The Byrd Family

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Banana Blueberry Muffins

I forgot to add that we did a little baking yesterday on Memorial Day. I found this recipe for banana blueberry muffins from my Jillian Michaels book. I was a little skeptical since these are "healthy" muffins, but they were actually very good. Ben enjoyed helping me in the kitchen and I felt good about letting him eat these....two big bonuses for me!

Ben loved mashing the bananas for me

So fun to bake...not so fun to clean!

Forgot to take a picture before we ate some! They smelled so good we couldn't wait!

Well, the batter tastes good, Mama!

Ben asked to take a muffin to Joyce's for breakfast this morning, so we will definitely make these again. I also have a recipe for pumpkin cranberry and chocolate chip oatmeal muffins. Yum! Here is the recipe in case you can't see the photo very well:

Jillian Michael's Blueberry Banana Muffins

Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 55 mins Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

3/4 cup very ripe mashed bananas ( about 2) 3/4 cup nonfat plain yogurt 1/2 cup honey 1/3 cup olive oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 cup blueberries ( fresh or frozen) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)

*I used Cascadian Farms frozen organic blueberries

Directions

Place oven rack in center of oven.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly spray a 12-cup muffin tin with olive oil or line with paper liners.

Place the bananas, yogurt, honey, olive oil and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir together until well mixed.

In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir until just combined.

Fold in the blueberries and nuts

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin. Place the tin in the oven and reduce the heat to 400 degrees.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched.

Let cool in the tin for 10 to 15 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Serve warm.

*I only baked them for about 20 minutes and they were pefect. Maybe my oven works a little faster than Jillian's!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a very busy Memorial Day weekend. We were asked to be in Jeremy's uncle's wedding, so we had rehearsal dinner Friday night and the wedding was Saturday. Ben was also asked to be in the wedding as the ring bearer. He looked so very handsome in his tux. We enjoyed getting to see so many family members that were able to come down from out of state.

On Sunday, we decided to take Ben to Common Ground park in Lakeland. It is his favorite park. He calls it the "big park." Grandma and Grandpa Byrd met us there and we had a nice lunch at Chili's after the park. We headed over to Lakeside Village next. Ben and I wanted dessert from Cold Stone Creamery. Jeremy tried Yogurt Mountain for the first time and really enjoyed it. He chose Key Lime Pie flavored yogurt and added vanilla wafers and cheesecake bites to it. He made me try it and I'm glad he did...it was delicious! We spent yesterday hanging out at the house and getting chores done. Three day weekends really are perfect. We are counting down to summer vacation now...8 days left! Woo hoo!

He still loves rolling down this hill.

He was so cute climbing on this thing. He was pretending they were jungle vines.

Ben asked the balloon guy for a dinosaur. This is Ben's T-Rex.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Lake Day

We headed down to Lake Isis yesterday after Ben's nap. The beach was empty, so the three of us enjoyed some fun in the sun all by ourselves.

These cute little ducks kept us entertained!

Silly Boy

We enjoyed a yummy lunch at Frostbite yesterday with Grandma and Grandpa. After lunch, Ben got silly and put on Grandma's sun visor. We love this silly boy!

Baseball Banquet

The Henry's hosted the baseball banquet at Crooked Lake Ranch Friday night. Texas Cattle Co. catered the banquet, and my oh my was it delicious. Everyone enjoyed a wonderful meal together and Jeremy did a wonderful job talking about each player and giving out awards. I had the pleasure of proofreading his notes (13 pages typed!), and I enjoyed every word. I hope the players and their families did as well. It's been a great season and I think everyone enjoyed celebrating it.

Jeremy and one of his seniors, Josh Baber

Ben and me before we left for the banquet

Mother's Day

I've had a wonderful Mother's Day! Ben and I slept in until 8:30, then Jeremy and Ben made me cinnamon rolls and bacon for breakfast. It was delicious! We got showers and waited for Grandma and Grandpa to pick us up. We went to Downtown Disney and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. After lunch, we enjoyed watching Ben ride the train. We had some yummy ice cream and milkshakes at Ghiardelli, then headed home. It was so nice to spend the day with my little family.

Ben, there is truly nothing in this world that makes me happier than being your mom. I love you to the moon and back.

Ben was so excited to ride the train. He wore his conductor's costume and brought a whistle :)

About to ride the train!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Miles for Moffitt

We've had a fun start to Mother's Day weekend this year. Jeremy, Ben and I stayed the night in Tampa with my Aunt Lisa Friday night and ran the Miles for Moffitt 5K this morning. We met up with my Aunt Darla and cousins Kacie and Katie. Aunt Darla is a breast cancer survivor so we ran in honor of her! She had her treatments at Moffitt, so what better race to donate money to! We also ran in memory of my Grandmother, Twila Doughty. She passed away in March of 2004. Moffitt provided her treatments as well. Moffitt is very special to our family.
Enjoy the pictures!