Good Morning! Happy October!
Psssttt…scroll down to the bottom of the post to find out the winner of my giveaway!
This morning was pretty darn fantastic. After sleeping in and eventually rolling out of bed, I had one thing on my mind. Pancakes. Not any ordinary pancakes though. Peanut Pumpkin Pancakes. Oh yes.
In the mix:
- 1/4 cup peanut flour
- 1/4 cup oats
- 1 big scoop of pumpkin
- 1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
- a big glug of milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk, probably 1/4-1/3 cup)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- cinnamon, vanilla extract, vanilla stevia drops
I mixed it all up, then let the mixture set for about 5 minutes. I know you’ll be starvin’ in the morning and ready to dig in as soon as humanly possible, but don’t skip the 5 minute-wait step! It really helps the batter thicken and come together. I had intended on making small pancakes, as you can see in the picture, but as time went on and my stomach grew hangrier, my pancakes continually got larger and larger. I need a large pancake griddle so I don’t have to cook each cake separately. My patience disappears quickly. 😉
Nevertheless, these pancakes rocked my mouth, especially topped with fresh roasted cashew butter. Mmmmm. The only thing that would have made them better was some maple syrup, which I was sadly out of. I’ve since gone to the store and taken care of that problem asap.
For a workout I wanted to bring back my old friend…
Chalene! Oh how it made me want to order Turbo Fire…so badly!
My mind keeps telling me, “Yes! Go for it!” while my bank account is telling me, “Save your money, woman!”. Hmmmph. Anybody know how to get a good deal on it???
I had a light lunch before heading over my aunt’s house for her family birthday get-together. She hit the big 5-0 this year!
I mixed together 1/2 cup cooked quinoa, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, a big scoop of pumpkin, dash of cinnamon, and grind of black pepper then stuck it in the microwave for 1 minute, until it got all nice and cheesey. I put it over a bed of spinach and tomato and topped it off with a poached egg. This was delicious! You all should try the combo…its works.
At the birthday bash, we made caramel apple sundaes. But once we got back home I still had plenty of room left for some of this…
THE bread…ahhh. I want to eat this all day, every day. Please make this recipe, I promise you will love me! I also had some plain greek yogurt, which made for good dippage.
When dinner rolled around, I had something special up my sleeves, thanks to Danica. I made her Baked Cheesy Turkey Ziti..and boy was it a winner!!
Pair with salad of course:
It makes 6 BIG servings…just how I like ‘em. This meal tasted so indulgent, yet it was completely healthy. Just proof that eating healthfully definitely does not mean you can’t eat delicious stuff!
And for dessert, I had the best dark chocolate ever:
Dagoba xocolatl, which chilles in it and it absolutely fantastic. Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it!
~My October Goal~
With all that has been going on in my life lately, I have been feeling very run-down and stressed out. I decided that I need to do something about it because things are going to continue to be crazy like this for quite a while. It is my senior year after all….LOTS to do!!! I didn’t want to add anything too big onto my already full schedule, so I went with something small that I knew would pack a punch as well. For the month of October, I am committing to doing at least 5 minutes of yoga/meditation a day. It can definitely be more than that if I have the time or just feel like it, but I thought this would be an attainable goal that would help me clear my head and nix some of the stress that seems to pile up on me. Anyone can join in on the “ommmms” with me if they’d like!
Time to get going…I’m headed out to a bonfire with friends!
****
Giveaway Winner: Katie from Itsallaboutbalance! Please send me an email and I will give it to the CSN peeps. 😀
New layout: You like or no? It was time to switch things up a bit, so I went for it!
A good read: 20 Ways To Never Get Cancer
xoxo kristi
Sweetly Fit 
OMG I won?? Lol I am freaking out hahaha! I just started blogging so this is so awesome to me!!!
Those pancakes look amazing and I have never ever heard of this butter you speak of!!!??? But I need to know more! The ziti you made looks a-maz-ing! Nice job! Your layout is lovely but I am so excited to email you right now!!! 🙂
you should definitely try cashew nut butter! It’s rich, creamy and delicious. You can find it at many health food stores. 🙂
All of your food from today looks amazing! I’m definitely gonna bookmark your pancake recipe–I’m so intrigued by peanut flour and am on the look out for a bunch of different uses for it!
I am in love with peanut flour! I love that it is such a great source of protein…16 grams per serving from the one I have.
I want Turbo Fire too but my bank account is saying the same thing. The only way that’s getting in my hands is if my parents get it for me for christmas.. which I think I’ll ask them to.
Your goal to do 5 minutes of meditation every day is great! I’ve wanted to try doing meditation but I always get distracted and forget about it. I’ll definitely try to do it a few days a week though.. if I remember. 😛
Ohhhh that is a great idea to ask for it for Christmas. I didn’t even think of that! And really, it isn’t TOO far away now. Hmm..I like the sound of this. 😉
I want to order turbofire! I am obsessed with workout dvds and I heard that sucker is intense! =)
let me know if you try it!!
I did a Turbo Jam workout yesterday and it made me long for Turbo Fire too!
And I think your goal is fabulous. I know my bit of quiet time in the morning sets the tone for my day nicely.
That baked cheesy turkey ziti looks out of this world! I can’t wait to go home for the weekend and whip some of that goodness up! I’m a serious dark chocolate lover, but have yet to try that Dagoba chocolate. Looks like I have to make a chocolate run soon 🙂
PUMPKIN Zucchini Bread – WOW, I am speechless, totally book marking that recipe to try.
Your Baked Ziti turned out completely delicious. I LOVE how you used mozzarella balls, I need to try that or just come over to your house next time you make it 😉
Thanks for the link love 🙂
Danica
I LOOOOOVE TurboFire! Chalene is so motivating. I love how it’s FUN too – doesn’t feel like a “workout”.
Have a great week!
-Laur
I LOVE DAGOBA!!!! mm i wanna throw some ontop of those massively scrumptious peanut butter pumpkin pancakes!!! ❤ hehe
Ok so I wanna make like EVERYTHING in this post, haha! BOOKMARKED 😀 I love the yoga commitment – I should totally do the same w/relaxation and stuff. Good idea girlfrannn! I love the new layout btw 🙂
Love you!!
Oh my gosh, your pancakes sound so good. I really need to get to trader joes to get peanut flour.
wow, haven’t had breakfast yet and I am craving everything on your post! Pancakes are my favorite!
I thing yoga for 5 minutes can do wonders for stress. I’ve tried to do 2x a week for 30 minutes and its REALLY helped!
LOVE your october goal! I may need to make that one of mine as well. And I cannot wait to try peanut flour pancakes!
Stevia is natural sweetener with zero calories, zero carbohydrates and a zero glycemic index i use it in my daily life and it is economic 1kg of stevia= 300kg of regular sugar.
for more info http://healthmad.com/health/what-do-you-know-about-stevia
I have yet to try peanut flower, but this recipe alone makes me say IT IS TIME. Is it readily available at like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods?? I am pretty sure I’ve seen it there….gonna check it out this weekend! 😉 YUMMY!!
Yes, you can get it at Trader Joes!! I’m not sure about Whole Foods, though. I get mine online at netrition.com. You are going to love it!!