photo courtesy Cookingwithmykid.com
aka – Brain Drain: When Bad Weather Makes Me Crave Bad Foods
Ok, so it has been raining since last Sunday and frankly, I am over it. I absolutely know there is nothing I can do about it except a. get over it and b.get on a plane and go to California. The latter is definitely not happening today and the former, well, I am working on that.
In the movie, You’ve Got Mail, Kathleen Kelly says to Joe Fox “Mr. 152 Insights into My Soul” – well, here’s one insight into my soul – on days like today I have very little, make that NO, willpower………
I am sitting here at my desk drinking a pot of green tea. I took 2 extra vitamin D tablets this am. But, I am sitting here watching it rain, yet again and I am craving cinnamon donuts (I NEVER eat donuts) and french fries and a big juicy cheeseburger from Burger and Lobster in London. OMG what’s wrong with me?
12 noon: Being that it is lunchtime, I am having a crisis of sorts. I will have to do something soon. This is a test of impulse control. I find it fascinating. I am not going to eat myself through my pantry or anything, but I can, today, identify with all the people who have impulse-driven eating issues. Why does this happen? While I could crawl into bed right now with a good book and stay there till the sun comes out (evidently not until Monday or Tuesday), that is not practical nor a good idea on any level. The question becomes, what would help? This is my list of aids for days like today and for people like me:
1. exercise and stay in a “bright” spot
2. eat something every two hours to avoid low blood sugar – best choices? walnuts – high in Omega 3s, avocados, and dark chocolate (not 2 lb bars). Best choices for lunch? Salad with low-fat protein
3. get into the kitchen and make a healthy meal;
4. get into the kitchen and bake something for someone ELSE
ok, heck………. I bought the pan for “baked” donuts months ago – around Christmas-time. I’ve been sitting on the recipe and oogled some bombolini last week. And so, weak at heart as I am, I decided to try these:
Baked Maple Cinnamon Donut Recipe – courtesy cookingwithmykid.com
Prep Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 10 mins
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 6 oz container of non fat organic vanilla bean yogurt
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 1/2 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter (melted)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the cinnamon and sugar together and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients. In another bowl stir together oil, lemon juice, maple syrup, egg and yogurt. Make a hole in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the hole. Gently fold everything together until combined. Divide batter evenly into a greased donut pan. (I used the cooking spray that has flour in it but I think any kind would work.) The batter will be pretty thick and airy. We found it was easier to scoop it into the donut pan with our hands. Before baking be sure to clean off any stray dough around the circle so there’s a hole in the middle of the donut. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for a few moments and then flip over onto a cooling rack while still warm. Use a pastry brush to butter your donuts and then dip each donut in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Makes 6 donuts.
and so, yum and this was FUN! This is a very good, easy and quick recipe – the results excellent for such little effort! Try them!
P.S. If it keeps on raining, you will continue to see these kind of recipes and not the Halibut with Blood Orange, White Peaches and Crispy Shallots – c’est la vie!
By the way, Le Bristol tells me that today is Fa-roun’s 3rd birthday! Happy Birthday Fa-roun!
photo courtesy Le Bristol
my only blooming Morning Glory at this point