And to kick off December 1st, Colorado knew just what to do.  With temps all week in the 50’s, today plummeted to the 20’s, and we got about 4” of snow.

It was a bit of a crazy day, evidenced [...]]]> I cannot believe I just made a photo folder for the month of DECEMBER. 

And to kick off December 1st, Colorado knew just what to do.  With temps all week in the 50’s, today plummeted to the 20’s, and we got about 4” of snow.

It was a bit of a crazy day, evidenced partially by the photos below.

My morning + afternoon were jam packed, leaving me with not much time to bust out this delicious experiment.

Complete chaos, for one pretty easy recipe.  I’m making it look much worse than it actually needs to be.  I was also in a bit of a hurry because the snowy sunlight was fading fast. 

So fast that I had to crank my ISO up to 1600 and leave you with this craptastic image.

crappy quality

fantastic tasting

Bringing it closer to the window, did absolutely nothing to help the situation.

Even taking it outside, proved useless.

But, that’s life.  Sometimes the sun doesn’t cooperate when you want it to.

Sometimes, other things are more important.

Like the recipe.

Sun Butter Banana Protein Bars [serves 9] vegan/GF/nut free

• 1 1/4c GF rolled oats
• 1/2c GF oat flour
• 1 1/2c GF brown rice cereal
• 1/2c plain protein powder
• 2 med. bananas [just less than 1c mashed]
• 3T ground flaxseed meal
• 1/4c sunflower seeds
• 1/4c sunflower butter
• 1/4c dark chocolate chips
• 5T brown rice syrup
• 1T vanilla extract
• 1t cinnamon
• 3/4t salt

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. In a bowl, mash the banana until there are no lumps and then whisk in all other wet ingredients.
3. In a large bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients, except for the chocolate chips.
4. Mix wet into dry and stir until just combined.
5. In a lightly greased, or parchment lined 9×9 pan, spread the mixture evenly and bake for 30min.
6. Let cool completely.
7. Melt the chocolate in a small bowl, in the microwave in 20sec increments, stirring in between.
8. Drizzle the chocolate on the bars, cut the bars, then place in the freezer for 5-10min until set.

tips/substitutions:  Buckwheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour should work in place of the oat flour.  You can grind GF oat flour from GF rolled oats or GF oat groats in a blender/coffee grinder/spice grinder.  I use Raw Protein, which was completely undetectable in the recipe.  I would suggest using a plain or possibly a vanilla flavor protein powder.  The protein powder I use has 80 cals + 18g protein per 1/4c serving.  I used 2 servings in this recipe.  You can most likely sub pumpkin or squash puree for the banana, at just under 1c, but it will take away a lot of the sweetness.  Sub any nuts or nut butter instead of sunflower if desired.  Honey or maple syrup can be subbed for the brown rice syrup.

When these first came out of the oven, I didn’t have my hopes set too high.  I was betting that the texture would be off, but after fully cooling the bars, the texture was spot on.  Soft and chewy, but also held together very well.  Chris loved them too!  Double score. 

For me, 2 of these are the perfect mix of carbs, fats + protein to get my day started right.  It will be so nice to wake up to breakfast already made. 

More photos coming soon…

Ashley

Here is one reason why.

Breakfast!

You might not think of quinoa as a breakfast food, but I assure you it can be.  If you cook it in water only, it’s easy to customize quinoa for any meal of the day.  If you’re making it [...]]]> As mentioned yesterday, when cooking quinoa, always make extra.

Here is one reason why.

Breakfast!

You might not think of quinoa as a breakfast food, but I assure you it can be.  If you cook it in water only, it’s easy to customize quinoa for any meal of the day.  If you’re making it solely for breakfast, I recommend using 1/2 milk + 1/2 water or 1/2 fruit juice + 1/2 water. 

For this breakfast parfait, I piled on the following:

• 2% Greek yogurt
• nectarine
• perfectly cooked quinoa
• 2% Greek yogurt + sucanat + cinnamon + splash of vanilla
• quinoa
• banana
• nectarine

Cinnamon sugar yogurt layer?  Oh yes.  It’s true.  And oh so tasty!

Piled high with peanut butter on top.  Can’t forget my morning dose of nut butter! 

Prepare to dig in + then realize you packed the glass way too full and need to dump it into a bowl.  Chow down!

After a go-go-go morning and temps in the 90’s, a refreshing lunch was calling my name. 

Summer smoothie, infused with chocolate milk!  I used half almond milk + half local/organic chocolate milk to really put this smoothie over the top.  I highly recommend you do the same.

Then, after a go-go-go afternoon, I created a new donut recipe for the arrival of my parents!  It’s based off one of their favorite desserts.  Despite the heat, I turned the oven on and trust me it was worth it.

Beyond excited to have both parents in Colorado!!

[Mama Pea – Show P. Daddy this photo…you know why]

Better, than the Peanut Butter Fluff Donuts! 

I swear.

I will leave you with one clue!!

After a go-go-go day, this girl is completely wiped out.  Time to rest and then off for an adventure with the parentals in the morning!  Full report on where we go, tomorrow.  Or maybe I’ll share that donut recipe…

Ashley  

There are no berries, no peaches or nectarines, no watermelon and actually no fresh fruit at all.

What is summery about it, is how completely refreshing it is.  It’s like a milkshake, but it’s packed with nutrition, so we’ll call it a smoothie.

Thick, [...]]]> There is really nothing “summery” about this smoothie at all.

There are no berries, no peaches or nectarines, no watermelon and actually no fresh fruit at all.

What is summery about it, is how completely refreshing it is.  It’s like a milkshake, but it’s packed with nutrition, so we’ll call it a smoothie.

Thick, icy cold, and packed with some of my favorite ingredients.  Let’s call it a cacao-pnut-banana-cinna-smoothie.  No one ingredient stands out too much though.  It’s just a nice smoothie blend, with an energizing kick from the cacao beans!

Summer Cool-Down Smoothie

• 1c milk of choice
• 1.5 frozen bananas
• 1-2c ice
• 3T raw protein powder [opt]
• 1T raw cacao beans
• 1t unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1-1.5T creamy pnut butter
• 1t maca powder [opt]
• 1/2t cinnamon
• 1/2t vanilla extract

1. Blend until smooth!

The ice really helps make this extra thick + refreshing!  I always receive questions about the glass straws I use.  They’re from the company Glass Dharma and I was given a set to review about a year ago.  I absolutely love them!

So what’s been going on with the house?

Lot’s of window taping, which took for-everrr.  The wood already looks painted, but don’t be fooled, it’s just pre-primed wood.  My uncle did all the trim work and we are in love with it.  He restored the trim to look like what was originally in the house.  I’m so glad we stuck with the old trim style.

All of the edges had to be primed, where the wood was cut.  Also, the nail gun holes had to be filled in with putty then sanded.  After all of that dried, I got to painting.  These are the before photos, and the “after” look almost the same.  Since the wood was white, it doesn’t look too different in a photo.  However, in person, it looks much more finished.  Super excited to have that done!

We’re so happy we have a small house [1015sqft] with awesome ventilation [14 windows!].  The sun never really blares into our house, but we still get a nice amount of natural light.  Even when it’s in the 90’s the house is typically at about 78.  With the 3 ceiling fans on, it’s extremely comfortable.

Even Kenna agrees.

What am I up to today?  The parents arrive tomorrow [!!!], so I’m trying to get a few house things done.

Today’s task:  replacing electrical outlets + light switches

It’s actually a super simple job, but it’s taking much longer than it should.  The walls are sort of crumbly where the outlets are, which makes screwing them into place difficult.  It’s also not easy getting the wires in + out of the box, but I’m managing to get it done!  Slowly…

Don’t worry, I turned off the breakers and Kenna is keeping a close eye on me.

Time for a smoothie, outlet replacing and finishing up that burger recipe!

Ashley

I’ve posted the nutrition facts before, but it amazes me every time.  It’s packed with iron and has more protein, iron [...]]]> If you haven’t tried making popped amaranth yet, you are seriously missing out.  It’s super quick to make and 100% customizable to your taste buds.  Not to mention, amaranth is packed with nutrition. 

I’ve posted the nutrition facts before, but it amazes me every time.  It’s packed with iron and has more protein, iron + fiber, than quinoa and millet!  I will definitely admit, I don’t like this as a cooked grain though.  Only popped!  Popped amaranth seems really light and fluffy, but paired with the right toppings, it leaves me full all morning.

My idea for this bowl was similar to last week’s, smoothie topped amaranth cereal.   However, this, was even better.

Lately, I’ve been photographing almost completely on our charcoal colored, concrete countertops.  I thought I’d change it up a bit, and add a pop of color.  Per usual, I was using the tripod, but had it positioned to high for me to see into the viewfinder.  Instead of grabbing the stepstool, I played trial + error, to see how many shots it took to get the bowl framed in the center.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.  There we go! 

And then I wasn’t sure I was digging the yellow, so I changed to a nice bright blue.  After editing the shots, I like the yellow, but something is more appealing to me about the blue.

Perfectly ripened organic strawberries and a huge bowl of popped amaranth. 

And now the bananas n’ cream part!

I wasn’t looking for smoothie consistency here, but wanted something thicker than plain milk.  Adding yogurt + banana did the trick!

Strawberry Banana Cream Cereal [serves 1]

• 1/3c raw amaranth, popped [instructions on popped amaranth]
• 1c strawberries, chopped
• 1c milk of choice
• 1/2c plain Greek yogurt
• 4” hunk of banana
• 1/4t vanilla
• 1-2t honey or maple syrup

1. Pop amaranth and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
2. Blend milk, yogurt, banana, vanilla + honey together until smooth.
3. Add strawberries to bowl + pour on the banana cream.

*Don’t like banana?  Leave it out and add 1/2c more yogurt to thicken.

Prepare to be in breakfast bliss.

The texture of the amaranth gets me every time.  Love it!

Ashley

2. Be sure to chop the strawberries into pieces that are too large, so the batter is hard to spread in the mini bundt pan.

3. Make 2 chia eggs, with ground chia seeds, in place of [...]]]> 1. Use perfectly ripe, organic strawberries, for a recipe that you are 75% sure will fail.

2. Be sure to chop the strawberries into pieces that are too large, so the batter is hard to spread in the mini bundt pan.

3. Make 2 chia eggs, with ground chia seeds, in place of 2 real eggs.

4. Stir the batter a few times too many.

5. Forget to add the sugar [sucanat], and add it on top of the cakes before baking.

6.  Take them out of the oven for 2 minutes, thinking they’re done when they’re not and then put them back in.

7. Still slightly undercook them and carelessly remove them from the pan.

8. Eat them anyway, because you can’t waste those fresh strawberries!

My first gluten free + vegan baking experience was a bit of a fail.  They taste delicious, but as you can see, the texture is off.  They’re a bit doughy/gummy, but for some reason, I cannot stop eating them!

Anyone want to come over and help me polish off these sub-par cakes?

Better luck next time.

Ashley