Strawberry Hemp Muffins

It's the new year and loads of people are making promises to eat healthy and  exercise. I already do that, well more eating than exercising, but definitely the healthy part. Smoothies are a favorite around here with the guys but I'm a grab a muffin and go kind of gal so every once in a while I concoct a muffin to fit whatever flavor I may be craving. One summer I volunteered at a holistic learning center in up state New York and one of the major perks was access to yummy food. Strawberry hemp crack, a granola re-named by the staff for it's ability to get one hooked immediately for life became a favorite. I happened to find said granola at Whole Foods in the bulk bin one day and gasped (out loud) at the sugar content. Needless to say I suddenly realized it really was crack and sadly didn't buy any. I still longed for that glorious flavor and although it's not exact these are pretty darn close. These bad boys are loaded with protein so they're great for a pre gym work out and my favorite part, they can be frozen and they thaw easy, no need to feel like I have to eat 15 muffins in 3 days. Yay!

In a medium bowl sift together and set aside

2 C sprouted whole wheat flour
1/4 C oat bran
1 tbs baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl cream together (all ingredients should be at room temp. for best results)

2 eggs 
1 C non-fat Greek yogurt
1/4-1/2 C maple syrup
6 tbs coconut oil (I used a mix of coconut oil and coconut butter, yes coconut butter, I know it does exist! Dreams come true!)
1/4 C shelled raw hemp seeds
1 tsp vanilla

Mix in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients slowly until well blended. You should have a pretty thick batter at this point.

Throw a cup of fresh strawberries in a blender (more if you like a sweeter muffin) with a splash of liquid (I used hemp milk) and blend until little chunks remain, but not until it's a complete liquid. Now toss them into the batter with a large handful of oats and mix until well blended. Fill a greased  muffin pan 3/4 the way full and bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the center clears the toothpick test. Basically the tooth pick is clean after being stuck in the muffin. Let these little studs cool off , an important step, I nearly burnt my tongue with anticipation. I hope you enjoy!

What to do with all that ART?!

 I had been warned a couple years ago as I swooned over ever ink stained sheet of paper Z produced that the sentiment would not last forever. As a formal protest the theme for Z's 2nd birthday "Messy Art" included a framed gallery of his sacred pint sized creations. Over a year later and after 6 months of pre school, I began swimming in scraps of scribbled papers. I would be gutted to throw it all out and I loved my friends idea of photo documenting them all but in this disposable technology driven society I find something sacred in an organic original piece of art work no matter the age or skill level of the artist. My solution came to me while I sifted through random bits and bobs in my art room. A book, of course, so I rounded up all of Z's art picked my favorites (which included almost all of them!) and got to work!. I made a 6x6 template and cut out squares until I was out of paper.  Then I glued them together and covered with contact paper. Lastly I whole punched the lot and strung them on a metal craft loop. Boom, a nice little slice of art history taking up a fraction of the space. The whole project only took about 1.5 hours or in my nerdy world 2 episodes of Star Trek. Dreams come true!