Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins

I walked by a department store here in Downtown, Vancouver yesterday, and the Christmas decorations were already up! I mean, it shouldn’t be a surprise, but it always throws me off a little. Especially since we haven’t even gotten past Halloween yet. And then it makes me panic about Christmas shopping, which I always leave until the last minute. But honestly, I feel like I’m a much more efficient shopper that way. I was like this in college, writing all my big papers the night before they were due. It’s like I had writers block until the absolute last second, and then the words would just start flowing. Procrastination isn’t such a bad thing, is it??

Anyway, on my continuous journey to come up with healthy meals that my kid will eat and not throw across the room, I mixed a bunch of stuff together and came up with these guys:

I call them Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins. Long name, but gets the point across. And seriously, they’re really good. And healthy! Fiber, protein, nutrients-a-plenty. We had some for dinner (I obviously doused mine in Frank’s Red Hot Sauce), I put some in Ryland’s lunchbox for daycare, and I froze the rest for future daycare lunches. When I first put one on Ryland’s tray, he got the usual look of absolute disgust on his face which happens whenever he sees something he’s not sure about. He poked at it a little and I could tell he was very conflicted. He really didn’t want the black beans, but he definitely wanted the cheesy goodness. Since they were in muffin form, it would be much harder to get around this little dilemma. He finally took a bite, and I guess the cheese did the trick because he finished the whole thing plus 3 more! Victory!! I think I’ll be making these A LOT.

Cheesy Black Bean & Brown Rice Mini Muffins

(makes about 24 mini muffins)

Ingredients
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• ½ cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 egg
• ½ cup mixed frozen veggies (I used a mix of peas, carrots and corn)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp garlic powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 24 cup mini muffin tray (you can also make 12 regular sized muffins if you like)
2. Run frozen veggies under cold water for a few minutes until defrosted
3. Crack egg into a small bowl and whisk
4. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well
5. Drop spoonful’s into muffin tray until each cup is full, press down gently so that they bake in the shape of a muffin
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes on middle rack
7. Let cool for about 10 minutes before removing from tray
8. Serve!

Maybe next time I’ll swap the peas, carrots and corn for some broccoli or zucchini. I’d have to be pretty sneaky though…if my little dude sees broccoli, even the cheesiness might not be enough to persuade him. He did have to make some calls though to let everyone know how yummy they were ;).

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Totally Nutritious Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I love chocolate chip cookies but don’t make them often in fear of eating every single one before they’ve even cooled down. But something amazing happened this weekend. I found this recipe, whipped up a batch, and let me tell you, they are SO good. They’re moist, guilt-free, delicious, and packed with protein and fiber. Who would ever thing to use chick peas in cookies?? Well whoever did, thank you. And even though I wanted to eat them all, I couldn’t because they’re so filling! I had Duncan test one before I told him about the chick peas and he gave them his stamp of approval. I mean of course that’s changed now that he knows the truth, but still. Ryland is a big fan which is awesome because they make a perfect snack for his lunchbox. These bad boys are going to be a regular occurrence around here.

There’s no added sugar but the chocolate chips and maple syrup give it the perfect amount of sweetness and they aren’t overly peanut buttery. I made them Saturday and am proud to announce that today there is still ONE left!!! That’s kind of a big deal.

Chickpea Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

**recipe belongs to http://www.beginwithinnutrition.com/**

Ingredients

• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas)
• ½ cup all natural creamy peanut butter
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup vegan mini-chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Add all ingredients except for the chocolate chips into a food processor. Blend for a few minutes or until well combined. Cookie dough should smooth and creamy.
3. Transfer cookie dough to a bowl and fold in chocolate chips.
4. Use a tablespoon and scoop dough into balls and drop onto cookie sheet evenly spaced.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

I kept these in the fridge once they cooled down. I’m not sure if that’s necessary, but I just felt like that’s where they should go. And they are ooey gooey delicious when warm so you can heat them up in the microwave or toaster oven if you like. It was a really good decision.

On another note, we went to a pumpkin patch on Sunday and of course I took a million pictures of my kid with pumpkins. Here are a couple of my favorites:

He tried to take a bite out of the one he’s holding…ended up with a mouthful of dirt instead which he really didn’t seem to mind. Boys will be boys.

Alrighty, time for this chick to get to work. Happy Monday! If that even makes sense ;).

Breakfast for Dinner & Fall Things

I really need to start writing out weekly meal plans. During the week, I sit there at work thinking about what to make for dinner and sometimes, more often than not, it stresses me right out! I hardly get any time with Ryland on work days so I try to hang out with him as much as possible when I get home. Doing that while scrambling to put something decent on the dinner table (that is nutritious and manages to please my toddler and extremely picky husband), and leaving enough time for the bath*story*bedtime routine sort of feels like a little daily marathon. It literally makes me sweat. Well yesterday was one of those days. My train was late, it was pouring rain, and I had forgotten to take chicken out of the freezer before work. So while Ryland embarked on his daily routine of emptying out the entire Tupperware and pots & pans cupboard, I looked in the basically empty fridge and decided it was Omelet Night. I whipped up a spinach omelet for myself, dousing it with hot sauce (post-pic) because that’s just what I do to pretty much everything I eat.

I didn’t even bother putting anything with spinach in front of Duncan and Ryland because they’d both look at me like i’m crazy,  so they just had cheddar cheese omelets. We also had PB and toast because I do NOT have a meal that doesn’t include carbs. And the omelets needed a side dish, right??

It wasn’t the fanciest dinner, more of a breakfast really, but it did the job. I’m kind of obsessed with making sure we get enough protein and iron in our diets, especially since meat isn’t an everyday thing around our house, and eggs are one of the best sources of both. Ryland had some peas on the side because I’m also obsessed with making sure he eats veggies with dinner as much as possible. I’m working on getting him to love broccoli…we’re not quite there yet ;).

On another note, with Thanksgiving just a couple of days away, I decided it needed to look more like fall in our house so I went to Michaels and picked up a couple little pumpkins and totally fake maple leaf branches. I wrapped some twine around an old jar because I’m all really all about the twine lately. I have a big roll of it and use it whenever I can. It has a rustic sort of look to it, which I’m also loving these days. I think I hear Pinterest calling my name…

Speaking of Thanksgiving (here in Canada), woohoo for the long weekend!! We’re having a turkey dinner at my Aunt & Uncle’s on Sunday and I cannot WAIT. I LOVE turkey dinners. Stuffing, yams, gravy, brussel sprouts (yes, I’m a weirdo that loves those little guys), and some hard apple ciders – YUM. I’m also in charge of dessert. I could go the easy route and pick up a store-bought pie…but I think I can do better than that. What’s that?? Yup, Pinterest calling my name again. On that note, have a great weekend, and if you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, enjoy!!