During my trip to Hawaii last month with my mom, I naturally woke up shortly after 6 am nearly every day feeling completely rested and refreshed. (The time difference between California and the Big Island really helped, too!) With Mom already out jogging, I quickly dressed, stretched, and headed down to the hotel gym for a workout.
Even at that early hour, plenty of couples and families sat in comfy sofas and chairs scattered throughout the open-air lobby, many of them overlooking the pool and facing the ocean. I also spotted quite a few businessmen perched at tables, their laptops open in front of them while they hurriedly typed, headphones and ear buds jammed into their ears to minimize the chatter from the surrounding families.
The vast majority of these hotel guests sprawled throughout the atrium had little brown paper bags, disposable coffee cups, and napkins in front them from the café in the lobby. Only open for breakfast and lunch, it still stayed busy all morning long, providing pastries and caffeine to all of its patrons.
Although slightly tempted to peek at its offerings… I knew how quickly the gym filled up (and how nauseous I feel when I exercise after eating!), so I walked straight past the café and its line to the stairs that led directly down to the gym entrance to fit in my workout before Mom and I “officially” started our day.
As I lifted, lunged, squatted, and burpeed through my workout, my mind wandered back to the small café located almost directly above the gym… And I imagined the delicious flavors and various sweet treats they must have sold. (Especially when one man brought a cup of coffee into the gym to sip on in between sets!)
By the time I walked back upstairs to our room to shower, most of the breakfast pastries had disappeared… But knowing how much butter, oil, and calories probably hid inside each one, that was probably a good thing!
So instead, I baked my own batch of tropical-flavored breakfast treats after I flew back home: these Healthy Hawaiian Muffins! They’re incredibly moist and tender from lots of Greek yogurt, and they’re filled with some of the most classic Hawaiian foods… Including pineapple (my favorite!), coconut, macadamia nuts, and a generous splash of vanilla (inspired by our vanilla bean tour on the Big Island!).
With how well they kept in the fridge, I was transported back to the tropics and able to enjoy a taste of Hawaii every day for nearly an entire week… Until I ran out of muffins and needed to make more!
Continue reading & see the rest! ›› Healthy Hawaiian Muffins
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