Easy Healthy Egg Muffin Bakes!

Easy Healthy Egg Muffin Bakes!

Sometimes MY breakfast is the last thing on my mind in the morning. I'm busy with kids lunches, breakfasts, and getting out the door, and that means that sometimes my breakfast is forgotten. This is a great way to get some protein and veg in for those rushed mornings! And it's SUPER EASY!

Easy, quick, healthy and protein. A few of my essentials for breakfast.

Did I mention they were easy?

Ingredients:

-11 eggs

-2 tablespoons milk

-1/4 cup bell pepper diced

-1/4 cup zucchini, diced

-1/4 cup mushrooms, diced

-1-2 tablespoon chopped onion

-1 cup grated cheese

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-pepper to taste

 Add any ingredients you want!  Throw in some veg, cheese, meat. You choose what you like!

- Preheat oven to 375F and grease a 12 cup muffin pan. (or use a non stick spray or muffin liners. And go heavy on the spray, oil or butter. These guys like to stick!)  

- In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together.

- Pour into muffin cups and garnish with a little extra cheese (if desired).

- Bake for 20 minutes.

- Let cool before taking out of the muffin pan.  

You can use anything for the mixture - ham, spinach, tomatoes, bacon, feta. You could even add some cooked quinoa for some extra protein. Use what you have in your fridge and change it up!

After they have cooled, place in a bag and keep in the freezer for a quick meal or snack!

These are so easy and quick and you've just set yourself up for some easy breakfasts or healthy snacks.

The BEST Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

It's fall and there's a lot of zucchini around! I always seem to end up with some from my friends gardens. (Thanks friends!)  

I love zucchini. Grilled. Panfried with a little parm. And even fresh with a little bit of dip.  But I also love to bake with it.  And this is one of my all time fav muffin recipes!

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 - 2 tablespoon hemp hearts (optional)

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup grated zucchini

1/2 cup chocolate chips

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DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease muffin pan (or line with paper.)  I like to use silicone muffin cups.  Easy to pop out and good for mother nature too.

2. Combine flours, sugar, cacao, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, hemp hearts and chia seeds.

3. In separate and larger bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and mix together.  Add in the chocolate chips.

4. Pour into muffin liners and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

I typically add hemp hearts and chia seeds to all my baking. Adds a little extra protein, fibre and a little bit of a crunchy texture.

Makes about 12-18 muffins. Throw them in a ziplock bag for the freezer so they are easy to pop out for school lunches! This recipe doubles well and my kids love them!

(Thank you to www.eat-drink-love.com for the original of this recipe. I adapted it slightly.)

My Postpartum Running Story

Post-race Snuggles

This is a picture of me, my scrunchy and my first child, when he was three months old. I just finished running part of the Banff Ekiden Relay. A 42.2km relay race, split into five sections. I ran the fourth leg - a 5.9km race with, as I recall, a stupid hill somewhere in there.  

My running buddy Jen and I after the race

I look at that picture now and think: "What the hell was I thinking?"  

You know what I was thinking? Get the pre-baby body back. Get back to the fitness level I was at before I was pregnant. Go out, get that heart rate up and sweat! My doc gave me the OK at 6 weeks, so why not?

Josh's birth was traumatic. After many, many hours of labour, forceps, vacuum, episiotomy, and in the end the doctor yelling "We need to get the baby out NOW" the little bugger came out screaming and healthy. I went about my business and at 6 weeks, my doc said - "Yep, you're good to go." So I started running again. And I joined a stroller bootcamp. And I leaked when doing any running or jumping. But I thought it was normal. I thought that's just what happened after a baby. There was no mention of pelvic floor recovery, rehab or safe postnatal exercises. No talk of pelvic floor dysfunction. Nothing about how the hormones (and breastfeeding) affect your body. Nope. 10 years ago - nothing. Everyone applauded me for getting back to it so soon after he was born.

The urinary incontinence wasn't horrible, and it got better. But until recently, NINE YEARS AFTER THE BIRTH OF MY SON, I still leaked when running or doing certain jumping exercises. Not a lot.  But that doesn't make it right. Or normal. So, I saw a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist and practiced Julie Wiebe's Piston breathing strategy, and I have resolved my issue.  

But you know what? Even if you're not experiencing symptoms, it doesn't mean you can't create them. You may not leak now, but you may be gripping and holding tension in your pelvic floor. This can lead to pelvic floor dysfunctions in the future. EVEN IF your baby was delivered by C-section.

I SHOULD HAVE BEEN...

• Taking the time to heal and enjoy those first few months
• Connecting my core and pelvic floor
• Walking with my baby (or without him!) 
• Working with a pelvic floor physiotherapist
• Strength training, with proper alignment and breathing 

For me, and my postpartum recovery, I should not have been running. I should have focused on recovery and rehab so that I could get back to running without symptoms!

One Day Old

This is not to say that every mother is like me. This is my story and everyone's is different. But what I've learned over the years and what recently has been the focus of the Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism course is that POSTPARTUM IS FOREVER. And that...

"Slow is fast when you're making a return to activity postpartum.  You need to build that baseline first, hone that foundation, so that you CAN make a strong return.  So that you are setting yourself UP, not setting yourself BACK by the choices you make postpartum." - Brianna Battles

You CAN get back to doing the things you love.  

Take your time.  Have patience.  You will get there.

- Maria

Welcome to my new website

I started my business when my kids were little and required a lot of my time during the day.  It has been a wonderful opportunity for me as it has given me tons of flexibility.  Evening classes and personal training fit into our family life.  It started off as a part-time gig - something I've done on the side, when time allowed. Over the years, my business has grown, and so have my kids.  Life - work balance has shifted as they need me less during the day but more at night with their various activities and my volunteer commitments.  

But as my kids and my business grew, I knew it was time to invest and refocus.  My first step was becoming a postnatal fitness specialist through the work of Jessie Mundell.  Since then the learning has been endless.  I have immersed myself in the world of pre and postnatal fitness and have completed Brianna Battles 'Pregnancy and Postpartum Athleticism Course.'   

It shocks me that after a woman grows a human being that she is often sent on her way at her 6 week check up.  There is very little discussion of pelvic floor dysfunctions.  When you compare that to any other surgery - there is typically weeks, if not months of recovery and rehab.  But when one has a baby, there is often nothing.   And because there is no discussion after the baby is born, there is very little education available to the mother.  European countries have had pelvic floor physiotherapy available after birth for years.  But yet, in Canada, we are only just now learning about this option.   And because the education is not there yet, these topics seem taboo.  People are afraid to talk about their diastasis recti, their urinary incontinence or their heaviness or pressure in their pelvic region.  

So let me say it here.

It is NOT NORMAL to pee when you sneeze, cough or run.  
It is NOT NORMAL to have pain during intercourse.
And it is NOT NORMAL to feel pressure or pain in the pelvic region.
These are all COMMON, but they are not NORMAL.

Pelvic floor Physiotherapists can do an internal exam to determine what the issue is for you. Every woman who has had a baby should make an appointment with a Pelvic Floor Physiotherapist.  (and if you need help finding one, let me know.)  

I am passionate about this because the more I talk about it, the more I hear from women who are experiencing these things and have done nothing about it. Because they are embarrassed about it.  OR they didn't know that there were options for them.

I am passionate about this because NINE years after the birth of my son, I took the time to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist and started the rehab process for my urinary incontinence.  My dysfunction wasn't huge, but it was there when running.  And I just thought it was normal.  But its NOT and there are things you can do to fix it.  

I am passionate about this because I started intense exercise WAY too soon after both of my children were born because I was in quest of my pre-baby body.  I now know there is so much more to motherhood than losing the baby weight. So much more to life than focusing on the scale.  

I can help with the healing of the postnatal body.  I can help women get back to doing the activities that they love, pain free and symptom free.  But it's SO important to rehab and recover the core and pelvic floor FIRST before moving on to more intense exercises.  This could be the first couple weeks or months after the baby is born.  OR it could be years.  Because if the issue wasn't fixed previously, it's most likely still an issue.  Postpartum is forever.

Welcome to my brand new website! Take a look around, register for a class or session, read testimonials collected from clients, or contact me with any questions!