prep | Balancing in the Kitchen

There are certain tools in the kitchen that make meal prepping simple and easy, and today I want to highlight one of my favorite tools…the muffin pan! I love making a big batch of muffins for the week because they are so easy to grab and go on busy days. And I’m not just talking about those pastry muffins. I also love to make egg muffins for the days when making eggs for breakfast is just out of the question.

Pastry Muffins: Now, if you are thinking muffins cannot be good for you, think again! There are tons of recipes out there for muffins made with natural and healthy ingredients, while keeping a great taste. I have made muffins with protein powder, mashed bananas, and my new favorite ingredient, chickpeas! My most recent batch of muffins were the Blondie Muffins from the Tone It Up Challenge.

I did make some modifications to the recipe to cater to ingredients I already had in my pantry. The recipe calls for almond butter in the batter, but instead I used 1/2 Sunflower butter and 1/2 Snickerdoodle flavored almond butter (Buffbake). I also made a glaze to put on top of the muffins made of coconut oil (melted) + agave + strawberry jam. I put a spoonful of each in a bowl and mixed it all together. When the muffins had 5 min left in the oven, I took them out and put some glaze over each muffin before returning the pan to the oven.

They came out so well! I had my doubts about the chickpeas in muffins, but you can’t even tell they are in there. I will definitely be making these again.

Egg Muffins: These are my fave. I usually make a big batch of hard boiled eggs to grab in the mornings or as a snack, but egg muffins are a great way to switch it up once in awhile. And they are super easy to make, since it only takes a few minutes to make a pan full of muffins for the entire week!

To make, start with a base of a combo of eggs and egg whites. I always like to use a portion of full eggs to keep those healthy fats and flavor, but also incorporate the egg whites to keep that calorie count low without losing the protein. I find that 8-9 eggs is sufficient to make 12 mini muffins (3 mini muffins = 1 serving). I usually do 6 eggs and 3 egg whites, but you can always split it out to have more egg whites (although I recommend at least 1/2 of the egg portion is whole eggs).

Next, add the ingredients! This is where it gets fun. Any variety of veggies (and proteins, such as ground turkey or ham) works! Some ideas are:

spinach
mushrooms
onion
tomatoes
asparagus
bell pepper
zucchini
broccoli

Mix the eggs and the veggies together in a bowl, and add salt, pepper, and any other spices you want (chives, scallions, dill, garlic- the options are endless!). Spray the muffin pan and add the egg mixture filling each cup about 3/4 of the way. Bake the muffins on 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Meal prepping can seem daunting and take hours, but if you utilize tools such as a muffin pan, it can cut down on that time and effort. And as always, practice makes perfect. My first batch of egg muffins turned out, well, not so great. You just have to experiment with the ingredients and methods that work for you.

Welcome to the Blog! I am SO excited to get this site up and running. I decided to start this blog as another outlet to share my eats and keep myself accountable, while hopefully inspiring others to really think about their eating and lifestyle habits.

Around this time last year, I decided to stop worrying about the calorie-counting and point-tracking, and I joined the Tone It Up Nutrition Plan. I know, joining a nutrition plan sounds even worse than calorie-counting- but this one is different! I didn’t have to worry about counting anything! And better yet, I didn’t have to follow a day-by-day plan for all of my meals (although it was available if I wanted to do so). It was really up to me to educate myself on the science behind what and how to feed my body. And though I did not know at the time, this became a lifestyle change for me. Now, one year later, I am still at it. Not necessarily sticking to the TIU plan (although they just came out with a challenge on January 1st with so many great looking recipes), but sticking with my philosophy that it’s all about knowing what to feed your body. And most importantly, how to balance life with it.

Here’s a few things that I have learned along the way:

Eat 5 meals a day (breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner). This cuts out most cravings and desperate hunger. No longer do I find myself sitting at my desk craving the chips from the vending machine.
Plan, Plan, Plan! Every weekend, I sit down and plan my meals for the week. And then on Sunday, I prep most of my meals, which takes out all of the guess-work and excuses.
Embrace the balance. I no longer worry about those nights where I reach for the piece of bread, or order my fave (not-so-healthy) dish at a restaurant. It makes me happy, so why not? As long as I know this isn’t an every-day type of occurrence, then there is no guilt at all!
You can eat those superfoods even on a budget! I am a few years out of college, so I can by no means afford all of those fancy, organic foods (hello, Whole Foods!). BUT, you can splurge on one of them each week, so you don’t break the bank on one shopping trip.
Stay accountable. The reason I have my Instagram account and this blog. I find inspiration from the accounts I follow, as well as the comments I receive on my own posts. When I feel like people are paying attention, I find myself wanting to stick with it and show everyone who my best self is.