Lemon Blueberry Cottage Cheese Muffins

I love these muffins. They are moist, tender, and don't feel at all like a diet food. They completely satisfy my craving for comfort carbs but they are still healthy: low in fat and sugar, high in protein and antioxidants, and flavorful. They keep well and reheat well in the microwave and can be frozen.

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

finely grated zest from one lemon

juice from that lemon, enough to fill half of a 1/3 cup measure

2% milk (or whole) enough to fill the remainder of that 1/3 cup measure

1 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup small curd low fat cottage cheese

1 to 1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen partially thawed blueberries

Preheat the oven to 400°. Put cupcake liners in 12 muffin tins. NOTE: I use only the brown parchment paper muffin liners on these muffins because they tend to stick to regular liners. If you use regular liners, you may want to spray them with cooking spray. The parchment liners are absolutely the best for all muffins and cupcakes.

In a big bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

Finely zest one lemon.

Juice the lemon and use enough to fill half of a 1/3 cup measuring cup.

Fill the remainder of the measuring cup with milk. Allow it to sit for five minutes to thicken into buttermilk.

Melt 1/4 cup butter.

Mix together the cottage cheese, eggs, melted butter, lemon zest, juice, milk, and vanilla either in a small blender like a Magic Bullet or with a stick blender like you see here. Mix it well until the cottage cheese is completely blended into a creamy consistency. If you don't have any blender, push the cottage cheese through a fine strainer then blend the ingredients.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture.

With a spatula, fold gently until almost mixed but some dry ingredients still remain. DO NOT OVERMIX as the muffins will be tough.

Add blueberries and VERY GENTLY fold into the batter so that you don't crush the blueberries and make the batter purple.

There will be a very slight bit of purple like in this photo, which is OK.

Spoon into prepared muffin tins and bake at 400° for 16-20 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

Once cool they can be put into zipper bags or leftover containers and can sit on the counter for several days or can be frozen.

For three muffins

The color code breakdown.

Garlic Butter Shrimp

 I love to take recipes that are typically high calorie and make them Noom friendly. This dish is one of my favorites and it's very easy to convert. Sorry, but no step-by-step instructions on this one because I was hungry and simply forgot!

The recipe is easy to make. First, put 2 oz of whole wheat spaghetti in cold water and heat to boiling then boil till tender. I always use the cold start method because it uses less water and cooks faster. While the pasta is cooking, spray a non-stick skillet with cooking spray and add 2 Tbl of chopped red or yellow peppers. Cook till almost tender, just a minute or two, and add a clover of garlic finely chopped and 1 Tbl green onions chopped. Add to the veggies 2 Tbl of Smart Balance Olive Oil Spread (or you can also use Earth Balance Olive Oil Spread) and let it melt. Add salt and pepper or lemon pepper. Keep warm. Just before the pasta is done, add the shrimp and toss just till warm. Do not overcook or they will be rubbery. Spoon mixture over drained pasta on a plate and top with 2 Tbl shredded parmesan.

Noom Log:

Black Bean Quesadillas

 I found this recipe on Dinner With Julie's site but modified it slightly. It's a super easy, super fast lunch meal that fits well within Noom's color code system. It's all green and yellow. 

I took a 1/2 cup of canned black beans and heated them briefly in the microwave. I then smashed them with a fork and added some taco seasoning. I heated a skillet with some cooking spray and laid a corn tortilla in the skillet then spread the bean mixture on half of the tortilla. I sprinkled 2 Tbl of reduced fat feta cheese on top and folded over the tortilla. Then I cooked it a few minutes on each side on medium heat till it was golden. It was delicious with a side of steamed green beans.

 

The Noom log for it: