The New Hairdo

First of all, I don’t think I ever knew that hairdo was actually a word spelled out just like that. I always thought it was two words, but the dictionary tells me it’s one. Huh, well I learned something today!

I realize it’s Tuesday and a weekend photo recap would have been more appropriate yesterday, but I was really needing to write about running yesterday, and I decided this post could wait. Plus, I wouldn’t have been able to show you my new hairdo yesterday, so it all worked out how it was supposed to.

I actually went out for another run after posting yesterday. It wasn’t as great as my Saturday run, but it still felt good to get out. I definitely notice myself breathing a little heavier than usual, but that will go away shortly.

I’m going to keep it short and sweet for you all today. Here is a recap of my weekend in a nutshell…

Party time on Saturday! I ate way too many treats and my body paid for it the next day.  There was about 5x the amount of food in this photo at the party. Lots of nummies. Such a fun time and the weather held up for a few hours before the clouds opened up into a downpour!

party food

Chilaquile brunch on Sunday at Uptown Cafeteria with Dana, Ted, and Annie. Great food, amazing company.

chilaquile uptown cafeteria

Monday breakfast: the yogurt bowl is back. Greek yogurt with banana, strawberries, and honey. Simple and delicious.

yogurt bowl

And the big wow moment from yesterday was chopping off a good five inches of my hair.

long hair short hair short hair

 

I still have bittersweet feelings towards my new do. I wasn’t really planning on cutting that much off, but I did pretty much give the stylist the go-ahead to do it. I am just shocked at how much she actually took off. I haven’t had my hair this short in a few years at least. I know it will be perfect for summer and I just need to get used to it still. It’ll grow on me…haha, no pun intended. It does feel good to have it all cleaned up!

That’s all I have for you all today. I hope you have a fantastic Tuesday. Find something to smile about today.

Continue Reading The New Hairdo

Memorial Weekend: Productive Yet Relaxing

 

Long time no see! How was everyone’s Memorial Weekend? Mine was very productive but also relaxing. That seems to be a common theme around our house on the weekends. We got so much done around the house and spent the majority of our weekend working outside in the yard.

I want to give HUGE shout-out thank you to the guys who came over on Sunday to help Dana dig the egress window well. THANK YOU times a million! They plowed through that job so fast I couldn’t believe it.

After the window was dug, I helped Dana lay the bricks in for the walls of the well. I felt pretty tough as I carried those bricks around the yard, and my arms are definitely feeling it today! One more trip to Menards for our last batch of brick and the egress window well will be nearly complete. The next step will be putting the windows in, but we’re going to have that done professionally. Then we can start finishing our basement! I’m just waiting for that money tree to start growing in the yard. It all adds up real fast.

Besides getting muddy in the yard this weekend, I also hung out with family, friends, and ate some delicious food. I was hoping to get a bike ride in with Dana but the weather wasn’t really cooperating. The sun hasn’t shown us its beautiful face around here since Thursday if I’m not mistaken. Our poor plants haven’t seen sun since we planted them in the ground on Thursday! We could all use a little Vitamin D around here. Soon enough though. Think positive thoughts, right? Maybe I’ll do a little sun dance later.

Alright, I’m planning on keeping it short today. I don’t have a ton of photos to share to recap the weekend, but I do have a few. So, I’m going to finish off today’s post with the collection of my photos from the weekend. And here we go…

Chipotle loaded with veggies! Proof that you can chose healthy fast food decisions; just go light on the cheese, sour cream, and guac, ditch the tortilla, and go heavy on the veggies and you have yourself an extremely delicious and healthy veggie-packed Chipotle bowl.

 

chipotle

Almond banana muffin with almond butter and sliced bananas…

almond bread

The Egress window well…

dana

Salad: mixed greens, tomato, carrots, peas, avocado, olives, sunflower seeds, and Newman’s Own honey mustard dressing.

salad

 

One of many trips to Menards…11% off everything right now really adds up when you’re there everyday. Spend money to save money, right?

menards

 

Cherry Berry…with no skimping on frozen yogurt OR toppings. I meant business.

cherry berry

Homemade MAH bites, fauxtmeal raisin cookie style.

mah bites

 

And the Bachelorette…

 

 

 

bachelorette

 

I had to throw that last one in there because I am super excited that the Bachelorette is back on again. I spent a good 5-miles on the treadmill watching the season premiere last night. It should be a good one! No favorites yet, though.

I have a nummy vegetarian meal planned for tonight that I am anxious to share with you all (inspiration from Denise). This is actually the only meal I planned for the week because I’m thinking there will be leftovers. Do you have any meals planned for the week?

I hope you all had a FANTASTIC weekend.

Did you do anything fun this weekend? Were you productive around the house? Did you relax with family and friends?

Continue Reading Memorial Weekend: Productive Yet Relaxing

Sweet Orange Chicken

Well this weekend just like every other weekend, flew by very quickly, but it was packed with a lot of productivity and relaxation too!

A few scenes and tidbits from the weekend

A little change-up to my standard pb and banana breakfast. I made bananas with strawberries with a spoonful of homemade almond butter. This batch of almond butter turned out perfectly and I am so diggin’ it.

fruit and almond butter

Throughout the course of the weekend I munched on a couple of these ALT bars by LARABAR which they so kindly sent me last week. This is their new protein bar made from pea protein that has 10 grams of protein. These bars are absolutely delicious and satisfying. So far I’ve had the peanut butter cookie (obviously I chose that one first) and the lemon pound cake. I let Dana taste test too and we both gave them two thumbs up.

 

larabar alt

 

Oh the joy of finding a package of these bars on your front step when you aren’t expecting it! I don’t think I could ever get tired of it.

larabar ALT

Dana and I actually sat down and watched a movie on Friday night. We have been wanting to see Silver Linings Playbook for quite some time, and by chance I checked out our local RedBox and it was actually there!

Holy cow, have you seen this movie? If you haven’t seen it, please do. It was a little dark but there was humor throughout the entire movie which lightened it, and the ending made me happy. I seriously loved it. And I love Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

bradley

 

This weekend we worked on the yard: we pulled weeds, cut the grass, planted flowers in the window boxes, mulched around one of our front trees, painted the exterior trim that needed touching up, planted herbs in pots, and hung up a decorative piece above our garage door. It felt great to be so productive and the house is really shaping up!

This weekend we celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday. The weather was beautiful that evening. We grilled burgers and sat outside for a while and soaked up the sun. It felt like a summer evening finally! We finished off the birthday celebration with Dairy Queen ice cream cake which I thoroughly enjoyed.

 

 

burger dinner

To end the weekend, I threw together a sweet and tasty dinner in the wok…

Sweet Orange Chicken!

In the wok I cooked one large chicken breast in a touch of sesame oil. I then added the veggies, some orange juice, coconut aminos, ground ginger, garlic, rice wine vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper. I let it all cook through for a while (more detailed recipe below) and then served it up!

I was going to chop up some iceberg lettuce and have that as a base under the orange chicken but I completely forgot. You could serve this just as I did, or with cooked quinoa or  brown rice.

orange chicken orange chicken orange chicken orange chicken orange chicken

It was sweet with a little hint of salty which is a flavor combination I adore.

Sweet Orange Chicken
Print
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, or 2 small, cut into chunks
  • 1 cup onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¾ cup carrot, diced
  • 1 cup sugar snap peas, chopped
  • 1½ cups broccoli
  • ½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
  • sprinkle of dried ground ginger
  • 2 Tbsp coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
  • 1-2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • 2 Tbsp honey
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 Tbsp orange zest
Instructions
  1. In a wok or large sauce pan, heat sesame oil. Add chicken and cook for about 6-7 minutes until almost completely cooked through.
  2. Add vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Add in remaining ingredients; let cook and boil for 4-5 minutes.
  4. Turn off heat, use microplane to grate 1 tablespoon of orange zest over the chicken and veggies. Serve warm with brown rice, quinoa, or enjoy by itself!

 

You can use up whatever veggies you have on hand for this recipe. It is truly so easy (like the majority of my recipes) and it was something fun and different from your standard stir-fry!

Did you cook up anything nummy this weekend?

Continue Reading Sweet Orange Chicken

Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Thank you for all of your sweet thoughts and kind words yesterday. Moose is doing very well! His swelling has gone down dramatically and after I posted yesterday, the vet actually called me back after having talked to a dental specialist who said a little swelling was absolutely normal especially on bigger dogs, so I didn’t need to bring him back in yesterday after all. They told me to keep an eye on the swelling for the next 2-3 days and if it doesn’t go down, then we would have a problem, but otherwise it’s totally normal. And since it’s gone down I am not worried at all!

He did some doggy modeling for me yesterday…

moose moose

Gah! Love him. While we were outside yesterday I wandered over to our garden and spotted one beautiful little flower peaking on its own. It was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, the wind was so intense that by the evening it was completely ruined, but at least I got to enjoy it for a short amount of time.

flower

The temperatures crept to about 98°F yesterday, but since the air was so dry and there was quite a bit of wind, it didn’t feel very hot. So instead of thinking about making ice cream, or popsicles, or chomping on some watermelon, I thought it would be fun to bake up some cookies. Totally not normal I realize. The heat wasn’t going to stop me from my chocolate craving.

I got my inspiration for this cookie recipe from acouplecooks.com. Naturally, I steered towards a healthier cookie, and I knew I wanted to make it gluten-free too.cookie

There is a secret ingredient in these cookies that might surprise you but you will be surprised to find out that you can’t taste it at all and it also packs in some protein and fiber into this decadent dark chocolate cookie and makes for one heck of a soft and fudgy cookie.

chocolate cookie gluten free

chocolate cookie gluten free

Have you guessed the secret ingredient yet? If you guessed black beans you would be absolutely correct. Don’t wrinkle your nose until you try them! I’m telling you–you can’t taste the beans at all and it does wonders for the texture of the cookie and when combined with the cocoa powder, gives these cookies a deep dark chocolate flavor.

IMG_2719

I know you’re intrigued. Here is what I came up with!

Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free)
Print
Ingredients
  • 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained (or about 2 cups cooked from dried)
  • 1½ Tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • ¼ cup applesauce
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¾ tsp vanilla extract
  • 5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • ½ cup mini chocolate chips or more (I used Enjoy Life dairy-free, soy-free)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking pan with a non-stick mat, parchment paper, or non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
  2. In food processor puree the beans along with the oil, applesauce, egg, honey, and vanilla. Puree until smooth.
  3. Add cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt into wet mixture; blend to combine. The consistency will resemble brownie batter.
  4. Remove blade from food processor and stir in chocolate chips.
  5. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let sit for five minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

 

What are you waiting for? Get baking!

Question of the day: Have you ever baked any sweet treats with beans or any other wacky ingredients? What did you think?

Continue Reading Fudgy Dark Chocolate Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Finally a Warm Run

What an enjoyable weekend. The weather was incredible, I was able to relax, hang out with family, friends, and run a 10k with Dana!

I can’t believe I neglected to take one photo of the actual race site at Minnehaha Park because it is a very beautiful area, but I didn’t. We raced up the streets parallel to the river, crossed the river, came back down the other side, and then crossed the river again. I am always happy when the route is an actual large loop versus multiple laps.

If you are local and are interested in a really nice 10K loop, check out the race course here: Minnehaha Get in Gear 10k Race Course

On Friday we headed over to Minnehaha to pick up our race bibs and scope out the giveaway goodies. We were about to head out and then our eyes caught sight of this:

salted nut roll

That is 25 lbs of pure salted nut roll heaven right there. They were cutting up sample bars and I just had to sample one myself and OMG. This was the best Salted Nut Roll I have ever eaten, and I’ve eaten my fair share. It was so soft and there was so much NOUGAT :smile:. I savored every last bite of that magical bar.

salted nut roll

 

Moving on to race day.

Dana and I gave ourselves plenty of time to get over to the race site but unfortunately the shuttle buses to get runners from the parking area to the race site were not super efficient and by the time we got to the race site, checked our bags (this took a while too) and got into the bathroom lines, we had about 15 minutes until start time.

The bathroom lines were reeeeaaaallly long. I started to get my little anxiety spurts that I get just prior to races and was nervous that we wouldn’t be at the start line when the race began. I knew it didn’t really matter if I was or wasn’t there when it actually began because we had time chips in our race bibs, but I just like to be where I’m supposed to be at any given time.

They made the five-minute until go time announcement and we were still in line, with about eight people still in front of us. Then the two-minute announcement was made and we were still four people back. The National Anthem was sung and there was 26 seconds of silence to honor Boston and everyone involved in the tragedy. The race began and we were still in line.

get in gear 10k

We finally got our turn for the glamorous porto-potty’s and then made a mad dash to the starting line while “washing” our hands with antibacterial goop. By the time we got to the start, there were still TONS of people who hadn’t yet crossed the start line. So basically all of that anxiety and rushing to get to the start line really wasn’t necessary.

 

That was how our race began.

The course was really great and spectators were lined all along the streets almost the entire way. At about one mile in I was struck with side aches on both sides. I used the breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth technique to try to get rid of those bad boys but I wasn’t having much luck. It wasn’t until about mile 5 that they started to go away. Needless to say this wasn’t my best or most enjoyable run, however I am always proud to say that I finished it and I didn’t stop to walk even once.

I finished in 1:01:26 which was about one minute slower than my January 1st 10K race. I was a little disappointed because I had wanted to break the one hour mark, but I didn’t get too hung up on it. I just ran 6.2 miles and I was going to be proud of it!

get in gear 10k

It was SO nice to run in warm weather and not have to be bundled up from head to toe. The sun felt heavenly.

By the time we got home I was exhausted and hungry. I made myself some food and then joined Moose out on the deck to get some rays and relax.

moose deck moose deck

Goodness he’s a big boy.

I gave my camera a rest for the remainder of the weekend but will tell you I had such an incredible weekend. The highlight was spending time with family and friends and enjoying the sunny warm weather.

What was the highlight of your weekend?

 

Continue Reading Finally a Warm Run

Spring Has Finally Sprung

 

It’s finally happening people…spring is arriving in Minnesota! Yesterday the temperature got up to 50°F which being that we had these sights just days ago, gets us Minnesotans super amped up. Today is supposed to reach 69, Saturday: 72, and Sunday:  76. If every Minnesotan who is capable of being outside this weekend isn’t outside I would be truly surprised. We have been caged up for far too long. There will be people in shorts and flip-flops left and right, and possibly even bathing suits. Spring is finally ARRIVING! My heart flutters at the thought.

Tomorrow we run are running in a 10K race. Because of the nasty weather, and since the beginning of Insanity, we haven’t been running…at.all. I am hoping since we are keeping up on our cardio and endurance and building up our strength, that 6.2 miles will be a breeze (*fingers crossed*). The other thing that should help is the gorgeous weather. The adrenaline of warm weather and cheering spectators should be all that we need to make this race a great one. We shall see!

Last night there was no doubt in my mind that we were going to grill. At lunch time I started marinading two skinless chicken breasts in coconut aminos, honey, pineapple, ginger, and garlic powder.

When it was time for dinner we threw those bad boys on the grill and hung outside with the pooch while they cooked away.

outside

outside dana grill

“Look ma, no snow!”

outside moose

To go along with the chicken, I put together a simple romaine salad with red peppers and lima beans. For the dressing I made a simple mix of rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and a touch of honey. We plated the chicken over the salad, and dressed it with the Asian-inspired mixture. That’s what you call a springy-looking plate! So light and refreshing!

chicken salad

I’m officially welcoming salads back in as a dinner option now that the warm weather is rolling around.

chicken salad

 

After dinner we took Mooser for a 2 mile walk around the neighborhood. I underestimated my clothing and lack of layers and wound up being pretty chilly through the walk. It was still so nice to get out and not have to trudge through any snow. LOVE.

I am really hoping to make this a ritual in the evenings. So often I find myself wanting to snuggle into the couch after dinner and then I don’t end up moving from my spot until bedtime. I’m working on breaking that habit and the warmer weather will absolutely help that.

After our walk we came in and enjoyed Glee and I whipped up a batch of banana soft serve. I made it in the NutriBullet for the first time and it came out even smoother than when I make it in the blender. We went the simple au natural route and just used bananas and a little coconut milk.

 

banana softserve

 

Between the grilling, the salad, the evening walk, the banana soft serve, it looks like spring has finally sprung over here! Can I get a whoop whoop?!

What do you enjoy most about spring?

Happy Friday my friends!

Continue Reading Spring Has Finally Sprung

How to Make Beautiful Cupcakes

I received an email from a reader named Ivy who asked to write a guest post for Beautifully Nutty. Ivy works for a bakery called Little Bertha in Melbourne, Australia. I only wish these treats were a little bit closer to home because they look so nummy. They even have gluten-free treats! Anyway, I happily accepted her offer after she mentioned the topic she wanted to write about…

How to make beautiful, tempting, nostalgia-inspiring, flavour-inducing cupcakes!

Hazelnut & Cranberry Meringue Cake

Cupcakes are the greatest pleasure food. They are a beautiful, sweet treat which will give a celebratory and fun feeling to any occasion. They are probably the original party food. Making or choosing cupcakes is not the time to count calories or pinch pennies, because they are a pure escapist indulgence.

Part of the pleasure in a cupcake is that they are pretty and decorative, so you have to take aesthetics into account with your baking. Cakes and baked goods have such great potential to look pretty and rustic. Look for beautiful cake and baking inspiration on Little Bertha.

Get creative with your decoration and presentation. I love using unusual garnishes on the top of my cupcake icing like floral decorations, creamed sugar, marzipan, biscuit crumb, cream cheese, fairy floss, and desiccated coconut. You can use the presentation to your advantage as well, by using pretty cake display plates, cloths, and crockery.

Lamingtons

Themed cupcakes are great for celebrating special occasions, and make lovely little party favours. Using a sweet little filling, like jam or caramel, is a delicious surprise to get when biting into cupcake. Cupcakes, unlike curry, are not better the day after, so try and make them as close as possible to the time they will be consumed so they are fresh and soft and moist. Icing tends to harden when left out in the air.

Pistachio & Raspberry Teacake

Some of my favourite types of cupcakes right now are chocolate buttermilk, salted caramel, iced tea cupcakes, pistachio and rapsberry, and lamington cupcakes. But really, you should just have fun inventing your own!

Who wants to go bake some cupcakes?!

Continue Reading How to Make Beautiful Cupcakes

Honey P. Nutty Bars

It’s a rainy day, it’s a rainy day, raining outside so we can’t go out and play, so what are we gonna do, anyway? What is that from? My mom always used to sing that with us when we were young. My guess would be Barney or Sesame Street but I really don’t know.

Anyway, it is very rainy and very gloomy over here today. The kind of day that makes you want to snuggle on the couch with a movie and a bowl of popcorn and just stay there for a while. 🙂 Who knows, that may be on the agenda for the evening, we will see.

Breakfast

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I did not have one single bite of peanut butter yesterday. That is unheard of for me! I started the morning off with a bowl of Fage Greek yogurt with blackberries, blueberries, a touch of honey and chia seeds.

yogurt with berries

 

Gym

 

I hit up the gym shortly after for a chest, shoulder, and tricep weights day. Dana was my “personal trainer” and definitely pushed me harder than I would have if I were there by myself. This is a GOOD thing. I am hoping to be able to make it to the gym more often with him so we can train together. I need the extra help especially if I’m going to reach my April Fitness Challenge!

(old photo)

workout

 

Lunch

While I threw my lunch together, I snacked on some walnuts. Lunch was a humungo salad with mixed spring greens, celery, red bell pepper, mushrooms, black beans, peas, and red wine vinegar mixed with olive oil and herbs. I added some cheese and hummus after I snapped the photo.

salad

For dessert: an apple.

Afternoon snacks included a Honey P. Nutty bar!

I received this package of bars from Honey P. Nutty after checking out their website and drooling over their products. They make delicious honey and peanut butter bars that come in a variety of flavors: Chunky PB, Red Chili PB, Cranberry PB, Salty PB, Espresso PB, and Chocolate PB. Their products are also gluten and dairy free with the exception of the chocolate PB which may have some dairy.

honey p. nutty

Of course the first one I reached for when I received the package was the Chocolate PB, aka my favorite combination EVER!

honey p. nutty

I love that the ingredients are so simple: Whole and ground roasted peanuts, honey, organic cornmeal, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Depending on the flavor there are add-ins for example the chocolate PB has chocolate added, the cranberry PB has cranberries, etc. You get it.

honey p. nutty

The bars are chewy and sweet. Personally, I would consider them more of a dessert treat but they could also be used as an energy bar before a workout, after a workout, or for an afternoon pick-me-up.

honey p. nutty

They remind me of peanut butter cookies. They have a wonderful roasted peanut flavor and in combination with the honey, they are perfectly sweet.

honey p. nutty honey p. nutty honey p. nutty honey p. nutty

 

Yea, I REALLY enjoy them. To check out their products you can go to their website at honeypnutty.com. They are a new company and have so much potential for growth with this tasty product! I LOVE IT!

Dinner

Last night we grilled up some salmon and green beans. I actually deviated from my favorite salmon recipe if you can believe that!

I marinated two salmon filets in this marinade:

  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp coconut aminos (you can use soy sauce instead if you prefer)
  • 1/4 tsp dried ginger
  • 1 garlic clove, grated finely
  • 1 tsp honey

I let them marinade for about 30 minutes before the grilling them up! The green beans were seasoned simply with olive oil, salt and pepper and then grilled.

salmon

 

I still prefer the other recipe for salmon with the sesame oil, butter, capers, and almonds, but this one was really good too! I was proud that I switched it up.

Alrighty, I’m going to go milk this cold I’ve got and get on with my day. Have a good one!

Continue Reading Honey P. Nutty Bars

A Weekend Full of Great Company

Well, hello hello! It’s Monday and it’s gloomy BUT I am going to stay positive for all of us and say it is going to be a GREAT day.

I “disconnected” myself yesterday from the phone and blog. I say that in “quotations” because I still had my phone on me at all times and browsed Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc., but I gave the photo snapping a rest for the most part. By the way are you following me on:

I would love if you did!

Anyway, I do have some catching up to do from Saturday! It was a super fun day!

Saturday Morning

The rain held off and Dana, Moose, and I were able to hit the pavement for our Saturday run. We mapped out five miles around the neighborhood and they were five hilly miles. We live in a very hilly neighborhood which is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. It’s great for training but sometimes you just want an easy flat run, and we can’t get that around here.

Moose’s paws held up just fine this time around. Last week they got a little scraped up and were bleeding. He is toughening up quickly again now that spring is here. Yay!

Saturday Afternoon

In the afternoon I headed out to Minneapolis to meet up with a handful of other Minnesota bloggers for our first ever MN blogger meet up. Katie from Running4Cupcakes and Becky from Olives’n’Wine (remember that awesome cupcake guest post she wrote for me in March?!) organized this get together and I am SO happy they did.

Here was our crew:

MN-Bloggers

From left to right:

Katie from Running4cupcakes
Diana from DianaPantz
Melanie from Beautifully Nutty (me, duh)
Kendra from Kenny Gump

 

We met at Sebastian Joe’s (the one off of Franklin) which I must say has some spectacular sorbet. As you know I adore ice cream but I had plans to go out to dinner that evening so I didn’t want to risk an upset stomach, which is why I stuck with the dairy-free sorbet. Any other day, you know I would choose ice cream, let’s be real.

I went with the Strawberry-Basil Sorbet and it did not fail. It was incredible; so fresh, with huge hunks of strawberries, and a hint of basil. It was very refreshing.

sorbet sebastian loes

sorbet sebastian loes

Your mouth watered didn’t it?

I surprisingly wasn’t too nervous to meet up with these girls. In the blog world you kind of feel like you know each other from reading each other’s blogs and commenting back and forth.

We all said it was kind of weird at first only because we already “knew” the little tidbits about each other that most people would use to start-up conversation, so our conversations hedged a little further right away.

We chatted about our lives, blogging, social media, etc. We all got along very well and the hour and a half we were there seriously flew by so fast. The conversation was great! We are planning another meet up in the next month or two so if there are any other MN bloggers out there who are interested in meeting up, throw an email my way! We are hoping to make the next meet-up a bit more active—like a walk around the lakes or something.

Such a great group of ladies! I’m so happy I had the chance to meet you all! Thanks again Katie and Becky for organizing this, you rockstars.

Saturday Evening

In the evening we had a dinner date with my parents and Dana’s parents. We met at Axel’s Bonfire which is a cozy and warm restaurant that specializes in wood fire cooking.

axel's bonfire

I ordered the Barbacoa Tacos which had seasoned beef with pineapple relish and chipotle cream. I asked if they could prepare them in lettuce cups instead of flour tortillas and they said of course. Never hesitate to ask for modifications to your meal. Remember you are paying for it, you may as well get it how you want it and 9 times out of 10 they will be able to make the modification for you.

axel's bonfire menu

Check out these beauts! I had to pick off some of the peppers on there because they were  making my mouth feel like fire, but this dish was very tasty.

beef tacos axel's bonfire

It came with beans and rice so I ended up scooping the beans onto my taco as well as the pico de gallo on top of the rice.

rice and beans axel's bonfire

Besides the food being great, the company was even better. I adore my families and always enjoy spending time with them!

Talk about a fun day, right?

Sunday

Sunday was our usual gig; breakfast, paper, coupons, hanging out with the pup, grocery shopping, lunch.

moose and melanie

In the afternoon we headed over to my mom and dad’s house because my brother Scotty and his girlfriend Nicole were in town!

We spent the afternoon and evening hanging out, eating a totally nummy dinner (rotisserie pork loin, brussels sprouts, broccoli, salad, and potatoes), and catching up on life. I was so happy to be with my family again! Ahhh I just love them so much.

We made it home just in time before the sun went down to take Moose for a little stroll around the neighborhood. We watched the Academy of Country Music Awards when we got home and then called it a night. This weekend FLEW by. What the heck?! Haha, it always does though.

Okey dokey, I am off to take on the day. Make it a great one and be thankful for the day. Catch up with you soon!

xoxo

Continue Reading A Weekend Full of Great Company

No Bake Key Lime Pie

In the mood for a light and refreshing dessert? Then you’ve come to the right place! I jump on the opportunity to bring desserts to holiday functions and get togethers, so of course I volunteered to bring something sweet to our Easter celebration on Sunday. It was actually my mom’s idea to go the key lime route, and then I took off with it. Great idea as always madre!

I found a recipe for Key Lime Pie from thetastyalternative.com and used her recipe for my inspiration. Here it goes!

Lightly coat one pie dish with butter; set aside. In a food processor, mix together dates, raisins, and almonds to make the crust. Use hands to press the crust mixture into the pan. It will cover the bottom of the pan completely. Place the crust in fridge. Clean out the food processor.

Easter 2013

In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk over low-medium heat until hot; do not let it boil. Meanwhile combine lime juice, honey, and avocado in a clean food processor and mix well. Then pour juice mixture into glass bowl. Add gelatin to bowl and whisk until incorporated. Whisk heated coconut milk in with the gelatin mixture until mixed thoroughly. Pour into pie crust and place in fridge for at least 8 hours.

Easter 2013

For the cream cheese frosting: use a hand or stand mixer to whip together cream cheese (I used homemade but you can use your favorite), honey, vanilla, and a little coconut milk. After the pie has completely set, carefully spread the cream cheese frosting over the pie.

Place in freezer for 45 minutes before serving to help with slicing.

Easter 2013 Easter 2013

Slice carefully and enjoy!

Easter 2013

Note: I didn’t freeze the pie before cutting into it hence the reason it looks like a messy piece of pie, but placing it in the freezer for a short while should help it to set a little further and will hopefully cut easier!

No Bake Key Lime Pie (Gluten-Free, No Refined White Sugar)
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Ingredients
  • Crust:
  • ⅞ cup dates
  • ⅛ cup raisins
  • ½ cup almonds
  • Lime Filling:
  • 1 can coconut milk --- ***reserve 2 Tbsp for topping
  • ½ cup honey
  • ¾ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1½ small avocado or 1 large
  • 1 envelope of plain gelatin
  • Cream Cheese Topping:
  • ¾ cup cream cheese
  • 1-2 Tbsp honey (to taste preference)
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 Tbsp. coconut milk
Instructions
  1. Lightly coat one pie dish with butter; set aside.
  2. In food processor, mix together crust ingredient until it resembles coarse sand. Use hands to press the crust mixture into the pan. It will cover the bottom of the pan completely. Place in fridge. Clean food processor.
  3. In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk over low-medium heat until hot, but do not let it boil.
  4. Meanwhile combine lime juice, honey, and avocado in food processor and mix well. Then pour juice mixture into glass bowl.
  5. Add gelatin to bowl and whisk until incorporated.
  6. Whisk heated coconut milk in with the gelatin mixture until mixed thoroughly. Pour into pie crust and place in fridge for at least 8 hours.
  7. For cream cheese frosting: use hand or stand mixer to whip together all ingredients. After pie has set, carefully spread cream cheese frosting over pie.
  8. Place in freezer for 45 minutes before serving.

 

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April Fitness Challenge

At the gym yesterday, I tested my strength to see just how far away I am from doing one unassisted chin-up, which is my April goal. I was able to do one chin-up with 75 lbs of assistance from the machine. I have a LONG ways to go, but I truly think I will be able to reach my goal! You have to start somewhere, right?!

Happy Tuesday my friends!

Question: Have you made any nummy desserts lately?! Please share!

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