Mornings Glorified!

The verdict is in: the muffins are share-worthy! Perfectly moist and satiating, chock full of the good stuff. Apple, carrot, coconut, dates. Morning Glory muffins have been my favorite since the first time I tried one, not too long ago. They bring me right back to the Mill Mountain coffee house in Virginia where I did some of my best research and writing in school. It became somewhat of a routine. So much so that they'd give me coffee and a muffin at no charge. It's funny how food can take you back.

I altered the recipe slightly, omitting the brown sugar that I feel is unnecessary for something with such naturally delicious ingredients. These are a damn good snack to power you through the mid-morning or afternoon lull.

Morning Glory Muffins

Adapted from Elly Says Opa!

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 cups Carrots, peeled and grated
• 1 Apple, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 1/2 Cup Shredded Coconut
• 1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1/2 Cup Honey, I used Trade Joe's Raw Wild Collected
• 1/3 Cup Coconut Oil, melted
• 2/3 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice, I put an orange segment in my hand press
• 3/4 Cup Dates, chopped  

Directions

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl.

2. Use a spatula to stir in the carrots, apple, coconut, and walnuts.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, honey, coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla, and orange juice.

5. Gently stir the wet mixture into the dry until just mixed.

6. Lastly, fold in the chopped dates.

7. If your muffin tray is not nonstick, lightly grease each muffin tin or fill with liners. 

8. I filled each tin with batter just slightly more than full, yielding 12 medium muffins with enough leftover batter for an extra two (I simply baked the extra in one side of a bread pan because I was impatient)

9. Bake for 20 minutes and your whole house will smell AMAZING.

I highly recommend smearing some almond butter between two halves for an extra boost. Enjoy! And try to stop at just one, I dare you. 

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Countdown

The winter blues are real. I am finding it more and more challenging to get up from our blanket-laden Lazyboy when I don't really have to. It's becoming a problem. Although I fight myself most days, I still make it to TRX and yoga and am reminded of how critical regular exercise is for your mental health. Forget the physical for a minute - it's the mind that I think faces the most difficulty during this time of year. I see pictures of Florida and Costa Rica from friends that are lucky enough to get a heavy dose of Vitamin D and salt water in bleak January and February, and as much as I wish I could pick up and fly out to the islands, simply looking at warm beaches actually eases my mind. 

I keep reminding myself that without a change of season, we wouldn't appreciate sun and warmth nearly as much. There is beauty in each season, even on bleak five-degree days. And it's safe to say we can begin the countdown to Spring! The first official day of Spring is in exactly one month from tomorrow. Of course that doesn't mean we are in the clear from snow and cold weather, but hey, it's a big step in the right direction. In highschool and even college, I thought one of the main perks of summer was getting a tan. My outlook has completely changed since. 

Warmer days, whether the sun is out or not, creates endless possibilities. I've already put a list together of "Things to do in Columbus" come April/May, including FARMER'S MARKETS, the most important of them all, pick-your-own farms, free yoga in the park, free outdoor concerts, and outdoor movies. Yes, most of these options are available indoors during the winter seasons, but there is a difference between the confines of a four-walled room and the open outdoors. 

I also found a bike path that can take me all the way downtown, roughly 12 miles and maybe an hour-long ride. I've already begun daydreaming about my Mondays reinvented. I don't start work until noon, allowing a perfect amount of time to relax with a good breakfast, stuff a backpack with slightly more presentable clothing, and hop on my new commuter route. Should probably leave a bit of extra time for the sweating to subside upon my arrival. Sweating is good.  

Last summer, I took advantage of many Saturdays and Sundays off from the restaurant and biked the 1 1/2 or 2-hour route from suburban Concord to the outskirts of Boston. For the most part I rode solo, and it was one of the most freeing ways to get out of the everyday routine, both physically and mentally. I had no one to answer to, no rules to follow. Sometimes I wasn't even quite sure how I would get back home. I usually spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the city at a food fair, or meeting my friend Julia for a smoothie and inconveniently to everyone else walking my bike down the busy sidewalks. If I planned well enough and brought an extra snack, I would bike the whole route back before sunset. That was a long day. A long, good day taken full advantage of. I've realized that my bike is in Massachusetts while I am here in Columbus, however. A tragic love story of separation. I'll have to face that issue later...

In the meantime, I'll be making pancakes a lot. And baking. I've had an urge to bake this week. Cupcakes, cookies, muffins. I have a Morning Glory Muffin recipe to put to the test this afternoon, so hopefully it will be share-worthy. Anyone thinking that muffins don't pair well with February is wrong. 

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