Day after day 8

I never did get a chance to write yesterday.  I'm sorry!  I'm such a bad PCOS support group!  If it makes you feel any better, the reason I went to bed so late and didn't get this written is because I had wine at a bar.  That doesn't make you feel any better?  Oh, well...it made me feel great!  At least one of us is happy. ;)

I've had a couple of rough days now where I haven't been able to watch my food as well as I wanted or get the exercise I need.  I know we all have those days, right?  RIGHT?  Of course we do!  The point is to know that every day is not going to be filled with stellar, rock-star decision-making.  Okay, maybe rock-star isn't good for decisions.  Doctor-approved?  Gold star?  Approving nod from Mom?  Whatever works for you.  The point is, it won't happen every day.  Acknowledge the bad decisions, celebrate the good decisions and know that you are doing the absolute best you can but you're only human.

Yesterday's mail brought me a plethora of reading materials via Amazon.com. (Hey Amazon, if you want to send me FREE goodies in the future, I would happily mention your brand a few more times!)  The first book on my list of GI Sensei to worship is The New Glucose Revolution Low GI Eating Made Easy by Dr. Jennie Brand-Miller. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1569243859/ref=oh_o00_s01_i01_details)  I bought this one for one specific word in the information about it: Beginner.  I love wading through the waters of the ocean of internet information out there, but I don't like when I can't get in-depth about information I want/need.  I will always turn to full books eventually and the Glucose Revolution books have been in print for a long while (thanks previous career in the bookstore!).  The second book is by the same group of people and is the Low GI Family Cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0023RT07W/ref=oh_o00_s01_i00_details).  I love recipes.  I am awesome at modifying recipes to meet my needs, but I like having a few on hand that I can turn to for alternatives if I don't like an aspect of something I've made.  Sometimes things don't taste just the way you want or the texture is off.  There is no harm in asking for help.

I am a follower of the school of Alton (Alton Brown, FoodNetwork celeb and cooking guru).  I get that recipes must have a certain chemical balance.  The problem with healthy alternatives to the norm is that they don't always behave the same way as the normal items.  Did you know adding Flax seed to a recipe means you have to decrease one of the fatty moistures in it or increase the dry ingredients?  Flax, despite being a plant/seed/grain actually will increase the moisture content of the food.  That reminds me of my cheat muffin recipe...

Blueberry muffins
1 pkg muffin mix (the kind that comes in a big envelope/baggie and only requires milk)
1 tbsp flax
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 c oats or oat flour (you can make a basic oat flour by grinding oats in a food processor)
1/2 c milk

Preheat oven to 425. Spray muffin tin or 6 liners with non-stick cooking spray.

Put all ingredients but milk in a flour and mix, making sure to coat the blueberries.  This will help keep them from sinking to the bottom when you add the milk.  Add milk and stir just until moistened.  Fill the six muffin liners until about 3/4 full.  Bake for 14 minutes and test with a toothpick.  The flax and oats will make these muffins seem a little more dense in the oven, so the toothpick test is only the first check to see how close they are being done.  Cook until golden brown (about 3-4 more minutes).  Serve warm so you can enjoy the  fresh baked goodness.

To make up for missing yesterday, I will do a second post today. 8)