Back to Healthier Eating

2017 has arrived!

I hope your holidays were happy and filled with wonderful memories. Here at the Obi house, we were met with a few unexpected events, though, in the end, everyone survived. Of course, it'll take until March to get our family room back in order.

Christmas Day aftermath.

I don't know about you, but now is time when I'm ready to toss all of the leftover holiday treats and get back to eating normally. And dare I say healthier.

Of course, that doesn't mean we can't still indulge. We just do it in a different way. For me, it's without all that sugar. By now, I'm once again addicted to the stuff, so it's time to break that cycle.

Luckily, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a few treats. Nor do I have to bid pumpkin season farewell just yet.

Yes, it's true. You can have your cake and eat it, too.

Okay, so it's really a muffin, but let's not split hairs. Especially when it satisfies those sweet cravings without knocking us off the low-carb wagon.

Best of all, you can whip this up in no time for a luscious afternoon snack.

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 flat tablespoon 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 2 heaping tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons golden flax meal
• 1 tablespoon almond flour (if you don't have almond flour, you can use 3 tablespoons of the flax meal)
• 3/4 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 5-6 teaspoons Truvia, separated (you can use more or less, depending on your tastes. If you use another artificial sweetener, adjust according to your personal taste)
• 1 generous tablespoon pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

First, the frosting.
Put cream cheese, yogurt, lemon juice and 2-3 teaspoons sweetener into a small bowl.

Mix until smooth and set aside. This gives the sweetener a chance to dissolve.

Now grab yourself a nice size mug, crack the egg into it and whisk with a fork.

Then add your flax meal/almond flour, pie seasoning, baking powder, sweetener to taste (I usually use about 3 teaspoons/packets), pumpkin and coconut oil and whisk until everything is incorporated.

Place mug in microwave and cook on high for 60-70 seconds**. You can also bake it in a ramekin or divide batter between two holes of a regular size muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Those methods would probably make for a prettier muffin, but since I'm an instant gratification kind of girl, I usually go for the microwave. Besides, even in the micro, it still comes out with a nice, cakey texture.

**Note: My microwave is 1100 watts, so if yours differs, you'll need to adjust the time accordingly.

Once done baking, dump your muffin(s) onto a plate...

I like to cut mine in half before topping it with the frosting.

And I love that there's an ample amount of frosting, so that no bite is without.

My tummy is happy, my sweet tooth is satisfied and I'm breaking the sugar cycle.

A definite win-win.

Now it's your turn. How were your holidays? Anything exciting happen?

Do you feel the need to break the sugar cycle when January hits?

Speaking of Pumpkins...

Yes, fall has finally arrived. Though, we have a slightly different take on autumn here in Texas. Instead of leaves turning, we have sustained temps below 100 and, if we're lucky, we might only have highs in the 80s. But with the rest of the country talking pumpkin this and pumpkin that, I'm ready to indulge in some fall treats, so today we're revisiting my quickie pumpkin muffin in a mug recipe from last year. 

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 flat tablespoon 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 2 heaping tablespoons plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon vanilla OR 1 teaspoon lemon juice 
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons golden flax meal
• 1 tablespoon almond flour (if you don't have almond flour, you can use 3 tablespoons of the flax meal)
• 3/4 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 5-6 teaspoons Truvia, separated (you can use more or less, depending on your tastes. If you use another artificial sweetener, adjust according to your personal taste)
• 1 generous tablespoon pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Put cream cheese, yogurt, vanilla or lemon juice (I prefer lemon juice because it gives the frosting a less intense taste and, to me, tastes more like cream cheese frosting) and 2-3 teaspoons sweetener into a small bowl.

Mix until smooth and set aside. This gives the sweetener a chance to dissolve.

Now grab yourself a nice size mug, crack the egg into it and whisk with a fork.

Then add your flax meal/almond flour, pie seasoning, baking powder, sweetener to taste (I usually use about 3 teaspoons/packets), pumpkin and coconut oil and whisk until everything is incorporated.

Place mug in microwave and cook on high for 60-70 seconds. You can also bake it in a ramekin or divide batter between two holes of a regular size muffin pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Those methods would probably make for a prettier muffin, but since I'm an instant gratification kind of girl, I usually go for the microwave. Besides, even in the micro, it still comes out with a nice, cakey texture.

**Note: My microwave is 1100 watts, so if yours differs, you'll need to adjust the time accordingly.

Once done baking, dump your muffin(s) onto a plate...

I like to cut mine in half before topping it with the frosting.

And I love that there's an ample amount of frosting, so that no bite is without.

I love it. Blissful pumpkin satisfaction without the guilt. Whoo-hoo!

So I was just telling my husband that I saw the Christmas stuff going up at Walmart. He frowned, but I like it. I pick up a few things here and there. Can you believe October is almost here? This year seems to have flown by in a blur. Now it's time for me to slow down and savor life for a while. But that doesn't mean there's not work to do. Proposals need to be written, new stories explored. 

Ah, the joys of being a writer. :)

Muffin in a Mug! My journey to becoming a Trim Healthy Mama

Confession time. I hate diets. Every diet I've tried has failed, mostly because I don't want to just lose weight - I want to be healthy.

And it seems that every diet I've seen requires you to either restrict calories to an insanely low level so you're hungry all the time, or it requires you to avoid one or more of the basic food groups. And there's this nagging voice inside me that says both of those approaches are nuts. There isn't any reason why a normally healthy person should have to do either one!

It seems I haven't been the only one thinking that. There's a new book out (okay, it's been out for more than a year, but I don't jump on bandwagons quickly) called Trim Healthy Mama.

This is my copy with Post-It tabs I've added. I have to be able to
find my favorite recipes quickly!

Written by two sisters, the whole approach to this eating plan is to help your body use the fuels you give it in healthy way.

What I love is that no food groups are eliminated (some foods are eliminated - like sugar, white flour, white potatoes - but not the food groups), and that there is no calorie counting. Read that again: no calorie counting.

The only rule - and this is the main point - is to not have large amounts of carbs and fats in the same meal, and always center each meal or snack around a protein.

But it's important to have both carbs and healthy fats in your diet (our two main fuel sources), so you switch it up. I usually have a higher fat breakfast (a S-atisfying meal to fill me up), and then a higher carb lunch (an E-nergizing meal to keep me going), and a snack that could be either one (I often have a chocolate milk shake for snack - how is that for "diet food"?). And supper is a healthy meal with my family.

Between October 1st and December 20th, I lost 15 pounds eating this way. (We won't talk about Christmas and cookies!)

Even though some of the recipes in the book call for special foods, I've found that I can eat well with very few ingredients that I didn't have in my pantry before. And many of my favorite recipes fit well in this eating plan - like Ruthy's favorite salad (recipe here) or my Salmon with Garlicky Spinach (recipe here). You just need to remember the rule: don't have large amounts of carbs and fats in the same meal.

Easy peasy!

But now, the part you've been waiting for! My favorite breakfast!

This is called Muffin in a Mug, and if you're keeping track, it's an S meal (S for satisfying). It's from the Trim Healthy Mama book, page 256, but like most recipes I use, I've adapted it. I added a bit of salt to this one, and a Tablespoon of almond milk to add moisture - necessary for high altitude cooking. You'll have to experiment to see if you need it where you live.

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 1/2 Tablespoons Golden Flax meal

1 1/2 Tablespoons almond meal

1 1/2 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

2-4 teaspoons Truvia, depending on how sweet you like your muffin (I use two)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

one pinch salt

1 Tablespoon coconut oil (doesn't have to be liquid)

1 Tablespoon unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Beat the egg with a fork in a large coffee mug (12 ounce works best). Add the other ingredients and stir well. 

Microwave for one minute. The top of the muffin should look dry and the edges starting to pull away from the sides of your mug.

Turn the muffin out onto a plate, split in half, spread each half with butter, and enjoy!

Okay - let's look at some of the ingredients.

Here's the golden flax meal I use. I found it at Sam's Club, but I'm sure you can find it at Walmart.

Almond meal - I bought a pound of Bob's Red Mill Flour almond meal in October, and I keep most of it in the freezer. It was expensive, but has lasted a long time. I recently bought some raw almonds, and will make my own almond meal when I need more.

Truvia is a great natural, non-sugar sweetener made from stevia. Why use things like aspartame when this is available?

Coconut oil. This bad boy is a victim of the war on saturated fats, but you can read about all its benefits by searching online. Coconut oil is full of medium-chain fatty acids - so good for you. Some people even claim it helps with weight loss, but not if you eat too much of it :)


You can explore the Trim Healthy Mama life further by going to their website (www.trimhealthymama.com), and if you're interested in pursuing this plan, be sure to read the book. It goes into the science behind this way of eating, explains the plan, and is chock-full of recipes.

Meanwhile, I think I'm going to have a Thin Mint Milkshake for snack today....