Recipe time! Breakfast

Ok I realize that so many people wonder what to eat to lose weight. I thought to myself why not do a month dedicated to recipes to help people figure out what to eat to help shread those lbs.

Ok so last night I made these awesome breakfast muffins. The one thing I will admit is I still allow crappy sugary cereal in my house. But I don't know why I still do. It's really strictly for convenience. Why not premake some healthy muffins for the morning...

I have tried some recipes from Pinterest but I haven't found one that I love. So I found one I would try. I did modify to add more healthy components! By the way...I am super surprised that I can even bake because I HATE FOLLOWING A RECIPE! So it's no real surprise that I modified the original recipe. I kind of crack up anytime anyone asks for a recipe from me, because chances are....there isn't one! :) I think it's because I hate to be told what to do

Oatmeal Blueberry Applesauce Muffins

Yields: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/4 cups oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375˚ F.
2. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper/ silicone liners, or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl combine flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. In a medium bowl combine applesauce, yogurt, brown sugar, canola oil and egg.
4. Make a well in dry ingredients and add the applesauce mixture. Stir until just moist. Fold in blueberries. Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups, filling to about 2/3 full.
5. Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin from the middle of the tray comes out clean.
6. If you’re freezing them, allow the muffins to cool, then pop them into a ziplock bag before putting them into the freezer. Pop them into the microwave to defrost when you’re ready to eat!

First of all, I doubled the recipe and it made 24 muffins. I wish I would have tripled it or quadrupled it because they are that good. But at least they are super easy to make! 

So it calls for a lot of flour, I cut 1/4 cup of the flour and added 1/4 cup of wheat germ.

It also called for 1 1/4  cup of oats. I cut this by a 1/2 cup and added 1/4 cup flax seed. I also added in a 1/4 cup of quinoa!

I did add a little bit more liquid ingredients because of the added depth of the dry ingredients. I added 1/2 cup more applesauce 1/4 more yogurt and another egg.

I also omitted the oil.

I included a couple handfuls of craisins as well.

You could add walnuts or almonds, but I didn't have any!

These things are amazing! I have no regret giving these to my kids in the morning to start their day off right!

Schedule it out!

Well it's time to get honest.

December sucked for our family and our fitness goals.

I will not lie to you and say that I am perfect, because I have times when I fall off the wagon....but the difference is running and hopping back on. In my 4 years of living a healthier lifestyle, it has happened a time or two, but nothing like the month of December 2014. I definitely struggled with my ability to step away from foods at holiday dinners and gatherings, lost motivation to work out, ate way too many sweets and candy, and drank way too much alcohol and not enough water.

Ok now that I got all of that off my chest, it is time to tell you how I ran back and jumped back on the wagon. So our goals for 2015 include areas from 7 different areas of your life. These include: Physical, Intellectual, Financial, Social, Spiritual, Family, and Career. So my husband and I have goals in each of these areas. My physical goal is to be active/workout at least 3-4 times per week. How am I holding myself accountable....By setting appointments with myself and my family at the gym!

Here is a picture of our calendar on our family command center. As you can see that EVERY Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have scheduled the gym. It is easy for me to make this appointment because I have to go the YMCA(our family gym) to pick up Avon off the bus. So we are there anyway....we might as well go! This keeps me accountable as well because I get in my 3 days no matter what! My 4th day will typically be walking the dogs as we are training our new dog on a leash. When you plan out your workouts and make a schedule with yourself, most likely you won't cancel it. Think of it as your boss! Would your boss cancel an appointment with you????

I hope this helps! I feel better already and I am back down to my pre-December weight after a week of being accountable. Remember that if you fall of the wagon....run and get back on! One bad meal, one bad day, one bad week....or one bad month doesn't mean you need to throw in the towel. Re-group and start over. Make one good choice the next day and then let that snowball into 2 good choices. You can do it!