Tosca Rena's Banana Muffins

This was posted on Tosca Rena's Clean Eating Blog
I would like to try these muffins, putting the recipe here for safe keeping.....


Sunday Morning Moist Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup quick cooking oats

1 cup plain rice or almond milk

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1 teaspoon each baking powder and soda

1/2 teaspoon each cloves, cinnamon and allspice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

pinch sea salt

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

4 egg whites beaten until foamy but not stiff

1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 large bananas)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1 cup blueberries

1 large apple cut into pieces

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Line muffin tin with parchment paper liners

3. Place oats in medium prep bowl and pour milk over. Mix and let stand while you make the rest of the recipe.

4. In another medium prep bowl combine flour, ground flax seed, spices, baking powder and soda, lemon zest and salt. Mix well until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside.

5. Put egg whites in mixing bowl and beat until fluffy but not stiff.

6. In small prep bowl mash bananas and add chopped apple. Mix well.

7. In large prep bowl combine flour, soaked oats, egg whites and banana mixture. Add blueberries. Fold until all ingredients are just blended.

8. Spoon into prepared muffin tin.

9. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Yield: Makes 12 generous muffins to enjoy on a sunny Saturday with delicious coffee.

Paperback Swap.com

This is a win-win situation. I have bookshelves full of books. I will probably never read the books again. All the shelves do is collect dust. Today, I purged the shelves & removed my books. The books are now safely on their own shelf - away from da hubby's books. I listed all of my books on www.paperbackswap.com.

If you have not had a chance to check out the paperbackswap site, I encourage you to do so now. It is very easy to list the books you no longer want. Then, wait patiently for others to request your book. When you receive a request, print out the paperwork with their address on it, wrap up the book and head to the post office. Postage is less than $3.0o. Once they receive your book, they post to paperbackswap that the book has been received and *poof* your account receives one credit. You use your credit to "purchase" a new book to read - no extra charge. Paperbackswap has thousands of members just waiting to swap books with you.

If you sign up at paperbackswap, please tell them I sent you and link to me as friends if you so choose.

Have fun!

I am Flinging

I woke up this morning with a plan - to find my walk-in closet!!! When we bought this home many, many years ago, my children were impressed with the size of the closet. One of the kids wanted to know if it was daddy's bedroom! Well, over the years, the closet has gotten smaller and smaller. As a matter of fact, I couldn't reach the back corners of the closet. Well, today I hauled 9 bags out of the closet. Bags full of old text books, junk, more books, shoes and more junk. The closet is now well organized. There is a section of photos and scrap books that need some attention but at least everything is together for the day when I am in the mood to do that.

After accomplishing order in the closet, I move to my sewing room. I cleared off several book shelves and made room for all of my cookbooks to be housed together. Somedays I will weed the cookbooks to keep the ones that I really want and copy the recipes for the others to a cookbook journal.

Tomorrow I plan on restoring order to my sewing room! Stay tuned

Snow Day!!!

The hubby works 3rd shift. Today he arrived home shortly before 5:30 am and informed me there would be no school today because the roads were bad. I promptly tuned into our local TV station and was dismayed to find out the hubby did not have the facts - just gut instinct.

You see, I work for a school district that is notorious for being one of the few schools still open during inclement weather. There are many reasons why we are still open - we don't have buses traveling rural routes, our students need a warm safe place to be and our administration probably fears losing $$$ for too many days off school.

Never-the-less, I continued watching TV. Soon, the breakfast bar scrolled across the screen announcing school was closed. I bounced out of bed, ate breakfast, showered, got dressed, read some e-mails and touched base with friends on Facebook.

Then, I tackled the last cupboard in my kitchen that did not get de-cluttered last weekend. Unfortunately, the men in my life (my hubby & son) were still sleeping. The pots & pans clanging did not seem to disturb my husband but it wasn't long before my son came out with daggers in his eyes. Some men will never appreciate the value of clean and well-organized cupboards - even if it is early in the morning.

Is it too much to hope for another snow day tomorrow?

Busy Productive day today!!!

Today was/is a holiday - no work for me today. Well, no paying job today but boy I worked. I finally tackled cupboards in my kitchen and decluttered - four, almost 5 bags of trash was hauled to the dumpsters. Some of the items in the bags were outdated food - can you say 3 old cans of shortening (what was I thinking?) and some were knick-knacks that have worn out their usefulness. Some of them were covered with so much greasy dust it was impossible to clean them properly - bye-bye clutter.

I know da hubby thinks I'm crazy but da son will be happy to find the cluttered cupboard that houses different size containers - some with and some without lids - for leftovers has been neatly arranged! Only bowls with lids on, under or neatly stacked on top grace those shelves now. My spices are all arranged alphabetically (I still need to make a list so I don't buy duplicates) and the old spices have been tossed. Did you know McKormick has a website that tells you how old your spices are? Check it out, here is the link: http://mccormick.com/Spices101/HowOldSpices.aspx . I could not believe I had spices taking up space in my cupboard that were bottled in 1996 - rather old wouldn't you say?

Anyway, with Flylady's help, I hope my cupboards never get out of control again. It is way too much work to clean up the mess.

Date Night

Da hubby & I don't get out much. Sure we go shopping together, run errands and also go out to eat. It seems like we never get together with friends to have fun. Last night da hubby & I enjoyed an evening with friends. We went to a concert that was a fund raiser for a local charity then out for drinks and good food. I think we all had a good time - well, except for the first act at the concert (who shall remain nameless). We enjoyed listening to the Carl Webb Band and certainly enjoyed seeing and hearing Amaryliss. Max and Ruth Bloomquist certainly know how to put on a show.

Now, my task is to convince da hubby, Linda & Darrel that the boys should take us out for a Valentines Day dinner.....

Super Fling Boogie

Several years ago I joined www.FlyLady.net. I haven't visited the site in a long time but something re-sparked my interest and I've gotten hooked again. This month the challenge is to spend 15 minutes a day doing the Super Fling Boogie. This involves going to a hot spot in the home and eliminating clutter. Last night and this morning I tackled my closet and dresser drawers. My closet has been so full that my clothes actually hang on bars across the bathtub we no longer use. Other pieces of clothing hang from hooks on the bathroom doors. My dresser drawers & cupboards were so full, it was almost impossible to close the drawers & doors.

Now, because my 15 minutes (I was actually inspired by the 15 minutes, I spent over an hour) of Super Flinging, my drawers and cupboards are neatly organized and the clothes in my closet are hanging neatly. Even my socks are paired and organized by color, type and holidays. The hooks on the bathroom doors are almost empty. (I'll clear them off this afternoon.) Goodwill will be the lucky recipient of all the clothing that is too large for me.

Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

This recipe comes from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook. My husband, son and I loved this bread so I'm sharing the recipe here for my friends.

Makes one 9 -inch loaf (You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour but the resulting loaf will be a little shorter and denser. If you don't have a standing mixer, you can make the bread by hand.

1 cup warm whole milk (110 degrees)
1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees)
3 tablespoons honey
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 3/4 cups (9 2/3 ounces) whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups (8 1/4 to 11 ounces) bread flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 envelope (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup raisins
vegetable oil spray
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1. Whisk the milk, water, honey, and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter together in a large liquid measuring cup.
2. Combine the whole-wheat flour, 1 1/2 cups of bread flour, wheat germ, yeast, and salt in a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook.
3. With the mixer on low speed, add the milk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 2 minutes.
4. Increase the mixer speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. If after 4 minutes more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/2 cup bread flour, 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom. Add the raisins and continue to knead until incorporated, about 1 minute.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball.
6. Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
7. Spray a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with begetable oil spray.
8. Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.
9. Press the dough into a 20 by 8 inch rectangle, with the short side facing you. Spray the dough lightly with water and sprinkle the sugar mixture evenly over the dough, leaving a 2 inch border at the far edge. Spray again lightly with water, roll into a tight cylinder and pinch the seam closed.
10. Place the loaf, seam-side down, in the prepared pan. Spray the loaf lightly with vegetable oil spray, cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until the loaf has nearly doubled in size, 45 to 75 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees.
12. Brush the loaf with remaining 1/2 tablespoon melted butter, then spray lightly with water.
13. Bake until the crust is golden and the center of the bread registers 200 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the loaf halfway through baking.
14. Cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours before serving.

(Joan's note: This bread came out of the oven and smelled so terrific. It barely sat for 15 minutes in the pan. We used an electric knife to cut the bread immediately - warm bread is fantastic!)

Sleep Study

Several years ago I visited the sleep clinic where they hooked me up with wires extending from my arms, legs, chest, and head. A camera was aimed at my bed with a microphone close by. A technician monitored my sleep and soon after falling asleep woke me up to slip a CPAP mask over my face to help stop the snoring. The diagnosis was obstructed sleep apnea. Throughout the rest of the night the technician adjusted the air flow until I reached a safe, comfortable level of sleep.

I've been using the CPAP almost every night since - until recently. Even with the CPAP I was not getting a deep restful night of sleep. Then it occurred to me - the restless nights started at about the time I hit the 20 pound weight loss mark!

I was again referred to the sleep clinic where, to my delight, I was informed I was not a candidate to spend a night at the sleep clinic. Instead, a special CPAP machine was ordered for me. The machine was set to manual and sent home with me. There is a small computer chip somewhere in the machine. This week, I will return the machine to the health care rental place and they will upload the data from the computer chip to the sleep clinic doctor.

Hopefully the data on the chip will provide the doctor with the information needed to adjust the CPAP to the right setting so I can get a good night sleep. I am surprised, even with the machine set to manual, I have only had two or three good nights sleep in the past two weeks since the machine entered this house.

I have been fortunate to maintain a high level of energy even though I have not had a good night sleep. I know this good luck is not going to last much longer - I'm looking forward to next week when the old machine is set to new settings. Hopefully the fix will be as easy as it sounds!

Healthy New Years Goals

I really hate the idea of New Years Resolutions. People make decisions to do better and often break their resolutions before the first week of January is over. Throughout the years, I have seen an influx of people at the gym during the month of January. By February, there is space to exercise again. I have to admit, I have been one of those people a few times.

The hubby and I made a decision to get in shape last fall. We have been working hard and losing weight and inches in addition to gaining muscle mass and getting heart healthy. I have decided to make a new year's resolution - based on what we have been practicing this fall - to continue to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Here are some of the things I will do to achieve those goals:

Drink water - between 75-85 ounces a day
Exercise 45-60 minutes every day

Eat: (goal 6 out of 10 per day)

1. 23 almonds per day (fill an empty Altoids tin)
2. 1/2 cup berries per day (blue, rasp, stray, boysen, goose or back currents)
3. 3 servings leafy greens (spinach, brocolli, arugula, broccolinni)
4. 1-3 cups low-fat or fat-free yogurt (unsweetened, plain or vanilla, contains live cultures)
5. one cup veggie soup per day
6. two four ounce servings Omega 3 rich foods - like salmon - per week
7. Quinoa - 1/2 cup per day
8. 4 eggs per week
9. 25 g whole soy (edamame, tofu)
10. organic or free range food as much as possible

In addition to the above, I would like to elminiate obesogens from my diet by the end of 2011. " Obesogens are substances including bisphenol A which are suspected of promoting obesity by increasing fat cells in the body and altering metabolism and feelings of hunger and fullness" (information from 12/2010 Reader's Digest).

I would like to continue my breakfast of oatmeal, fruit, cinnamon and nuts - at least 6 times a week. I know it might get boring but it is such a good breakfast and keeps me from getting hungry in the morning.

Any comments or additional suggestions would be welcome and appreciated.