Carrot Muffins

So I promised to share my carrot muffin recipe. If you don't want to juice the carrots you could substitute shredded carrots in place of the carrot pulp. In order to have enough carrot pulp for this recipe, I juiced about 8-10 carrots, and 2 apples which makes about 2 tall glasses of juice (enough for me and my kids) and you will end up with about 2 cups of carrot/apple pulp. I just use the apple pulp too, you could use all carrot pulp if you want to. If you can't use your pulp right away, you can stick it in an airtight container for up to about 24 hours, or you can freeze it. Just make sure to defrost before you make these muffins.

I like these muffins because they are very earthy, and the raisins add an extra sweetness to each bite. These are a bit more dense, because of the whole wheat flour. If you want to get creative try adding an ripe banana or 2 to your batter for a bit more sweetness and moisture.

Carrot Muffins
Makes 12

Ingredients:

2 Cups whole wheat flour
1 Cup extra virgin olive oil (or you can use vegetable oil)
1/4 cup water
1 Teaspoon sea salt
2 Teaspoons cinnamon
1 Teaspoon nutmeg (optional)
2 Teaspoons baking Soda
2 Teaspoons vanilla
3/4 Cup of brown sugar (I like to use local raw honey instead)
2 Cups carrot pulp

4 medium to large eggs
1 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease approximately 12 muffin tins thoroughly. Mix the whole wheat flour, olive oil, water, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, vanilla, sugar, and carrot pulp together. After these ingredients are blended, add in the eggs, nuts, and raisins and mix thoroughly. Scoop mixture into muffin pan:


Bake for about 18-20 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!


When I make breads or muffins I like to double the recipe and freeze half of the batch. This way on those crazy days we can just pull a muffin out the freezer let it thaw and you've got a tasty homemade snack. My kids love these muffins for breakfast, or anytime of day for a snack. Enjoy!

Carrot Juice

Several years ago, my aunt made fresh carrot juice and I have loved it ever since. It was earthy, sweet, and soo delicious. My kids even love it, although they don't care for added ginger in theirs... they say it's to spicy;)
There is nothing like fresh, homemade juices. It is so great to know what is in the juice...and that there are no added preservatives.

Carrots have tons of health benefits, we all know that they are great for your eyesight but also improve the functioning of your immune system. Carrots have tons of beta caratene that converts into vitamin A in our bodies. Some studies have shown Vitamin A to be beneficial in preventing cancer because of it's antioxidant properties.

For homemade carrot juice, you will need a juicer. I've heard great things about the Jack Lalane juicer, but I got my juicer at Target and it works great. Or check out your local craigslist or yardsale, you can usually find them hardly used and at a fraction of the cost.

My favorite way to prepare carrot juice is to add an apple, and a bit of ginger. The apple gives it a bit more sweetness, and the ginger adds a hint of spice.

Step 1- Add 4-5 carrots, and 1 apple to your juicer. Now empty the pulp out of your juicer and save this in an airtight container, you can use it in a recipe. You can add it to muffins, soups, really just about anything, but I will share my muffin recipe later;)

Step 2- Juice about a 1" chunk of ginger, or less to taste. (I like myn "spicy") Then enjoy!

Here's a tip: I like to keep my fruit and veggies in the fridge, not only because they keep longer, but when you juice them, the juice is already nice and cold. You should drink your juice as soon as your done juicing it, otherwise it will begin to separate and just doesn't save well.

Have fun experimenting with different juices you can make, try adding celery and carrots together, or beets and carrots. Juicing is a great way to get tons of nutritional benefits of fruits and vegetables in a refreshing way.

If you are curious to try carrot juice, but just don't want to invest in a juicer, then check out your local grocery store. Earthfare, Trader Joe's and Harris Teeter carry carrot juice, look in the refridgerated section, and make sure to check the label shows it's 100% carrot juice.

Cheers! To good eyesight! :)

Great Deal on "Food Inc." DVD

If you haven't seen the movie "Food Inc.", I HIGHLY recommend it. It is an incredible video that makes you wonder... Where does my food really come from? This is a must see video for everyone. Educate yourself about where your food comes from, so you can make informed decisions when you shop.

Buy.com has a great deal on "Food Inc." DVD, it's just $8.99 and FREE shipping! PLUS, to make it an even sweeter deal, sign up with MrRebates (where you can earn a percentage back on all of your online purchases!) to earn 3% back!

First sign up at MrRebates, here is a link:


Once you've signed up, type in buy.com in the search box (top left hand corner)on the MrRebates website. Click on the Buy.com link, and it will automatically direct you to the website. Make sure to do this step so that your MrRebates account will be credited appropriately.

Now that you have been directed to Buy.com, type in "Food Inc DVD" in the search box. Add it to your cart and check out! Enjoy:)

Pick-Your-Own Blueberries!

Talk about being frugal, where else can you get organic blueberries for just $2.50 lb? We recently took a trip to a local farm that offers pick-your-own blueberries. I'd been wanting to load up on a bunch of blueberries at a great price so that I could freeze a bunch for future use. It is the end of July and blueberries typically start to shrivel away by now, but I called the local farm, and the lady there said I could come by as long as she was there. It was overcast today, so I decided it was the perfect and possibly last time to get local blueberries this year. It was great, and there were still plenty left... in one hour the kids and I managed to pick 7 lbs of blueberries! Despite the fact that my youngest tripped and spilled about 1/2 lb of blueberries, and the fussing from getting a few ant bites (always make sure to wear sneakers, because ants love blueberries too!) We paid just $16, for local organic blueberries, what a deal, and boy are they tastey.

Now I have plenty of fresh blueberries to enjoy this week, and I rinsed and froze the rest. Rinse them (I did 2 times) then spread one layer of blueberries on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels (so they don't stick to the pan) freeze them, then you can toss them all in a bag. Frozen blueberries are a tastey treat right out of the bag, or you can use them to bake with.

Want to know where to go to find local pick-your-own farms? Check out pickyourown.org

Welcome to my blog

Creative Crunchy Mama blog was created to share my creative, frugal and crunchy life with others.

But what's "crunchy"?

"Crunchy Mama"- defined by Urban Dictionary:

"1. crunchy mama: Mother who supports homebirth, breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, gentle discipline, etc. One who questions established medical authority; tends to be vegetarian and/or prepare all-organic foods. See crunchy and hippie."


Yep, that's me, but I also love to be creative and frugal too! So follow along in my blog, and enjoy peeking into my life as a Creative Crunchy Mama:)