Oh, Baby! Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Knowing how much I usually enjoy cooking, my sweet father-in-law bought me a book Pregnancy Cooking & Nutrition for Dummies. It mainly has healthy eating recipes with some interesting notes about ingredients that are better to have during pregnancy to help promote growth for various aspects of the baby throughout pregnancy. These muffins were a great morning snack and not too sweet. The bananas keep them nice and moist with hint of sweetness from chocolate chips. They are a great source of fiber, folate, iron, and potassium and can be enjoyed even if you aren't pregnant!

Oh, Baby! Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Source: Pregnancy Cooking & Nutrition for Dummies
Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
¾ cup all purpose flour
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup ground flaxseed
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
¾ cup sugar
3 Tablespoons canola oil
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with liners or non-stick spray

In a large bowl, sift together the all purpose and whole wheat flours, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a fork and stir in the mashed bananas. Add the sugar and oil and stir the mixture with a spoon to blend well.

Add the egg and banana mixture to the large bowl of dry ingredients. Stir the mixture until combined well. Stir in the walnuts and chocolate chips.

Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the muffin tops are browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool then enjoy!

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chili

This is one of the easiest meals to make and no one will ever know! Anyone with a slow cooker knows that the greatest part is how you can throw everything in then go about your day and dinner will be ready when you get home. Dishes like this are even easier because they use a lot of dried goods so you don't have to go to the store. The only downfall when using canned vegetables is that they can be high in sodium, so I used all low sodium versions to cut back and be sure to wash them to rinse off some of the sodium as well. Be sure to compare even those because each brands idea of low sodium is different and in many cases the store brand is the best. This chili is packed full of protein from all of the beans and quinoa. If you are a football fan, this would be great for game day, especially as we get into September and maybe some cooler weather in parts of the country.

Slow Cooker Quinoa Chili
Source: Six Sisters Stuff
Serves: 8

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 (28 oz) can reduced sodium diced tomatoes (undrained)
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies (undrained)
2 (16 oz) cans reduced sodium black bean, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can of corn, drained

1 (15 oz) can of reduced sodium kidney beans

2 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 minced onion
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp chili powder

Directions:

Place everything in a 6 quart slow cooker and cook for 5-7 hours on low. Keep warm until ready to serve.