Healthy Blueberry Muffins

I am heading into my fourth week of healthy eating, and second week of working out. It is not easy. I have lost 4 pounds since June 5th, which isn't a huge loss but I will take it. It would be nice to see faster results, but it's a work in progress. I am way more conscious about what I eat and I have been going to the gym- a feat that I have been saying I would do for about 2 years. Getting up at 5 am sucks, but I feel good once I am there. I am monitor my calories with My Fitness Pal (add me so we can help each other! chelsea554) 
One hard thing for me is that I have been avoiding baking. It is hard to find healthy recipes. One that I came across on Pinterest was a recipe for Blueberry Muffins aka Power Muffins. They are yummy, low calorie breakfast food. I have been eating one before my workouts- I recommend trying them! It is nice to have something to quickly grab to get your metabolism going in the early morning.
This recipe makes 12-15 muffins, depending on how much you put in your muffin tin. 

Ingredients:

• no-stick cooking spray
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup oats–quick or regular oats, plain
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces honey nonfat greek yogurt or 1 1/2 cups (Chobani)
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°.
2. Coat muffin tin with cooking spray or liners.
3. Combine flour, sugar, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
4. Combine yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla in a second bowl.
5. Fold yogurt mixture into dry mixture; stir to combine completely.
6. Gently fold in blueberries.
7. Spoon into muffin tins.
8. Bake until top is golden and springs back when you gently touch it, 20-25 minutes.

I entered all the ingredients into My Fitness Pal to get the nutrition facts:

Enjoy!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies

Since Valentines Day is tomorrow, I figured I would post a yummy cookie recipe!

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups m&ms

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well blended.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cocoa, flour, soda & salt.  Mix into the creamed mixture until just blended.  Stir in the chocolate chips and m&ms.

Drop onto parchment-lined baking sheets and bake for 11-13 minutes until just set.  Cool completely on a cooling rack. Enjoy!!

#337: Chicken Veggie Pizza

If I am being honest, I really do not have anything interesting to say. I am running out of topics...probably due to my posting everyday. Would it be wrong to call it quits on my "year of blogging" 28 days early?
This doesn't mean I will stop blogging. It just means I will stop posting daily and only post when I have something meaningful or interesting to share. After 337 straight days of writing on Big, Beautiful & Broke I find that I am becoming uninteresting and monotonous. Maybe a year was way too long. 
Anyways, I did find a recipe that I want to try...soon! It looks delicious. Here it is:

Enjoy!

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