They are in the oven. Banana and chocolate chip, oat-flake muffins. Well I needed an easy recipe as I was determined to achieve my Wednesday goal of Muffin Making. The difficulties today are
a. I am still tired thanks partly to the weather,
b. I am hobbling thanks to my hips stiffening this morning for no particular reason that I can remember,
c. Ingredients in the house are not very compatible.- half a packet of chocolate chips, only 2 small over-ripe bananas which I knew had to factor in somewhere but couldn't be held to blame if they didn't give a great deal of flavour, not a lot of flour and I can't cook with nuts as OH can't take them to work (he works in a food manufacturing lab; testing and tasting flavours: NO Nuts or Sesame allowed)
Thanks to getting the ground work done, ingredients on table, scales at the ready, mixer clean and on standby and oven heated with muffin tray organised, I completed in quick time. Less than 15 minutes for the whole job. Banana not particularly well mashed as my arm is also aching and I mightn't get full marks for the mixing of liquids; but a lumpy result in muffins is recommended by some I am sure(?!)
I'm pleased I have done this, an achievement for the day. Some days drag with so little activity- especially with this hotter weather. Sitting with a nice view or audio book has to be done without the mind wandering or frustration and worries taking over, and that can be difficult. 20 minutes of something which will last for the rest of the week is great. Obviously 6 months of recovery will last for the rest of my life, but it is a tough job to remember that sometimes!
Showing posts with label Muffins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Muffins. Show all posts
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Monthly Achievements
So I have been jogging along, sitting on my wave of gentle ups and downs, good days, not so good days. Times of improvement, times of wishing something would happen. Along this wave I am seeing myself achieving little things. Things which appear trivial but are actually major leaps. Here is a list of what I am doing now, which I would not have attempted just two months ago:
Filling up a kettle and walking with it from the sink to the power point.
Making Muffins!
Tidying away bits and pieces without becoming breathless.
Get dressed standing up. (That is amazing- I used to sit on the bed and ask my husband to bring my clothes to me and he would actually put my shoes on for me)
Knitting for 45 minutes occasionally, without aching or feeling breathless.
Walking from our front door to the car, confidently and with purpose.
Sitting at the kitchen table, typing (yes, I started doing that this week!)
On the subject of sitting at a table, I can actually sit without a support for my head for a couple of hours some days.
I picked up a watering can, 5 litres of water, without thinking twice, and watered a pot plant.
Eating a meal with a knife and fork, somedays I regress to finger food, but I am progressing past that toddler stage more and more often, again without thinking.
Standing poses in my yoga. This is a great achievement and gives me hope that I will be doing more walking soon.
I am actually sitting sometimes thinking 'what shall I do now?'. because of this I wrote out a list of activities for myself to use in these situations. Sitting without an activity usually gives me the same old 'phew' response, but actually thinking 'I want to do something' is great.
I can fill up the washing machine- I did it yesterday and did a celebration dance with my husband. He thought I was totally mad, but it was amazing- especially as I had also just removed the duvet cover and sheet from the bed. (so what that I needed a sleep afterwards!!)
Little things are happening; glimpses are appearing. I mustn't reach too far and forget my long-term goal. If I am cautious and take a couple more months to reach my recovery I will not complain. As ever I am smiling all over my face!
Filling up a kettle and walking with it from the sink to the power point.
Making Muffins!
Tidying away bits and pieces without becoming breathless.
Get dressed standing up. (That is amazing- I used to sit on the bed and ask my husband to bring my clothes to me and he would actually put my shoes on for me)
Knitting for 45 minutes occasionally, without aching or feeling breathless.
Walking from our front door to the car, confidently and with purpose.
Sitting at the kitchen table, typing (yes, I started doing that this week!)
On the subject of sitting at a table, I can actually sit without a support for my head for a couple of hours some days.
I picked up a watering can, 5 litres of water, without thinking twice, and watered a pot plant.
Eating a meal with a knife and fork, somedays I regress to finger food, but I am progressing past that toddler stage more and more often, again without thinking.
Standing poses in my yoga. This is a great achievement and gives me hope that I will be doing more walking soon.
I am actually sitting sometimes thinking 'what shall I do now?'. because of this I wrote out a list of activities for myself to use in these situations. Sitting without an activity usually gives me the same old 'phew' response, but actually thinking 'I want to do something' is great.
I can fill up the washing machine- I did it yesterday and did a celebration dance with my husband. He thought I was totally mad, but it was amazing- especially as I had also just removed the duvet cover and sheet from the bed. (so what that I needed a sleep afterwards!!)
Little things are happening; glimpses are appearing. I mustn't reach too far and forget my long-term goal. If I am cautious and take a couple more months to reach my recovery I will not complain. As ever I am smiling all over my face!
Friday, 18 May 2012
Chocolate Wednesdays
I have talked about my restricted diet. Because of my Candidiasis my everyday food has been restricted for almost twenty years. No sugar, including most fruits, no refined carbohydrates, no cheese or any other form of yeast. Thanks to these restrictions my digestion is finally showing signs of returning to pre-candida acceptance. So much so that I have... eaten a chocolate muffin!
One each day for the last three days. Wow. I remember those days so well. The recipe for my Wednesday bake had to be easy to create-as mentioned in Making Muffins! I also needed a recipe without milk and baking fat as we were seriously diminished in the fridge department. Thankfully my wonderful Muffins book, a present from my sister last year, proved very helpful. Replacing milk with an instant coffee/150ml water mix was the answer and I also searched for an option with oil instead of baking fat. So in went the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. The mixer was ready. I then had a sit down, while the coffee cooled down and prepared the muffin cases. Next was yoghurt, sugar, egg, oil, cocoa powder and the coffee. It looked wonderful all stirred together in the Pyrex jug. Like a rich, thick, gooey sauce ready to pour over ice cream or a sticky sponge pudding.
So I slowly poured it into the mixer and let it mix.
I half filled each muffin case and then added an extra touch-a piece of plain chocolate in the centre of each, before dividing out the rest of the indulgent concoction!
Into the oven and 20 minutes to relax. Wednesday was a good day; sunny, although not really warm enough to sit outside for longer than ten minutes. I managed to rinse and tidy up most of the bowls and spoons I had used for the baking as well as putting all the ingredients away. I had an afternoon in bed with the BBC adaptation of Cranford for company, and also achieved a bit of knitting.
I am getting used to being physically tired. Wednesday was one of those days. It felt great to get to bedtime being exhausted on the outside. My tiredness is sometimes all on the inside, I feel the whole of my body being dragged to the floor. My mind becomes clouded, with very little retention of anything much that is taken in. Today is one of those days. On a tired day I try to lift myself above it- instead of struggling with words, I'm searching through a thesaurus as I'm writing! My head needs support from an arm on a table, my eyes are battling the lids. I'm caught in a loop, every minute thinking 'I'll be better in a minute'! Of course this rarely works, as I am actually exhausted! So I decide to float. I observe the anarchy of my body, the pleasures I can still enjoy in this situation. I eat a fruit yoghurt, watch a favourite film, choose a different chair and bob about in middle of the ocean knowing that shore will find me again.
One each day for the last three days. Wow. I remember those days so well. The recipe for my Wednesday bake had to be easy to create-as mentioned in Making Muffins! I also needed a recipe without milk and baking fat as we were seriously diminished in the fridge department. Thankfully my wonderful Muffins book, a present from my sister last year, proved very helpful. Replacing milk with an instant coffee/150ml water mix was the answer and I also searched for an option with oil instead of baking fat. So in went the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. The mixer was ready. I then had a sit down, while the coffee cooled down and prepared the muffin cases. Next was yoghurt, sugar, egg, oil, cocoa powder and the coffee. It looked wonderful all stirred together in the Pyrex jug. Like a rich, thick, gooey sauce ready to pour over ice cream or a sticky sponge pudding.
So I slowly poured it into the mixer and let it mix.
I half filled each muffin case and then added an extra touch-a piece of plain chocolate in the centre of each, before dividing out the rest of the indulgent concoction!
Into the oven and 20 minutes to relax. Wednesday was a good day; sunny, although not really warm enough to sit outside for longer than ten minutes. I managed to rinse and tidy up most of the bowls and spoons I had used for the baking as well as putting all the ingredients away. I had an afternoon in bed with the BBC adaptation of Cranford for company, and also achieved a bit of knitting.
I am getting used to being physically tired. Wednesday was one of those days. It felt great to get to bedtime being exhausted on the outside. My tiredness is sometimes all on the inside, I feel the whole of my body being dragged to the floor. My mind becomes clouded, with very little retention of anything much that is taken in. Today is one of those days. On a tired day I try to lift myself above it- instead of struggling with words, I'm searching through a thesaurus as I'm writing! My head needs support from an arm on a table, my eyes are battling the lids. I'm caught in a loop, every minute thinking 'I'll be better in a minute'! Of course this rarely works, as I am actually exhausted! So I decide to float. I observe the anarchy of my body, the pleasures I can still enjoy in this situation. I eat a fruit yoghurt, watch a favourite film, choose a different chair and bob about in middle of the ocean knowing that shore will find me again.
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