Tag Archives: flu

saturday upsides & healthy apple oatmeal muffins

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Hi everyone! Hope you had a wonderful week and are gearing up for a lovely autumn weekend. I am pretty much over my nasty head cold, but am still feeling a little low-energy. As mentioned, I was {un}kind enough to share my cold germs with Mike, who has been battling the bug as well this week. I took him to the doctor yesterday, which was a good thing because he had a build-up of fluid in his ears that easily could have turned into a bad ear infection! He is currently on a regimen of steroids & antibiotics to clear up any infection and woke up this morning feeling much better.  It will be nice for both of us to get some rest this weekend and {fingers crossed} I will be feeling all better and will have an energetic Marvelous Monday post for you in a couple of days!

In the meantime, I was inspired by my blogging friend Bonnie over at Recipes Happen who has created a series called Saturday Upsides in which she posts each Saturday about looking at the bright side of things. {Check out her post today about the upsides of a busy Saturday!}

My Saturday Upsides today are numerous: both Mike and I are feeling on the mend; we get to see his family this weekend; fun pumpkin carving and Halloween activities are planned. And one bright side of struggling through a few miserable days while your body is battling a cold or flu bug is that it makes you more aware of what a blessing it is to normally be feeling healthy!

Before I sign off for the day, I wanted to share this recipe that I made earlier this week for healthy apple oatmeal muffins. I made a big batch of these on Tuesday evening and ate them for breakfast and snacks all week long. They are full of fiber and heart-healthy oats, plus double-apple goodness thanks to the apple pieces and applesauce. A perfect autumn treat! And they are easy to whip up {which was a requirement for me this week! This cold has seriously knocked me flat!}

I adapted this recipe from one I found on Frugal Homemaking for oatmeal chocolate-chip muffins. Hope you enjoy!

healthy apple oatmeal muffins

– 3/4 cup oatmeal
– 1 and 1/3) cups whole-wheat flour
– 1/3 cup brown sugar
– 1 tsp. baking powder
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 2 tsps cinnamon
– 1 egg, beaten
– 3/4 cup milk {I used nonfat}
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
– 1 large apple, peeled and cut into pieces {I used a honeycrisp, my all-time favorite apple, but you could use any kind you want}

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with paper cups.

2. Blend together dry ingredients: oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients: egg, milk, applesauce, and vanilla.

4. Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix together.

5. Stir in the apple pieces. Batter will be lumpy and thick.

6. Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 of the way to the top.

7. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until golden brown and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

And that’s it! These muffins are like apple-cinnamon oatmeal in baked form. Warm, filling, healthy comfort food.

What are your plans for this weekend? Any autumn-inspired recipes you’re trying out?

Stay happy & healthy,
Dallas

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– Time spent: 40 minutes {including bake time}
– Cost: less than $5.00

marvelous monday: staying positive when you’re sick

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Hi everyone! I feel like it’s been for…ev…er since I’ve posted. I’ve missed you! As you can tell from the title of this post, I’ve been sick with a nasty cold. Sniffles, coughing, congested, feverish, and soooo tired. You know that weary-bones, sandpaper-eyes tiredness you get when you’re sick? Yep, that’s me.

It can be hard to stay positive when your body is fighting a cold. You’re sick and tired and all you want to do is crawl back into bed and sleep the day away! But it isn’t always possible when Monday rolls around and work and obligations beckon. So, in keeping with the “marvelous monday” theme, I woke up this morning and tried to keep my thoughts on the upside. Here are some things that help keep a smile on my face even when I’m sick:

  • eating breakfast in my cozy Purdue Snuggie that my parents got for me when I decided to come to Purdue for grad school. So warm, and so functional!

  • warm green tea with honey … perfect natural throat soother.
  • snuggling up with a good book {right now I’m reading My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares — a unique, creative romantic read from the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series}
  • the beautiful autumn leaves outside my window and on my drive to school.

  • sweet phone calls and texts from my parents and brother checking up on me to see how I’m feeling
  • wonderful students who seemed to sense that I was feeling under the weather and were extra well-behaved and participatory in class discussions today.
  • a reminder that I am so fortunate to normally be feeling 100% healthy and energetic, and I need to be grateful for my body and take care of it! As a naturally go-go-go 24/7 type of person, relaxation can be a challenge for me. Sometimes being sick in bed with a cold is the reminder I need to slow down, rest, and take care of myself by making sure I spend some time in relaxation mode, even when I get back to feeling healthy.

Hope you are having a wonderful start to the week! Does anyone have any tips to share for staying positive when you’re feeling under the weather? How about ways you keep your body healthy through cold-and-flu season?

-Dallas