Oat Flour Breakfast Muffins + PB Dark Chocolate Chunk

Move aside, Banana Avocado Muffins, there's a new muffin in town and we're eating it for breakfast.

The Mr. and I (and Margot, of course) are packing up for a month long excursion to mainland USA. In preparation I was cleaning out our cupboards and decided to make some healthy snacks for us to take for the 13 hour plane ride to NJ. $8 cheese and cracker platter? No thanks, United Airlines, I'll have a deliciously free muffin instead.

These muffins don't just seem good for you...they are packed with protein and fiber so they are good for you. I added some bonus ingredients to the second batch.The first batch is Margot friendly, the second batch is Steve approved.

Oat Flour Breakfast Muffins
1 1/2 C. Oat Flour (so simple to make...just grind up some rolled oats in the blender until really fine)
1 1/4 C. Rolled Oats
1/2 C. Plain Yogurt (or..you guessed it...an avocado)
1/2 C. Soymilk (I used Vanilla Soy)
1/2 C. Brown Sugar (optional...you could also use Agave or Honey if you're not making muffins for baby)
1/3 C. Coconut Oil (or sunflower/canola oil) 
1 egg
2 large ripe bananas
2 tsp. baking powder
1tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. raisens
1/2 tsp. salt

Mash up banana and combine with wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients together and combine wet & dry. Fill muffin tins 2/3 full, top with some rolled oats, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds etc. and bake at 375 for 15-18 minutes.

Here's where the PB Dark Chocolate Chunk part comes in...
For the second batch I mixed in about 2 tbsp. natural peanut butter and some dark chocolate bits (smashed up a candy bar). Use carob chips for a more breakfast friendly version...that tastes like dessert.

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Accidental Deliciousness

It is holiday WEEK in our family. Wedding Anniversary, Father's Day, Steve's birthday. Since two of these three special occasions revolve around Mr. Steve Schallert, I thought it appropriate to make his favorite treat...banana bread! Steve is of the persuasion that banana bread with chocolate chips smothered in peanut butter is breakfast food. I call it something different (dessert). BUT, because it is his favorite, I set out to make a loaf of pure sugary deliciousness. Halfway through mixing ingredients I realized that I didn't have any butter. And I didn't have any chocolate chips. So I scowered my cupboards and accidentally made it healthy...ish . Here's how:


2 ripe Bananas
1 mediumAvocado
2 eggs
1 C. granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 C. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/3 C. carob chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan.
Mash bananas and avocado together until smooth. Stir in eggs, vanilla and sugar.
Combine dry ingredients (except carob chips).
Add wet to dry.
Fold in carob chips.

Pour into prepared loaf pan.
Sprinkle top with brown sugar, flax seeds and pumpkin seeds. Cover with a "tent" of foil.
Bake at 350 for 30 mins then remove foil and bake for an additional 20-25 mins (until middle is cooked through.
Voila. Enjoy.

Beth Reid, looking forward to a modified gluten free version ; )






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"my bride is here,...because my equal is here"

my very dear friends, lindsay and kevin, are getting married! i felt honored to capture some engagement shots for them. i am still going through the photos from the day, but here a few favorites so far. 














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The 2012 Let Justice Roll Down Seminar

Steve and I are facilitating a three week long seminar at YWAM Kona in May! It is open to anyone and it is not too late to sign up if you are interested! Check out the website for more info and to apply. We would love it if you joined us!

Here's the gist.



How do we work with Jesus to undo oppression? How do we live the gospel within a violent context or war-zone? How do we build just communities of faith that really are good news to the poor? How do we challenge the status quo and work to reconcile communities?

The Let Justice Roll Down Seminar is in many ways a response to these questions. A response to the ever growing awareness of young people entering the missions field who are overwhelmed with the realities of Human Trafficking, Poverty, Violence and War. It's a response to an ever growing cry within the margins of society from oppressed peoples who are singing liberation songs and for people young and old who want to learn those songs but don't know where to start.

The truth is that in the wake of a world ripe with injustice most of us feel at a loss when it comes to actually doing something. We read the gospels and see Jesus creating holy mischief all over Palestine and feel inspired, but when it comes to our own communities and nations struggles, we can't connect the dots. Into this tension, the Let Justice Roll Down Seminar will connect young radicals with veteran faith-based activists and peacemakers in order to transfuse a vision of practical peacemaking and works of justice modeled after Jesus! Through a three week intensive workshop and seminar series participants will find themselves rooted within the vast history of faith-based activism and peacemaking, learn a biblical vision of justice, craft a practical tool-belt for engagement and return home ready to insight holy mischief within their communities, nations or missions field.

So whether you've been involved with addressing injustice issues for years, work within the mission field or simply have a yearning to learn how to actively engage injustice and violence in your own community with a "Jesus-centric" witness...The LJRD Seminar is for you.


Speakers:
 
SHANE CLAIBORNE :: Author, Prominent Christian Activist, Sought-after Speaker and Recovering Sinner - thesimpleway.org
 

With tears and laughter, Shane Claiborne unveils the tragic messes we’ve made of our world and the tangible hope that another world is possible. Shane graduated from Eastern University, and did graduate work at Princeton Seminary. His ministry experience is varied, from a 10-week stint working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta, to a year spent serving a wealthy mega-congregation at Willow Creek Community Church outside Chicago. During the recent war in Iraq, Shane spent three weeks in Baghdad with the Iraq Peace Team. Shane is also a founding partner of The Simple Way, a faith community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped to birth and connect radical faith communities around the world. Shane writes and travels extensively speaking about peacemaking, social justice, and Jesus. He is featured in the DVD series “Another World Is Possible” and is the author of the several books including The Irresistible Revolution, Jesus for President, and Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers. Shane speaks over 100 times a year in a dozen or so countries and nearly every state in the US. Shane has given academic seminars at Vanderbilt University, Duke University Pepperdine University, Wheaton College, Princeton University, Goshen College and Harvard University. Shane also speaks at various denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe. Shane’s work has been featured in everything from Fox News and the Wall Street Journal to CNN and National Public Radio. 




CHED MYERS :: Theologian, Author, Activist, Co-Founder of Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries - chedmyers.org

Ched, a fifth generation Californian, lives in Oak View, in the Ojai Valley and the Ventura River watershed. Over the past three decades he has worked with many peace and justice organizations and movements, including the American Friends Service Committee, the Pacific Concerns Resource Center and Pacific Life Community. With Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries he focuses on building capacity for biblical literacy, church renewal, and faith-based witness for justice. Ched holds a Bachelors in Philosophy from the University of California at Berkley (1978) and a Masters in New Testament Studies from the Graduate Theological Union (1984). He has served as adjunct faculty at Memphis Theological Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary, Claremont School of Theology and is the author of nearly a dozen books including “Binding The Strongman: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus” (Orbis Books, 1984)
Ched travels throughout North America and abroad giving seminars and retreats, teaching, preaching, and facilitating gatherings. He works with Catholic, Protestant, and Anabaptist parishes and denominational offices, as well as with ecumenical organizations. He is particularly committed to faith-based peace and justice efforts such as Christian Peacemaker Teams, Borderlinks, the Catholic Worker Movement, Witness for Peace, and the Servant Leadership Schools.


ELAINE ENNS :: Educator, Author, Activist, Co-Founder of Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries - bcm-net.org

Elaine has been working in the field of restorative justice and conflict transformation since 1989 as a mediator, consultant, educator and trainer. She provides mediation and consultation services for individuals, churches, schools, community organizations, criminal justice agencies and businesses, and travels throughout North America teaching and conducting these trainings.
With a Bachelors degree from the Canadian Mennonite Bible College (Winnipeg, 1989) and a Masters in Conflict Management and Peacemaking from the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary (Fresno, 1995). Elaine was trained and still collaborates with the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies at Fresno Pacific University. Elaine often partners with her husband, Ched Myers, to teach on the Theology and Practices of Restorative Justice, and most recently co-authored with him a two volume project entitled Ambassadors of Reconciliation (Orbis Books, 2009). She has led numerous seminars, retreats and conferences across the ecumenical spectrum. Born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Elaine currently lives in Oak View, CA.


Tim Nafziger :: Activist, Blogger, Organizer, International Outreach Coordinator for CPT - cpt.org

Tim is passionate about gathering people with shared values to work together for change in our communities and our world. One such space is Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) where he has worked as Outreach Coordinator since 2008, supporting the growth of CPT in the US, Europe, the Philippines,  Australia and Colombia. Another space is the blog Young Anabaptist Radicals, which he helped found in 2006. He has also been involved with organizing movements of young people in the Mennonite church in the US such as Spark Renewal, Becoming Undone and Cynicism and Hope.
Tim lives beside Lake Michigan in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago with his wife Charletta where they attend Living Water Community Church. He has written chapters in Widening the Circle:Experiments in Christian Discipleship, Fear or Freedom?: Why a Warring Church Must Change and 118 Days: Christian Peacemaker Teams Held Hostage in Iraq. His photographs have appeared in StillSpeaking and the Mennonite Weekly Review.


Sylvia Morrison :: Educator, Community Organizer and Undoing Racism Coordinator for CPT - cpt.org

Sylvia Morrison is an educator and community organizer who has done extensive work in the violence against women sector, serving as a counselor advocate for survivors of trauma, domestic violence and sexual assaults.  She is an anti-oppression trainer and Professor at George Brown College.  Sylvia engages in community development work locally in Canada, and internationally, supporting grassroots community initiatives in Cuba, Uganda, Benin, and Ghana.  

Sylvia is the Undoing Racism Coordinator with Christian Peacemaker Teams. She leads Christian Peacemaker Teams through change processes in which the framework and operations of the organization are being reworked to reflect anti-oppressive values and best practices.

Sylvia lives in Brampton, Ontario and is the mother of two young adults Yoeshae and Joseph Morrison.

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It has been a challenging week with Steve out of town and an unusually cranky Margot. But at the end of the day, I embrace motherhood...even the hard parts. And when I see her smile and giggle at her Dad, my heart swells and I am left with only gratitude. It makes me want to stay in PJs all day and play with her and not care if I have checked anything off my list, seen another person (except, Steve, of course), exercised or brushed my teeth. Even at her crankiest little Margot day is perfect and I can't believe she is ours.


Off we skip like the most heartless things in the world- which is what children are, but so attractive; and we have an entirely selfish time, and then when we have need of special attention we nobly return for it, confident that we shall be rewarded instead of cmacked. -J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

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