Healthier Banana Coconut Muffins

Try making these with whole wheat pastry flour!

More on Muffins

An easy way to make any muffin healthier is to substitute half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour. This tip comes from Food Network star Ellie Krieger, who focuses on healthy and delicious eating. Ellie notes that whole grain pastry flour is made from a tender variety of wheat which results in a much finer flour than regular whole wheat flour. Despite its lighter taste and texture it still has more nutritious value than all purpose flour. (Save time and order online pastry flour from stores like NetGrocer.com.)

I adpated one of my favorite muffin recipes with this technique and just loved the results! Check out our recipe widget for Banana Coconut Muffins. (Plus our musical slide show here on the blog!) These muffins are fast (20 minutes to assemble, 20 minutes to bake) and very easy. An added bonus is that they freeze well. Keeping with our Recession Chic theme they also make great use of the overripe bananas languishing on your counter. Shredded sweetened coconut will keep for months in the refrigerator so keep it on hand to make these fabulous morning treats whenever your bananas go bad!

Pork Marbella over Polenta

Find the recipe for this delicious main course in our recipe widget

The Relatives Are Comming...

Spring is upon us and so are the upcoming holidays, which means relatives will be in town. This week we'll be sharing some tips and recipes to make your meal preparation a breeze. First we'll share some quick and health muffin recipes courtesy of Women's Health Magazine:

Just bake a batch over the weekend and throw the extras in the freezer. Then, on weekday mornings, microwave a muffin for 30 seconds for a portable meal that'll make you a hundred times happier than cold cereal would.

Apple-Cinnamon Oat-Bran Muffins
Papaya & Pineapple Muffins
Date & Oatmeal Muffins
Carrot-Ginger Bran Muffins
Banana, Yogurt & Walnut Muffins

Batter up - Pro tricks that'll make any muffin recipe rock:

Kristina Montaine, pastry chef at Mani's Bakery Café, a healthy bakery and celeb hangout in Los Angeles (regulars include Sharon Stone, Michelle Pfeiffer, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers), dishes up her best muffin-making advice.

>>Speed-sift Whisking together the dry ingredients will save time.

>>Don't whip it Unlike cake batter, muffin batter is meant to be a tad lumpy. Too much mixing can lead to overly dry, dense muffins.

>>Go down the middle Bake your bombs on the center shelf of the oven for better heat distribution.

>>Use the touch test Give your muffins a light tap right in the center. If they spring back, they're done.

>>If you can, resist Sure, they smell amazing, but let muffins sit for about five minutes once they're out of the oven; they're still baking even while they're cooling on the wire rack. Besides, a too-warm muffin can burn your tongue.

Use this, not that: Baking edition
Cut the fat, calories, and bad stuff with these swaps:

Use this: 1/2 c sugar + 1/2 c fruit-juice reduction (boil down an unsweetened fruit juice concentrate until syrupy) or 1/2 c agave syrup
Not that: 1 c sugar

Use this: 1 c whole-wheat flour
Not that: 1 c white flour

Use this: 1 c canola oil or 1 c grapeseed oil or 1/2 c oil + 1/2 c apple juice
Not that: 1 c butter or 1 c vegetable oil

Use this: 1/2 c mini chocolate chips
Not that: 1 c chocolate chips

Recession Chic - Part 4

Breakfast is one of everyone's favorite meals. Having breakfast for dinner is also a great way to save time and money. The Turkey Sausage Patties, see the recipe via our FoodBuzz widget, are a tasty complement to eggs, pancakes, french toast and yet another way that lets you use meat as a backdrop rather than a featured main dish. The patties would also be a fabulous side dish with our featured tomato-spinach-ricotta quiche.

ENJOY We'd LOVE to hear your ideas/recipes for dishes that are delicious, quick and "Recession Chic"

Recession Chic - Part 3

Building on yesterday's theme of recipes that use meat as an accent, I've posted a recipe for Stir-Fried Sichuan Green Beans from Cook's Illustrated. This delicious stir fry uses only 1/4 pound of ground pork per 2 servings! In addition to being economical and healthy it also comes together in a snap. If you really want to get dinner on the table quickly prepare the sauce and prep the beans the night before. When my palette gets tired of my usual European and American inspired dishes this stir fry is a wonderful change of pace!

Recession Chic - Part 2

One great way to save money is by eating less meat. But eating less meat doesn't mean becoming a vegetarian. I love recipes that use meat but not as the focal point. fabulous example is Cheese-Gilded Linguine with Smoky Tomatoes from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper. We've posted a copy of this fast, delicious and economical recipe in the Food Buzz widget featured here on our blog. As the title suggests, the recipe features pasta, tomatoes and cheese. Bacon only provides the smoky backdrop for the main ingredients. The recipe, which uses many on-hand ingredients, comes together in a snap and will be loved by both kids and adults. For the best results buy an artisanal pasta and top quality canned tomatoes; I especially like Muir Glen's Fire Roasted tomatoes in this dish. Enjoy! Come back tomorrow for another great recipe where meat takes the back seat and your food budget goes a little farther!

We'd also love to hear your ideas for tasty yet economical dishes that feature less meat.