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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I love this! I was working out for the wrong reasons, getting hurt, and hating it and my body. Now i found my soul mate workout, feel great, and can eat the entire pan of these muffins and not feel *as guilty 🙂
This post rocks! What you described is exactly what I did 2 months ago. I tried everything and hated it… until I got the guts to try CrossFit. Me, a girl who is about 100 pounds overweight and hated walking from the car to the house several times when I had to unload groceries. I walked in terrified, LOVED it, and now I can’t get enough. Now I’m not making several trips to the car for groceries because I can just about carry them all in at one time now 🙂 You are so right, you just have to find what you love and don’t give up! Sometimes it’s a struggle every day, but there will always be something that draws you in and keeps you going.
Thank you for sharing this INSANE looking recipe (yum!), but thank you for also sharing your personal fitness struggles. After turning myself into a hardcore kettlebell user/fitness instructor, I found myself with an unending string of issues: a shoulder injury, unaligned hips and ribs, weak wrists and elbows, and a sprained ankle. Most of these issues are due to chronic joint problems and I’m currently rehabing them as best I can. But despite trying to maintain a positive outlook, it’s hard not to get sad and frustrated that my workout style went from beast-mode-all-the-time to brief, unweighted PT reps. Reading about how you’ve recovered and reworked your goals gives me hope and inspiration for my own fitness evolution. Thank you, Juli! 🙂
I LOVE reading your blog, and I LOVE your cookbook too. I haven’t posted for a long time, but I am so happy that I was able to take time to read this today. I have been questioning my workouts as well lately. Before CrossFit, I did the typical 45 – 60 minutes of weights, followed by 30 – 45 minutes of cardio. My body was lean and muscular. I started CrossFit about 2 years ago and fell in love with it. I love lifting heavy and the intensity of it all. I recently recieved my level 1 cert. I have also struggled with how my body has changed over the last year. I am definitely thicker and plan on adding in more sprint workouts this summer in hopes of leaning out once again!! I am VERY interested in your NEW workout plan if you care to share 🙂
I don’t think that you mean dried dates. Regular dates, like medjools for instance, with the pit in them, are not dried. They’re fresh and are nice and soft. They stay fresh for months, even though they’re not dried. Dried dates usually come in a little plastic tub in chunks. Not something you want to use!
I think she does mean dried…Medjools are dried on the vine as part of their ripening orocess, and whike they are softer than some dates you can find, they are dried. Fresh dates are yellow or orange, look somewhat like an apricot, and have kind of a plummy taste.
Juli, I usually don’t leave comments on your recipes, I just enjoy them! One of my favorite things about your blog is your “rants” about your life. I have to tell you, I needed this blog- so bad. I’ve been doing crossfit for almost 6 months now and I’ve lost 20 lbs since then. My gym is having a 40 day nutrition challenge and I am on day 16! I’ve used one of your recipes every day and will probably do so for like, ever. I’ve been feeling borderline depressed about how I look and how I’m not exceling with my WOD’s as much as I’d hoped to. I’m still not where I want to be body wise and was about to reach my breaking point until I read this. Thank you for this post, thank you for your recipes, thank you for being you, and thank you for sharing your life as if it we were your friends. Keep it up, if anything for us (your fans!)
– Michelle E.
I love this recipe!! Such a neat idea to make a muffin variation like this!
I 100% agree that everyone just needs to find a workout that works for them… even creating their own. That’s why I love staying active – it’s something I do for me because I’ve found so many variations I love, regardless of what anyone else thinks!
Thanks for the post and great looking muffins. I needed to hear that today.
Thank you for posting this, I just recently also took a break from CrossFit and starting running and of course started to have other problems with shin splints etc. So now I am easing back into CrossFit while trying some other activities so that I can slim down a little more than I felt I was before. Thanks for helping me not feel bad about not only doing CrossFit!
This is my first time posting here. But, I’ve been lurking for a while now. 🙂 I’ve tried many of your recipes and they’ve all been great! My kids love the magic brownies minus the topping. Silly kids. That’s the best part! Can’t wait to try these.
I’m posting because of your workout struggles. I’m not a Cross fitter. That’s just not me. You’re heading in the right direction I think when you say create your own. I’ve always found that mixing and matching keeps things fresh and your body alert. Personally, I love dance classes. I get my cardio dancing hip-hop to salsa and my strength from barre or pilates reformer classes.