Gluten free zucchini, herb & pepita smokey herb muffins with cream cheese frosting & Nutworks smokey sprinkles

It has been a long running inside joke in my family that I should open a muffin shop. I seem to be always making muffins and crafting new ones. There is something so wonderfully comforting and exciting about a muffin all at the same time, and the flavour possibilities are pretty much only as endless as your imagination!

What is not to love??

When Nutworks told me about their exciting new Gourmet Sprinkles range I was excited to try it, even more so when I started tasting the flavour combinations they had come up with. I have long been a fan of their products and natural ingredients.
In fact when you read the back of these sprinkles, their is not an additive or preservative in sight.

Nothing quite dresses a muffin up more than a whipped topping and a pop of crunch and flavour on top. Well these handy packets take all the guess work and prep work out as they are ready to snip and go.

As a busy mum, I really like that!!

When I tasted their Texas smoked my mind flew to paprika and smokey flavours and cream cheese so I crafted these muffins around my daydreaming taste buds. I hope you like them as much as I enjoyed making them!

Bek xoxo

Zucchin, herb and pepita muffins with whipped lemon cream cheese frosting and Nutworks Smokey Sprinkles

Ingredients

2 free range eggs
1 large or 2 small zucchini
1 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup baby spinach leaves
2 cups self raising gluten free flour (could also use buckwheat with baking powder added)
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes slivers
1/4 cup smoked ham/bacon/vegetarian ham or leave out. Cooked and sliced thinly.
1/4 cup pepita seeds
1 cup water (or as needed)

 1 packet cream cheese
1/4 cup chives chopped
1/4 cup parsley chopped

1/2 large lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon smokey paprika

Nutworks Texas Smoked Sprinkles. (Find me at woolworths.)

Method
Pre heat oven to 180'c.
Line a muffin tray with cases or grease.
Whisk eggs and oil together in a large bowl.
Sprinkle in some salt and add into this mixture the cheese, ham, zucchini, pepita, paprika, sun-dried tomato  and spinach and some of the water.
Gently fold the flour through the wet mixture, add a little extra water from the cup of water as needed. Mixture should be reasonably runny, easy to stir texture.
Fill cases approx 3/4 full.
Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden on top.
Remove from heat and allow to cool on a wire rack.
Whip the cream cheese with an electric beater/mixer with the lemon juice and nice and smooth and a little fluffy. Adjust amount of lemon to taste. You can use just a hint and replace with water.
Use a spatula to top each muffin with the cream cheese and top with the Nutworks smokey sprinkles.
Enjoy!!

Note:

These are fantastic to take to a BBQ, picnic, dinner party

Roasted Fig and Feta Muffins

Your a modern woman. You might work out, try to eat right (at least most of the time) and your a busy, happy mum.
You also want to look good and you to have your cake and eat it too.

Can we still really enjoy incredible food and still fit into skinny jeans?

Or is it only one or the other?

Is the next afternoon tea with girlfriends just that, only tea? Or can you have some delicious morsel on offer?
The last thing you want is your hard working, body conscious friends not enjoying a tea party.

I have been working on this dilemma as a mum who loves to eat and cook but also wear nice clothes for a few years now!
And I have become adapt and recipes that taste moorish but are kind to your hips too. 

Yes, I like many other women put on weight easily but I try to work hard to keep it off too so when I am enjoying great food and so much happier if I know it is healthy for me too!

Determined to get the best of both worlds, knowing how down I feel when I feel frumpy or too overweight and yet also having a foodie’s passion for beautiful food I have set about creating recipes that I can enjoy with girlfriends and we can all relax, eat and instead of worrying about calories get down to serious things like talking and laughing!

For me food is all about flavour, appearance and smell 

I love a high tea with girlfriends and am always looking for something to make that can leave a table of women speechless for a few seconds as they absorb the flavour and texture of the food.

As soon as I tried this yoghurt the flavours of the plum and roasted fig brought my taste buds alive and I knew I wanted to really marry that flavour with a great contrast, and so I created with love, my Roasted Fig Yoghurt and Feta Spelt Muffins.

Before you go eek, sweet yoghurt and feta in a muffin together? Trust me, you need to try these!The flavour combination just bursts in your mouth and the texture of the muffin is moist.

Ingredients

• 250 gm tub of yoghurt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tablespoons honey or stevia
• 1 free range egg
• 100 gms feta ( I used persian)
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 & 1/2 cups wholemeal spelt flour (can use normal flour)
• 1 &1/2 teaspoons baking flour
• 1/4 cup dried plums/prunes finely chopped

Method

• Pre heat oven to 180’c
• Line a muffin baking tray with muffin cases.
• Beat butter until nice and soft, add in honey. Mix well.
• Add in the egg, combine well and then the water followed by the yoghurt.
• Fold through the dried plums and crumble in the feta into the mixture.
• Combine spelt flour with baking powder really well.
• Very carefully, without too many movements fold the spelt flour into the muffin mixture.The less stirring the nicer the muffins will turn out.
• Top each muffin with some extra feta and dried plums for decorative effect.
• Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake in the oven to approximately 25 minutes or until springs back to the touch.
• Serve. Particularly good when matched with girlfriends, light hearted chatter and a pot of great tea.

(c) Rebecca Mugridge 2014
www.authorrebeccamugridge.com

www.facebook.com/AuthorRebeccaMugridge

Delicious Avocado & Coconut Muffins

I still remember the very first time my mother made me avocado muffins. I remember thinking she was mad, until I ate one! The delicious, nutty flavour was so nice and they were not too sweet like muffins can sometimes be.
It is drizzling with rain here where I live on the Sunshine Coast so a batch of these warm from the oven is a just perfect for filling the house with warmth and oh so yummy smells this morning X

Avocado & Coconut Muffins

These healthy, nutty flavoured muffins are packed full of goodness.

·        2 ripe avocado’s

·        ½ cup coconut oil, softened (or use butter)

·        1 free range egg

·        ¼ cup LSA mix

·        ¼ cup hazelnut meal

·        ¼ cup desiccated coconut

·        ¼ cup honey

·        1 teaspoon chia seeds

·        1 cup soy, dairy, almond or rice milk

·        1 & ½ cups organic self raising flour

·        ¼ cup shredded coconut

·        ¼ cup dark coconut sugar

·        muffin cases

Method

·        Pre heat oven to 180`c.

·        Line a muffin tray with muffin cases.

·        Blend avocado, coconut oil and honey together until smooth.

·        Pour into a bowl and add in LSA, chia seeds, hazelnut meal, desiccated coconut, milk and egg, mix together.

·        In a separate small bowl combine the shredded coconut and coconut sugar together

·        Gently mix flour through avocado mixture, being very careful not to over mix it, add a little extra milk if needed.

·        Fill muffin cases approximately ¾ full of muffin mix.

·        Top each muffin with a little of the coconut/sugar mix.

·        Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden on top and springs back lightly to the touch.

Notes

·       * Easily made Dairy Free for allergies/vegan
*Swap coconut oil for organic butter for a richer flavour

·        *You can add almond, walnut or macadamia pieces for a really scrumptious muffin

·        *When losing weight make these into mini muffins using a miniature muffin tray, great to have for afternoon tea

Avocado’s are a great natural source of vitamin c, are high in fibre, wonderful for skin and eye health, are a source of vitamin e and powerful antioxidants, are very beneficial during pregnancy and an important part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Recipe and photography © RebeccaMugrigde2013
This recipe was featured in WHY Fitness magazine
www.authorrebeccamugridge.com

Bek's Beautiful Blueberry, Yoghurt Spelt Muffins with a hint of Coconut!

I love blueberries but I don't even come close to loving them as much as my youngest does. From the moment she took that very first solids mouthful she has been a total foodie and never looked back!
She especially loves raw vegetables and fruit and she just loves blueberries so she is very excited when they are in season and sqqeals when she spots them in the shops in a big display, forget freedo frogs its a punnet of blueberries hands down!
Along with eating them fresh she loves them in salads, in fruit salads, in smoothies and in muffins!

I have always made blueberry muffins and now we make these really tasty spelt flour ones, our favourite flour to use now, balanced with the cream, thick natural yoghurt they have a great texture.

Ingredients

• 1 punnet blueberries
• 100g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup dark coconut sugar (not the refined white one)
• 1 free range egg
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla paste
• 1 cup natural yoghurt ( I use beautiful Maleny Dairies)
• 1/2 cup milk of choice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 & 1/2 cup organic wholemeal spelt flour
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• extra desiccated coconut and coconut sugar

Method

• Preheat oven to 180ç
• Grease or line with cases muffin tray
• Beat butter and coconut sugar together briefly, add vanilla essence
• Add in the yoghurt, mix well.
• Add in the egg and mix through well.
• Stir in the milk.
• Throw in around 3/4 of the blueberries and then very carefully fold through the flour and baking powder. Be very careful  not to over-mix at this stage or you will get tough muffins.
• Pour into prepared tray.
• In a small bowl mix a little coconut sugar with desiccated coconut.
• Top each muffin with the left over blueberries and a sprinkling of the coconut mixture.
• Bake until lightly golden on top and bounces back when touched approx 10-20 minutes depending on oven and size of muffins.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• Try the same recipe with blackberries, mulberries, raspberries!
• You can use coconut yoghurt and coconut oil or olive oil for a vegan allergy friendly version if required.
• Use stevia in place of coconut sugar if desired and leave the mixture off the top.

Toddler Tips

• Make them toddler hand sized friendly by using a miniature muffin tray
• These freeze well so are great for school lunches!

(c)rebeccamugridge2014

B Fresh with Bek

I am very excited to share that you can now read a food column series by me in 

WHY Fitness Matters magazine
on the page

 WHY BFresh with Rebecca Mugridge

The series is sponsored by B Fresh, Warana, Sunshine Coast.

If your on the Sunshine Coast look out for a copy at cafes, gyms, sports centres, swim centres, and many more places.  If your not on the Sunshine Coast you can read the magazine and all its issues online HERE

The page celebrates local and in season food and includes a recipe by me and promotes the lovely fresh produce and gourmet foods available locally through from B Fresh and the fabulous food available right here on the Sunshine Coast.

The magazine itself is inspiration on paper. Packed full of health and fitness articles, experts, athletes and information that is beautifully crafted together by it's editor and the Sunshine Coast's own very inspiring woman and fitness expert Jen Forster.

So far my recipes in the magazine include

My healthy strawberry tart.

This gorgeous tart is made with Sunshine Coast producer Nutworks macadamia meal, coconut oil and gorgeous local strawberries that BFresh have been buying off the same grower for 20 years!
It is also pictured here on a locally produced chopping board called a Fab Slab, they are made from a pest species tree here on the Sunny Coast called a Camphor laurel - you can read more about them here and yes they are available from Bfresh and many other places as well. I love mine and they go with me to all my cooking demonstrations and events.
 

My avocado and coconut muffins.

 Using gorgeous in season avocado's and are dairy and refined sugar free. They have a lovely nutty flavour and are not over the top sweet tasting so great for morning tea.

Both these recipes can be read online in the magazines e-version by clicking HERE

Want more of my delicious recipes?
Get them straight to your inbox every week by entering your email address on the right hand side at the top of the blog! Too easy

You can also see me cooking LIVE at this year's Real Food Festival

Happy Cooking

                      Bek XX

RECIPE - BerryLicious Muffins (No Added Sugar!)

Berrylicious Muffinns

Colourful, delicious, healthy and with no added sugar these are wonderful in kids lunchboxes, for work or morning tea. The combination of berries and coconut flour is beautiful and sweetened with honey and stevia they are a healthier alternative.

Ingredients

·         1 cup organic coconut flour (find me in the health food section)

·         1 cup gluten free SR flour (or spelt flour + 1 t baking powder) 

·         1 free range egg

·         ¼ cup raw honey or maple syrup/rice malt syrup/stevia 

·         2 tablespoons flaxseed oil 

·         1 cup frozen mixed berries

·         1 cupNatural Acidophilus yoghurt (I use Maleny Dairies)

·         8 drops vanilla liquid stevia (or 1 teaspoon good quality vanilla paste)

·         ¼ cup butter

·         ½ cup almond, soy or dairy milk

·         Muffin cases

Method

·         Preheat oven to 180’c.

·         Grease or line a muffin baking tray with muffin cases.

·         Whisk egg.

·         Combine egg with agave and vanilla stevia drops.

·         Stir in yoghurt and milk.

·         Tip the frozen berries into the mix, very carefully stir through.

·         Sift the flours together.

·         Gently fold the flour into the mixture, being very careful not to over mix.

·         Spoon mixture into the muffin tray.

·         Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until golden and springs back from the touch.

·         Serve.

Notes

·         Freezable. Wrap individually and freeze.

·         Great, healthy recipe for school lunch boxes.

Toddler Tips

·         This is such a great choice for toddlers and kids. No added sugar!

·         Agave is said to have great nutritional benefits.

·         Berries are always popular with the littlies and good for them too.

·         These are a huge hit with my toddler. 

This recipe is from the Local Product Local Recipe - recipe cards I created in a historic endorsement with Maleny Supa IGA supermarket. Promoting local products and producers from our region. Y

Recipe & Food Image Photography ©RebeccaMugridge 2013

Beautiful Blueberry and Coconut Muffins

Bek’s Beautiful Blueberry and Coconut Muffins

Perfect for school lunches, playdates and afternoon tea with your feet up!
A recipe from the Healthy, Happy Mums cookbook.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen blueberries
¾ cup dessicated coconut
¼ cup LSA mix ( you will find in the health section of supermarkets )
1 pear grated
1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
2 cups wholemeal flour
¼ cup butter
½ cup raw sugar
1 free range egg
½  teaspoon vanilla essence
¼ cup milk/soy milk ( more if neede)

Method:
Pre heat oven to 180ç
Line a muffin baking tray with muffin cases
Combine softened butter and sugar together
Add in vanilla essence
Mix in the egg
Pour in the yogurt, stir through
Then add in the LSA and coconut and pear combine.
Add in the frozen blueberries and then flour, very gently mix through, being careful not to mix it too much or the whole mixture will colour and the muffins won’t be light and fluffy.
Fill muffin cases
Top each muffin with an extra blueberry or two
Bake until golden and cooked through

Notes
Change the recipe to raspberries for a different twist
Serve warm for a lovely hot and fruity breakfast
Take to work and zap briefly in the microwave for a nice warm muffin
Adjust the mixture so it is reasonably thick-you don’t want it runny at all.
For a crunchy top combine equal amounts of raw sugar and desiccated coconut, sprinkle over the top of the muffin before baking.

Toddler Tips
Make mini ones for a great grab and go snack!