Green-tings! :)

Well, the battle with the time change lives on! Guess who tossed and turned last night again!? My body is SO sensitive to tiny changes in my sleep schedule. Oye.
Can I just say how much I enjoyed reading your comments in last night’s post on having fun with your health?? I got teary eyed reading some of the comments. I just love reading about how other women have made positive changes in their lives. Perks me right up, sleep or no sleep! :mrgreen:
Today was a gorgeous day outside. I only wished I would have had time to get some exercise outside today, but I was tied to the bakery all day and didn’t have a chance to workout. This week is organized chaos as I tie up loose ends before we leave for vacation. So it was my second rest day in a row…tomorrow I will be raring to go!!!! :)
In other news, the SNOW IS GONE!!!

In honour of St. Patty’s Day tomorrow, I decided to make something fun. Quick and fun and green- My specialty. ;)
My mother in law was born in Ireland (and has 10 brothers!!!) so I wanted to make something festive that she could try while she is here (the in laws are staying at our house while we are away!).
Whenever she tells me stories about growing up in Ireland, breakfast is always a prominent theme. Her dad ran a bed and breakfast and my MIL can whip up a MEAN breakfast I tell you.
In honour of fun breakfast things, the following recipe was born! Mind you, the only thing Irish about it is the colour. ;)
St. Patty’s Day Savory Zucchini Muffins

Adapted from Vegalicious.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups whole grain spelt flour (or your choice of flour)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 flax egg (1 T ground flax + 3 T water) OR 1 egg
- 1 cup zucchini, grated
- 3/4 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond)
- 1/4 cup canola oil (or oil of your choice)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 tablespoon wheatgrass powder (optional)
- Nuts to garnish (I used cashew nuts)
Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all wet ingredients (including grated zucchini) together in a small bowl. In a medium sized bowl mix dry ingredients together. Add wet to dry and mix well. Scoop into greased muffin tin. Cook for 22 minutes for mini muffins (larger muffins will take longer). Makes 21-23 mini muffins or about 11-12 regular muffins.
PS- St Patty’s Day sticks are from Michael’s craft store.
YUM!!!!!!

This was my first time making savory muffins and they were DELICIOUS!
With hummus, of course:

and some Earth Balance…GAH!! So good. Once you pop, you can’t stop!
These are an excellent breakfast muffin or a muffin to pack in your lunch for a healthy snack! The key is to enjoy them with your favourite spread- hummus, avocado, butter, cheese, nut butter would all work wonderfully!
I added in some Amazing Grass wheatgrass powder at the last minute to half of them. I could barely notice it and I couldn’t notice the wheatgrass taste at all when I had something spread on it.
A very sneaky way to get some lovely GREEN in!

The nuts on top were key- they added such a nice crunch and texture!

Do you have Irish in you? Do you do anything fun on St Patty’s Day like drink green beer or make green food?
Have you ever been to Ireland?
I have some Irish in me on my both sides of the family. Eric and I also make green beer on St Patty’s Day too- it’s fun! I have never been to Ireland but Eric has been a handful of times to visit his family. Eric wants to take me in 2010 or 2011! I can’t wait. :)
See you Wednesday afternoon/evening for my next health tip!

When Irish eyes are smiling,
‘Tis like a morn in spring.
With a lilt of Irish laughter
You can hear the angels sing.
~Author Unknown
What a great idea, your so creative.
oooh I love savory muffins! I will be giving these a try for sure :)
hmm never had savory muffins, looks interesting!!
i don’t have any irish in me, but my hometown school mascot is the “fighting irish”!! :)
tomorrow i’m making corned beef and cabbage in honor of st patty’s day and will TRY to remember to wear green, haha (i always forget stuff like that)…. i can’t wait!!!
Those muffins look delish! My great-great-grandparents on my mother’s side came from Ireland, so my husband loves to call me the British mutt (my dad’s mom was from Scotland & his father was from England). One of my best friends is actually moving to Ireland for a year in May so I’m really hoping we can go visit her while she’s there. Happy St. Paddy’s Day tomorrow!
You will LOVE Ireland. The green there is so striking. It’s gorgeous.
I am going to this recipe. I have 2 questions, 1. Have you used date sugar? Trying to experiment using different sugars. 2nd question, which brand of italian seasoning did you use in the recipe?
Weird. I have made those muffins! I can’t remember if I got the recipe from the same place, but I just checked, and I used the exact same ingredients as what you posted! Twilight Zone?!?!
those look very nice! well done.
I am 100% Ukrainian!!
i don’t have any Irish in me that i know of, but my dad’s birthday is St. Patrick’s day, so we always make sure to celebrate! such a fun holiday…i’d LOVE to visit Ireland someday :)
I don’t have a lick of Irish in me, and I’ve never really celebrated the holiday before, but I did have some green beer this weekend. However, I have a feeling that it wasn’t nearly as good as your green muffins. ;)
I’m actually going to Ireland to visit a friend who is working in Dublin, this coming April! I am so excited to explore the country!
Those muffins look yummy! Cute little decorations on top too!
I don’t have any plans for St. Patty’s Day (yet) but I live in a university town so I’m sure I’ll eventually get up to something! I’m only a little bit Irish (family came over in the mid-1800s according to my grandpa’s research) but I would definitely love to go there on holiday. A friend of mine went there on her honeymoon and her pictures are stunning – I can just imagine how breathtaking it would be in person!
These look great, would go perfectly with my spinach pancakes! :) I went to Ireland for a long weekend in 2006 when I was studying abroad, it is the most beautiful country. And it really is SO green! Happy St Patty’s Day :)
I hitchhiked around Ireland a few years back for about a month, by myself. I never had to turn down a ride because it felt unsafe, I never had to wait more than 10-15 minutes for a ride even in the most remote areas, and I met some wonderful people that way. My favorite area was Donegal County up north–considerably less touristy than other areas, and absolutely beautiful and charming. It is a testament to the awesomeness of Ireland that I had an amazing time despite the fact that it rained at least 50% of the time I was there (it was May). (oh yeah, and I didn’t really love Dublin)
Those muffins are adorable!! Chris + I both have Irish in us. Chris is 50% and I’m 25%. We actually went to Ireland on our honeymoon too! It was an amazing 10 days, together, with a rental car, driving on the opposite side of the road, with our garmin. LOL. It was quite the site at times, but so much fun. We didn’t have many concrete plans once we got over there. We did get to stay with an amazing family in the country in norther ireland though. My mom + I met them in Hawaii like 8yrs ago and we’ve stayed in touch ever since…they were SO welcoming to us, it was amazing. Breakfasts were the HIGHlight when we stayed with them!!! Oh, you’re bringing back my memories..can you tell ;)
Love Zucchini Bread.. definitely going to need to give these a try!
I am Irish – Irish and living in Ireland :D Funnily enough I’ve never celebrated St. Patrick’s Day!! It seems like a much bigger deal in the US than it is here. We don’t go dyeing any rivers green or having big budget parades (our parade is so embarassingly twee). For me it’s just a day off work!
Those muffins look delish!!!
I LOVE Ireland!! Dublin in particular!!
So tell me when you’re planning to go, I’ll come too!! ;)
Seriously!
I’m from the UK so it’s easy for me to visit Ireland, i holidayed there 3 years ago in Southern Ireland and it was stunning – i drank far too much Guiness and ate too much soda bread! Now there’s a challenge for you – can you make soda bread? ;)
We’re completely Irish. Both sets of grandparents moved to England just before World War 2. Our history is complicated but I’m descended from Irish gypseys!
I have an Irish potato cake recipe on my blog today! http://www.suburbanyogini.com/2010/03/17/irish-potato-cakes/