Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Scone -it's time to celebrate!

Celebrate what, you say? 

Well it's been a great few weeks of triumph and discovery. First off, I went to the Wharton Clinic to check on my progress and I have lost another 6 lbs and I measured myself and lost another 4 1/2 inches. 

Awesome, I'd say!  It's a slow steady pace, but this is what is needed when you plan to live like this for LIFE.  Changing the way I eat, plan and prepare meals and live with activity. This is the way I live now, it's never about a diet. I hate that word- 'starting a diet' implies that you will 'end a diet'. Well guess what? This is not something I will ever 'end', I will continue to eat healthy, well-balanced meals, I will continue to strive to get activity every day.... for the rest of my life!

For the rest of my life I will also constantly re-evaluate what I am doing, where I want to be in my career. After some soul-searching moments, I have decided to take a post-graduate course in Human Resource Management through McMaster University. Yep, I'm going back to school! Online of course, so I can continue working and living my healthy life!

So part of being a successful, healthy living being is to prepare some food in advance for the week. Most of my recipes include whole grains and healthy fats, but sometimes..... I just need to enjoy a little spark of something homemade, fresh and delicious. I head to Pinterest and search... I needed to use some part-skim ricotta cheese and below is the final product.

Taste testers living and visiting my home over the weekend mentioned it was the best scone they have ever tasted. I would say it was the moistness of the ricotta, but also I doubled the lemon rind and lemon juice required and barely used any sugar for the glaze- mostly all lemon juice

Here's the recipe. I used skim milk ricotta and milk and it was still divine!

Lemon Blueberry Ricotta Scones (adapted from http://bakerbynature.com/blueberry-ricotta-scones/)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, VERY cold and cut into tiny pieces
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup (Whole Milk) Ricotta Cheese
3 tablespoons Whole Milk
8 ounces blueberries, fresh or frozen (If using frozen, do not thaw first)

For the egg wash:
1 large egg, beaten
1 teaspoon milk or water
2 tablespoons sugar, for sprinkling

For the (optional) lemon glaze:
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup confectioners sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°(F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and lemon zest.
3. Cut the butter into small cubes then quickly work it into the mixture (using your fingers) until lit resembles a coarse meal.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, ricotta cheese, and milk, then add to flour and butter mixture. Use a fork to stir everything together until just moistened.
5. Add in the blueberries and gently fold them into dough with a spatula - don’t worry if some of the berries break up a bit.
6. Pour the shaggy dough out onto a clean, floured work surface and shape the dough into an 8-inch circle. Cut the dough into 8 wedges and carefully transfer to the prepared sheet.
7. Lightly brush each scones with the egg wash, then sprinkle the top of each scone with sugar.
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown.
9. Cool for about 10 minutes, then make your glaze.
10. For the glaze:
11. In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and confectioners sugar. Drizzle over warm scones and serve at once.

Orange Cranberry Scones

I don't know about you, but when you are entering your third month of cold winter snow, there is nothing better than making a warm baked good filled with delicious wintery smells.

Here's a nice recipe for you to try... I just used a few extra 'healthier' options, like whole wheat flour and low fat milk to 'up' the nutrition a bit. 

ORANGE CRANBERRY SCONES

(adapted from COOKS.COM)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour ( I used whole wheat flour)

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar

grated zest of an orange

1/2 cup Craisins or golden raisins

1 stick (8 tbsp.) cold unsalted butter

2/3 cup buttermilk (plus extra for brushing)

coarse sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 400°F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar for 30 seconds.

 

Cut the cold butter into small cubes 1/4-1/2 inch. On low speed mix until butter is just coated with flour, leaving large chunks. Stir in the Craisins or Raisins and the zest. 

 

 

Stir in 2/3 cup buttermilk and mix for about 30 seconds, or just until the liquid is absorbed. (The batter will begin to pull away from the sides of the bowl). Using a spatula, scrape the dough down and form it into a ball.

Pat the dough together into a flattened circle 3/4-inch thick. Place the circle on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, a silicone baking sheet or a buttered sheet of wax paper. Divide the circle into eight wedges and separate the wedges out leaving a 1/2-inch space between them.

Brush the tops with remaining buttermilk or an egg wash. Sprinkle with coarse sugar (sanding sugar or turbinado is best for a crisp crust).

 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve warm with butter, jam or honey. Delicious!

 

Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

In an effort to feed my family healthy, wholesome breakfast options. I tried this new recipe for some Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Scones.
 

Here's the closeup....

Here are the bright and tangy ingredients, and now, the recipe!

Whole Wheat Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

http://keepyourdietreal.com/food/breadsmuffins/whole-wheat-lemon-poppy-seed-scones/

Ingredients:

2 cups   Whole wheat white flour

1/3 cup Brown sugar, packed

2 tsp      Baking powder

1/8 tsp Salt

1/3 cup Butter

1              Egg

1 tsp      Vanilla extract

1/2 cup 1% Milk

2 Tbsp   Lemon zest

2 Tbsp   Lemon juice

1 Tbsp   Poppy seeds

1              Egg (for egg wash)

1 Tbsp   Milk (for egg wash)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375º.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Cut the butter into the flour mixture until the pieces are a bit smaller than the size of a pea.

In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the egg, vanilla, milk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and poppy seeds.

 Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture until just barely combined then place the batter onto a floured surface and knead until it comes together (may need to add 1/2-1 cup of additional flour). The dough should be neither sticky nor dry.

Press the dough into a 1″ thick rectangle. Cut in half vertically, then horizontally, then again vertically. There should be eight triangle shaped scones of equal size.

Next, cut each in half again, diagonally. Now there should be sixteen triangle shaped scones of equal size.

Place the scones onto a greased cookie sheet. Create an egg wash by whisking together the egg and milk. Brush the top of the scones as well as the sides with the egg wash.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the tops turn golden brown.

Et voila! Now these are good served warm and you can add some nut butter to boost up the protein content for a good breakfast fix.

Girl Power day... and scones

A few days ago, Melanie and I had the privilege of spending the day with Julie and Stephanie. We had such a nice time letting Julie rest and fighting over who would hold the baby. And like you might have noticed, I never arrive there empty handed. I like to bring fresh home-baked healthy goodies for my little sister and her family. This time it was Healthy Lemom Blueberry Scones.

Healthy Lemon-Blueberry Scones Recipe

(http://gimmesomeoven.com/healthy-glazed-lemon-blueberry-scones/)

Ingredients:

•             1 cup all-purpose flour

•             1 cup whole wheat flour

•             1 Tbsp.  sugar (optional)

•             1 Tbsp. baking powder

•             1/4 tsp.  baking soda

•             1/4 tsp. salt

•             1 Tbsp. lemon zest

•             1/4 cup  butter, chilled and cut into pieces

•             1/4 cup olive or canola oil

•             3/4 cup milk or buttermilk

•             1 cup fresh or frozen berries (don’t thaw them)

•             2 Tbsp. lemon juice

•             1 cup powdered sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

Put the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon zest in the bowl of a food processor or into a medium mixing bowl and pulse or stir until well blended. Add the butter and oil and pulse or stir with a wire whisk or fork until crumbly. If you’re using a food processor, transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.

Add the milk and berries and stir gently just until the dough is combined.

Pat the dough into a circle that is about 1” thick and 8”-9” in diameter on the cookie sheet. (If they are sweet and you want a brown, crunchy top, brush them with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar.) Cut the circle into 8 wedges with a knife or pastry cutter and separate them on the sheet so that they are at least an inch apart.

Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden.  Remove from oven.

If you would like to add glaze, stir together lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small bowl until well-blended.  (Feel free to add more/less powdered sugar to make the glaze your desired consistency.)  Brush or drizzle glaze on top of cooled scones (or if you’re impatient like me, brush while they’re warm), and serve.

If you end up opting to pass on the glaze, feel free to add in an extra teaspoon or two of lemon peel to the scones to give them an extra kick of lemon.  You could also sprinkle a bit of raw (turbinado) sugar on top of the scones before baking to give them a little extra flavor if you’re going glaze-less.  :)

I did not add the glaze, who needs the extra sugar, right?  My scones are always mishaped and uneven, but let me tell you.... they tasted really good and lemony and blueberry-y. Nice made up words, eh?

The start of our day.... mother and child love!

Melanie read her first book to little Stephanie, an epic milestone!

She never wakes up, even when she is a 'nudy', she loves her rest- well when we come over, according to her mommy, she likes to fuss and fight at nigth!

Julie and her little bundle of love.

I made us some 'Croque Monsieurs', grilled cheese with ham tucked inside.

Nap time for the girls.

Now, it was my turn holding my niece.

Our first walk with Stephanie, a gorgeous day in March, it was real hot too.

We weren't sure how to dress Stephanie, so we just got her all dressed up... she was too hot I am sure.

There's 'new mom' Julie on her first visit to the park. One of many I'm sure.

Yummy Pumpkin Scones Recipe

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones
(http://www.longos.com/MagazineFeaturedRecipes/whole_wheat_pumpkin_scones.pdf)

These scones are pretty delicious, they are better when they are warmed up with a bit of butter.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup (80 mL) unsalted butter

1 cup (250 mL) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup (250 mL) whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp (7 mL) baking powder

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt

1/2 tsp (2 mL) cinnamon

1/4 tsp (1 mL) each ground cloves, ginger and nutmeg

1/3 cup (80 mL) packed brown sugar

1/3 cup (80 mL) pure pumpkin puree

1/3 cup (80 mL) buttermilk

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

1 tbsp (15 mL) milk

1/4 cup (60 mL) Longo’s Shelled and Roasted Unsalted Pepitas

Directions:

Place butter in freezer. In bowl, combine all-purpose and whole wheat flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. In a separate bowl, mix together brown sugar, pumpkin, buttermilk and vanilla.  Remove butter from the freezer and using box grater, grate butter into flour. Toss to coat butter with flour. Mix in pumpkin mixture and stir until just combined. Turn onto a flour dusted surface and bring dough together. Pat into an 8-inch (20 cm) circle, about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick. Cut into 8 triangles and place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush each piece  with milk and sprinkle with pepitas. Bake in 400°F (200°C) oven for 15 to 18 minutes or until lightly golden brown and tester comes out clean.

Makes 8 servings. (but I made them into 13 servings, weird, I know, I can't cut straight)

Per serving: 230 calories; 5 g protein; 9 g fat; 34 g carbohydrate; 3 g fibre

Healthy Low Fat Cranberry Walnut Scones

Healthy Low Fat Cranberry Walnut Scones (adapted from funfud.blogspot.com)

This was my first ever attempt at making scones. I found this great recipe on another food blogger's blog and tried it out. Well let me tell you... it turned out awesome!

These are so good and easy to make and are really so much better for you than those store bought ones. Do you know a cheese scone at Tim Horton's has 300 calories and 14g of fat. Compared to these which have 175 calories and 6g of fat.

Look at them right out of the oven! I can't wait to try other varieties!

Ingredients1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (or more if you like them sweeter)
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts - chopped
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/2-3/4th cup milk

Method
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can even do this with your fingertips. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts, then slowly add the milk, just until the dough is moistened. Make a tough dough like cookies.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough gently, 5 to 10 times. Pat into a 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 12 wedges with a buttered knife; place on a baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle some more brown sugar if desired. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack before trying to remove them.

Serves 12 - 1 each

Nutrional Information

175 calories

29g carbs

 6g fat

 4g protein

 2g fibre