Sunday, October 17, 2010

Homemade Muffins

Hello Dear Readers,

As you might have guessed, I came down with the cold all our dear children have, so I'm not feeling quite so well. I just want to sleep but I can't do much of that with 6 little ones running about! But I just wanted to say a quick hello as I don't usually post on Mondays or Tuesdays.

I really love baked goods. For as long as I can remember, my mom made me chocolate chip muffins when I was living at home. She would use half white & half wheat flour usually to try to make them healthier. When I read Nourishing Traditions
I quit eating chocolate chip muffins altogether because of the warnings against the caffeine in chocolate from the book. But, I have had a hard time giving up chocolate altogether in my life. I know it has health benefits and has been eaten for a long time (at least cacao). So I still eat chocolate on occasion. Now I'm not talking about chocolate candy, but I do make some chocolate chip muffins still, but they are very different from the ones my mom used to make. I only use whole wheat flour that is soaked with buttermilk. This is SO very important because grains have a coating of phytic acid on them that makes your body unable to properly digest them, and if you eat unsoaked grains on a regular basis, you will really mess up your digestive system. (This is how so many people have wheat allergies, and are diagnosed with other grain-related diseases). Soaking your flour breaks down this coating so your body can use the nutrients in the grains you eat. I usually use buttermilk, but you can also use plain whole yogurt and some other things too. All this is explained in the book Nourishing Traditions. The muffins I make also have no sugar, but are sweetened with only a little bit of pure maple syrup. They are delicious! I use a recipe from Nourishing Traditions for muffins which is not for chocolate chip muffins but for blueberry & other variations which I haven't tried yet (except the blueberry). I use grain-sweetened chocolate chips, which are probably better than regular chocolate chips (& don't taste as sweet which I like), but I'm not sure how healthy the chocolate chips really are, honestly.

Here they are:


(I really need some new muffin pans)

A few months ago I ran out of buttermilk so I couldn't make these and so I resorted to the old recipe my mom used to make, and they tasted horrible to me! It's amazing how your body gets used to the taste of real, good whole food after awhile.

So do any of my readers soak their grains too or is this a new concept to you? What do you like to bake?

Thanks for stopping by for a visit.



This post is part of the Raising Homemakers link up.

7 comments:

  1. learned a lot thru this. i have wanted to soak my grains for awhile now but haven't. maybe you'll inspire me!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mrs. Q,

    I am sorry to hear that you have caught the nasty flu bug. I hope that you and your family recover from your illnesses soon, for it's NO fun to be sick.

    Secondly, I learned something new today in regards to making healthier muffins. Since I am a "late blooming" homemaker, I am still learning many things. Thanks for sharing this information. When I am brave enough, I will have to try this method of making muffins.

    Lastly, your muffin pan looks fine. You should see my waffle iron, ugh! :)

    Blessings,

    -Lady Rose

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, Lady Rose, thankfully it is not the flu, but just some sort of cold! I'm on the mend, thanks :)

    I'm glad I could share some new information with you about soaking. It seems like a lot of "extra" work at first, but you get used to it & then it just becomes a part of your regular routine. I hope you are able to do it one day.

    Oh, & my muffin pan shown here is not the worst--I have another that has rust in most of the muffin cups that I have tried in vain to scrub out. I have to be careful to only use the non-rusty cups! Hope you can attain a new waffle iron one day. That is one appliance I do not have but hope to get one day.

    Take care & God bless,
    Mrs. Q

    ReplyDelete
  4. We never have buttermilk in the house, but I found a trick online that you can use as a substitute. I believe it's one teaspoon lemon juice to 1 cup whole milk, and let it sit for 15 mins. That's all I ever use for buttermilk recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello, just popping in from Jasmine's.

    The muffins look and sound delicious!

    I have heard a lot of good things about the book Nourishing Traditions. I don't own a copy but will look into it.

    I don't do a lot of baking to be honest. My children are older now, and I don't think my husband and I would get through a whole batch of muffins on our own. I used to love making my own though, even savory muffins.

    Nice to meet you Mrs Q! God bless.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jessica, I have heard of that trick, or something like it. I'm not sure if the buttermilk would still have the same nutritional qualities when made that way though? I do make my own buttermilk & I'll have to post how I do that one day.

    Hi Amanda! That book is very good. I learned sooooo much from it, & it's also a cookbook. But the nutritional information is invaluable. I'm somewhat of a muffin addict :)
    I have looked around your blog a bit, but will return to look some more when I have more time!

    Thanks for visiting!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting Blessed Homemaking!

I love to hear from you. I may not always be able to reply right away, but I read every comment you leave.
~God bless you~