Do you know the Muffin Man?!

Success! The first baked good that does not suck all the moisture out of your face. I can't remember how I stumbled across this blog with tons of GF and paleo recipes but this gal knows what she's doing. What I Gather's Lemon Blueberry Lavender Muffins are full of protein and most of the ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

I never used to eat too many baked good before moving on to paleo and the few times that I did they were usually bran muffins from a local bakery or the once a year Voodoo. The doughnut aside, even the bran muffins were full of sugar and were usually dry until I slathered it in butter and still not a favorite breakfast food or snack.

The LBL muffins- the most moist, filling muffins I've ever had and the majority of them were gone as I packed up a tin to share with co-workers. The consensus: they were awesome and this coming from all my "don't believe in gluten free" and "you can't eat anything on paleo" co-workers. I cut back on the dried lavender and they were still pretty pungent. When I make them again, I plan on cutting back a little more on the lavender, adding a little more lemon zest and making them into mini muffins. These guys are a perfect snack and make your house smell like a garden as they bake.

Tip of the Day: There are always different ways to make something your own. I believe in going by the recipe at least once to get a handle on it and then adding your own spin! Lemon raspberry muffins are next. Not everything has to go by the book all the time- it's more of a guideline :)

Trying new recipes

I have been house bound with a small case of bronchitis that turned into pneumonia. In my impromptu house vacation I have taken up quite a few hobbies- my love for Pinterest has only grown and I have completed an endless amount of crafts including some crayon art, wedding gifts, doodles and I've tried my hand at some more baking.

Baked goods aren't really something that I've missed moving to paleo; however, they are the one thing that seem to be the most difficult to get even close to right. Every cookie, scone and cake that I had made in the past seemed to just suck all the moisture out of my mouth. Store bought paleo cookies are also not completely paleo and some of them do not taste very good. I've tried a ton of recipes and each time they do get better and better!

A not so successful recipe were these Paleo Lemon Blueberry Scones. I modified them to have a little bit of lavender I bought at the Spice Exchange downtown and the blueberries were from the secret farm Sweeny and I went picking. I used an almond flour blend, which I think was the mistake- they came out crumbly and were only good if eaten with an extra handful of blueberries and a giant cup of tea. My next challenge are muffins. Scones may have been a little ambitious. In the meantime, I have been trying some new breakfast items to master- pancakes, which used to be my least favorite.

Coconut pancakes, banana pancakes have been a pretty consistent staple for weekend breakfasts so I was in need of some variety. Today I tried a new recipe that I just made up for Pumpkin Almond Butter Pancakes. Definitely not mastered but it was a delicious start to something great. They were tough if I didn't eat them right away which means that I just need to adjust a little bit- if you can find a better way let me know in the comments below!

Pumpkin Almond Butter Pancakes

1 egg

2 scoops homemade Almond Butter

2 tablespoons pumpkin puree (canned pumpkin)

1/2 cup of pumpkin pie mix (brown sugar, almond flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt and black pepper)- I have a mix from my mom but after research pumpkin mix is easy to make and there are tons of different ones online through Food Network, Pinterest, etc

2 tablespoons of ghee, coconut oil or grass fed butter

Mix all the ingredients together until you get the pancake batter consistency. Heat your pan with some coconut oil or olive oil and fry them up just like normal! Stack them together and top with some real maple syrup and some more butter. Maybe some cream mixed in will help keep them moist and some baking soda may help them fluff up a little bit. They were still really tasty.

Tip of the Day: Everything tastes good with butter. But everything in moderation so that's why I always put alternatives. For the most part they usually all work the same and are equally as tasty!

Lost track of the days on the bright side...

...a hide-a-way pick your own berry farm has been found! Sweeny and I took a drive around the island and found tons of little farms. It seems that most people will hit up the first two larger farms right when you enter the island; however, the drive around it actually quite nice.

Blue Bee Farm is a small family owned farm that has rows and rows of blueberry bushes, a small garden where they sell lettuce, they make their own raspberry jam, which is quite good and they even have bee hives for honey! BBF is unfortunately not certified organic but they do not use any pesticides or sprays on their plants. In comparison to the other larger farmers, the rows are more spaced out so you don't have to fight your way to the berries.

They were actually closed the day that Sweeny and I went, but the owner still allowed us to pick and gave us a solid background of their farm. Complete with a pair of large German Shepherds and a gaggle of kids snacking while they run through the rows of berries. We were able to pick a flat of blueberries and I bought some jam with promises of returning for beets and carrots this week. So if you're in the mood for some good company and yummy berries, this would be the place to find! I have two types of berries, Rekas and Gold something or others ready to be snacked on and baked into noms.

Tip of the Day: Sometimes the effort is worth it for something great. I don't like blueberries- I'd eat the Rekas all day long from this place.