Human food is meant for humans, dog food for dogs. Too much human food can make a dog sick, so if you want to organize a birthday party or some home-made treats for your precious pooch, these savoury muffins are just perfect.
The doggies will love them. The Schnauzers did.
Just remember to remove the paper cases or some dogs will eat them too.
Here is the recipe:
Sweet Potato Doggie Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
Coconut oil – to grease muffin tin or paper cases
1 cup Sweet Potato or Kumara ( cooked, mashed and no skin)
1 cup peeled and finely grated carrot, lightly packed
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 Celsius) and grease a muffin tin with oil or line with paper cases. Set aside
Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Use a wooden spoon to thoroughly combine.
Spoon mix in a muffin tin, filling all the way up. The mix will not rise.
Bake for around 35 minutes
Let muffins cool for about 5 minutes and then carefully transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Store in the fridge and an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Variation: pumpkin could work well in this recipe instead of Sweet potato. I decorated mine with a dried sardine treat.
We must take advantage of blueberries when they are in season. They are cheap as chips and so good for you, protecting against diseases and ageing, as well as helping to metabolise carbohydrates, proteins and fats, which is excellent if you are wanting to loose weight. Not yet convinced? Read more nutrition facts below:
Thus, I will share with you my recipe using brown sugar and a little butter. Nutritious, easy on the waistline, simple and quick to make, and very few dishes to wash up. That is the kind of recipe I like to ponder about on Tantalizing Tuesday.
BLUEBERRY MUFFIN RECIPE
2 cups Plain flour ( this means general all purpose flour)
3 teaspoons of Baking powder
3 Tablespoons of Brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup ( 55 grams) melted butter
1 punnet fresh blueberries (that is around 125 g)
1 tablespoon brown sugar, (extra)
Method:
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl.
Melt butter in separate bowl, let cool slightly, then add milk and egg and mix well.
Add wet and dry ingredients together and stir gently for 30 seconds, or until well mixed.
Gently fold in blueberries. Don’t fuss too much. You don’t want to smash them like at Cold Rock.
Fill muffin cases 2/3 with mixture. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of each muffin and press down lightly.
A 12 muffin baking tray requires a moderate oven (190 degrees) for 12 – 15 minutes.
Test them close to the end of the cooking time to see if they bounce back when lightly pressed.
This is a good sign to say that they are cooked through.
Enjoy with a dob of sour cream or cream. ( if you are not counting calories, or course)
Sweet, juicy blueberries are rich in pro-anthocyanin natural pigment anti-oxidants.
These tiny, round blue-purple berries have long been attributed to the longevity
and wellness of indigenous natives living in the subarctic regions in the Northern hemisphere.
Blueberries are very low in calories. 100 g fresh berries provide only 57 calories. However, they possess notable health benefiting plant-nutrients such as soluble dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and pigment anti-oxidants that contribute immensely towards optimum health and wellness.
Blueberries are among the highest anti-oxidant value fruits. In addition, these berries have other flavonoid anti-oxidants such as carotene-β, lutein and zea-xanthin.
Altogether, the phyto-chemical compounds in the blueberry help rid off harmful oxygen-derived free radicals from the body, and thereby, protect the human body against cancers, aging, degenerative diseases, and infections.
Further, research studies suggest that chlorogenic acid in these berries help lower blood sugar levels and control blood-glucose levels in type-II diabetes mellitus condition.
Fresh berries contain a small amount of vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E. Altogether these vitamins work as potent anti-oxidants, which help limit free radical mediated injury to the body.
The berries also contain a small amount of B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine, folates and pantothenic acid. It contains very good amounts of vitamin B-6, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid and folic acid. These vitamins are acting as co-factors help the body metabolize carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
Furthermore, they contain a good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, copper, iron and zinc. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is required for the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation.
Summer in Australia means school aged kids are under their parent’s feet at home, yet, paradoxically, many parents actually look forward to School holidays. Why? One reason is that holidays means a slower start to the day, no school run stress, no juvenile screaming they can’t find their hat/maths homework/bus-card, and most significantly, no need to prepare school lunch boxes, each and every morning.
Day after school-term day, many parents over-stress and almost tear their hair out trying to provide a nutritious, yet appealing school lunchbox for their kids, particularly during the high school years. As any parent with teens knows, asking adolescents to consume anything remotely wholesome and not packaged in four layers of plastic or laced with half a salt mine, is tantamount to offering them a piece of buttered cardboard and likely to be received with this enthusiastic response:
[Source -dailymail.co.uk]
So how does home-cooked food, originating from the household pantry or fridge, compete with the highly addictive products of multinational food companies or their derivatives, with the myriad of flavourings, salt and sugar content? How did we get to this situation?
What society thought school lunch should look like –
What teenagers thought school lunch look like –
What parents think school lunches are like –
With the impending start of the school work year, IÂ decided the school lunchbox had to be not only visually appealing, but tasty as well and, it had to tick most of the ‘healthy lunch’ boxes, (no pun intended!) So I studied a few basic muffin recipes and came up with my own savoury muffin that I am confident even the fussiest teen would be hard-pressed to refuse, (and if he/she does, there is always bribery and corruption as Plan ‘B’….)
The real secret to this recipe is that it looks like a sweet cake in appearance, (first duplicitous manoeuvre) and, secondly, it tastes like the junk food on offer at most food outlets, (but is actually good to eat).
Enter the Savoury Muffin to Die for……
Amanda’s Savoury Muffins
The rosemary and sea salt topping really stimulates those adolescent taste-buds and once your teen has shown a positive interest such as, “What’s that you are cooking, Mum?” comments, and eats a few here and there:Â Â then and only then might I suggest slowly, (over a few batches), decreasing the amount of sea salt used as topping, to improve the nutrition levels further. Easy does it though: Teen noses and taste buds can easily detect the covert operation you might have in mind.
The list of suggested fillings, is one that you can add as many or as few of these as you have on hand, or in the pantry, without unduly affecting the outcome of the recipe.
Experiment to see which flavors teens like best.
Savoury Muffins
[Makes 12 serves]
Ingredients:
2 cups Self Raising Flour
(or 2 cups Plain flour with 4 teaspoons of baking powder added)
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
80 g Butter, melted
1 tablespoon good quality Olive Oil
1 Egg
1Â cup Milk ( I use low-fat)
1 slice Ham – diced
1/3 cup grated Zucchini (courgette)
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/3 cup Baby spinach, diced
1/3 cup cooked Pumpkin (roasted or steamed)
1/3 cup Capsicum strips, roasted (can use jarred variety)
80 g Feta cheese ( crumbled)
Toppings:
20 g Feta cheese ( crumbled), extra
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon Rosemary
Sea salt
Optional extra or substitute fillings:
1 tablespoon Olives, sliced
1 tablespoon Parsley
1 teaspoon Mint leaves
2 sticks Spring Onions, sliced
1/3 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes
grated carrot
Pineapple Pieces – (drained well)
Method:
Pre-heat Oven 200 degrees
Mix Flour and Baking powder in large bowl.
Mix melted Butter, Oil and Egg and Milk in separate bowl.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix gently with a wooden spoon.
Fold in the rest of the ingredients only until just mixed and no lumps of flour remain.
Fill a Muffin pan that has been lined with paper Muffins cases to 2/3 capacity.
Sprinkle Parmesan, extra Feta and a mixture of Rosemary and Sea salt on top.
Bake for 20 minutes or till golden brown on top.
Cool on a wire tray covered with a fresh tea towel to prevent muffins drying out.
These muffins freeze well wrapped individually or in a seal-proof container.
The perfect morning tea or lunch snack for those on the go.
P.S. If you are really daring or have one of those ” I’ll eat anything as long as it’s food,” kind of kids: Round off the lunch box offerings with some hummus, hard-boiled eggs and fruit.
Filling the lunch box give parents ‘Something to Ponder About’
Something to Ponder About 