During the month of July my husband and I decided to attempt a diet. It's the first time we've really ever done this, usually we just trying to cut back on indulgences when we noticed the extra pounds creeping on, but we both felt ready for more of a change. So we settled on the currently-trendy Keto Diet, threw away all the carbs in our household, and embarked.
Overall, I'd call this a success story. We have both lost around ten pounds, but never really felt the energy surge or brain clarity promised by those effusive fans of the diet, and we both experienced strange side effects (like insomnia?! Also Keto Flu was no joke). We planned to do it for a month, but I stopped after three weeks and Brad has continued on for five so far. My breastmilk supply was suffering from the reduced calorie intake, though it came right back when I started eating more calories in the form of fruits and oatmeal, and also I just missed all the amazing summer fruit too much to go on.
I have been eating more of a Paleo style diet in the last couple of weeks, but I've missed baking. Since I'm not trying to limit myself to a totally gluten or sugar free lifestyle, I decided to make some muffins using as few refined ingredients as possible. These muffins have banana as the main sweetener but a tablespoon or two of honey or maple syrup would add just a little extra sweetness if your tastebuds haven't been recently so starved of sugar that things like milk and plain oatmeal taste sweet to you. (I may not be in the best position to taste-test dessert recipes right now.. )
Basically this little recipe is really easy to adapt to your personal taste and diet preferences. Lots of options!
BLUEBERRY BANANA OATMEAL MUFFINS
INGREDIENTS
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 very ripe bananas, mashed (approx 1 cup mashed banana)
1/4 cup milk of choice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole wheat flour, or unbleached white wheat flour
1 heaping cup of oats
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Optional: 1 or 2 TBS honey or maple syrup
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 325F and fill muffin pan with parchment liners.
Combine coconut oil and sweetener in stand mixer and blend with paddle attachment.
Add eggs, then mashed banana, milk, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Mix well.
Combine baking soda, flour, and oats, then mix into wet ingredients just until combined.
Toss in blueberries and stir gently.
Pour batter into muffin liners and bake for 22-25 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and place on a cooling rack. (Or on your countertop, like I did.)
