Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Pesto

                                       

I have been HARDCORE slacking on the blog here guys.  I have been quite busy though! :) The wedding planning is coming full fledge and we are only about two months away! I can't wait to see all this work I've done :) I am also training for a half marathon right after the wedding which I am SUPER pumped about. After running all these months I didn't think I could do it but it has actually been a lot of fun and very self fulfilling....now on to pesto!

Pesto is a delicious condiment to add to TONS of different recipes. Ways to use pesto other than pasta

It's also ridiculously easy to make! It's so much better than some of the store bought stuff out there that has all the extra additives and weird aftertastes.....who wants that?? 

There is also a whole world of pesto's besides basil and pine nuts! PESTO GALORE


Now enjoy the rest of this hot summer and make some pesto! This is pesto we will be having at our wedding!!! :) 



Monday, July 7, 2014

Popcorn


Growing up all I ever had was the prepackaged and boxed orville redenbacher popcorn. I now have come to find how HORRIBLE that stuff is for you. READ THIS

Besides pre-packaged popcorn being so bad for you, do you know HOW EASY it is to make your own popcorn//? It's a million times better and you can come up with so many different POPCORN variations :)

You don't even need a popcorn maker! They are a great addition to a kitchen, but all you need is a pot, lid, and oil! Popcorn is also pretty healthy for you as well Check it out here.


I'll leave you with a basic popcorn recipe, now get poppin ;) 





Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Chocolate Banana Muffins


Yet another muffin recipe.... I think the reason I love muffins so much is because I sure love waffles and pancakes for breakfast, but If you have left overs they really aren't as good the next couple days. Muffins on the other hand stay good for almost a week AND freeze beautifully :) They are also great on the go! 

I have seen a ton of chocolate chip banana recipes and I have made my fair share. I however have not seen a lot of chocolate banana muffin recipes. I love cocoa powder and all you can do with it! 


This is a great recipe for using cocoa powder, chocolate, and bananas :). I used a little less oil and added my apple butter! I  didn't even add the chocolate chips but I'm sure the added chips are delish! 

Enjoy


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Spinach Walnut and Pancetta Pasta


Oh how this pasta reminds me of Italy :) Simple, elegant, and utterly delicous. Please go make this pasta now, and top it with lots of parmesan cheese!!


don't have pancetta? Use bacon!

Also if this link comes up in French, just scroll down and press in English!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Pumpkin


So grocery shopping happened last week. I go down EVERY aisle because I have to look at every single new product...even though I'd never buy it ;) but it gives me great idea's to make my own delicious creations!

ANYWAYS I am rollin down the baking aisle and stop at the pumpkin. I got so excited because I realized I hadn't had pumpkin since Thanksgiving! Who says we should only have pumpkin flavored things around holidays anyways??? It has a wonderful flavor, you can do SO much with it and extremely healthy to boost! 

I was looking through my saved recipes and came across some great pumpkin recipes check it out Here!

The picture I took and the recipe I am posting today are these pumpkin oat muffins (I bet you guys can tell I am a LITTLE obsessed with healthy muffins). These muffins are moist, filling, light, and fluffy! Pumpkin is one of those ingredients (as well as bananas) you can mix into breads and cakes and it becomes extremely moist without adding a bunch of oil! :) I followed this recipe pretty much exactly as is expect I subbed in 1/4 cup apple butter for the oil and did a little less then a 1/2 cup of sugar. Look at this article, it's a great read if you want to try and substitute things, you have to be carful! 




I'm headed to Chicago this weekend for one of my best friends Bach parties...It should be a good one! :) 

Enjoy yours!










Monday, June 9, 2014

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Man the past couple months or so have been crazy! I've been totally slacking on the blog posts....I guess that'll happen when you are trying to plan your ENTIRE wedding that is happening in four months by the way!

I had one the most memorable weekends of my life this past weekend, I drove all the way out to Ohio with my good friend/bridesmaid to celebrate my bridal shower! :) My maid of honor/best friend/child hood friend since kindergarden threw it for me and I couldn't of asked for a better party! She surprised me by having everyone make something from this blog. I must say the stuff they made came out delicious!!  That is the whole point of this blog, so people can find easy delicious/healthy food to cook for others!! I'm still beaming :) I'm not sure how many people read this blog but I sure love writing in it!

ANYWAYS....on to these muffins. A couple weeks ago we had a memorial day party and WAY to many strawberries were purchased. What to do with extra strawberries I asked myself??? Well first I tried out the lemon blueberry jam with strawberries instead of blueberries and it turned out fantastic. I still had strawberries left so I googled some recipes and this muffin recipe popped up! I really do love making muffins that are not loaded with sugar and calories yet still are extremely tasty and healthy all at the same time. It just proves over and over again you can still have things that are labeled "bad for you", one just must put a little more time and effort into it. 

These muffins are a great breakfast or afternoon snack. They also aren't too sweet you feel like you will go into a sugar coma! The recipe calls for applesauce but I used organic apple butter and it still turned out great! I also wanted a little fat in them so I subbed a quarter of the applesauce for coconut oil.  Either way if you use the oil or not these muffins are fantastic. Now get baking ;)

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Pecan butter


I hope everyone had a good memorial day weekend! We enjoyed it by cooking some hamburgers on the grill, drinking and playing croquet. :) Has anyone every played? It's actually a lot of fun!

After a weekend drinking and eating all I want to do is cleanse myself with healthy delicious food and exercise:) It's the middle of the week so I'm getting there/feeling better!

I made this pecan butter on memorial day and it turned out AMAZING. I mean I've made homemade peanut butter and homemade almond butter so I OBVIOUSLY had to try this...I got the idea from HERE.

If you like pecans, I would suggest making this, it's simple and a healthy protein! : ).  I just toasted my pecans in the oven for 8 minutes at 350 instead of tossing it in the pan like they do.