At the end of last year, late one night, I experienced what can only be described as a seven-hour-long debilitating attack of nightmarish pain and illness. It felt like someone lassoed my chest with a wide elastic band that was on fire then proceeded to squeeze it around me like a vice grip. Prone to histrionics and just a touch of anxiety (ahem) I immediately assumed I was dying. My husband was not impressed nor was he convinced. His diagnosis? Too much rich food. He suffered gall bladder attacks a few years ago and was pretty sure that was the source of my “discomfort.”
Sure, unruly gallbladders run in my family but I’d escaped that malady for so long I felt untouchable and I never (I mean NEVER) watched what I ate. It’s kind of a miracle that I didn’t weight five bazillion pounds at the time, that’s how little I monitored my diet. If I wanted to eat something, I did, fat grams be damned. I often ate as much as I wanted too. Not smart. But it was working for me. Until it wasn’t. OUCH!!!!!! MAMA HELP ME I’M DYYYYYYYING.
I’m still undergoing diagnostic tests to find out what caused my attack. An ultrasound showed no sign of gallstones although it’s still likely my gallbladder is being a jerk for some reason or another. In the meantime, I’ve cut back on the fat in my diet DRAMATICALLY. High-fat, rich diets tend to cause gallbladder attacks, something I wish to avoid, thankyouverymuch.
Over the last five weeks I’ve lost 15 pounds simply by watching what I eat and restricting my fat intake. Let that sink in, y’all. 15 pounds! Man. How much fat was I eating every day to keep that weight on? Eeek. Be still my thankfully-still-beating heart. I do consume a little fat now (your body and brain need some to function – preferably the good fats like omega 3s) but I’ve adopted a healthy respect for it whereas before I didn’t believe it mattered. It does.
In the last few weeks I’ve learned that giving up fat isn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. But what I cannot give up are occasional sweet treats or my love for baking. So I dusted off my favorite, super-easy blueberry muffin recipe and adapted it. The resulting low-fat muffins are every bit as delicious as the original ones and I really can’t tell they’re missing those extra fat grams.
My dear husband (and talented home chef) is supporting me through my diet change by lowering the fat content of our favorite meals. Soon I’ll share some of his fabulous low-fat recipes here. For now, give this low-fat blueberry muffin recipe a try (or face the wrath of your gallbladder. Muahhahahahaha! Maybe. If you’re unlucky. Which I hope you’re not!).
Low-fat Blueberry Muffins (recipe adapted from Inspired Taste)
Set your oven to 400 degrees.
Mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. Then bring them together gently (but don’t over mix them or you’ll end up with tough and chewy muffins!) then fold in the blueberries.
The Dry:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
Whisk these together in a large bowl.
The Wet:
1/3 cup apple sauce (the natural / no sugar-added kind is best)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 – 1/2 cup reduced skim milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Add the apple sauce and oil to a container that measures at least one cup. Add one egg and then add skim milk up to the 1 cup measuring point. Add vanilla and whisk it all together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones in the large bowl, slowing and evenly stirring with a fork until they’re just combined. Don’t over mix the wet and dry or you’ll have tough muffins. The resulting batter will be very thick.
The Fruit:
1 cup fresh (or frozen) blueberries (I’ve had success using both in this recipe).
Carefully fold in the blueberries.
Evenly divide batter into 12 lined muffin cups. For larger muffins, only fill eight cups and fill the remaining four with 1-2 tsp. of water each (this ensures the eight muffins bake evenly).
Sprinkle sugar onto the top of each muffin. Bake for approximately 20 minutes (or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean).
COLLEEN! 15 pounds?! You are doing fantastic! But I hate that you are dealing with probable gallbladder issues. I can’t wait to see your other recipes!
Thanks, Sara. It’s pretty crazy. I must have been REALLY overdoing it before this dietary change. 🙂
So proud of you lady and these muffins have me drooling. I’m so glad you shared what you are going through here as I am sure there are so many others out there in the same boat or teetering on the edge as well. Your photos are beautiful.
Stacy, thanks so much! For some reason I always thought I’d escape gallbladder (or fat-related) troubles. But I’m not immune. And I hear that this happens to many women when we hit our 40s. 🙁 Hopefully this recipe and a few others I’d like to share will be enticing to others and maybe they’ll think about the fat grams they’re consuming. I really never paid attention and now I’m paying for it with uncertainty and medical tests. On the upside, I’m feeling really great these days since changing my diet!
I try to eat healthy about 85% of the time (sometimes that number is higher, sometimes lower) and then allow myself the stuff you see on my site! Being a runner helps because for the bulk of the week I need to focus on fueling and not just eating. I commend your effort…GO, YOU!
These look fantastic.
Patti, your site always makes me drool. I wondered how you eat that amazing food and stay so trim. 🙂 But I forgot about the running! It also helps me to know you merely indulge in those awesome-looking treats and you are eating healthfully the rest of the time. If you were able to eat them all the time I’d be majorly jealous!
Wow, congratulations Colleen! Isn’t it funny when our health pushes us to feed our bodies better, the weight comes off? That’s my goal in 2014 – to make better/healthy food choices – if weight comes off that the added bonus 😉
Added plus is a great, low fat blueberry muffin recipe – they’re my fav 😀 Thanks for sharing!!
Yes! It’s kind of sad that it took this situation to make me live a more health filled life. But, whatever it takes, I guess!
15 pounds is an amazing accomplishment!!
And these muffins looks wonderful–I’m definitely trying these. A healthier way to eat blueberry muffins? YES PLEASE!!
Thanks, Ashley! It’s been a real eye-opening experience for sure.
Good for you, Colleen! Since last February, Mark and I have been learning to be more mindful of what, how and when we eat through a health management program offered to employees here where I still work full-time (when I’m not doing the bee stuff). I’ve dropped 31 pounds now and Mark has dropped 41 pounds. We’ve learned it really isn’t that hard to relearn basics we were taught as children – eat only when you’re hungry, eat just enough to feel satisfied, chew and eat slowly to savor food and make common sense choices (like water over soda, etc.). We feel so much better and Mark has not had the late night indigestion issues he used to have and says lifting those bee boxes is nicer when you aren’t also lifting a heavy body along with them. 🙂 I will try this recipe for the men; sounds so delish!
WOW! 31 and 41 pounds? That’s wonderful. I had no idea. You guys both look so fit when I see you (or your pics on Instagram). 🙂 Congratulations! Y’all are an inspiration to me.
Woohoo, Colleen! Congrats on the weight loss!
And I totally know about that pain you had. I experienced the same back in 1997. I too had no gallstones, but it took almost a year before we determined it really was the gallbladder. I was actually the one that diagnosed it, but that’s a story for another day.
If you find the low fat diet doesn’t ease the gallbladder pain, please, please, please talk to me before you have it out. Doctors tell you that you can get along fine without it, but that isn’t necessarily true. I would give ANYTHING to have mine back!
Barbara, this is so interesting. I’d love to talk with you more about your experience. My doctors are still unsure what’s going on with me. But, for now, I’ll continue my healthy eating and hope for the best.
These sound and look fantastic. I can’t wait to try them 🙂
Thanks, Jessica. I can’t believe, for once, I’ve shared a recipe you’d like to try. It’s always the other way around – I always want to make everything you blog about. 🙂