Flourless PeanutButter Banana Muffins from Detoxinista

We are enjoying these muffins at Detoxinista.com so much.  These flourless muffins are high in protein and really filling.  They are a great breakfast or snack, and travel well in school lunches.  A few notes: I actually end up having to bake them for 20 minutes, so you can adjust that based on your oven. These muffins do rise, so don't fill more than the recommended 1/4 cup.  Also, I always add 4 or 5 dried cherries on top before baking. Yum...like a peanut butter and jelly muffin!

Ingredients

• 1 cup natural organic peanut butter

• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup mashed)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3 whole eggs

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• ¼ cup honey (or stevia, to taste)

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• Optional add-ins: ½ cup chocolate chips, or 1 cup fresh raspberries, or ½ cup dried raisins or cherries, or 1 sliced banana

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.

1. In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients mix until smooth. At this point, you can fold in one of the optional add-ins, if desired.

1. Scoop the batter, using a ¼ cup, into each muffin liner.

1. Bake for 15 minutes at 350F. The resulting muffins should be firm, and lightly golden.

1. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan.

1. Serve immediately, or store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week!

Notes
Adding fresh raspberries or dried fruit will make these taste like a ‘peanut butter and jelly’ muffin! Almond butter can easily be substituted for the peanut butter in this recipe, if you prefer. You could also try sunflower butter as a nut-free option!

A Fun Way to Learn History: History Detectives PBS

I have always loved to learn about history through "the story" of a person or community.  I think this is why I like historical fiction.  I read about the story of a character or family, but set in a period of history that is intriguing and perhaps new to me. 

I recently found History Detectives on PBS.  It is not a new show, but a new discovery for me.  Each hour long show includes 3 historical mysteries that are investigated.  Rather than a story of a person, the investigation centers around a piece of memorabilia, document, artwork etc that may have some connection to an important part of American history.  Some of the episodes include pieces from the old west, the suffragette movement, the Titanic, and the earliest airplanes.  It is somewhat reminiscent of Antiques Roadshow in that people bring in things that have passed down their family or things they purchased at estate sales, but in this case you actually learn the story behind the antique or piece of memorabilia presented and its place in history.  All past episodes of History Detectives are available at this link.

Master Builder: Psalm 118

Excerpt from Soul Cries devotional, copyright 2012 Regan

*2013 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist*

Psalm 118:21-25 (The Message)

Thank you for responding to me; you've truly become my salvation! The stone the masons discarded as flawed is now the capstone! This is God's work. We rub our eyes—we can hardly believe it! This is the very day God acted— let's celebrate and be festive! Salvation now, God. Salvation now! Oh yes, God—a free and full life!

I praise you, God! What a wonderful God we have. His thoughts and plans are so different from our own. There was once a stone that others determined to be worthless. It was a stone rejected as flawed and cast aside by human builders. But God determined it to be the most important stone of all; it became the capstone, the foundational stone, of everything else. What victory, what surprise, what happiness! God takes what others see as worthless and builds a mighty tower. He sees destiny, purpose, and value in what others have cast aside; He is a master creator and builder!

1. God sees worth in things that humans reject and cast aside. Is there anything in your life or the life of your child that has been determined worthless? How does God call value out of that area or situation?

2. What testimonies have you seen and heard from people who were considered useless, having no discernible gifts or contributions, only to rise up and change their communities and world?