Banana Chocolate Coffee Muffins with Whole Wheat Flour

Jul 11, 2014

I’ve really slipped on my healthy breakfast train the last month or two. I had family in town, then was out of the country for a couple weeks, and have been buried under work and lack of sleep. So I just haven’t had the time or energy to do much baking or cooking to prepare for each coming week. Thankfully, over 4th of July weekend I finally got back on track with these beauties.

I really haven’t done a lot of baking lately, partly because when I use my stove and oven it makes my kitchen feel like Death Valley during the summer. My A/C can’t come close to keeping up. But I decided it was worth it to give these guys a try. I mean, coffee and chocolate in a muffin together?? Sign me up!

As much as I love whole wheat flour, I was a little nervous about using it exclusively, since sometimes that can make things a little too dry and dense. I shouldn’t have worried, though—these were moist and light even as reheated leftovers at work the next day. And the dark chocolate chips are these gooey little nuggets of awesome. For something that literally takes like 5 minutes to stir together, the return on this is totally worth it!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Flaxseed Muffins

Apr 5, 2014

Last weekend I decided to make a few changes. Little changes. Healthy changes.

By and large I lead a fairly healthy life—I eat well, exercise a lot, take care of myself (except the working too much and lack of sleep). But I’ve slipped into some bad habits (*coughtoobusyforbreakfastcough*) and feel like my body isn’t quite firing on all cylinders. But since I’m pretty overwhelmed with life right now, I knew I couldn’t do anything that required too much thought or effort.

So I made a list last weekend of a few things I was going to work on during the week. The first has turned out to be somewhat life-changing. It’s simple—before I go to bed I fill up a big glass with water and put it by my bed, and the minute I wake up, I down it. I’m not allowed to get out of bed until that glass of water is gone. And boy, is it crazy what that will do to purify and rev your system!

The second is pretty simple, too, and is something I used to be good about. I made sure I had a quality breakfast every single day at work. Some mornings this was a smoothie with fruit and greens and yogurt, and other days it was these delicious, high-fiber muffins.

Crockpot Breakfast Casserole

Jan 4, 2013

Guys, I was REEEEEEALLY skeptical about this one.

Unlike many people, crockpots actually scare me. I’m on board with soups and chili, but pretty much everything else I’ve ever made in a crock pot has turned out burned, dry, soggy, or otherwise not very good. It’s like I’m incapable of mastering it. But I needed a make-ahead breakfast option for my “breakfast day” at work, so the crockpot was really my only option. And guess what? It turned out surprisingly great!

The final result wasn’t *pretty*, mind you, but it was very flavorful, not dry at all, and got a thumbs-up from my co-workers. Plus, the assembly the night before was quick and painless—cooking the bacon was the most involved piece, everything else was just layering.