Mini Apple Pie Bites

November is here! Hard to believe, but it's really here! That means Thanksgiving and I tend to associate that with a growing waist band. I don't know about you, but I tend to indulge a lot more over the winter months, and get out of my exercise habits too. It's my mission to keep my pants buttoned up and looking good this season. Anyone with me?!

I have an incredible recipe, in my humble opinion, I'm sharing with you today. I think it's delicious, sweet, and cute. What more could you ask for in a dessert? It's bite-sized - so you can eat as much, or as little as you want. At under 50 calories a piece, I think you can have more than one with your Thanksgiving feast.

Apple Pie Bites
16 SERVINGS 
PREP: 25 minutes           COOK: 15 minutes            READY IN: 40 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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FOR THE CRUST:

• 1/2 cup almond meal (or almond flour works too)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur's White Whole Wheat)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup ice cold water

FOR THE FILLING:

• 1 cup diced skin-on apple (I used a granny smith apple, but any firm, sweet and tart apple would do) 
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

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FOR THE CRUST:

1. Preheat the oven to 375º.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together almond meal, flour, and cinnamon. Add the maple syrup, apple sauce and water. Stir until it forms a soft dough. Divide the dough into 16 even squares. Press the dough into the minimuffin pan (I used a large muffin pan, but only went about halfway up the sides). Use your fingers to press in the dough so that it lines the bottoms and sides of each well.

FOR THE FILLING:

1. In a another medium bowl, mix together the apples, applesauce, vanilla, maple syrup and cinnamon. Spoon this apple mixture evenly on top of the dough mixture already placed in the muffin pan. 
2. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edge of the tarts are lightly brown. Serve warm. Keep these in your refrigerator up to 3 days.

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1 apple pie bite    43 calories   1.5g fat   6.7g carbs    1.1g protein    3g sugar   

To dress these up a bit for Thanksgiving, feel free to add a dollop of cool whip and sprinkle a little extra cinnamon on top. Enjoy!

Recipe from Eating by Elaine.

Recipe Refresh: Blueberry Almond Zucchini Bread

With fall here, the zucchini plants are bursting and everyone is looking for ways to use up all the zucchini they have on hand. A nice, warm piece of sweet zucchini bread is always a favorite, but many recipes are loaded with fat and sugar, with very little nutritional benefit. I tried to find a way to refresh some of the traditional zucchini breads, increasing fiber and protein by substituting whole grain flours (see my "Healthy Tip" below), minimizing sugar and fats by using applesauce, and adding in almonds and blueberries (rather than chocolate chips) for a unique flavor burst. What came out was a moist and delicious loaf of zucchini bread that I could feel better about enjoying just a few more slices than I care to admit!

Blueberry Almond Zucchini Bread

Makes 2 loaves

PREP: 20 minutes           COOK: 50-60 minutes            READY IN: 80 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 small/medium zucchini)
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour*
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/2 cup chopped almond pieces

DIRECTIONS

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1. Preheat oven to 350º. Spray two bread pans (8x4 in.) with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl mix zucchini, applesauce, oil, eggs, extracts, and sugar. In a smaller bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture slowly, mixing completely.
3. When the batter is smooth, gently fold in the blueberries and almond pieces (you don't want to mix the blueberries too hard, or your bread will turn a grayish blue).
4. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. For a nice finished look, sprinkle with oats and a sprinkling of sugar. Bake the loaves for 50-65 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean (the loaves should be a nice dark golden color). Cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pans.

NUTRITION FACTS

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    1/12 loaf   144 calories   6.4 g fat   17.7 g carbs    3.3 g protein    10.3 g sugar

Original Recipe*	Pass the Fresh Recipe Refresh!
270 calories	144 calories
13 g fat	6.4 g fat
2 cups sugar and 37 g carbohydrate	Just 1 cup sugar and 17.7 g carbohydrates
1 g dietary fiber	2.7 g dietary fiber

*Original recipe nutrition information based off of this recipe.

 

*Healthy Tip: 

Whole wheat flours are an excellent way to make homemade baked goods more nutritious. They add fiber and protein, along with a list of other healthy things! But, they can be more tricky to bake with. White whole wheat and whole wheat pastry flour are both excellent ways to use whole wheat, because they are still made from the whole grain and have all the benefits, but they bake more like (though still not the same as) white all-purpose flour. Here are some links with tips and info on baking with the different kinds of wheat flours:
   Pinch My Salt: What is white whole wheat flour?  
   Health Nut Nation: The difference between whole wheat pastry flour and whole wheat  
   The Kitchn: Substituting white whole wheat flour

Enjoy!

Recipe Inspired by Prevention RD

Whole Wheat Strawberry Vanilla Pancakes

My husband and 3-year-old son have a tradition of making pancakes together on Saturday mornings. They love going through the same routine every week - scooping and adding ingredients, stirring the batter together, flipping them with the special orange pancake spatula. I love watching them together in the kitchen, and, of course, that I get to enjoy a relaxing morning followed by a delicious breakfast with the ones I love. But when daddy's gone on a Saturday morning, it falls to me to follow through on the tradition. I have to admit, I'm not as good at just sticking with the same-old pancake recipe over and over, and so I am prone to experimenting with fun, new pancake recipes to liven things up. While not all of my experimental pancakes have met with my son's standard for pancake excellence (which is, of course, the way daddy makes them) these light and slightly sweet pancakes have been a hit several times over. The bonus, too, is that because they are already sweet and flavorful, they don't need to be drenched in butter and syrup to make them appealing - a tiny sprinkling of powdered sugar and they are gone in seconds!

Whole Wheat Strawberry Vanilla Pancakes
8 SERVINGS (about 2 pancakes per serving...though, I'll be honest, we usually each eat 4 pancakes!)
PREP: 10 minutes           COOK: 10 minutes            READY IN: 20 minutes

SIMPLE	HEALTHY	YUM

INGREDIENTS

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• 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons vanilla extract (I buy the bottles from Costco to make it more affordable to cook with vanilla as much as I like)
• 1 cup sliced strawberries (*see my Simple Tip below)

DIRECTIONS

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1. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar in a medium mixing bowl. 
2. Whisk, milk, egg, oil, and vanilla extract together in a separate bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir until just combined (my husband has taught me that the trick to fluffier pancakes is to never overmix).
3. Gently fold in sliced strawberries. 
4. Pour about 1/4 cup batter onto hot skillet and let cook until bubbles form on top (about 2-4 minutes). Turn pancake over and cook the other side until golden. 

*Simple Tip:

I love having fresh strawberries whenever I possibly can, but they are only in season part of the year. To cook with them all year long I buy frozen strawberries. For this recipe, I thaw the strawberries in the microwave for about 1-1 1/2 minutes (take them out before they get too mushy - still slightly frozen), then I take a knife and cut through the strawberries in the microwave dish until I have roughly cut strawberry slices to add to the pancake batter.

NUTRITION FACTS

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     1 serving (2 pancakes)   178 calories   6.1 g fat   24.2 g carbs    5.4 g protein    8.0 g sugar   

Here's to looking forward to the weekend!
Recipe adapted from Cheese Please.