Oatmeal Muffins

This story starts 36 years ago, the year of the Vancouver Expo.

It was a cool evening in the foothills south of Calgary; there was a thunderstorm in the distance, and I was learning to barrel race. Actually, I was trying to figure out how to just stay on a horse.

It was my turn to tackle the barrels; Woody, a big chestnut, and I were midway around the course when we both heard the clap of thunder. Woody took off, just to come to an abrupt stop when he reached his buddies; I, however, kept going - I really should have held onto that saddle horn.

Miraculously landing in an upright position I walked back to the horse .I put my foot in the stirrup; I hopped to get some momentum into the saddle; I ripped the ligaments in my left knee as my shattered fibula gave away. According to the ER orthopedic surgeon, tearing a ligament beats labour and delivery pain, any day.

Fast forward to 2011.

One way to stabilize loose, damaged knee ligaments is to just replace the knee. A knee replacement on the right arthritic joint had gone “A-Okay” four months earlier, so when it came time to finally repair the riding injury, I thought, "Why not?"

Why not? Because, with two knee replacements so close together you need two crutches, and two hands to hold them; eccolo, no hands for cooking.

Andrea to the rescue; she's a former teaching colleague, our personal fitness trainer for whom we have pet nicknames ( censored), and the kind of friend who comes over and opens the fridge to help herself. Andrea is family to us. Andrea brings us food when we’re sick, or just home from the hospital. Andrea's the best.

Large doses of pain medication can decrease an appetite and cause nausea. However, comfort foods, like muffins, are the perfect snack with tea as you lay moaning on the couch. Andrea’s muffins are delicious and remarkably good for you with their high fibre content. And, because they’re always delivered with care and kindness, we feel warm and comforted as we gobble them down, and lick the crumbs.

Muffins were just one of the dishes that Andrea brought while I was mending. The perfect high fibre food for someone on pain meds, nauseated and not moving around too much – yay Andrea!

So, when you have a friend who needs some comfort food with tea, try these oatmeal muffins; your friend will be glad you did.

Andrea uses this recipe from www.epicurious.com

Oatmeal Muffins

Makes 8 large or 18 standard muffins Active Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes (includes baking and cooling time) Ingredients: Non-stick vegetable oil spray 2 1/3 cups quick-cooking oats 1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup chopped pecans (about 2 ounces) 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar 2 tablespoons natural oat bran* 2 tablespoons wheat germ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup canola oil 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/3 cup boiling water 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries * Natural oat bran can be found at many supermarkets and at natural foods stores. Preparation: Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 8 large muffin cups (1-cup capacity) or 18 standard muffin cups (1/3-cup capacity) with non-stick spray. Whisk oats and next 9 ingredients in large bowl. Add buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla; whisk to blend. Stir in 1/3 cup boiling water and let stand 5 minutes. Fold in blueberries. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups. Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 28 minutes for large muffins and 20 minutes for standard muffins. Cool 10 minutes. Turn muffins out onto rack; cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The recipe is at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Oatmeal-Muffins-361819

Sometimes we can make the simplest food, and sometimes a recipe takes more time and effort. This recipe is the latter – definitely a dish of kindness.

The muffins freeze well, so you can make tons of them for later, or, share some and eat the rest yourself. Or, you could become friends with Andrea, and she’ll make them for you!

In the meantime, pain meds, and immobility can work together to make other things stop working altogether. Help your buddy out by taking them high fibre foods, lots of bottled water, and my favourite new food during my knee recuperation, prune juice. Yep...just a tip from my nursing days....

Warmly,

Wendy

P.S. Check out Andrea’s blog at www.runrunrunning.blogspot.com, or her Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Move-Eat-Vegetables-Give-Yourself-a-Hug/286886691375186and get ready for down-to-earth inspiration, encouragement and more healthy food ideas!