Chocolate Raspberry Muffins

To close out Chocolate Week, why not chocolate for breakfast?  After all, cocoa has anti-aging properties, antioxidants (two times more than touted superfood acai), calcium, iron, and magnesium.  It’s been known to be energizing, mood stimulating, a mild central nervous system stimulant, increasing of serotonin levels, rich in polyphenols (help reduce bad cholesterol), and anti-inflammatory.  This is why I rationalize chocolate for breakfast every now and again in smoothies or muffins!

This post is actually the first one I prepared for Paleo Paisan, but I never published it for various reasons until now.  I pulled it out for its chocolate contents and read it over.  It’s off topic for Valentine’s Day tomorrow… or is it?  Valentine’s Day may stir up emotions for us all good or bad.  So maybe it isn’t so far off base…

“I should have started a food blog five years ago.”  I tormented myself with this thought for so long.  I obviously overcame the hurdles in my way when I launched last November, but thoughts like these aren’t as innocent as you may think.  How do you get past thoughts like that and actually make your goals and dreams a reality?  Working on rephrasing those “innocent” thoughts in your head (which are really the way you talk to yourself all day… every day) is actually hugely important.   See how this could make an impact on your life and the actions you take?  “I really wish I had started a blog five years ago.”   Because that’s what I really meant.  What’s the difference in those two statements?  Aren’t they the same?  The answer is no.  The difference is in that little word “should”.

A wise person taught me to take “should” out of my vocabulary.  Every time I say it or even think it, I catch myself and rephrase.  What I wanted to say was that “I really wish I had started a food blog five years ago.”  The reality is that I didn’t.  So now that I realize and accept that fact, I can problem solve and move forward.  This one is easy.  I’m going to start one now.

What is so wrong with my first sentence “I should have started a food blog five years ago”?   Let’s say a friend told you this same thing.  What would you say back to her?  “Nah, it’s okay.  You can just do it now!”  Good friend, right?  That’s what a good friend would say.  But that response leaves you still feeling like you should have.  You still feel bad, and you still wish you would have, and nothing is fixed.  All that results is you still feel bad. Because you still feel bad, you keep telling your self you “should have”.  Your “should” sentences make you feel guilt about your action or inaction.

That’s the problem.  Anytime you use “should” there is guilt associated with it.  You then spend your time trying to justify and support the statement/ feeling.  You can’t move forward and problem solve or take action because you sit there wallowing in the should’ve this, should’ve that.  It arouses negative emotions or feelings that start a cycle of “I feel bad, I must be bad, I’m now convinced I’m bad so I feel worse” thoughts… and you spiral into a continuous conversation in your head that only makes you feel bad.  You continue to focus on the “should”.  It’s not a productive process.  It doesn’t do anything to help.

Try it.  “I should make my bed.”  “I really shouldn’t go out tonight.”  “You should go to the gym.”  “You really shouldn’t wear that.”  “Should you really be doing that right now?”  “Shouldn’t you call her before you go?”  Should = feelings of guilt.

Now you can downplay that feeling a little guilty really isn’t a big deal. But anytime you are unhappy, or you don’t get what you want, or you kind of want to do something but you’re afraid, you hold yourself back.  Because over and over you get these small doses of guilt throughout your life that train your mind over time to think you’re not enough or you’re not good enough.  What results is that you don’t totally believe in yourself.  So over time, that is what you come to believe.  If you’ve ever lacked confidence, doubted yourself, or felt insecure, you know this feeling.

I challenge you for one week to completely eliminate “should” from your vocabulary.  If you catch yourself using it, that’s ok – in fact that’s good because it means you’re becoming aware.  Just try and rephrase.  “I wish I wanted to make my bed because when I come home it would be nice if my room was clean.”  Put yourself in a position to problem solve and make choices, not feel bad about yourself.

Bottom line, you should take the word should out of your vocabulary.  Oh wait… I mean… well you know what I mean.  Don’t say should.

Be kind to yourself.

Now onto the recipe…

Since I feel best when I eat tons of veggies, lean proteins, healthy fats and avoid gluten and dairy, I don’t feel guilty when I choose to make a “paleo” treat.  I say “paleo” because yes all the ingredients in this muffin recipe are paleo, but a muffin is still a muffin.  It’s not the golden paleo rule of lean protein + veggies/fruit + healthy fat.  But in order for me to maintain that as much as possible, I okay little “paleo” treats like this.  Don’t let what others tell you paleo should be dictate your every move.  Choose to do what makes you feel good.  I choose to eat mostly paleo because of how great I feel and how much energy I have after eating this way.

Since I struggle with getting excited in the morning for foods that are not cereal, bagels, english muffins, banana bread and croissants, I okay a paleo-ized treat once in a while that is reminiscent of those familiar breakfast foods I once knew.  My own decision is to try to do so without adding loads of almond meal/ nuts/ seeds, coconut flour or making a product void of protein.  And if I do overdo it on those ingredients to get a good final product, I monitor the portion size and pair it with something else to make a satisfying meal.  This way, I maintain feeling great, awake, alert, and energetic (which I would not if I downed a giant bowl of cereal).  Disclaimer: this is what works for me.  It may not be what works for you.  If you can eat cereal and feel fab – power to you!  If you struggle with similar reactions to food as I have, then by sharing my experience I hope it helps you find your healthy-happy relationship with food.

If you really want to go all out with these muffins or you want to “fancy them up” for entertaining, apply a chocolate topping over them after the bake and cool.  To make he topping, combine 1 T melted coconut oil, 1 T cocoa powder, and 1 T melted chocolate chips.  I prefer the look of it drizzled versus smeared on.