Banana Muffins

Jeremy and I have been trying to avoid wheat/gluten and sugar for the past couple weeks.  We found out a while back that both seem to affect me in a negative way and we both just feel much better if we avoid them completely.  We've been trying quite a few new recipes...some of which we really like and some of which we don't.  We found a muffin recipe that we really like and you'd never know there wasn't any wheat flour or sugar in them! 

Banana Muffins

3 Ripe Bananas (spotted like you'd use for banana bread)
1 1/2 Cups Roasted Unsalted Cashews (You can roast them yourself if you can't find them already roasted)
1 Cup Almond Flour (you can usually find this in any organic section at the grocery store)
2 Tbs Walnut Oil (I used 2-3 Tbs coconut oil, melted it, and added this instead of the walnut oil)
2 Eggs
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
Coconut Oil (to grease your muffin tins)
Chocolate chips and sliced almonds for the tops (Optional)


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Mash bananas and set aside
3. Grind cashews in a food processor until you get a fine cashew meal.
4. Add walnut oil (coconut oil) and blend until well combined (making cashew butter)
5. Next, add the bananas and blend until it forms a sticky paste.
6. In a medium bowl whisk eggs, then add cashew/banana mixture along with almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until it forms a batter.
7. Pour batter into greased muffin tins and top with chocolate chips and sliced almonds
8. Bake for 12 minutes or until muffins are cooked through
9. Let muffins completely cool on a rack before storing.

A special visit...

Last week Mom, Mindy and sweet little Sam came for a visit.  We had so much fun and of course the time flew by way too fast.  For some reason, the only pictures I took were of Sam...not too surprising looking at how cute the subject was!!!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Pretzel Bites

I found this recipe on pinterest and made it for a group of friends that were over last night.  A little bit of sweet AND salty.  They were really nummy and quite easy to make too.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup powdered sugar
¾ cup brown sugar
mini pretzels
2 cups milk chocolate chips
Course salt, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and peanut butter until combined. You could also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Scrape down the bowl, add sugars and beat until combined. You should be able to roll the mixture into balls without it sticking to your hands. Add more powdered sugar until you reach a consistency that is easy to roll.

Roll the mixture into small balls, about 1 teaspoon of mixture for each ball, and place on the lined baking sheet. Sandwich the balls between two pretzels and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or a bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat. Dip each pretzel bite halfway into the melted chocolate and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle lightly with the course salt before the chocolate hardens. Chill in refrigerator until chocolate is set. These melt quickly so store them in the refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to serve.

Source: adapted from Live, Love, Pasta

Oh, so thankful

This morning I was thinking of all the many blessings that I have in my life and for all that I have to be thankful for.  One of the many things that I’m so thankful for today is my hubby! 
   
He has a total of four national chiropractic boards to complete prior to graduating.  Each time he takes one, we wait five and a half to six weeks for the results.  We just recently found out that he passed his first set!!!  He’s had a year of ups and downs and some unexpected difficulties but he just keeps plugging away.  He works so hard and he’s been doing so well!  I’m just so thankful to have such an amazing man in my life and I think I might just fall a little more in love with him each day…if that’s even possible.

I’m quite a lucky gal…

The start of something new...

I've been tossing around the idea of starting a blog for quite some time now.  It's been months since I closed my facebook account so I decided that since we have so many amazing family members and friends around the country that I should still share what's going on with us.  I've decided to join the many and share what there is to know about our little life here in Minnesota!  Hang in there as I really have not the slightest idea how all these blog postings work.  Thanks for visiting!