Don’t squash my summer dreams
Today is my only free Monday for the summer. It’s the first time in weeks I haven’t had classes to worry about (well aside from worrying about finals scores) and will be the only Monday I’m not getting up to go to work. I had all these plans, wanted to get up early and enjoy the day…then what do I do? I sleep in until noon. Oh well. Today’s Monday muffins are a “take two” on my whole wheat, fat free recipe from a few weeks back. This time I added in a half a cup of buttermilk so they aren’t entirely fat free but at 3.5 grams for 12 muffins total, it’s pretty much negligible. If I wanted to really amp up the nutrition value of these muffins I’d find local, raw honey rather than processed.
Raw honey is a powerful food; it’s highly anti-bacterial/anti-fungal/anti-viral and these properties are lost in the commercial process. It does have one downside in that it’s more likely to contain spores of clostridium botulinum but this is only a problem for infants. The spores aren’t harmful unless they can be induced to grow and this happens in an infant’s intestinal tract which differs from that of an adult. Commercially processed honey could still contain these endospores and thus is considered a no-no for those under the age of 2 so there’s no reason to avoid raw honey if you are old enough to read this blog.
The compound in raw honey that is a strong antibacterial agent is called propolis which contains a variety of phytonutrients and is manufactured by bees to protect their hives. This substance has even been found to have anti-cancer properties in certain studies with colon cancer; certain nutrients in the propolis halted the activities of two enzymes in test animals that induce tumor formation.
Zucchini Muffins
- 2.5 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1.25 cups shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup orange blossom honey
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon and nutmeg each
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
- 2 large egg whites lightly beaten
- 1 cup dried apricots
- Sliced, toasted almonds (optional)
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and prep a muffin tin that makes a dozen muffins. In a large bowl mix the whole wheat, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In a second bowl whip the eggs and add the honey, buttermilk, orange zest and shredded zucchini.
Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix just until there is no more loose flower. Lumps are O.K. Toss in the dried apricots, pour batter into the muffin tins, top with slivered almonds and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
