Banana-Oatmeal-Almond Butter Muffins

Though I haven't been able to run in over a week, the stationary bike and I have become very good friends. Today was no exception as I hopped on the stationary bike that we have at home and pedaled away while simultaneously watching an episode of Pretty Little Liars - my most recent show - and the Ravens/Broncos game. Justin Tucker round two, baby! And that also means that if the Texans can pull out a win tomorrow, we will have home-field advantage when we play them. Bulls on Parade!

Anyway, I know that biking can get pretty boring after about five minutes, so I came up with a workout that keeps me changing the resistance and keeps me going. Keep in mind that every bike is different, so my resistance may look a little different from your resistance, but to give you a more accurate look, 15 is as high as our bike goes up to.

I then did three rounds of the following exercises:

Inner thigh squat (30) (Source)

Inner thigh lift (60 each leg) (Source)

Glute kickback (30 each leg) (Source)

I mentioned that I was printing off my syllabi earlier today, and I realized that I needed a couple books that I knew I could get at Barnes and Noble. I got the books I needed, and a couple that I didn't need, too. They were on sale, and I just couldn't resist. One of them was this book,

because I absolutely love useless facts, and they usually stick with me for far longer than historical facts do. Did you know that Jimmy Carter was once a peanut farmer?

When I got home, I set out to make my favorite breakfast/snack recipe, and it occurred to me while writing my last post that I have never shared my recipe for my banana-oatmeal-almond butter muffins. I usually make them into bars, but I recently decided that making them into muffins would help control how many of them I eat at a time. It really doesn't do anything for my self-control, but the muffins make a prettier picture. 

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• Mix-ins:
• handful of raisins
• handful of walnuts
• handful of almonds
• a handful (or two) of dairy-free chocolate chips
• a sprinkle of cinnamon
• a spoonful of almond butter (or any kind of nut butter)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tins with cupcake liners

2. Mash bananas

3. Add in oats and stir

4. Add in almond butter and stir

5. Add in mix-ins and cinnamon and stir

6. Spoon into cupcake liners and bake for 30-32 minutes

The beauty of these bars is that you can add in whatever mix-ins you please, as well as your favorite nut butter. I've used peanut butter and they taste great. In the fall, I tried them with a little bit of pumpkin and they were great. These are just how I like them, but I am always open to new ideas and suggestions. Let me know if you give them a try!