When Good Muffins Turn Bad

Since I started my own business last year, one of my priorities was to find more time to cook. Not only did I want to start enjoying cooking more and try new things, but I also wanted to ensure our meals are as healthy as possible.

I am pleased to say I have had some great successes. I have managed to develop some great recipes for old favourites into healthy nutritious meals (think lasagna, fried rice, curries, etc), but this post is actually about my first spectacular failure.

Last Thursday I baked muffins. I made them from fresh apples, oats and wholemeal flour and the first one fresh from the oven was heaven. Unfortunately the next day I took a bite and was horrified to see my muffins had developed strange green spots consistently spread throughout.

While my husband was at work munching away wondering why I was trying to hide spinach in baked goods now (he wouldn’t put it past me), I hit the internet. Relieved I discovered my mistake, that extra scoop of LSA I added for healthy goodness (linseed, sunflower and almond ground) wasn’t a great idea as sunflower seeds and baking soda react together and turn green. Luckily though, still perfectly safe to eat.

Roll forward a few more days when opening the lid of the container the muffins were lovingly placed in resulting in an extremely unpleasant smell – imagine if you will the odour of socks worn non-stop for a week. Delightful. Pulling apart a muffin I discovered almost a stringy soapy consistency. It appears baking powder and baking soda aren’t the same thing so substituting soda for powder in the recipe – not such a great idea.

Oh well, we live and learn. Hopefully my next attempt will be better and my husband and I will both live to tell the tale. If not, at least I will have plenty more opportunities to entertain my readers with!