Goji Green Tea Raspberry Muffins

Ah, Saturday.  Unfortunately there is no sleeping in when one has an energetic 2-year-old, but at least it is a day of slower pace for me.  No rushing to get out the door and squeeze into an over-capacity subway train on the commute to work.  Not on Saturday.  I can relax and enjoy my 3 feet of personal space and fresh air today.

My Saturday started at 6:30am today.  As I said, it's hardly sleeping in, but the "Mommy, I'm hungry"chant over and over drove me out of bed and into the kitchen.  While Preciosa devoured a cup of soy yogurt, I made myself a cup of goji berry green tea and was inspired to incorporate the tea into a batch of muffins.

I've used tea in muffins before and I had a bag of frozen raspberries begging to add their intense flavour and natural sweetness to a sugar-free weekend treat. 

Goji Green Tea Raspberry Muffins
2 cups unbleached white flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 packets Stevia
2 tbsp agave nectar
3 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water
1/2 cup hot water with steeped tea
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
3/4 cup (frozen) raspberries

Preheat oven to 400F.  Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and stevia in a large mixing bowl.  In a seperate bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except raspberries.  Pur wet mixture into dry, and stir until just mixed.  Fold in berries.  Pour into lightly oiled muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from muffin tin, and cool on a cool slightly before devouring.

 

Preciosa could hardly wait for them to cool before she got her hands on one.  Halfway through eating her warm muffin, she asked me to put peanut butter on it.

And just a recap and some photos from my recent 10k run that I mentioned in a previous post:  I was one of 50,000 people that came out for the Sun Run on Mother's Day, May 9th.  At the finish line there was plenty of fresh bananas, oranges, water, juice, and live music.  And a very cute little girl waiting for her mama.  It was the perfect Mother's Day gift.

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Soy-free lunch and wannabe Mexican dinner

Happy cinco de mayo!  While I really wanted to whip up an amazing Mexican meal tonight, I was in a hurry because I had to meet my training partners for a run.  It's our last practice before the 10k run we're doing this Sunday.

I did manage to make Spanish rice, with some veggie ground round and a side of steamed veggies with "melted" soy cheese.  There's also some perfectly rip avocado on top.  I just adore avocados!  Did you read my haiku about avocados? If I had a can of black beans I would have added it to the veggies before I put them in the oven to melt the cheese. 

And here's a pic of Preciosa's soy-free lunch:  oatmeal, animal cookies, brown rice pasta with tomatoes & mushrooms in olive oil & garlic sauce, fresh pineapple, a sunflower butter &  mango jam sandwich, and chicpeas with corn.  If it seems like a lot of food for a 2-year old, it is both breakffast and lunch.  All of it was eaten except a couple of animal cookies.

In with the seed butters and all kinds of beans!

It seems like there's an increase in the number of children with peanut allergies these days.  More and more schools and childcare programs are introducing no-nut policies.  Such is the new rule at the daycare that  Preciosa attends, which makes things a bit more difficult when I'm trying not to rely too much on soy products for  protein.  Gone are the days of cashew sauce on pasta, and almond butter sandwiches for lunch.

It's completely understandable, as two of the children at the center have severe allergies.  Now, if only someone could have a meat allergy...all joking aside, there's still plenty of acceptable protein sources out there.   In with the seed butters and all kinds of beans! 

Today I sent Preciosa on her way with french toast on freshly baked whole wheat & rye bread, with organic maple syrup, rice vermacelli with teryaki tofu & veggies, strawberries, and soy yogurt.

And also I wanted to show you this crazy beautiful weird heirloom tomato I found at Whole Foods recently. Isn't it amazing?!  I've never seen anything like it.