Another Chapter….

Well, the day is finally here. Tonight I will be going over to the elementary school and registering our little guy for Kindergarten. I guess he isn’t so little anymore. It is insane how quickly time passes. It literally seems like we just brought him home from the hospital, so tiny, and so dependent. And now he is anxious to go off and make new friends, and meet his teachers. Actually he has been preparing himself for Kindergarten for two years now, he wants to get a move on. I asked him what I was going to do without him, even though his sister will still be here, and he says, “Mom just do your thing. You’ll have me in your heart.” What a guy.

 

Ok, enough sentimental nonsense. I’m sure you will all be hearing about his first day when it rolls around which isn’t too far away. I remember when I was in school the first day was in mid-September, now they go back in the beginning of August! That is ok though, we have a fun summer planned, and I know that he will do just fine, and will have so much fun. A whole new chapter in all of our lives that we get to experience, and celebrate.

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, today I decided I wanted to make some muffins. Actually I jotted the recipe down on my phone while I was lying in bed last night watching TV. I bought some strawberries the other day, and they are pretty ripe, and probably not the best quality for just eating, so I wanted to do something with them. These muffins turned out super moist, and aren’t too sweet, but just right for a breakfast muffin, or a snack. The ingredient list is a little longer then I generally care for, but when it comes to baking there are just certain ingredients, and components, that you have to have in a recipe. I wanted to skip oil, and butter this time around and so I used sour cream. I also wanted to keep them refined sugar free. I did half wheat, and half white, flour to help with denseness, and I chose to use a “flax egg” again over a regular egg.

 

There isn’t any real trick to these muffins, they are super easy. I used muffins papers, but you could just put them in prepared muffin tins. They are so moist that they kind of stick to the paper, so if you don’t like to “chew off the excess” you might find it inconvenient. I cut the strawberries fairly large because I wanted them to stand out, and boy do they shine! When you get ready to bake them you might think they seem a little runny, but you won’t be disappointed with the end result. They are fantastic! Just a quick note, before you add your strawberries take a bit of the flour you have measured and sprinkle it over the berries and coat them so they don’t sink to the bottom of the muffins, then sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Strawberries & Cream Muffins

By Angie Gouchenour

8 muffins

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Truvia zero calorie sweetener

2 Tablespoons sour cream

2 flax “eggs” 2 Tablespoons ground flax meal + 2 Tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring

Pinch sea salt

½ cup all-purpose white flour

½ cup wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup milk (I used 2%)

1 cup sliced strawberries

Pink sugar or pink Truvia (Optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375’f

In a medium bowl combine the Truvia, sour cream, flax eggs, vanilla, and sea salt

Coat the sliced strawberries in about 1-2 teaspoons of flour, just enough to coat them and set aside

Dump in the white flour, wheat flour, and baking powder; stir until all wet and dry ingredients are combined

Pour in the milk and mix until a runny batter forms

Fold in strawberries along with any remaining flour

Scoop mixture into muffin tins lined with papers, or sprayed with non-stick spray

If you would like you can sprinkle a little pink sugar, or pink Truvia over each muffin for a little sparkle (Add a little red food coloring to your sugar or Truvia and shake it up. Store in an air tight container)

Place in your preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes

Turn ¼ turn and cook another 5 minutes

Remove the pan from the oven and immediately take muffins out of the tin and place them on a cooling rack so they don’t continue to cook

1 Muffin = 90 calories