I went to the gym this morning after pulling some teeth to get there. And no – it wasn’t the kiddos who needed a little convincing. I did.

And apparently I needed a nap too? Ah, the joys of self-timer pictures.

Tuesday morning’s routine usually calls for a weights workout and whatever cardio I’m feeling that day. Generally I could take or leave the cardio portion and get all sorts of excited to whip out a new workout pumping some iron. It’s how I get “bitchin’ arms”. <--- I promise I’m not vain…just a shout out to Heather and the calamity she started in the #HLS Twitter feed during our panel. Talk about unexpected feedback.

Well, these arms turned into “bitchin’ and moanin’ arms” at the thought of picking up a weight. That..or the painful bowling balls I have sitting on my chest right now thanks to weaning made weights sound like a no go. I wonder why FitSugar didn’t think to include that as an event that sabotages your workout? Hmmm…

I considered just scrapping the workout all together because I didn’t want to do weights, but then remembered Beth’s “all or nothing” post from yesterday and knew I would feel better getting in at least the cardio portion of my workout. Plus, I could use the mental release and escape with all the emotional stuff going on recently. Forty distracting minutes on the elliptical later and I felt much better.

Kind of like how it felt good to succumb to the mindless distractions after getting home from the hospital last night.

Google Reader. Best time suck for mindless entertainment out there.

I guess the whole weight training motivation passed me by then too. You see…I should have taken the time to study for a pretty important test I hope to take in November.

In fact, I haven’t really touched my personal training study materials since a week before leaving for the Healthy Living Summit. I needed to prepare for my trip. Then I needed to catch myself up with the inevitable pile of to-dos that comes with going out of town. Then I took off running with the million new ideas for the blog that I had to take a crack at because it is my number one work love (if you don’t count the mom job).

I had high hopes of getting back on a good study routine last night…but my mind wanted mindless entertainment and to not think about muscle synergies and optimal training systems. But it’s time to suck it up, buttercup! Heck, I actually like the material and find it incredibly interesting. I can’t be a slacker forever. Especially since I look forward to training clients via an online platform someday in the (hopefully not too distant) future. I guess I’m just in the ebb part of studying…hopefully it will get flowing again soon!

• What “time suck” do you find yourself drawn to for mindless entertainment?
• What have you slacked on lately?

I never officially thanked you all for the prayers, thoughts, and encouragement for my mom and myself. I wish I could send you each a batch of fresh peach muffins to even begin to show my gratitude.

Instead, I will do the best I can manage and type the words “thank you”, hope the feeling  expresses itself well enough, and give you a recipe for the peach muffins instead.

The muffins are basically an adaptation of my Lemon Raspberry Muffins. I followed that recipe but subbed out some things to make them peach instead of lemon and berry. As a standard in the blog world you should NEVER re-post someone’s recipe in full when subbing out only a few of the ingredients.

Well, this is my own recipe… so I’m reposting even with only a few substitutions. Besides, it might be good to put to use some of the recipe creation tips I learned at Healthy Living Summit. I learned such tips as not breaking a recipe up with pictures, being more specific in the ingredients and recipe details. Note: I also learned I’m a recipe train wreck and thankful I’m not a food blogger in one fell swoop.

I may not share recipes in the most helpful way…and I may not share many of them..but, by golly, you better believe any recipe I put up on this here blog is worth trying! And yes, that “by golly” just happened.

Fresh Peach Muffins

Wholesome, yet light – these muffins make a great item for a quick breakfast or even a grab-and-go snack. Made with whole wheat pastry flour, a high fiber stevia baking blend, and applesauce instead of oil, these muffins taste like their sugar and fat laden counterparts, but satisfy more on taste, quality, and nutrition. You can make many variations of this same recipe using different fruits or yogurts. Also, feel free to use sugar or another form of sweetener instead of stevia or a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flours if you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour. Happy baking!

Servings: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup NuNaturals More Fiber Stevia Baking Blend (or sugar/sweetener of choice)
1/2 cup peach flavored Greek yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 fresh peach, diced into 1/2” chunks

Step-By-Step
Preheat oven to 400. Coat a muffin tray with non-stick cooking spray. Add the stevia baking blend (or sweetener of choice), yogurt, almond milk, applesauce, egg, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl. Stir until combined. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until evenly combined. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the diced piece chunks. Spoon batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes until tops start to brown.

Yep. I’m definitely not a food/recipe blogger. But I am a food lover…and I love these. Hope you will too!