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! 

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!

This post was originally posted back on October 22, 2014. That seems like ages ago. We were still living in our tiny little townhouse, we had just started eating paleo and we weren't even married yet.

We were just little babes trying to figure out how to be adults in a brand new state. It's crazy to me to look back on old posts and see how much has changed.

One thing that hasn't changed is our love for these muffins. They are super easy to make and legit taste like dessert. I found that eating paleo and cooking for Adam is way easier when I plan ahead. It usually keeps us on a better meal plan and not so many snacks if we do this.


Adam and I are always looking for new breakfast options, so when Callie told me about these, we knew we had to try them! They're super easy to make and oh. my. gosh. they are so delicious. I hope you all enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 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 (for paleo, make sure they have no added sugar or milk!) 

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! 

Happy Monday and Happy Eclipse Day! I hope you have an awesome weekend. Welcome back.

The last few months of our lives have been full of constant travel. Don't get me wrong, traveling is so fun but traveling creates a crazy life. Travel for us means eating out, drinking cocktails, little to no sleep and just busy busy busy. We are gearing up for one more summer wedding and then we are done traveling for a while.

To get our lives and bodies back on track, we're doing a mini cleanse/strict clean eating starting today. I don't call it a diet because I'm eating, and eating a lot. I am just being very choosy about what I am eating.

 Please know I am not a doctor. I cannot tell you what the best thing for you is. But this works for me. It's a great re-start after eating like crap for months. I usually incorporate certain rules when I start super clean eating. Keep in mind, if you're doing hard workouts or extra long days you may need to modify this. You don't want to starve your body. Clean eating doesn't mean no eating. 

My top 7 rules for clean eating: 

1. Choose Fresh Foods over Refined Foods. You'll see in these recipes that everything is fresh. 
2. Stock Up on Protein. This is where you'll get your energy. I usually stay away from red meat and stick to fish and chicken. 
3. Stop eating sugar. 
4. Feed yourself. 5 small meals during the day rather then one large dinner or breakfast. 
5. Don't Drink Your Calories. I'm talking to me here. No booze, no pop, no coffee, just stick to water. I usually give up coffee when I first start and drink green tea but usually get back to black coffee later. 
6. Listen to your body. You may find yourself a little hungry since you are regulating meals, but if you go on a 10 mile run and are starving, you gotta eat. Just keep it clean.
7. Cook with a friend/spouse. The key to success with this is prepping your meals and snacks. Life is so busy during the week, don't make it harder by not being prepared. Also, if you've prepared everything, it makes it easier to stick to your meal plan.

DAY ONE: 
Breakfast
• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt or for dairy free, So Delicious coconut milk yogurt
• 1/4 cup muesli
• 1/4 cup blueberries

A.M. Snack 
• 2 clementines

Lunch 
Avocado-Egg Toast with a Garden Salad
• 1/2 medium avocado,
• 2-3 large eggs, cooked in 1/4 tsp. olive oil 
Season egg with a pinch each of salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 cups mixed greens
• 2 Tbsp. grated carrot
• 1/2 cup cucumber slices
Top salad with 1/2 Tbsp. each balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Dinner 
• 4 oz. cooked chicken breast, cooked in 1 tsp. olive oil and seasoned with a pinch each of salt and pepper
• 4 zucchini, sliced into quarters; Zest of 1 lemon; ½ tsp. dried oregano; ¼ tsp. garlic powder; Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine all zucchini ingredients and grill for 2-3 minutes

DAY TWO:
Breakfast 
Avocado-Egg Toast
• 1/2 medium avocado
• 2 tomato slices
• 2-3 large eggs, cooked in 1/4 tsp. olive oil 
Season egg with a pinch each of salt and pepper

A.M. Snack 
• A handful of Kale chips


Lunch 
• Grab a can of tuna and an avocado with some salad greens, oil, and vinegar, and mix it all up.

P.M. Snack 
• 1 cup blueberries with 20 raw, unsalted pistachios

Dinner 
• 1 serving chicken soup (great for leftovers)

DAY THREE:
Breakfast 
• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt or for dairy free, So Delicious coconut milk yogurt
• 1/4 cup muesli
• 1/4 cup blueberries

A.M. Snack 
• Frozen berries with a drizzle of coconut milk and honey 

Lunch 
Veggie Sandwich
• 2 slices sprouted-grain bread
• 1/4 medium avocado, mashed
• 1 Tbsp. hummus
Add veggies of your choice (try cucumber, tomato, carrots and greens).

P.M. Snack 
• 1 plum
• 5 walnut halves

Dinner:
• 2 chicken tacos 



DAY FOUR:
Breakfast:
• Breakfast scrambler. Store in an air tight container and use it for leftover lunch/dinner or breakfast.

A.M. Snack 
• 8 dried apricots

Lunch 
Veggie Sandwich
• 2 slices sprouted-grain bread
• 1/4 medium avocado, mashed
• 1 Tbsp. hummus
Add veggies of your choice (try cucumber, tomato, carrots and greens).

P.M. Snack 
• hard-boiled egg

Dinner:
• 1 serving of baked mushroom chicken


DAY FIVE:
Breakfast:
• Breakfast scrambler. Store in an air tight container and use it for leftover lunch/dinner or breakfast.

A.M. Snack 
• Half an avocado sprinkled with sea salt and balsamic vinegar

Lunch 
• Salad with roast chicken, dried cranberries, pecans, apple slices, and vinaigrette

P.M. Snack 
•  2 Tbsp. hummus
• 1 cup sliced cucumber

Happy Friday friends! It's FRIDAY. Thank the stars above. When Adam woke up this am, he looked at me and said we made it. And yes, siry bob, we made it.

You read that title right -- P A L E O cereal, cinnamon toast crunch to be exact. Adam has been begging me to make paleo cereal for years and I've never done it because it seemed too hard.

Let's get a little back story shall we? Prior to paleo, we used to keep at least 3 different kinds of cereal, skim milk and extra large bowls in our house at all times. And we wonder why we couldn't lose those last 3 pounds. You name it, we had the brand in our house at all times. Frosted Flakes are a personal favorite of mine while Adam tended to lean towards Honey Nut Cheerios and, you guessed it, Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

After perusing Pinterest for a while, I found some delicious paleo recipes. I made the mistake of telling Adam and now he's been requesting it for months. One lazy Sunday, I did it. Cereal.

Warning, this only makes about two-four bowls depending on bowl size. If you enjoy your bowls like Adam does, it makes one bowl. This recipe is so incredibly easy, but it takes a while. I may not make this every week, but Adam loved it so much, it's totally worth making for a treat.

This recipe was super delicious, crunchy and the best snack ever. Let's get to it.

Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour (you may need more if your dough is too soggy)
3/4 cup + 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 large egg white
2 tablespoons coconut oil melted

How to Make: 

1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and line two baking sheets with a silpat. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the almond flour, coconut flour, 3/4 cup Coconut sugar, salt and cinnamon until well mixed.
3. Add in the egg white and melted coconut oil. Using your hands, press the mixture together until it begins to moisten and you can pack it into a ball.
4. Place half the dough between two large pieces of parchment paper and roll out until VERY thin, about 1/16 inch thick.
5. Cut the dough into 3/4 inch squares and gently transfer to the prepared sheets. * Repeat with remaining dough **
6. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tsp of Coconut sugar over the squares and bake until they just turn golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. 
7. They burn very quickly so watch them closely in that last minute. Mine were perfect at 3.5 minutes. They will not be crunchy when they come out of the oven. Let them sit.
8. Let the squares cool on the pan completely and then enjoy! 

Happy Friday Friends! Cheers to delicious breakfast and longer weekends!

Guys, it has been a week. Monday we moved our office into a new office and needless to say the transition was not smooth. Computers have been down, copiers aren't working and moving just isn't fun. But, our new office is so pretty, right in Denver and it will be a great move once we work out all the nitty gritty details.

On the bright side, it's Thursday and it's National Coffee Day! I love Thursdays. They are like the happy hour to a great dinner. Everyone is in a better mood than yesterday as we wind down towards the weekend and this weekend my bffff Coti and Jen are coming into townnn!

They both have never been here, so I cannot wait to show them around! Just wait for my Denver-Beginners Travel Guide next week! Today I cannot wait to share this incredible recipe with you! IT is no secret that life is busy and time is of the essence. But, what we eat is also a huge factor in how we feel, work and get through that busy life.


This is where my perfect breakfast scrambler comes in. Remember as kids when your mom used to say you were having breakfast for dinner? Was there anything better? Sure, when I was 7, breakfast meant waffles or pancakes with bacon. While my love for pancakes hasn't diminished, my desire to eat a tad healthier has.

This is where the scrambler comes in. It's ready in under 30 minutes, filling, full of flavor and makes enough for leftovers. Deal. We've been making variations of this for years, but I've finally fine tuned it to this final piece. But, the best thing about this, is you can use everything you have! Look through those veggies drawers people!

Adam told me I have a knack for cooking for 30 people. I have no portion control. 4 sweet potatoes for a two-person scrambler? Sure! 7 handfuls of mushrooms? You bet! But like I said, it makes enough for leftovers! And making my co-workers jealous with leftovers is my specialty! Let's get to it.

Ingredients:

• Really good sausage. I perfer non-cooked and then cook the veggies in it. (There is this amazing Colorado brand that we LOVE! Plus, it's spicy)
• 1 sweet potato, diced
• 1 onion, either diced or cut into circles
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• handful of mushrooms
• 4 eggs (or if you have a hungry husband, 6) 
• 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

How to Make:

1. State here if you used un-cooked sausage. Cook the sausage until fully cooked. Remove and set aside. 
2. Start here if you used pre-cooked sausage. Add sweet potatoes and cook for about 10 minutes. This will vary on how thick your pieces are. 
3. Add the onions and bell peppers. Cook for about 5 minutes or until tender. (If you are using pre-cooked sausage, add it in now to heat up).
4. Add the sausage back in. Stir. Add in the mushrooms and the seasoning. Cook until tender. 
5. Now the egg, you can do this multiple ways. I break all my eggs in a bowl, mix them and then pour them into the pot with everything. Some people like them separate. So use a separate saute pan, make your scrambled eggs and then mix. 
6. I hate doing dishes, so I prefer the one-pot method. It does take a little longer for the eggs to cook since there isn't as much pan. 
7. Top with a little sriracha or if not-paleo, cheese! 
8. Enjoy! 

What would you put in your scrambler! I love hearing new ways to mix it up!

The best part about this blog is the ability to share all aspects of my life with you. The good, the bad and the recipes! Another cool thing is that my paleo journey has encouraged some of you to find your own lifestyle that feels good to you!

Eating paleo has been such a wonderful experience for me (& Adam) but it hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes i just want to stop and get McDonald's breakfast complete with a huge latte and whipped cream but then I realize that while it tastes good going down, it's doing only bad things for my body. Cue the delicious apple paleo muffins.

For a long time I made these Chocolate Banana Muffins. For a long time I loved these muffins. But, you can only eat things for so long before you start to get a little sick of chocolate banana muffins. In need for something new, I hit the internet to find a new breakfast muffin recipe. After searching and combing various recipes, I found and created these! Apple Muffins.

The thing I really love about these muffins is they taste like real bread muffins. They're easier than my chocolate banana muffins and they're more filling. I hope you all enjoy these as much as I do!

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 large apple, grated
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a muffin tin. 
2. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Toss grated apple with lemon juice in medium bowl. 
3. Add remaining wet ingredients and combine. 
4. Stir wet ingredients with dry ingredients. 
5. Fill the muffin cups with 3/4 full. 
6. Bake for 25 minutes until a clean toothpick. (I usually add an extra 5 to crisp them up!) 

This recipe was inspired from Lexi's Clean Kitchen (are you surprised?). Her recipe is in black and my additions are in red! Adam and I made this for dinner one night and it was SO delicious and very filling, the perfect dinner after a long day and a big workout.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey - Bison
• 1 cup salsa of choice
• 6 eggs
• Half of an onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced 
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 

How to Make: 

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place turkey in skillet 
3. Cook until turkey browns
4. Add in salsa and mix to combine. 
5. Make little divots with a spoon, crack in eggs
6. Put entire pan in oven and cook for 15 minutes or until eggs are desired yolkiness 

I bet you're wondering why the title of this post is about Saturday when it's only Friday. Well... I figure you're going to need time to head to the grocery store to get all your supplies so you can make Saturday brunch tomorrow! Because, is there anything better than Saturday brunch? When we first moved to Denver it didn't take us long to realize that Denver & brunch go together like pb&j. We've found the best bloody mary bar, spicy chicken and waffles (and homemade pop tarts!) and a buffet the size of a football field. Even though brunches are easy to find here, sometimes it's just too cold to venture outside, so the next best option? Homemade brunch. My friend B sent me this recipe and I kind of modified it based on what I had in my fridge & to make it paleo. Here's the recipe B used and mine is below! I hope you like it!

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into cubes
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 eggs, your choice, I do over-easy
• Chicken sausage, bacon, regular sausage, whatever you like, cut small
• 1 avocado, made into guac or sliced! 
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin 
• salt and pepper 

Donuts, doughnuts, do-nuts? Is anyone else curious as to the multiple spellings of the word donut? No? Just me? Okay, it's not important anyways. These little donuts are so delicious and so easy to make. And, there is a huge possibility, and by huge, I mean, it happened...but Adam and I ate an entire batch of these donuts in one weekend. Weeps. Enjoy, enjoy!

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
• 1/2 cup warm apple cider
• 2 tablespoon coconut oil
• Cinnamon and coconut sugar

How to make:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper
3. In a small bowl, whisk together coconut flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. 
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil and honey. 
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. 
6. Once mixed, add the warm apple cider until fully mixed in. This might take about 2 minutes, I promise it will mix in! 
7. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheet. 
8. Bake for 18 minutes and let cool. 
9. Brush donuts with melted coconut oil roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture. 
10. Enjoy!