Ready to Run…

The wind finally died down and the mornings haven’t been so frigid, so I rolled myself out of bed to go on a much needed run!  Came home to grab my princess Makenna and went on a short jog-about with her.  It was such a sweet time, just her and I in the early morning sunshine!  And then it was home to drink  me up a little more sunshine…

 Something about this “green juice” that just brightens my day a little bit more!  And the fun part is, the more I experiment with different fruits and veggies, the more it becomes a mystery as to how it’s going to taste.  Sometimes you just have to walk on the wild side a bit!

 

Speaking of experiments, I’ve been playing around with some different recipes as we near Thanksgiving.  I started with breakfast because who says you have to wait until dinner to enjoy the yummy goodness that this holiday brings? 

 Sweet apples and cinnamon, what’s not to love?

Cinnamon Apple Coffee Cake (Grain Free)

(inspired by Against All Grain)

Yields 1 8-inch round cake

Ingredients:

1 cup blanched almond flour

1 1/2 cups almond meal

pinch of sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup raw honey, melted

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

3 large eggs, room temperature (cold eggs will harden the coconut oil!)

2 organic Fuji apples (peeled, cored and roughly chopped)

1 Tbsp lemon juice

For the Cinnamon Swirl

1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly oil all sides of an 8-inch round cake pan with coconut oil.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, toss together the apples and lemon juice.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, cardamom and salt.  In another small bowl, combine the coconut oil, eggs, honey, maple syrup and vanilla.  Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry.

Fold in the apple mixture and then spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan.  Spread into an even layer (it will be thick).

Mix the “Cinnamon Swirl” ingredients in a small bowl, then drizzle on top of batter.  Use a toothpick or knife to swirl the mixture into the batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack, then use a knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan.  Invert the cake onto the rack and continue to cool.  Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.

Tastes just like a cinnamon roll on Christmas morning!

I think the hubs could eat these sweet treats on any holiday, or any meal for that matter!  But I need him to keep fueling up with the “healthy” stuff and lay off the sweet tooth as we get ready for our first “Mud Run” this weekend.  It’s been way too long since I’ve done a race.  Although I run throughout the week, it’s just not the same rush, and I am so looking forward to this 5K obstacle run!  I’m praying that these past few months of Cross Fit will come in handy for climbing up the ropes and scaling the walls!  If nothing else, it will be a fun day getting dirty with the hubs and some great friends!

(source)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Blessings,

J’lene

What We’ve Been Up To….

So far, we’re enjoying the fun that this Autumn Season brings us!

 Fall leaves…we learned why the leaves change color this time of year!

  And created some of our own (since we don’t see too many colors around our parts!)

 

Apple Picking…our yearly tradition!

 

 The apples were a wee bit small this year and they ran out of bags!  Note to self: schedule apple picking at the beginning of the season and bring extra bags!

 Small or not, we got us some apples and we all went home happy!

 Sort of…

 

 Apple cider mustache!!  A drink of fresh apple cider brought the smile back!

And some good apple eats…

Paleo Apple Squash Muffins from Fresh 4 Five

(I replaced the butternut squash with acorn squash puree)

Apple Butter

Sweet cinnamon creamy goodness!!!

Pumpkin Hunting

 This is what I found… two lovely princesses and a handsome prince!

 I ended up being too busy pulling the wagon and helping find “just the right” pumpkins without any tears, that I missed out on taking any pictures!  There’s always next year, right?

But at least there were some good pumpkin eats…

Spiced Pumpkin Almond Muffins from Paleo Plan

 Super moist with a lot of spice….SOOO GOOD!  This was my first year buying some sugar pumpkins to bake and oh, what a treat!  It’s hard to go back to the can after having had something so fresh.

Pumpkin Raisin Mini Muffins adapted from Carrots ‘N’ Cake

I made these into mini muffins for an easy snack option and also subbed out the walnuts for raisins and pumpkin seeds.  They’ve been quite a hit with the princesses and I love the fact that I can just pop these little guys out of the freezer for a healthy grab-and-go treat!

And while the fam has been feasting on these delicious goodies throughout the week, I’ve been having a little “feast” of my own…a JUICE feast that is!

Over the past couple of months my stomach aches have been more frequent and have gotten increasingly worse, so I did a little research on the benefits of juicing and decided to dust off my trusty juicer and have at it!  First up was a trip to the local farmer’s market to stock up on fresh organic produce…there were beets, kale, spinach, parsley, mint, pears, cucumbers, carrots, lemons and limes, just to name a few.

And out of that, these delicious drinks were born…

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Okay, SOME could definitely be called delicious, but a handful of others were, well, just not that appetizing. 

If you’d like to have some more info on juicing check out these sites:

The Alkaline Sisters

PH Miracle Living

Raw Family

Although my body definitely felt the nourishment from juicing, I unfortunately did not achieve the healing I was hoping and praying for.  I get that it is a process, as it is with most changes we make in our lives, so I will continue on in my juicing journey and I trust that the Lord will heal me in time.  Until then, I will be anxious to meet with a new doctor in a couple of weeks. 

Nourishing Thought for Today:

in Luke 9:23 Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

“Taking up your cross” is a moment by moment process of yielding to Him.  When we walk daily with the Lord and surrender our life to Him we can expect to encounter some pain, suffering and difficult times!  I can definitely attest to that this week!

Are you willing to make that sacrifice?

(source)

Blessings,

J’lene

Getting through the day…

Ahhh!  It’s been over a month (actually going on two) since I have visited this little part of my world, so let the cobweb dusting begin!  As I sit here, I’m thinking, “where do I start…what recipes do I share (I know you want them all!)…what profound things should I say?”  And nothing comes to mind!  It kind of feels like I’m starting over, so it goes….
This morning I rolled out of bed, after spending some time praising and thanking the Lord for what He has done and continues to do in my life, and then proceeded to roll out the door to try and accomplish a decent morning run.  The crisp, wet morning air accompanied with the sweet beat of worship music got my legs movin’ and I just sort of got lost in my run.  Oh how I wish that would happen every minute of my day….to get lost in the praise and worship of my Lord and all distractions around me would just fade away!  That is my heart’s desire, but the honest truth is that I struggle with letting the “battles” of my day get in the way of my worship and it is a moment by moment fight to win.  It is only by the grace of God and a conscious choice to change my perspective of thinking according to His will that I will have victory!
It reminds me of Saturday’s WOD at Cross Fit, “Fight Gone Bad.”  It sure felt like a fight gone bad (but what cross fit workout doesn’t?), but I ended up using a moment of weakness to find strength and achieve great victory (I finished!!)!  In short, it went bad the first 2 minutes into the workout when I failed to clear the first box jump.
  But the clock was still ticking and I had to make the choice to finish what I started even if all I could give was 80 percent.  I let the encouraging words of my coach (thanks Paula!) distract me from the pain (and blood), just like I want God’s voice to carry me through my every day, through my darkest hours and my deepest hurts. 

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” Psalm 68:19

When I’m walking one hand with God and I’ve got a little something sweet in the other, getting through a difficult day seems like a breeze!  And if that something sweet involves pumpkin, well then it makes it even that much better!

Paleo Pumpkin Crunch Granola
(inspired by ontapfortoday.com)
Ingredients:
2 cups raw almonds (chopped)
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup raw walnuts (chopped)
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 flax meal
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp pumpkin spice
1/4 cup organic coconut oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Using a food processor, chop almonds and walnuts to desired size.
Combine all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Add coconut oil, honey, pumpkin and vanilla and stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
Spread the mixture onto your prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and stir carefully.  Return pan to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the mixture begins to brown.  Let cool completely before eating.
Store in an airtight container and enjoy!!!

I’ve been loving this mixed into my new favorite yogurt….for breakfast with some almond milk….and by the spoonfuls straight from the jar!(source) 

And today my princess Cailyn and I used it as a topping for a sweet apple-blueberry crisp…oh so yummy!!

 The combination of tender fresh-picked apples and sweet blueberries was absolutely perfect for this cool day!

How do you add a little “sweet” to your day?  Sometimes I can only see the the “sweetness” of my day when I move out of the way, so I pray… “Lord, empty me of ME so I can be filled with YOU!” 
It doesn’t get much “sweeter” than that!
Blessings,
J’lene

This post is also shared on Simply Sugar and Gluten Free!

More “Grain Free” Goodies!

Eight more days until vacation….not that I’m counting or anything!  Two more days until I get a haircut….not that I want to have a “new do” to sport at the happiest place on earth or anything!  Toiletries are all bagged in “airline regulation” bags….not that I’m starting to pack or anything! 

But, we have eight more days and I have to get my princesses successfully through this week of school so we can actually enjoy our vacation!  They are workin’ like champs and believe it or not they’ve asked to take reading books with them to keep up on their weekly reading assignments….thank you Lord for eager readers!  All this hard work deserves a little something sweet….

Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

(inspired by Detoxinista)

Yields 1 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup blanched almond flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 Tbsp coconut oil, softened

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 organic egg

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flours, baking soda and salt.  Mix well. 

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup and egg until well combined.

Add the wet mixture to the dry and mix just until combined.  Gently fold in the chocolate chips.

Using a tablespoon, drop the batter onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden around the edges.

Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Enjoy!

  It’s a toss up, I just might have to say these may be my new “favorite” chocolate chip cookies!  I love the slightly nutty flavor of the almond flour and the texture of these cookies won me over too! 

  These will surely please any of your pickiest eaters…they taste anything but healthy!!

Zucchini Almond Mini Bundt Cakes

(inspired by Against All Grain)

Yields 5 mini cakes (or 2 small bread loaves)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour

1 Tbsp coconut flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 organic eggs, beaten

1/4 cup raw honey

2 ripe bananas

1 cup shredded zucchini

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 5 mini bundt cake pans (or 2 small loaf pans) with cooking spray and set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, place all the wet ingredients and beat on medium for 1-2 minutes until fully combined.  Add the shredded zucchini and beat again just enough to incorporate.

Slowly add the dry ingredients with the mixer running, until all the dry ingredients are fully combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the middle is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

These little gems make for a filling breakfast, snack or after dinner treat!  Top it with your favorite nut or seed butter and call it dessert!

A dense little cake with a slightly nutty flavor from the almond flour and a little hint of sweet from the honey….PERFECTION!!

Now wouldn’t it just be “perfect” if I could get a good night’s sleep and not worry about how I can fit all my shoes in the suitcase!!  Night all!

 

Blessings,

J’lene

Pickles and Paleo Experiments…

Can you say “heat wave!”  My oh my has it been hot!  And I know you really wanted to see a picture of my sweaty back to prove it! 

 Last week I did some long runs and the hubs got a kick out of how “wet” I was when I returned home.  I typically don’t sweat much and am quite fond of the warm weather, but 104 degrees is a little over the top warm!  Glad to see a little cooling in the forecast this week.

With all this heat going on we’ve taken a little break from working on the yard, however we did purchase some mini palms to plant hopefully in the near future!  We’ve been told that these guys are slow growing and pretty hardy, which I’m praying to be true because neither the hubs or I have a green thumb.  I think God has blessed me richly with friends who have an abundance of produce growing in their gardens this summer because He knows I can’t grow a thing myself!  In fact, last week I was blessed with a load of fresh cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, a cantaloupe and watermelon!  I was so excited to have all this wonderful and fresh picked produce, but wasn’t quite sure how I was going to put all those cucumbers to use….salads, cucumber water, as a snack with hummus??  And then the light bulb came on….PICKLES!! 

It made for a fabulous swap…homegrown cucumbers for good old-fashioned dill pickles!

The brine for these cucumbers was spot on for flavor and I love the little punch of garlic.

I was honestly afraid that I would have a bunch of soggy pickles on my hand….have no fear my friends, these are crisp and crunchy and perfect on your favorite sandwich (or straight from the jar is fine by me!).  I think the only thing I would do differently next time is to maybe slice the cucumbers a bit thicker for that extra “crunch” factor!

Garlic Dill Pickles

(inspired by Tasty Yummies)

Yields 2 large Mason Jars

Ingredients:

2 pounds cucumbers

2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar
3 tablespoons sea salt

3 Tbsp organic cane sugar
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
a couple of sprigs of fresh dill (or a couple of teaspoons of dried dill)
Optional spicy add-ins: 1 or 2 spicy dried peppers, red pepper flakes or you can add some sliced jalapeños in with the cucumbers.

Directions:

Clean the cucumbers very well and slice them as thin as you would like them, I would say I cut mine to about 1/4″ thick rounds. You could also cut them into spears or leave them whole depending on their size. Place them in a large glass preserving jar or two smaller jars.

In a medium saucepan, bring the remaining ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.

Remove from heat and pour the brine over the cucumbers. Place the lid on the jar and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate. You can start enjoying them the next day, but obviously they are better after a couple of days. They’ll keep for about 2 months in the fridge.

 So we’ve got yummy pickles coming out of our ears, which means we’ll be having sandwiches and wraps for lunch for the next month!  And unfortunately I can’t seem to think of many more ways to incorporated pickles…pickles in muffins or cookies just won’t cut it!  But zucchini, now that’s another story!  You won’t find anyone complaining over zucchini muffins, cookies or bread around here. 

This time around I thought it would be fun to experiment a little more with almond flour/meal.  I’ve used almond meal in my baking before and really love the texture and flavor that it offers to baked goods.  However, I have never used it solely on it’s own…until now!  I was beginning to fear the muffins may turn out to be too dense, but the combination of the almond meal and the blanched almond flour seemed to work just right.

Zucchini Almond Mini Muffins (Paleo style)

Yields 24 mini muffins

Ingredients:

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup blanched almond flour

1/2 cup almond butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup grated zucchini (squeeze out extra liquid)

2 organic eggs

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp raw honey

1 ripe banana, mashed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a mini muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.

Divide the batter among the cups, filling almost to the top.

Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack.

**These muffins freeze well and make for a great snack for the kiddos!

The added banana provides a hint of sweetness making these little muffins perfect for any time of the day!  In fact, these were our go to snack for the first day of school today.

 We made it through the day with only a few tears from my princess Cailyn (it’s going to be a challenge getting her into the routine of things, but we’ll get there!).  We all enjoyed working in our new classroom space, complete with an “interactive” calendar (because mom finally got her act together and got it done!) for both of the princesses to work together.

Most days I can equate homeschooling with the idea of embarking on an adventure and I need to be well equipped!  The only way I feel “equipped” for this journey is if I’m walking in step with the Lord, so my day begins with Him.  I couldn’t be more thankful to the Lord for giving me the opportunity and blessing to be at home with our princesses.  More so, I am forever grateful that I can turn to the Lord for help and guidance moment by moment, step by step, throughout my day.  It is this that helps me to see victories in the little things, have joy as well as the peace and comfort I need during the days that are trying.  Homeschooling is a journey and sometimes a dangerous adventure, but I know the Lord is there to lend a hand when I fall and get me back on my feet to press on.  

Blessings,

J’lene