Healthy Chocolate Muffins + How I Deal with Anxiety

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Whenever I have a bunch of spotty bananas lying around, I either peel and freeze them or make banana bread. This time, I made healthy chocolate muffins and they are so good! They did not last long in my house as the BF (and I) just devoured them. They are not overly sweet, so you can probably pair them with some fat (like almond butter or coconut butter) and have one for a snack.

Anxiety and How to Cope:

Its been a rough couple of weeks throughout the world and I honestly feel kinda strange blogging about muffins, snacks or how to get glowing skin. I love talking about these things, but in the wake of so many more important issues, it is hard for me to go on acting like nothing is happening. 

Here is the thing that has kind of helped me navigate it all. I know myself, I know that I am a fairly sensitive person, always have been. Especially after the loss of my mom seven years ago, I can cry at the drop of a hat, anyone else? I never used to be much of a crier, but now, the smallest thing can make me tear up and get anxious and stressed out. So knowing all of this, I have come to develop some ways to deal with it, because otherwise the anxiety, pressure and stress of it all would actually eat me alive. 

Here is what helps me to cope with ALL.THE.THINGS:

I try not to watch the news: I very much like to be informed but I don’t wish to be bombarded with the same stories over and over again. News porn is real and especially in the wake of all the tragedies of late, it was in overdrive. I started watching some of the coverage after the Vegas tragedy and within about 5 minutes, I had to turn it off. All I saw were videos of the survivors’ footage and it was far too much. Someone please tell me why we need to see this over and over again? Studies have shown the negative effects that watching the news can have.

Only we can control how we view the world and I choose not to view it through the lens of the mainstream news or fear. I would urge you to cut back on the amount of time you spend on things that don’t really serve you and your greater purpose. When tragedy strikes, try not to sit in fear and watch the news for hours on end. Instead, it may be far better to sit with intention and send your positive energy to those that need it. I incorporate self care practices: One of the best self care practices I have is sleep and movement. They both go hand in hand as one without the other isn’t going to last very long. You need energy to move your body and to have that energy, you need adequate sleep. You can read more about my nighttime routine here. Whatever form of self care interests you or speaks to you, do that. But at the end of the day, without some form of self care, our mental health and well being will suffer. Life can be hard, difficult and stressful. Without a proper way to cope with things, life can seem even harder. By giving my mind a mental break with exercise or sleep, I am loving and caring for myself and I can cope with things much more easily.

I turn off: Have you turned off the notifications on your phone yet? It can be life changing and help with so many things like productivity but also it can help you cope. Whether we know it or not, scrolling through social media can be mentally and physically draining. Sometimes in order to come back to ourselves, we need to turn off all of the noise. Social media, as fun as it can be, is just that, noise. Often distracting you from what is most important. I find that I am much better at dealing with things when I am focused on the important stuff rather than sidetracked by all the noise.I bake/cook: This leads me to the reason for this post, which are these delicious healthy chocolate muffins. The past week, I have baked three different things and they were all chocolate, #notsorry. Baking and cooking is like therapy to me. Everything is normally pretty quiet, unless I have music on in the background and I don’t focus on anything other than what I am doing. If you have ever tried to do multiple things while cooking, I am sure you realized pretty quickly that it is not a good idea. Well all that baking did lead to these healthy chocolate muffins and for that I am extremely happy.

What Healthy Means:

Being healthy is so much more than just the food you are eating. It is also the thoughts you are thinking, the sleep you are getting, the rest you allow and the lifestyle you enjoy. It is all of these things and so much more. If you are like me and find yourself feeling all the things, allow time to reset, realign and maybe make some changes on how you deal with them. This can often make a bigger difference than cutting out gluten or dairy.

Healthy Chocolate Muffins for the Win:

Alright, lets get to these healthy chocolate muffins because they are soooooo GOOD. I topped mine with some coconut butter and it was delicious. I like to melt the coconut butter first and then drizzle it on them. Bonus- if you are adding the melted coconut butter on top of a cold muffin (I like to keep them in the fridge), it will harden and taste even better.

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Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

Servings 12

Ingredients

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 cups mashed banana about 4-5
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
• 1 egg or use a flax egg-1 tbsp. flax mixed with 3 tbsp. water
• 1/3 cup almond milk or other dairy free milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp chia seeds

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups organic spelt flour may sub for oat flour- GF if necessary
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder]
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder use dutch processed cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup chocolate chips optional (added after)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Line a muffin tin with liners.
3. Mix up the dry ingredients in a small/medium bowl.
4. Mix up the wet ingredients in a large bowl.
5. Add the dry to the wet and mix up well until combined, if using the chocolate chips, add them last and gently fold them in.
6. Using a spoon, add the batter to the muffin tin, filling it about 3/4 the way up.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, check them after 20 to see if they are done by inserting a toothpick into the centre and seeing if it comes out clean.
8. Let them cool slightly before removing them from the tin.

If you want to read more about how food impacts your skin (and your mood) have a look at my FREE ebook!

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Let me know in the comments what you find most helpful when you are trying to cope with things?

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