Banana Oatmeal Muffins

I’ve always been a sucker for banana bread, but since I started losing weight, I knew I couldn’t eat it anymore unless I found a healthy version.

My mom and I searched through the Weight Watchers website and found a recipe for a healthier banana bread… It was nasty! It was really dry and not sweet at all. I was so disappointed! I kind of gave up on looking for a healthy recipe because I figured every recipe would be similar to the WW one.

This morning I was browsing through Pinterest (good ol’ Pinterest!!) and saw a recipe for banana muffins. Interestingly, the recipe didn’t use flour, but oats instead. It seemed like a simple recipe, so I decided to give it a shot.

Holy Moley. They are DELICIOUS! The only change I would make would be to use overripe bananas next time. I used some that just had a few brown spots on them. Next time, I think I’ll wait till they’re overripe so that the flavor will be a little stronger.

For the original recipe that I found on Pinterest, click here. Below is the same recipe, but with my own tips.

Enjoy!!

Banana Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

2 ½ cup oats (old-fashioned kind, not instant)

6 oz low-fat plain Greek yogurt (1 single serving container)

2 eggs

¾ cup sweetener of choice (we used xylitol)

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

2 bananas

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

(Do not use paper liners with these muffins. Since there is no flour in the batter, the paper liners will stick to the muffins after baking. I just used a non-stick spray on the pan and the muffins came out beautifully.)

2. Place all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until oats are smooth. 

Tip: Put yogurt, eggs, and bananas in the blender first, then add the dry ingredients. Our blender had a hard time because I dumped the oats in first, so it couldn’t really blend everything. The blade just kept spinning. I had to dump all the ingredients out, mix it up, then put it back in the blender. Lesson learned!

3. Pour batter into muffin pan and bake for about 16-18 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. I baked them for 18 minutes and they seemed almost a little too done. Every oven is different, so try starting with 16 minutes or so and then work your way up. Better to add more time than burn them!

Color Me Rad!!

I am incredibly excited because I just registered for my first 5k!!

I've been wanting to do a 5k ever since I started losing weight. I saw a pin on Pinterest for The Color Run, and I immediately wanted to do it. During the race, colored powder is thrown on all the participants. It is called "The Happiest 5k On The Planet."

Unfortunately, I couldn't register for The Color Run. The nearest race was set for August 4th, and I couldn't find anyone who wanted to go with me. (Who wants to run "The Happiest 5k" by themselves?) The clock was ticking and I still hadn't found a running buddy, so I decided I wouldn't register. I wanted to have enough time to train for the race, even though the times don't matter. I still wanted to set a goal and accomplish it.

And then...

My friend Larissa posted on Facebook that she had started a team to run in the Color Me Rad 5k. I went to the website and realized that the Color Me Rad 5k has the same concept as The Color Run: bright colored powder, no time restraints, and lots of fun! After some encouragement from another friend, I decided to register. I registered with Larissa's team to celebrate her 8th year being cancer free! What a great way to celebrate!

The race is set for September 29th. I have plenty of time to start training and trick more friends into running with me. ;)

After meeting my half-way weight loss goal, my weight loss has been rather slow and even stagnant. I realized that I had met my goal of reaching the half-way mark and needed a new goal to focus on. Now I have this 5k! I'm extremely excited to be working towards a new goal, and I can't wait to accomplish it!

My Secret Weapon: Smoothies!

If you’re anything like me, sometimes it can be hard to get five full servings of fruits and veggies each day. I have a problem with the texture of certain foods, so I don’t always eat enough produce. But I did find one way to sneak in some extra servings: smoothies!!

I’ve always loved smoothies, and my love for them grew exponentially when I worked for Jamba Juice. When my mom and I started Weight Watchers, we decided to try making smoothies at home so we could save a few bucks. Since then, I’ve found dozens of yummy smoothie recipes online and I continue to experiment with different fruit combinations.

Here are my tips for smoothie making:

1. Frozen fruit usually works better than fresh fruit.

If you want your smoothies to have a thin, runny texture, use fresh fruit. If you want your smoothies to be thicker (similar to Jamba Juice), then use frozen fruit. Sometimes I’ll use fresh fruit or a combination of fresh and frozen, but most of the time I stick to frozen fruit. If you’re going to freeze bananas, make sure to peel them first! I learned that the hard way.

2. Don’t be afraid to experiment!

If you don’t like a particular fruit, don’t be afraid to add it to a smoothie. Unless you’re using bananas or cantaloupe, individual flavors don’t always stand out in a smoothie. Most of the time everything mixes together to create a whole new flavor. So just because you don’t like mangos doesn’t mean you shouldn’t add them to a smoothie. Don’t be afraid to try new things. Worst-case scenario, you won’t like the smoothie. Oh well, try again the next day!

3.  If your smoothies won’t blend, you need more liquid.

Even top-of-the-line blenders won’t blend a bunch of frozen fruit. Liquid is key! I love adding juice to my smoothies (especially fruit punch!) because it makes the flavor even stronger. You can also use milk or water, or whatever liquid you prefer. If you’re using only fresh fruit, you may not need much liquid at all.

4. Add spinach!

I know it sounds gross, but you won’t even taste it! I have always hated leafy green veggies, but I don’t even notice the spinach in my smoothies. Just add one cup (aka one handful) of baby spinach per smoothie. Be warned: it will make the color of the smoothie kinda funky.

I wanted to share with you some of my favorite smoothie recipes. Give one of these a try and let me know what you think! And feel free to share with me some of your own favorite recipes.

Cherry Bomb

½ cup frozen blueberries

1 cup fresh strawberries

½ cup frozen, pitted cherries

½ cup milk

(I really want to try this one with juice instead of milk!)

Tropical Sunrise

½ cup fresh strawberries

½ cup fresh pineapple

½ cup fresh cantaloupe

½ cup frozen mangos

1 fresh peach

½ cup milk

Berry Good

½ cup fruit punch**

1 cup frozen berry mix (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)

(This one has been my favorite for a very long time. Easy to make and very yummy!)

Popeye’s Favorite

½ frozen banana

1 fresh peach

2/3 cup frozen berry mix (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries)

1 cup spinach

2/3 cup milk

2 or 3 tsp honey

**By “fruit punch” I mean the Langers brand fruit punch found at WinCo. Not Hawaiian Punch. Feel free to substitute a different juice or different liquid altogether. Let me know how it tastes!

Weekly Weigh-In: July 1, 2012

Before my weigh-in, I was nervous. I thought I had done well this past week, until it came time for my brother’s birthday party. I couldn’t resist the ice cream cake my mom made. I had done such a good job earlier in the week, but on Wednesday and Thursday, I had several pieces of ice cream cake and I drank a lot of juice. (I love juice. Seriously, it’s one of my favorite things to drink.)

I did go to the gym five days out of the week, and I did eat healthfully most of the time. I hoped my efforts at the gym were enough to see some change on the scale, but after all that cake and sugary juice, I wasn’t sure.

I weighed myself yesterday morning… I lost 4.4 lbs this week!! I don’t even know how that was possible, especially with all that cake! I weighed myself at least five times on two different scales, just to be sure. I only need to lose one more pound to be back at the weight I was at the beginning of June. What a relief!!

I’m going to continue to do what I did last week, but this time without the cake and juice. ;) I was looking at my gym’s class schedule and realized that there are usually two classes per day that I like to do. So my plan this week is to try and do two classes at the gym each day, instead of just one. I like the classes because I can just show up and do what the instructors tell me to do. If I work out on my own, I noticed that I try to get away with not doing as much. But in the class setting, I push myself and get a better workout.

I know that seeing another huge loss like that this next week is unlikely, but I still want to work hard and lose as much as I can this summer. And honestly, I’m enjoying working out. I never, ever thought I’d say that. But it’s true. :)