NORTHERN CA
Rich, sweet buttery goodness on the inside, with a perfectly crunchy top. At first I added some butter to my warm muffin, but I soon found that it didn’t even need it. These are good to go – nothing needs to be added.
These Banana Muffins, I can confidently say, were a success.
Continue reading “Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins”
I know to some this hardly seems like the right time of year to be reading about strawberry mango frozen yogurt, but we’re in the tail end of a heat wave here in Southern California, so this suits me just fine right now. I just had to break out the ice cream maker and get to work.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1476150970995{padding-top: 15px !important;}”]I give you part 2 of photo-documenting some amazing Trim Healthy Mama foods that I enjoyed this week. If you missed part 1, you can find it here. As a reminder, these are photographs to provide a visual for the recipes in the Trim Healthy Mama book. For the actual recipes, you’ll need a copy of the book. It can be bought on Amazon here.
Oh my goodness. Crepes. I can’t recall anyone talking about these on the THM FB group. They are so good and super versatile. And there’s nothing “diety” tasting about these, so my family will not balk at eating them. In fact, the first time I tried them one of my kids was standing by gobbling them up before I could even finish cooking the whole batch.
I’m showing sweet crepes here. I filled the crepes with a little sweetened cream cheese with some lemon extract and sweetener (KAL) and then warmed some blueberries until they burst and poured them on top. Oh yes, berry good.
You can also make savory crepes. No sweetener in the mix for these, and fill them with your favorite sandwich fillings. They will definitely hit the spot.
Even though my crepe making skills are sorely lacking and I could never have been hired on as head crepe maker at the Magic Pan, it gets easier with a little practice. I’ve been making them in a cast iron skillet, but I’d LOVE a crepe pan now! Maybe one like this one…
Ok, let’s get serious. This is about a slab of chocolate. And this is good. Oh, so very good. Trim Healthy Mama has quite a few ways to satisfy your chocolate cravings, and so far, this is my favorite one. Just a note of caution: this is not a meal. Repeat that 3 times. This is not a meal. You need to know that, because you will want to eat a lot of it once you try it.
One more warning that comes with the chocolate nut slab: after you make it, check yourself in a mirror before going out in public, because you will likely have chocolate smeared on your face from licking the bowl clean. Don’t ask me how I know. Now go make some.
Follow my THM Pinterest board for more great recipies!
Winner winner chicken dinner. I have no idea where that saying comes from, but perhaps it was made up after someone ate Buffalo Chicken Wings. Do you like Buffalo wings? Good! Then you’ll like these, because that’s exactly what they are. And yes, they are “on plan”. Make ’em as mild or spicy as you like, and eat up. Sorry the picture is so dull. Perhaps a nice bowl of ranch dressing and some celery would have dressed it up more, but once my son smelled these cooking, there was no way he was going to wait around for me to photograph all that. It was a quick shoot and serve situation.
Have you ever wanted to hug someone you’ve never met? That’s how I feel about Pearl & Serene after trying these crackers. I don’t think they should be called “Just Like Wheat Thins”, because they’re not. They’re better. Especially if you’re eating wheat/gluten free. There’s no wheat or gluten at all in these, so I’d like to refer to them from now on as “Better than wheat thins because they taste great AND are wheat & gluten free crackers” (abbreviated BTWTBTTGAAWAGF crackers, to keep it simple) I don’t see a career as a “recipe namer” anywhere in my future.
Besides the name, there’s much to be said about these BTWTBTTGAAWAGF Crackers. My first thought upon making them successfully was, “I actually made crackers, and they’re crunchy and tasty!” I tend to have simple thoughts. So back up to the “successful” part. The first time I tried them, I didn’t roll them thin enough. After that time, I did, and they were perfecto. Yum. Make these. Eat these. Be happy.
I’ll be straight-up honest with you on this one. It scared me. Not the making part. It’s actually really easy. It was the eating part that worried me. Can I really eat food that just went through “that” process? Well, I did, and I’m just fine. And guess what it tasted like…? Sauerkraut!! Really good, non preservative filled, sauerkraut!
So of course this native New Yorker decided that it would be great on a hot dog with some mustard, but I didn’t have any nitrate free dogs thawed out. So I looked to my friend Google for more ideas, and you won’t believe what I found.
On a forum post somewhere, someone had suggested that eating sauerkraut on a cracker with peanut butter was tasty. And since I had some BTWTBTTGAAWAGF crackers ready to go, I tried it. Ya know what? It wasn’t all that bad! I still think it would be better on a hot dog with mustard, but I enjoyed my little bizarre concoction just fine.
If you have a special way you like to eat sauerkraut, by all means, leave a comment and let me know!
My Trim Healthy Week In Pictures is linked up!:
Trim Healthy Tuesdays[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Here are some visuals from my week eating Trim Healthy Mama foods – specifically those from the book. I love a good cookbook, especially when there are pictures. Unfortunately, THM does not have pictures, so I figured I’d shoot some as I make the foods from the book. The recipes aren’t included here, you’ll need the book for that. But the visuals and my thoughts on the recipes are here for your reading and pinning pleasure ;).
Page 292 in Trim Healthy Mama.
Wow. Amazingly delicious. I didn’t do a side-by side comparison with the name brand, but think this recipe may actually be better. Like, by a lot.
I made it with the chicken stock option, and sprinkled some Bragg Nutritional Yeast Seasoning, Premium, 4.5 Ounce
I would serve this to my family without hesitation. And along with it, maybe a chicken quesadilla on a low carb tortilla and a green salad.
It’s the new “grilled cheese & tomato soup” meal in our home.
This was really yummy. And incredibly filling. I added a little caramel flavoring to mine. Mmmm. So filling I could not finish up what’s in that glass in the picture. In Trim Healthy Mama, the authors mention that it is good when you make it, but even better after it’s been in the fridge. Absolutely TRUE! I made it in the evening and had some. Then the next day I had more. It’s almost like a different food after it’s had time to really set up and become a creamy pudding. Not sure how that happens, but IMO, it’s worth the wait.
These are truly a lifesaver. If you are not a breakfast person (I’m *SO* not a breakfast person) it’s fantastic to have these on hand so you can get something into your system in the a.m. with pretty much no effort whatsoever.
They’re also a great grab-and-go kind of food. You do need to keep them cool if the weather is warm, because that coconut oil in them will melt, but who doesn’t have a cooler and some ice when they really need it, right?
I’ve made these many times, and will continue to do so.
This salad is a fantastic light lunch. It’s a Fuel Pull meal, so it has a little more of a “diety” feel to it, but honestly, there are some times when that’s what I’m in the mood for. Definitely not all the time, but sometimes.
It’s also super fast and easy to throw together, and it won’t leave you feeling all bogged down.
If you read the recipe in Trim Healthy Mama, you’ll see that it calls for green salsa, and I used red. It’s what I had on hand when I felt like making it, and it’s super delicious either way. I actually prefer it with salmon, but this one was for my husband. And he enjoyed it, so that’s another THM recipe that got his “thumbs up”. He’s kind of picky…
I’ve made this probably more than any other recipe in the book (with salmon). Right now it’s definitely a favorite.
And like so many of the other recipes, it’s so easy to make. I mean, seriously easy.
If you’re not familiar with Trim Healthy Mama, here are some links to help you out:
The Trim Healthy Mama Website
Trim Healthy Book Review at Gwen’s Nest that does a fantastic job of explaining THM
My Trim Healthy Week In Pictures is linked up!:
Trim Healthy Tuesdays
What Trim Healthy Mama recipes did you make and love this week? Leave a comment and let me know![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_column_text]
(These are affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase on Amazon, I receive a small commission. But using my affiliate link will not affect the prices you pay on Amazon.)
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This coconut strawberry smoothie is so creamy and luscious, it’s addicting. I’ve had it twice today. So far.
I was inspired by these strawberries and cream popsicles on Coconut Mama’s Blog. They are amazing, and if you love strawberries, you should make them. Everyone in my family gave these two thumbs up.
Mine looked a little different than hers, but the ingredients are identical. I just mixed everything together to get it into the popsicle molds. I think hers look nicer, but I was in a rush to get it done!
I’m definitely beginning to see a trend in the recipes I share. They seem to involve my blender a lot. I’m very much in the honeymoon stage with my new Vitamix. I’m completely in love with it. And I love to tell the story about how we came together, because it was a totally unexpected blessing.
One day I was on Facebook and saw a link to a contest to win a Vitamix. I’ve wanted one for years. But the hefty price tag has just been more than I could justify. I had never taken one for a test drive, so it was pretty easy to control myself. Well, one of the ways to get an entry to this contest was to share it on my FB wall. That was easy enough! I just shared the link and commented that I would love to have one of these. Now, I enter quite a few contests, and I will say in the past I’ve had a pretty good results. When I was in college I won a huge TV from the gym I worked out at. It was so enormous we had a hard time getting it into the back seat of my 1980 Honda Accord to get it home. Then, not too long after that, I won a home stair stepping machine. I think that was from the grocery store I shopped at. And there have been other little things here and there. But as far as this online contest went, I knew my odds were pretty slim because I could see there were thousands of entries.
It turns out, none of that mattered. Someone I know, who has chosen to remain anonymous, must have seen that post on my Facebook wall, because about 2 or 3 days after I posted it, I ran a super quick errand. I was gone for maybe 15 minutes. When I got back home, this is what I saw on the table we have out in front of our house.
It was the exact Vitamix Blender I had posted on my Facebook wall. In fact, that is the actual picture I took when I found it there. I was thrilled then, and I’m still thrilled now. It was complete – blender, tamper, recipe book, all the paperwork that came with it, including the DVD in the recipe book. I was giddy.
Whoever gave this amazing gift to me has never ‘fessed up. I’m ok with that. I posted a heartfelt thank-you on my Facebook wall along with that picture. I hope I can do something like this for someone else down the road.
So this explains my current love of all things blended. And it’s been so handy this week, as my husband had all 4 of his wisdom teeth extracted. “You want food? I can turn pretty much anything into soup. Give me two minutes.”
So lets get back to the Creamy Coconut Strawberry Smoothie. It’s really good. Have I already said that? It’s not non-dairy, like the popsicles on Coconut Mama’s blog, but if you want to remove the cottage cheese and swap in your own non-dairy protein source, go for it. And comment below and let me know how you changed it up!
A few things to note about this recipe – I’ve shared the recipe exactly how I make this for myself. It’s got a very mellow, creamy, lightly strawberry flavor, with the texture of a creamy milkshake. I’m following the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating, so I wanted to keep this as a Satisfying (a.k.a. “S”) smoothie. If I were to make this for my kids or husband, I’d probably double the amount of strawberries, which would take it out of the “S” category. I’d also use honey to sweeten it for my kids, as they aren’t needing to watch their weight.
Ingredients
Instructions
Here are some affiliate links to products used in this recipe.
Creamy Coconut Strawberry Smoothie is linked up!
Trim Healthy Tuesdays!
Wellness Wednesdays
Gluten Free Fridays
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Every Spring we are inundated with oranges, so we squeeze a lot of fresh O.J. for the kids, and I often find myself enjoying a delicious orange creamsicle smoothie. If I don’t use them up, the kids will use them to practice their juggling, and I’ll have orange juice all over the house.
We have an orange tree in our back yard, plus we have friends with trees who love to share. The difference is, our tree is really a bush.
You see, when we first purchased our little orange tree, we lovingly planted it in our backyard. Soon after we planted it, we adopted an adorable little Lab-mix puppy from the shelter. Well, that sweet puppy chewed on everything, as puppies do. And everything included our brand new orange tree. She turned our promising little tree into a sad stump. Literally. She chewed it down until it was nothing but about 10 inches of trunk sticking out of the ground.
Why we left it planted in the ground is beyond me. It surely seemed hopeless, but then something wonderful started to happen. Little buds started forming, and soon we were watching our tree come back from what we thought was certain death. Now, a few years later, we have a little miniature orange tree that produces deliciously sweet oranges for us every year! You may not be able to tell from this picture, but our little orange bush is only about 4 feet tall.
I really want a lemon tree and a lime tree. I’m hoping if I bring those home, she’ll leave them alone.
Follow my THM Pinterest board for more great recipies!
But let’s get back to the orange creamsicle smoothie. It’s really good, and I believe one of the reasons I like it so much is because of the orange zest. It gives it a little “zip”. After it’s blended, there are still tiny pieces of orange zest in the smoothie, which I love.
If you don't like cottage cheese in your smoothies, you can swap out the cottage cheese and add in a scoop of vanilla protein powder.
Ingredients
Instructions
Here are some links to help you out. My favorite stevia, and glucomannan. (These are affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I get a small percentage of the sale.)
Morning Sunshine Orange Creamsicle Smoothie has been shared on:
Monday Meal Plan & Recipe Share
Trim Healthy Tuesday at Stacy Makes Cents & Gwen’s Nest
Wellness Wednesdays at Nourishing Treasures
Allergy Free Wednesdays at Whole New Mom
A Peek into My Paradise Not So Wordless Wednesday[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
I have never had any complaints when I make Mini Bison Bacon Cheeseburger for my family. Nope. Not a one. In fact, they almost get giddy when they see them coming. 
I first bought bison as an experiment. Here in Southern California, we are surrounded by popular theme parks, tourist attractions, massive amounts of houses, apartments and businesses with freeways connecting it all together. Buffalo are one of the farthest things from my mind. BUT, when I saw the meat in the store, I knew my family would be game to try it.
I had to do a little research to figure out just what to do. What I found was to treat it like ground beef. Making burgers was the obvious choice. And when I say obvious, I mean the food that would seem the most “normal” to my family.
Into my ground bison, I add the following: Chopped onions, chopped garlic (I use one clove, but I’m a garlic whimp. Use more if you like it), a dash of Worcestershire sauce and some salt and pepper. Mush it all together.
I then divide the meat mixture into 8 mini burgers. I do this by making a ball of meat in the bowl, and breaking that in half. Then I break that in half, and then break those halves in half to form the mini burgers. One pound of bison makes us exactly 8 mini burgers – that’s two per person in our home. And they must all be the same size or someone will surely notice. Once they’re all formed into perfectly sized patties, I take them out and grill ’em up.
Top them off with some cheese and bacon, and add the condiments that you like. I added a little mayo and ketchup. I chose to have mine open faced on a mug-bread. If you want that recipe, it’s linked in another post here. Add a side salad and you’ve got a complete meal!
And here’s the nutritional label from the package.
Bison is a permanent fixture in our home.
Mini Bison Bacon Cheeseburgers are linked up at:
Trim Healthy Tuesdays at Stacy Makes Cents and Gwen’s Nest.
Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free
Wellness Wednesdays at Intoxicated on Life, Raising the Barrs, Back to the Source & Nourishing Treasures.
Monday Meal Plan & Recipe Share
Here’s the low-down on how to make enough for two servings:
In your blender, pour 1 cup of unsweetened, plain almond milk. Add in 4 tbsp. of heavy cream and 1/3 cup of 1% cottage cheese. Blend it all up until the cottage cheese lumps are completely gone.
Next, add 1/3 cup of unsweetened, frozen blueberries. Blend well, and add sweetener to taste. I used Kal Pure Stevia Extract Powder.
Finally, with the blender still running, slowly add in 1/4 tsp. of glucomannan powder. Blend thoroughly. If you’re not familiar with it, I describe it in my post “Strawberry Lemonade Slushy.” Head over there and read up on it.
You’re done! Now pour it into two glasses, find someone to share with, and enjoy.
