SCD Archives -

Meatloaf on a Wintry Night

Post author:Melanie
Post published:March 19, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Recipes / SCD
Post comments:6 Comments

I can still use that post title for another couple of days. Although the last day of winter is technically tomorrow, it’s going to take a while before the snow goes away around here and it actually looks like spring. Oh well! It will get here when it gets here, but I am just a little antsy for that warmer weather and more outdoor running!

I took advantage of the coziness of the cold evening and baked up a comfort meal for Dana and I….

Mini Turkey Meatloaves!

I used a recipe I created back in July for Mini Turkey Meatloaves using ground turkey. The only change I made was I used fresh minced garlic instead of garlic powder.

*Note: These are SCD legal if you use SCD legal ketchup!

I served the meatloaves along side some simple roasted broccoli.

I love how meatloaf makes the house smell.

‘

And I love how they taste. It was the perfect meal for a cold winter night.

I hope you all have a fabulous day! Happy last day of winter!! WHOOOPPPP whooop!

Question: What is your favorite comfort food on a cold evening?

A Quick Health Update

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 27, 2013
Post category:Health / SCD
Post comments:7 Comments

Hello there! How is everyone’s week going? Mine is going FAST which is a great thing because vacation is just right around the corner.

I don’t have too much to share with you in terms of food photos from the past couple of days. I have been trying to stick to the basics and keep my digestive tract an easy ride for a little while.

Here’s a quick run down of my eats over the past couple of days….it won’t take long!

Leftover french onion soup:

Cooked apple with cinnamon:

Scrambled eggs with avocado and SCD ketchup:

Turkey burger with avocado (I LOVE avocados!), and roasted zucchini:

Not pictured are some random lunches, bananas, and spoonfuls of peanut butter. See, not much to share on the food front.

But, I do want to give you an update on my health. Knock on wood, but I have been feeling SO darn good. First of all, my chiropractor is really happy with my progress and I am sleeping so much better due to less back pain. Sleep is a glorious thing and I’m not one to do well without it. It is so important for our overall health! Nutrition, sleep, and activity are all very connected!

Second, I am continuing to limit my white sugar and processed food intake. I am following the SCD (short-term) and my colitis is making some headway.

I am taking my vitamins religiously:

Multivitamin and cod liver oil in the morning
Digestive enzymes with meals
Calcium + Vitamin D and probiotics in the evening

So overall, I am feeling good. There’s just a few other components of my health I need to get worked out, but if I’ve learned anything through all of this it’s that healing takes time. I have also learned to be very patient with my body. I have learned to listen to my body and to make changes in my life to reduce stress.

I am reminded with all of this that I have to take care of myself because I am the only person who truly can. This is the only body I have.

Take charge of your health and be an advocate for yourself.

If something doesn’t feel right, get a second opinion. I have chosen to follow a more holistic approach to my health and wellness and have deviated slightly from original recommendations because I didn’t feel they were right for me.

I am working closely with my chiropractor to figure out the best way to help my body heal. Also, I have done a lot of research on my own and learned from my personal experiences what works for me and what doesn’t.

Each and every person is different therefore there is no cookie cutter treatment or answer to reach optimal health. It is all about trial and error and listening to our bodies. I can’t say that enough.

What have YOU done for your health lately?

The Next Phase

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 21, 2013
Post category:SCD / Snacks / Workouts
Post comments:3 Comments

Yesterday was the third day of the SCD intro diet. Since my symptoms were so minimal to begin with, I decided to start incorporating some foods back into my diet after two full days on intro diet. I am choosing foods that I knew my body would normally handle well. Yesterday I reintroduced the banana.

After eating only eggs, meat, cooked carrots, and grape juice gelatin, I was ready for more variety. Eating a banana was such a treat! It was like eating candy.

My body reacted very well as I suspected it would. I will continue to slowly reintroduce easy to digest foods.

I apologize for the food photos, but here they are…

Breakfast looks like carrot puree but it was really a totally botched carrot and egg pancake. I also drank a glass of diluted grape juice.

For lunch I heated up some chicken breast, a turkey meatball, and cooked carrots. I couldn’t stomach the chicken some reason so that went back into the fridge.

I grabbed an egg…

And finished off lunch with grape juice gelatin.

For dinner I ate another bowl of the carrot and bone broth soup and another banana.

I also had a very small diluted glass of grape juice. I think I drank too much juice yesterday, but my body was completely craving it.

I’ve been taking it easy on the workouts the past few days because I know my food and calorie intake isn’t where it should be. I am truly doing the best I can with the SCD intro and trying to eat as much of the allowable foods as I can stomach. I am very happy that I can reintroduce some other foods again because it is not healthy for me to continue on with this minimal amounts of food. I know that I can’t eat “as much as tolerated” of the allowable foods in the intro diet, but when you already have a slight distaste for meat, it is really challenging to force it down.

I continue to do my plank-a-day though as part of my February Fitness Challenge. Today is the last day of week three which means I need to get one more strength training activity in today. I’m hoping I feel up to it this afternoon!

Thanks for sticking by my side through this diet. I am very anxious to eat more of my “normal” foods again and to be 100% healthy!

Happy Thursday!

Flashback: Our Proposal Story

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 20, 2013
Post category:Misc. / Moose / SCD
Post comments:9 Comments

How about some lovey dove reminiscent memories to help us get through this freezing cold Wednesday? Sounds good to me!

On Sunday night, Dana and I met up with Betsy and Matt at Stella’s Fish Cafe for dinner. I mentioned in a previous post that we were coincidentally seated in the same booth that we sat in the night Dana proposed to me. I realized I had never shared the story of our engagement proposal, so…..it’s share time!

Flashback to January 29th 2010.

Dana and I had plans to celebrate our one year anniversary. Dana had made reservations at Stella’s. I remember getting all dolled up in my blue sweater dress, saying bye to mom and dad, and driving over to Dana’s house.

As I waited for him to finish getting ready, I browsed the cupboards for a snack and found some Sweettart Valentine conversation hearts. I snacked on a couple of those while I waited, and then off to dinner we went.

We were seated in a booth upstairs and I was giddy the whole time. I was so happy and felt so lucky to be celebrating an anniversary with this man. We ordered our food and a bottle of wine and thoroughly enjoyed eachother’s company as we always do. Dana was cool as a kitten. I had not the slightest idea he had anything up his sleeve.

After dinner we made our way to the parking lot. Once we were in the car, and waiting for it to warm up, Dana handed me an envelope of photos that he had printed off from Walgreens. I had given him a photo album a year prior to this as a gift with the intention of filling it up with photos of all of the fun things we do together. He told me that he had printed some photos for the album.

I immediately start flipping through about 20 photos, commenting on each memory along the way. As I got to the last photo, I had to do a double take. At first it looked like an advertisement or a coupon from Walgreens, but as I looked at it again I noticed some very special words spelled out for me…

I was in total and utter shock. I looked over at Dana and there he was with tears filled in his eyes (although he may deny this), and he had a gorgeous engagement ring in his hands. He asked me to marry him and I’m pretty sure he said some other things but my head was in a cloud of love dust (I am such a corny lovey person—I won’t apologize for it) so I don’t remember.

I muttered yes and as I tears began pouring out of my eyes, still in total shock mode. Yes I absolutely want to spend my life with this man. YES YES YES! But omg, I’m engaged!

We called our parents on the way home to tell them the incredible news. This is when I found out that my dad already knew because Dana had gone over there earlier that day and asked for his permission to marry me. My dad knew but he hadn’t told my mom because my mom and I have this weird connection with eachother and I immediately would have known something was going on if she were to have known.

Our parents were beyond ecstatic. After our parents knew I started calling my brothers and some of my friends (the ones I knew I wouldn’t be able to tell in person). Then it was time to celebrate.

Once we got back to Dana’s place, we celebrated with his roommates and a nice bottle of wine. I told Dana I had snacked on a couple of the Sweettarts while he was finishing getting ready in his room and we both had a good chuckle. Little did I know!

We didn’t snap any photos at Stella’s or in the parking lot, so of course I had to make up for it when we got back home.

It was an unforgettable night and the beginning of forever with the most amazing man.

Fast-forward: Engagement Photos

For our engagement photos, we chose to relive the memories of the day by having our photos taken at Stella’s. I remember being so incredibly nervous before the photo shoot. I really don’t like being the center of attention. Eventually, I warmed up and had a blast! Our photographers from Erin and I photo really helped ease any nervousness.

Here’s our booth (the same one from the other night too!).

The night before our engagement photos, I want to say it snowed about 9 inches. The snow was so fresh and perfect for photos. It was extremely cold on the day of our photo shoot as well, so we did the outside photos as quickly as possible.

Our outside photos were taken at Lake of the Isles.

We had to make sure Mooser got in the photo action!

He was made for the camera.

I can’t believe our engagement was three years ago already. Time flies. Soak up every moment of life because it does go by so fast!

I hope you enjoyed this flashback as much as I did! Oh, and in case you are wondering what my food intake looked like yesterday, take a look at Tuesday’s post and it was pretty much an exact replica except for I also added lean ground turkey into the mix. I am going to be introducing banana today. How exciting! 😉

Have a happy Wednesday!

SCD Intro Diet Day One

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 19, 2013
Post category:Health / SCD / Workouts
Post comments:8 Comments

Hello there friends!

Morning Run

Yesterday morning I actually ran on the treadmill for three solid miles. I haven’t done that in quite some time but figure since I have a 7k coming up in just about a month, that I should probably get on that. Besides from being bored, the run went pretty well.

SCD Intro Diet

There’s no sugar-coating it, the SCD intro diet is not easy, especially for someone who doesn’t enjoy meat.

If you are new to Beautifully Nutty, please check out this post to find out why I am currently on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. This post does not depict a typical day of food intake for me, it is only temporary.

Day one is complete. I felt hungry and lethargic pretty much all day. The good news is, I only have one more day of the intro diet and then I can move on to the next stage of introducing more foods. I really miss my other veggies and fruits.

Here is what my SCD Intro day one looked like…

Breakfast: Two hard-boiled eggs and grape juice gelatin

A haircut appointment which was a really nice distraction from my hungry tummy. I really enjoyed the hair wash and the blow dry. It relaxed me completely.

Before….

After…

She chopped about two inches off of the bottom, reestablished my side swoop “bangs” and added some light layers. Nothing too drastic but it felt so good to get it cleaned up!

Snack: steamed carrots

Lunch: plain chicken breast with a light drizzle of honey

And grape juice gelatin.

Snack: Carrot pancake made with steamed carrots and one egg. I pureed them together in a mini food processor and then cooked the pancake on the stove top. It was a very easy and this snack helped tide me over for a while.

I snacked on my pancake while listening to a podcast about tips on surviving the intro diet. 🙂 My biggest takeaway was to remember WHY I’m doing it and that is to finally be 100% healed.

For dinner we went over to mom and dad’s. I packed myself a bowl of bone broth with cooked carrots and chicken.

The soup actually wasn’t too bad, but I would prefer it without the chicken in there. The hardest part of this intro diet is the fact that I don’t like plain meat. I can enjoy chicken in a taco with salsa, or a burger with ketchup, but plain old meat, no, not my thing AT ALL, and you know that if you have been reading my blog for a while.

Also, I can’t find Farmer’s Cheese anywhere, which is the one cheese that is allowed during the intro. Dana and I looked at about six different stores yesterday with no luck.

As hard as they may be for me right now, I MUST remember that this is only temporary and I know in my heart this is what it will take to finally be done with this U.C. I truly feel soooo good in general, but it’s just a matter of healing a couple of “wounds” still.

Also, I want to remember that I am lucky enough to have ANY food to eat. There are so many starving people in our world that don’t have enough food, so limiting myself to these specific foods for a couple of days should be nothing I should complain about.

My usual meals will be back on the blog before you know it, so bear with me as I go through this SCD intro phase.

If you want to learn more about the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, check out my post from this summer: Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

I hope you all have a great Tuesday. I’m trying very hard to stay positive today! I’ll stay positive if you will!

Blueberry Lemon Bread & February Fitness Challenge Week 1 Recap

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 8, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Health / Recipes / Snacks / Sweet Treats / Workouts
Post comments:5 Comments

I’m finally nearing the end of this cold! By tomorrow I should be 100% back to normal.

After work yesterday I snuggled into my sweats and relaxed on the couch. I managed to eat my way through a good portion of this bag of trail mix while I vegged.

Eventually I got tired of sitting around and put on a very slow and easy breath and stretch pilates On Demand. It felt great to stretch and move a little bit because I’ve been pretty inactive the past couple of days. I also managed to get my 1 minute plank-a-day in.

Speaking of plank-a-day, today ends week 1 of my February Fitness Challenge. My goal was to complete 3 strength train type workouts throughout the weeks during February as well as at least a 1 minute plank every day. Considering I was sick this past week, I am proud to say I still met my week 1 goal.

Strength Training Activities:

Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred plus plank
This leg workout with dumbbells plus plank
A 30 Day Abs workout (from last month’s fitness challenge)

I’m hoping to make it to the gym this week and work it out there a bit. I haven’t been making too many appearances there lately.

Also, I NEED to start running again because I am officially registered for a 7K on St. Patty’s Day which is on March 17th. I am hoping the weather starts improving so I can make it outside, otherwise the treadmill will have to do. It’s time to get these legs-a-movin’!

************

Blueberry Lemon Bread (Gluten-Free and SCD Friendly!)

This may sound strange to some, but when I am feeling slightly under the weather, I enjoy relaxing in the kitchen, and baking up something tasty and comforting. So, that is exactly what I did last night.

How does blueberry lemon bread sound? It’s made with almond flour too so it is 100% gluten-free! Check it out.

Blueberry Lemon Bread

Recipe Type: Gluten-Free, SCD

Cuisine: Breakfast

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup applesauce
the juice of one lemon
the zest of one lemon
1/3 cup ripe banana
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup blueberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a standard bread pan with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat together applesauce, lemon juice, zest, banana, honey, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed.
Add flour mixture into applesauce mixture, stir to combine.
Stir in blueberries until just incorporated (do not overmix).
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

The end result is a not-too-sweet blueberry bread with a subtle lemon flavor. Eat it plain, or toast it up and add a small smear of butter, peanut butter, or honey.

Cooking and baking can be such a comfort!

Happy fabulous Friday to you all!

Do you find comfort in cooking and baking?

Overnight Chia Berry Kefir Bowl

Post author:Melanie
Post published:January 31, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Health / Home Life / Recipes / Snacks / Workouts
Post comments:4 Comments

It’s Thursday! Happy day to you. 🙂

Yesterday I rolled out of bed (I literally do roll out of bed btw) at 5:30 and hit the treadmill for a very leisure 45 minute walk while reading a book and drinking a cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound nice? It really was. It would be even nicer it I were outside on the beach with the warm sun on my back…ahh less than one month.

Wednesday was day two of my personal “get creative with breakfast” movement. The evening before last, I combined kefir, frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, chia seeds, chocolate egg white protein powder, and a touch of honey. I gave it a good stir, covered it, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning I had a refreshingly sweet yet slightly tart chia berry kefir bowl!

For those of you new to kefir, join the club. This is my first week of experimenting with it. Kefir is a fermented milk product. It has the consistency of really thin yogurt and has a tangy flavor. It is a probiotic which has been show to help improve intestinal health by creating a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut and can improve digestion. I bought the plain version to try out but they have flavored versions at the stores now too.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am all about natural ways to stay and get healthy, and after talking about the possibility of adding fermented foods to my diet with my chiropractor, I decided to give it a go. Here’s a link to more info if you are interested: kefir info.

It is 99% lactose free and gluten-free, a good source of vitamin D and calcium, has 12 grams of protein per cup, and only natural sugars. Sold.

Lunch was a hodge-podge of all things—chicken with marinara and cheese, sugar snap peas, carrots, and an apple. I had an afternoon snack of a banana and a clementine.

For dinner I was not in a cooking mood at all but was getting pretty hungry. We were running low on veggies so that was making my dinner decision even more challenging. Then I spotted the sweet potato on the counter that I had bought last weekend and the decision was made. I wanted to experiment with it to see how my body reacted to a more “starchy” vegetable and I really do like sweet potatoes.

I made it the cheater way in the microwave. After scrubbing it down, I poked a bunch of holes into it, placed it on a microwave safe plate and cooked it for 3 minutes on one side, and then 3 minutes on the other. This was a monster of a sweet potato, so I cut it in half and saved one half for another day.

I added cinnamon, honey, peanut butter and raisins, and dug right in.

It was a nice change of pace and I really enjoyed my sweet dinner. I didn’t notice any negative symptoms from it either, but I do want to experiment with it one more time before introducing it more often. Potatoes are a no-no on the SCD but they they may be okay on my Melanie’s moderated diet (MMD), and I want to find out for myself. 🙂

I broiled the second half of the sweet potato in wedges to crisp them up, and refrigerated them for another day. I also finished cooking the bone broth–it needs to simmer for 24 hours to leach the maximum amount of calcium from the bones into the broth.

For a snack later in the evening I ate a few dates and had a couple small handfuls of cashews.

Dana and I sealed the grout lines in the tile in the laundry room last night. Once it was dry we moved the washer and dryer back into place. We haven’t been able to do laundry since last week and I haven’t miss it at all.

It is so exciting seeing the room come together. Next we will be finishing painting the shelves, assembling them, and moving storage bins in! We’re coming along! Don’t forget, once it’s ALL finished I will be sharing photos.

Have a happy day friends! xoxo!

Question of the day: What are your thoughts/experiences on kefir and other fermented foods?

In case you were wondering…

Post author:Melanie
Post published:October 17, 2012
Post category:Health / Misc. / Vacations
Post comments:0 Comments

In case you were wondering…

This is where I write the majority of posts for beautifully nutty.

In case you were wondering…this is how far I ran yesterday.

In case you were wondering…this is my biggest vice.

In case you were wondering…I ate pumpkin bread with peanut butter, cinnamon, and a light drizzle of honey for lunch yesterday.

In case you were wondering…I am excited to try these.

In case you were wondering…I am sweating pink in style with my new laces.

In case you were wondering…I will be traveling out of the country in TWO WEEKS.

Lastly, in case you were wondering, it is probably time for an update on my health status. After much poking, prodding, consulting, and tears, I am happy to announce that I am at about 93% in terms of kicking the Ulcerative Colitis flare. I have just 7% to go to get me back to normal, and I know my body is going to be there very soon.

As you have noticed, I have deviated slightly from the SCD. I will continue to live primarily gluten-free (minus when I had the stomach flu) and will be careful with added sugars, but I am very content with doing my own thing in terms of what works for me and my health.

I learn more about myself with each passing day. I am still learning how to handle my stressors and triggers and learning which foods to stay away from to help alleviate certain symptoms. If I feel a flare coming on again I will put myself back on a more strict SCD, but for now I will be following through with my modified SCD.

I will have more updates for you in the future regarding the U.C. as well as where I will be heading in 2 weeks! Lots of excitement to come…

You probably weren’t wondering any of the above, but now you know! 😉

Have a sweet Wednesday my friends. Catch up with you all soon!

Broccoli White Bean Soup

Post author:Melanie
Post published:October 13, 2012
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Friends / Home Life / Recipes / Workouts
Post comments:1 Comment

Hi there! How is everyone’s weekend panning out so far?

Friday was a great day. It began with a perfectly ripe banana with peanut butter that I tossed in the microwave for 20 seconds to make drizzly, and a little bit of honey.

I did a couple of odds and ends around the house while anxiously awaiting Kate’s arrival. Oh yes, my friend who is in town that I mentioned yesterday is the wonderful Kate. She was one of my bridesmaids, we were roommates in college, and our friendship goes back to 8th grade.

She recently moved out of state and I miss her dearly. She’s home for the weekend so we made plans to go for a nice long walk around the neighborhood and enjoy the gorgeous fall weather.

Before we headed out, I snacked on a LARABAR Über Roasted Nut Roll bar. The kind folks of LARABAR sent me these four to sample.

The verdict on the Über? MMMmmm, so good! It tasted like a healthy version of a salted nut roll. Yes, please. I’m excited to try the rest of the flavors! It did a nice job of holding me over for a couple of hours too.

Kate and I were out for over an hour, walking and talking, catching up, and taking in the beautiful sights and smells of fall. It made me so incredibly happy to see her. It was bittersweet saying good bye as always, BUT I will be seeing her again in about one month because I will be journeying out to Georgia to visit her! I can’t wait! I love love love her, my Katie boo boo boo. 🙂

Throughout the afternoon I tackled random projects around the house. I organized the front closet, did some laundry, reorganized our kitchen, and brought up wedding gifts that we still had in the basement that we now have room for upstairs.

Then it was time to get dinner brewing. On the menu: Broccoli White Bean Soup. While I got to concocting the soup, Dana got to work making a fire in the fireplace. Our first one of the season.

So pretty! A short while later, dinner was served and it was enjoyed in front of the fire.

Warm soup in front of the fire in my sweatpants with my hubby and dog. Does it get more comforting than that? The soup turned out fantastic. I am very proud of it and excited to share the recipe with you all.

Broccoli White Bean Soup

Recipe type: Dairy-Free; SCD-Friendly

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 cup onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups cooked cannellini beans or other white bean
½ Tbsp. dried thyme
dash of nutmeg
½ tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
32 ounces lower sodium chicken broth*
3 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite-size pieces
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Diced turkey bacon (optional)
*substitute vegetable broth if vegetarian

Instructions

Use olive oil to lightly coat medium soup pot.
Add onion and garlic; saute for 3-5 minutes.
Add beans, thyme,nutmeg, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and broth; mix well.
Use immersion blender to puree onions and beans in the pot.
Add broccoli, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
Use immersion blender and pulse 1-2x to puree some of the broccoli, but leaving most of the pieces whole.
Spoon soup into bowls, and top with parmesan cheese and bacon (optional).

The rest of the night was spent relaxing with the men of the house, eating some cocoa banana soft-serve, and hitting the hay early.

Now, I am ready to take on another productive day. I hope you all have a snazzy Saturday!

xoxo, M

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies SCD

Post author:Melanie
Post published:October 2, 2012
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Lunch / Recipes / Snacks / Sweet Treats
Post comments:3 Comments

Well hello there and Happy Wednesday!

I am slowly but surely getting caught up on posting some meals from the past couple of days. Come tomorrow I think I will be caught up.

So, back-tracking to Monday. The morning after our anniversary celebration we woke up early and pondered over the breakfast menu for a bit. Nothing was really calling out to me that fit into the SCD so we decided to head home instead. Plus, we would save some money by eating at home.

What I really wanted was a piece of pumpkin bread (SCD) with Parkers Farm Natural peanut butter and the slightest drizzle of honey. In case you were wondering, I have eaten this breakfast every day for the past um, two weeks or so? I am lovin’ it.

Lunch

Lunch was leftover Rudy’s green beans from dinner the night before. I am head over heels for these green beans. They come with some sort of light teriyaki sauce with sesame seeds and the beans are crunchy, not mushy. They are just perfect. I could seriously go there and just order the green beans and be a happy girl.

I also ate what very well might have been, my one an only Honeycrisp apple of the season. They are SO delicious but they are so darn expensive! I had to have at least one this fall so I picked one up at the store. I also enjoyed a couple slices of muenster cheese and another piece of wedding cake.

I hit up the gym in the afternoon complete with a 40-minute elliptical workout followed by biceps, triceps, and some core work.

Dinner

Baked butternut squash fries coated in a small amount of coconut oil and a lean bison burger with pickles, cheese, tomato, and mustard served on a butter lettuce bun.

NUM.

*****************

Get My Yoga On

To any of my readers who were following me back in June, you may remember I took on the June Yoga Challenge hosted by the beautiful Courtney of Sweet Tooth Sweet Life. In June, I challenged myself to complete 3 yoga sessions each week. It didn’t matter if they were hour-long sessions, 10-minute sessions, super intense, lower intensity….just as long as I did 3 sessions. On Fridays we would report in on Courtney’s blog to help hold us accountable and to encourage each other along the way.

Well, since completing that challenge I am embarrassed to say I don’t think I have participated in one yoga session since. It’s terrible! I felt SO good during that challenge why on earth would I not continue it like I said I was going to? I just don’t know the answer to that.

Anyway, it just so happens that Courtney is hosting the challenge again this month and you better believe I’m joining in again. I find I follow through so much better when I am actually held accountable with these monthly challenges. (See September Push-up Challenge)

This time around I am lowering the bar just a little bit. Considering I have been trying to incorporate more running into my routine, and still want to have time for that, I will be setting a goal of one yoga session per week. If I find that this challenge is WAY too easy, I may increase the goal to two a week. We shall see.

The most difficult part of this challenge will be finding the “right” time and most enjoyable time for me to get my yoga on. I prefer the morning however I have a really hard time getting up earlier than I have to for work especially now that it’s chilly in the morning and dark. I may just have to though. If only I could remember the endorphin rush I get after a workout, when that alarm clock goes off in the morning. I’ll work on that.

You can get in on the fun too, check out the complete challenge at: Sweettoothsweetlife.com

****************

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies SCD

This cookie recipe was mentioned to you last week and I’m glad I’m finally getting around to sharing it with you. These peanut butter banana cookies are 100% SCD legal. They are subtly sweet and the perfect dessert or snack. SCD or not, you can still enjoy this cookie.

If I wasn’t following the SCD, I absolutely would have thrown some chocolate chips in the mix. Peanut butter, banana, annnnd chocolate chips? You had me at peanut butter. Soon my friends, soon. This time you’ll just have to settle for the glorious in itself pb and banana combo.

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies SCD

Recipe type: SCD Snack, Dessert

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Ingredients

1¼ cup almond flour
½ tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1 over-ripe banana
½ cup natural creamy peanut butter
1 egg white
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. honey

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In medium bowl, use hand mixer or stand mixer to combine banana, peanut butter, egg white, vanilla, and honey.
Add dry ingredients; stir to combine.
Use spoon to drop cookies onto non-stick baking mat or cookie pan coated with non-stick spray.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

***********

One last thing, today is the last day to enter into my LARABAR giveaway. Don’t miss out on a chance to win! You have until 9 pm Central Time to enter into the giveaway. The winner will be announced tomorrow, Thursday October 4th. Good luck!

Older Posts