Peanutbutter oat balls

I've been making these little energy balls for a couple years now. They are SO GOOD and super easy to make. They are a great on the go snack and the ingredients are really simple. I have played around with the recipe and switched some of the ingredients. Instead of peanutbutter I've used almond butter or sun butter. Instead of maple syrup I have used honey. I also always use chocolate graham crackers instead of plain. I would recommend using the chocolate instead of the plain :). I've actually even made them with homemade chocolate graham crackers! 

Have them for breakfast or a mid afternoon snack, either way it a healthier treat than a cookie (but it tasted like one!)

Peanut-butter Oat Balls

Have a great Monday :) 

Blueberry corn muffins

Oh spring you are so close yet so far away....I went and bought myself a lovely colorful scarf full of spring colors and ever since then I can't stop thinking about spring recipes, weather, and clothes! This defiantly has been a brutal winter. I have been living in Connecticut the past four years and we have had it pretty ROUGH ever since I moved here from Ohio, so I guess this year hasn't been that bad comparable to the other years! Snow storms, tornados, hurricanes OH MY. We have also had less storms then in Ohio this year so I'll be thankful for that~

I used to LOVE buying those pre-made muffin packets you just add water to....yea not so much anymore. Two of the packets I would buy most frequently were the blueberry muffins or the corn muffins.  Now I never saw these two flavors put together until a year or so ago and the sweetness of the blueberries really livens up a bland corn muffin! I follow the recipe pretty much as is. I use almond milk for buttermilk (you just add a tablespoon of white vinegar to make it buttermilk!) I also just use frozen blueberries instead of the mix. You might need to bake it a little longer because of frozen berries :) Enjoy!

Blueberry corn muffins

I also NEED to make this pasta soon. It sounds DELICIOUS 

Weekend fun

Happy weekend! We are headed to Florida for some wedding fun :) I thought this quote was appropriate. It's a big year for a lot of people including myself! We have 6 months left and I can't believe how quickly time has passed! This weekend will be a good start to the exciting 6 months ahead! Here's some fun links I found....I'll try to bring some warmth back from Florida :)

We like gin this sounds awesome!

What to pair with chocolate

More quinoa

Chocolate makes you healthier? Yes please

Simple

Easy as that!  I had some delicious oatmeal this morning. I added chocolate and strawberries. The amount of oatmeal combos is endless! 

Endless oatmeal

Happy hump day all! 

Sweet Potato quinoa cakes

Happy St Patricks Day! I unfortunately didn't do anything to celebrate this year. We usually like to have corned beef and potatoes but we didn't plan ahead and we are now having fajitas! :) At least we are cooking right? I am also decked out and green and 3 pins, so thats my way of celebratin! 

I'm sure you have all herd of quinoa by now. I absolutely LOVE it. It has so many Healthy factors to it! Check it out Here. 

There are a million different ways to have quinoa it's a little CRAZY. I like it cold, hot, for breakfast, for dinner, and especially the way I have made it in these pictures. Quinoa makes for a really good

"cake" with it's texture and flavor. This recipe adds sweet potato and it makes it even more awesome.  If you love sweet potatoes and quinoa this is your recipe!

Sweet potato quinoa cakes

Food for thought

I thought this quote was adorable and very me! I love aprons and I sure love to bake. These aprons are very fashionable and I wish I could own them all!. Etsy is an amazing web site and I have found tons of cute things on the site. 

One of my friends recently got me this necklace from Etsy and it has quickly became one of my favorite necklaces. I mean HOW CUTE IS THIS!

Here is some awesome links I found looking through my blogs the other day, enjoy! :) 

Give Brussels a chance!

Breakfast is so interesting

Foods in the world

Waffles

I love a good waffle. We always just made pancakes growing up and if I wanted a waffle I would just go to Waffle House (hmm Waffle House, I wish one were closer). When I moved to Connecticut my fiancée gave me a waffle maker he never used and I have been wafflin it up ever since! I of coarse tried to find some healthifed recipes! I used THIS oat waffle recipe for a really long time. The oat flour is really easy to make and makes for a great tasting waffle!   How to make oat flour

The other recipe I now use most often is SO easy. It includes bananas and oats and anything with those two ingredients I'm sold :) the recipe calls for you to use just water but try using milk to (I used almond) both are delicious! Spread with peanubutter and jelly and have a delicious breakfast or lunch! 

Banana Oat Waffles  

Kindness

A little kindness goes a long way not just to others but also for yourself.  Everyone struggles with confidence, I know I do. Read the article it's a good one!

I'm excited it's Friday...I started my day off cleaning and rocking out on my elliptical (the only way I can stay on my exercise machine is listening to some Brittany Spears pandora, I don't know what it is about her station that makes time go by faster). I really don't like exercise machines, I would much rather run but this polar vortex has got me and I think everyone else huddled up inside! I think it's almost over.... I can almost taste spring!

My Mom is visiting for the weekend and she has never been here before! I hope everyone has a great weekend...get out, stay positive for yourself and for everyone else!

Olive oil berry cake

Have you ever tried using olive oil in cake? It's actually really tasty. Olive oil is more heart healthy than butter and canola oil. It also makes some moist, amazing cake! One of the worst things in my opinion is dry cake. I find my least favorite type of cake is chocolate cake becuse it can be sooooo dry! I have a recipe I use and love which I will definitely post sometime. This post is about an awesome lemon berry olive oil cake I stumbled apon on food gawker, a website all foodies know and love. 

This cake is the perfect amount of lemon and berry. It's more of a dense cake then light and fluffy but delicious all the same. The ingredients are simple and easy and it a pretty small portion, just the way I like it  ...enjoy and think of warm weather to come! 

Lemon Olive oil cake

Chocolate Peanut butter Granola

This past weekend was national peanut butter lovers day . What a great day to celebrate indeed!  I celebrated by eating a delicious homemade muffin with a big heaping tablespoon of homemade peanut butter :) 

I also am a huge fan of granola. There are so many varieties out there its a little ridiculous, here are some simple ones to give a try if you aren't making your own!

I would highly recommend making this recipe. It's crunchy chocolaty and a good flavor of peanut butter shines through. It's just enough sweetness to satisfy that little bit of chocolate EVERYONE needs, recipe here

Making your own granola is SO EASY and way better for you than a lot of store bought brands. Granola can be a great snack..... just don't eat a whole bag!

Quotes to live by

Nothing could be more true