Wisdom from a Candy Company?

Day 131.

I don't watch much television anymore, so I'm not sure if the commercials are still using the same slogan, but do you remember Skittles's slogan about tasting the rainbow? They make a very good point. Stay with me now.

Don't go out and buy a bag of Skittles. They rots your teeth and your insides, too. But abide by the slogan. Taste the rainbow. It's good for you.

What I mean is this: Try to get your foods from across the colorful spectrum each day. It's hard. It can be done, but it's hard. Instead of aiming for perfection, try a wide variety throughout the week. Here are some fruits and veggies across the rainbow and why you should eat them:

(Please remember, I'm not a doctor, just a person trying to eat healthier and pass on what I learn.)

RED fruits and vegetables contain lycopene, a substance proven to reduce cancer risk!

*Try tomatoes, watermelon, cherries, beets, red cabbage, pomegranate, radishes, rhubarb, and red peppers.

ORANGE and YELLOW fruits and vegetables keep your eyes and heart healthy, and provide different vitamins, including A and C, and folate, which reduces birth defect risks!

*Try oranges, yellow peppers, apricots, lemons, grapefruit, yellow squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and mangoes.

GREEN fruits and vegetables contain chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a wonder food. Essentially, it's plant blood. Don't get grossed out. Do you know how remarkably similar to our own hemoglobin? Chlorophyll helps keep our red blood cells healthy and strong, and increases energy, too.

*Try artichokes, kiwi, spinach, collard, mustard, or turnip greens, kale, limes, green onion, avocado, and zucchini.

BLUE and PURPLE fruits and vegetables provide valuable antioxidants, which may reduce cancer risk.

*Try blueberries, eggplant, plums, and figs.

WHITE fruits and vegetables can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

*Try bananas, cauliflower, mushrooms, turnips, and onions.

It takes some planning to get all the colors of the rainbow into your day. I don't try for every color every single day (although I should), but I try to make sure that my weekly intake includes a balance from the spectrum. For breakfast, I had white (banana), blue/purple (blueberries), and red (strawberries), so I'm on a roll already. It was as simple as baking muffins and adding a few berries on the side.

Blueberry-Banana Muffins
makes about 15 muffins

What You Need:

• 2 cups of flour (whole wheat is preferable but use what you're comfortable with)
• 1/4 cup wheat germ (raw or toasted, your call. I used raw)
• 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 5 Tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large bananas, peeled and mashed
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

How it's Done:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line 15 muffin cups with liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set them to the side.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, wheat germ, flax seed meal, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine mashed bananas, butter, sugars, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour all at once into dry ingredients and stir just until they're well-mingled.
3. Gently fold in blueberries.
4. Pour the batter into your prepared muffin cups. You want to fill them up about 3/4 of the way. I found that 1/3 cup batter did this nicely.
5. Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes, or until a pick inserted near the center comes out clean.
6. Turn the muffins out onto a platter and let them cool a bit before serving.

Oat Bran Doesn't Sound Very Tasty

Day 45.

Do you have a picky eater? I do. Boy, do I ever! This kid won't even eat popcorn chicken because it has the word popcorn in it. Keep broccoli away. It seems she's repelled by it. And if I ever mentioned the words oat and bran together, there's no way she'd try the recipe. It's rather shocking to have such a food-phobic kid in the house with me being a foodie and all, and I'm always trying to coax her into trying new things. We have a Three Bites Rule in our home. Just try it. Have three bites. If you don't like it, that's fine. There are always other things on the plate that you can eat instead.

Lately, I've turned to masking foods in order to get different things into her. Not long ago, I made some vegetable fritters. I minced the veggies so finely that you couldn't tell what was in them. Onions, broccoli, mushrooms, and more were all in those fritters. She loved them.

Today, I made oat bran muffins. My mother made oat bran muffins regularly when I was growing up. I loved them. I still do. I love the natural sweetness of the oat bran. My Picky Eater doesn't share my appreciation of simple oat bran. So I mask it. By calling these muffins Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins. Shhh. Don't tell her.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins (a.k.a. my own version of the recipe on the back of the Quaker Oat Bran box)

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of oat bran (uncooked)


• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar


• 2 tsp baking powder


• 1/2 tsp sea salt


• 1 cup milk (vanilla almond milk works great here)


• 2 eggs, lightly beaten


• 1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup (the maple syrup is awesome)


• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (not required if you use vanilla almond milk)


• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil (try coconut oil - melted)


• 1 mashed banana


• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

How it's Done:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with liners.


2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine oat bran, sugar, salt, and baking powder.


3. In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, honey, banana, and oil. Add all at once to dry ingredients. Stir to combine.


4. Fold in chocolate chips.


5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Mmmmuffins...

Day 11.

Could there possibly be a better way to wake up than the aroma of freshly baked muffins wafting into your bedroom, rousing you from your dreams? There might be, but right now, I can't think of one.

The kids woke up to the delicious scent of these banana muffins. They were happy. And I was happy knowing that I got to use up those bananas that were just about too ripe. All is well.

Banana Nut Crumb Muffins
makes 18 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 to 4 mashed bananas (about 1 cup)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (or another nut of your choice)
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp butter

How it's Done:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Spray 18 muffin cups with non-sick spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, combine mashed bananas, granulated sugar, melted butter, eggs, and milk. Pour all at once into dry ingredients. Stir just until blended.
4. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.
5. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 2 Tbsp flour. Cut in 1 Tbsp butter until the mixture is finely crumbed. Divide equally over top of each muffin
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until muffin springs back when pressed gently.