And here we are again, a new year, a new start, an opportunity to undo all the less than nutritionally dense treats we’ve consumed all in the name of celebration and festivity.
But I can’t do detoxes. And I can’t do calorie deficit in January. It’s not the time of year for it. So what to do? My solution is to bump up the vegetable intake of the whole family. No easy feat when you are have a three year old vegetable rejecter in your midst.
He won’t eat soup, he says it makes him sick. He won’t eat anything green, apparently green things make him sick too. He is against mushrooms; guess what? They make him sick. And tomatoes are only acceptable as a base sauce on homemade pizza. Pizza it seems does not make him sick. That is unless it is covered in spinach, peppers, chilli… they do all make him sick. Are you feeling my pain yet?
So, when faced with the need to up the vegetable quota, I turn to cake. Carrot cake is a firm family favourite already, so adding sweet potato and protein rich peanut butter (or any other nut butter) is only a small step away from the familiar.
This recipe first appeared in Back to School magazine.
Lots of great recipes like this in my books, Recipes from a Normal Mum and The Power of Frozen.
One year ago: Choc nut flapjack, Oat pizzas, Chai smoothie and Oat baked salmon fishfingers.
Two years ago: Roasted rainbow roots and pan fried pork, Banana and chia porridge bread, Baked tortilla, Roasted cauliflower, celery and garlic soup, Garlic, lemon and sweet chilli chicken, Oreo peanut butter brownies and Skinny orange and cardamom tealoaf.
Three years ago: Lamb and pea pie on This Morning, Halloumi, courgette and carrot fritters, Crunchy piggy meatballs (also on This Morning) and Granola breakfast muffins.
Four years ago: Lemon & blueberry loaf, my Bake Off Cherry Bakewell inspired cupcakes, plus Sesame bread sticks
Five years ago: Love cupcakes, White chocolate, lemon and macadamia cake and a perfect wintery Roasted celeriac, carrot and parsnip soup.
Six years ago: Bake me not chocolate cake, Jelly and ice-cream meringue roulade, Good flapjack and Banana, butterscotch and fig traybake.
Seven (how did that happen??) years ago: Treasure hunt ice-cream, Rhubarb and ginger chutney and Carrot cake.
Sweet potato, carrot and peanut butter muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
· 175g soft dark brown sugar
· 175g self raising flour
· 175mls vegetable oil
· 80g peanut butter (or other nut butter)
· 3 large eggs, at room temperature
· 1 medium carrot, top removed and grated (100g)
· 1 small sweet potato, peeled and grated (100g)
· 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas mark 4. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper cases.
Mix all the ingredients together in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand held mixer or with a wooden spoon for about 3 – 5 minutes until the mixture is well combined.
Pour the wet batter equally into the muffin cases (a jug can help), and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until well risen and a toothpick comes out of the centre of the middle muffin clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Photography: Scott Choucino (http://scottchoucino.com/ )
Props: Woodrow Studios (http://www.woodrowstudios.co.uk/ )
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Holly Bell 