Review and Renew

There are periods in life when we need to look back, examine everything that happened, release what’s no longer needed and renew commitments that are still important. One of such check points are much talked about New Year resolutions, but there are others, more personal ones that are very individual for each of us. For somebody it may be their birthday, somebody else might like to do it during the Spring Equinox. For the past 5 years for me such period has always been the very beginning of Fall. Yes, it may still hold some memories of new school year and being back with your childhood friends, but there are some other reasons of a personal triumph that I’ll share with you in a couple of weeks.

This year is especially meaningful as the old period in my life is winding down opening up to a new one. What it will bring, I do not know, but I’m definitely grateful for having reached this point and looking forward to new possibilities. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks re-examining the areas of my life that need some TLC or simply re-charging and re-commitment. When trying to revamp your current situation, I think always just go back to the basics, nourish your body and nurture your soul. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do right now, nourishing the body with good nutrients. My diet is not bad to begin with, with no gluten, dairy and soy and with lots of fruits and veggies  and healthy fats that I like not a lot of junk slips in, but I do have a sweet tooth (if you haven’t noticed), and I don’t mean my daily portion of a dark chocolate (as I consider it more like a medicine 🙂 ). I’m taking about all the sweet and buttery things I’m able to make or buy (with tons of great gluten free choices around), that’s where the trouble begins.

Breakfast is my most challenging meal, both because of gluten and because I like to have something sweet and buttery, as mentioned. I’d much rather eat a muffin or waffles or pancakes or toast with PB&J or yogurt with nuts, granola and fruit, I can also have oatmeal with nuts and berries, but I’m not a huge fan of cereals. Yes, not all choices are terrible, I usually “dilute” the pancake batter with pureed fruit base or choose gluten free granola honey or agave sweetened, but still, it all adds up, I think. So this is what I’m trying to do now, being mindful of what I eat, especially all the sweet things.

I will update you how successful I am along the way. 🙂

What’s Cooking This Week

Since breakfast is the area where most revamping work needs to be done, I’m trying to concentrate on it first. By making compromises, with myself, between what I want and what I should be having. And I think this breakfast choice is excellent in doing just that and more, it’s full of great nutrients, protein and healthy fats, besides tasting absolutely amazing.  They freeze well too. At only 150 calories each, you can have two if you want to!

Protein Power Muffins

Makes 12 muffins:

1 1/2 cup of any fruit (I used peaches and strawberries), cut up

2 cups of old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup of almond flour

3 Tbspoons of ground chia seeds

2 eggs

1 cup of plain or greek yogurt (I used So Delicious)

1/4 cup of  raw sugar (or other sweetener)

1 tspoon of lemon juice

1 1/2 tspoon of baking powder

1 tspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

Pulse the oats in a food processor until it resembles a coarse flour. Mix in all the other dry ingredients. In a separate bowl beat together eggs, yogurt and sugar. Combine wet and dry ingredients, batter will be thick.

Mix in 1 cup of cut fruit, reserve 1/2 cup to top the muffins.

Pre- heat the oven to 400 degrees, line the muffin pans with foil cups (I suggest using foil rather than paper liners as the batter is sticky). Fill the muffin liners about 3/4 full and top with some reserved fruit.

Bake for about 2o minutes, or until the tops become golden brown. Cool off completely before removing muffins from the pans.

They are just a tad sweet as I like to top them with either PB or jam, so this is my compromise, but, if you like them sweeter, add more sugar or sprinkle some on top. Sometimes I make them with chopped veggies, like peppers, mushrooms, onions, instead of fruit and top with some cheddar shreds, in that case, substitute sugar for salt and seasonings.  In any case, it will definitely satisfy both body and soul.

Enjoy!