Goodies and a New Look
Posted By Teeni on January 27, 2009
I’m disgustingly happy right now for a couple of reasons.
- Some of you have already noticed my new look here and though I’d love to take credit for it, I can’t! It was all done by my talented and lovely friend, Em! Em is sort of new at the WordPress blog themes but, as you can tell from what she has already done at the Tea Room, she is well on her way to being a grand wizard! I was amazed at how fast she picked up on all of it, but then she has always been talented in the graphics area. If you are interested in having her do some work on your place, just contact her directly through her blog at this link (leave her a comment and she will get back to you). Em is sweet, easy to work with, and reasonably priced so don’t hesitate!
- I won another contest! I am one of two winners of a Tom Ang photography book from a contest over at ZestyCook’s place. Yeah, I know that you all are thinking that I must enter a thousand contests so I’m bound to win one or two but I really don’t enter many contests at all, yet I admit I seem to have a high win rate. I don’t mind, and am not complaining however. ;) Anyway, I digress. I really wanted to mention to you that ZestyCook is a blog written by Cory who provides some delicious and simple recipes at his site. He includes glorious photos of his food and is fun to read. Plus, there is an occasional giveaway so take a moment to check him out and you’ll be hooked like I was. I’ve already seen my buds, VeggieGirl and Bittersweet over there and I know there are more of you who like food. ;) Anyway, a big thank you to Cory for running a great blog and a great contest. I can certainly stand to learn a bit about photography and improve any photos I take.
I’m so happy I could hug you all, but since I can’t just pick you all up and hug you, I’m gonna do the next best thing that I can think of and that is to share a yummy and healthy recipe with you all. It’s a recipe that I made basically for my niece who I’ve mentioned at this blog before - the niece with the thyroid cancer. She had to have her thyroid removed and now has to periodically go on a low-iodine diet so that they can give her a radioactive tracer dose and check that the thyroid area in her neck is still clear of cancer. She has to avoid so many things that it makes it hard for her to be on the diet and hard to plan meals.
Anyway, I wanted to help her and this muffin recipe was the result. I make it with organic ingredients and it also happens to be low in fat and vegetarian/vegan since she has to avoid milk products as part of the diet. So it’s actually good for many of my friends (and ME) who are trying to lose weight or just adjust to lower sugar intakes this winter. My niece really enjoyed these as a small breakfast or snack during her low iodine diet and I loved them too, knowing that it was all good stuff in there. The muffins are not overly sweetened with sugar because there is so much fruit goodness that they don’t need it. I’d love it if one of my gluten-free readers would give this recipe a shot with their gluten-free bake mixes and let me know how it comes out. Recipe is below the photo.
Healthy Fruity "Special Diet" Muffins
“Special Diet” Muffins Recipe
6 oz. blueberries
1/3 Cup organic applesauce (for low-iodine diet, make sure the only ingredients are apples and water)
1/3 Cup mashed banana
1/3 Cup non dairy milk of your choice (I recommend oat or hemp, but others may work - check ingredients first!)
1 Cup All purpose flour
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp of non-iodized salt (optional)
Grease muffin tins with veggie oil, shortening, or margarine. Do NOT use paper liners - since there is so little fat in this recipe, the muffins will just stick to the paper and trust me, you will make a big mess and gain many odd looks as you try to peel the muffin from the paper liner with your teeth as you try to salvage it’s yumminess. Not that I would know from experience or anything. 
Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl with a fork.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Mash the banana with a fork in the bottom of a glass liquid measuring cup until you have 1/3 cup. Then add the applesauce to the 2/3 of a cup measure, and finally add the non-dairy milk. This is the easiest way to do it. Plus, bonus - you only dirty one glass measuring cup! See? It’s a green recipe too! LOL.
Add the contents of the measuring cup to the dry ingredients and mix with an electric mixer for a minute or two. The mixture will be very, very thick like a sticky oatmeal. Guess what? There is no egg in this recipe so there’s no reason why you can’t lick the beaters! Yum! Note: If it is too sticky (won’t eventually fall off the beaters), add a bit more milk, a tablespoon at a time.
Next, rinse and pick through the blueberries to eliminate any rejects or stems. Then roll them around on a paper towel or clean dish towel to dry them a bit, being careful not to smoosh them. Fold them into the thick batter using a long handled wooden spoon or even better - a rubber spatula.
Spoon the mixture into the muffin cups - you should get twelve. Let them sit while the oven gets to temperature and then pop them in to cook for about 22-25 minutes. The muffins will be dense and hearty (this is from all the love that’s in ‘em - LOL). Freeze any that don’t get eaten right away for a quick on-the-run breakfast or snack. Enjoy!
Popularity: 13% [?]
The new theme looks great!
Except that I don’t like the comments link at the top of the page. Too much scrolling. You have to scroll down as you read a post, then scroll all the way back up to read the comments and post a comment.
I went to go check what you were talking about and when I came back I saw Peter Parkour’s comment that it only is a problem if you don’t click on the direct post link. So I guess I’m not sure if I should do anything about it or not.
I do love me some blueberry muffins.
I’m gonna run this one by Bunny and see if I can’t get her to make me some. 
Wish me luck.
Oh, I do wish you luck - make sure she knows they are low sugar and low fat! Maybe she’ll be happy and want some for herself too!!
Oh, hey, what DCR said is only true if you don’t click on the actual post in the first place. Worked just fine for me from my reader. I don’t ever actually read from my reader. I always click on the link that takes me to the post in question.
I like the up close and personal approach. 
Lookin’ good lady. However, some of your smileys didn’t work for some reason, but I can live with that. 
Oh, thanks, Peter! I never would have figured that out on my own since I don’t read me through a reader! LOL. Yeah, you know - my smilies lately have only seemed to work when they are at the end of a paragraph and not in the middle of the text. Maybe something different with the new theme or something. I don’t know.
Oh, nice header here, I have actually been wanting to change mine too, I am still looking for a lovely template, or maybe my hubby can make one for me.
Have a great day teeni!
Hi Sheng! It is nice to change things every so often. I don’t like to do it TOO often because then I don’t recognize my own place. LOL. You have a great day too! It’s always nice to see you!!!
I dig it. Love the tabs under the header pic.
Is it supposed to be centered though? For me, the blog and everything are left justified.
Thanks, Earl! I love tabs - they make so many things easier. Hmm - it looks left justified to me too. I will have to ask Em about that.
I like … no, no, no, scratch that, I LOVE Blueberry muffins, especially when they’re fresh out of the oven. I’m referring to the plain ones. I suppose they would be the ones that would add an extra pound on ya’
But what the heck. I’ll eat em’
I love blueberry muffins too - these taste close to regular blueberry muffins but a little less sweet and a slight hint of banana (depends on how ripe, I suppose). Strangely, the applesauce is hardly even noticeable as far as taste. But they are all good. Yum!
Everything looks just fine at 1024×768 screen resolution. Everything, perfectly centered.
New themes are always a hassle working out the bugs. 
Aw, thanks for checking that for me Peter! You really are a good friend. I appreciate it and will let Em know (because I am clueless as to what to do about it).
These look soooooooooooooo good, and they are good for you so what could be better than that? I’m so looking forward to making these for myself and the family
I’m so sorry to hear that you niece was sick- I will send up good thoughts for her total recovery and I’m glad you are back and feeling better too! I missed you Teens!
Aw, thanks for the good thoughts, JQ! Those are always helpful and welcome! I’ve missed you too! I feel like we keep missing each other!
Hey Teeni, Nice look. Congrats on your winning a prize
Will sure try your eggless muffin recipe. My son loves muffins and we are lacto-vegetarians. So, the no-egg part sure is enticing 
Thanks, Apar. I hope you like them if you try them. I have been trying to get my tastebuds back to basics so I like less sugar and I can appreciate the tastes of whole foods better.
Great look, hugs back at ya, my dear. you are so cool.
I try, anyway! Thanks.
The new look is loverly. Do you want a different feed icon to match?
I would love one! I will email you because you probably won’t see this reply. LOL.
Love the new look! Love that recipe, I’m stealing it for sure!
Hope you like it.
Feel free to use a little more sugar at first if you are used to the commercial ones.
Whoa, what is up with that picture beside my name - does Wordpress do that all on it’s own?
LOL - sorry to scare you, Paige. Yes, WordPress is doing that as a substitute if you don’t have an avatar. Freaky little monsters, aren’t they? But kinda cute too.
congrats!!! of course, we’re not all that surprised that you won something, yet again. lol.
i’ll have to go check out some o those recipes… always looking for new ones!
also, i love the new digs. Oh, i’ve contemplated moving to wordpress so many times, but i think i’m stuck with blogger for the time being. lol.
cheers!
Thanks, Diva! I hope you find some good recipes over there. Well, I KNOW you will.
oh, and also? those muffins look and sound soooo tasty. mmmmmmmmuffins.
Thank you! They are my new favorite treat - I just pretend they are worse for me than they really are. LOL.
Glad you like the theme Teeni! The centering part, Its fine on my screen, so I’m not sure, but I will look into it. The smileys, Im pretty sure doesn’t have anything to do with the theme. That would be something in word press. This 2.7 is really different LOL I’m really glad you like !!
Hugs,
Em
I love it, Em! Thank YOU! And I think Peter Parkour commented here that the screen resolution that we have our monitors set to is what affects how it looks so that is why it is left justified for me and some other people so I don’t think that is something you can change. Oh, that would explain why my smilies suddenly didn’t work the same after my upgrade. Oh well. They still work at the end of a paragraph just fine!
I love the new look here! So pretty, and fits you very well!
The muffin recipe sounds great! I like that there are few ingredients and they are healthy ones.
Thanks, Birdpress! You said it about the recipe - these are my favorite kind, just a few simple, healthy ingredients. Back to basics.
What a sweet auntie you are! Your new layout looks fabulous.
Aw, thanks Ginger! I try and Em did a great job.
Congratulations. I am happy that you are happy. Recipes unfortunately are just now strictly no no for me! Anyway, I shall accept the thought of the hug.
Thank you, Rummy! I’m sorry about the recipe but a hug is great because it is acceptable on any diet!
Love the new look! And I do know how hard it can be to switch over to something new, so I’m glad that you’re happy with it.
The muffins look really good… It’s been far too long since I’ve had a good old blueberry muffin.
Thank you, Hannah. It does take me a bit to get used to change, but I do think Em did a really pretty job here. It feels more like a tea room.
And thanks about the muffins. I got a book a few years ago about fat free baking and I love using fruit as a fat substitute. I don’t mind a slightly denser muffin like this when I know all the goodness that is in it and that I don’t have to worry about any suspicious ingredients. 
Well I actually noticed that you had changed your design which is miraculous. I don’t usually notice such things. But I did get confused re comments - I thought you had closed it to comments (which seemed odd) but then I realised the link was at the top. I think I prefer it at the bottom but I guess it gives me a bit of extra exercise to scroll back up.
The muffins do look good. They’d look nothing like that if I tried to make them!!!
Glad you are so happy. Me too!!
Oh I hear you, RB! I am usually the last to notice changes like that. I’ll have to see about getting the comments moved to the bottom. Don’t sell yourself short about the muffins. If I can do it, anyone can!
LOL - We’re a couple of happy fools. Better than the other kind, though! 
Mmm muffins sound super yummy on this cold wintery day… Brrr and Mmmm
Congrats on the win too!
Oh I love the new look too!
Thanks about the look and the muffins too! I’m making more of them now as I reply to comments.
“…only is a problem if you don’t click on the direct post link.”
I usually read posts directly from the home page. Unless I’m coming in from a reader (which I rarely, rarely use anymore–I don’t think I’ve even used it this year yet) or coming across the post through a link elsewhere, the home page is where I see and read the post.
Of course, I don’t have any statistics, but I’d bet I’m not alone in doing that. It’s especially true when blog hopping; you have the blog bookmarked, and your link will take you to the home page and not directly to a post. And, it’s a wasted click to go to the home page and then click to read the post on its own page when you can just read the page right there without a click. I’d only click on that page to leave a comment if I decided I had something to say worth leaving a comment. So, as it is now, if I decide to comment, I have to scroll all the way back up to do so.
Just my opinion anyway. You could always have a comments link at the top and the bottom to keep everyone happy.
To be honest, I like having the comments at the bottom myself - just seems like the natural progression of things.
I appreciate your opinion and will see if Em doesn’t mind doing some tweaking for me.
the new look is GREAT!
i can’t wait to make these muffins! kirstyn is allergic to eggs and i have been searching for a healthy way to serve her some blueberry muffins! i bet this recipe would make some very yummy pancakes too!
i will have to share with you my whole wheat pumpkin choc chip fat free muffin recipe! promise, i will post it soon!
Thanks, Natalie! Oh, I hope Kirstyn will like the muffins. I should edit the recipe to add that it is okay to increase the milk to up to 1/2 cup if it really ends up being too thick of a batter. Everyone smooshes bananas differently so it’s not an exact measurement and some people might need a bit more liquid. LOL.
Your muffin recipe sounds great too! I’ll keep my eyes peeled. I love chocolate and I love how pumpkin adds a nice smoothness to muffins. Mmmmm.
Firstly I LOVE the new look, smashing Teeni, just smashing!
And YUM on the muffins. These would be excellent refuel after a run kind of muffins, thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Kami - Em did a great job. Oh, yeah - the muffins would be perfect for a refuel!
I will work on changing your comments to the bottom of the posts tonight, Teeni
Sorry, I never even thought about that part of it. LOL 
Nothing to be sorry for - you are lightyears ahead of me. Now I need to go and update the file you sent me!
Congratulations!
I LOVE the new layout. It’s purty
Thank you, Angella! It’s nice to finally have a teapot and a teacup at the Tea Room! LOL. I can’t wait to get my prize so I can learn a bit about photography and hopefully improve my blog photos!
How’d you know that I loved to eat muffins?
LOL. Lucky guess on my part, you evil thing you!
That new header is perfect. I love it!
The muffins look great and I will try them out next week sometime. I’ll snap a photo too. My sister will also be very happy to see this. I’ll e-mail her the link.
Thanks so much for sharing it!
Congrats on the wins!
Hope you are doing better.
Hi BeadDen! Thanks, I am feeling much better! Em did a great job on the decor! I hope you and your sister will both enjoy the muffins. I made two batches today.
Good job on the borders and the feed icon. I’ve been checking
Thanks, Witchypoo!
I had help from a good friend!
Your new look is fantastic! It all themes together so well and it’s not too over-whelming, well-done to Em and to your blog for inspiring this vision
Thanks, Romi! Em’s awesome!
I think it looks lovely Teeni (just like you)!!! I wish the text was just a hair bigger though. Other than that it looks great!
But don’t stop - I like that! LOL.
I was actually wondering about that myself. I’m sure that can be done. And thanks, Bobby. You are too sweet.
I love the new look! And those muffins look delicious.
Thank you, Maleesha! I made two batches yesterday so guess what I had for breakfast today? LOL
Lovely new look, I love it Teeni.
I’ll try that muffin recipe. It looks so good. It made me hungry.
Hi Jeanny! I hope you like them!
The place looks fabulous, Teeni.
Very nice graphics and easy to read.
As far as the muffins, I’m really hungry right now and didn’t need to see them.
Give me some nice butter and a big glass of milk and I could be a very happy man . . .
Congrats, kiddo.
~m
Howdy stranger! Sorry I missed you the other night on gmail - it was right when I was uploading my new look! Hope you are well!
I have a question about my little monster there, I usually have an upside down pink gerbera daisy, maybe wordpress doesn’t recognize it? It usually shows up on blooger blogs… My cousin has a wordpress blof and I get crazy little pictures beside my comments there too. Hm…
I guess for some reason, WordPress doesn’t recognize your gerbera avatar so it auto-generates one for you here. I will have to ask around to see if there is a way around that. I LOVE your gerbera daisy avatar, by the way!
i love the new layout! i think its fab!
Thank you Slyde!
OMG!!!!!! Your niece is the luckiest gal in the world, to have an aunty that took the time to create such a mouth watering treat.
I wish they had served your blueberry muffins instead of those dry old scones at the tea party. Hey you should open a tea room, no no a muffin hut.
I am literally drooling and thinking about picking up the ingredients on my way home, thanks a lot, that going to do wonders for my failing diet. LOL
Let me know if you make them.
Thanks, Debo - I hope you like them!
Oh seriously….my mum once forgot to add sugar to my cuppa. Since then have been having both my tea and coffee without sugar. Slowly reduced it in all other stuff. Most foods taste great. It is healthy to boot!
Thankfully my son also seems to like the not so sweet stuff that I have gotten used to likes even dark chocolate that I love 
Hi Apar! I stopped drinking sugar in my tea but I still have some in my coffee - I can’t seem to get over the bitterness of coffee. But, fortunately, I don’t drink coffee too much anymore. I agree with you that slowly reducing sugar in the diet is the right way to go. It’s amazing how much livelier my tastebuds are now. 
so much so, now if there is a wee bit more sugar in something I eat, I seem to not really like it!! At a point I wondered if something was wrong with me!
Hi Teeni, just wanted to pop by and say that I absolutely love the new look. Well done Em!
Thanks, BOW! She did a great job!
wow teeni, your site is looking very beautiful! very nice job on the redesign but in safari, it is left justified, I haven’t seen it in firefox yet but is it supposed to be left justified? I’ll have to have Em design my next site
I just read comment #16 that it has to do with the resolution of the site but if that was the case, wouldn’t all sites be left justified? or may be I don’t know what I’m talking about lol
I’ll have to make those yummy muffins this weekend… they are making me hungry
Hey, thanks Pearl! I am using Firefox and it looks left justified to me as well. I see a patterned background on the right of the blog. BUT, when I changed my screen resolution, I did see the blog become centered and the patterned background disappeared so now I don’t know what to think! LOL. I guess as long as it is readable, I am happy.
Anyway, it’s good to see you and I hope you will enjoy the muffins! 
Oh, great recipe! I noticed the whole-wheat flour in the recipe, so I’m thinking maybe you’ll be able to answer my question…
Most times I’m on a whole-wheat type of low-carb diet. Can you substitute whole wheat flour for white flour in any recipe?
You certainly can substitute the entire amount of all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, BUT whole wheat flour has a distinctive taste that takes a little getting used to and will make the finished result a different texture. I would suggest only replacing up to half a recipe’s AP flour with whole wheat flour, and maybe work your way up to that amount too. If, however, you are already used to the taste of whole wheat flour over AP flour, then just go for it. It’s better for you. I just wouldn’t want anyone to jump in headfirst and then get turned off by it.
I’ll email this answer to you too.