Tag Archives: yogurt

Smoothie Magic and {Not So Much} Muffin Tops

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I’m on a smoothie roll!

Lately I just can’t go a morning without them. This morning I probably had one of my favorite ones yet and all it took was that one magical 1/2 tablespoon of peanut flour.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate-Rainer Cherry Smoothie

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • a couple frozen rainer cherries
  • 9 ice cubes
  • 1 serving chocolate protein powder (I use true vitality)
  • 1/2 T peanut flour
  • 1/8 t xanthan gum

I’m also on a baking roll. (Successful bakes are a whole other topic ;) )

Every once in a while I catch the baking bug and it comes down to how much time and motivation I have.

Time was on my side the other day and I was craving muffin tops so I got baking.

Remember that really flat looking thing I had yesterday morning?

I’ve come to the conclusion that I need a muffin top pan.

That way my muffin tops can look like this…

rather than this…

It’s a sad looking thing, isn’t it?

I had a brilliant plan to use an ice cream scoop to scoop out little mounds so that they would miraculously bake into fluffy little muffin tops.

Couldn’t have been more wrong. As usual.

Apparently runny batter spreads when baked. I’m sure the whole world knew that. Yet I thought for some reason mine wouldn’t.

But’s its all good, because in the end all baked goods taste the same whether they’re flat, puffy, or in muffin form.

And these turned out pretty tasty.

{Not So Much} Chocolate Muffin Top

  • 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 cup oat bran (or 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour if you don’t like the crunch of oat bran)
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup chocolate protein powder
  • 1/4 cup sucanat
  • 2.5 T chia seeds
  • 1/4 t sea salt
  • 2 T dark cocoa powder
  • 1.5 t baking powder
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
  • 2 egg whites
*Mix all wet ingredients in a small bowl.
*Pour wet into dry and stir to combine.
*Place bowl in refrigerator for 10 mins.
*Meanwhile, preheat oven to 35o degrees.
* After 10 mins, scoop mixture out with ice cream scoop into whatever pan floats your boat :)
*My muffin took about 17-20 mins to bake while my {flat} muffin top took 10 mins. 

These are best stored in the refrigerator or freezer. They’re just as great eaten straight out of the fridge, which I’ve been doing. Literally.

I don’t know how many times I catch myself standing in front of the fridge eating who knows what with the door ajar. I guess it’s a win-win. I get extra AC plus my hunger is satiated ;)

What’s your favorite muffin flavor? - If I HAD to choose, I’d say I love a good classic blueberry muffin.

Breakfast-ing

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I’m loving life here in the Maldives!

I awoke this morning around 7am and spent 40 mins in bed watching Star Trek (it was on HBO and I couldn’t help but watch. SUCH a good movie!) then it was a quick face wash and tooth brushing and I was off to breakfast.

Breakfast here is just glorious.

 

Notice how everyone is barefoot? No shoes necessary at this resort :) (They even have these cute green paddings that cover the bicycle pedals and make it comfortable for bare feet to peddle.)

It’s served in the main ‘house’ – about a 5 min bike ride from my villa.

Fresh Fruit

Choose any fruit you like and these guys will cut it up for you.

Bread and Jam

Cereal (in the wooden boxes) and toppings

They have all sorts of toppings, from dried fruits [dates, figs, apricots..] to roasted nuts [pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds...] and more.

Pastries

Hot Foods and Yogurts

Some of my breakfast eats:

Yesterday:

Mango, guava, and rambutan

Detox Juice – beets, celery, apple, ginger

Dragonfruit and Mangosteens


Cereal & a dried fig in soy milk

Wheat toast, pineapple, chocolate chip muffin, pancake (i couldn’t resist and had to get one ;) ), and jellies

Today:

Passionfruit, plum, rambutan, and two fruits I don’t know the name of

This was my first time seeing that bean-shaped fruit on the right. It originally looks like this with its shell on.

It tastes kind of like a dried date.

Carrot and apple juice shooter

Toast with honey, lemon basil jelly, pineapple jelly, and coconut jelly (the best out of the three!) and a side of muesli.

Fresh squeezed pineapple juice with ginger and mint.

Cereal with pistachios and cashews, waffle with chocolate syrup, and papaya

Mango, dragonfruit, and rambutan

I’m loving all this fresh fruit! I promise I didn’t eat ALL of this alone, but I did eat the majority of it. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, yeah?
I need all the energy I can get in order to bike around the island :)
I get to bike past this organic garden everyday.

Above the garden is a restaurant, Leaf, where I actually just had dinner tonight.

I also get to bike along this path that smells so good and forest-y.

I love that this resort is eco-friendly and serves mainly natural and organic foods including free range meats, all locally sourced.

Today’s been a looong day and I can barely keep my eyelids from drooping. Time for bed! Night :)

Oat-session

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So glad it’s finally saturday night!

That means two midterms done and just one project to go!

Then the cycle starts all over again in a couple weeks.  But until then, I’m gonna enjoy it.

Just like I enjoyed my dinner tonight.

Strawberry-banana oats – topped with some almond milk.

Right around dinner time I was conveniently overcome by a need to eat oats.

I know I have an obsession (oat-session?) when I crave hot oats for dinner even when I’m a sweaty mess and it’s 100 degrees outside.

I also know I have an obsession with oats when my mom buys me a pot just for cooking oats.

Yeah, you read that right.  I have a saucepan just for cooking single servings of oats.  Is that weird? 

Another obsession lately?

Yogurt bowls.

I go through cycles where I eat particular foods for weeks and then all of a sudden stop eating them for a while because I either found something new to eat or just kinda moved on.

I didn’t eat yogurt for a good while, but I guess the my yogurt cycle has come full circle and I’m back on board. [Anddd maybe I was a bit influenced (positively, of course ;) ) by Amanda's always delicious looking yogurt bowls]

Yesterday I had a strawberry-cashew yogurt bowl with cinnamon raisin toast and a side of operations management

And the day before I had yogurt topped with strawberries, papaya muffin, and shredded coconut.

I guess I need to continue the trend and eat a yogurt bowl tonight for dessert :)

But first, I think I’m going to make make a mess in the kitchen and do some baking or un-baking, since it may just be too hot to turn the oven on today.

Have a good night!