Published: May 03, 2008 11:41 pm            

Time to pressure down, have a muffin

EDMOND — If I had to choose something in my home that symbolized modern family life, it would not be the computer, the TV or the vacuum. It would not be the washer or dryer or the dishwasher. It would be an item that most of us don’t even own anymore and if we do, we probably don’t use it much. I own two, one to keep and one to lend.

A pressure cooker is similar to a microwave in that it cooks food really fast. Meat that would take several hours in the oven is fork tender in 45 minutes in the pressure cooker. Everything in modern life is sped up, high pressure and high achieving. Like a pressure cooker, we also need to monitor the super-charged lives we lead to keep it safe for our mental, physical and emotional health. Real life may not have safety valves like my pressure cooker does.

One way we can safety check our lifestyle is to take a look at the meals we eat. Literally, pull your eyes away from the computer screen or video game and notice what you’re eating. The snacky, high-fat tidbits that we can eat with our fingers from a microwave carton while operating a car, game control, keyboard or cell phone are like bricks in building our mammoth hips. Our high stress is interpreted in the brain as hunger because we lack something but it usually isn’t fuel. More likely, it’s nutrients, sleep, peace or control.

Every day is a feast day in America. FDR promised a chicken in every pot and we Americans found a way to improve on that. We now look like we have a large suckling pig in our pot bellies.

I know a few simple, easy tricks that will surprise you by the difference they make.

Stop consuming calories after 6 p.m. This way, your stomach is empty by the time you go to bed and your heart and diaphragm and brain must find fuel in the treasure trove of the suckling pig in the pot. This is a good thing. Take a good drink of water before you hit the sheets to quell hunger. By morning, you’ll be eager for breakfast.

Once you’ve built up the anticipation, make breakfast worth waiting for. I’ve decided to reveal the recipe I’ve developed for delicious muffins with a delightful texture and nutritional wallop. You’ll want to clip this recipe and take it with you to the store because it has some unconventional ingredients. It yields 44 muffins.

Blend:

30 oz. can of solid pack pumpkin

3/4 cup canola oil

3 cups sugar

8 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup soy flour

1 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup milled flax seed

3 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour

12 oz. package of chocolate chips

You will need to spray your muffin tins with non-stick coating and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-20 minutes.

One muffin provides 50 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of Vitamin A, 200 percent Vitamin E, 12 percent Fiber, 186 calories and some B vitamins and most minerals. With a glass of skim milk the tally comes to about 20 percent RDA for protein, vitamins A and D, with a total of about 260 calories. This is almost the same calories you’ll get from a bowl of sugary cereal, but it’s far more nutritious, portable and delicious. You’ll find the milled flax seed, soy flour and whole-wheat flour on the baking aisle of the grocery store near the corn meal.

It’s time to simmer down and one good way to start the process is to shape up our eating habits and get more enjoyment from the foods we choose. Not only will our health improve, but we’ll also think better and be more alert. When we remove unnecessary stress, the benefits ripple into most aspects of our lives.



BETH STEPHENSON is an Edmond resident.

        

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