Easy Paleo Gluten-Free Banana Bread Muffins

Today I suck less at making healthy treats for my son... and me!

I'm halfway through my Whole30 journey which will become a WholeLife! I've found this way of eating to be easy, fun, and great on my body. No more major stomach issues, I'm sleeping better, and easily losing that extra 5lbs.

Once I'm done, I'll be adding these little treats into my diet. I don't want to go back to my chocolate binges, but I need a little something sweet in the afternoon.

These banana bread muffins are really easy to make and my son loves them too! I'll be doing a follow-up post with raw cacao in these babies. The best part -- NO FLOUR and NO ADDED SUGAR. And they still taste great!

Ingredients

• 2 Bananas
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or your nut of choice)
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Hemp Seeds
• 1 TBS Vanilla Extract
• Ghee or Coconut Oil to line the pan

Steps

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
• Chop walnuts in your food processor
• Blend all ingredients with a hand blender in a large bowl
• Line cupcake pan with melted Ghee or Coconut Oil
• Pour evenly
• Bake for 15-25 minutes depending on your oven
• ENJOY!

Update to Paleo Pancakes!

Today I suck less and making a healthy breakfast!

I'm updating my Paleo Pancake recipe and it's so freaking good. I'm starting my first day on the Whole30 program. Technically, you aren't supposed to re-create your favorite meals. But, I have a very hard time with savory meals in the morning. I get sick of eggs so fast and my body craves something sweet! So, I'm breaking the rules a little already :(

Either way, you need to make these pancakes! They are amazing. Here is the updated ingredient list.

• 2 Bananas
• 3 Eggs
• 1 scoop of Almond Butter (need addition and it's wonderful!)
• Blueberries for "syrup"
• Sprinkle of Cinnamon
• Coconut Oil for the pan

There you have it! Run to the kitchen to make these now.

I'm going to try to eat all whole foods on this program. But, I'll need this in my back pocket for those days that I NEED something more than eggs!

Enjoy!

My (Sorry about my face) Magic Mud

Today I suck less at whitening my teeth and apologizing for my face.

This post started out as a simple review of My Magic Mud. But, quickly spiraled down the self-loathing, black hole I like to call, "Sorry about my face". Luckily, there is a happy ending to this post and I have whiter teeth through the process. Let's just say, taking incredibly up-close photos of your face can literally pull things into focus.

One Sunday afternoon, I was performing at the Mueller Farmer's Market. That's when I first heard about My Magic Mud. The Texas based, natural tooth whitening product comes with a great back story on how they grew their business. I didn't end up buying the product until I got home and researched it a bit. Once I did, it arrived straight away. Their website was extremely easy to use and has a great FAQ page to answer your questions.

Yeah, I drink a lot of coffee and wine! So, I need to stay ahead of the stains on my teeth. I really didn't want to turn to a product with harsh chemicals. For my own health and the fact that I'm still breastfeeding my son. I've been oil pulling with coconut oil but, while it has helped to whiten my teeth it's been slow going. My Magic Mud is made with activated Coconut Shell Charcoal, Bentonite Clay, Wildcrafted Mint, and Orange Peel Extract. Compare that to your average teeth whitening kit and I think you'll be amazed. YES to ingredients I can actually pronounce!

Truth be told, I took these photos after my second use of My Magic Mud. I REALLY wish I had taken photos after the first try. The difference was incredible! But, even on the second brush there were still notifiable changes.

Back to this self-loathing crap. I watched this fascinating TED Talk about how women react when they first sit down in a makeup chair. They immediately start apologizing for their face! I noticed how I would do the exact same thing on any photo shoot. I would start with my eyes saying, "Sorry my eyes are so small." Then I would move onto my chin, "Sorry I have such a big chin. Could you contour it so I don't look like Jay Leno's daughter?" Then I would apologize for my lips, "Sorry my top lip is smaller than my bottom." After about 5 minutes of explaining away how awfully sorry I was about my face, I'd thrown in a "Well, at least I have nice skin, I guess." Some half-hearted attempt at not sounding like a total Delaney downer.

Anyway, when I uploaded these photos I immediately started in again, "Ugh, your small eyes, your big chin, your stupid flat forehead." "How can I possibly put these photos online", I thought. On and on they thoughts raced through my mind. But, then I started to remind myself of that TED Talk I watched and how the speaker described the two types of women who did not apologize for their faces. I remembered how she talked about the little old ladies getting their makeup done. How they smiled ear to ear and radiated beauty. I remember how she talked about the women that had just finished their last round of chemo. How they remarked on how strong and beautiful they felt in that moment.

I remembered that these people did not apologize for their faces.

I remembered how I do not want to wait until I have death knocking on my door to see my beauty and appreciate what I have.

So, I took a deep breath, smiled and clicked post.

Before

 During

 Ready for my Walking Dead appearance.

 After

Whiter teeth and no apologies for this face.

Okay, go watch that TED Talk and get My Magic Mud (you'll thank me for both.) Feel free to ask me any questions I may have left out about My Magic Mud in the comment section below.

Lipstick: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in San Paulo

T-Shirt: Thrifted J Crew

Glasses: Nine West in Demi Green

Banana-Blueberry Paleo Pancakes

Today I suck less at making no flour, low-sugar, gluten-free, paleo pancakes!

Let's be honest, I told myself I was looking for a healthier-paleo version of pancakes for my son to enjoy. But, the reality is I really wanted some freaking pancakes, sans the guilt.

My first batch turned out like a sloppy pile of S**#! Tasted great, but was not exactly the Pinterest worthy picture I was hoping to achieve. In my second attempt I added, an extra egg, a little more baking powder, and used coconut oil instead of grass-fed butter in the pan. I think the coconut oil is the key to this recipe. Since there is no flour they can be tricky to flip. When you use coconut oil, they slide around in the pan, making your cakes super simple to flip!

I mean, how good do these look?! Yes, I MADE THESE! (Does a happy dance.)

The best part about this recipe is that you don't need a ton of ingredients and NO FLOUR!

• 1 Banana
• 3 Eggs
• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder 
• 1/4 tsp Vanilla
• Handful of Blueberries
• Coconut Oil
• Cinnamon to taste
• Melt extra blueberries for a low-sugar syrup

Someone got a little grabby with the blueberries while I was setting up my shot.

Ingredients

Mix everything into a bowl except the Coconut Oil.

Add coconut oil to you pan on medium heat. (This was actually w/ the grass-fed butter.)

Once you can easily slide your pancake around you'll know it's time to flip!

Eat your awesome Banana-Blueberry Paleo Pancakes!
Maybe next time make enough to share with your son ;)

Pancake porn.

Go GIANTS!

My Husband Wants Me To Cook

Today I suck a little less at cooking.

My husband wants me to cook. This may sound chauvinistic but, I'm with him. I want to cook. When I was single my daily meals would consist of coffee, fancy cheese, wine, peas and dark chocolate. Not quite what I should be feeding my son. I want to be the kind of Mom who provides healthy meals for her family. I want to be the kind of person that knows her way around a kitchen. I love creating and cooking is another extension of creating. Here's the problem, I kind of suck at it. And by "kind of" I mean completely. Having no idea where to start my culinary adventure, my husband gave me some great advice. He said, just find 5 meals that you can master and build from there. So, I did just that and I can happily say, I've moved past 5 meals. It was tough in the beginning, but it's getting easier to wing it or prepare something in 30 minutes. When I started out I had to plan the night before and I'd worry about it all day. While I am hardly a master chef, I'm sucking a little less at cooking.

A few of my meals so far! It's quinoa heavy, but you've got to start somewhere, right?

Pistachio crusted Tilapia, Roasted Brussels Sprouts, and Quinoa.

Gluten-free, banana, blueberry pancakes from scratch.

Beats, spinach, chickpea quinoa with tahini mustard dressing.

Vegan, gluten-free, chocolate cupcakes w/ avocado and chocolate frosting.

Bananacado! Banana and avocado baby food.

Steamed broccoli with hemp seeds and lemon.

 Green smoothie with kale, avocado, frozen pineapple, coconut oil, and chia seeds.

Cheesy, sriacha quinoa and brussels sprouts (can you tell I like quinoa?)

No more cereal for dinner, maybe.