Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday of Holy Week. This weekend was laid back and super fun all jammed together! Aka we didn’t really do much besides eat..AND look at our wedding pictures which we finally got back. Eek soo excited. Here’s a sneak peek, but you’ll have to wait for the rest until the wedding recaps start flowing!

While you are patiently waiting, I highly recommend making these muffins! They have been endorsed by my husband, fellow RD’s to be, and my family. If they can please all these people than they must be something extra special, and believe me they are!

We had these muffins on Sunday and therefore HAD to make cream cheese frosting to put on top, because in lent you only get treats on Sunday, but I think they are delicious and moist all on their own without any cream cheese frosting. On top of all that, you do not need to take out 12 appliances to grind the flour, beat the dough, etc. You simply need a bowl and a spoon…oh and some almond flour 🙂

No Appliances, Gluten Free

Prep time: 5 min Baking time: 25 min
Makes 9 muffins

• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup milk
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2-3 Tbsp poppy seeds
•  dash of salt

1. Preheat oven to 400° and prepare muffin tin with oil or liners if you are feeling festive.
2. Add oil, maple syrup, milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice to a bowl and whisk until combined and frothy.
3. Comine almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, poppy seeds, and dash of salt in a mixing bowl. Mix together and then slowly add to the lemony-wet ingredients.
4. Mix and pour into muffin tins. Bake for 10 minutes.
5. Let cool, then EAT.

And now I’m off to the library to make some major headway on my Master’s Project and assignments for the week.

Happy Holy week all!

Alyssa

 

 

WIAW: Is Hermione Vegan? HP-Land

So to an (almost) Nutrition professional both traveling and amusement parks raise red flags of eating out and indulgences. While, yes both of those things did and should happen on vacation, here is how I ate on vacation!

This WIAW spans many days, so just sit back and enjoy the ride (pun intended).

Sunday travel day: SOO MANY SNACKS…and coffee. Basically the only way to travel!

Monday in Florida

Breakfast: The hotel did not have a continental breakfast so we scavenged around and ate the rest of the snacks we had packed for our trip the day before. The end result was actually pretty satisfying. We ended up having apples, strawberries, lemon poppyseed muffins, and coffee!

We meandered over to the park around 10am and didn’t eat lunch until around 3pm to avoid the long lunch lines. Thank goodness for butter beer because the sugary goodness held me over until the late lunch.

Lunch: At The Leaky Cauldron at Harry Potter Land. They have a gluten-free option and it is DELICOUS! They only have one option which is chicken sandwich with bacon and stewed tomatoes on a g-free bun with a side salad. I don’t know if it was because I was starving or what but it tasted like the best meal I’ve ever had.

Starbucks Afternoon pick me up, the addiction runs strong..

Dinner: Pineapple and carrots with hummus around 9pm after aerial yoga class (unpictured, because inhaled due to intense hunger)

And that is my crazy wacky day of eats!

Thanks to Jenn from PeasandCrayons for hosting.

~Alyssa

Spells, Starbucks, and Pickleball

Well Hello Everyone!

Don’t mind me, I’m just back from my excursion to Florida, with 90° heat and SUN. But I had to take advantage of my last spring break EVER (which at this point is more exciting than sad). I had such a great time in Florida, see my sister, grandma and parentals, casting spells, and of course eating!

Here’s how it went down:

We flew into Orlando on Sunday and stayed at a Resort at Universal Studios..meaning I woke up with a view of Hogwarts out my window, AMAZING. We spent most of Monday exploring both Hogsmeade and Hogwarts in Harry Potter land thanks to the new Hogwarts Express. Randomly, we also say Mario Lopez because he was filming Extra, and we got super close to him.

Umm and then I got Starbucks at Universal (kinda embarrassing but super awesome).

Monday night (after walking all day at Universal) my sister and I headed to an arial yoga/silks stamina class where we got our butts kicked! This was Sara’s second class and my first and oh goodness we were climbing silks, hanging upside down in hoops, but I was mostly just trying to survive with my quivering weak arm muscles.

We were mixed in with the experienced aerial silkers (should have been a red flag) and then completed a circuit training workout that left me with bruising behind my knees and arms that felt like jelly. It was fun though to experience it with my sister and just to be able to laugh at how ridiculously bad we were at some of the exercises.

Early Tuesday morning we drove to The Villages where we met my parents and my grandma. The rest of the week we relaxed by the pool, and played copious amounts of sand volleyball and pickle ball. I will make an amazing old person because I love all their hobbies like pickle ball and knitting and cooking!

We made it back on Sunday to snow falling in Minneapolis, crazy! Overall it was a great break from school and now I have my eyes on the prize. I just want to graduate!

Question of the day: How do you transition from vacay back into real life? Monday was such a struggle I just tried to power through it.

~Alyssa

WIAW: Venison and Sunshine

Hello all and Happy Wednesday! 2 More days and spring break will be upon us! I am leaving for Florida on Sunday and could not be more excited for some quality sister bonding time (oh and my parents will be there too).

This week I will show you what this Minnesotan girl eats when spring has sprung (weird: it looks oddly similar to what I usually eat).

Breakfast: This monday was a little crazy because I had to drop Chris off at the train station and then run to Trader Joes to grab some much needed cashews! But, alas I had overnight oats, half before errands, and half after my 3 mile run.

Lunch: I packed up and headed to the library to A.) walk in the gorgeous weather and B.) try to have a productive start to the week. Spinach, cheese, hummus sandwich with a side of carrots, celery and cinnamon apples. (the celery were consumed with the peanut butter, right away)

Snack: Lemon poppyseed muffin! These are soo good. I could eat them all day….which is basically what I did on Sunday when we topped them with cream cheese frosting.

Dinner: It was the husbands turn to make dinner tonight and so he prepped the venison roast the night before and I just popped it into the oven with a load of veggies. Haha he cannot escape me.

It was delicious! I think Chris is holding out on me, he is the professional chef.

After dinner we watched half of the third Lord of the Rings (Chris will be mad I can’t remember the name of the movie) and sipped on some cider.

And that was my Monday. I got to spend it with Chris, so it was a great one!

As always thanks to Jenn from peasandcrayons for hosting this food partay.

~Alyssa

Sunshine in a Cup

I know I know everyone and their moms are talking about how gorgeous it is outside, so I won’t talk about that. Instead, I will share with you a life changing discover Chris and I had a couple weeks ago.

Disclaimer: we may not be that smart, and maybe people have been doing this for ages and questioning why we haven’t, BUT either way it’s amazing.

So what is it?

source: childsleepscience.wordpress.com

Long story short:  a couple weeks ago, we had just done Insanity and really wanted a smoothie, but PROBLEM  we realized we didn’t have any milk or juice (ok, we never have juice).  Anyway, we don’t  have any liquid to  make our smoothie go round. So we were crushed, and started making eggs (because of course eggs are still awesome), UNTIL we discovered we had a few lingering grapefruits in the drawer of the fridge, that were a bit past their prime. So, naturally, we sniffed them (they passed the test) and then proceeded to squeeze them into the blender with frozen fruit and yogurt.

The Result: perfection.

And fast forward to the present day, where the obsession is still strong.

Sunshine in a Cup/Grapefruit Berry Smoothie

Makes 1 Smoothie

• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup frozen strawberries
• handful of frozen mango chunks
• 1/4-1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• juice of 1 large grapefruit (cut in half and squeezed)

Directions

Place everything in a blender and sit back and watch the magic happen!

It is soo refreshing, using all frozen fruits makes into a semi fro yo type indulgence. And the grapefruit juice just adds a certain pop of citrus to the sweetness of the berries! This is a great spring/summer treat.

Question of the Day: What’s your favorite smoothie addition or should I say addiction? Mine is definitely frozen banana, it just adds the right amount of sweetness to any smoothie.

~Alyssa

 

 

Moving and Grooving Monday

Happy Monday to all of you! This surge of warm weather has definitely put me in a great mood for the coming week. Well, that, AND Chris is not traveling this week (Yaaay!) and it’s spring break next week! All of that combined has my spirits lifted.

Weekend Recap, the wonderful sunny weather lead to many sunny walks and outside time as well as smoothies, pizza, and cupcakes!

So I have gotten a few questions  about my work out routine. And I thought it would be fitting to answer this as Chris and I begin training for the Minneapolis half marathon this week! I am trying to beat my time of 1:49 this May, so let the training begin!

Umm like my personality, my workouts are pretty random and seem to change every week, but I will give you the scoop on my typical exercising habits.

When I am not training for anything (which is 99% of my life). I typically work out 4-5 times a week. Being a student at the University of Minnesota has its perks including a HUGE like 5 level gym and numerous group fitness classes. I really enjoy group fitness especially cycling, step, and TNT (tone and tighten) or bootcamp classes.

Monday: 6:45 CSI (cardio strength intervals) group fitness class at the U. This always leaves my arms so SORE.

Tuesday: 6 am Running Club. I leave my apartment at 5:55 am to meet one of my friends from school (who’s an ultra marathoner, she has at least 3 marathons under her belt, so I consider her a professional) and her sister. We do like 4.6 miles and in the last half mile there is a never-ending hill that kills me every time.

Wednesday: Rest OR 6:45 Cycle Core. Another group fitness class that is 45 minutes on the bike and then 15 minutes of assorted planking and ab moves. I can’t do 60 minutes on the bike, I get waay to distracted and fidgety.

Thursday: Rest

Friday: 4-5 mile run.

Saturday: Usually an at home work-out ranging from Jillian Michaels to Insanity when Chris convinces me to do it. Chris really likes insanity, but it’s not my favorite haha mostly because It’s HARD!

Sunday: Rest, church,  eat a large brunch, and enjoy married life.

Of course now I will shift towards more running and less cycling/group fitness classes. I hope you all have a great week and enjoy the beautiful weather!

~Alyssa

Wheat-less Wednesday 6 Things

So along my blogging journey I have discovered that I eat a lot of the same thing: roasted vegetables (sweet potatoes) , quinoa, salsa, and spinach. Pretty much all my meals besides breakfast which is usually oatmeal, is a variation of these staple diet items. However this week I have been trying to add some spice to my life. So here are 6 things I have been recently obsessed with eating!

But first my day of eating!

Breakfast: Oatmeal after an early morning run! Lunch: chicken tacos! Dinner: Turkey burger on a cashew bun. Snacks: Apple and orange muffin!

1. Spiralized Anything…but particularly Zucchini. I think I mentioned we got a vegetti for our wedding, and guys I’m obsessed. It’s so much fun. I find an excuse to put zucchini in and on just about everything! Pasta, salads, eggs….you name it!

2. Crockpot Chicken. So far this broadened my horizon to barbecue chicken and chicken tacos. I much prefer cooking chicken in the crock then in the oven!

3. Muffins! I think giving up sweets for lent has led me to the muffin making business. My latest creations include oatmeal banana and some orange muffins from Julie at pbfingers.

4.Pears, eaten alone or added to oatmeal.

5. Baked Items made from cashews. I love making cashew hamburger buns and now I am into making pancakes with cashews and coconut flour. They are so good.

 

6. TATOR TOTS, in the form of the one and only tator tot hot dish (with some gluten-free creamy soup)!!

As always thanks to Jenn from peasandcrayons, for reuniting us!

I hope that gave you some cooking inspiration, or made you question my sanity. Either way it’s Wednesday so enjoy the rest of your week and eat quinoa!

Question: What is the best thing you’ve eaten this week? I would have to go with the pancakes, they were delicious!

~Alyssa

The Quest for the Crust: II

Hey Guys,

Sorry for the brief break, the semester is really picking up.  And the other day I was realizing that I have 2 internships, a full  class load, my Master’s Project and 2 part-time jobs! Well anyway with all this going on, it is still super important to have date night with my husband. As I mentioned previously (here), we are on the mission to find a delicious pizza crust recipe that we can make. So I will fill you in on our latest adventures.

We made pizza crust from QUINOA. Wait, let me repeat this, because we took Quinoa and made CRUST! I feel like it is something you just have to see to believe, so this my friends is how it went down…

The recipe was actually pretty simple, all it took was a teeny bit of prep work. The base of the dough was soaked quinoa. So the night before I soaked the quinoa (aka placed quinoa in water). Then you just let the quinoa and blender do the rest of the work!

Ingredients for Quinoa Pizza

Slightly Adapted from simplyquinoa.com

• 3/4 cup quinoa, soaked for 6 – 8 hours (or overnight)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• clove of garlic
• Basil and Oregano

Toppings

• Whatever your heart desires. Ours: bacon, turkey pepperoni, peppers, cheese, and onion

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425° and then line a 9” cake pin with parchment paper (I struggled with this part). Put a teaspoon of oil on the parchment to prevent sticking.
2. Drain the quinoa that you soaked for 6-8 hours. Then add it to a blender with the rest of the ingredients.

1. Pour into the cake pan. (It should be pancake batter consistency)
2. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping after 15 minutes. The edges should be nice and golden brown.
3. Top with sauce and toppings of your choice. We managed to fit a whole pound of bacon on a 9” pizza. Because we’re American. We also had turkey pepperoni, peppers, and onion, and CHEESE!
4. Cook until cheese is bubbly, around 12 more minutes!

 

The Verdict

Overall Rating: Alyssa 4/5

I was pleasantly surprised with this crust. It is very simple and quick to prepare and it did not crumble (even with a pound of bacon pressing down on it…major feat). I also liked the few ingredients and healthy nature of the crust, which obviously allows you to put a million toppings on. My only caveat, the texture does not really resemble pizza crust it is more just breading. I wish it could be more flakey.

Chris: 4/5

“Because it held together, wasn’t super salty, and I’m thinking it can’t be a 5 on principle…because it’s got quinoa and it’s pizza.”

And so the search continues….until next date night!

~Alyssa

As always please let me know if you have a good pizza crust recipe, we are ready and willing to try anything.