Healthy Style Muffins

Strawberry Muffins

These are great tasting muffins! They are flour free, without any added sugars.  They may not be as sweet as the Starbucks or bakery muffins but I would still say they are pretty sweet. (Iris approved)  ;)



Banana For 8 medium sized muffins = around 110 calories with 10.3g of protein each   :)
Ingredients:
3 Bananas
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1/3 cup of rolled oats60g of unflavoured protein powder (you can get this at Bulkbarn) (there are coupons in their website every few weeks!)
http://www.bulkbarn.ca/en-ca/coupons.html

1. preheat oven at 350^o
2. Blend Bananas until there are no chunks.
3. in a bowl add all the ingredients, and mix them up 
4. put them into the muffin paper cups, and bake for 15-20 minutes. (these will look a little moist even when they are fully baked, so they may not pass the "knife-poking test" I try to see if they are browning on top and its past 15 minutes, they should be good.)
5. DONE!  so eassyy!
   

Apple
For 9 medium sized muffins = around 95 calories with 9.3g of protein each   ;P
Ingredients:
2 Apples (Blended)
1 Apple (Chopped)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1/3 cup of rolled oats60g of unflavoured protein powder
1/2 cup of milk


Strawberry
For 9 medium sized muffins = around 93 calories with 10.5g of protein each   XD
Ingredients:
1 cup strawberries (Blended)
1 cup strawberries (Chopped)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
1/3 cup of rolled oats60g of unflavoured protein powder

AND so many more possibilities!!  I want to try Pear (with some ginger), blueberry, pumpkin... hmmm

Wonderful Cheesecake Goodness

Really smooth, not too sweet, even without the sweet sauce on top it tastes good.

Cheesecake
Ingredients:
500ml Sour Cream
1 cup of sugar
5 eggs
170g of thick milk cream
250g of Philadelphia cheese
5 tablespoons of cornstarch
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1. preheat oven at 350^o
2. Use mixer to mix together the sour cream with the sugar for a minute.
3. Add the eggs, and mix, and then add the thick milk cream, the cornstarch and the vanilla.  And mix for another minute or 2. 
4. Grease and flour the baking pan and put the whole mixture in there. 
5. Bake for 1 hour, until you check with the knife that it doesn't stick, let it brown a little on top, it taste better like that.  ;)

 

Strawberry Sweet Sauce

Ingredients:
0.5 kg of strawberries
200g of sugar
15 drops of lime

1. wash the strawberries & dry them very well
2. take out the leaves, and cut them in slices
3. put them in a pan with the sugar and leave them there for 30 minutes until they get juicy
4. add the drops of lime and put them on high heat
5. when it starts to boil lower the heat to medium  and leave it there for 45 minutes or up to 1 hour, mixing it once in a while to make sure it doesn't stick to the pan.
6. Take it out of the heat once you get the consistency you want, but take into account that once its cold it will be drier/more solid

   
   

   
   

BMB: Bahn Mi Boys (Queen and Spadina)

Mmmm can you say Vietnamese Sandwiches? Ever wonder why they are in French baguettes? Vietnam was a French colony from 1874-1954, and so under French influence, they ate baguettes! A little French-Asian fusion there. Haha who knew you could learn history through food? 

Anyway, back to BMB. I've wanted to try this restaurant ever since the first time I walked past it last summer. Non-traditional Viet fillings in a Viet sandwich. Sounded both delicious and interesting. So I finally had the opportunity when Benita asked to meet up for dinner to catch up after I came back from Europe. 

The Food:
There were Vietnamese sandwiches (on baguettes), steamed buns, and tacos available with various toppings. I got the pulled pork Vietnamese sandwich, and Benita got the five spice pork belly. The duck confit and lemongrass pork both sounded interesting as well. The people next to us had the steamed bun, which I would definitely try if...I mean WHEN I go again :)

The Verdict:
The sandwiches were good! The bun was not hard and crusty, but soft and just right! A wee bit skimpy on the filling, but otherwise it was a good experience. Can't remember the exact cost but it was worth my 6 bucks!!! (more or less :P) I'd go back! It's not a large restaurant, and a lot of people get their bahn mis to go, but we managed to swipe a spot and we sat and chatted for an hour. Not bad especially considering we were there during dinner time! 

Queen Street location - The original deal!

Pulled Pork Bahn Mi

Benita and her Five Spice Pork Belly Bahn Mi (and soy milk :P)