Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Learning to Improvise

Before I jump into this post, I just have to say how delighted and amazed I am at the comments left in the last post. Health in 2010 has truly come full circle. I am now inspired to improve not only my physical health in 2011, but also my mental and spiritual health. Cheers to that!

Okay, moving on……

According to Mr. Webster the word IMPROVISE means to make, invent, or arrange offhand.
I think you could safely say that’s about how my week has gone. Learning to improvise. For instance, today I was “planning” on getting in my long run (training for a little event in 2011).  But like many of you in CA or the Northeast, the weather was not permitting. So “offhand” I “re-invented” my schedule and went to the gym instead. After quick run, I was off to train a few clients. By that time, the weather had cleared up and one of my clients actually wanted to run instead. Ha, this was perfect! I ended up getting in my long run anyways. Just in 2 segments. Improvising worked out for the best!

But not everything can be improvised that easily or “luckily.” While home for Christmas, I had every intention on making Gina’s Sweet Potato biscuits. I planned on getting up early Christmas morning so that they would be hot a fresh when everyone woke up. Sounds nice, right?

Christmas morning I set my alarm early. No one was up yet. I loved it! Made some coffee and got my ingredients together. Uh oh, I was missing a few KEY ingredients. CRAP! I went and not so kindly complained to my mother (sorry mom) about not having certain baking staples in the house. Her exact words were…..”I thought you’d just IMPROVISE……You’re good at that.” And since all the stores were closed on Christmas, I had no choice. I thought to myself, “I can do this, I can pull out something from these ingredients.”

And so the Wheat Free Sweet Potato muffin with Greek Yogurt Icing was born.
DSCF0538
Ingredients-
Makes 12 muffins
3 Cups oat flour (you can also use other GF flour)
2 to 3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp of cinnamon or nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 t xanthan gum
1 1/2 C mashed sweet potato (you use also use pumpkin/squash)
1/2 t salt
Stevia or brown sugar (I used 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1/2 packet of stevia in the raw)
2/3 C milk or almond milk
5-6 T butter (or earth balance for vegans)
1 tbsp flaxseed (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375. In a bowl, add the flour, xanthan gum, sea salt, sugar and baking soda. Mix well,
2. Add the butter (butter can be a little cold or at room temp) 3. Add the sweet potato, milk, other spices, and mix well.  
4.spoon into muffins pan
5. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 375, or until golden brown and delicious.
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Easy Greek Yogurt Icing

I combined 1 cup FULL FAT Greek yogurt with 1/2 powdered sugar, a dash of vanilla and cinnamon, and 1 tsp honey. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.  If you like it sweeter, add in brown sugar or stevia.

Need a VEGAN icing instead? I also used this topping later on when making more.

Nut Butter Icing

    • 3 tablespoons earth balance butter
    • 1/2 cup dry sweetener
    • 1/3 cup chunky Nut butter (I used NUTTZO
    • 2 tablespoons milk (almond, rice, soy, or coconut)
    • dash of cinnamon and/or allspice
In a medium bowl, mix together the butter, sweetener, and nut butter. Add the milk and mix well. Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes for best results.

These little muffins definitely hit the flavor spot for Christmas morning. The hubs downed about 3 or 4 muffins and even my 92 year old Nana (the dry toast and butter queen) wanted another. Now that was a surprise!
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Thanks MOM and SANTA for letting me improvise. It was a good lesson. But I hope I don’t have to do it again anytime soon.

What have you learned to IMPROVISE lately? I have no doubt that you’ve been through something similar to this. Do tell!

Cheers,
LC
p.s.
January 1st I will announce the Kombucha winners. Keep the entries coming! :)

40 comments:

hungryrunnergirl said...

You are the BEST at improvising! Those muffins look absolutely amazing. Please come cook and bake for me:) I love splitting up long runs into two workouts.....endorphins twice throughout the day is my favorite. What event are you training for? I had to improvise last night sleeping on the grandparents floor.....I created a bed with blankets:)

Heather @ Where's the Beach said...

I think learning to improvise or that it's ok to improvise is so important. I think if falls in line with going with the flow. Sometimes you end up with much better results in the end, whether it's a better workout, better day, or better recipe.

Natalia said...

Holy yum, those look good! I will have to make those very soon :)

Carrie said...

what neat muffins! I would never have thought sweet potato could work in a muffin- but it would taste rad!

Kristina @ spabettie said...

that's great that your client wanted to run... sometimes things work out, don't they?

These muffins look fabulous - I may make these for New Years Day breakfast.

Christin@purplebirdblog said...

Holy crap you made NUTTZO icing!? I think I love you, Lindsay!!

burp_excuzme said...

I have to admit...I'm not a good improviser when it comes to plans. I get thrown off by setbacks, and it makes me grumpy when things don't turn out the way I planned. I like your attitude here...it's certainly worth learning!

Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen said...

Did you really just combine three of my favorite things (sweet potatoes, nut butter, and ICING???)???

You are a genius.

thefitnessfreak said...

Yippee for improvisation! I need to work on doing that more often. My OCD nature rebels at things like that :D

I am SO making those muffins! I have all the ingredients, yeah! Thanks for sharing the recipe and improvising!

Nicole

Dorry said...

I love this! I really relate to the conversation with you mom - haha. My mom doesn't cook a lot and there are things I look for at her house (like cinnamon!!) and she didn't have any. So funny. I use cinnamon just about everyday. Glad you shared this recipe - they look delish.

Hmmm - since Billy and I share a car, there's a lot of improvising when it comes to schedules, plans, workouts, etc. But we're getting pretty good at it and I'm becoming more flexible. Imagine that! :)

marathonmaiden said...

that icing looks like i could just eat it straight up. yum. and way to improvise! i can do that sometimes. i guess....

April said...

Mmm I'm drooling over those- they look soo moist!

mamarunsbarefoot said...

Wow you amaze me! I'm astounded at what you create. I improvise but nothing like you!!!

Cara Craves... said...

Sometimes forced improvisation provides better results than the original plan.
Looks like yours turned out great. A good challenge!

Kath said...

Wow, you're a lark! :D I so much admire that, but I'm totally an owl ... My brain wakes up in the evening. (You're also a runner - another thing I admire.)

Your muffins look devine! I'm sure I need to try more baking soon! :D Improvising ... I really can't remember when I really had to improvise recently. I rather feel I do it all the time. Life never goes how I plan, this at least I've learned so far. So improvising keeps my head above water. Oh, and I really want to learn improvising on the piano. :D

Bre said...

love the improv Lindsay! too funny about your mom's response- she knows you well! ;) love that Nana had a second muffin too- James might have some competition soon! glad to hear that you had a lovely little christmas morning!

Jess said...

Wheat free sweet potato muffins sound DIVINE. I want to make them nowwwww.

katieemm said...

Yay! I am so glad that you posted this recipe. :) It sounds yummy! You mentioned that you made coffee Christmas morning...tell me the best brew. :) I am dabbling into coffee drinking. I don't like a real bitter taste. I've heard Latin American roasts are good for beginner coffee drinkers. They are supposedly more subtle. I love lattes, so I am thinking about frothing some milk to put in coffee and seeing if I like that. Hopefully I won't have to use too much sweetener! Any tips on a great cup o' joe? ;)

Abby Normally said...

I'd agree with your mom that youre good at improvisation! Those look good! I'm getting better at improvising, but still not an expert like you! :)

Adrienne said...

I so need to improve my nutrition (or lack of) habits. I think that will definitely be a goal for 2011. Your food always looks so great.

Healthy Chocoholic said...

Those muffins looks really tasty!!!! I'm sooo bad at improvising.......maybe you could teach me how?

ERG said...

I just learned (i think) that oat flour is GF. I had no idea! Is that right?

I use oats all the time. (this is so exciting that I was maybe cooking GF and didn't have a clue- haha) One of my favorite recipes is danish pancakes (kindof like crepes) and has oats in the blender- which pretty much makes it into ground up oats or oat flour.

I try to use oats as much as I can because I like the protein/fiber content. Now...if I could only get my hands on some greek yogurt without having to drive an hour ;)

amanda said...

I wish I could cook like you and enjoy it. I know I say that every time I come to your blog. ;) Lame. But really. I guess improvising comes with the mommy territory...I have to do it all the time...like when we are creating something and the girls need something for their project and we have to use something else.

Oh, not too long ago, we were in the car waiting a long time for someone and my daughter peed her pants and we had nothing to change into so my husband had to take off his long sleeve shirt (he had another one on) and wrap it around her legs until we got home.

alex said...

those muffins look downright amazing!

Pure2raw Twins said...

improvise, haha, yes we do that a lot. When we get little food on hand we are always throwing things together hoping it turns out! Muffins looks great!!

Salah said...

Oh man! Those look so awesome! I also make a greek yogurt frosting but instead of using powdered sugar I use some vanilla protein powder, a splash of vanilla and a 1tbsp of melted Better N' Peanut Butter :-)

I've been having to improvise so much this break because we've been at my grandmothers place in California and my taste in food differs so much from hers lol by a landslide! I also have been without a gym, but it was so great being able to get outside and run in northern california and enjoy the beautiful scenery!

Jess said...

Man, I need to start taking pages from your book. I am SO bad at improvisation! I freak out if things aren't JUST right or JUST as planned. It's bad. My husband has been trying for years to get me to chill. I think I need to make 2011 the year that those changes start to happen, huh?

Lori said...

I bet it was nice waking up alone... quiet and peace. ;) That is one reason I LOVE working out early in the morning.
So... those Wheat Free Sweet Potato muffins sound and look fantastic! I love the icing you created too!

janetha said...

dude. that is a great idea for icing!

Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) said...

Life is all about improvising and I think you did a fantastic job! They look amazing and I am so glad you came up with something just as great!

Eden said...

I want to eat your blog! ahaha!
My whole career in the food world is based on improv (and not the funny kind!). I think some great new recipes were born from me just improvising! And yay for full fat greek yogurt! i swear i taste the difference!

Melissa_WeRunForWine said...

Printing out this recipe :) I'm a sucker for anything with icing!

Where do you buy Earth Balance in Austin?

hungryrunnergirl said...

I hope you have an amazing night tonight!! I am grateful for you my bloggy friend!

Shannon said...

ooh, those muffins sound delish :) good job with the improv! it comes alot easier to me now, but i'm not always good at it, lol

Shannon said...

ooh, those muffins sound delish :) good job with the improv! it comes alot easier to me now, but i'm not always good at it, lol

Pure2raw Twins said...

improvise, haha, yes we do that a lot. When we get little food on hand we are always throwing things together hoping it turns out! Muffins looks great!!

katieemm said...

Yay! I am so glad that you posted this recipe. :) It sounds yummy! You mentioned that you made coffee Christmas morning...tell me the best brew. :) I am dabbling into coffee drinking. I don't like a real bitter taste. I've heard Latin American roasts are good for beginner coffee drinkers. They are supposedly more subtle. I love lattes, so I am thinking about frothing some milk to put in coffee and seeing if I like that. Hopefully I won't have to use too much sweetener! Any tips on a great cup o' joe? ;)

Cara Craves... said...

Sometimes forced improvisation provides better results than the original plan.
Looks like yours turned out great. A good challenge!

Natalia said...

Holy yum, those look good! I will have to make those very soon :)

mamarunsbarefoot said...

Wow you amaze me! I'm astounded at what you create. I improvise but nothing like you!!!