Recipe: Apple and Walnut Chicken Meatloaf Muffins

Yeah, that's a mouthful, but it's a tasty mouthful. And it fits with my largely Paleo Diet.

This is adapted from another recipe I posted a few months ago - and I personally like this one better, since it contains many of my favorite things. These are great for a quick snack at work (in the few minutes I have between clients) or for a between meal snack. They are pretty filling.

Ingredients (adjust spices to taste):
2 lbs ground free-range organic chicken (or turkey)
3 free-range eggs (can be only whites, but a little water)
1 cup organic quick oats
1/2 cup organic walnuts finely chopped
2 small organic Fuji apples, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 heaping teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Optional: 2-3 tablespoons of Benefiber to increase fiber content

Mix it all up in a bowl and then spoon it into a greased muffin pan
Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes (my oven is gas, and 35 minutes is good)
Makes 12 nutritious meatloaf muffins

Approximate Nutrition Profile:
1 muffin: 185 calories, 6 grams of fat, 21 grams of protein, 7 grams of carbs, 1.5 grams of fiber (w/o the Benefiber, 2.5-3 with it)

If you prefer a moister meatloaf, you can add a little water. If anyone has a suggestion to increase the moistness without increasing the calories, please leave a note in the comments.

Tags: food, nutrition, health, meatloaf, muffins, chicken, turkey, walnuts, apples, eggs, spices, cinnamon, recipes, Apple and Walnut Chicken Meatloaf Muffins

Cooking Is Half Chemistry and Half Art - A New Chicken and Pumpkin Recipe

And I'm not very good at either. But I like to try. And I usually try to come up with something healthy and densely nutritious - more quality per serving.

Tonight I started out with . . .

• two 16 oz cans of organic pumpkin
• one large (or two small) organic Fuji apple, sliced and diced
• one 8 oz bag of black beluga lentils (already cooked)
• 1.5 to 2 lbs of broiled free-range, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (shredded)

All the solid stuff goes into a skillet on low heat. Then the fun begins.

I suck at cooking because I add spices to taste (my taste), and I don't measure or write anything down. It's really hard to replicate a given formula.

Tonight's spices are Indian, focused on curry and cinnamon, in what I am guessing is the order of quantity (most to least):

• yellow curry mixture
• cinnamon
• red curry mixture
• pumpkin pie spice
• stevia
• garlic powder
• Garam Masala seasoning
• cumin
• turmeric
• ground pepper
• yellow mustard
• sea salt

The overall flavor has a little fire, a little spice, and a little sweet. I served it to myself over about one-half cup of wild rice blend.


Lots of healthy complex carbs per serving, as well as a lot of fiber (between the lentils and the pumpkin), and about 20-25 grams of protein per serving. I like the sweet crunchy apple with the spicy curry. I doubt Jami will like it, but I like it a lot - so more for me.

One change for next time - I might add a tablespoon or two of organic almond butter to get some healthy fats and a little of the flavor of the almonds.

Tags: Cooking Is Half Chemistry and Half Art, pumpkin, chicken, apple, black beluga lentils, curry, spices, cinnamon, chicken and pumpkin

Recipe - Jamie Eason: Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

I had forgotten that I enjoy cooking. Now that Jami and I have a nice kitchen, I have been doing a lot more cooking than I have in the last 15 years of apartment living (living mostly alone).

One thing that's important to me is to use easy, quick recipes for healthy meals - stuff that can be eaten on the run or as a quick snack - but high protein, low-carbs, and good fats. This recipe fits with my current experiment with doing Paleo about 85% of the time in my diet.

I got this recipe from Bodybuilding.com and made them yesterday - turned out good, nicely spiced. But I will likely make some changes.

Since I am using a gas oven, I might need to cook them a little less (maybe 35 minutes instead of 40), and I also want to try using a whole egg or two (free range, omega-3 fortified) to make them a little more moist.

Jamie Eason: Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground turkey (or chicken)
3 egg whites
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dry yellow mustard
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp chipotle pepper spice
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp garlic powder (2 cloves minced)
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 celery stalks (finely chopped)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray muffin pan with canola or olive oil.
3. Mix all your ingredients together in one large bowl.
4. Roll the mixture into balls and place in muffin pan. Muffins should be about the size of a racquetball.
5. Bake for 40 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins.

One muffin:
Calories: 80
Fats: 2 grams
Carbs: 4 grams
Protein: 11 grams

Serving Size:
Women: 2 muffins
Men: 4 muffins

Tags: health, nutrition, recipes, Bodybuilding.com, Jamie Eason, Turkey Meatloaf Muffins, Paleo Diet