If you're like me, just reading that title made your mouth water. And, again, if you're like me, you LOVE everything salt and vinegar. These potatoes are no different.

So easy + so delicious = major win. This recipe is from my favorite food blogger Alex fro the Defined Dish. Check her out, give her love. I changed a few things, so here's my version!

Ps. Remember, pin this recipe!

I promise I won't waste your time with some long winded story about how much Adam and love spin/art dip and how we eat it at every restaurant. Because honestly, you're here for the recipe, and who has time for my stories.

Before you get there, I must tell you. This recipe seems very simple, but it's so damn good.

Now, I'll take ya right to the goods.  Ps. Make sure to pin this recipe for later!

One thing I'm learning about recipe posts is that none of you want to read a long story before getting to the recipe. I get it. You don't want to hear about my weekend or my problems. You just want the goods.

Well, here ya go, the best chocolate muffins in the world. They are paleo, chocolatey and so delish. Tell your friends.


Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted (or any kind of oil)
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (or carob chips!) 

How to Make: 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Line a muffin tin with papers. 
3. Beat the 3 ripe bananas with a mixer until well blended and no chunks. 
4. Add the coconut oil, maple syrup, honey, egg and vanilla, mix on medium. 
5. Add the almond meal, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and mix on low. 
6. Stir in the chocolate chips. 
7. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins. 
8. For extra, sprinkle chocolate chips on top! 
9. Bake for 18 minutes (or high-altitude baking for 23 minutes!) 
10. Enjoy! 

How was your labor day everyone? Is it just me or does labor day kind of bum you out? It's like the official closing of summer! Granted its going to be hot here for another month or so, labor day always acts as the bookend of a great summer. 

This summer was on for the record books. We celebrated baby girl, twice. I celebrated one of my best gf's baby. We traveled to Omaha, Arizona, Steamboat Springs, Vail, and Breckenridge. We had visitors, date nights and we set up the nursery. We binged watched Ozarks and Yellowstone and spent time together just us two.

Ingredients:

• 4 bananas, mashed
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 4 tablespoons oil (coconut, vegetable, ghee)
• 1/2 cup almond flour (regular flour)
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of sea salt

How to Make:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine bananas, eggs, nut butter and oil. 
3. Once mixed, add in almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and sea salt. Mix. 
4. Grease a loaf pan and pour your mixture in. 
5. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let cool, eat! 

As readers of this blog know, it’s primarily about life, love, and the Paleo diet. You’ve probably heard about this diet over the last few years because it has become a popular eating option for many. Not for vegetarians or vegans, the Paleo diet takes its cues from ancient times, when men killed their meals with clubs and drug their wives by their hair. Here is some basic info about this diet.


Basic Premise // The basic premise behind the Paleo diet is to mirror the diet our hunter-gatherer ancestors, the Paleolithic humans, had centuries ago. Rather than eat processed foods from the grocery store, cave humans gathered their foods in the wild. As such, that food was primarily meat and fish, as well as plant sources of nutrition that were not touched by anything other than nature. The reason why people believe it’s healthy to eat this way is simple. Our ancestors didn’t suffer from illness or obesity.

Many believe you can lose a tremendous amount of weight on the Paleo diet, and in some respects, it is also similar to the Atkins diet. The primary source of energy is protein, and you avoid carbohydrates and sugars like the plague. For those who keep up with diet and health news, you’ve likely heard of Author Nina Teicholz. Although she does not call out the Paleo diet specifically, Nina Teicholz does believe that meat and dairy have received a bad rap over the years and they should still be part of a healthy diet.

What You Can’t Eat // The Paleo diet is restrictive, but this isn’t a bad thing when you look at the list of foods to avoid. Those on the Paleo diet refuse foods and drinks that contain high fructose corn syrup and/or sugar in them. This includes candy, fruit juice, ice cream, pastries, sodas, and table sugar among other items. You should also avoid grains on the Paleo diet, even whole grains, and don’t even think about eating beans, lentils, or other legumes. You can have low-fat dairy items, but you should never have full-fat dairy.

Paleo dieters also avoid bad fats. No corn, cottonseed, grape seed, safflower, soybean, or sunflower oils. No hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats, including margarine and microwave popcorn among other processed foods. In fact, highly processed foods, especially those with the words “Diet” or “Low Fat” on the labels are a major no-no, as is artificial sweeteners, so it’s time to give up that diet soda habit. The bottom line is if the food is processed in a factory you shouldn’t eat it. Period.

What You Can Eat // So, what can you eat on the Paleo diet? A ton of yummy stuff, so don’t get discouraged just yet. If you are a meat eater, this diet is for you. As long as the meat is not processed, you can eat it, including beef, chicken, lamb, pork, and turkey. The Paleo diet also calls for a ton of healthy seafood, including wild-caught haddock, salmon, shellfish, shrimp, and trout among other options. You can enjoy eggs for breakfast, as these are a part of a healthy Paleo diet routine, just choose free-range ones.

Speaking of breakfast, you can enjoy an omelet and hash browns. Tuber vegetables, those are potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, and yams are allowed on the Paleo diet, as are veggies such as broccoli, carrots, kale, onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Fresh fruits are encouraged, including apples, avocados, bananas, berries, oranges, and pears, and make sure you enjoy plenty of nuts and seeds. You can cook everything in healthy oils, such as EVOO, and you can season with natural spices.

That’s it! Now you know what cannot and can eat on the Paleo diet. Good luck on your health and weight-loss goals.

Happy Monday friends! After a long weekend in Vail, getting back to Denver and meal prepping was the LAST thing I wanted to do. PS. Thanks for all the birthday wishes! Life officially in my 30's has officially kicked off. 

After a long weekend, thank the Lord, I have Chef'd in my corner. We all know the basics about meal prep - pay for a subscription, get a meal, make the meal, semi-enjoy the meal. Oh, and don't even get me started on cost, usually they are so expensive.

Bring in Chef'd. Chef’d was designed as a meal kit company like no other, where the choice is truly in the hands of the consumer. With no subscriptions, the ability to reorder your favorites, and thousands of options to choose from, Chef’d is changing the meal kit landscape one delicious meal at a time.

The perks of Chef'd: There are lots of them.

• So many choices - paleo, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, all the meat, pasta. Whatever you want.  
• No subscriptions - this is my favorite part. You can order a meal. You don't have to spend your lifesavings on meals you may or may not like. 
• Delicious food - This is always hit or miss for me when it comes to meal subscription boxes. But not with Chef'd. I was honestly so surprised at how amazing the food was! It was so dang delicious. 

Knowing we were coming home Sunday night, I wanted an easy dinner and an even easier breakfast before jumping back into a post-birthday weekend work day.  I ordered over night oats, smoothie bowls and chicken tinga tostadas. I was so happy with all my choices. 

My favorite part - all the produce is super fresh. It comes delivered in a huge box, straight to your front door with all the ingredients freezer packed. The thing I like about this kit, the insides are recyclable and the freezer packs I can reuse. So nothing goes to waste. 


The best news: you can get 20% off your order with the code KRISTEN20. Head to Chef'd and get your order placed today. You'll thank me when you're not grocery shopping this weekend. 

I tried to be adventurous when making these cookies. I'm getting okayyy at creating my own recipes, but sometimes I fail, hard. These cookies are delish, but the frosting I made was so bad. Guys, it was so bad I could barely even eat it. Even Adam being so sweet couldn't keep in how bad the frosting was. I'm not even going to share it. If you want frosting for these bad boys, I suggest the frosting from my paleo chocolate cake. You can find that recipe here. 

The cookies are so good and so flavorful you hardly need frosting. 



Ingredients: 

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup cooking oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup shredded carrots, squeezed of excess water

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with a silpat.
2. Combine the almond meal, coconut, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. Whisk together the egg, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla in a small bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just incorporated. Fold in the carrots until combined.
5. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the batter onto the baking sheet into a cookie/disc shape.
6. Bake for 14 minutes, remove and let cool 1 minute (cookies will be soft upon removing from oven but will firm up as they cool) on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.
7. Store cookies in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Enjoy, friends! Happy Tuesday, here's to a great week!

1. Begin with frosting: Add the coconut cream, chocolate chips and a pinch of salt to a small pot over low heat. Whisk until melted. Transfer to a bowl, cover with wrap and place in fridge for at least 6 hours. I let it sit overnight. 
2. Cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degress. Line the bottom of three 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and spray the parchment with nonstick. This is imperative.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the melted and cooled coconut oil, coconut sugar, eggs, vanilla and apple cider vinegar until smooth. Add almond milk and beat once more until mixture is well incorporated.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the almond flour, cocoa powder, coconut flour, baking soda and salt together. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Mixture will be on the thicker side.
5. Divide batter evenly between pans and spread out with a spatula to smooth the tops. Bake for 20-30 minutes until a tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached; rotating the pans halfway through baking. 
6. Let cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes then transfer to the fridge to finish cooling completely. Allow cake to cool in the fridge for at least an hour before removing from the pan and frosting. The cake should be room temperature when you frost it.
7. Finish making your frosting: Scoop the hardened chocolate coconut cream frosting mixture into a large bowl. Use a hand mixer or a KitchenAid mixer to beat frosting until peaks form and it looks nice, fluffy and creamy. Use immediately! See Tip 1! 
8. Layer cake, using about 1/3 -½ cup frosting between each layer, then frost the top and sides with remaining frosting. Serves 12-16! Cake can be stored at room temp for a day or two, then should be transferred to the fridge.

Happy Thursday friends!

If you grew up in Arizona or California you have an incredible love for In-N-Out Burgers. They're the best burgers in the entire world. Don't come at me with Shake Shack or Smashburger or McDonalds, you won't win this argument.


When I was a kid, In-N-Out was only in California. I have incredible memories of driving to visit my aunt and uncle and stopping at In-N-Out on the way. We always got the hats, burgers and so many shakes.

In high-school, we LIVED in In-N-Out. After any football game, basketball game we would gather at In-N-Out and hang out until they kicked us out. Then we'd hang out in the parking lot until our curfews were close. For our 10-year high-school reunion, my BFF's and I left the bar early to go to In-N-Out to hang out.

Now, whenever I go home, regardless of what diet I'm on, we always stop at In-N-Out. I'm not even semi-ashamed that it's a part of my life. I love it.

The problem of living in Colorado? No In-N-Out. Yes, it's coming this year, but it's not here yet. It's all I crave. I found this recipe online for their special sauce and after a few tricks, I've mastered it. And, I've managed to make it paleo. I'd call this a win in my house!

I formally apologize to my husband for the amount of homemade In-N-Outs he's going to be forced to eat.

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (click here for paleo mayo!) 
• 2 tablespoons ketchup (click here for paleo ketchup!)
• 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (use coconut sugar for paleo!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

How to make: 

1. Combine all ingredients. 
2. Let chill for at least an hour before using! 

What's your favorite burger place? Tell me, have you tried to re-create any fast food recipes? Share them with me in the comments!

I know what you're thinking, cucumber salad? Really, Kristen. But I swear, this salad is so darn good. My current obsession is anything tangy, sour, tart flavor. Hence, the apple cider vinegar love. Add it to veggies and we can call this obsession healthy.

The last few times I've made this, it's gone within two days. You may ask how do you serve this salad? For me, it's one of those eat right out of the container while standing in the fridge, salads. Or, stand at the sink with the container next to you, salad.



For Adam, it's a turkey burger side or chicken side, salad. The best part about this salad, it's so dang easy to make and everyone will love it. With spring approaching quickly, it's the perfect BBQ side. Make it once and I swear you'll be a sink side eater like I am.

Ps. talking about spring, tomorrow on the blog, I'm sharing all the spring clothes I am LOVING currently from Nords. There is so much good stuff, you don't want to miss it. Plus, the infamous denim popeye jacket and some new stuff from Target. It's finally spring and it's time to get in the mood!


Ingredients: 

• 6 cucumbers, sliced thin
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped 
• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

How to Make: 

1. Slice the cucumber and green onion. 
2. In a large bowl, mix the cucumber and green onion together.
3. In a small bowl, mix vinegar, honey, garlic, dill, salt and pepper. 
4. Pour vinegar mixture over cucumbers, toss to coat. 
5. Taste and if needed, ad salt or more vinegar 

Happy Wednesday friends!

• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 5 12 cups peeled, chopped apples

• 3/4 cups almond flour
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• small pinch (very small!) salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the maple syrup, lemon juice, nutmeg and salt together in a large bowl. 
3. Peel and cut the apples. Place the apples in the maple syrup mixture and stir well until apples are coated. Place the apple mixture in an 8x8 glass pan.
4. In a medium mixing bowl combine the almond flour, coconut flour and cinnamon. Add coconut oil, maple syrup and salt. 
5. Pulse the walnuts in a food processor until they are in small pieces. Stir the nuts into the topping mixture.
6. Drop the topping over the apples. 
7. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the topping is brown and crisp and bubbling. If the nuts start to burn, cover with foil.
8. Let cool, scoop out some NadaMoo vanilla ice cream and enjoy! 

Happy Thursday friends! We're only one day away from the weekend! 

Happy Monday friends! How was your weekend? What did you do? Who did you see?

We had a girlfriends Christmas party on Saturday night. It was a Christmas murder mystery party. I've never done a murder mystery party and honestly I was a bit skeptical, but we had a blast. I was Candy Cane, the ultimate lover of Christmas and Adam was Puddy the Polar Bear. Everyone at the party got into the mood and we had so much fun.

Our Sunday was super low-key with the basic Sunday activities: grocery shop, make dinner, pose for Instagram, ya know, the usual. I was in an unusual baking mood, so I took advantage and made paleo apple crisp and non-paleo gingerbread cookies. Don't worry, I'll have that recipe on the blog this week.

Anyway, moving on. Is there anything better than homemade banana bread? Maybe banana bread with chocolate chips, but honestly, there really is nothing better. Got of bunch of uneaten bananas on your counter? If your family is like mine, Adam refuses to eat bananas once they are brown. So it's either into the garbage they go, or into some delicious bread.


My mother has an amazing banana bread recipe but unfortunately, it has boatloads of non-paleo items in it. I was looking for something delicious and paleo. It took a little mixing and matching, but I think I found the perfect recipe.

The best part about banana bread? The smell. Oh, you will thank me in about an hour when the smell of banana bread of wafting through your house. Trust me on this.

Ingredients:
4 bananas, mashed
4 eggs
1/2 cup almond butter
4 tablespoons oil (coconut, veggie, ghee)
1/2 cup almond flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of sea salt

How to Make:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine bananas, eggs, nut butter and oil. 
3. Once mixed, add in almond flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and sea salt. Mix. 
4. Grease a loaf pan and pour your mixture in. 
5. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
6. Let cool, eat! 

Happy Monday friends! I hope this is your best week yet! Less than two week until Christmas!

Happy Friday and happy cooking! Cheers to the best weekend!

Happy Friday! Happy December! The last two weeks have been full of transitions. Monday, I started working from home instead of working at an office for the first time in my entire life. My day has changed drastically. I no longer have an hour commute, instead I have a 2 second walk to the office. Most of my meetings are on google hangouts and ichat instead of in person.

In total honesty, I was a little nervous for this transition just because I didn't know what to expect. But here I am at the end of my first at home work week and I am loving life. I love the flexibility, I love getting coffee from my coffee maker at 10am, I love seeing my dogs during the day. Plus, I am loving my job. It's a learning curb, but I am loving every second of it. It helps that all my co-workers are just as passionate about their jobs as I am. They're kind, encouraging and here to support. I'm living my best life peeps. Like I said in my Dear Baby blog, we are moving forward everyone, I hope you join me.


Today, I'm super excited to share this new pan brand, Made in Cookware. I'm always looking for easier, quicker and healthier ways to cook meals for my family. When I registered for our wedding, I registered like we had 5 kids. My normal frying pans could feel 12 children. I needed a small 10' pan and in comes Made in Cookware. The perfect 10' non-stick frying pan. I swear, I've used this pan at least 5 times since I received it.

PS. I was paid to chat about Made in Cookware, but all opinions and thoughts are my own! 

Made in Cookware has a super basic goal - a premium cookware brand that creates better tools for modern cooking because they believe great cooking experiences are for everyone.  Through high-quality craftsmanship at affordable price points, Made In seeks to create inspiring tools for the modern cook, without breaking the bank.  

These pans and any of their pans would be the perfect gift ever. They're affordable, pretty and easyyyy to use! The even sell their amazing stainless steal cleaner that will safely clean your products and make them look brand spanking new.

Healthy eating is super important to our family, so are the products we use to cook them in. Made In Cookwares materials are recycled and the excess metal is either melted and reused, or condensed into a powder and then molded into automotive parts. Also, their cookware does not contain the typical, and potentially harmful, non-stick chemicals that can be found in other cookware products. 

Healthy eating in both the food and the cookware is so important. Luckily, the clean cookware doesn't compromise on how awesome this pan is. Trust me, I have bought other brands claiming to be non-stick, but this ones takes the cake. I've made omelettes, chicken, heated up tortillas and the pan worked wonderfully.

These pans have officially made me excited to cook again.

PS. Easy omelette recipe coming your way, because these pans are the best at it!

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• cheese
• whatever veggies you have in your fridge
• butter

How to Make: 
Follow the Made In cookware Instructions!
Ps. Get the pan medium hot before adding the eggs. Lift the edge of the omelette to get the runny eggs in to cook.
Secret - - use a pancake spatula to flip!