Coconut Flour Banana Muffins

 

Today I’d like to share a staple recipe from my household that is great to have on hand for a quick breakfast or snack. The base is coconut flour, which is a great gluten free option. It is also high in fiber. The eggs provide a good amount of protein so there’s lots of nutrition packed into these muffins. As a bonus, my 4-year old loves them too!

(Makes 12 muffins)

Ingredients:
3 ripe mashed bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
6 eggs
2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup coconut flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2-3 tbsp. chia seeds

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pan with baking cups or cooking spray.
2. Combine mashed bananas and melted butter. Mix well. Add eggs, honey, and vanilla and whisk until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients. Add to wet ingredients and mix.
4. Transfer about ¼ cup of the mixture to each muffin cup and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
5. Stores well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Overnight Oats 3 ways

We all know that breakfast is an important part of a healthy lifestyle for both kids and adults. Multiple studies show that kids who eat breakfast:

• display better behavior
• score higher grades in school
• have overall better nutrient intake
• experience better weight control

Back-to-school time often puts an increased pinch on morning time. Most families need quick, make-ahead ideas to have on hand to grab and go for a quick, nourishing weekday breakfast. This is a super-easy idea that takes just a little prep time over the weekend and you can have breakfast ready for the whole week.

The basic recipe starts with combining the following in an 8 ounce mason jar or other container with lid:
• ¼ cup old fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup milk
• ¼ cup Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp. chia seeds

Add 1-2 tsp. sweetener of your choice (honey, maple syrup, fruit spread) and shake well to combine. Add ¼ = 1/3 cup fruit and stir. Refrigerate overnight or even a couple of days.

3 of my favorites (recipes credit www.theyummylife.com):

1. Raspberry Vanilla
• 1 Tbsp. raspberry jam (all-fruit spread)
• ¼ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup fresh raspberries

2. Cocoa Banana
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. cocoa
• ¼ cup sliced banana

3. Blueberry Maple
• 2 tsp. maple syrup
• ¼ cup fresh blueberries

Enjoy! And Happy Back to School!!

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Start of a 3-day week

Good morning! Hope you’ve had a good and restful weekend and are ready to get back to the regular routine.

I started with a delicious cup of hazelnut coffee with cream…

And, Kashi blueberry waffles with almond butter, blackberries, and a drizzle of syrup (Just call me Kashi) 🙂

I’m off to work…lots to do there and then I teach Sculpt and Rock Bottom later this afternoon. And, I’m only working 3 days this week…I’m taking Friday off for a fun adventure with my mom, my sister, Owen, and Emma Kate- so I have to focus to get everything done in 3 days!

Have a great day!

Cookie Monster

Well, our 3-day weekend is quickly coming to an end. It’s been fun, but now it’s time to get ready to get the work-week started.

We had a great day, though. After our yummy breakfast, Anthony and I went for a nice 40-minute or so walk on this great greenway by the lake…

Love the lake views!

And, then I did a bit of shopping – I found a great deal on a swimsuit for our upcoming anniversary vacation…

Lunch was not that photogenic, but it was definitely delicious! Leftover tofu and veggie pad thai + some barbeque pop-chips.

We spent our afternoon just doing some things around the house….laundry, cleaning, and I got the urge to make another batch of dark chocolate chip cookies- so good…we each had 2 as an “appetizer”. 🙂

For dinner, Anthony grilled this great mahi-mahi and we added a baked sweet potato and a Greek salad…simple and delicious. The fish was so good and such a huge piece- I ate about half and I’ll probably take the other half for lunch tomorrow.

I’m off to spend the last few minutes of the weekend relaxing- see you tomorrow!

Goodnight!

Happy Labor Day!

Oh the bliss! Sleeping in with no alarm clock = pure heaven.

We had a slow, lazy breakfast – pancakes with dark chocolate + berries + one scrambled egg and my favorite hazelnut coffee with cream…what a perfect start to the day.

I used my favorite pancake mix- Fiber One…

I love slow breakfasts…most weekday mornings I’m rushing around like a crazy person just trying to get ready and get out the door for work…so a leisurely breakfast is a treat.

On my agenda:

• a walk with Anthony at a greenway/park
• a little swimsuit shopping…I need one more suit before our upcoming anniversary trip!
• a little more laziness before the work-week begins!

Movie review from last night:

• New in Town- loved it! I’m a huge fan of Renee Zellwegger and I thought it was the perfect, light romantic comedy.
• Last House on the Left- hated it! Can’t really give it a full review because we turned it off after about 30 minutes – we didn’t really get any suspense during the first 30 minutes, just negativity…not my kind of movie. I definitely wouldn’t recommend. But, we did turn it off after 30 minutes, so maybe it redeems itself later in the show.

I hope you’re having a great Holiday weekend!

See you later!

Party for 2

I LOVE 3-day weekends!!

Anthony and I have spent the whole day relaxing and hanging out together- 2 things we don’t get to do often enough…

Tonight- we had our own Labor Day cookout for just the 2 of us…lean grilled burgers + sweet potato fries…

And, movie night at home…

We already watched New in Town…and since we’re off tomorrow, we’re staying up for a late showing of The Last House on the Left- it’s supposed to be scary!

Goodnight!

Oodles of Noodles

This girl is definitely not afraid of carbohydrates! After my amazing dinner of Drunken Noodles on Friday, today we hit up a new place in town for lunch, Pei Wei.

It is a casual dining bistro owned by P.F. Chang. I loved the Mandarin Green Tea.

For lunch, I ordered Vegetable and Tofu Pad Thai – the lighting wasn’t great, but the food was fantastic-I totally enjoyed it…and the service was super-quick.

The website also has all of the nutritional information, which I love. I ate about half- which was perfect and the rest will be awesome later.

Dessert: Fortune cookies – Anthony’s and mine….I love fortunes!

Now, we’re spending the afternoon lounging around lazily – I love it…the perfect Sunday.

I just had a great snack – some berries drizzled with Nutella – perfection.

Have a great Sunday afternoon!

Banana Bread Banana Oats

Last night, Anthony’s parents gave us a few slices of homemade banana bread…one of my favorite. things. ever. As we were driving home, I was already imagining creating a yummy breakfast this morning.

Another one of my favorite things is being inspired by food bloggers with new meal ideas….yesterday morning, Kath had a delicious-looking breakfast of oats topped with a Massive Monster Muffin, so when Anthony’s parents gave us this banana bread, I started imagining a warm and creamy bowl of banana oats topped with crumbled banana bread….yum.

Homemade banana bread…it was full of walnuts and even had a few raisins…

Crumbled on top of banana oats with a bit of crunchy almond butter….

This was a very good combo- it needed maybe a little more crunch, so next time, I might add some walnuts on top and extra raisins…but, overall a delicious and filling warm breakfast on a gray and cloudy day.

We’re off to church- I have the pleasure of working in the Toddlers class again. 😉 Should be a fun morning.

Have a great Sunday!

Brixx Pizza

We tried a new place for dinner tonight…Brixx Pizza – I loved it!

We started with an order of bruschetta – it was very good. I’m a huge bruschetta fan, and I’ve definitely had better, but this was pretty good….plus a glass of Cabernet.

Brixx Salad to share – spring mix with pine nuts, goat cheese, croutons, and balsamic vinaigrette. Simple and delicious. This was my half…

And, chicken florentine pizza – mozzarella, spinach, tomato, crumbled bacon, and feta – very good also – I had two slices…

I definitely want to go back….several other pizzas on the menu sounded great…Artichoke, Rustica, Pesto Portabello….The atmosphere was fun and the service was great. I see more trips to Brixx in my future.

After dinner, we visited Anthony’s parents for a while, and now two dogs are getting a bath while I type….always fun at our house.

Have a great evening!