Oatmeal PB&J Apple Banana Muffins

A flourless muffin made with healthy fat and flaxseed sweetened with jelly and apple butter. A deliciously creamy & giant muffin that will take you back to your childhood in a healthy way.

Happy Monday!

It really is a happy Monday when you don't have to work. Isn't it? Except for the fact that the Packers lost horribly yesterday I am happy happy today because it's a company holiday. I really wish every weekend were a 3-day weekend. 3 days is just the right amount of downtime. 2 is never enough. This holiday couldn't have fallen at a better time either with Mom visiting. Too bad my body couldn't quite figure that out and let me sleep in today. I was still awake at 4:30am. Mom was complaining the other day I wake up too early. I told her that's what us worker bees do and reminded her that's what she did when she worked. How quickly we forget when we retire... Getting up early today ended up working out in my favor because I wanted to swim before physical therapy this morning and I really needed both today too.

If you saw this, then you know I have a little something painful going on with my left elbow. You may have noticed the pink PT tape in my Instagram pics. When I saw the orthopedic last week for my ankle injury, I had the elbow examined as well. My elbow's been bothering me for well over a month and with my medical fiasco last month I just couldn't fathom the thought of seeing yet another doctor and you can imagine my reluctance too with having multiple mis-diagnoses last year. But the pain was so bad last week. In the mornings, I could barely move my arm or do basic things like pick up a water bottle, turn the steering wheel of my car, hold my phone, etc. So I had no choice and bit the bullet and told my orthopedic about it. According to the orthopedic, I have lateral epicondyle aka tennis elbow. Must be all those planks. Kidding! Although I swear to you planks are the only core work you ever need to do in life. You can crunch your little heart out all day long, but you'll crunch yourself to no where in a hurry and with no flat belly. But I digress...

Now your asking how I did hurt my elbow? I am forewarning you. This is not a sexy story. It's stupid, dumb and embarrassing. In December, I was carrying a case of water from the garage into my house. I have one of those heavy duty doors that leads from the garage into the kitchen. It closes fast and hard which is tricky when you have a lot of stuff. I have a terrible habit of using my elbow to prop the door open. So the day I was carrying the water I swung my elbow out to prop the door open and hit it in just the right spot. I felt a small bit of pain in my elbow. Then I went outside to get another case and did the EXACT SAME THING again. Immediately I felt a huge sting of pain. So not only did I hit it once, but twice. Ugh...

When my therapist worked on it for the first time last week, I was screaming like a baby and I'm a tough cookie. I seriously thought I was gonna pass out, throw up, fling my body to the ceiling, something. The pain was horrible, but after it felt so much better. My therapist said it can be very painful, but with my history of stress fractures I'm not holding my breath it's the right diagnosis. For the time, I get to wear a fashionable strap below my elbow to redirect the pressure and get to ice it all day long. But the good news is at least it's not my foot for once. I can deal with an arm injury better than a foot one. I think? Guess we'll find out.

So I'm looking forward to pain relief this holiday Monday. Truthfully I don't mind Mondays. I kinda look forward to them. My body gets off track on the weekends. I sleep in, eat at weird times and consume way too many muffins. Mondays are my reset day. Monday's are also my day to pass out muffins at the office and these giant muffins were quit the hit a few weeks back (they're quite large).They also blew up my Facebook and Instagram with readers asking for the recipe. I wasn't planning to post this one for awhile, but it's just too good not to share. It may be holiday Monday and I may have an injured elbow, but one thing's for sure. Muffins will be in the works today. Hope you love them as much as I do! Forgot to mention, I see the endocrinologist tomorrow. I really hope he has answers about my hormones. Have a great Monday!

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About Megan

Megan is a certified nutrition practitioner, author, freelance food photographer and fitness instructor living in Phoenix, Arizona. On her blog, Skinny Fitalicious she shares EASY, gluten free recipes for weight loss. Follow Megan on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates.