a vegetable dilemma.

So because I spend so much time on the computer for work, by the time I get around to blogging or facebook or pinterest my eyes try to run to the back of my skull sulking, "No more computer screens!" But since work is always a little slower by the end of the week, I have a little time to do so (and cooperation from the visual department).

I need to go grocery shopping. I HATE GROCERY SHOPPING. It's such a chore. You put the food in your cart, take it out and put it on the belt thing, back in your cart, in the car, out of the car, and finally into your cupboards. BLEGH. But since we're down to lettuce and cereal, it is time. 

I scrounged up a muffin recipe last night with some ingredients I had on hand. They actually turned out super delicious. It's a "toddler muffin" recipe I found on pinterest. I don't know why they're called toddler muffins, because normal sized people will definitely find them scrumptious as well. But I guess we'll go with "toddler muffins." 

I especially liked this recipe because of the nutrition factor. Jillian eats a ton of food lately. Everything BUT vegetables. JUST EAT YOUR FRIGGIN' PEAS KID! 

I figured these would be a good compromise. The original recipe is from allrecipes.com, but I tweaked it some to include more fruits/veggies. Behold:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, or to taste
•  1 large banana, mashed
• 1 (4.5 ounce) jar baby food squash
• 3 baby carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease 24 mini muffin cups or 12 standard muffin cups.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Mix in the mashed banana, squash, pumpkin, carrots, and eggs. Stir in the flours, oat bran, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt until just combined. Spoon the batter equally into the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Store at room temperature for up to two days, or freeze.
   *To make these even healthier, substitute half the butter with applesauce or greek yogurt, and/or the two whole eggs with three egg whites. 
   
   

   Happy muffin makin'. Your properly nourished toddler can thank me later.