Kitchen Attempts

Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins

In about two weeks, I turn the big three-oh and the best gift I can think of giving myself (and I know this will sound cheesy) is the gift of health. Four birthdays ago I promised myself that I would be in my best shape, that I would attain my ideal weight and be healthy. I remember beginning a program and losing a bit of weight but was never able to sustain it.  Smoking, drinking and being careless about my food intake caused me to gain a substantial amount of weight and I did not look good. I was far from being at my prime.

Three months ago, as an attempt to remove inches from our waists, my co teachers and I decided to start our own version of The Biggest Loser.  I knew the only way to shed the pounds was for me to be more active (and reduce beer intake), so I hopped on the treadmill and I told myself to run. Three months and 2 races later, I’ve managed to drop almost 10 pounds off of my weight. Blame it on the serotonin induced by a 7k run but I have never felt better about myself.

my Healthy Options purchase

So along with my new lifestyle are healthier recipes, such as this: Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins (c/o Pinch My Salt).  I deiced to make a batch of these when Mister M and I were window-shopping at Healthy Options where I found a pack of whole-wheat flour.

pumpkin spice, lemon and orange zest and ground rolled oats

There were a couple of ingredients that I didn’t have in my kitchen such as the ground flax seeds and pumpkin pie spice. Thankfully, the online recipe that I found included the steps on how to make pumpkin spice. The flax seeds I substituted with ground rolled oats. I also added some lemon zest to the recipe to give it more of a citrus flavor.

I absolutely loved this recipe! The muffins were very dense, flavorful, and most of all, healthy – a great breakfast especially for those who are on the go. Have one of these every day and you’re sure to get your daily dose of fiber.