I remember it as clear as the days my kids were born. My husband and I were setting his gear up for a triathlon when a large-sized man came near our area to register for the race.
“That guy has no business being here,” someone said nearby.
My husband and I looked up in disgust and gave the person a dirty look. As a person who, at first glance, may not be deemed worthy to participate in some races, I wanted to slap the naysayer into next week. But not in front of the kids, they don’t need to learn how to be unsportswoman-like from me yet.
It’s almost been a year since I started my effort to get back into shape.
It’s been hard. There have been nights I wonder if I should just give in to the ice cream and never see a rail-trail again.
Then, there have been days where something amazing and beautiful happens and I know I’m doing the right thing.
In a year, my weight loss is still in the single digits. But people are starting to notice now. My winter clothing fits more loosely than it did a year ago. They catch a glimpse of me on the rail-trail while they drive to work.
I haven’t lost more mostly due to food. If I ate healthier I know I’d be in a different place weight wise. I’m a sucker of carbs and eating my kids’ leftovers.
So I’m getting out my old culinary books and studying nutrition. I’ve tried some stuff with the kids — some experiments have been more successful than others.
One thing we do agree on are these whole wheat applesauce muffins. I tweaked the recipe to get better flavor and a bit of crunch. At 200 calories a muffin in the original recipe, it’s not that bad. I’ll update my food page as I find other healthy (or at least kinda healthy), kid-friendly recipes to share.

Whole wheat applesauce cake or cupcakes
1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. granulated brown sugar
1 c. applesauce
1 1/2 c. unsifted whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Oil and flour an 8-inch round or square baking pan or muffin tins. Cream the oil and sugar together and then mix in the applesauce and baking soda. Add flour and cinnamon, blending thoroughly.
Pour the batter into pan or make individual cakes in muffin tins. Bake 30 minutes for an 8-inch cake or about 20 minutes for cupcakes. 1 cupcake equals 200 calories.

Note: My variation includes adding a quarter cup of uncooked oatmeal into the batter. I also substitute applesauce with cinnamon applesauce and add quarter teaspoon of cinnamon and a quarter teaspoon of nutmeg. After putting the batter into my muffin tins, I sprinkle some uncooked oatmeal on the top.