It’s no secret that I love to cook. But my heart is really attached to all things baking related.
It’s why I started this blog back in *gasp* 2009.
The first name of this blog way back in once upon a time-time was “Stretch: Stretch your Budget, not your waistline”. It was a way for me to share the healthy sweet recipes I was creating, and to document my journey as I attempted to start exercising and train for 5k races to lose weight.
The blog eventually evolved into FakedGoods, which was a play on the words “baked goods.” I was really into baking and creating sugar-free desserts and at the time, I thought Splenda was the future of healthy, low sugar eating. But as I learned more about nutrition, I realized this wasn’t the case. Artificial (fake) sweetener= bad. A reputation of being a faker baker who uses chemicals in her recipes was not something I was looking forward to. So I morphed the blog once again and became KitchenKM (cooking + running, like you know, km=kilometers?). I really, REALLY loved that name and kept it for quite some time. It was cute and clever, and I was able to refer to my main squeeze as Mr. KKM (so cute!) 😉
And then, my mom became ill.
And I started writing more about more about my journey through the process of having a mother who was slowing leaving us due to stage IV triple negative carcinoma. Over time, and after she passed, I found myself really beginning to use my blog as a platform for talking about grief and documenting stories of my mom as a way to keep her memory alive- all while continuing to post recipes and workout progress.
Once again, my blog went through a transformation.
Many of you know the reason that orange has become the color that represents our running team (Team Judy) is because my mom’s favorite color was orange. But many don’t know that it’s the reason why the blog is named that as well.
Orangespoken is where I’m Outspoken about life, love, food, and my journey through grief.
Orangespoken is my story. Since losing my mom, I now see the world through orange colored glasses. Seeing the world this way means seeing the brighter side of things. Helping to inspire others to shine and love who they are. Taking those moments to soak up the sunshine. Dedicating time to making memories. Going after goals and living in each moment. Finding ways to live my healthiest, happiest life, and inspiring others to do the same. Because in the end, I want to look back on my life and say “wow, that was amazing!”
Through all of these changes, and using this blog as a road towards healing, I have learned SO much about myself and SO much about nutrition. I have learned from fellow foodie friends, coaches at Orangetheory, and, most of all, from healthy living bloggers that share wholesome and delicious recipes on their sites. Bloggers have been the greatest inspiration and source of education on healthy cooking and eating for me. Because of these influencers, I no longer create recipes that are “faked.” Instead, my recipes use whole, unprocessed foods as often as possible, and my dessert recipes utilize real sugars like honey, coconut sugar, or sugars naturally found in fruit.
And even though I create a lot of my own original recipes, I’m always on the look-out for what other bloggers are whipping up in regards to wholesome, low-sugar, low-carb recipes for cakes, cookies, muffins because, well, because those things are delicious ya’ll. 😉
The other day I stumbled across this recipe for 5 Ingredient Banana Almond Muffins. When I realized I had the supplies in my pantry to whip up these babies, I decided to give them a whirl.
I teased my Instagram friends a bit when I posted this picture of my Ninja (which by the way- GET ONE! My cousin gifted me this as a bridal shower present and I love, love, love it! I think it works JUST as good as the Vitamix, for a fraction of the cost!). Throwing all of the ingredients (aside from the add-ins) into a blender is such an easy way to ensure everything is properly mixed together and that the batter is smooth.
I have since made them TWICE! These muffins are out of this world good. They are completely flourless, so they’re naturally gluten-free, and they are also free of any refined or added sugars. With only 5 natural ingredients (not counting the optional add-ins), they’re also super healthy and clean! I was surprised at how fluffy and light they turn out, and have the same consistency of any store-bought muffin you can find. It really is incredible considering what’s IN them.
They get their sweetness from ripe bananas. Not a banana fan? Don’t worry- you can change up the flavor of these little guys with some simple add-ins like dark chocolate chunks, dried fruit, or coconut flakes! 
The last time I made these, I decided to do add in some dried fruit, nuts, and an extract to really put these little guys over the top! Here’s the recipe:
- 1 cup almond butter (just almonds in the ingredients)
- 2 ripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. of salt
- 1/2 cup sliced raw almonds
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- optional: if your bananas aren't super ripe (the riper the sweeter, so use those brown spotted ones!), you can add 1/4 cup of honey or coconut sugar to the batter to make it a bit sweeter
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Throw all ingredients except for sliced almonds and dried cherries) into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Pulse or stir in almond and dried cherries.
- Grease mini muffin tin.
- Pour batter into muffin tin about 3/4 the way to the top.
- Cook for 10 minutes, let rest, then enjoy!
