Spinach & Banana Muffins, oh my ~

I know what you thinking. It doesn't sound very good, right. But actually these healthy muffins are not that bad. I'm not going to say they are my favorite. My favorite muffins require way more sugar, atleast 1000 calories and must be extremely bad for you:) I can't remember how I stumbled upon the recipe but it was perfect timing because I had a huge package of spinach I needed to use. Here is the recipe that I copied from Fun & Food Cafe website.
http://www.funandfoodcafe.com/2012/04/healthy-green-muffins.html

APRIL 16, 2012 BY MANSI

Green (Spinach & Banana) Muffins
Prep Time: 10 mins
Bake Time: 25 mins
Servings: 6


Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/3 cup white or brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 medium-sized banana
1 cup packed baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Method
Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Grease or line muffin tin with paper liners and keep ready. Mash the banana and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk the sugar and egg until creamy and fluffy. Stir in oil, yogurt, lemon zest and mashed banana.
In a food processor, blend the spinach leaves until very finely chopped. It will almost look like a pesto, and that’s what we need. Coarse grind the pecans in another grinder, or just pound them with a mortar-pestle; you can even just chop them lightly if you like texture.
Fold in the chopped spinach and half of the pecans into the batter, leaving some of the nuts aside to sprinkle on the top. Fill batter into prepared muffin tin, filling them upto the brim. Remember, this recipe uses whole-wheat flour, which does not have as much gluten as AP flour, so the muffins will not rise too high, so fill the tin upto the brim.
Garnish each muffin with the remaining pecans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
These muffins are best enjoyed warm. So store them in an air-tight container, and whenever you want to eat one, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds, deck it up with a dollop of butter or whipped cream, and pop it in your mouth for one flavorful bite! The fiber and protein in this recipe will fill you up without adding on too many calories, so its a great treat even for people who count their calories.

Source: funandfoodcafe.com via Jamie on Pinterest

I modified the recipe a little bit. Here is my version.



It's almost the same except for these few changes. I didn't have whole wheat flour so I used white flour. I added about 1/8 cup of flax seed to my food processor and then added that to the recipe to give that whole wheat texture.

I didnt have a lemon for the zest but I think that could be optional anyway.



Here is how mine turned out.
Looks pretty close to original and probably taste just as good. One of these days I'll get all the right ingredients and make it like the recipe says, just to compare. If you decide to make these don't tell anyone about the spinach. It's so much fun to see their faces afterwards when you tell them what was in it. Or if you have a picky eater like I do, don't ever tell:) Good Luck!



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PicMonkey and Old Hollywood Collide

I love PicMonkey! I can spend hours editing and playing around with the different features available on this site. I can even airbrush my wrinkles away:) YAY!

Here are a few pics from my Old Hollywood photo shoot, that I've tweaked a bit.

I love how my eyes peek out from behind the rose vine.

















I saw this photo of Marilyn on Pinterest a couple weeks ago and feel in love with it. This is a beautiful photo of Marilyn Monroe from her last photoshoot by Bert Stern. Look at the sadness in her eyes. Its captivating!


I had never seen her like this before. She is usually so happy in her photos. Just for fun, I wanted to try and convey this same emotion in my photo shoot. What do you think?


This dress was to big for me in the shoulder area. It kept wanting to fall. So I used the tulle on the dress to cover up any what could be embarrassing moments. I think it made for an interesting shot.
















This is my personal favorite. As if you can't tell from the huge photo you get to see when you open my blog:) It best portrays my personality and what I consider most beautiful about me.



I hope you guys get a chance to play on PicMonkey soon! Have a blessed day:)


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A Monday Reminder

Isaiah 41:10

'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

Source: schoengeistig.tumblr.com via Holly on Pinterest

I hate to struggle with things in life. I just want everything to go smooth. But life is a daily struggle and the struggle can actually be beneficial to us in the long run.

This story is a great example of that:)

Once a little boy was playing outdoors and found a fascinating caterpillar. He carefully picked it up and took it home to show his mother. He asked his mother if he could keep it, and she said he could if he would take good care of it.

The little boy got a large jar from his mother and put plants to eat, and a stick to climb on, in the jar. Every day he watched the caterpillar and brought it new plants to eat.

One day the caterpillar climbed up the stick and started acting strangely. The boy worriedly called his mother who came and understood that the caterpillar was creating a cocoon. The mother explained to the boy how the caterpillar was going to go through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly.

The little boy was thrilled to hear about the changes his caterpillar would go through. He watched every day, waiting for the butterfly to emerge. One day it happened, a small hole appeared in the cocoon and the butterfly started to struggle to come out.

At first the boy was excited, but soon he became concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard to get out! It looked like it couldn’t break free! It looked desperate! It looked like it was making no progress!

The boy was so concerned he decided to help. He ran to get scissors, and then walked back (because he had learned not to run with scissors…). He snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger and the butterfly quickly emerged!

As the butterfly came out the boy was surprised. It had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly expecting that, at any moment, the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to support the swollen body.

But neither happened!

The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

It never was able to fly…

He later learned that the butterfly was SUPPOSED to struggle. In fact, the butterfly’s struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly.

As you go through life, keep in mind that struggling is an important part of any growth experience. In fact, it is the struggle that causes you to develop your ability to fly.






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Old Hollywood~

I love Old hollywood actresses! I love the hair, the makeup, the gowns and the refined beauty. True Beauty, I think! What I day dream about most days, is of being an old hollywood actress. I'm in my dressing room, my gown is made of the finest silk and my skin feels caressed by it's softness. I stare into the mirror as I fix my eyeliner so the corners lift up. My eyes sparkle under the bright vanity lights. My lips soft and puckered in red and I practice my lines. Every word is spoken in a whisper as I preparing myself for the leading role and I try to convey the emotions of the character the producers want me to play. They say, I'm wounded by heartache, I'm scared to love again but his charm weakens me and I find myself falling for him. LOL! You thought you were reading one of those mushy romance novels there for a minute, huh!?!?
It's so much fun to play! So here is some shots of my Old Hollywood photo shoot.


Taken by my 11 years old daughter. Yesterday she told me she wanted to do photography as a profession when she gets older. Which I think is a perfect idea! But the funny part is, she asks me to pay her for her work. LOL! I said " Just consider this excellent experience and payment for the 9 months I carried you and then pushed you out! HA! I must say, she is a really good photographer and I'm excited to see where this takes her in the furture. Oh, and did I mention she beautiful. She has a models body to boot. Life is so unfair:)









What are you day dreaming about today? (x's and o's) Jamie

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After 13 years, I still Heart you! A romantic (dine in) date night~

This post is a week behind. Our actual Anniversary is June 14th. I wasn't feeling well that day so we didn't do anything to celebrate. Since the kids were at the grandparents house yesterday, I figured I'd better take advantage of the opportunity to make it a date night. Dine in style:)

I spent a long time yesterday thinking about what to make for our dinner date. You guys are gonna laugh when you see what I finally decided on. Just take into consideration that he is a meat and potato kind of guy and I'm a one pot kinda gal. Hence, Chicken Pot Pie~



You know what they say, the way to a mans heart is through his stomach:) He loved it!

After eating, we sat and smiled at the silliness of our long over due date, like we were teenagers again. A couple kisses, I love you's and a conversation without distractions stamped the seal of approval to the end of a perfect evening. My hubby then motioned in the air as if speaking to someone and said, "Check, Please." I laughed. It was perfect.:)

Here is a look at our romantic (dine in) dinner date!



















So, after 13 years of marriage, I still HEART you (David).
x's and o's Jamie


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