Today I am not posting a vegan recipe (sorry to all you vegans) or a gluten free recipe (sorry to all you on a gluten free diet) but I am posting a lovely, healthy, and delicious muffin recipe.

My beautiful pan

Recently I bought a silicon muffin pan. I've never used a silicon pan before so I was very excited to try it. As soon as I found a recipe I wanted to try out, I set myself to work. Plus its heart-shaped! Who can resist hearts, especially as Valentine's Day is nearing?

Last weekend I went to a retreat that focused on the True Colors communications style personality test. This test focuses on what type of person you tend to be when working in a group. It also builds a model for understanding yourself and others. It is called True Colors because you can either be labelled as gold, blue, orange, or green.

Gold is responsible. This color represents a need to fulfill duties in order to organize and structure life. People who are gold are practical and sensible. They believe in hard work.

Blue is compassionate. It represents calm. Blue people are very emotional and caring. They tend to put others before themselves. Blue people are also sensitive and creative.

Green is conceptual. This type of person values intelligence. They are determined and practical.

Orange is spontaneous. They enjoy doing things and being active. Orange people are energetic and like doing things that are different.

I ended up having an equal score for orange and green. This helped me understand a lot more about my personality and I believe that I really am an orange and green type person. I can't stand sitting still and love moving. I consider myself a quirky person and I'll jump at the chance to do something different. I also value intelligence, doing well at school, and I am organized.

If you also happen to be two colors it probably means that you are dominant in a different color in different situations. For example you could be blue when with family but gold at work.

Of course I also realize that you can't always be just one color. For example I recognize that I also share traits from the other two categories as I'm sure all people do.

If you're curious about what color you are, you can take the True Colors test here. If you do be sure to comment back here and tell us what color you are!

And now for something even more exciting... pancakes!!
I made Katie's Banana Pancakes for One and they were absolutely delicious. I love pancakes and make them frequently but I have to say that these were some of the best I ever had.
For my pancakes:
I used lime juice (which I think put them over the top!)
I had to add more liquid to get the consistency of pancake batter I like.
I also left the banana a bit chunky so I had yummy, squishy, sweet pieces of banana in my pancakes.
Here is my recipe with the changes I made.

Three of my pancakes topped with banana slices and sprinkled with cinnamon

Banana Pancakes
Adapted from Chocolate-Covered Katie
I got 6 small pancakes

1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tsp fresh lime juice*
1/2 mashed banana
1/2 cup almond milk**

Mix whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. In another bowl, add the mashed banana, lime juice, and almond milk. Stir dry ingredients into the wet.
Now make your pancakes!

* You can try using lemon juice
** May substitute any other milk

These pancakes are honestly amazing by themselves. If you want to serve them with something, you can use the rest of your banana, peanut butter, and maple syrup. I'm thinking that some shredded coconut added into the batter would also make it wonderful.

School is back in session and I'm as busy as ever. My week has mainly consisted of lectures, work, skating, the gym, volunteer training, freezing in the cold, more work, and then a little bit of studying and blog reading. Blah.... and by the way happy late 1/11/11! That's January 11, 2011. Just take a look at all those ones! In case you did not know this day was supposed to be one of good luck and achievements. Did you achieve anything?

I also want to take this chance to thank all of you for your wonderful comments left on my last post. I value each and every word you write. So if you’re reading this right now please remember to leave a comment. You can say something positive, something to help me improve my blog, or just say hi.

Now I know that Christmas is over and you probably don't want to see another dessert or Christmas recipe for some time but I need to share this because its delicious. Its also a great way to use up the last of your cranberry sauce and eggnog!



When I saw this I just knew I had to make something like it. However I was not satisfied with the recipe as I found it a little too indulgent so instead I modified this recipe. The cupcakes have no eggs or butter so they're easy to half or double.

Hello everyone. I hope you had a good New Year's Eve.
I'm sad to say goodbye to 2010 but I'm also welcoming the New Year and hope to make it a good one.

One of my resolutions for this year is to be vegan once a week. I've always been interested in the vegetarian or vegan diet but have been hesitant to become one myself. I've tried being vegetarian for a week and did not have any trouble doing it. Although I’m afraid about how difficult it would be if I became a vegetarian. More recently I have become interested in a vegan diet as I finding that many health benefits that come with it. I also support the rights of animals, do not enjoy meat or milk that much to begin with, and find sometimes find it unnatural that humans consume these products (particularly that people drink milk intended for other baby animals). So I will see much I fare with being vegan one a day a week and decide if I should change my diet from there.
Is anybody else willing to share their New Year resolutions?

I need to mention this delicious cake. I made it last year for Christmas dinner again this year. This is saying something as I rarely make the same recipe twice (why should I with all the millions of recipes to try out there?).


It’s a Cranberry Upside Down Cake. The cake base is perfectly moist and delicious while the cranberry topping is just a bit sweet as well as being the perfect fruit for Christmas. The recipe needs absolutely no alterations and I urge you to try it if you have some extra cranberries. The cake base recipe can also be used alone or for any type of upside down cake.