Strawberry Banana Muffins!

I have just recently invested in silicone baking cups.

Umm.. Best invention ever!

Not even kidding. Stuff falls right out of them and you don't lose half the batter to the paper wrapping, PLUS you buy them once and then get to reuse them a bajillion times. Gotta love not going to make muffins and going... DANGIT no muffin cups.

I know.. you have that problem all the time just like me right? .... right.

So anyway, I had a lot of bananas on hand that were gross and brown spotty. I can't eat them like that, but they are perfect for baking! I also had some strawberries that were going bad so I said, I really need a strawberry banana something recipe annnnnnd thanks to Juli @ PaleOMG, I manipulated her Chocolate Chip Strawberry Banana Muffins into.. well, not chocolate chip.

I don't like chocolate chips in muffins.

Please don't kill me.

Strawberry Banana Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins             Prep: 10 min                Cook: 30-35 min

Ingredients:

> 3 bananas

> 3 eggs

> 4 dates - dried, pitted

> 3 TBSP almond butter (or other nut butter)

> 2.5 tsp vanilla extract

> 6 TBSP coconut flour

> 3 TBSP almond meal (or flaxseed meal if you have it)

> 1/4 tsp (heaping) baking soda

> 1/4 tsp (heaping) baking powder

> pinch of salt

> 3/4 cup strawberries (more if you prefer)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

1. Throw bananas, eggs, dates, almond butter, and vanilla in a blender (or food processor.. I used my blender because I have a bitty food processor), and pulse until smooth.

2. Throw in the flours, baking soda and powder and salt. Pulse until smooth again.

3. Move batter to a mixing bowl. Fold in strawberries. 

4. Spoon into (silicone) muffin cups. Don't be afraid to fill them up. It doesn't expand a TON, so they won't get crazy in the oven.

5. Cook for 30-35 min. It's a long time but you want to make sure they get cooked through. I patted mine and waited until they stopped making squishy noises because a toothpick went in clean and then I ate one and it was still a bit mushy inside. They'll brown up a bit too which is a good thing.

Enjoy! =]

"Noatmeal"

oh muh gah oh muh gah oh muh gah! ITS PALEO OATMEAL!!

Topped with some berries and agave.. And eaten in bed. So it's even better!

So I have a weird relationship with oatmeal. I hated it growing up (all the way to about... 21 years old). The consistency was what turned me off to it until I found a Kashi brand I liked with whole oats that stayed pretty well intact and wasn't watery slop in a bowl.

Fast forward a few years and I found CrossFit and the Zone diet and Paleo. On Zone, you are allowed to have oatmeal because, as far as a grain goes, it is very low glycemic. That means it does less to spike your blood sugar than other grains and foods. However that doesn't negate it from some of the other bad things grains do to your gut.

So I cut out oatmeal, then put it back in with organic natural options, then argued that I shouldn't eat it, but I wanted it for its warm comfort, stick to your insides feeling.. and the fact that sometimes Paleo brings me to a super low carb state in which I am tired all the time. So I argued that occasionally, I can have it.

The problem with that is I have no filter when it comes to occasions and it kind of turns into  "I'll eat it whenever I want". That is when this lovely recipe showed up while perusing PaleoPlan.com and I found a fantastic alternative that keeps the "warm and sticky" without all the negatives of grains going around. 

Plus, this recipe has a high amount of protein coming from the eggs (although to be honest it says it feeds two and I definitely ate it all myself.. a lot of people might not be able to do that so save some and eat it later), along with all the other obviously nommy ingredients.

Anyway - here is the recipe =] Go make ya some!

"Noatmeal"

Prep Time: 10min           Cook Time: 10-15min

Ingredients:

> 1/4 cup walnuts (feel free to sub any nut for any of these you don't like)

> 1/4 cup pecans

> 2 TBSP flax Seeds

> 1/4 cup coconut milk (you can also use almond milk)

> 3 eggs

> 1 banana

> 1 TBSP almond butter

> 1 tsp cinnamon

> 1/4 tsp ground ginger

> couple shakes of nutmeg

> splash of vanilla

> berries, pumpkin seeds, coconut, agave, honey, etc (things to put on top of it if you want)

Instructions:

> In a food processor, add nuts and spices and grind until a coarse meal. Place in a bowl to the side.

> In the same food processor, toss in the banana, vanilla and almond butter and blend until smooth

> Whisk together eggs and milk in a bowl until smooth and creamy. 

> Add banana combo, mix well. Stir in nut mixture.

> Toss everything in to small saucepan and cook until it is at a consistency you like, making sure that the eggs are cooked through. Mine looked similar to a ball of dough and took about 10-12 min. the website says this should take 5... I don't know what kind of stovetop they were using but it must have been magic.

> Put in a bowl and add whatever toppings you'd like. 

I ate mine as one serving and felt fine after. It's filling but not energy draining or as heavy as oatmeal usually is (especially this amount). With all the delicious fats going on from the nuts and coconut milk, I should be satiated for a while, something I am always struggling with! Enjoy! 

Prociutto-Wrapped Egg Frittata Muffins

That's a mouthful. They're basically fancied-up versions of egg muffins...

So we're doing this contest at my gym that I don't completely understand but am following along with anyway because it involves taking pictures of my food and, well.. anyone that knows me knows that that is going to be happening anyway. Only this way, I have a chance to win a pair of new Nanos and that custom pair that has been sitting on Reebok.com for a long time is calling my name! Want want waaaant!

Anyway.. Since I am going to be randomly posting pictures about what I'm eating, people are probably going to ask for recipes, and hopefully that means I'll be posting more. I've been on a bit of a hiatus because I've been traveling and not eating what I should be, but I'm back!

I'll try to keep my tangents to a minimum.. you're here for the muffins! These came out of a Nom Nom Paleo and then I changed a bunch of stuff. They are mine now! Here you go:

Prociutto-Wrapped Egg Frittata Muffins

Makes: 12 

Ingredients:

- 10 eggs

- 2 TBSP coconut flour

- 1/4 cup full fat coconut milk (the stuff at the top of a refrigerated can of C. milk)
- 2 TBSP coconut oil

- 1/2 yellow onion, fine diced

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 3-5 Crimini mushrooms, fine diced

- 1 small sweet potato - shredded (mine was only about 4-5" long and ~2" wide)

- couple handfuls of spinach, chopped
- 3-5oz of prosciutto
- salt/pepper to taste
- 12 muffin tin

Instructions:

- So the awesome part about this recipe is that you can put WHATEVER you want into these. Hate mushrooms? Don't put them in there. Obsessed with tomatoes? Chop em and put them in there! I added the sweet potato because I am consistently low on carbs when I eat strict paleo, so I'm hiding those good carbs wherever I can.

Preheat: 375 degrees

1) Melt coconut oil and saute onions and garlic until translucent. Then toss in mushrooms and saute until they look darker and wet. Season with some salt and pepper.

2) Once the onions/garlic/mushroom combo is done, slide it onto a plate to let it cool while you work with the rest of the stuff.

3) To save time, while that's cooking, chop the rest of your veggies and set them aside.

4) In a large bowl, whip the eggs, milk and flour together until well mixed. 

5) Toss in veggies, season with salt and pepper.

6) Once the onion/garlic/mushroom combo is about room temp, toss that in the bowl too and mix up.

7) Going to your muffin tin, oil the crap out of everything. I mean it. I used melted coconut oil and it still could've been oilier. 

8) Once it's all lubed up (yep, went there), line the prosciutto in each cup, making sure to cover all surfaces. This make take more than one piece. I only used one on each and they were a little sticky to get out.

9) Spoon the 'batter' into each cup, filling almost all the way. They puff up a little bit but not too much.

10) Stick in the oven for 20minutes, turning the tin at the halfway point.

These are awesome for on-the-go breakfast. I take them to work and heat them up in the microwave there. If you are going to reheat them, I suggest wrapping them in a wet paper towel to keep them moist. I also topped mine with slices of avocado for some good fats!

Enjoy =]