Monthly Archives: February 2011

Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

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Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

Yields 12 muffins

 


1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs or 4 egg whites

1 cup applesauce

4 tbsp canola oil

3/4 cup chocolate chips

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 12 muffin cups with pretty paper liners or grease muffin cups very well. Blend together dry ingredients. Add eggs, applesauce, and vegetable oil. Mix until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. Let stand 10 minutes. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.

 

 

*After a day or so I found that the muffins dried/hardened. To fix this I just heated one in the microwave for 30 seconds. The muffins get nice and warm and the chocolate melts. My favorite way to eat them is smothered in peanut or almond butter. Yum!

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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I know this soup is probably going to scare people away but I promise you it is delicious. Half of my family members will not come within 10 ft of the soup. That said, if you like broccoli I really think you will like this soup!

 

 

Ingredients: (makes 8 cups)

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2lbs frozen broccoli
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • pinch of red pepper flakes & black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1.5 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • Greek yogurt or sour cream (optional, for garnish)

Note: You want to cook the broccoli down so that it is falling apart, and that’s much easier to achieve with the frozen version.

Start by heating a few tablespoons of olive oil in a medium size pot. Add garlic and onion and saute until brown. Add frozen broccoli, cooking for 5 minutes until the broccoli is no longer frozen. Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Carefully add vegetable broth and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn stove off. Transfer soup by ladle to a blender (or use an immersion blender) to puree the soup. BE CAREFUL!! Hot liquid expands so depending on the size of your blender you may want to puree the soup in batches. Make sure your blender is only half full or else you will bright green soup all over your kitchen! Once you have a smooth soup, transfer it back to the pot and turn the stove on to reheat soup. Add shredded cheese, mixing until it melts. To serve the soup, garnish with greek yogurt and extra shredded cheese. Don’t forget a piece of bread.

 

 

{Updates}

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I am happy that January is over. I can honestly say it was the most emotionally draining month of my life. Although there were many days with tears, there were happy days too.

Lucy arrived!

 

 

Isn't she a doll?

 

 

Chris & I went to the Winter Carnival

I survived my first week of the Spring semester. I might change my mind in 6 weeks but right now it seems like it will less stressful than last semester. I am taking more credits (18) but it seems that I will have less busy work to do outside of class.

-Educational Methods in Dietetics: this class focuses on communication and teaching skills. As part of the class we go out to an elementary school and teach kids about nutrition. We will also be developing a lot of nutrition education materials. I love nutrition education and kids so this class will be fun!

-Human Physiology: my prof is a sweet Indian lady. She has a thick accent but she is really nice and does a good job of teaching. The best part is that we have no busy work. It’s just weekly lab quizzes and tests.

-Medical Nutrition Therapy II: this semester we have lecture 1x per week and then a lab component. During the lab we will be shadowing dietitians in clinical settings. Of course, we have something due every week as this prof loves giving us case studies/busy work.

-Leadership in Nutrition: the final class in the food management series. Basically, we learn how to be a supervisor/manager and learn all about safety/sanitation of food service. Not the most exciting class (esp because it is at 8am!) but I am sure the information will be useful in the future.

-Research in Food & Nutrition: this class will be very cool but a lot of work. We have to research and develop a gluten free product, run test trials and experiments, and write a manuscript. I am thinking about making gluten free bread because the stuff at the grocery store is expensive and gross. Although the class will require a lot of effort we are working with a partner and a good 75% of the project will be done in class/lab. It’s scary though because our entire grade is based on this project. Eek!

I am also the TA for Advanced Nutrition. I really liked that course last spring so I am looking forward to editing power points, grading, developing case studies and tutoring.

In other news I took the GRE last week and did better than I expected to. That was a huge relief. Now I am ready to submit my internship applications. After that it becomes a waiting game until April 3rd. In a little less than 2 months I will know my fate. No big deal (!!!!!!!!!!!).

 

Remember a few months ago when I did a giveaway for CSN stores? CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from kids’ swing sets to stylish furniture to cute cookware! Now that I don’t have a gym membership I am looking for new fitness equipment to spice up my home workouts. Their fitness store has a lot of things to choose from. I am torn between a kettle ball or a foam roller. They also have a ton of dvds to choose from.

 

Two more pictures to remind everyone that life is short, but sweet for certain. Chicago- June 2010