My Vaycay in Turks and Caicos
Before this year, I’d never heard of Turks and Caicos. But I gotta say, I’m glad I was able to go!
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Baby It’s Cold Outside, Bring On The Hot Cocoa!
This cold weather has me wanting all the hot cocoa, hot cider, and hot tea. Snuggles by the fire. Warm fuzzy blankets. You know, all the basic stuff. Part of eating healthy and trying not to eat all the things chocolate and holiday inspired means …
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chickpea Cookies
Please note: I put the two delicious ingredients before the last not so great ingredient. Ha!
Actually, just pretend the chickpeas are flour, essentially that’s what they are replacing in a regular cookie recipe. The best part about this recipe is you don’t have to eat it as cookies, you can eat it as dough. No salmonella risk, and no raw flour risk! It may not be 100% like the cookie dough I used to get from Papa Murphy’s, but it definitely satisfied my craving. <3
A while back my friend Karly McCarthy shared a cookie dough hummus recipe that inspired me to try making this. I love following her and seeing what she’s up to in the kitchen and in the gym. I found another recipe for cookies and tweaked them both to make this one. I’m definitely happy with the end result.
I wanted to allow myself a few treats that aren’t over the top with calories since I’m going to do 12 weeks of work, training for my own pretend physique competition. I’ve decided to commit myself as my own guinea pig because the best way for me to learn is to do. I’m actually pretty stoked to have a plan to stick to. It’s written in my planner and everything. That means I’m serious. Lol. My nutrition is going to be pretty strict. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this strict, but a girl’s got goals! (And I still want cookies!)
The thing that might be a little bit dangerous about this recipe is how simple it is to make! I made a batch, ate a few, and froze a few. So good!
| Prep Time | 15 minutes |
| Cook Time | 16-18 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
cookies
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Ingredients
- 1/3 cup Oatmeal
- 1 15 oz can Chickpeas, drained
- 1/2 cup Peanut Butter
- 1/4 cup Agave Nectar If you are using natural, unsweetened peanut butter you may want to add more.
- 1/4 cup Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips You can add more of less, depending on your preference.
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Place oats in a blender and blend until fine. You could use a food processor instead.
- Add chickpeas, peanut butter, and agave nectar to the blender. Blend until it's smoothish, not chunky and well combined.
- Remove the dough from the blender, and place in a small bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips, if you've decided to use them.
- Place dough in the refrigerator covered for about an hour, or until chilled. If you skip this step, it makes the next step difficult and doesn't give the consistency of cookie dough.
- Scoop the dough into 1 1/2" balls, then smash with a fork on a baking sheet with parchment paper for the signature peanut butter cookie look.
- Bake the cookies for 16-18 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Let them cool for about 15 minutes before devouring a few. No shame in my Cookie Monster game. 😉 🍪
Recipe Notes
*If you don't like agave, you could also try using maple syrup, or honey.
These cookies are great for freezing and having a little treat later.
Potato Leek Soup
Creamy or chunky? I like both, in this potato leek recipe I shared both options. Creamy is great with crackers or bread.
The Benefits of Hot and Cold Showers
The only time I enjoy a cold shower is when the temperature of my house is hotter than the water in my shower. Or if I’ve been doing yard work on a hot day, my allergies are killer, and a cold shower helps mellow out …
Peanut Butter Dip
I forget a lot. Let me rephrase that, I get started down the rabbit hole of sweet tooth goodness, and forget there are healthy snacks that suffice my sweet tooth just fine. It’s been a down the rabbit hole kind of six months. Today I all I could think about was brownies drizzled with peanut butter. I’m home alone, and I could easily make a batch and eat it ALL up before anyone gets home. Yeah, I’m the kind of mom who says no, you don’t need more brownies, then hogs them down after everyone goes to sleep. #guilty
Over the last four years I’ve hosted countless clean eating accountability groups. Every time I host a group I recruit new recipes to help me eat healthier treats. Then every time the group is done, I move past them and get suckered back into the sugary treats I shouldn’t be eating. Today though, I’m skipping the brownie binge and going to one of the healthier treats I really enjoyed.
Anyone else team peanut butter? Or almond butter? Cashew butter? Really I’ll take any of them. BUT I know that eating a lot of peanut butter isn’t good because it’s a calorie packed food. It actually makes a great addition to foods on the trail for that reason. This recipe combines the yummy peanut flavor with creamy yogurt for a perfect fruit dip. Apples, and even oranges, were dipped today and I loved every mouthful of it. I hope you enjoy this too, with guilt to spare for another day.
| Prep Time | 5 minutes |
| Servings |
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Ingredients
- 6 oz Vanilla Coconut Yogurt, Unsweetened Or whichever unsweetened yogurt you prefer.
- 2 tbsp Natural Peanut Butter Creamy or crunchy, you choose.
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
- Dip in apples or any other fruit of your liking!
Recipe Notes
To make a lower calorie version of this dip, try using PB2 instead of peanut butter. PB2 is a powdered peanut product made from real roasted peanuts, but the peanuts have been pressed to remove a lot of the oil and fat. Try mixing the powder with water in a separate cup to reconstitute it before adding it to your yogurt.
The Efficient Bryan Thomson
When I asked Bryan what his favorite motivational quote was, he gave me this, “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails,” by Mark Twain. Check out Bryan’s story for more inspiration!
10 Tips For Exercising In Cold Weather
It’s no secret, I’m a lover of the sunny months. I have learned to find joy in the snowy winter weather though. Snowboarding and snowshoeing are ranked in my top favorite activities. Now if we could just get a little more snow this year, I’d …
Vegan Kale Soup
I’m on the bargain hunting band wagon right now. I got four bunches of kale for a dollar at my new favorite store. First thing I made was a salad, then decided I should make a soup. Soup is a great way to hide veggies that nobody likes. #momwin
One of the things I love about kale is that it seems to last forever. Not just because nobody else wants to eat it, but it’s a very hearty green. It’s an every season crop, and word is it tastes better after the first frost. I might have to test that theory out in my garden this year. Every year I get better at gardening, well, with one crop at a time. My tomatoes did awesome this year, finally! Corn, well that’s a work in progress. It’s awesome to know where my food comes from, but it’s good for the wallet too. Since I’m always working on my green thumb, I had to search for a kale growing guide for beginners. Would you like to grow your own too? Check out the guide here.
This soup reminds me of Olive Garden. Have you ever had the Zuppa Toscana soup there, with the kale in it? Well, I’ve never had it, but I remember seeing it when I’ve eaten there. I bet I could add in some fennel seeds to give this even more Italian flair, that sausage flavor? I love that soup has endless possibilities.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, let me know how you like it. <3
| Prep Time | 15-20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
hearty bowls
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Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 bunch Kale, chopped Remove the stems.
- 8 cups water
- 6 tsp McKays Vegan Chicken Seasoning
- 1 15 oz can Diced Tomatoes I used the Italian seasoned ones.
- 2 medium Russet Potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 15 oz can Garbanzo Beans, drained Try using cannellini beans as a substitute.
- 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
- 2 tbsp Dried Parsley
- 1/4 tsp Crushed Red Peppers Add more if you like the spicy life!
- Salt To taste.
- Pepper To taste.
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
- Cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil until they've become soft.
- Add in kale and let it start to wilt, this will only take a couple minutes.
- Add the remainder of the ingredients. Let it simmer on medium heat for 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
- Salt and pepper to taste, and enjoy! Maybe have it with a bit of sour dough bread. Yum.
PNW Blues…
You always hear, write what you know. Share about you. Well, every year when the season changes, I start to feel depression kicking in. Living in the PNW, I hear about this pretty often, the sunny months are not nearly long enough. I’m writing this …