I am an afternoon exerciser. A few times, I have tried to make the switch to A.M. workouts, but I just can’t do it. I am both proud and envious of those of you who can wake up at 5 A.M. or earlier in order to get in some sweat, and I suspect that I will join you all once children are added into the mix, but for now, I will enjoy my extra hours of rest!
So, every day after work I transform from a young professional…
Into an exercise machine!
And on this particular afternoon I had a buddy. Stephen and I had a wonderful hour-long run around a local park. It was a nice, crisp 55 degrees. I love cooler running temperatures! It was a welcome break from the warmer weather that we have been having here lately.
After our run, we decided to cook ourselves some dinner. One of the many perks of having Stephen as a boyfriend is that he is a great cook! He made us chicken breasts baked with lemon and garlic. (Recipe adapted from Cooks.com.)
The Ingredients:
3 lg. cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
4 lg. chicken breasts, skinned & boned
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 tsp. coarse ground pepper
2 egg whites
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and grease baking sheet (I used coconut oil).
- Beat pumpkin, egg whites, oil, brown sugar, and turbinado sugar in large bowl. Add flours, quick oats, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Mix.
- Dip your hands in coconut oil in order to avoid the batter sticking to your hands.
- Shape the batter into your desired size of doughnuts and place on cookie sheet. It will be messy, and the doughnuts will not look like they are from Krispy Kreme! This recipe made me a total of about 10 doughnuts.
- Sprinkle turbinado sugar on the tops of the doughnuts, if desired. (I would recommend! It adds a nice crunch.)
- Bake for about 12 minutes.
Voila! Stephen and I agreed that they tasted great! They were definitely a great sweet treat! In fact, we have almost eaten them all, and Stephen has requested that I make more for our upcoming Thanksgiving travels. I’d say they were a hit.
However, I would like to temper my rave review with a disclaimer. These do not taste like your average Dunkin’ or Krispy Kreme doughnut. They are baked, not fried; and therefore, they have more of a muffinish/cakeish consistency. However, they definitely taste like an indulgent sweet , and I would recommend that anyone try this recipe if you are looking for a dessert made with a more natural ingredient list!
I hope everyone has a great day of rest! Stay tuned for the recap of an exciting trip that I took this weekend!
