I love muffins. Wait, no. I love muffin tops. Not the ones that are glued to my sides, but the ones I eat. I love them. Whoever decided to just sell muffin tops in stores is a complete genius. And these muffin tops in this recipe are by far the best ones I’ve ever made. You’ll be quite happy to try these muffins. The bf didn’t agree, but sometimes, he’s just wrong.
Enough about muffin tops. I want to talk about exercise. Yes, yes I do. So I wanted to chat about fitness, the ups and the downs, and creating a workout you love to do. That’s honestly why I started this blog in the first place. To not only talk about food, but what life is like when you CrossFit every day.
I have been struggling with CrossFit for a little less than a year now. After Regionals last year, I injured my shoulder, then I injured my elbow. It led to me taking a step back from competing. And since I wasn’t competing anymore, I wanted to look different. I had gained over 30 pounds, some muscle and some fat, and wasn’t comfortable in that body anymore. My body didn’t look like the ripped CrossFitters out there who become lean and more muscular, I just had more weight on me. And I hated it. So I stopped working out multiple times a day, cut back my weights, and started running more. But running more led to other injuries. Pretty much my body has been feeling like it’s falling apart and I’ve been upset and frustrated constantly about it.
But the thing is, I’m not one to stop working out. I would look like a bowl of tapioca pudding if I did. So I stopped going over head in CrossFit and I kept running, mixing it up with some sprint work as well as “longer” distances. I put the “” down because I run 2.5 miles, which is long for me. By the end, I feel like my body is crumbling. Literally, crumbling. My awkward turtle body was just not meant for running.
Anywho. I wanted to talk about this because I want it to be proof that you can create your own kind of CrossFit. Or really, any workout. I think a lot of people are intimidated by CrossFit or by a gym or a certain kind of workout, but they shouldn’t be. I’ve created a workout that I’ve begun to love again and look forward to because I’m changing my body and feeling good in my skin. Isn’t that what it’s all about? Last year, it was all about hitting personal records, not crying during muscle ups, and making it as far as I could in Regionals. Now it’s about not hurting during a workout, fitting into shorts and jeans, and feeling good in Mexico. Funny how priorities change.
I don’t know why I’m talking about all of this. Most people won’t care. But maybe someone will. Because honestly, I’m writing this to say…don’t give up. Don’t ever give up in your workouts. And if you haven’t started working out yet, start today. There is no better day than today to try something new. Try Zumba, try pilates, try yoga, try cycling, try p90x, try insanity, try CrossFit, try out a fitness class at your gym, try lifting weights, try swimming, try walking/jogging/running/sprinting, try anything. The more things you try, the more you’ll begin to figure out how exercise can be fun in some way. Or at least beneficial. Ok, I’m getting off my soap box. That’s enough ranting for the week.
I really wish we had soul cycle out here. I want to try it. Any workout with good music, I’m in.
Look at these cool people who came in to CrossFit Broadway to workout and visit. They are so great. Thanks for stopping by Lauren and Ryan! You guys had good movements. I love that.
Enough about exercise, I want to talk about food.
Maple Pecan Crunch Banana Muffins
- Yield: 12 1x
Ingredients
- 4 bananas (I used the extra brown ones)
- 6 dried dates, pitted
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup Coconut Oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 5 heaping tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- pinch of salt
For the delicious topping
- 1 cup mixed nuts, chopped (I used sliced almonds, walnuts, and pecans)
- 2 heaping tablespoons almond flour/meal
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- sprinkle of cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In yourfood processor, puree bananas and dried dates until you get a paste. Let it go for a while so the dates can break up completely.
- Add in eggs, coconut oil, and maple syrup and puree.
- Then add in the coconut flour. Mix. Then cocoa Powder. Mix. Then finish it off with adding the baking soda, powder, cinnamon and salt. Mix well in your food processor.
- In a separate bowl, add together the delicious topping mixture.
- Now line your muffin tin with paper muffin liners (I tried using silicone and they were a pain to get out) and use an ice cream scoop to plop batter into each muffin. It should make 12 muffins so try not to pile too high because the topping will take up a lot of room.
- Then add a heaping tablespoon of topping on each muffin and spread out around the muffin.
- Place in oven and cook for 35-40 minutes. These guys take a long time because they are so dense and wet, so check them at 35 minutes and every couple minutes after that. All you need to do is press on the top, if it give a lot, they aren’t ready. Be patient.
- Once they are cooked, let cool for at least 20 minutes. That way they will come out of the muffin liners easily.
- Then eat up and love your life.
- I did. Multiple times.
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More Muffins, Please!
Chocolate Chip Espresso Banana Bread Muffins
Double Chocolate Almond Espresso Muffins
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As good as these muffins look (which is amazing!) your photos look just as great! Thanks for sharing such great recipes! Can’t wait to try this one 🙂
These look lovely! I just bought some bananas, so I think I’ll let them brown up and bake these on Sunday!
I’ve been feeling the same way lately! I started running again to give myself some balance and just a mental break from CF. Thanks for posting this!!
Thank you for this inspirational post Juli! Exercise can take many forms; I think finding what you enjoy is key to success. I too sustained a shoulder injury this year and it really messes with your head when you can’t work out the way you think you should. Getting creative is a must in that situation. Thank you for your excellent posts and amazing recipes.
Hey Juli!
Thank you for posting this. I am a distance runner, I’ve never really done any other type of exercise but running. I just ran my second full marathon a couple weeks agao and it was great! However, my muscles are definitely lacking and not as toned as I’d like them to be. I would like to feel more comfortable with my body in general, but especially at the beach and I know lifting some weights would be good for that. I’ve always wanted to try Cross-Fit or weight lifting but have been too initmidated by crazy sculpted bodies at those places so I stick to my running bubble 🙂
But you have motivated me to try something new, so I’m hoping to sign up for this weight training class I saw at my gym the other day.
Thanks for posting & sharing all of your amazing and delicious recipes! you rock!
-Cathy
I SOOO needed to read this today. I started crossfit in February.. And I was extremely out of shape. I’m slowly seeing and feeling changes which is exciting but in this mornings wod I just about had a meltdown because I’m feeling like I should be better at things by now.. I sucked it up and got on with it but so many times I’ve wanted to give up because of being scared of crossfit. Today was one of those days… 🙂
I’ve been going through something similar with my workouts, and my satisfaction with my body. It’s tough, especially as you get older and what used to work like a charm, suddenly stops working because you’re body basically says EFF YOU YOU’RE GETTING OLD! Fun times. Thanks for the honest post, definitely nice to know there are people out there going through something similar!!
I felt the same last year or two (minus regionals – never in my mind. I saw so many people getting hurt so now way josé).
It’s a looong and boring story how I came back and started to like cross fit again and started to run so I’ll spare you all the details.
Just wanted to say thanks for sharing – it helps a lot. If I’ve read this 1,5h ago I just maybe could have figured it out a little bit faster than I did but hey, you always learn something from your journey 😀
I have rheumatoid arthritis, and it took 15 years to find a workout I could do without making my RA crazy. After thinking I was crazy for a long time (at a certain point you feel like it’s in your head and maybe you just really don’t want to exercise), I found a place that does “exercise rehabilitation” for people with disabilities who find it hard to exercise. It took them a long time to find something I could do, but over time it morphed, and now I am able to do pilates on a reformer. Occasionally I fall off the bandwagon, as I had done the last month, but I’m back at it. You also need to learn to forgive yourself for not exercising like you should, or you’ll never get back to it! Almost 3 years now with a good exercise program and been Paleo for 16 months. Good combination, and my RA is in remission. for the first time. Crossfit will never be something I can do (although it looks awesome), but that’s ok.
Hi Lori, I am just getting into nutrition and have been doing some basic exercising over the past couple years and hoping to get “my” RA in remission. I am inspired by what you wrote here. Contrats and good work! Would you consider sharing some with me more on how you went about it? Please email me if you would, at dolphinshop@mac.com Thanks, Karen
Hey Lori!!! I just wanted to give you a big hooray!!! I am coming up to my 10 year RA anniversary since formal diagnosis, it’s a tough road. I love hearing other RA peeps that have found there exercise groove and are looking after their bodies. I also wanted to encourage you to don’t underestimate what your body can do, it make take longer, have longer steps, hurt more *yeah I know* and look different to the path that everyone else has to take , but you CAN do anything. I’m proof. 12 months ago my goal was to bet strong enough to have a bash at CF …. today that is exactly what I am doing. You just have to take baby steps xx
Thanks for that post Juli! I have been feeling similar lately and feel bad about wanting to take a break but you reminded me it’s my body and my workout. I finally came to the realization that I can do whatever I want and if one year that’s triathlons and the next it’s crossfit then that’s what I’m going to do. I was trying to do everything and it just doesn’t work! I really needed to here a post like that, you’re a great inspiration, thanks!
Stephene