Plum Yogurt Muffins

Please take a moment to marvel at these thighs. (And, disregard the gratuitous add for the brand name diapers that we received from the hospital.)



While generally I would not be so bold as to be so self-promoting, in this case, those thighs are thanks to me. My little Tiger loves to eat, and I have been on call 24-7. It is a very new sort of relationship.

My Belle has always been far too busy to enjoy a meal. (Though now at the ripe age of 2, ice cream is something I have found she can make time for.) When I nursed her, I remember tickling her little toes to get her to eat. During those feedings, there was frustration on my part and snoring on hers.

At the hospital with the Tiger, she fed more than any other baby. No, I am not being hyberbolic—the lactation consultant came to give me a gold star for my efforts. (Yes, we thought the gold star was hokey too.)

So what have I been eating in this one-handed life? Well not as much as I had hoped after the year of nausea. I am trying to make and eat grab and go food heavy on the nutrients but easy to eat when you are carrying around a small human. I have also been adding flax seeds, chia seeds, brewer’s yeast, and wheat germ to things—pasta sauce, calzones, gratins, salad dressing. My husband has been surprisingly calm and silent about this. After going through pregnancy and post-pregnancy before, he has clearly wizened up to the ways of the hormones. And, apparently in it for the long haul, he knows better than to start the great “Flax Seed Fight of 2009.”

In some cases, he has even endorsed these recent experiments outright. These muffins, he said, are “actually really good. I mean, you should have made a double batch.” The “actually” does of course imply a sense that there were other items in the past that were the opposite of good and that his comments in those cases weremisleading if not actually false. But, hey, why should I start the great “ACTUALLY??!! Fight of 2009”



Recipe:
Plum Yogurt Muffins
adapted from Rose's Recipes

Separate 2 eggs. Whip whites.

In a large bowl, mix:
3/4 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 large egg yolks
1 T ground flax seeds
3 T orange juice
1/2 t vanilla
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 t almond extract

To that bowl add each successive ingredient and stir to combine:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup ground almonds
2 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
3 T wheat germ

Fold in the whites.

Fill muffin tins to ¾ full. Top with thinly sliced fruit.

Bake at 350 for about 10-12 minutes. (Watch them and check at 8 minutes and then 10.)