Roasted Beet Borscht

Adapted from Tyler Florence's Roasted Beet Borscht

Ingredients
2 lbs. baby beets, trimmed and scrubbed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 sprigs fresh thyme
6 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lg. sweet onion, chopped
6 med. carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
8 c. water
8 t. beef bullion paste
6 T. balsamic vinegar
2 med. tart apples, grated (Granny Smith, or I used Jazz)
2 T. chopped fresh dill
1 c. 2% Fage Greek yogurt

Directions

Heat oven to 400˚F.

Scrub the beets and put them in a 9x13" glass baking dish and toss with 3 T. oil.  Season with salt and pepper, and add 3 thyme sprigs.  Bake until the beets are tender, about 1 hour. Set aside. When the beets are cool enough to handle but still warm, slip off their skins, and chop them into large chunks.

In a large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat, add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil. Put in the onion, carrots, garlic, and remaining 3 thyme sprigs and cook until softened and just starting to color, about 10 minutes. Add the water and bullion and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs. Put the chopped beets into the pot and use a potato masher to create small chunks.  Add the vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate flavors. Borscht can be served hot or cold.

To make the garnish, grate the apple on the large holes of a box grater and mix in the dill. Serve in bowls, garnished with a big dollop of sour cream and topped with the apple and dill mixture.

Nutrition Facts
Servings 8.0

Amount Per Serving
calories 274
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 14 g	21 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	10 %
Monounsaturated Fat 9 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0 %
Sodium 512 mg	21 %
Potassium 735 mg	21 %
Total Carbohydrate 34 g	11 %
Dietary Fiber 5 g	20 %
Sugars 24 g
Protein 5 g	9 %
Vitamin A	174 %
Vitamin C	29 %
Calcium	8 %
Iron	7 %

Double Chocolate Protein Muffins v.5

Adapted from The Iron You's Double Chocolate Protein Muffins

Ingredients
1/2 c. unbleached heritage grain AP flour
1/2 c. unflavored whey protein powder, ~2 scant scoops, ~40g protein
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 t. instant espresso powder
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
pinch cinnamon
dash cayenne
4 oz. (9 squares) coarsely chopped Trader Joe's 72% Pound Plus dark chocolate

1 T. lemon juice
enough skim milk to make 3/4 c. buttermilk (with the lemon juice)
1 large egg
2 egg whites
1 T. vanilla extract
few drops orange extract
1/4 c. melted unsalted butter
1/4 c. 2% plain Greek yogurt

Mexican Chocolate Muffins
Increase cayenne to 1/16-1/8 t. cinnamon to 1/4 t., and espresso to 2 t.

Peppermint Chocolate Muffins
Add 1/4 t. peppermint extract, to taste, and sprinkle crushed peppermints on top.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F, and place a rack in the center. Put liners in muffin cups.
In a large bowl sift the dry ingredients and the sugar, then mix in the chocolate chunks.
In another bowl whisk together the butter, egg whites, buttermilk, and extracts.
With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. If the batter looks a bit too dry (which might depend on the quality of the protein powder you're using), add more buttermilk, one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the consistency of a proper muffin batter.
Divide batter among muffin cups (I used an ice-cream scoop). Top with the remaining chocolate chunks.
Bake for about 14 minutes. It is hard to tell when chocolate muffins are baked and you definitely do not want to over bake them or they will be dry, so check them towards the end of baking.
They are done when they are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

This is a reboot because I didn't keep proper version notes before.

• v.0 was the original linked recipe, with the flavor additions, if I recall correctly.  The result was too dry and the muffin cups were overfilled.  v.0-v.2 were baked at 375˚F.
• v.1 had 7/8 c. flour and baked for 15 minutes.  Still too dry and slightly too large.
• v.2 had 3/4 c. flour and baked for 12 minutes.  Delicious and moist.  Excess butter leaked through the papers.
• v.3 had half the butter replaced with yogurt.  Somehow this made 16 muffins.  These were baked at 350˚F for 14 minutes.  These are CUPCAKES!
• v.4 was an exercise in reducing the volume, so I reduced milk from 1 c. to 3/4 c. (including lemon juice), reduced flour from 3/4 c. to 1/2 c., reduced sugar from 1/2 c. to 1/3 c., traded one egg for one egg white (to increase the protein and lower fat and Calories).  I also reduced the baking soda from 1 t. to 1/2 t. These are still cupcakes!
• v.5 increased yogurt to 3/8 c. and reduced butter to 1/ c. Chocolate needs to be finer than I chopped it this time.  It sank.
• v.6 Swap remaining egg for egg whites.

The nutrition facts are for the most current version.

Nutrition Facts

Servings 12.0
Amount Per Serving    1 muffin
calories 154
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 7 g	11 %
Saturated Fat 4 g	20 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 22 mg	7 %
Sodium 180 mg	8 %
Potassium 134 mg	4 %
Total Carbohydrate 16 g	5 %
Dietary Fiber 3 g	13 %
Sugars 8 g
Protein 8 g	15 %
Vitamin A	2 %
Vitamin C	1 %
Calcium	6 %
Iron	16 %

Ginger Peach Ice Cream Whey Smoothie

Adapted from Peach Pie Smoothie

Ingredients
1/4 c. peach nectar
1/2 c. 2% Greek yogurt
3/4 c. frozen peaches
1 t. fresh grated ginger
few drops orange extract or pinch fresh grated nutmeg
1-2 scoops whey protein powder, enough to add 20g protein


Directions
Blend and enjoy!

DIY Smoothie Pack Directions
Blend everything except the fruit, water, and protein powder and freeze silicon 1 oz. ice cube trays. 6 cubes + frozen fruit + protein powder in a zipper bag.  Freeze.  Empty the bag into a blender.  Add 1/2 c. liquid and you have frozen yogurt / soft serve you have to eat with a spoon!  Let the smoothie pack contents thaw before blending if you have an older blender, or want a less thick smoothie.  Adding the protein powder thickens and "bulks" the smoothie and I haven't measured how it changes the volume in my DIY smoothie cubes. 

Nutrition Facts
Servings 1.0

Amount Per Serving
calories 285
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 6 g	10 %
Saturated Fat 2 g	8 %
Monounsaturated Fat 0 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 9 mg	3 %
Sodium 76 mg	3 %
Potassium 321 mg	9 %
Total Carbohydrate 36 g	12 %
Dietary Fiber 2 g	9 %
Sugars 23 g
Protein 31 g	62 %
Vitamin A	8 %
Vitamin C	215 %
Calcium	22 %
Iron	0 %

Ginger Sesame Chicken Salad

Adapted from Asian chicken salad with ginger sesame dressing

Ingredients
Dressing
1/8 c. rice wine vinegar
1 t. minced fresh ginger
1 T. low-sodium soy sauce
2 t. honey
1 T. toasted sesame oil
1 T. sunflower seed oil
1/2 T. cilantro
1 small garlic clove
tiniest sprinkle of dried scorpion chilies
2 drops fish sauce

Salad
4 c. baby mixed lettuces
1 small carrot, shredded
4 medium radishes, shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, finely diced
1/8 large sweet onion, minced
1/4 c. slivered almonds, toasted

1 shredded rotisserie chicken or sliced grilled chicken breast

Directions
Using an immersion blender, blend all dressing ingredients until emulsified.
Layer salad ingredients, half on each plate.  Dress.  Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Servings 2.0
Amount Per Serving
calories 397
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 23 g	35 %
Saturated Fat 3 g	16 %
Monounsaturated Fat 19 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 7 g
Trans Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 60 mg	20 %
Sodium 711 mg	30 %
Potassium 431 mg	12 %
Total Carbohydrate 27 g	9 %
Dietary Fiber 5 g	19 %
Sugars 11 g
Protein 27 g	53 %
Vitamin A	242 %
Vitamin C	121 %
Calcium	18 %
Iron	34 %