Vegan & GF Carrot Delight Muffins,Mindful Eating, & GIVEAWAY!!

I have my weaknesses.  One of many is snacking without realizing it.  I hardly ever will "sit down" for a snack, I'll just sort of graze.  I think I do this because I don't want to admit that I'm snacking, although if I sat down and enjoyed it I'd probably eat less.  The food is still healthy: I can easily spoon my way through half a jar of tomato sauce, and once measured that I had grazed my way through a cup of walnuts in a single day.  I haven't been adding on pounds because of it, but I do have to make frequent trips to the grocery store.  It also gives me pause to stop and ask myself: Am I really enjoying this? Why am I eating this random walnut right now?  Would I enjoy this walnut more if I took a handful of them and sat down, focused on what I was eating?  If I did that, would I cease to graze mindlessly throughout the day?

On account of this realization, I've been working on being more mindful when I eat.  Sitting down with something that I prepare for myself and set myself up to enjoy.  Not mindlessly putting food into my mouth.  Chewing, slowly, and savoring.  Just slowing down in general.  I had been planning to write about this focus of mindful eating, and then, to my delight, I saw this article in Wednesday's New York Times.  The article presents the concept of mindful eating not as a "diet," but as a way to actually be present with the moment of eating and to experience every bite.  Bringing meditation off the cushion and onto the dining room chair is a concept that I have been keeping in mind each time I sit down to eat. 

One of my biggest challenges is to sit down at a table and eat without any reading material when I'm at work or by myself.  When Andrew and I share meals together, I would never think of opening up the newspaper or checking my email.  But, for some reason, when I'm eating alone I feel the need to occupy myself with something else, or multi-task.  I notice that at these times, I don't chew my food well enough.  I don't listen to my body's fullness cues and tend to over eat.  I don't give myself the time to stop, enjoy, and savor.  The past week, however, I worked on this.  No reading material, no internet, no distractions.  Just me and my food. I found these meals much more satisfying and nourishing.  I counted how many times I chewed each bite, and let my mind rest on that as a meditation of sorts.  It's a lovely experience and has really added something more meaningful to eating.  I also added this concept when snacking on nuts, chocolate, trail mix, and these carrot delight muffins.  I found myself feeling happy with eating less, and didn't continuously dip my hand into the nut jar throughout the day.  It's amazing what a little mindfulness and focus can do.

These Carrot Delight Muffins are sprinkled with color -- orange carrots, green zucchini, blue berries and ivory almonds.  Vegan and gluten free, the muffins are given even more of a nutrient boost with the addition of protein powder, and are flavored with ginger, a spice that helps to boost the immune system during these sniffly months.  I would definitely recommend using paper liners and a muffin tin for this recipe, as the muffins are pretty wet with all of the veggie love in them.  That being said, keep in mind that these are definitely a healthy treat -- I think they're sweet and delicious but they aren't like a muffin you would buy in the super market. 

Vegan and GF Carrot Delight Muffins

• 3 medium sized carrots, grated
• 1 small-to-medium sized zucchini, grated
• 1/2 cup organic blueberries (thawed if previously frozen)
• 1/2 cup raw almonds, chopped
• 1/4 cup protein powder
• 1/4 cup tapioca starch
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tablespoons ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch salt
• 1-4 teaspoons stevia, depending on your taste (I used 1)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4-1/2 cup millet flour, depending on how wet your batter is

So, a fair warning:  every time I make this, the amount of millet flour that I use changes.  It's something that you can't really mess up too much, and that you can play around with.  Just experiment and play, and have fun.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, and place the paper muffin liners into a muffin pan.  Mix in all of the ingredients until you get to the millet flour.  Start adding in 1/4 cup of millet flour, and mix well.  If the batter seems too soupy or is not holding together, add more flour until you get the right consistency.  If the batter is too dry, add in 1/4 cup milk of your choice, or more apple sauce.  Spoon into the muffin cups until the batter just about reaches the top. Bake for 25 minutes, and keep a close eye on them until they are firm all the way through.  They may take up to an hour to cook, depending on how moist you decided for your batter to be.
I know some people like to have a definite recipe...but I like to experiment a bit.  I hope you have fun baking these!  Makes about 1 dozen -- again, dependent on the quantity of flour used.

And now...the GIVEAWAY!!

The lovely folks at Experience Life Magazine have offered one of my readers a full year subscription to their informative magazine!  To qualify for this giveaway, leave a comment telling me one thing that you have learned from an Experience Life article.  If you're new to the magazine, take a look at some articles from the current issue, and tell me what intrigues you.
This giveaway will end on midnight on Thursday, February 16th, with the winner announced on Friday morning. Good luck!