Have you ever been inspired to make a recipe simply because the picture of the "product" was so lovely, looked so delicious? If you haven't, you are a better soul than I. Regularly, I find myself passing over one recipe or ogling another purely because of a picture (or lack thereof). While I definitely prefer recipes to have a picture, I am far more irked when the picture does not represent the finished product.
I spent much of a Saturday morning attempting sweet potato "doughnuts" that looked light, fluffy and just amazing in the picture, only to have a dense, doughy, horrible product result. While the less than stellar or picture-worthy results are occasionally my own doing, I feel as if I now know my way around a kitchen well enough to consistently produce the desired results. In the sweet potato case, the batter asked for no leavening agent whatsoever. So, despite knowing that there was no possible way the batter I had just prepared would ever bake up into the light, fluffy, delicate forms depicted in the picture, I baked them anyway and was disappointed in the result. On another occasion, I attempted a "healthy" cinnamon roll recipe that called for orange juice to help sweeten the final icing. In the picture, the icing was a freshly-fallen-snow-white. Now, for those of you who have some trouble with math (myself among you!), white + orange will never equal pure white.
Why? Why do so many recipes depict a final product that could never be the result of the recipe itself? Is the author fearful the finished product is not pretty enough? Not sufficiently alluring? Is he ashamed of an end result that doesn't mimic the bleached-white, chemical-filled, dye-enhanced concoctions that so often line the grocery store shelves? I ran across this "muffin" recipe, one where you mix everything up and put it in a coffee cup and then microwave it and voila! A single-serving of deliciousness. I kept reading over the ingredient list, trying to figure out what I was missing, because the fluffy, golden, very-muffiny looking muffin in the picture that accompanied the recipe could not possibly be produced from the list of ingredients I saw before me. I tried the recipe anyway and am glad I did. The result is a great, filling, perfect for breakfast or snack, blueberry "muffin". Does it look like a muffin when it's done, with a pretty domed top and a golden-brown halo? No. It looks like the picture above. And it's delicious and nutritious, gluten-free, and ready in just 2 minutes. It might not win any awards for looks, but my tongue and tummy didn't seem to care...
A Blueberry "Muffin"
makes 1 "muffin"
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp honey
1 egg
blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Lightly oil the inside of a large coffee mug (I used coconut oil). Mix all your ingredients except the blueberries in a small bowl until evenly incorporated. Add blueberries...however many you want.
Dump your batter into the prepared cup. Place in the microwave and cook on high for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes (if you use frozen blueberries, you might have to cook a bit longer). The final product should be fluffy with no "wet" (places with rawish egg) spots. If it's not quite done, cook a little longer.
Dump out onto a plate and enjoy!
Fantastic Flax
Thiamin (B1) - helps with numerous reactions in the body, including carbohydrate breakdown for energy; needed for proper nerve conduction
Calcium - bone and teeth mineralization (hardening), blood clotting, nerve impulse transmission, muscle contraction, and pH balance
Iron - involved in certain enzymes actions; necessary for transporting oxygen in hemoglobin
Magnesium - energy metabolism, protein synthesis, muscle contractions, nerve impulse transmission, bone mineralization, and immune function
Phosphorus - bone and teeth mineralization, makes up part of the phospholipids of which our cells are composed, part of genetic materials, serves as a buffer in the pH balance of our body, and is used in energy metabolism
Copper - necessary for iron absorption and use in hemoglobin; part of many enzymes
Manganese - an antioxidant, helps with wound healing, and necessary energy metabolism
Selenium - antioxidant; regulates thyroid function
Omega-3s - decreases inflammation and encourages anti-inflammatory responses in the body (alpha-linolenic acid, specifically, which can be converted by the body to EPA - an essential (body can't make it) fatty acid found primarily in fish)
Bodacious Blueberries
Vitamin C - collagen synthesis (for connective tissues), increased immune defenses, antioxidant powers, necessary for proper thyroid function, increases iron absorption, required in amino acid metabolism
Vitamin K - necessary for bone mineralization and blood clotting protein synthesis
Manganese - antioxidant, needed for energy metabolism, helps with wound healing
**both flax and blueberries are great sources of fiber, which helps keep your digestive tract happy and functioning well, encourages better blood sugar control, and can help reduce cholesterol levels
Why? Why do so many recipes depict a final product that could never be the result of the recipe itself? Is the author fearful the finished product is not pretty enough? Not sufficiently alluring? Is he ashamed of an end result that doesn't mimic the bleached-white, chemical-filled, dye-enhanced concoctions that so often line the grocery store shelves? I ran across this "muffin" recipe, one where you mix everything up and put it in a coffee cup and then microwave it and voila! A single-serving of deliciousness. I kept reading over the ingredient list, trying to figure out what I was missing, because the fluffy, golden, very-muffiny looking muffin in the picture that accompanied the recipe could not possibly be produced from the list of ingredients I saw before me. I tried the recipe anyway and am glad I did. The result is a great, filling, perfect for breakfast or snack, blueberry "muffin". Does it look like a muffin when it's done, with a pretty domed top and a golden-brown halo? No. It looks like the picture above. And it's delicious and nutritious, gluten-free, and ready in just 2 minutes. It might not win any awards for looks, but my tongue and tummy didn't seem to care...
A Blueberry "Muffin"
makes 1 "muffin"
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp honey
1 egg
blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Lightly oil the inside of a large coffee mug (I used coconut oil). Mix all your ingredients except the blueberries in a small bowl until evenly incorporated. Add blueberries...however many you want.
Dump your batter into the prepared cup. Place in the microwave and cook on high for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes (if you use frozen blueberries, you might have to cook a bit longer). The final product should be fluffy with no "wet" (places with rawish egg) spots. If it's not quite done, cook a little longer.
Dump out onto a plate and enjoy!
Fantastic Flax
Thiamin (B1) - helps with numerous reactions in the body, including carbohydrate breakdown for energy; needed for proper nerve conduction
Calcium - bone and teeth mineralization (hardening), blood clotting, nerve impulse transmission, muscle contraction, and pH balance
Iron - involved in certain enzymes actions; necessary for transporting oxygen in hemoglobin
Magnesium - energy metabolism, protein synthesis, muscle contractions, nerve impulse transmission, bone mineralization, and immune function
Phosphorus - bone and teeth mineralization, makes up part of the phospholipids of which our cells are composed, part of genetic materials, serves as a buffer in the pH balance of our body, and is used in energy metabolism
Copper - necessary for iron absorption and use in hemoglobin; part of many enzymes
Manganese - an antioxidant, helps with wound healing, and necessary energy metabolism
Selenium - antioxidant; regulates thyroid function
Omega-3s - decreases inflammation and encourages anti-inflammatory responses in the body (alpha-linolenic acid, specifically, which can be converted by the body to EPA - an essential (body can't make it) fatty acid found primarily in fish)
Bodacious Blueberries
Vitamin C - collagen synthesis (for connective tissues), increased immune defenses, antioxidant powers, necessary for proper thyroid function, increases iron absorption, required in amino acid metabolism
Vitamin K - necessary for bone mineralization and blood clotting protein synthesis
Manganese - antioxidant, needed for energy metabolism, helps with wound healing
**both flax and blueberries are great sources of fiber, which helps keep your digestive tract happy and functioning well, encourages better blood sugar control, and can help reduce cholesterol levels