Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffin Bites

This morning was cloudy and cold. One of those days where if I didnt live in SoCal I bet it would have been rainey. That is the one thing that I really miss, big thunderstorms and rainy mornings. There is something about waking up on a Saturday and hearing the pitter patter of the rain against the windows. Days like that make me want to pull the covers over my head and lay in my warm bed all day. Ah well..I'll settle for a cloudy Sunday morning for the time being instead. I woke up this cloudy morning, put on a strong pot of coffee and I just felt like baking. I had a lot of pumpkin left over from my attempt at making some pumpkin granola from earlier in the week and some bananas which were turning a lovely shade of brown. I love old bananas, it just means I get to make banana bread! So I began playing around.



These muffins contained oat bran, oatmeal, pumpkin, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, bananas, pumpkin, vanilla, eggs and brown sugar. They came out super moist, cakey and delicious. Fresh from the oven toasty warm and had the perfect fall flavors. It definently took a few tried though. But the end result was fabulous.


First batch I had a feeling my muffin batter was too wet, and once out of the oven my hunch was correct. Although not too far off. Just super moist in the middle, which I didnt mind. They had an amazing banana flavor with a hint of sweetness. So lovely! They were a little ugly since I just spooned them into the pan. But then I remember I had this awesome gadget...A cookie scoop! It makes perfect 1 Tbs scoops. The muffins came out nice and rounded the second time around.



For the second batch I added more flour and oat bran. My first batch also didnt rise as much as I wanted to so I threw in some more baking powder. The muffin on the left is the second batch and the muffin on the right is the first batch. You can see what a difference these small changes made! I was surprised how much they poofed up!




I also like something crunchy on my muffins but a streusel topping isnt exactly the healthiest. So I mixed some rolled oats, oat bran and to make it stick together I added some agave. This worked perfectly! The second batch rose very nicely, streusel topping worked out. Added a nice hint of sweet crunchiness to them and I must say they looked prettier with the scooper. They were nice and moist and the perfect breakfast snack if I do say so myself. Deeeeelish! They made the perfect mid morning snack.

I came, I conquered, I Festa'd!

This weekend was my first big ride. After work on Friday I packed up..grabbed a quick road snack which was a bran cracker with greek yogurt smeared on, cinnamon and some banana (Yum!)
And then it was time to hit the road. The trip from L.A to San Diego was a quick one. For once ever we hit no traffic. (Its shocking I know) and we made it down there in about 2 hours. Not bad! We checked into our hotel and found out we were on the 17th floor! Awesome!



So gorgeous! They also hooked us up with these amazing looking cookies once we checked in. They looked amazing and were still warm! I had a small nibble (yes they were as good as they looked) But with my ride in about 8 hours I didnt want anything too heavy in my stomache. For me, I cant workout or anything (esp. long distance rides) with alot in my stomache. Just a personal preference kind of thing I guess. My husband very happily ate my cookie though. So it did not go to waste!


Unfortunently it was about 10:30 pm byt the time we checked in and I had to be up around 6am since I had to be there at 6:45 to pick up my registration packet and then first wave of riders start at 7 am. So we pretty much had to unpack and get to bed. I unloaded my stuff and got into the super cozy sheets and it was lights out!

Next morning, I woke up at 6 am, overflowed the coffee pot trying to make some coffee in those hotel pots, grabbed some oatmeal and hit the road. Check in was fast, and before I knew it, it was time to ride!


I had to set my bike up quick and inspect it fast for anything that could be damaged. But nope, all good. I lined up with everyone else and took off. We started out going through Little Italy, it was cute, Ive never been there but made a mental note to take a trip back soon. It was grey and cold and thats all I kept thinking about for the first 10 miles or so of the trip. Then the sun came out and everything warmed up and I was a happy camper. The terrain was pretty flat. About 20 miles into it there was tons of hills but overall not too bad. It was a great challenge. We rode up past a lake which was so beautiful..

About every 15 miles there was a rest stop complete with everything you need to refuel! Bananas, oranges, PB&J sammies and assorted cliff bars and fresh water. Since I like to stay pretty light while I ride I just grabbed a few orange slices and water. I did grab a oatmeal rasin mini Cliff bar just in case=) By the last rest stop though i was getting really hungry and it was banana time. The last 10 miles were the hardest. I was so close to being done but just not quite there yet. But I kept on trucking. About 2 miles away from the finish I completely bit it and hit the pavement hard. I lost my balance on a stop and fell hard. But just scratches! I picked myself up and biked the rest of the way.

I think the best part was just doing something Ive always wanted to accomplish. There were a couple of times I wanted to just stop and turn around early but I knew I would be so disappointed with myself and I pressed on. Im so happy I made the full 62 miles! What a amazing feeling!! When I was home I rewarded myself with a big tasty bowl of my tofu PB pudding. Oh yummy!! And then a nap..

Playing in the Kitch!

Dinner tonight was A-mazing. THe pictures just completely doesnt do it justice. Im in the market for a new camera for sure. Suggestions anyone?? The simpliest foods taste the absolute best to me sometimes. Tonight was a super colorful plate of veggies. Kale (leftover from my kale and tahini from earlier) sweet potates, zuchini, onions and tomatoes. I made a quick dressing with some garlic, tahini and greek yogurt. So delish! I was a happy camper.

Just had to share but Im so super excited for this weekend. Its time for Festa!! Its my first ever metric bike ride. Its basically 62 miles through San Diego and the surrounding area. Honestly Im a little intimadated. Its my first ever long distance ride and I have no idea what to expect from it. But I think either way it wil be fun. Its just a ride, so no race and the course seems fairly easy (even though I do love a good challenge!) So overall I think its gonna be a blast. I cant wait to take tons of pictures too!!

I wanted to make something that I could bring along for the ride. While I workout I really dont like anything heavy in my stomache. Especially on a long ride...(gross!) but I thought making some healthy oatmeal bars would be a great pre or post workout snack. (or great for the car ride too!) I was also craving some oatey tonight so Im off to make bars. Its getting so much cooler now too so I decided to get with the season and make some maple and pumpkin bars. Yuuum! I love fall and all the great flavors. I ran out of spelt but I found some oat bran! Score! So I used majority oatmeal and a bit of oat bran for texture. I also added pumpkin, molasses, cinnamon, ginger and some apples. I baked them in the oven for about 20-25 minutes (my apt. smells amazing right now!) Taste wise they need some work. The flavor overall is really great, just a bit bland. They need some ooooomp! But I love the texture. chewy on the outside and crunchy on the inside. Well back to try another batch!

Hey, we all have our days..

So not going to lie. Today was not too stellar. I was trying to re-work my workout routine a bit. I usually get up at 4:45 am in order to hit the gym before work but for a week I thought I would try maybe switching to nights so I can sleep in. Well totally doesnt work. (For me anyways) I guess Im just better in the mornings. Not gonna lie, it stinks getting up while its still dark out, but after my workout I feel amazing and I feel like I did something really great for myself. But I just couldnt get myself to the gym after work today. Ive learned you justhave to listen to your body sometimes. But there was a big upside, I got a surprise in the mail. Peanut butter! That big box of nut butters, i'll admit, made today just a wee bit better. (How can it not?)



I recieved three flavors today! All completely awesome by the way. It comes from a company called Naturally Nutty and oh my gosh is it deeeeelish!! My three flavors were Mocha Peanut butter, Chocolate Butter Toffee Peanut Butter and Vanilla Almond.

What I loved about this brand was the added flax and help seeds. I usually stick with the au natural butter. I like to grind my own but if your in the mood for something a bit different I find them to be a great alternative.

Hands down my absolute favorite was the Vanilla almond butter. I cannot have this in my house it is that good. I think half the jar is gone already. It contains almonds, organic hemp and flax seeds and vanilla powder. It is crazy good.

The second flavor I tried was the Mocha PB. Really creamy and great. Had some finely ground peanuts in it in. The mocha flavor was not not overpowering. Just a good tasting peanut butter with a hint of chocolate. The last flavor I tried was the Chocolate Peanut Butter. This one had the longest list of ingredients so I think that I will eat this as a treat. But it was equally amazing.

I cannot wait to try it out this weekend. Id like to see how it holds up baking wise. I just tried it out on a wasa cracker and that enough for me.

Kale, Tahini and my favorite music

I recently discovered an old favorite. Kale and Tahini. To me, growing up we ate this probably 2-3 times a week. It was an old favorite that I just completely forgot about until this weekend. We used to make this together all the time while chatting it up in the kitchen. My parents came to visit this past weekend and my mom whipped up a big batch of this. Its so delicious and comforting. Theres no recipe really for it, just a method and a lot of love. It starts off with a big bowl of quinoa. Set that to the side. Next you take a big skillet and heat some garlic and Braggs liquid aminos. Cubed tofu is added and seared until crispy. Then you remove the tofu and add in chopped kale, garlic and a very liberal squirt of yet more Braggs. The kale and tofu is tossed on top of the quinoa. Then jalepeno pepper sauce is liberally poured on top followed by a nice big dollap of tahini. So incredibly tasty. I usually sprinkle some flax seeds and seasme seeds on this as well. Spicy, creamy and amazing.

I havent seen my parents in ages and while out doing my usual shopping at whole foods me and my mom chatted it up for awhile and I completely forgot about buying tahini! We made an emergency stop by Trader Joes on our way home where I picked theirs up.


I was a little skeptical when I opened the container as Im used to a completely different texture of tahini but this was quite tasty and delicious! Since it was thicker I just ended up dipping my kale in it instead of pouring some on top. But hey, it worked! Ive been eating this about once a day for the past few days now. Im on a kick. It gives me tons of energy and really fills me up. I have a feeling this old favorite will be a new staple.

After my super tasty amazing dinner I hit the gym and had a fantastic workout! I had a great new playlist ready to go as well. Its amazing how new jams keep you rockin through a tough workout! Im always on the lookout for new music so I thought Id share whats on my iPod at the moment..

-GreenLight (Freemasons remix) - Beyonce
-Mesmerized (Freemasons radio edit) - Faith Evans
-Like This (Ft. Eve Redline radio remix) - Kelly Rowland
-Work (Steve Pitron and Max Sanna radio remix) - Kelly Rowland
-Move Ya Body - Power Music Workout
-Everybody Dance (Tony Moran mixshow) - Deborah Cox
-Deja Vu - Sheldon
-Hit Me Up - My Fitness Music
-Go! (Jump In mix) - Jupiter Rising
-Maria - My Fitness Music

These jams really help get me through my hardest workouts. If anyone has any great music that really helps them through their workouts Id love to hear it! Overall I must say it has been a fantastic day. I think before I hit the sheets, Im going to eat a nice big bowl of my chunky monkey banana pudding. (Stay tuned for this recipe later on!) Kale, Tahini, new playlist, rocking workout and banana pudding....what an amazing way to the end the day.
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Chia Seeds - my new favorite find!

It was the first truly fall-ish feeling day and I felt completely invigorated. The sun was hot but the air was a bit chilly. Gorgeous! I decided to start off the morning with an intense cardio workout. I love these days. I managed to burn about 600 calories and left the gym feeling amazing!! The one thing I look forward to is a great post workout snack. I absolutely love making a pudding using Chia seeds! I recently discovered these and have been playing around with them. My favorite use so far is making a chocolate or peanut butter pudding with them. This morning was a peanut butter kind of day so I took about 2 big heaping table spoons of PB and filled a glass half full of water and let them gel up. Then I added in about 1 TBS of PB2 and a bit of stevia to sweeten. What a delicious snack. I cant wait to find more uses for these little seeds. They are amazing.

Doesnt look too pretty but tastes great and thats all that counts in my book this morning! Im interested in finding out about new ways to use these seeds. But for now, Im off to run some errands! Gotta love the weekends.

A Day at the Farmers market

Have i told you how much I love farmers markets? Well i dont just love, I LOVE farmers markets. Beautiful fresh organic produce just completely excites me. I love wandering around discovering new things. My only problem with farmers markets is finding the self control to not buy everything in sight. Walking around it always parks new ideas for fun healthy dishes to make so I have to learn to pace myself. I must say though, on this particular trip I definitely found some major food scores. The first one was a thai eggplant. Now maybe Im completely out of the loop on this but I haven't ever cooked one up! I was so excited. As soon as I saw these amazingly beautiful eggplants ripening away in the sun I knew I just had to buy some. The guy selling them recommended roasted them up and then tossing in some candy onions he was selling as well. I was intrigued so I picked up a bit of both. I also walked away with some gorgeous grape tomatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, red peppers, cauliflower, zuchini, mint, fresh basil and some sugar snap peas. I cant wait to get home and start cooking.


Although my absolute favorite find today was a more decadent one. Way at the other end of the market was a stand featuring fresh ground chocolate. Oh yes. As soon as I smelled that heavenly chocolate smell I immediately made a beeline over.

Fresh cocoa beans that are stone ground and combined with various other ingredients to make a a chocolate unlike any other I have tried. It has a bit of a crunch from the cocoa beans which I absolutely loved. Smooth and delicious. Its freshly made chocolate that can be used for a wide variety of uses. Baking, drinking and just plain eatin!


The three flavors that I bought were Mayan Tradition, Vanilla Bean and Shangri-La. The Vanilla Bean was the first one that I sampled. Simple and delicious, this one featured a nice strong cocoa flavor followed by a nice balance of vanilla. Perfect. The second one I tried was the Mayan Tradition. If you like some spice you will love this. It had a slight kick from the peppers at the very end. Not over powering but delicate. It was perfectly balanced against the bitterness of the cocoa and the sweetness of the cane sugar. It also featured light notes of cinnamon which added an amazing depth to the bar. The last flavor was the Shangri-La. This flavor features toasted black sesame seeds and Gogi berries. It surprised me how sweet it was. For some reason I was expecting a more tart flavor from this flavor. And for only $5 dollars for a good size bar it was a steal. I will definently be buying more of this. It is AMAZING!