It was so beautiful out today–sunny, warm, spring-like in every way–that I completely lost my head and forgot to come by here. So here I am now. A bit late. But with a house full of tired kids who are already dreaming the night away.
Spring makes me so happy after a winter spent mostly inside. Even a very mild winter like we’ve had. It’s just not possible to spend an entire day outside like it is during the spring, summer, and fall. While I love snuggling down in a warm house during winter, curling up with cocoa and a good book, we do get to a point where my kids *need* to get outside and run around. We’re at that point now (actually we were at that point a few weeks ago) and we are fully taking advantage of our lovely weather.
And it is *lovely.* I’m totally in full spring mode now. (Though I have to keep reminding myself that it is only March.)
Totally unrelated to our fabulously springy days this week, I created the perfect muffin recipe today and I’m so excited by it that I simply have to share it with you.
It’s absolutely bad for you, but also good for you. So, you know, things even out. I use part whole wheat flour (as I do with almost everything) and I added chia seeds which are chock full of goodness (plus they add this slight little crispy-crunch to each bite that I totally enjoy). So even while these are full of fat and sugar, you’re almost doing yourself a favor by eating them because of the added omega-3’s, fiber, protein, essential minerals, and whole grain goodness. (At least that’s what I tell myself.) (Plus, I figure that if we’re going to indulge once in a while in sweet treats, they might as well also have some nutritional benefit to them so at least we’re getting a lot of good with the bad.)
For those of you who’d like it, here’s the recipe. For the rest, skip on down to the bottom of the post to catch a glimpse of incredible beauty.
Perfect Muffins
2 c. flour (1 c. unbleached, 1 c. whole wheat)
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 Tbsp chia seeds or ground flax seeds (optional, but highly recommended!)
1/4 c. wheat germ (optional, but seriously, toss it in–it adds so much goodness)
2 beaten eggs
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. melted butter or oil (butter! go with the butter!!)
1 c. additions: fresh or thawed fruit (raspberries, diced strawberries, blueberries, raisins, chopped nuts, cinnamon chips, chocolate chips, etc.)
Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together, then add to dry ingred. Fold in fruit, nuts, or chips. Fill muffin cups to the top. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes.
Mmmmmm. (Okay. I may actually have to go make more right now.)
Now that you have the perfect muffin, grab a cup of coffee or tea and spend a few minutes watching this. Ten minutes of unbelievable beauty. You will not be sorry. (And you will be awed.) (Guaranteed.)
Have a great day, everyone!
Yummers!! I throw ground flax meal into everything. Hidden goodness. :) I’ve heard about the chia seeds somewhere else just recently. Where do you get them?
I use flax meal in everything too. I bake all our bread (don’t be impressed–I use a breadmaker so it’s totally cheating–takes me literally 2 minutes, I timed it, to put the ingredients in the pan and press the button) and I always throw flax in it. Also in pancakes, banana bread, muffins, cookies, etc. I think I’m going to be doing a bit of the same with the chia seeds now too.
I found the chia at a local Mennonite grocery store. (Best. store. ever.) Not sure where I’d find them around town. Maybe at the local natural food store or coop.
Ps- also, I kinda hate that I have to experiment and tweak with recipes to work with high altitude… stupid, beautiful mountains.
What kind of adjustments do you have to make? I’ve never baked at high altitude. (But I’d do it just for the glory of those stupid, beautiful mountains.) (I came across a quote about mountains that I LOVE: “If you’re lucky enough to live in the mountains, you’re lucky enough.”)
Boy, do I ever know what you mean about getting excited for the coming spring! I pretty much agree and sympathize with everything you said there haha. I enjoy all the cuddles and warm blankets and drinks and hunkering down with a good book that winter brings. But the kids definitely get antsy after a while! We had a few really nice days in a row here and we took full advantage and spent as much time outside as possible! Unfortunately, it started snowing again today,,,ugh.
Owell! Spring is coming, and we’re excited! :D Great blog post, I had fun reading it :)
Spring *is* coming! (And I think I might cry if it snows again . . . not that we’ve had hardly any snow, but I’ve got the FEVER now. I’m not having any more snow!)
Glad you stopped by! Nice to see you here, Meghan. :-)
Good to meat a fellow bread machine enthusiast! I am so in love with mine, because it makes me feel awesome to create bread, even if I took the ‘shortcut’ lol. I have not ventured into flax meal, but I honestly should! The muffins look good, the photography is great!
Oh, yes, indeed. I do love my bread machine because I *love* good bread but it’s so expensive to buy at the store and I don’t usually have the time to do it by hand. We haven’t bought store-made bread for probably 7+ years. (And I’ve worn out at least 3 bread pans in that time–still have the same machine, just keep replacing the pans as they wear out.)
Definitely get some flax seeds–find them in bulk at your local natural food store, don’t buy the ones prepackaged because they’re overpriced–and then grind them yourself in the blender (or coffee grinder). You can grind a whole bunch at once, then put it in a container in the fridge to keep for 3 months. (Ground flax meal will go rancid if not used or refrigerated, and it keeps for 3 months in the fridge. If you use it regularly in the bread, cookies, etc you make, then you’ll go through it quickly.) Whole seeds won’t go rancid, but you need to grind them to get the fantastic nutrition they contain.
Oops, ‘MEET’
:D (I totally didn’t notice the first time I read it!)