Personal superlatives

If we’re talking favorite flavor combinations, what comes to mind for you?

I absolutely love the sweet + slightly salty combo of chocolate and peanut butter. I might be better off if Reese’s eggs and peanut butter M&Ms had never been invented. Sometimes if I have strong enough craving, I’ll just take a spoonful of peanut butter and sprinkle on a few chocolate chips. Totally does the trick.

My kids think it’s a little weird though, so in order to make a more “official” snack, I created these muffins. They are SO BOMB. They look fancy but take less than 10 minutes to mix up, since I used Kodiak cakes mix as a shortcut. My kids ate these up. These are best when warm, so any leftovers should be stored in the freezer and microwaved to reheat. I used powdered peanut butter in these. I love my Smucker’s peanut butter, but since the texture is so rich and thick, I figured it wouldn’t really translate into light airy muffin form. The powdered peanut butter is easy to blend and gives a great flavor while maintaining the texture I was wanting. There's minimal sugar in these too, and since we're using Kodiak mix, there are whole grains and some protein as well.

PB Chocolate Swirl Muffins

½ cup white or brown sugar

2 cups Kodiak Cakes buttermilk pancake mix, dry

½ cup powdered peanut butter

2 eggs

¾ cup milk + 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup butter spread, melted (I had Country Crock on hand)

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1/3 cup semi sweet or dark chocolate chips

Nonstick baking spray or muffin cup liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together sugar, Kodiak mix, and PB powder. In a separate pourable cup (I used my Pyrex 2-cup measuring cup), whisk together melted butter spread, ¾ cup milk, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into Kodiak mix and stir just until combined. Spoon 1 cup of this wet mixture back into your pourable cup (no need to wash in between), add the cocoa powder + 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir to combine.

Spray your muffin tin or get those liners in there. Spoon the PB mixture between the 12 cups, then spoon the chocolate mixture on top. I got fancy and alternated mine, so half of them had the PB batter on the bottom, half had the chocolate batter on the bottom. Using a knife, gently swirl the batter. Sprinkle with chocolate chips, then bake for ~ 20 minutes.

Recipe makes 12 muffins. Per muffin: 206 calories, 25 grams carbohydrates (including 3 grams fiber), 9 grams fat, 8 grams protein, 14 grams added sugar, and 256 mg sodium. Compare that with a Starbucks chocolate peanut butter mini muffin, which has 180 calories and 16 grams of sugar. You get a larger portion here with less sugar! I have a feeling my kids will be requesting this often and that is okay with me!

What's the daffo-deal?

On my walk this morning I came across a house that had what must’ve been close to 200 daffodils all blooming.

(I didn’t want to be a major creeper and take pics of them all, but it was this patch x20 all around their front yard)

Meanwhile over at *my*house, I’m gunning for the…four?

I did paint my nails a sunny yellow though, so I’ve got that going for me in the cheer department.

Also in the cheer department? This super easy faux ceviche made with shrimp. I love ceviche- a seafood dish where the fish/scallops/shrimp is cured (ie “cooked”) by soaking in the acidity of lime juice for several hours. This recipe has the flavors of ceviche, but comes together so much faster since we’re just going go pan-cook the shrimp. I also added corn- not traditionally found in ceviche- but often found in my freezer, ha. Serve with corn tortillas or baked chips for a meal (remember- corn is a whole grain!).

Shrimp Faux Ceviche

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb raw colossal shrimp (I always pick the tail-on deveined kind), thawed according to package instructions, tails removed

2 cups frozen, cooked to package instructions

2 ripe avocados, diced

1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered

½ small red onion, finely diced

2 bell peppers, diced (if you like heat, sub out jalapeno peppers)

½ teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Juice from 2 limes

Salt and pepper to taste (I used ~1/4 teaspoon each)

In a large sauté pan over high heat, add olive oil and shrimp. Sauté for a few minutes on each side, or until pink and no longer translucent. Remove from pan and add to a large bowl. Add all remaining ingredients (veggies stay raw). Serve warm/room temperature. Makes four heaping servings.

Per serving: 332 calories, 25 grams carbohydrates (including 9 grams fiber), 18 grams fat, 24 grams protein, 290 mg sodium. This also gives you 214% of your daily vitamin C needs and 68% of your daily vitamin A needs.

Fitness: Push ups

You might love them, or you might hate them, but push-ups are super popular for good reason! They are a very effective way to hit several muscle groups all in one motion. I've met countless patients/clients who are intimidated to do push-ups because they assume they need to do standard ones. Not true! You should choose whichever type allows you to challenge yourself while maintaining the best form (meaning a nice straight spine!).

Try to sneak in push-ups in creative places- against your bedroom drawer after you get dressed in the morning, against your dryer as you wait for the cycle to finish up, or even on your own tailgate as your kids play on the driveway (yes, I've done all these!).