{Mother's Day Breakfast}

The only thing missing from my kidlet-ful, sunny, Mother's Day morning was my hardworking, firefighter/EMT husband (who yes is working today in those occupations!) and bacon!!! :) 

This is what and who graced the breakfast table today.....

MBug and Mister J (are't they cute?), 3 varieties of muffin in a mug, and of course coffee!!! ;) Lit' Lex was happily playing in the living room :)

So, are you curious about that strange plate of muffin slices??? :) 

Here are better pictures first:

Left to right: Lemon, Chocolate, Blueberry! The white stuff is cream cheese THM "frosting" and the brown, peanut butter "frosting". 

Messy, in a hurry, multi-tasking me! :) This is the #BeRealChallenge photo today. I am coming to peace that I am not like my mother (as dear and neat as she is :) nor any of my sisters or friends. I am me. And that is just alright! 

Here is what the muffins look like fresh from the mugs! :)

Muffins sliced and shared :) I love my plates! Arent they so happy and colorful?! 

So every muffin in a mug has a base from the one in the THM book. (Pg. 256) These MIMs are an "S" for anyone interested.

I discovered something about their original recipe/ the CHOCOLATE one this week.... It makes ALL the difference if you have the right sweetners!!!!! Lol. So I used 1.5 packets of Truvia (approx one and half tsp) plus a GOOD shake of the pure white stevia extract powder. The book actually says you can use between 2-4 tsp of Truvia but I have been going very light on the Truvia as I was showing signs of my body negatively reacting to it in bad stomach aches. I actually think the amount I used is about right; could be sweeter but doesn't need to be. ;) I also added one non-purist thing and that was about a tsp of non-approved mini chocolate chips. I don't very often, but thought today was special :) 

To make a LEMON muffin omit the chocolate, add lemon essential oil (food grade) or lemon extract and about 1 T of lemon juice. Also, dont forget to add extra "flour" (almond flour/flaxseed meal) as if won't have that extra from the chocolate's cocoa powder. ;) This muffin is so light and tart and cheery! I love the lemon!!! 

And now for my daughter's favorite: BLUEBERRY!!! I omitted the cocoa powder/added more almond flour and flaxseed meal, of course, and also added a few frozen blueberries. Make sure you add vanilla too. Lol! (But you already know don't you, that I add vanilla to everything that fits under the "baked good" category!) Because the blueberries add a lot more moisture you may need to microwave/bake longer. Today mine took 1 minute 20 seconds instead of the 55-60 seconds of the other two. 

Today I felt like I was indulging a bit maybe on the "dark side" (sorry, that's my nerdy side coming out, lol. Read "bad for me/unhealthy/guilty". :) by the frostings but they are ALSO Trim Healthy Mama approved! Can you believe that?! ;) 

I pretty much took the idea from the book, but is slightly different, so here is the recipe:

(By the way this is for enough for three muffins or so, hehe)

Mimicked Cream Cheese Frosting

Take 1-2 oz Cream Cheese, 2ish Tbsp Butter, dash of vanilla, liquid Stevia (Nunaturals is my fAvorite), and between 3/4-1 cup Greek Yogurt (I had Kirkland's fat free in my fridge today). Blend up with a small whisk or with a blender til smooth. The kids loved this too. :)

The peanut butter stuff is technically some filling I had leftover from chocolate peanut butter cups (THM), and is just a mixture of natural PB and powdered Xylitol, to personal taste and consistency. It was pretty good on that chocolate slice :)

So, truly all that was missing was the bacon and husband! Good thing they'll both make it up to me tomorrow. ;) I hope. Hehe. ;) 

Happy Mother's Day and here's to healthy eating!!! 

{THM Elizabeth Waffles & Pancakes - "S"}

A few weeks ago I posted a picture on Facebook of some Trim Healthy Mama pancakes that I had eaten for lunch. Apparently they looked as good as they tasted as several friends asked for the recipe! :) And so here I am posting more pictures and the recipe! 

I first saw the recipe when my cousin Elizabeth shared it on Facebook from Pinterest. I asked her if she had made them and she said they were the best THM waffle recipe they had tried (out of quite a few!) I liked how they were an "S" as we probably tend to eat more "S" breakfasts than "E"s.  So I tried them.... And even though they really can't be compared to regular white flour, carb laden waffles, they WERE the best THM ones I have had! ;) 

{pancakes topped with blueberries and heavy cream whipped with a dash of powdered xylitol}

About a week after first trying the waffles, MBug asked if we could pretty please have pancakes for breakfast. I decided I would try this new waffle recipe and just make pancakes. Guess what?! They worked splendidly! So whatever mood you're in for, you can make either one from the same recipe! How cool is that?! ;) 

I also made up several bags of the dry ingredients so that there is a lot less to do on "Pancake Mornings" (the name is completely from MBug, lol). The pictures I took this morning of me whipping up a waffle batch are from the pre mixed bag! :) 

Now for the recipe:  

Almond Flour Yogurt Waffles

1 1/3 cups almond flour

2 tbsp granulated erythritol ( I used powdered xylitol)

2 tbsp vanilla whey protein powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp xanthan gum ( I have been out of this and have been using glucomannan instead)

1/4 tsp salt

4 large eggs

6 oz FAGE Total Greek Yogurt ( I just use whatever Greek yogurt is in the fridge, lol) 

3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

1/4 cup almond milk

Preheat waffle maker and grease well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, erythritol/sweetener, whey protein, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt. Set aside.

Separate the whites and yolks of two of the eggs. In a clean dry bowl, beat the whites until they form stiff peaks. (I have also done all four eggs this way and could tell no difference)

In another medium bowl, whisk together yogurt, egg yolks and remaining eggs until combined. Stir in almond flour mixture, then add melted butter and almond milk, and stir vigorously until thoroughly combined. Gently fold in beaten egg whites.

Spread approximately 1/4 cup of batter on each 4-inch section of the prepared waffle iron (my waffle iron is two 4-inch square sections. For round waffle irons, use your best judgement on the amount of batter needed). Close iron and let cook 4-5 minutes, or until waffles are golden brown. Remove waffles and repeat with remaining batter.

Makes 10 4-inch square waffles. Each waffle has 4.2 g of carbs and 1.3 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS per waffle = 2.9 g.

Read more at http://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2011/11/almond-flour-yogurt-waffles-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html#Y0mWPULQdS8wgep3.99

{getting ready to make waffles this morning!}

{the egg whites, especially if one whips all four like I did this morning, make the batter FLUFFY!}

{they are a bit thinner than my yogurt and white flour recipe, but still turn out nice}

P.S. The best part of these pancakes is that amazing whip cream! It was so delicious! Why do we ever buy the fake stuff in plastic container from the store??? 

Another amazing thing??? Even though it seems like an incredible guilty indulgence, on the THM lifestyle plan it is completely approved!!! (With "S" meals) That makes me so happy! ;)