A Guilt-Free Muffin Top

Remember when you were 16, had rock hard abs, and a "muffin top" was the least of your worries? Those were the days, right? Man, if only we knew what college/adulting would bring. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not hating on my curvy 26 year old self, but I will say I didn't give that 16 year old gymnastics bod enough credit.

Since getting wifed up, I have been trying to broaden our recipe selection, especially in the morning. Hence, the guilt-free muffin top muffins. These things are legit. The worst thing in them are the chocolate chips but if you go light on them (yeah right) and use dark chocolate, I like to think they aren't so bad for ya! If you are looking for a yummy, filling, healthy, quick baking recipe, and something you grab to go in the morning with your smoothie, this is the muffin for you.

We have a Ninja blender with a food processor attachment, which is what I use to blend everything. You just have to throw all of the ingredients in, blend it up, pour into pan, and bake! Super quick prep-time (5 minutes)!

Wanna make your own?

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 medium ripe bananas
2 large eggs
2 cups old fashion oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips
(I found that the mini works way better than the regular size because they are lighter)

You will need to preheat the oven to 400F and then put all of the ingredients in the blender or food processor- except the chocolate chips- until smooth. You will want to stir in the chocolate chips by hand. Next, pour the batter into the muffin pan, filling each until it is about 3/4 full. I also love to sprinkle a few on top to make it extra yummy (see who really has self control on chocolate chips).

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the tops of your muffins are golden. Allow the muffins to cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before removing. I have noticed that letting them completely cool on a cookie rack helps them turn out better with a better consistency.

Good luck with having patience and trying not to eat them! They are de-lish!

The hubb's thought on it all:

"Fills you up pretty good for just a bunch of oats and bananas!"

We Didn’t Know We Needed Mountains

What do you do after planning a wedding for a year, getting married, going on a honeymoon, coming back only to have your husband lock himself away for nine hours out of the day to study for the Texas Bar Exam, wait three months to find out he did pass, and find out he has an attorney job in a month? YOU CELEBRATE, YOU DECOMPRESS, AND YOU GET AWAY! You go to a place where you forget about reality and get lost with each other and in the surrounding nature and culture and enjoy being married.

I have to start with a huge shout out to our friend Annette who allowed us to stay at her gorgeous mountain home in Evergreen, CO, which is about a 45-minute drive west of Denver. Her house is absolutely gorgeous and tucked away in the side of the mountain with an incredible view. It has the perfect kitchen to cook up an awesome dinner in, a hot tub and a hammock swing to relax in, and wonderful wildlife to sit and watch or even make friends with.

We took one of the later flights out of Austin on Thursday night so that we would have two full days to explore and relax. A quick stop at the Aurora Wal-Mart and adult beverage store was a must before heading up the mountain. Friday morning started with a drive in Denver. We took the scenic mountain route rather than the main highways and made a pit stop at the Red Rock Amphitheater. Red Rocks is a site to see and is definitely going on the list for next time to actually attend a live concert. I definitely had no idea the hike that entailed getting to the top, although it was definitely worth it. The amphitheater was covered with exercise addicts running up and down, with and without dogs, push-ups here, burpees there. Red Rocks is a fitness gym by day and a concert venue by night. Who would have thought?

After feeling completely out done by the work out connoisseurs, we headed into Denver. We sat outside and enjoyed the lovely sunny Denver weather at Marg’s in Uptown. Marg’s has some killer exotic margaritas and delicious tacos. I had the coconut-vanilla margarita and it was as if a margarita and a pina colada had a love child. The pork taco and tempura shrimp taco were delicious, however, I would advise if you come with an appetite, order the three taco plate (the tacos were neither pequeno nor grande).

Full of tacos and tequila, we adventured around downtown and then managed to snag the best parking spot Coors Field has to offer. After running around I have to say, Denver runs a close race with Austin when it comes to being dog friendly. Dogs are everywhere, dog bowls are everywhere, and everyone welcomes them.

Prior to the game, we headed over to Tavern to enjoy the roof top views of Coors Stadium and happy hour (this trip was all about relaxing right?). Happy hour didn’t last long because when you marry a baseball player and you buy tickets to an MLB game, you go 2 hours early for batting practice, NO QUESTIONS ASKED. I probably shouldn’t admit it, but I actually enjoyed it. Took me back to the childhood days with my dad going to Astros games in the Astrodome and begging Jose Lima to throw me a ball during batting practice. RIP. The Red Rock athletes had Hillis and I convinced we needed to continue to diet, so we settled for two foot-long hot dogs and fries. Oh how I miss the ballpark food! The Rockies pulled out a W thanks in large part to extremely hot bats during the 5^th inning, and we headed home (after enjoying our quick skip, hop and jump to our car).

Saturday commenced with a delicious five star breakfast at the cabin, thanks to my chef of a husband. After stocking up on calories we headed out to hike the Maxwell Falls Trail, which just happened to be 10 minutes away. Spoiler – I give this hike all of the credit for getting me to the point of complete decompression and relaxation. The nature itself was amazing and the constant sound of running water throughout the hike soothed the soul. Hiking is now being added to our bi-weekly schedule, haha, but seriously, I need to do it more often and take advantage of the hills in Austin. It is extremely therapeutic and allows your brain to recharge. We even made a friend on the hike – we think his name is Harold. I think he only wanted to be our friend because he knew we had food. Maybe Harold will be there the next time we go back, or at least one of his chipmunk family members. For the sake of authenticity, I will remind you that there were no port-o-potties on this trail, so after hiking for four hours, the car bumper and I shared an intimate moment (#1 of course). Sorry about that National Car Rental…

                             

After stopping at the Safeway in Evergreen (far from the Evergreen H-E-B), we headed home to cook up some onion and garlic infused burgers on the grill. They were delicious and a perfect end to our Red Rock attempt to be fit.

Since this entire trip was pretty much centered around food and drinks, we finished off Sunday lunch at the cutest and tiniest café, Wildflower Café. The café consists of roughly ten tables and has a killer mountain-man of a chef. The chorizo skillet was killer enough to motivate Hillis to buy a personalized skillet when we get back because “all food must come in skillet form”. I devoured the turkey club sandwich, that was paired with the most crisp and fresh French fries. NOM.

We ended our lovely trip to Denver/Evergreen with a three-hour housing tour, brought to you by yours truly. I had one heck of a chauffeur. We drove down the many streets that make up Cherry Creek. We found out where they keep the really good homes but some lady who claims she was security wouldn’t let us through the gate. We were just looking…

Needless to say, this trip was exactly what Hillis and I needed and more. We laughed a lot, ate a lot, drank a fair amount, and most importantly enjoyed being married. The past year hasn’t exactly been the easiest one, lots of ups and downs, but this trip restored my heart, my mind, and my soul. I am sure if it is up to Hillis we will be coming back here…a lot.

And if you were wondering what Hillis’s thoughts were for the trip, here they are:

“This is a trip you need to take that you didn’t even know you needed. I didn’t know I needed mountains to relax.”