Controlling portion size is so important for people who are trying to watch their weight. What better way to control portion size when cooking than to prepare just enough for one serving?
I’ve been experimenting with single serve microwave recipes prepared in a mug and I was surprised by the number of options I found. Here are just a few:
Vegan Muffin in a Mug
Meatloaf
Peanut Butter Cake
Muffin in a Mug
I started with this recipe from Feasting on Fruit but made a couple of modifications. I don’t usually keep oat flour on hand because I have found that it is very easy to create my own using my handy high speed personal blender. Do you own one of these things?
To yield the 1/3 cup flour for this recipe just put 1/2 cup of whole rolled oats into the blender and whir them for 30 seconds or so. Voila – oat flour! I also used it to quickly chop a couple of tablespoons of walnuts to add to my muffin. My last modification was to replace blueberries with some frozen raspberries I had on hand. Here is the finished muffin:
My mug is huge so the muffin is bigger than it looks. Mine needed a total of about 3 minutes to cook. At 2 minutes it still looks wet in the middle so I microwaved it for an additional 30 seconds two times.
This recipe is vegan and gluten free if you make sure to purchase gluten free oats.
Meatloaf
I like this recipe because it does not require any eggs. Instead you get some added fiber and healthy fat from the ground flax seed meal. I preferred using the barbecue sauce but be sure to look for one that is lower in sugar.
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons milk
1 Tablespoon ketchup or BBQ sauce
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed meal
2 Tablespoons oats (quick cooking or old-fashioned)
1-2 Tablespoons chopped onion
1/4 pound 90% lean ground beef
Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the milk, BBQ sauce (or ketchup), flax seed, oats and onion. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Pat into a microwave-safe mug or custard cup coated with cooking spray. Cover and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and a thermometer reads 160°; drain. Let stand for 3 minutes. Serve with additional ketchup or BBQ sauce if desired.
Peanut Butter Mug Cake
As cakes go this is a pretty healthy option. I found this recipe on the Kitchen Treaty website. I think you could also eat it for breakfast – maybe top with some chopped apple instead of the chocolate?
And speaking of chocolate (and portion control) I have to tell you that I almost never have chocolate chips in my pantry. If they are there I will hunt them down and devour them. I do have small quantities of high quality dark chocolate in the house. I find that the darker the chocolate the less I require. For this recipe a single square chopped fine and sprinkled on top did the trick for me.
Here’s another note about these microwave meals. Do allow them to sit for several minutes before consuming. Some carry over cooking will occur and right out of the microwave they are HOT! Take it from the voice of experience. The roof of your mouth will thank me.