Up before Olivia today…I can’t decide if that means I’m rested…or just delirious. A little sleep update: She’s been sleeping MUCH better, however, she’s boycotting her crib. She would much rather sleep in her rock n’play. We’ve been starting her out in her crib and then by 12:30-1, she’s totally had enough of it and will NOT stay asleep. I’m NOT giving up on her crib..obviously and soon I’m taking the rock n’play out of her room so it’s not an option. She slept through the night for the first time Sunday night from about 11-5:30.

This weekend I spent time doing some cooking and baking. My sister and cousin came over and hung out with Liv, while Danny and I made a bunch of food and snacks. I will ALWAYS find something to eat because I’m at home…but if Danny doesn’t have snacks then he’ll just go all day without eating (besides lunch).

I made a twist on these granola crusted nuts from Smitten Kitchen. Maybe I’ll share my recipe one day. Thanks to Kristan for sharing that recipe with me!

Then there was these doughnuts…(OMG SO GOOD). My aunt made these for Thanksgiving and they were amazing. I didn’t put any glaze on top though.  They are GF and grain free, but I really just made them for the delicious factor.

I made the following adjustments:

• I doubled the recipe. (Yielded 8 mini muffin loaves)
• Substituted 1/3 cup turbinado sugar for stevia.
• Added 1/3 cup almond meal.
• Used a mini muffin loaf pan because I didn’t have a doughnut pan.
• Added mini chocolate chips (just sprinkled some on top before they went in the oven)
• Baked for 22 minutes.

Next on the agenda was whole wheat naan.  I haven’t made this in FOREVER. It was worth the work. We kneaded it by hand (well Danny did). They came out perfect and paired so well with our soup and salad for dinner….and lots of butter.

I also made (again) Jessica’s warm winter chickpeas salad. (It’s the top of the plate!) I adjusted the recipe mainly because I made it from memory because I was too lazy to look it up.

I made the following changes:

• Used shaved brussel sprouts from Trader Joe’s
• 2 cans chickpeas (15 oz.)
• Used turkey bacon
• omitted the mushrooms
• omitted the pecans
• 1 tbsp butter instead of 2 tbsp

I WISH I didn’t forget the mushrooms, but it was still delicious.

Also on the menu was this Italian Wedding Soup. I used a little less than 2 cups (frozen) kale instead of spinach this time. I made a lot of this and it fed 5 people with leftovers enough for 3 dinners. LOVE leftovers even more these days.

So that’s a wrap for what I made on Sunday. I used to be a big food prepper on the weekends and I’ve fell off the bus a bit because I eat lunch and snacks at home. It felt good to get back in the kitchen and make food I can just grab during the week AND so Danny could have snacks too. I hope at least one of these recipes inspires you to do a little weekend prep to make the week healthier AND easier!

What’s your favorite meal or snack to prep on the weekends?

When I was pregnant I balanced many healthy foods with a daily dose of some type of chocolate. I basically am still doing that, but decided to kick it up a notch. Instead of having my small piece of dark chocolate, I decided to make some of my pumpkin chia pudding. I still get my dose of chocolate, but I’m also getting some other important nutrients from the pumpkin and chia seeds. I also love to sprinkle some cacao nibs or dark chocolate chips on top. I am also a huge fan of eating this as a meal. If I do that I take a larger serving and also add in some almond butter and granola.

You’ll notice in this recipe, I use very minimal sugar and use almond milk to reduce the calories from whole or skim milk. This is truly a no guilt snack or meal!

I love Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened because it’s

• 30 low calories which are less than half the calories of skim
• Smooth and delicious – no need to sacrifice taste for less calories
• Versatile and easy to integrate into a number of healthy beverage and eating choices

Pumpkin doesn’t only have to be eaten in the fall. This chia pudding satisfies your sweet tooth while given you a healthy dose of omega 3’s and antioxidants! The chia seeds and pumpkin make this a super food snack!

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Calories saved from using skim milk is 15.

{This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Silk and Fitfluential, LLC. All opinions expressed are my own. Learn more about Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened on Facebook and Twitter.}

 

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 Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls (makes about 38 2 inch cookies)

Inspired by Mama Peas Dough Balls

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. coconut oil
• 3 tbsp butter at room temperature (or earth balance if keeping it vegan)
• 1 1/4 c. natural peanut butter
• 1  c. turbinado sugar
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1  t. salt
• 2.5 c. spelt flour
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/2 cup almond milk (I used vanilla unsweetened)
• 1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl combine all of the dry ingredients, oats, flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Then add coconut oil, peanut butter, almond milk and butter. Mix well to combine. Add in chocolate chips. Scoop onto baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

(I used a cookie scoop for these and it worked well.)  

Don’t forget about our holiday special of 15% off your holiday order of $10 or more using code HOLIDAY at checkout! and you can now order the 2 oz granola on our site! www.blissful-eats.com. We are now certified organic, GF and kosher!

And another special from Integrative Nutrition! There is a $1,500 off tuition scholarship, 12/10-12/14 I can’t think of a better gift than an IIN education, can you? Message/email me for details!

Last Friday I celebrated my 28th birthday. It was a very special one for me; my first as a mom. I can’t believe how much has changed in a year. I am so so thankful for what I have…I literally couldn’t have asked for anything else; although I certainly didn’t turn down the gifts I recieved.

I’ve been searching a lot of blogs, looking for new recipes to make. I always find amazing things on Lori & Michelle’s blog. After deciding between about 4 things I finally settled on a variation of chocolate chip cookies. I saw on their facebook page someone had made these cookies using garbanzo flour and I had some, so I wanted to give it a try.

I made some changes to the recipe to fit what I had in my pantry.

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*If you want your cookies less chewy, in a food processer, process the oats into a flour.

** I love the taste of these cookies and like the added protein from the garbanzo bean flour. You can tell they are made with this flour, so if you don’t like the taste of chickpeas/socca, then use either all oats or sub for a different flour like whole wheat.

Thanks to Lori & Michelle for this great recipe. Next up is their banana chocolate chip blondies. Yum.

Let me know, or the twins know, if you make these cookies! I think a new batch is due to be made!

Happy Tuesday!