Henna Hair and Banana Muffins

First of all, let me say thank you. Dear, dear readers, friends, supporters, Thank You.  Thank you for reading my rant, letting me get things off my chest, and not letting me get away with it. And now I am finally here for a follow up. I think the majority of my mini-lapse was out of frustration. That I was hurt, not as strong as I thought. So I skipped a snack one day, leading me to skip for a few days, and then have a melt down. But you know what? Then I wrote that post, put on my big girl pants and had a snack, and I felt 10 times better. Funny how that works, huh? And then you guys! Your comments, every one of them felt like a hug, a hand, a lift. And I had a snack the next day too. And I feel good and back on track. Thank you.

So I am on spring break. FINALLY. Ive been waiting for this moment since winter break (hehe). The first thing I did? I dyed my hair! Well, actually I went to Target, but the next day I dyed my hair! I did it with henna (I followed Manifest Vegan’s DIY post) and, while it took absolutely-freaking-ever, I couldn’t be happier! All natural, chemical free, no washing out when I wash my hair, no icky chemical smells, and it only cost $3 because they sell Henna in bulk at my Co-Op (as opposed to an $80 hair appt.)

I did it around 11 in the morning, so I had to hang out for 6 hours with plastic wrap on my head…

I did the dishes, I cleaned the kitchen, I watched tv, and then I made some muffins.

The following resulted from a combination of a week long craving for banana nut muffins hitting around the same time as a banana overload occurred at my house (when both parents buy bananas on separate shopping trips without telling each other). Plus this seemed like a more universally appreciated muffin than my ‘lets get crazy’ idea of Elvis muffins (PB banana muffins with chocolate chips, maple, and liquid smoke/tempeh bacon).

Im glad I went with banana nut.

The first muffins I can actually be proud of -not gummy, no sticking to the wrapper, and they actually tasted good 😀 Even Stepdad approved!!!

Banana Nut Muffins

• 2 C. Whole Spelt flour
• 1 1/2 T almond meal*
• 1/2 T baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 C maple syrup
• 2/3 C stevia baking blend (or could use reg sugar)
• 2 C mashed banana (about 4 large)
• 2 T almond butter
• 1/2 T vanilla extract
• 1/4 C water
• 1 C. chopped nuts*

*I used raw almonds, because thats what I had on hand, but still wanted a soft nut texture like walnuts. So I chopped up the raw almonds, separated the almond dust from chopping (which I used as the almond meal), and then soaked the chopped nuts for about an hour, and dried them on a paper towel while I was mixing everything else.

Preheat oven to 350. Place paper cups in muffin tins (this makes 19-20 muffins)In a medium bowl mix the flour through the sea salt, set aside. In a large bowl, mix maple syrup and stevia until combined, then add almond butter and mashed banana and stir well. To that, add the vanilla and water and combine well. Slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet, then add your chopped nuts. Pour into muffin tins (about 1/4 cup per) and bake for 20-30 minutes.

I am so excited about these! They actually were fluffy, tasty, not gummy, not too dense, and came out of the paper cleanly (i can’t even tell you the last time that happened).

If it is any indication, 19 came out of the oven at 4 pm on Saturday. There are 9 left at 2 pm on Sunday

oops. sorryimnotsorry

And ps The henna worked it worked it worked!!!!!!!

 

Happy Palm Sunday!!

 

 

Now go make some muffins 😉