Blueberry Muffin in a Mug

For some strange reason, my kiddos just wanted cereal this morning. I try to stay away from anything that comes premade/prepackaged/ready to eat out of a box so I decided that it was high time to try a recipe that came across my FB newsfeed. Blueberry Muffin in a mug. I have made many chocolate cakes in a mug but never a muffin.

One time I tried a Kodiak Lemon Poppyseed Cup that you just microwave straight from the paper cup it comes in. It was TERRIBLE. I know they make a great pancake mix but man oh man, I couldn't eat that muffin. And I eat everything!

Sorry back to the regular programming....

I am all about fast meals made with real ingredients. And I knew this would be the ticket!

The recipe came across my FB newsfeed...ya know those super addicting "Tasty" videos?  Yeah, it was one of those. I'll share with you the original recipe they posted and how I changed it to fit my lifestyle :) Because ultimately that is what it is all about. Finding food you like and making it yours.

Without further ado, here is the original recipe:

-4 TBS Flour
-2 TBS granulated sugar
-1/8 tsp baking powder
-1/16 tsp baking soda
-3 TBS milk
-1 TBS vegetable oil
-10 fresh blueberries

1) Mix everything (except the blueberries) in a microwave safe mug with a fork.
2) Drop in blueberries and gently mix.
3) Microwave for 1 minute or until firm in the center of the cake.



Crystal's HEALTHIFIED Blueberry Muffin in a Mug:

-4 TBS whole wheat flour
-1 TBS coconut sugar
-1 TBS honey
-1/8 tsp baking powder
-3 TBS unsweetened original almond milk
-1 egg
-1 TBS coconut oil
-12 frozen blueberries

1) Mix everything (except the blueberries) in a microwave safe mug with a fork.
2) Drop in blueberries and gently mix.
3) Microwave for 1 minute or until firm in the center of the cake.

Here is why I added what I did...

I love honey, let's be honest. I can squirt it straight from the squeeze bottle. So anytime I have the chance to substitute honey for at least some sugar, I do.

I added an egg because I wanted it to be more gooey and moist. I am not a huge fan of whole wheat flour (it's just such a prominent flavor! gah) so I figured adding an egg would help lessen that wheaty flavor. PLUS, I always have protein with my breakfast and I reeeeallly didn't want to make eggs separately.

Coconut oil is such a great healthy fat. Here are some amazing benefits:

     The medium chain triglycerides in coconut oil have been shown to increase 24 hour energy expenditure by as much as 5%, potentially leading to significant weight loss over the long term.

     The fatty acids in coconut oil can significantly reduce appetite, which may positively affect body weight over the long term.
Studies in both humans and rats show that coconut oil improves important risk factors like Total, LDL and HDL cholesterol, which may translate to a reduced risk of heart disease.

     Studies show that the fatty acids in coconut oil can increase blood levels of ketone bodies, supplying energy for the brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients and relieving symptoms.


Try the original version. Then change it to make it to your health standards. Or to what you have in the pantry and fridge ;)  I would love to hear your variations!

Healthified Pecan Bars

As I mentioned before, I made some butter-loaded, sugar-full pecan bars over the holidays. My husband took me to lunch at The Corner Bakery and said that their Pecan Bars were delicious so we naturally had to order one.

There WERE good! But I thought I could surely make some just as good. I googled a recipe and low and behold, yep, nailed it. (it wasn’t hard).

They had a nice shortbread crust, the pecans laid in an ooey gooey layer of maple goodness. So yeah, I craved them. For weeks! I knew there had to be a better, healthier recipe out there. I thought about how to make the ooey gooeyness of it. I figured dates would probably do the trick but I had never baked with dates (aside from making some Indian-inspired desserts when I worked as a pastry cook in a NYC restaurant).

So I turned to google again and hey! There was a recipe that had dates just like I had thought! It was meant to be!

Seriously, how did anyone survive without google?

Enter the following recipe. Def not the same as the sugar coma ones but satisfies the sweet tooth without any refined sugar. It feels decadent and almost sinful.

If you are just starting your health journey, you may not have these ingredients on hand. But I can assure you that if you decide to pursue a healthier lifestyle, these are common ingredients that you will want to have in your pantry.

All the ingredients can be found at your local Smiths (Kroger), Harmon’s (a local Utah grocery store), any health food store, and Amazon (of course). Walmart has many of these ingredients too! I get my dates at Costco and secretly snack on 1-2 a day (shhh, don’t tell).

 

Healthified Pecan Bars

 

Ingredients

 

Crust

¼ cup coconut flour

1 cup blanched almond flour

4 tablespoons grassfed butter

2 eggs

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

 

Filling

6 dates, pitted and chopped

2 eggs

⅓ cup pure maple syrup

4 tablespoons grassfed butter, melted

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon coconut flour

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add the dry ingredients for the crust in a food processor and pulse briefly to blend. Add wet ingredients and pulse until well blended. The mixture will begin to form a ball.

Press dough into an 8x8 pan. Use a spatula to smooth and distribute the dough evenly.

Bake crust for 20 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges.

Meanwhile, add the dates to the food processor and pulse until it begins to form a paste or a ball of processed dates. Add eggs, maple syrup, vanilla and coconut flour and pulse until blended. Slowly pour in grassfed butter or coconut oil and pulse until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans.

When the crust is ready, remove from the oven and pour the filling on top and spread evenly. Return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the filling is set.

Makes 9 large or 16 small squares.

Notes

Coconut oil can be substituted for the grassfed butter for a completely dairy-free recipe.

 

Original Recipe can be found HERE

http://www.forthejoyofrealfood.com/2014/11/paleo-pecan-pie-squares/

Should I Set Goals This Year?

Have you set super great goals in the past and failed? For me, I never made goals because of just that! I was scared to fail. And I HATE failing (well, I used to be terrified of it). So while everyone else was making new goals, I may have thought about what I wanted in the upcoming year but I don’t remember ever writing them down.

What about you? Do you make resolutions every January? Do you stick to them?

I remember joining a gym last year around November. When January hit, the gym was insane!! I asked a veteran gym goer how long it would last. She said by March it would be back to normal. So sad but I can relate. Sometimes big, scary goals are hard to achieve. They take time. They take effort.

But lemme tell ya something….. it’s completely worth all the effort. ;)

Here are some tips from Darren Hardy (the author of “The Compound Effect” and several other amazing business books and magazines) on how to avoid goal trip ups....

1.       Too Many, Too Much

You try tackling too many goals, change too many ingrained behaviors and attempt to do too much too quickly. You have probably been reinforcing a poor habit for 10, 20, 30 years, Breaking one poor habit and cultivating a single success habit is tough enough, and worth it. If you try to do too many, you won’t do any!

2.       Too Tough, Too Soon

Set something you can maintain. You will set yourself up for failure by setting a “I will work out every day for 1 hour” type of goal. Set something more realistic like “I will work out 30 minutes, 4 times a week”.

3.       Too Hardcore

Is there such a thing as too much discipline? Yes, If you want to have any fun and joy in life. Too much discipline too quickly will send your emotional system into a state of shock and meltdown. Willpower fails, eventually, every time. 

4.       Too Rigid

Give yourself some room for error. You will fall off course 80% of the time. Life will happen! You WILL fail! Just don’t stay down. Get up and get back on. Over and over and over again.

5.       Too Vague

Your goal and the changed behavior or action necessary are not specific or quantified enough.

6.       No Measurement

You can’t improve what you can’t measure. A consistent monthly, weekly, daily measurement system is essential!

 

Here is another great resource from Darren about goal setting.

http://www.thecompoundeffect.com/downloads/english-goal_designing.pdf

 

I challenge every single one of you to set some tangible goals this weekend. Set some realistic ones and some others that are almost out of reach. That way when you aim for tem and miss, you still are amongst the stars ;)