whole grain superman muffins.

It's half past midnight (do people tell time like that anymore?) aka - far too late for me to be awake during break.

I just ate one of these muffins. There are so many good things in here. Whole wheat flour, oatmeal, bran, flax, wheat germ, yogurt, cinnamon. Yeah man, cinnamon has minerals and stuff. I added "0.25 tspn ground cinnamon" to my iProfile when I was keeping record, and it boosted my mineral counts incredibly. Winnnn.

I could eat these little baby muffins all day. This for breakfast, and the chicken chili with bell peppers & fresh tomatoes atop brown rice pilaf with lentils I had tonight for dinner every evening. And whatever for lunch. My day would be awesomeeeeeee.

My today was awesome. I woke up. Ate almond milk yogurt (more on that later) and fruit for breakfast (kiwi! om nom so good). Went on an hour long walk while talking to Andrea. That phone conversation got depressing really fast as we discussed the future, but she's reading Life of Pi potentially! It's a good read. There's a good bit about sloths in there, and the ending is intense.

I came back, discovered my tan line that I got for being outside for ONE HOUR and proceeded to shower before going to my friend's house for brownie sundaes. We chatted for a while before I met with my best friend. We walked for a good hour, at least, just talking about how awesome life is and how content we are with our positions in life.

Afterwards, I came home to eat the coziest dinner ever in a satisfyingly heavy bowl on my parent's bed as I watched Animal Planet with them - Yellowstone: Battle for Life. Guys, this show is the real deal. Did you know Yellowstone can get up to 50 feet of snow? And that animals actually survive this weather? Elks will jump into a river to evade a pack of carnivorous wolves, because they can withstand the freezing water. Otters wade through snow as gracefully as if it were water and will look for fish around the mouths of geysers, because the lake has 3 feet of ice. And the bison! They're my favorite animal. More than yaks. They're so elegant.

I'm not even kidding. They have enormous bodies, with massive neck muscle to plow through snow to get to the grass underneath. However, the grass at that point tends to be severely nutrient-deficient, so these poor bison are using their energy reserves for nothing. I want to hand-deliver them all the lettuce I pick from Garden of Eden. Except it would probably be enough to serve as 1% of a baby bison's required diet.

Anyway, after breakfast today, I made these muffins. There's no white flour, a ton of whole grains (so many good things), dried fruit (fiber + antioxidants + good replacement for white sugar), nuts (vit e + omega-3 fatty acids primarily), yogurt (calcium + vit D + good replacement for fat), cinnamon (you know), very little canola oil, and little sugar. Hence the "superman." Because they still taste amazing.

My brother said he could eat them everyday. They were really easy to make, and they have an interesting addition of boiling water that you stir in and let sit for a while. Kind of like making oatmeal. Except superior.

With that, I shall return to my research on nutritional programs, planning my schedule for next semester, and my random texting conversation that belies the growing frustration and anxiety I am getting from trying to make decisions about my future. A small tweet to a friend resulted in madness. Med school, a potential career path as a dietician, research, how to be productive this summer, and what to make tomorrow for pi day is occupying my mind right now. Good night for now, and here's to tomorrow bringing some answers!

Whole Grain Superman Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal (I used quick cooking) 
• 1 cup whole wheat flour 
• 1/4 cup whole grain mix (flax, bran, wheat germ; I used a combination) 
• 1 tspn cinnamon 
• 1 1/2 tspn baking soda 
• 1/4 tspn salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup yogurt plus 1/2 cup water)
• 1 egg 
• 1 tspn vanilla 
• 1/4 cup oil 
• 1/2 cup boiling water
• 1 cup dried fruit 
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional 

1. Mix the dry ingredients, from oatmeal to salt. 
2. Stir together the wet ingredients, from buttermilk to oil. 
3. Mix dry into wet, until streaks remain. Stir in dried fruit & nuts. 
4. Stir in boiling water. Let sit 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Bake in muffin pan, or mini loaf pans, about 20 minutes, pending on your oven. 
6. They are done when the bread springs back when gently poked. Remove from oven and transfer muffins/loafs to cooling rack after a couple minutes. Let cool completely.