Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Spending a little more time at home and having to cook EVERY. SINGLE. MEAL. has stretched my imagination and quite honestly, my behavior skills, too.

I've been making the same banana chocolate chip muffins for quite a few years, because the peeps love them. Since the middle age body gluten free revolt began, I haven't been able to enjoy them. I have a thing for breakfast. What I really want are recipes that everyone will eat. It's definitely too much work to duplicate everything gluten into a gluten free option as well (not to mention the cost).

I have tried quite a few recipes and they still come out grainy and gross. Until yesterday!

Last summer, my mom found PremiumGoldFlax products at a market in ND. You know how we love to share simple products that work! I have tried quiet a few of their products and have had great success. Free delivery when you order online and stock up, too!

One of my discoveries during my baking experiments has been that these gluten free flours are heavy. Many of them tend to be a little more gritty. And, they need some help to be all that they can be.

For this recipe, I replaced my regular (wheat) flour with the Baking & Pizza Flour. I also added a little Zanthan gum and sour cream. Why? Binding. Wheat flour tends to have a smoother consistency. Gluten is also a binder. It traps the beautiful gases that make our baked goods rise. It gives our goodies their togetherness, but with a soft, fluffy, chewy texture. Let me tell you how much I miss gluten!

I've also found that if your recipe calls for baking soda or baking powder, you need a little bit more. Not a LOT more (poof!), but just enough to get that heavier dough rising.

I've also found that adding sour cream or room temperature cream cheese can help to bind the ingredients together if your dough is grainy (you'll know - your baked goods will be grainy, too). It's all about the proteins friends, that bind us together.


GLUTEN FREE BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons regular cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (not needed if your flour mix already has this in it)
2 cups gluten free flour mix (Baking & Pizza Flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips (regular also work) - add last

Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Add the chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

(Depending on the flour you use, you may need to bake a little longer - watch for brown tops that are fluffed up with no soft spots).


BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS (with gluten)
3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 to 1 cup mini chocolate chips (regular also work) - add last

Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Add the chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins almost to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.


Make mouths happy and serve them warm.

Enjoy! XO

Self Care in Chaos

Staying healthy is on all of our minds lately. Self care is one of those things we forget to do when life gets chaotic. Yet, it's one of the best ways you can keep your mind, body and spirit healthy every day.

If you've got your toilet paper and sanitizer situation under control, then you're ready for self care!
Seriously, you need the self care even if you don't have three years of supplies in storage. The goal is to bring your stress down a few notches and take some time for you.

Why now? We just don't do enough self care. It's hard to make healthy changes and stick with them. Life is stressful. We are busy. And, many of us are caregivers...we just forget about ourselves.

Start simple: 
1. Take a nature walk.
2. Do something crafty.
3. Watch a funny movie or video - laughter is fabulous for the soul! Get those endorphins movin'.
4. Read something that's been on your read pile for a while.
5. Do yoga. (Sub yoga for any exercise that lifts your mood and brings you calm).
6. Spend 5 minutes stretching at the beginning and end of your day.
7. Make a big pot of soup and freeze some, to take a load off of yourself for dinner later.
8. Take a snooze.
9. Use a salve infused with calming essential oils to give a massage and get a massage.
10. Color. Yes, color.
11. Take an virtual tour of an art museum.
12. Burn your fave candle or diffuse your favorite essential oil - aromatherapy has so many benefits!
13. Take a hot, relaxing bath.
14. Add some bright and beautiful flowers to your kitchen table.
15. Fix something broken that you've had stashed in a closet that needs your TLC.
16. Declutter and donate the things that would bless someone else's life to your favorite charity (such as Epilepsy Foundation - they pick up donations in most places).
17.  Have a dance party!
18. Connect with someone you haven't talked to in a while.
19. Pay it forward.
20. Crank the tunes - music you love will bring joy to your soul, a smile to your face, and a it gets your body moving.

So what's happening at our house today? Chicken soup, elderberry syrup, salves, loud music, an extra cup of coffee while the rest of the house sleeps in, and a good book. Self care really isn't about the list. It's about making time to allow yourself to restore and renew.

 Slow it down and keep it simple. You're worth it!

XO