Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Butter Cookies {GF/Vegan}

Anyone else here guilty of eating raw cookie dough straight from the bowl?

I know I'm guilty!

Well, you can be sure you will want to eat the entire batch of these cookies
straight from the bowl. They are THAT good!

My toddler sat at the table and licked the bowl and spoon clean. That's my girl!

And I didn't feel a bit guilty about letting her eat lots of that cookie batter because
it is full of all sorts of healthy stuff. ;)

You're in for a treat...

Sweetened with ripe bananas.

Thickened and infused with nut butter goodness.

Gluten-free.

Vegan. No eggs, butter, or milk.

With a delicious combination of coconut and dark chocolate...

Is that drool on your chin? ;)

Anyways, you are going to love these cookies!
You won't regret making these. Your kids won't regret it.
The hubby won't regret it. Your waistline won't regret it.

It's really a win-win all around. ;)

Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Butter Cookies
{GF, Vegan}

Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 1 dozen cookies
Nutrition (per cookie):
Calories (107), Fat (7.5g), Carbs (9.4g), Protein (1.8g), Fiber (1.6g), Sugars (4.7g)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 large, very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c. nut butter (I used a mix of homemade PB and almond butter)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. old-fashioned oats (use gluten-free oats)
• 1/4 c. almond flour (ground from raw almonds - can also use oat flour)
• 1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• pinch salt
• pinch cinnamon
• 1/4 c. - 1/2 c. dark chocolate chips (vegan chocolate chips if you want a completely vegan cookie)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl, mix together the mashed banana, nut butter, and vanilla extract. 
2. In a separate medium bowl, combine the oats, almond flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. 
3. Stir in the chocolate chips and drop in spoonfuls onto a baking sheet sprayed lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
4. Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes until the cookies have set and are no longer mushy.
5. Indulge (without any guilt!) :)

Note: Cookies will keep best in an airtight container in the fridge. Feel free to warm them up for a few seconds before enjoying! 

Banana Pancakes: Delicious AND Nutritious

Okay, not the best picture, but it's all I have!

My most recent food love: Banana Pancakes!!!

I LOVE these things. And they are super simple to make.

It really doesn't get much more simple than
1 very ripe medium banana & 2 medium eggs
all mashed, mixed, and cooked over medium heat
on a lightly greased griddle!

The past couple mornings, I've eaten a few of these delicious pancakes
after my morning workout to get some protein and curb my hunger
before my PB banana oatmeal is ready.

These pancakes are really sweet, so you don't have
to add syrup at all! The natural sweetness from
the mashed up banana is plenty.
How great is that?

I must say that these banana pancakes are MUCH better fresh.
They don't make the best leftovers.
(not that you should EVER have leftovers with these! Haha.)

I did heat some up this morning as leftovers and they weren't too bad.
They are just SO much better fresh. So just eat them all at once!

And you won't have to feel bad about it either!
I'll tell you why...

These pancakes are packed with protein and are
good sources of vitamin A, iron, and vitamin C,
meaning that they have between 10-19% of your
recommended daily value for each of those nutrients!

Cool, right?

So, I did a little research and figured out the
nutrition facts for these banana pancakes!
(You're welcome!)

Banana Pancakes

























So, as you can see, the cholesterol in these is really high,
so just plan on eating very low cholesterol foods the rest of the day if you eat these.

Low cholesterol foods would include any fruits or veggies
(they don't have any because cholesterol is only found in animal products),
lean meats and proteins, and whole grains.

Also, if you happen to be worried about the 13g of sugar, don't worry much.
It's natural sugar from the banana!

Okay, now here's your homework:

• Buy some bananas.
• Wait patiently (I know it can be hard) for at least ONE banana to get really ripe. And...
• Make these!!! :)
• Oh, and eat the whole batch. Because you can.

Have a wonderful day!

Blogilates & PB Banana Oatmeal

Every morning, I start my day around 5AM with my dear friend Cassey Ho...

Okay, so maybe I don't really know Cassey and I've never met her in my life,
but I consider her my friend because she kicks my body into shape!
(Boy, does she kick it into shape...my legs are sore as we speak!)

Cassey is a POP Pilates instructor who creates workout videos
 and posts them on Youtube and her website, blogilates.com.
She has meal plans, recipes, a shop of workout clothes,
workout routines for arms, abs, legs, core, full body,
etc. etc. etc. She has workouts for everything!
I follow along with the calendars of workouts she posts every month.

And I LOVE her workouts! She is upbeat, motivating, and exciting throughout her routines.
She pushes me to work harder and be stronger...even if she is a little crazy sometimes.
My favorite of her quotes: "Train like a beast, look like a beauty."
I just really can't explain how much I enjoy doing her workouts every morning.
I think the greatest indicator of how much I enjoy her workouts is that I
look forward to them every single morning. 
And I think that's the key to working out.
You have to love what you're doing to stay motivated to work out.

Anyways, if you're looking for a good workout that you can do in the comfort
of your own home without tons of extra workout props (weights, yoga balls, etc.)
I would HIGHLY recommend checking out Blogilates!

On another note...







































This^^^^ is what I have for breakfast practically every morning after my workout.
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal!
I am obsessed with this oatmeal because it's fast, easy, filling, healthy, and DELICIOUS.
I feel soooo good after eating it. :)

Here's how I make it:

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal
Prep Time: Maybe 5 min. at most!  Serves: 1 (me!)

What you'll need:

• 1/2 cup dry old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup water
• Handful of raisins
• 2 Tbsp. natural peanut butter (I like Adam's Creamy natural PB)
• 1/2 medium banana
• Drizzle of agave nectar (or honey)

How to make it:

1. Combine oats and water in microwave safe bowl (preferably one with high edges so the oats don't spill over when cooking).
2. Cook in microwave on high for 1 minute, take out and stir.
3. Cook in microwave for 1 more minute, keeping an eye on it to make sure it's not overflowing!)
4. Take it out again and stir. Just check to see if the consistency is the way you like it. If so, your oats are ready for some yummy additions.
5. Stir a handful of raisins (or any other type of dried fruit) in with your oats.
6. Add the peanut butter in dollops on top of the oats.
7. Slice up your banana half and place on top.
8. Drizzle some agave nectar (or honey) over everything.
9. Dig in and enjoy! 

What I love about oatmeal is that it is so versatile. You could add chocolate chips, walnuts, coconut, or whatever your heart desires to this recipe to make it something you love! 

What is your favorite breakfast to get the day started right?

Quinoa with chicken sausage and steamed broccoli

What was for dinner tonight?!

FYI, it looked a lot better in person! Haha

This deliciousness!

I wasn't really in the mood for any kind of lengthy dinner preparation
so I decided to quickly throw this yummy mixture together:

• quinoa
• steamed broccoli (steamed with about a clove of minced garlic, salt and pepper, and a bit of good ol' butter...the real stuff!)
• chicken sausage (we LOVE this chicken sausage from Sam's club...sooo good!)
• shredded mozzarella cheese

I love how simple, delicious, and healthy this meal is!

Sometimes I eat delicious food, but my body feels icky afterwards

because it may have been more on the delicious side of the spectrum

 rather than the healthy side.

Fortunately, this dish is on the delicious AND the healthy sides of the spectrum.

Full of protein from the quinoa (a "complete" protein to be exact, containing all 9 essential amino acids! Learn more about quinoa here) and protein from the chicken sausage and mozzarella cheese.

PLUS yummy vitamins A & C...and fiber!!!... from the broccoli. 

It doesn't get much better than that.

After eating this meal, both Joshua and I agreed that it was wonderfully filling

even though we didn't have huge portion sizes or anything.

The only thing I would do differently next time is to 

cook the quinoa in chicken broth instead of water.

Quinoa, while being super healthy, can be a bit on the bland side

if not used well in a recipe. Or maybe I'm not cooking it correctly?...

I don't know. If you happen to know more about cooking quinoa,

feel free to let me know the secrets! 

Also, if you have any yummy quinoa recipes that you love,

PLEASE share! I love finding and trying out new recipes. :)

Clean Eating

So, I've noticed a ton of hype recently with "clean eating."

I wasn't sure what it was, so I did what most people do these days

and Googled it!

According to The Gracious Pantry,

clean eating has everything to do with eating food in its most natural state.

The way God made it.

Photo from The Gracious Pantry

I really like that!

And the more I think about it,

the more it makes sense.

Of course my body will be happier and healthier

if I feed it with natural, good-for-you foods

that my body already naturally knows how to process!

Here are some of my favorite clean eating tips:

1. Never eat anything that has ingredients you can't pronounce 

or have never heard of in your life 

(which really makes sense when you 

realize you don't want to 

eat something that sounds like it came 

from a science experiment).

2. Don't buy a food if there are more than 6 ingredients listed

(especially if they include those mystery ingredients we 

talked about earlier!)

3. Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies!

Well, I'm pretty good at the fruits part, 

but I could definitely eat more veggies!

4. Eat whole grains and avoid refined grains.

Whole grains have way more fiber and other nutrients

that are lost in the refining process.

I am just starting my research into clean eating

and already I'm a believer.

I would really like to incorporate clean eating 

into my life, but...

It seems SO expensive! 

So, for you health nuts out there who know way 

more about clean eating than I do,

could you give me any tips for 

incorporating clean eating on a budget.

Sometimes I feel like it is so hard to eat healthy

because all the healthy foods are expensive!

(And people wonder why America has weight issues?)

Anyways, have a wonderful (and healthy) day!

And again, feel free to give me any

of your clean eating tips if you have any! :)

Love,

JaM

National Fettuccine Alfredo Day! (yesterday)

So, I am going to admit that I had to look up how to spell "fettuccine" before writing this post.
And I realized that I wrote it wrong at least 5 times yesterday.
Oh well.

The important thing is that it was National Fettuccine Day yesterday!
And I just have to wonder, who comes up with these awesome food holidays?!
And why don't we pay special homage to days such as these
when a food of extreme, creamy goodness is celebrated?!

Okay, so maybe it's not that important to cancel school for fettuccine alfredo...
but a girl can dream, right?

Anyways, in honor of National Fettuccine Alfredo Day (I am going to be a pro at spelling fettuccine after this post), I made some fettuccine alfredo for dinner of course!

I am, however, trying to be a bit healthier and avoid all the fat and extra calories (although they do taste so good!), sooooo I found a healthier recipe for fettuccine alfredo that still leaves you with
a nice, rich, creamy, delicious sauce, but leaves out a lot of the extra fat and calories.
The only thing I would have changed is the amount of salt I added to the sauce--it needed WAY more. Tasting the sauce alone made it seem there was enough salt,
but when it is mixed with the pasta, the flavor is diluted a bit.
So don't be afraid to make the sauce a bit saltier. ;) It'll be worth it.

We sprinkled parmesan cheese over our pasta to add a slightly saltier flavor. You can also add steamed broccoli to this dish (like in the original recipe) and it is SO good.

(No arteries or diets were harmed in the making of this alfredo) ;)

Joshua loved it. And Kaiya loved watching us eat it...

I got the recipe from a site called Budget Bytes. Have you heard of it? This girl is amazing! She makes delicious, penny-friendly meals and breaks down the cost of everything
(ingredients, price per entire meal, price per serving, etc.)
in EVERY recipe she posts.

It's great!

And it provides me with great information as I choose meals that are delicious and affordable for my family.

P.S. Today is Molasses Bar Day! But I probably won't be making any of those. :)

Love,
JaM

Well, hello 3-day weekend!

I am so excited for this 3-day weekend! It almost feels like a 4-day weekend to me because I don't have class on Fridays, just work. So, this weekend is pretty amazing and relaxing.

Joshua and I have just had a blast today spending time together. We spent the morning having a yummy pancake and french toast breakfast with some of our single friends. Needless to say, Kaiya was a miniature-sized celebrity among all the single people there! They just loved her.
 And I mean, what's not to love? :)

I've also been working on a Valentine's project today that I will write about tomorrow!
I'm pretty excited about it. It's the first really crafty thing I think I've ever done!
And hopefully it turns out...we'll see!

Dinner tonight was super yummy so I'm going to share the recipe here! Joshua and I love the Cafe Rio chicken recipe. We made it earlier this week for burritos and used the leftovers for these quesadillas.

Cafe Rio Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients:

• whole wheat tortillas
• mozzarella cheese
• Cafe Rio chicken (from this recipe)
• black beans
• cilantro (optional, for taste and garnish)

Directions:

1. Heat medium-sized skillet on medium heat.
2. Place one whole wheat tortilla on skillet and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, shredded Cafe Rio chicken, and black beans.
3. Top with another tortilla.
4. Flip quesadilla over after the bottom has turned golden brown. Let the other side turn golden brown.
5. Remove from skillet. Top with cilantro if desired and serve with salsa, sour cream, Ranch dressing...whatever you like to eat with your quesadillas! Enjoy!

Try these! You won't regret it. ;) And have a great weekend!

Love,

JaM