at delish.com. i threw in some handfuls of spinach and a few tablespoons of flaxseed meal for good measure. also, i used cran-apple since i didn't have just plain apple juice. my kids loved it and it was hardy enough with a piece of toast to keep 'em full til lunch.

• 1 cup(s) frozen mixed berries
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup(s) apple juice
• 1/4 cup(s) silken tofu

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Directions

1. Combine berries, banana, apple juice and tofu in a blender; blend until smooth.

almond-honey power bar

for a while i've been looking for a granola bar that's jam-packed, but that also doesn't have any oil or butter....that also holds its shape. i found a recipe that has a really great flavor, but the bars just crumble into your hands.

i found this recipe at delish.com. the bars stay together and the flavor is good. the turbinado sugar, though...i'm not sure if it melted properly or what, but there's a little bit of a crunch from that. anyway, for right now it's a keeper. i'll probably tweak it with a few different dried fruits and things next time i make them.

• 1 cup(s) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup(s) slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup(s) sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon(s) flaxseeds, preferably golden
• 1 tablespoon(s) sesame seeds
• 1 cup(s) unsweetened whole-grain puffed cereal (see Tips & Techniques)
• 1/3 cup(s) currants
• 1/3 cup(s) chopped dried apricots
• 1/3 cup(s) chopped golden raisins
• 1/4 cup(s) creamy almond butter (see Tips)
• 1/4 cup(s) turbinado sugar (see Tips)
• 1/4 cup(s) honey
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) salt

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch-square pan with cooking spray.
2. Spread oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and sesame seeds on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the oats are lightly toasted and the nuts are fragrant, shaking the pan halfway through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Add cereal, currants, apricots, and raisins; toss to combine.
3. Combine almond butter, sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring frequently, until the mixture bubbles lightly, 2 to 5 minutes.
4. Immediately pour the almond butter mixture over the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon or spatula until no dry spots remain. Transfer to the prepared pan. Lightly coat your hands with cooking spray and press the mixture down firmly to make an even layer (wait until the mixture cools slightly if necessary). Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes; cut into 8 bars.
   

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Tips & Techniques

Ingredient notes: For this recipe, we like unsweetened puffed multigrain cereal, such as Kashi's 7 Whole Grain Puffs. Almond butter can be found at natural-foods stores and large supermarkets, near the peanut butter. Turbinado sugar is steam-cleaned raw cane sugar. It's coarse-grained and light brown in color, with a slight molasses flavor. Find it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets or at natural-foods stores.