The idea to do this recipe came from my trying to find good healthy snacks for my kids. I feel like they eat the same thing every day at snacktimes, usually crackers. What I have learned is that if I take a little extra time a few times a month, I can make a extra batches of really healthy snacks to freeze and feel really good about what is going into their body.
I found this recipe in the Deceptively Delicious cookbook, which is very similar to The Sneaky Chef. The concept is to add pureed fruits and veggies to your meals to add a little extra nutrition. One thing I have learned is that if you are not baking with it, you need to be careful how much puree you add. I did the pureed cauliflower in the eggs, but I used half of what it called for.
Although this recipe calls for white flour, it has oatmeal, applesauce and carrots, which very little sugar and oil.
You can either puree your veggies on Prep Day, or just get the baby jars on sale. If you can snag them on sale with a coupon you do just as well as making it from scratch, in my opinion.
- ⅔ cup old-fashioned oats
- ¼ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup butternut squash or carrot puree
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 large egg
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat muffin tin with cooking spray, or line with baking cups.
- Make topping by combining all ingredients and then stir in butter last.
- For the batter combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and the wet ingredients in another. Slowly add flour mixture (dry ingredients) , stirring just until moist. Don’t over mix, batter should be lumpy.
- Divide batter among 12 muffin tins, and sprinkle the streusel topping.
- Bake until lightly brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 18 minutes.
- Be sure to take muffins out of the pan to cool, so they don’t get soggy.
I completely agree about the baby food buying. I make mine unless I can catch a great sale. Then even if it’s a few pennies more expensive, it saves me tons of time!
.-= The Budget Mommy´s last blog ..Earth Fare Coupon =-.
Thanks for this recipe! I actually have the DD cookbook, but haven’t used it much. I already have some of the butternut squash puree made, so I could do this! I might make them tomorrow. I love any ideas for healthy (easy) snacks. I don’t like my kids snacking on cracker-type stuff much either.