Waking up a few hours before Adam, I was able to try out a recipe for Chocolate Chunk Muffins that I have been eyeing all week. I hadn’t looked at the ingredients in advance, but I do have basic baking “stuff” in the house.
The Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup oats
- 3 egg whites
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (or regular plain low fat yogurt)
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar (or 1-1/2 Tbsp. vinegar)
- 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 cup sugar substitute (like Splenda granular) OR 1/4 cup + 2 tbs stevia
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white chocolate or peanut butter chips!)
Ahh.. so 5 problems here.#1 No oats (oatmeal is hard to find in korea), #2 No Applesauce or Apples to make some, #3 no cream of tarter or white vinegar, #4 no vanilla, #5 no sugar substituteSo much for healthy muffins… so I improvised. I used 1/2 muesli and 1/2 wheat flour, soy bean oil, lemon vinegar, ignored the vanilla and used real sugar. (I also used whole eggs and not egg whites) I only had about a tablespoon of chocolate chips as well…so I tossed in some coconut.
Every time I attempt to bake, I half the recipe in case it turns out like crap…that way I haven’t wasted. I intended to do the same, but after adding all the 1/2s I realized I put in the full amount of eggs and sugar. So, I added the rest of the other ingredients.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with foil cupcake liners, or spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.In a blender, (or food processor), mix all of the ingredients together, except for the chocolate chips. Blend until oats are ground and mixture is smooth.Place mixture in a bowl and gently stir in 1/2 of the chocolate chips (set the rest aside). Scoop mixture into prepared muffin pans.Place muffins tins in the oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove muffins from the oven (but don’t shut oven off), and distribute the other half of the chocolate chips on top of each muffin.Place the muffins back into the oven and bake for an additional 2-5 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. *Note, you could skip this step by putting all of the chips in the batter, and baking the muffins for 12-15 min straight, but this method gives the muffins the traditional ‘VitaTop Muffin’ look with the chocolate chips on top!Cool muffins before removing from pan. ENJOY!!!
Of course another haha moment…I don’t have a mixer or a blender, so I had to transfer the ingredients to our magic bullet…which isn’t big enough for all of the liquid. So, I had to use about a cup of ingredients…blend it, swap it out for more, blend it… after about 4 rounds everything was mixed well but appeared super watery, so I added a bit more flour.
After baking them Adam gave them a try (he always tries them first) and loved them…as he really likes anything I wasn’t too confident. But after trying them myself they turned out okay, they weren’t too sweet which made them perfect for a chocolate treat with coffee.
If you attempt this at home, please tell me how yours comes out and if you used all of the ingredients called for or added your own.
Hungry for more
Intentionally and incrementally. Most families who live this way did not leap from conventional to adventurous overnight. They built remote work capacity, paid down debt, tested longer trips, and had increasingly honest conversations about what they actually want from their lives. The leap feels bigger from outside than from inside.
Different for every family. For some it is long-term travel. For others it is weekend adventures close to home. What connects them is intentionality about how time is spent and a preference for experiences over accumulation. The version that fits your family is the right one.
By finding stability within the adventure rather than treating them as opposites. Routines, rituals, and family rhythms travel with you. Familiar foods, bedtime routines, and predictable family dynamics provide stability even when the location changes. Kids need consistency in relationships more than consistency in geography.
That people are fundamentally similar across cultures in what they want for their families. That comfort zone is a smaller circle than it feels from inside. That the things worth having in life require effort and discomfort to get. And that time together doing hard interesting things is the most reliable source of family closeness.
By getting clear on why you made the choices you made and returning to that clarity when the outside noise gets loud. Most families living unconventionally describe an initial period of explaining themselves that gradually gives way to just living the life. The explaining becomes less necessary as the results become visible.
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