I have been teaching yoga since 1987…when practicing yoga was still considered strange and long before it was popular in the United States. Yoga is part of my “mindfulness” practice, which helps me deal with everyday stresses. I have also been a bicyclist for an even longer time and for the past 15 years have enjoyed indoor cycling on “SPIN” classes. This past year I became a SPIN instructor and currently teach four classes per week at LA Fitness. I LOVE IT! I think these classes are a great way to improve my cardio health as well as relieve stress. I feel as if I need to be wrung out like a wet rag after each class. It’s an invigorating workout.

As a result of all of my physical activity, I have found that I need to be more aware of the amount of protein that I am eating. Recently a friend sent me a recipe for muffins that use protein powder in order to help me boost my protein intake. These muffins are actually more like “dessert”, but they are a nice way to enjoy a healthy treat. Feel free to add extra ingredients if you want….ground nuts, raisins, craisins, dried cherries, etc. You can personalize them to suit your tastes. Bake up a batch this weekend and know that we only have 21 days left until it’s officially SPRING!

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE POWER MUFFINS

Ingredients

1 & 3/4 cup almond meal / ground almonds/ almond flour
2/3 cup protein powder (vanilla or chocolate)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup flax seed meal or chia seed meal
2 tsp instant coffee granules
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar (white, brown, date, coconut, sucanat, maple, etc)
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Dar, Chocolate Chips or Cacao Nibs (i didn’t have these on hand, so i used cacao nibs, some dark chocolate chips)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325F and line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, combine almond meal, protein powder, cocoa powder, flax or chia meal, coffee, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large bowl, beat butter with sweetener until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla extract.
Add half of almond flour mixture and beat until combined, then add almond milk.
Add remaining almond flour mixture and beat until fully combined.
Divide batter between prepared muffin cups and bake for 18 to 24 minutes, until tops are set and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

Serves 12 standard muffins. Each standard muffin has 10 g of carbs and 5 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 5 g.
254 Calories; 21g Fat (70.2% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 85mg Cholesterol; 290mg Sodium.

— By Deborah Binder

Deborah Binder lives in Edmonds with her family. She is “dancing with N.E.D.” (no evidence of disease) after being diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer in 2009. She is a foodie who loves to cook from scratch and share here experiments with her family. She attended culinary school on the East Coast and currently chef assists at PCC Cooks and NuCulinary Cooking School. Her current interest in food is learning to eat for health and wellness, while at the same time enjoying the pleasures of the table. As Julia Child once said, “Everything in moderation including butter.” Deborah can be contacted at jaideborah@yahoo.com.