recipe – Page 3 – GUTSy Performance Nutrition

I haven’t always been an adventurous eater. Somewhere along the line, during late childhood or early adolescence, however, when my activities in the kitchen became a bit more experimental, I discovered the combination of sweet, savory, and to some–just plain odd.

This is one such combination. A bit of whole-grain mustard really adds texture, and a hint of flavor. If you’re not feeling adventurous, or don’t have any, feel free to forego using it. This recipe is perfect for a quick lunch this time of year, with all the holiday festivities and baking going on, and no real time to make yourself something truly good to squelch the midday hunger.

Cranberry-Pear-Peanut Butter Sandwich

2 slices bread of choice

2 tbs. creamy honey-nut peanut butter

2 tbs. cranberry sauce

1 tsp. whole-grain mustard

1/2 pear, thinly sliced

Handful salad greens of choice

Mix peanut butter, mustard, and cranberry sauce together. Spread on both slices of bread. Lay thin slices pear over cranberry mix. Top with salad greens and remaining slice of bread.

Enjoy!

A few years back, I lived in a college house with three other girlfriends. We cooked together often, had friends over for elaborate dinner parties, and pooled all the grocery shopping expenditures together into a collective house fund. Needless to say, this way of sharing food taught me a lot about different eating habits. One that was pointed out to me endlessly was my adventurous way of combining dissimilar ingredients, combined with an innate resourcesfulness.

You see, I enjoy trying new things. I rarely make the same recipe twice, unless I feel it’s got that special something to really warrant eating again. And second, I hate wasting. I’m not a packrat. I just don’t like spending money for no reason. Or wasting something that hours of labor, and resources, and perhaps a farmer’s heart went into.

My dear friends were privy to multiple new creations, some of which they still bring up with fondness or exasperation at my food-pairing ability. And I’d like to think I haven’t changed much—I still employ a lot of creativity in the kitchen.

So here we have Pumpkin & Berry Muffins. Or perhaps, in my case, roasted butternut squash.

It really was the best fall muffin recipe I’ve tried in a while— berry delicious,flavorful, moist, and just healthy enough to satifsy my dislike of sticky-sweet breakfasty things. And the plus side—throw extra in the freezers and defrost as needed, for a quick grab-and-go for busy mornings!

Pumpkin & Berry Muffins Recipe (adapted from Cooking Light)

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 T. wheat germ

1 t. baking soda

1/8 t. salt

1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt

1/2 cup pumpkin or squash puree

1 large egg

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blackberries

1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

1 1/2 T. ground flaxseed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place 10 regular muffin liners or 5 jumbo liners in muffin cups. I chose to make jumbo muffins.

Combine flours and next 5 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Make a well in the center of mixture. Combine yogurt, pumpkin, and egg; add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in berries. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle evenly with flaxseed. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Note: I used leftover roasted squash, pureed in a food processor instead of pumpkin puree.