Plynn’s “Booke” Muffins

I hope my last post provoked you to think about all the ways you nurture others, as well as recognize how others nurture you. When we take time to reflect on how love is exchanged in our lives, gratefulness is an automatic response. And, when we feel gratefulness, a certain kind of peace settles inside, don’t you think?

 

“Nurturer’s Day” (my new name for Mother’s Day) was one full of gratefulness for me. I got calls and texts from my sons, and had lovely, long “nurturing” Skype chats with them (this is when I love technology). Mitch, ever my creative encourager, counseled me on a poetry collection I am trying to get published. Dan, my second son, even attempted to comb his hair for me – this is a guy who grows his hair long just to cut it off for Locks of Love.

 

Throughout the day, I received a number of good wishes by text from young people I know – friends of my sons, people I have worked with over the years. I am not their mother but clearly I have nurtured them in some way for them to remember me in this way. And guess what? Those texts moved me deeply, nurtured my heart.

 

My husband devoted the entire day to me. A surprise of a dozen red roses “in a tea pot” on the kitchen counter. He couldn’t figure out where I kept the vases, so he made do. It was completely charming. He helped me plant three new sage bushes in my meditation garden, digging the hard, clay soil in the blazing Arizona sun. Then he did the unthinkable in our relationship – he came clothes shopping with me, stood outside the women’s dressing room and waited for me to model various outfits. Let me tell you, people, this was nurturing at its best! He looked so uncomfortable amongst the racks of capris and flowered dresses, but he did it. For me.

 

A few years ago, when my husband was diagnosed with diabetes, I had to learn new ways to nurture him. Dietary changes were hard to institute after so many years of not really thinking much about the balance of food intake. He is a guy who likes to get up early in the morning and get going, so a sit-down breakfast was problematic for him. I searched and searched for a good “to-go” recipe, low in sugar with good carbs, plus I wanted something without wheat flour (which I avoid). There was not much to be found so of course, you know what happened. I messed around and made my own recipe – Plynn’s Booke Muffins! When you read the recipe, you’ll know why I call them “booke.”

 

So, here is the recipe for my “nurturing” morning muffins:

 

 

Plynn’s “Booke” Muffins

 

 

1 2/3 C oat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup rice bran

1 egg, beaten

1 cup mashed bananas

2/3 cup yogurt or sour cream

3 T agave syrup

2 T flax seeds or chia seeds

1 cup blueberries (or other fruit)

1-2 T of granulated Stevia (opt)

½ cup chopped nuts or seeds (your choice)

 

 

Mix flour, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry knife. Set aside.

 

Mix bananas, yogurt, agave syrup. Add flax seeds. Mix thoroughly. Gently fold in blueberries. Add beaten egg and mix until egg is completely incorporated. If you like sweeter muffins, add in the Stevia at this point.

 

Add rice bran to the flour mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add the banana mixture and stir gently until totally incorporated. Add nuts and/or seeds. Fold in.

 

Divide batter evenly between 12 lightly oiled (I use olive oil spray) muffin tins. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 20 minutes. Let muffins sit in tins for approximately 15 minutes. Remove and let cool on a rack for another 20 minutes.

 

These freeze well.

 

This recipe is very adaptable. If you don’t have bananas, use applesauce or any other masticated fruit. Also, instead of blueberries you can use dried fruit (but only ½ to 2/3 cup). Exchange the agave syrup for maple syrup or 2 T of molasses. I like to use a combination of pumpkin and sunflower seeds with a few chopped walnuts, but any combination or single nut or seed works just as well. I generally use plain yogurt but have used the flavored kind, too. Honestly, you can use whatever fruit, nuts and sweetener you have on hand, or whatever flour you have on hand, for that matter. Hence, “Booke Muffins”

 

Give a whirl at nurturing someone with these. Let me know how it goes.

 

Eat well. Be happy.