By Carie Moore
August is a cramped month for us. Yes, most months are in our household. But this month we have harvest starting, my daughter’s birthday, school, and some other volunteer meetings and activities to finish up the summer.
This means meals in the field (either homemade, cooler, or order and pick up), the last months of grilling, snacks, and of course birthday cakes/cupcakes.
My daughter turned 12 this year and I’m not exactly sure, as we all say, where did time go? Other than the attitude that’s come with it, I love that she can help with household duties and help her brothers when it’s go time. We are a big fan of cupcakes in our house. We don’t do a lot of sweets, so we stick with the cupcakes that have less frosting and a smaller portion size. They work great to take into school as they are individually wrapped to hand out. Also, if not eaten, they are easily frozen and thrown in coolers to eat with lunch during harvest for all of us. No forks, no plates, little mess, and keep things cool.
This year she requested a cake and since her birthday doesn’t fall during the school year we’re flexible on her choices. Long story short, we ended up making her cupcakes and celebrating her birthday 2 weeks late, and no leftovers made it to the freezer. We found a new recipe that made the cupcakes a little “healthier” and oh so good! These will be a staple on our treat list from now on!
- 1 cake mix of any kind (we used strawberry)
- 1 container of a light Greek yogurt (we used strawberry)
- 1 cup of water
With an electric mixer blend all and pour into muffin cups or cake pan and cook according to boxed directions.
I know there have been some other substitutions using apple sauce instead of oils, but these were moist, soft, had a rich texture, flavor, and consistency. We used a little cream cheese frosting on the tops and I think we also found a new 4-H recipe for Achievement Days! I think I will even try adding some cake batter protein powder or flavor that compliments the cake mix and they would be a great post-workout snack as well or all-around snack to pack in that extra nutrition. Next, we will have to work on a recipe for a “healthier” frosting using the Greek yogurt crème cheese.