Lemon Blueberry Muffins

We bake muffins fairly often at our house, mostly some form of banana nut. But after Lindsey introduced us to these on our trip to Tahoe, we've been craving them. It only took us a few months, but we finally pulled out the Deceptively Delicious cookbook and made them...they are just as delicious and nutritious as I remember! The feature ingredient in these bad boys? Yellow squash. It doesn't make my list of top ten veggies, but it apparently 1/2 cup is easily concealable, and has 4 mg of lutein (good for the eyes), and other good stuff (folate, Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and Omega-3's.) Eat up!

Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 cup firmly packed light/dark brown sugar
4 tbsp transfat-free margarine, chilled
1 cup lemon lowfat yogurt
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup yellow squash puree (puree=steam and put in food processor)
1/4 cup egg substitute
2 tsp pure lemon extract
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line with paper baking cups. In a large bowl, beat the sugar and the margarine with a wooden spoon. Stir in the yogurt, blueberries, yellow squash puree, egg, lemon extract, and lemon zest. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir just to combine, but do not overmix - the batter is supposed to be lumpy. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops of the muffins are lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center, 13 to 16 minutes. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap individually and freeze up to 1 month.

Servings Per Recipe: 12

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 149.6
Total Fat: 1.9 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 294.1 mg
Total Carbs: 28.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.3 g
Protein: 3.7 g

One Month!

Our little Jacob had his one-month Well Baby visit this last week and here's how it went:

Weight: 11 lbs, 3 oz. (75th percentile...big boy!)
Height: 22 inches (50th percentile)
Head Circumference: 15 1/2 inches (50th percentile)

Lifts head for a short time: Yes
Responds to sound: Yes
Stares at faces: Yes
Follows objects briefly: Yes
Smiles: Not yet :( We're waiting!

Immunizations: Hepatitis B #2 (OUCH!)

He's nursing well and now takes a bottle of expressed milk once a day. We are still battling Thrush, and the topical treatment we got a few weeks ago did not work. Jacob now is taking another medicine, and he is not very fond of it. Hopefully it clears up quickly!

Our Little Man was extra sleepy after his Hep B shot. See...

Lots of Oats

For my Christmas baking this past year, I could not make up my mind what to make, so I ended up buying LOTS of ingredients when they were on sale and at Costco. Well, tubs of Quaker Oats have been haunting me for 4 months and I finally started to do something about it!

Cooking Light's Power Granola

2 cups regular oats
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped slivered almonds
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I added more because I love it)
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray
1/3 cup dried cranberries (used some dried cherries and blueberries also)

Preheat oven to 300°.

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl. Combine orange juice, honey, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat just until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in oil and vanilla. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture, stirring to coat. Spread mixture in a thin layer onto a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 300° for 10 minutes; stir well. Bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Spoon granola into a bowl; stir in dried cranberries. Cool completely.

Store completely cooled granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Calories: 196 (31% from fat); Fat: 6.8g (sat 0.7g,mono 2.2g,poly 3.3g); Protein: 4.1g; Carbohydrate: 32.5g; Fiber: 3.6g; Cholesterol: 0.0mg; Iron: 1.5mg; Sodium: 5mg; Calcium: 38mg

Before You Drink...

Read this info I came across...

I am a staunch believer that if I am going to indulge in a high-calorie treat, I would rather it be some food, not drink. Well...after looking over this list, I will have to continue be diligent in checking into seemingly harmless drinks!



The 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America

• Worst Light Beer: Samuel Adams Light (12 oz bottle) - 124 calories, 10 g carbs
  Replace with Beck’s 64-calorie Premier Light


• Worst "Healthy" Drink: Glaceau VitaminWater (20 oz bottle) - 130 calories, 33 g sugar
  A bottle of this stuff carries nearly as much sugar and calories as a can of Coke.


• Worst Soda: Sunkist (12 oz can) - 190 calories, 52 g sugar
  To lose 10 pounds fast, there is no simpler way to do it than by canning the soda.


• Worst Beer: Sierra Nevada Stout (12 oz bottle) - 210 calories, 20 g carbs
  Try a lighter beer (switching out a sixer a week would save you 9 pounds this year)


• Worst Lemonade: Minute Maid Lemonade (20 oz bottle) - 250 calories, 68 g sugar
  Try Santa Cruz brand (dump into a pitcher and add 4 oz. of water for every 8 oz. of lemonade).


• Worst Tea-Like Substance: SoBe Zen Tea (20 oz bottle) - 275 calories, 70 g sugar
  High-fructose corn syrup outranks tea on the ingredients list


• Worst Energy Drink: Rockstar Original (16 oz can) - 280 calories, 62 g sugar
  Brew black tea at home for an energy boost. It’s nearly zero calories and contains antioxidants.


• Worst Iced Tea: Lipton Iced Brisk Lemon Iced Tea (20 oz bottle) - 325 calories, 81 g sugar
  This tea contains more than 20 teaspoons of sugar


• Worst Juice Impostor: Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (23.5 oz can) - 360 calories, 84 g sugar
  Contains 5 percent juice, 95 percent sugar water


• Worst Chocolate Milk: Nesquik (16 oz bottle) - 400 calories, 10 g fat (6 g saturated), 60 g sugar - Make a healthier version home: 2% milk and a scoop of real powdered cocoa


• Worst Chai Tea Drink: Caribou Coffee Large Chai Tea Latte - 420 calories, 47 g sugar
  Replace with skinny lattes or unsweetened chai.


• Worst Kid's Hot Beverage: Cosi Kid's Hot Chocolate (12 oz) - 436 calories, 60 g sugar
  There are more calories in this small drink than in Cosi's Gooey Grilled Cheese sandwich


• Worst Summer Cocktail: Pina Colada - 625 calories, 75 g sugars
  Instead, enjoy a lime daiquiri or a mojito and save up to 400 calories.


• Worst Coffee Alternative: Starbucks Venti White Hot Chocolate - 640 calories, 23 g fat (15 g saturated), 76 g sugar - Go with the Steamed Apple Juice instead.


• Worst Hot Coffee: Starbucks Venti 2% Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha - 660 calories, 22 g fat (14 g saturated), 95 g sugar - Avoid holiday-themed items from coffee shops at all costs. Make your own drinks instead, using skim milk, sugar-free syrups, and, skipping the whip.


• Worst Blended Fruit Drink: Baskin-Robbins Pomegranate Banana Fruit Blast Smoothie (32 oz) - 1,020 calories, 232 g sugar - If you must sip on something at Baskin-Robbins, make it a small low-fat Cappuccino Blast, which has 220 calories and 1/5 of the sugar of this Fruit Blast.


• Worst Frozen Coffee Drink: Cosi Gigante Double OH! Arctic (24 oz) - 1,033 calories, 35 g fat, 177 g carbohydrates - Want a cold caffeine kick? Try iced coffee.


• Worst Smoothie: Jamba Juice Peanut Butter Moo'd Power Smoothie (30 oz) - 1,170 calories, 169 g sugar - This ‘smoothie’ has more sugar than an entire bag of chocolate chips.


• Worst Milkshake: Baskin-Robbins York Peppermint Pattie Shake (32 oz) - 2,210 calories, 103 g fat (57 g saturated), 281 g sugar - You'd have to down 15 Twinkies to match the sugar content in this Baskin-Robbins blunder.


• The Worst Drink in America: Baskin-Robbins Large Heath Bar Shake - 2,310 calories, 108 g fat (64 g saturated), 266 g sugar

73: The number of ingredients that go into this milkshake.
66: The number of teaspoons of sugar this drink contains.
11: The number of Heath Bars you
would have to eat to equal the number of calories as this tasty terror.
12: The average number of minutes it takes to consume this drink.
240: The number of minutes you'd need to spend on a treadmill, running at a moderate pace, to burn it off.

Source: David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding for Men's Health, from their book Eat This, Not That

Finger-Pricking Madness

Top Six Reasons I Was NOT Looking Forward to Having Gestational Diabetes

1. Counting Grapes. I saw a dear friend (plagued with gestational diabetes) count 12 grapes...while I mindlessly popped them in my mouth. It really was one of the saddest things I've ever seen. The Diabetic Diet really isn't so bad, but no fruit? Mama likes her apples and grapes, and I eat them in moderation, but I don't want to have to count.

2. Diabetic Center visits. I hear you have to visit the Diabetes Center every week or two. I'm all about making friends and connecting with others who share in your plight, but 2-3 hours out of every week? I simply don't have time for that.

3. Macrosmia. Big, fat babies (go look it up!). Not something I even want to think about. Any of you who have done the physics and size comparisons between what comes out and where it comes from knows that bigger isn't always better, when it comes to babies.

4. Finger Pricking. Really...you get used to that? No thanks.

5. Numb Feet. I knew a lady who walked funny because she had no sensation in her feet. She had Diabetes, of course. Aside from all the other medical complications, I don't want to walk funny.

6. Diabetes, Part 2. A 60% chance that diabetes will catch you later in life makes me cringe.

For those of you who didn't know, I screened positive for Diabetes during the One Hour Glucose Test. So...I got the sheer pleasure of enduring the Three Hour Glucose Test. Pregnant...12 hour fast...intense sugar water...three hours at the lab...four blood draws. Now you understand my lack of enthusiasm. It all turned out okay, so in celebration...I made brownies that called for an entire box of powdered sugar.

Stats on Our Big Girl

Emily had her two-year check-up recently, and we thought we'd share the stats (and some of our own notes).

Weight: 29 lbs. (50th percentile)
Height: 34 in. (75th percentile)
Ears, Throat, Eyes: Good (Dr. Schilling: "Boy, she's a waxy one!")

Developmental Check List
Says at least 20 words: Check
Develops phrases: Check ("Careful, Daddy!" when he stops too quickly in the car)
Follows Commands: Check (Mom: "Emily, please go put your toys away;" Emily: "Help me, Mommy. Heavy books." Mom's a sucker.) Walks up and down stairs: Check (Our filthy stairway walls prove it)
Kicks a ball: Check. Double Check. (Loves to 'play soccer ball')
Uses a spoon: Check (Ummm...yah. She gets a fork and knife, too, which makes for an interesting meal most of the time.)
Brushes teeth: Check ("I do it!" Does sucking the toothpaste off the brush count?)
Toilet Training: In Progress (We make trips to the potty often, and when she's done she throws her hands up and yells, "I did it!")
Applies Make-Up Successfully (okay, we added this one): Nope, but she sure tries (see photo)

So, since she has successfully completed all 2-3 year-old milestones, I suppose she'll be slacking off this year and regressing to baby-like tendencies. I've been told to watch out for these with another baby on the way.

Emily managed to postpone shots again (she's a sneaky little thing), as she vomited earlier in the day. We attributed her ornery attitude to this, as she threw all the books on the floor and cried as we picked them up, hung on the door handle like she was locked in a jail cell, and ripped the paper lining to shreds. Hooray for the independence of toddlers!