Oxygen in the Blood

A lot of people that have allergies also have asthma- not everyone, just some. I happen to be one of those lucky few that suffer from allergies that have a tendency to trigger asthmatic symptoms. Lately, my asthma has been causing me to wake up in the middle of the night around three AM, gasping for air and in a frantic search for my rescue inhaler. Not good. So, needless to say, I scheduled myself an appointment with the doctor.

While at the doctor's office, I learned a couple of interesting facts;

-Did you know that the amount of oxygen in your blood stream is directly related to how much oxygen your body is getting? This is an especially critical unit of measurement for an asthma patient who can't seem to get enough air into his/her lungs and has trouble breathing.

-When a body is at rest, it produces less corticosteroid. Apparently, corticosteroid is naturally occurring and is needed for normal body function (breathing, being one of these functions). Corticosteroid is at it's lowest around three in the morning and that is why my body was having trouble breathing.

Strawberry Muffins

Strawberry season has arrived a little earlier than normal here in the Carolinas! So, we took the grandparents strawberry picking and enjoyed some good ol' fashion fun on the farm. After making jam out of the one basket, eating them on top of cereal in the morning, cut up as a snack in the afternoon and on top of shortcake for dessert, I still have berries left! So, here's a little recipe that I adapted from Betty Crocker (original recipe called for blueberries and streusel topping) to help use up some left over strawberries. These muffins browned perfectly, were light and airy and very moist. Berry Delicious, if I do say so myself ;-P

Ingredients:

3/4 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup applesauce

2 cups self rising flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup fresh strawberries (cleaned, and diced)

Heat oven to 400°F. Line 12 regular-size muffin cups with paper baking cups, or spray bottoms only of cups with cooking spray.

In large bowl, beat milk, oil and egg with fork or wire whisk until blended. Add 2 cups flour, the granulated sugar, all at once; stir just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Gently stir in strawberries. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. If muffins were baked in paper baking cups, immediately remove from pan to cooling rack. If muffins were baked in sprayed pan, leave in pan about 5 minutes, then remove from pan to cooling rack. Serve warm or cooled.