Good Times In The Kitchen
My stomach woke me up this morning! That almost never happens. Even though I was hungry, there is just something about eating as soon as I get up that doesn’t appeal to me.
I tried to quiet things down with some press…
It didn’t work. The parasite was hangry.
Since it was a gym day instead of a run day, I fed it something hearty- a Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffin…
all oats, no flour and no sugar!
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- 2 1/4 cups oats
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 banana, mashed
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/3 cup date puree
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup skim milk
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Combine dry ingredients (oats through cinnamon) in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, add banana, peanut butter, date puree and vanilla…
Mix banana mixture into oats. Add milk and egg…
Spray muffin tin with cooking spray…
Fill 8 muffin cups evenly …
Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 12-14 minutes. Going in…
Coming out…
All the way…
I did the nutritional breakdown for these, too (using www.calorieking.com) …
Each muffin: 197 calories, 5 gr. fat, 29 gr. carbs, 3.8 gr. fiber, 10 gr. sugar, 7 gr. protein.
These will make a good grab- n- go dashboard breakfast!
After muffin time, I hit the gym. I decided to try something different today. I warmed up for 20 minutes on The Arc Trainer, then did the 30 minute circuit. The circuit is a mix of weights and a cardio step. A red light and green light sets the time for you so you know when to switch to the next machine. It was a sweaty good time 
The good times kept on rolling over to the supermarket for the weekly loot. My stomach acted up again so on the way home, I dug into these new (to me) Mary’s Gone Crackers Sticks and Twigs…
These are good! You are probably thinking how can something called “sticks and twigs” ever be put in the “good” category, but they are! Too good. In fact, so good that I kept munching all the way home and momentarily thought that I should throw the whole bag out the window because clearly, I cannot be trusted with these. 
But, I am a law-abiding citizen and therefore, I do not litter.
Anywhooo, a yummy lunch awaited me at home. I was looking forward to making Shrimp Tacos with the leftover grilled shrimp from last night’s salad…
Corn tortillas, broccoli slaw, grilled shrimp, diced avocado and fresh salsa with a side of organic grapes…
Dinner was another date with the grill. Greek grilled chicken, homemade tzatziki sauce and a cucumber, tomato and feta salad served with grilled pitas…
One of my favorite summer salads! Can’t wait to use the tomatoes from our garden…
Tzatziki is delicious on grilled chicken…
It’s so easy to make, too…
- 8 oz. greek yogurt (I use nonfat)
- 1/2 cup grated english cucumber
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. fresh dill
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
Mix together and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let flavors develop.
Know what else is easy to make? Fruit soft-serve! Tonight’s flavor : Pineapple Banana…
Half frozen pineapple and half frozen banana in the processor goes from this…
To this…
Good times
Have a great day, everyone!
Don’t forget to enter my NuNaturals giveaway!
Do you wake up hungry or does your hunger need a wake up call?
Questions? Email me! aloserforlife@gmail.com
27 comments
YUM YUM and more YUM!!! I’ve been looking for low sugar muffin recipes and I’ll definitely try this. Everything else looks great, too. Thanks for posting this.
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:46 am
You’re welcome, Donna! Hope you like them
Must. Try. Those. Muffins! Mmmm!
And, yes…I often wake up hungry! More often than I care to admit!
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:47 am
They would go great with your homemade almond milk!
I usually have to wake up enough to eat. Your muffins look terrific ! I am going to try these for a quick solution for breakfast for some Sundays, and i am thinking they could make great vacation breakfast fare !
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Yay, hope you like them!
Yummy yum yum. I love those muffins. And that soft serve.
Unfortunately I think I might have a parasitic belly as well.
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Booo to bad bellies
Feel better!
Everything looks delicious Marisa. You are doing so well with the food and exercise!
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:48 am
Thanks, Tami! I’m really trying!!
I’ve never been a big muffin fan but these look AWESOME! As do the shrimp tacos. And thanks for the sauce recipe! Think it would be bad if I didn’t use dill?! (I have everything else on hand!)
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:50 am
I think it would be fine w/o dill! I’ve actually had some pre-made before that didn’t include it. I believe garlic is what really brings the flavor together anyway
hummm those twig things…I might need to skip them. lol You know me with the crackers! lol
Shrimp tacos look tasty- so does the chicken!
I just made some banana soft serve the other night for the first time- LOVED IT! YUM!
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:51 am
Yum! Where has this soft-serve been all our Weight Watchers life ?!
Everything looks very yummy! Well my stomach did not wake me up however, my dog did wake me up this morning at 6 am, I was actually sleeping in which I hardly ever do, and the he was. Did I mention he’s half Great Dane?? Yep I was up. No going back. I think I might have to make some muffins:)!
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:52 am
LOL! Yeah, I don’t think a Great Dane is going to go away quietly! Maybe a nap is in order later?? Wishful thinking, right!
All looks good, I need to not put snacky stuff close to me after going to the store or I munch the whole way home
Have you tried papaya softserve?
Need to try the softserve instead of smoothies
Marisa Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:53 am
I haven’t but I will have to put that on my list to try! I have done mango and that is fabulous!
I can’t wait to make those muffins they look very good.
New follower
http://fitmama2.blogspot.com/
Hey, you know how I’m doing four weeks/four plans? Well I’m starting to think that week five should be “eat whatever Marisa ate yesterday” week. I’m totally serious. Except for the meat, which I can totally sub out, I want to eat everything you eat. What do you think? Are you up to the challenge?
Muffin looks good!! I will definitely try them. Wonder if you could substitue the date puree for apple sauce?
I always wake up with a grumbly tummy. It never fails.
Thanks for the shrimp taco idea, I’ve had a pound of shrimp chilling in my freezer just waiting to be made into something fresh and summery. Plus, I just bought some avocados – perfect!
I work in an office where I deal with a ton of numbers every day and I always seem to juxtapose them in my head. I joke that I’m slowly becoming dyslexic. Then, when reading this post, both times you typed “sticks and twigs” I said it in my head as “stiggs and twicks”. Crap.
Okay. All your food looks so great! The muffins, the shrimp tacos, and the tzatkiki sauce. I’ve been wanting to make that! Have everything except the Greek Yogurt. Yum!
Ah my absolute favorites! Shrimp tacos and Greek style chicken, Tzaziki sauce and Greek salad. Gorgeous food today!!! Thanks for sharing…as always!
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hollllly bookmarking those muffins!