I am no master in the kitchen.
Don't let the apron fool you.
To tell you the truth, prior to this time last year, I rarely (if ever) turned on the oven/stove/etc. The microwave was my best friend. My hubby will certainly vouch for this.
And honestly, I still feel a little uncomfortable with a spatula in my hand. So what changed?
Well, around this time last year I was studying for the biggest test of my life, The Boards (yes they certainly deserve capitalization, and insert ominous music here... Dun dun dunnhhhh). It was an incredibly difficult time in my life. I was home (alone), for 6-8 weeks straight. Studying every aspect of science and medicine I could fit in my brain. 10-16 hrs a day.
I had a lot of time alone to procrastinate. I was really unhappy with my diet at the time and I really wanted to explore a health(ier) lifestyle than the one I was living. Sure, I was still running/lifting 5-6 days a week, but nutrition was on the back burner. And somehow, one Saturday night, when I was on the couch forcing myself not to study and relax for a sec, I stumbled into the world of health blogs.
HEAB, Oh She Glows, Kath Eats... these women were strong, had lost weight the right way, and were happy with food, exercise, and proper nutrition.
Did they do it by buying SlimFast Shakes and 100 calorie snack packs?
No. They lost the weight by experimenting with real, delicious, wholesome food.
I was intrigued, and started slow, introducing green smoothies into my diet.
Then one night as I ogled yet another healthy baked good, I approached my rusty oven (seriously, my old apartment was ancient) and preheated that baby to 325.
The rest is history.
Or so I'd like to think. I certainly have more confidence in the kitchen than I did before, but I have my share of fails.
(I will never top anything with unsweetened baking chocolate again!)
For every sad recipe though, there's always redemption.
Peanut Butter Frosted Muesli Bars
Wholesome, little added sugar, and thankfully, delicious!
(from Daily Garnish)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried currants
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1 liquid egg white
2 TBSP milk
2 TBSP sugar free maple syrup
1 TBSP vanilla agave
2 TBSP butterscotch chips
Topping: slather w/ peanut butter
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease baking pan/awesome baking square pan.
2. Mix dry ingredients into a large bowl. Mix wet in a separate bowl.
3. Pour wet into dry, mix until combined (may need to add a little extra milk if dry).
4. Empty into baking tins. Bake at 350F for 12-13 mins.
5. Remove from oven and slather with peanut butter.
The peanut butter will solidify overnight. I just popped one of these in the microwave for ~15 seconds this morning-->instant melty PB breakfast.
See, the microwave and I are still pretty tight ;-).
Do you feel comfortable in the kitchen? What's your favorite food/baked good to make?