Small Batch Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

I love to bake. I wish I could bake every day :). In my opinion, baked goods taste best the day you bake them or day after. Beyond that…meh. I wanted to bake a small batch of muffins that Josh, Kaylin & I could all enjoy. I came up with the following:

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Muffins (makes 14 mini muffins)

Ingredients:

• 1 large ripe banana
• 1/4 c natural peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon flax
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 c AP flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 365 degrees F

Using a stand mixer (or use a fork!), smash the large banana until it has somewhat of a smooth texture. Add peanut butter, flax and sugars, and beat/mix until well combined. Add in remaining ingredients (yup, I only used one bowl). Mix until just combined.

 

Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray. Use a cookie scoop (or rounded tablespoon) to place dough into tin. Dough should yield approximately 14 mini muffins. Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Mmm. Do you prefer baking, cooking, or just eating ;)?

Lasagna Recipes & Diva Half Marathon

How has your weekend been? It has been a busy & wonderful weekend over here. Friday night, we had our dinner party. The food turned out great (both my lasagnas and the dishes our guests brought as appetizers, sides & desserts). I used a Rachael Ray recipe for the Mexican Lasagna and used the ricotta filling from this recipe for the Italian Lasagna. I made my own version of the meat sauce.

On Saturday, I headed up to my parents to visit and so that I could be closer to the Diva Half Marathon that I ran this morning.  Kaylin, my Mom, and I headed to the expo:

 

Then we went for a walk:

 

and went to dinner with my Dad, Aunt & Uncle:

 

 

I had shrimp and more shrimp:

 

Bedtime reading with Pop Pop:

 

This morning, it was race time:

The race started at 7:

I started with the 8 minute pacer, figuring I would drop back when it got to be too much. Thanks to her awesome spirit, and the enthusiasm of two other runners, we all finished in under 8 minutes!!! My official time was 1 hour 43 minutes 14 seconds! A 7 minute 53 second pace! A BIG thank you to our 8 minute pacer:

They had lots of water, fruit, bagels, and cookies (??) at the finish line:

 

Such a great day! A HUGE thank you to my parents for watching Kaylin during the race and for letting me crash at their house. Tell me about your weekend?

I’m ready to eat and spend lots of time with Josh & Kaylin :)!!

Fleet Feet Event & Party Prep

Its been a crazy week! But…its Friday! And I’m teaching pump this morning, a great way to kick off the weekend. Or maybe Kay will teach for me:

We’re having a dinner party tonight and I did most of the prep yesterday. I made three lasagnas, two Mexican and one Italian.

I also baked two batches of cookies. I have a few more things to do today. Lots more pictures to come.

Last night, I was invited to a VIP event at the new Fleet Feet in Mount Pleasant (the 100th store in the Fleet Feet Franchise!!). According to the website:

“At Fleet Feet Sports, you will find a welcoming environment where runners, walkers and fitness enthusiasts of all abilities receive unparalleled service and support. Fleet Feet Sports' Fitlosophy is to help you find the right ''FIT'' in every facet of your active lifestyle.

Whether you walk, run, or simply need a good fitting pair of shoes, the educators at Fleet Feet Sports will work with you to evaluate your foot’s gait and natural biomechanics to help you select a shoe that offers the best fit and function for you.”

The store is so bright and cheery:

Check out the amazing wall of bras:

Cute dressing rooms:

Fantastic shoes:

Great gear and accessories. I even picked up a new Nathan Phantom pack to hold my keys, phone, shot bloks, etc while I run.

They had yummy eats for the VIP event:

 

Kaylin ate almost every grape in that fruit bowl…. They also had a great speaker and fun prizes. If you live in the Charleston area, definitely go visit Fleet Feet!!

Kay and I checked out a little early because she was SPENT. Here we are with Christina (don’t mind Kay’s “bow head”):

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Festive Salad Recipe & Dynamo Dog Review

Phew. I told you in my last post that Kaylin had been sick, but that she was getting better. Well, apparently I didn’t knock on wood and she ended up with a fever for the majority of the weekend. Another trip to the Doctors office and…we may be on the mend (knock on wood ;)).

Other than taking care of sicky peanut, I did get to teach my two classes, fit in an easy run, spent lots of time with Josh & Kaylin, and went to a birthday party for my niece and nephew. I brought along this salad:

Not a real recipe for this. I mixed a giant bag of spinach with a smaller bag of romaine. I then topped the lettuce mixture with two cans of mandarin oranges (no sugar added, drained, rinsed, dried), a large container or strawberries, diced, raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

I brought along these two dressings. The sesame pineapple vinaigrette is amazing (notice the photo bomber).

 

I think the salad was a hit! What did you do this weekend?

Recently , I was contacted by Cloudstar to see if Frank would be interested in reviewing their Dynamo Dog™ Functional Treats*. Frank LOVES treats, so I knew he’d be in:

According to the company:

“We are a small, family owned company, and for more than a decade have been baking all natural, low allergen treats right here in the USA.  Check us out at www.cloudstar.com.”

Adore that they’re made in the USA! They sent us four bags to review:

  

Dynamo Skin & Coat: “With salmon oil and vitamin E supplement, plus specially selected fruits, vegetables, and herbs you will be giving your dog a healthy and mouth watering treat.”

Dynamo Tummy: “With added probiotics, ginger, and fiber from pumpkin, plus specially selected fruits, vegetables, and herbs to ease digestion, you'll have one happy dog.”

Dynamo Hip & Joint: “With all the running and jumping dogs do in a day, they could use the added glucosamine and chondroitin, plus specially selected fruits, vegetables, and herbs to keep them feeling their best.”

Frank watched as I photographed all of the treats.

 

He tried the bacon & cheese hip and joint variety first. It was hard for me to take a photograph because someone was ready to sample.

  Frank gobbled these down! He has enjoyed all of the varieties and always looks for more. He shared graciously shared a bag with his friend Tedy, more to come!

If you have a dog, you should give these treats a go!

*disclaimer: treats were received for free

Aurorae Yoga Top & Cookies

Happy, happy Friday!! This week has been a pretty good one…except the crazy events (Boston, Texas, flooding..) going on…and that Kay came down with a fever yesterday. After a trip to the pediatrician and a few tests…nothing turned up positive. Seems like its just a virus? Or maybe more teeth?? She is doing much better today (phew).  These crazy events definitely help put things in perspective.

I wanted to share a product review. I recently received the Aurorae Ladies Fitted Lenzing Modal® Tank Top: 

I wore the tank to take Kay for a walk. I also wore it while I taught Body Attack:

I was a big fan of how well it stayed in place during class. As a group fitness instructor, there is nothing worse during a class than clothing that rides up. The fabric also breathes really well. Bonus? Its made in the USA! Thanks Aurorae for the opportunity to review this product*!

Kay is napping…so I’m making cookies! This recipe to be exact. Baking is such a great stress reliever!

 

What are you up to this weekend? I am teaching Attack tonight & Step tomorrow morning. Hoping to spend lots of time with Josh/Kay/Frank. We’re also going to my niece’s/nephew’s birthday party on Sunday!

*Disclaimer: top was received to review for free

COOKIES (Giveaway)

Happy Wednesday!

Before I proceed with my usual ramblings, I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to everyone in Boston (and beyond) impacted by the horrible acts that took place on Monday. Senseless.

Today is my Uncle Gary’s birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!). To help him celebrate his birthday, we sent him love:

and cookies:

 

Gary is a pretty big cookie fan. I think most people are pretty big cookie fans :) Although I love baking cookies, I also really enjoy getting a cookie from a bakery. I have raved before about how yummy Tate’s Bake Shop’s cookies are, and now you have a chance to get your hands on some. First, a little word from Tate’s:

“We're happy to celebrate Mother's Day this year by honoring Moms, Grandmothers and everyone who's like a Mom with our Tate's Bake Shop Mother's Day Honor Wall on Facebook! Hope you can join the fun and spread the word, because we're giving away a Mom's Baking for Friends Basket each week to one winner selected at random from the Honor Wall. 

It's easy to enter - just click the link http://woobox.com/zakfaz and follow the instructions. All you need to do is decide who you'd like to honor, post an image of your honoree and say a few words about why they're special to you. That's it!”

YES! Mother’s day is coming up quick. I think your Mom/Grandma/you would love a Tate’s gift. Want an additional chance to win some Tate’s goodies? How about this Mother's Day Brunch Basket that features sinful sour cream coffee cake, a lemon pound cake loaf, two each of Tate’s heavenly raspberry bars and crumb cakes, plus a box of Tate’s Bake Shop’s famous chocolate chip cookies? Ummm yah!!

Just leave a comment on this post by Friday, April 19 at noon telling me who you would give this gift basket to if you won. And, hey…there is nothing wrong with saying you’d give it to yourself ;). You DO not need to have a blog to enter. Winner will be randomly selected.

Bonus! You can use the discount code mom13 at checkout on the Tate’s Bake Shop website and receive 20% off any purchase until May 12, 2013.

Good luck!!

disclaimer: prize will be provided by Tate’s for free

A Date Night & Launch Morning

Hello! Happy weekend. Hope you all are enjoying every minute.

Last night, Josh and I went on a date! Its been a while since we went out just the two of us (a big thank you to Josh’s parents for watching Kay). We went to dinner at Coleman Public House. I got a Greek salad:

Josh got his favorite flatbread:

and then we went and saw Accepted (thanks to movie tickets Josh’s brother had given us for Christmas):

We liked 3/4 of the movie….but the end totally ruined it!

Saturday morning, we launched Body Step:

  

and Pump:

 

The launches went great. My Mom came down to take class. I wish I had snapped a picture of the two of us. After the launch, we went to lunch with Josh and Kaylin. Now…onto learn more choreography and to get outside to enjoy the weather. What are you up to?