My friend and fellow classmate at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Michelle, has a great website and flourishing health coaching business. After a few hours of studying I took a break to do a little web surfing and stumbled across her Red Velvet Coconut Muffins. Holy moly did they look good! I happened to have all of the ingredients already in my kitchen, and they seemed easy enough that I thought I’d take an even longer study break to whip up a batch.

The study break was well worth it – they came out moist and delicious! I followed Michelle’s recipe except I substituted wheat flour for almond flour, because I already had almond flour in my house. I brought half the batch to my sister who is a student at Warren Wilson College about 15 minutes away, and she and her friends loved them too.

I just had to share the recipe with all of you, and Michelle graciously gave me the thumbs up to post her recipe on my website. So enjoy the muffins and if you dig ‘em let her know – she’s working on a cookbook!

Ingredients:

1 cup roasted beets, shredded (about 3 beets)
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut (plus more for topping)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. In food processor or with a grater, shred beets. Combine with all wet ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Add wet mixture and blend. Spoon batter into muffin tin and fill each cup to the top or even overfilling a bit. Sprinkle with more dried coconut if you wish. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Everyone that doesn’t live under a rock knows that it’s important to eat more fruits and vegetables and less sugar and processed foods. However, many of us seem to conveniently forget these guidelines when it comes to breakfast. Instead we settle for foods that are quick, easy and give us an artificial boost of energy to start our day. In other words, most of us rely on foods that are easily transportable (read: processed) and loaded with sugar, so we perk up in the morning only to crash a few short hours later.

Cereal (even if you think it’s the healthiest option on your grocery store shelf) and milk for breakfast, or any other time of day, is not as harmless or healthy as you may think.

Here is what Sally Fallon, founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation has to say about dry cereals.

“Dry breakfast cereals are produced by a process called extrusion. Cereal makers first create a slurry of the grains and then put them in a machine called an extruder. The grains are forced out of a little hole at high temperature and pressure. Depending on the shape of the hole, the grains are made into little o’s, flakes, animal shapes, or shreds (as in Shredded Wheat or Triscuits), or they are puffed (as in puffed rice). A blade slices off each little flake or shape, which is then carried past a nozzle and sprayed with a coating of oil and sugar to seal off the cereal from the ravages of milk and to give it crunch.”

According to Paul Stitt, author of Fighting the Food Giants, “the extrusion process used for these cereals destroys most of the nutrients in the grains. It destroys the fatty acids; it even destroys the chemical vitamins that are added at the end. The amino acids are rendered very toxic by this process. The amino acid lysine, a crucial nutrient, is especially denatured by extrusion. This is how all the boxed cereals are made, even the ones sold in the health food stores. They are all made in the same way and mostly in the same factories. All dry cereals that come in boxes are extruded cereals.”

Still not convinced that you should rethink your breakfast routine?

In the 1960’s a study was conducted at the University of Michigan in which researchers divided 18 laboratory rats into three groups: one group received corn flakes and water; a second group was given the cardboard box that the corn flakes came in and water; the control group received rat chow and water.

The rats in the control group (received rat chow and water) remained in good health throughout the experiment. The rats who ate the cereal box became lethargic and eventually died of malnutrition. The most surprising result of all (at least for me) was that the rats eating the cornflakes and water actually died before the rats eating the cereal box. Before the rats eating the cornflakes and water died they developed schizophrenic behavior, threw fits, bit each other and finally went into convulsions.

The conclusion of this experiment is that the cereal box provided more nourishment than the corn flakes. This study was never published.

So right about now I bet you’re feeling limited and wondering what you CAN eat for breakfast.

My favorite way to start my morning is with a bowl of oatmeal. It’s filling and I love the warmth the oatmeal provides in the colder months. The rolled oats are an excellent source of nutrition, as they contain essential enzymes, iron, dietary fiber, vitamin E and B-complex vitamins. Because the body absorbs grain slowly, they provide sustained and high-quality energy.

You can substitute rolled oats with any other whole grain like millet, amaranth and quinoa. I like to add raisins and walnuts to the oats while they cook. The sweetness of the raisins spreads throughout the oats so adding cinnamon or any other sweetener is practically unnecessary.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup rolled oats or other whole grains (Heck, go crazy and mix different grains together!)

1 cup water

Optional mix-ins: raisins, apples, walnuts, almonds, seeds – you get the idea…

Directions: 

Soak grains overnight to aid digestion. Soaking grains also removes phytic acid, which is a natural part of the grain’s bran. This makes absorption of all the grain’s nutrients easier on the GI tract.

Drain and rinse grains

Combine grains and water in pot

Bring to a boil

Simmer for 20 minutes – add your mix-ins half way through

Feeling too rushed to eat at home and be able to make it to work or school on time in the morning? Pour it into a glass container to take with you on the go. Don’t forget your spoon!

Also check out my pumpkin muffins for another healthy option.

For more information about the extrusion process check out these sites.

http://www.westonaprice.org/Dirty-Secrets-of-the-Food-Processing-Industry.html

http://hilltownfamilies.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/doyle-2/