Berry Muffin Recipe

**This recipe was inspired by the Berry Surprise Muffin recipe that came from the Recipes For Healthy Living Cookbook that I received along with my Jack LaLanne Power Juicer. **

Before I post the recipe, I just want to say thanks to everyone who had given me such positive feedback from my last blog post. I appreciate all your love and prayers so much.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole grain flour (I used whole wheat)

2/3 cup honey (I used local honey from here in Opelika, AL)

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp grated lemon or orange peel ( I used orange)

1/2 C. orange juice

2 egg whites (I used organic large brown eggs)

3/4c blueberries ( I think I used closer to 1 cup)

3/4c berry pulp (The original recipe suggests raspberry. I used a combination of strawberries & blackberries)

1/4c berry juice (The original recipe again suggests raspberry.)

1/4c canola oil (The original recipe says to add oil in the instructions but fails to list it in the ingredients. I think this is just a printing error. I just guessed as to amount and the 1/4c seems to work fine although you may even be able to leave it out.)

Non-Stick Spray (I used Olive Oil Spray)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Mixture 1: Combine whole-grain flour, honey, baking powder, and lemon or orange peel. Mix thoroughly. Mixture 2: Combine orange juice, canola oil, egg whites, berry juice and berry pulp. Mix thoroughly. Combine mixture 1 and 2 together. Gently stir in fresh blueberries. Grease muffin pan and fill muffin pan. (These muffins do not rise a whole lot so I fill the muffin pan right to the top!)

Bake for approximately 20–25 minutes.

**My juicing process:

For this recipe, I juiced all berries then I put 3/4c pulp that was extracted into my Mixture 1 bowl and 1/2c of the juice into my Mixture 2 bowl. I then rinsed all my juicer parts and put the juicer back together. I then took 1 orange and grated the peel on my micro-plane over my Mixture 1 bowl. I peeled the orange and placed it in the juicer which then provided me with the 1/2C orange juice needed for my Mixture 2 bowl. *Just a note that this recipe makes much more juice than is needed to get the pulp needed if you are juicing to make the muffins. Just put your extra berry and orange juice over some ice like I did, and enjoy!*

*A note from Jessica's Kitchen: As some of you may know, blackberries are quite "seedy" and those seeds are much tougher at times than that of raspberries and strawberries. Those seeds make a little "crunch" in the muffin which seems to be ok by most of those that have tried these muffins but I also know that some people are put off by that. If you are one of those people, I would suggest going with just strawberries or raspberries or a combination of both. To me it's no different than if there are nuts in a recipe, but then some people don't like those either! HAHA! It's all personal taste... just adjust the recipe to your taste!*

--Yours--Jessica--

From Tooth Extraction to Muffins

Happy Tuesday!

I know the title of this blog probably got some really odd looks, but I promise by the end of this blog it will all make sense.

Last Wednesday I went in for scheduled surgery. It wasn't anything that would be a major thing for most people, but for me I cannot even begin to describe to you my feelings. I have bad teeth. There... I said it. Not that most people who have had an in person conversation with me haven't noticed, but it's just not something I talk about. It has been 31 years of mistakes and circumstances that have led them to become as bad as they got; some of those mistakes being my fault... some not. I'm not going to get into all those things here. Believe me, I do enough going over them in my own head! So, in recent months my Fibromyalgia was flaring up more than normal, and I had been fighting fevers and different infections. I read an article that basically broke down how your oral health has such a hold on the health of the rest of your body and I just knew it was time. 

I went to the dentist and then an oral surgeon because 2 of my teeth were badly broken and infected. There was no doubt in my mind that they needed to come out immediately just because I felt so awful. The surgery went amazing, probably THE best dental experience I've ever had. In the midst of my appointment, some issues with my jaw arose. My jaw has clicked and bothered me for years, gradually getting worse the more I sang, spoke, ate, etc, but I never did anything about it. Like I told the surgeon, when you don't have medical insurance, you don't go to the doctor unless you are on your death bed... you just don't. So the longer my jaw  has gone untreated and abused, the worse the pain has gotten. 

He said we would start off conservatively. I would try a muscle relaxer for thirty days and go on a no chew/soft food diet for 6 months. Um.... WHAT? As this came up before my surgery, I wondered if he didn't slip me the anesthesia already. To someone who grew up in an Italian family, no chew translates to no kind of appropriate life at all! HA! I could hear my grandparents now gasping up in heaven. I didn't have much time to process it before I was off in the land of Oz chasing Toto around with Dorothy. When I started really coming to in the car on the way home it hit me like a ton of bricks. NO CHEW????

I went home and prayed. I knew this was the time to really lean on God. I was in pain physically and emotionally. I know that might sound really silly to some of you, but you have no idea the kind of attachment, borderline addiction, I have to food. Ok... some of you know. 

This was the first time in a LONG time I heard the voice of God. Actually, I don't believe I've ever heard Him this loudly. I could actually imagine Him holding me in His arms. He said, "My child, you are ok. You are showered in my love and protection. For so long I have been telling you it's time to change. I have said to enjoy food, but not in that quantity. I have said to enjoy food, but focus on foods that come naturally from me. You have not listened to all the signs, the deteriorating health. Your body is a temple and you're destroying it. I have blessed you with a purpose, and that purpose must be fulfilled. It's time to change."

I got the message. I got the message loud and clear. Since my surgery, I have completely changed my eating. I am following what God and one of His servants (my surgeons) have told me to do. Now, I'm not perfect by any means at all. But I am making a HUGE change and effort and I believe God sees that. 

I realize I have written a lot and not even gotten to the muffins yet! HA! So one of the steps I have taken toward a healthier diet is that I have purchased a juicer. I am now a HUGE fan of juicing even after just a few days. I can see it now... I will be the proud owner of an "I HEART Juicing!" bumper sticker before you know it! However, this posed a huge problem for me. I am a couponer at heart and enjoy the thrill of saving money. When I first thought of juicing all I kept thinking about were all the parts of the fruit that were about to go in the trash. Luckily, the juicer I purchased (The Jack LaLanne Power Juicer... yes the one seen on TV) came with a wonderful cookbook that showed a ton of recipes in which you could use not only the juices, but the pulp! OH HAPPY DAY!

Some of the recipes that kept catching my eye were the muffin recipes. They intrigued me. Not just because they looked so yummy, but because I realized I had never made "from scratch" muffins in my life! I've doctored a few boxed mixes before, but never started with my own ingredients. So, I realized it was time to make my OWN muffins, and not just any muffins, but muffins that are healthy. I went to the store and bought my ingredients... not a boxed mix. I came home, juiced, doctored the recipe to my taste by even using my favorite fresh local honey, and made some amazing berry muffins. Let me rephrase that. I made some amazing HEALTHY muffins from SCRATCH. Now I can't really eat a whole muffin (Because I'm not chewing, remember?), but I did have a small bite that I could easily mash without chewing and they are really fantastic. And the biggest treat? I got to enjoy some awesome, fresh, blackberry/strawberry juice when I was finished.

This is just the beginning. It's amazing what God can do.

--Yours -- Jessica--