Wade and I are so appreciative of the love! Big hugs to you all!
It all started with a mission.
I am saying goodbye, adios, and sayonara to most packaged and processed foods for an entire month. So long to white flours and white sugars.
The beginning of the new year usually marks a time for diet overhauls for many folks looking to kickstart healthier lifestyle habits. Originally, my buddy and I had planned on trying out paleo for a month.
But...lets' just say I think we both came to the conclusion that we are far too addicted to our favorite go-to breakfasts during these colder months: oatmeal. That and the fact that we both thought as long as we just stuck to 100% whole grains for our new month-long diet, we'd be on the right page.
Therefore we have decided to call this little experiment the Real and Whole Foods Diet!
--white, refined flours
--white, refined sugars (cane sugar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, etc.)
--most packed and processed foods with unnecessary, added ingredients
--alcohol
Doesn't sound too bad, right? I generally eat a real and whole foods based diet anyways. It's the little snacks and treats here and there that throw me off. The random cookies my coworker brings into work...that piece of candy leftover from Christmas just calling my name...
But I just want to give my body a long break from the added sugars and unnecessary treats when I know I could be snacking on some healthier options.
Our diets are officially starting on January 12 and we have planned to *strictly* continue them until February 12. Just in time before Valentine's Day, which we all know is typically a holiday celebrated with some special meal splurges. I'm looking forward to having a glass of wine and some indulgent dessert on that holiday weekend.
Plus Wade and I have our first engagement party on that same weekend. So excited!
For these muffins I used a mixture of white whole wheat flour, ground oat flour (which is just rolled oats ground into a fine powder in a food processor), and ground flaxseed. If you wanted to try exclusively using white whole wheat flour and just cutting out the oat flour and flaxseed, please do! Use whatever you have on hand. The oat flour and flaxseed just add more good-for-you nutrients than simply using white whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour.
For the bananas, I had some frozen, overripe bananas I just thawed and mashed. The more ripe the banans, the sweeter the muffins will be. As for the dates, I soaked them in water for roughly 30 minutes before chopping them up because it creates more of a date "paste" before adding to the mixture.
Vegan Banana Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground oat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
4 large ripe bananas
1/2 cup stevia
3 dates, pitted, soaked in water, finely chopped into "paste" texture
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened almondmilk
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I use Molina brand)
1 cup fresh blueberries
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or lightly spray muffin pan(s) with coconut oil.
In medium sized bowl, mix together the whole wheat flour, oat flour, flaxseed, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.
Peel and mash bananas in a large bowl. Add in stevia, chopped date "paste", melted coconut oil, unsweetened almondmilk, and vanilla extract. Whisk these ingredients together until well incorporated--roughly 30 seconds-min. Really whisk it! Put some effort into it!
Gently mix dry ingredients into large bowl of wet ingredients just until completely combined. Fold in blueberries. Fill each muffin tin 3/4 of the way full with mixture. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean.
D you have a favorite healthy baked sweet treat you have made before?