The Best (Gluten-free, cane sugar-free) Primal Banana Nut Muffins. EVAH.

These muffins are soooooo good!

Recipe makes about 18 regular sized muffins):
3c almond flour (I make my own by buying blanched, slivered almonds from Whole Foods, then grind them in my coffee bean grinder)
1 1/2c smooshed bananas (I find that 4 bananas work well)
2t baking powder
2t baking soda
3 eggs
6T full fat sour cream
1/3c organic maple sugar (I get mine from Trader Joe's)
1/3c xylitol
2t pure vanilla extract (slightly less if using organic, as it tends to be strong)
1/4t salt
1c chopped/ground walnuts (I threw them in the grinder too)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease regular sized muffin pans with coconut oil.

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Put 1/4c of batter into each muffin cup. Cook 20-25 minutes until the muffin is brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

Nutritional info:

For the whole batch:
Calories: 4673 
Fat: 345g
Sat Fat: 87g
Carbs: 326g
Sugar: 138g
Protein: 128g

Per muffin:
Calories: 259.6
Fat: 19.2g
Sat Fat: 4.8g
Carbs: 18.1g
Sugar: 7.7g
Protein: 7.1g 

Primal Sugar Free Sweetened Peach Iced Tea

10 cups of boiling water

4 family size tea bags (I use Tetley tea bags. I tried Lipton, but they tasted bitter to me)

2 fruit flavored tea bags (I love Celestial Seasoning’s raspberry zinger and peach tea)

1.5 – 2 teaspoons liquid stevia (I use Whole Foods brand)

Boil the water. Once it boils, put all 6 teabags in the water and remove from heat. Let the family size teabags steep for 3 minutes, then remove. Leave the fruit flavored teabags in the water for an additional 2 minutes, then remove.

Fill a gallon pitcher with ice and pour the tea from the pot into the pitcher. Add 1.5 – 2 teaspoons of liquid stevia. Mix.

Primal Chocolate Milk with Stevia

I'm so excited about this chocolate milk I made today! It's sugar free and primal! (I should add the back story as to why I made this: My younger son drinks chocolate milk at school, so I was going to buy a large container of chocolate milk and have him take some in a thermos. When I looked at the amount of sugar in the chocolate milk, I was horrified! 22 GRAMS of sugar. So I decided to make it myself, and this is what I came up with).

To make 5 - 6 cups of chocolate milk you'll need:

6T natural cocoa powder (this makes it pretty chocolatey)
5 1/4 - 6 1/4c organic whole milk (or whatever kind of milk you want - I think it would work with alternative milks such as coconut, almond, etc)
30-40 drops of liquid stevia


1. Put 6T of cocoa powder in a flat-bottomed bowl.

2. Pour enough milk in the bowl to make a paste with the cocoa powder (I'm guessing around 1/4c).

3. Mix the milk and the cocoa.

4. When it is completely mixed (if you see any little balls of cocoa, try to smash them and mix them into the paste), it should be pretty uniform in color and very pasty.

5. Put the cocoa powder/milk paste into the container you'll be using for your chocolate milk.

6. Pour 5 - 6 cups of cold milk into the container with the paste, along with 30 - 40 drops of liquid stevia, then mix with an immersion blender until completely blended. It's ok if you get a layer of froth on the top. The more milk you put in, the less chocolatey it will taste.

7. Pour into a cup and enjoy your sugar free chocolate milk!

NOTE: You will have to blend or shake the chocolate milk if it's been in the fridge for any period of time as the chocolate will settle to the bottom.

Biking biking biking

I've been biking a lot this week. Well, a lot for me. I did a 7.6 mile ride this morning and I am spent. Biking everyday, when you aren't used to it, really takes it out of you. But I feel good. Isn't that weird? Tired, but good.

I can tell that my legs are getting stronger...I am able to do hills a bit faster than I usually can.

I really need to figure out what to eat prior and after riding. I have to wonder if that is a part of my energy issues both on the ride and after.

Anyone got suggestions?

4

Down 5 pounds.

TJs Chocolate Chips 80 cal
Light Lemonade - whole bottle 10 cal
Godiva Chocolate Balls - 8 25 cal
Godiva Chocolate Balls - 8 25 cal
Turkey Breast Golden Brown or Original 98% Fat Free - Poultry 68 cal
Spinach - Raw 4 cal
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread 140 cal
Total Calories Consumed 351

3

down 4.4 lbs

So far today:
Wed, Jan 13 2010 Grade Grams Cals
egg 70
egg 70
egg 70
TJs turkey bacon 30
TJs turkey bacon 30
TJs turkey bacon 30
TJs turkey bacon 30
Brummel & Brown Spread 45
Honey Wheat Sandwich Bread 140
Buffalo Style Chicken Breast - Poultry 84
Kroger Havarti 90
Spinach - Raw 4
PB Crackers - 6 crackers 75
Cottage Cheese, Lowfat, 1% Milkfat 81
Del Monte Pear Halves EL Syrup 60
LC Pizza - cheese 240
TJs Chicken Potstickers 230
TJs Chicken Potstickers 345
Total Calories Consumed 1,724

2

down 1.2lbs from yesterday

No time for breakfast this morning - kid had to see shrink.

3 sips of strawberry milkshake
6 tiny Peanut Butter crackers

1 light lemonade (10 total calories)
2 slices honey wheat bread
spicy brown mustard
spinach
buffalo chicken lunch meat
1 slice havarti

still hungry after lunch (what a shock!)
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
2 1/4 canned pear halves in extra light syrup

much hot chai with 2 packs sweetener per

It's 5:05pm and I'm fucking starving. Off to drink more tea. Yay.

Tomorrow is my 14th anniversary, and as such, I will not be watching my food intake at dinner. We will probably eat Japanese. Lots of it.

So I looked up how many calories I should be eating to lose weight and it's around 1800/day. I'm NOWHERE NEAR THAT! Well, I probably am now.

Dinner:
14 chicken pot stickers
olive oil (wow that has a lot of calories!)
black pepper sauce

spinach salad
mushrooms
yellow squash
zucchini
can of tuna
1oz feta
onion
4 TB TJs fat free balsamic dressing

1

3 eggs
margerine
lots of black pepper
texas pete
diet mountain dew

garden salsa sun chips
2 slices honey wheat bread
mustard
1 slice provolone
blazing buffalo chicken breast
tons of brewed chai tea w/2 artificial sweeteners per

peanut butter bar - STARVING @4pm

14 chicken pot stickers
olive oil
TJs black peanut sauce

sugar free gum b/c I want to fucking EAT EVERYTHING. NOW.

small handful TJs semi sweet choc chips

Best. Cake. Ever.

So today is hubs 40th bday. Yep...the big 4-0. Do you know what that means? It means he's known me/been with me for exactly half of his life. He was 19 (almost 20) and I was 16 (almost 17) when we met and started dating.

Anyboob, I'm making him the best. cake. ever. because it's his birthday and I like to treat people special on their birthday.

Why is this the best. cake. ever. you might ask? Well holy shit! Lemme tell ya friend. Better yet, lemme lay the 'cipe on ya.

1 box Swiss Chocolate or Butter Chocolate Cake Mix
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 melted Hershey bar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup oil
3 eggs

Mix and pour into 3 layers. Bake at 350 for 15 - 20 min; or 2 layers for 30 mintues.

THEN...while the cake is in the oven...

Beat until creamed (heh...I said creamed):
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 c plain sugar
Add 2 8oz containers cool whip (softened, obviously)
Stir with your spatula; add 3 grated Hershey bars (I highly recommend freezing them before you try to grate them).

Ice that bitch and eat.

You can eat it off each other for that special happy birthday or just off a plate is good too. Have some milk available cuz it's chocolatey goodness.

Retest of Sriracha

The results are in from my test of this evening's dinner being flavored with Sriracha instead of Cholula...

I had tofu and veggies cooked and ready to be plated, and hubs walks over to the stove and plucks out a piece of veggie. He pops it in his mouth and nods his head at me. About 3 seconds later I hear "haaaaaa" "hhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" "HAAAAAA" and he beelines to the sink for some water. He looks at me and says "that is TOO spicy."

I've always liked my food spicier than him, so I got a piece of veggie and ate it...and it was PERFECT. Nice and spicy, just the way I like it.

I made less veggies tonight and put more Sriracha on it. I was actually afraid I'd used too much - I like spicy food, but I also like to be able to TASTE it. Spice should enhance the flavor of the food, not mask it. In my opinion, Sriracha walks a fine line in that regard. It's not as flavorful as Cholula, but it's still good...provided you use enough of it.

I'll keep using it for sure - and I'll tell my Dad about it too. I'm sure he'll enjoy it.


dinner covered in Sriracha...and yes, that is a shit load of garlic on the top. I had to use the jarred stuff cuz my bulbs started growing. :(

Sriracha vs Cholula...results

Tonight I decided to put Sriracha in my veggies and tofu instead of my usual [love] Cholula.

The results? Meh.

I'd had Sriracha recently, in my hibachi chicken at a wonderful restaurant called Tsunami Buffet in Morehead City, NC on the weekend we went to the MCAS Cherry Point Air Show. It was spicy, but not overpowering and had a good taste. I liked it. So when a friend pointed me to an article about it a few days ago, I went to my local Wally Hell and bought a bottle...$2, or some ridiculously low price for a pretty large bottle. Cholula is $2.67 for a 5oz bottle, Sriracha comes in a 17oz bottle.

I usually put a liberal dousing of Cholula on my veggies/tofu because I love spicy food, but not being familiar with how much Sriracha I would need, it's likely I didn't put enough in. I will try it again, hopefully with better results. I can *just* taste the spice in the aftertaste of the food, and that's not spicy enough for me.

tonight's dinner avec La Sriracha

Back to the land of humidity and fried food

After being out west for almost a week, we're back to the soup we call air here in NC.

Hubs and I took a little vacation in NM/CO/UT. It was a nice getaway.

But as soon as we walked up the ramp into RDU International Airport, the first thing that hit me was the oppressive humidity...and the second thing was the smell of fried food. Nothing screams WELCOME HOME! like old grease.

I enjoyed the food out there immensely - but damn I missed me some sweet tea. That fruit tea shit they serve is just...just...an abomination. :P So on the way home, hubs and I hit Bojangles and I got a large sweet tea. Yes. It was good.