Read & Do: If You Give a Moose a Muffin

I talk about it often, but growing up I was lucky enough to have a Mom who was not only an elementary school teacher but also a librarian, so my life was always books, books, books. And so often my Mom would also do an activity with us that went along with whatever book we were reading that made the pages come to life. I have some of the best memories of cooking food and making fun things with my family in our little yellow house, tucked away in the forest. And now that Henry is older and is all about making things and helping out, I thought it would be fun to start a tradition where we do the same!

For the first Read & Do I picked a book that has been on heavy bedtime reading rotation lately- If You Give a Moose a Muffin. Henry LOVES this book, and I like it too; the moose is huge and silly, and the story is adorable. It's by the same authors of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, so I'm sure you can guess how the story goes.

So this morning we read the book for the 1000th time, then we got out muffin-making ingredients (and blackberry jam, the moose's favorite!), and got to baking. We used an old favorite clean-eating oatmeal-applesauce muffin recipe I make often, and I'll include it below as well.

Henry and I had the best time getting covered in flour, counting out all of the ingredients, and then eating the fruits of our labor. He kept saying "I made these, Mommy!" with a huge smile on his face. I already can't wait to choose our next book, and I'm thinking next time I should get out the tripod so I can snap some of us together, too. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins (from the Eat-Clean Cookbook)

Ingredients:
1 cup dry, old-fashioned oatmeal flakes
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup skim, rice, soy, or almond milk
2 egg whites, beaten (vegans, you can substitute egg-replacer also- I've tried it and it works well with this recipe)
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
2 tbsp + 1tsp canola oil
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup dried fruit of your choice (try to get unsulfured and unsweetened if you can)

Directions:
1) Preheat over to 375 degrees. Prepare muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2) Combine oatmeal, applesauce, milk, eggs, flax and oil in a medium bowl.
3) In another medium bowl, combine dry ingredients, including dried fruit.
4) Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into it. Stir until all ingredients are just combined.
5) Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake 15-20 minutes (we baked ours for about 15-16).  Cool and enjoy!