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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Willpower Wednesday

I spent the last hour trying to improve my banner for Willpower Wednesday instead of writing about what I did tonight!! And I still don't have a banner that I am satisfied with.

I'll have to keep this short since it is past my bedtime!

I actually accomplished two things I had wanted to accomplish tonight.

I did make the Almond Blueberry Muffins I wrote about last week. First things first, they were nowhere near as sweet as I would have liked.

Second, I am not sure I will EVER get used to the texture of gluten-free muffins/breads. This makes me sad. It makes me want to break out a box of Betty Crocker Blueberry Muffins!!

As far as the recipe is concerned, it was actually really easy to prepare. The flavor was good. The almond flour gave it a very 'nutty' flavor (which I actually enjoyed) and I actually added 1 tsp. almond extract instead of the second teaspoon of vanilla. I also used about 1/4 cup of agave nectar instead of the honey. I ran out of almond flour and had to substitute 1/2 cup sorghum flour to get to a full 3 cups of flour. I don't think that made a great difference in the taste or texture though. Maybe if I tried adding some applesauce to give the muffins a bit more moisture it would help. I don't know. I need to email my friend Sarah, as she is the one who posted the recipe and has made these on more than one occasion. She mentions that you can used chopped apples and cinnamon, so maybe next week I will try them and add the applesauce in then.

Now, let's talk about something completely NOT food related. And that is LOTION. I finally got to make the lotion I have been so eager to try. You can find the recipe here. I kid you not-this was one of the easiest things I have ever made!! I am really, REALLY hoping that it solidifies like it is supposed to. Right now it is cooling in my fancy spaghetti sauce jar! Yeah, we are extremely sophisticated around here. I've been wanting to buy some mason jars but haven't had the money a chance to get them yet. So I had to make due with what I had. Who cares what it is in as long as it works right??? Well, I suppose I'll find out in the morning. Until then, here is a picture of my very chic and fancy container for my lotion. Oh, I almost forgot. I used about 30 drops of lavender essential oil and about 10 drops of cedarwood essential oil. I know the recipe calls for less but I accidentally put about 30 drops of lavender in before I realized I had put too many in. So we'll see how it turns out. If it works, I am going to try to recreate my favorite Bath & Body Works scent-orange ginger. I should also mention that this jar is a 21 oz. jar and as you can see, it is almost half full.


3 comments:

  1. Hey Jamie -

    I make those Almond Blueberry Muffins all the time, and if you prepare them with the almond meal, they are INCREDIBLY moist! I made them with pumpkin once(with cinnamon and a few pecans), those were awesome. I've made them with bananas - adds a little more sweetness. And I've made them with chocolate chips (which I know you can't do ... sorry!). The vanilla helps the flavor a lot too - it enhances the almond flavor really nicely.

    And- making your own lotion??? Wow! Let me know how it works! That's so awesome!

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  2. Casey-do you think the 1/2 of sorghum flour I used is what messed up the consistency? I thought that they were kinda dry. And they just weren't nearly sweet enough. I may try sweetening them with Swerve instead of agave nectar next time. I will definitely try them again and use just vanilla instead of almond extract too. I know I can't expect for them to be perfect on my first attempt.

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  3. I've never had them be dry, but they are "thick" and heavy. Which I think is good - I could eat one and be full! So, it could have been the sorghum flour that changed the consistency. I've never used that before, so I'm not sure.

    Good luck! It's such a quick and easy recipe - I hope you can tweek it in a way that you like it!

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