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A Week of Kid-Friendly Meals

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Here’s a week of Kid-friendly meals to inspire you to try something new this week! Keep trying if they’re picky. They might surprise you someday!

A Week of Kid-Friendly Meals

Hi Friends!

Time for another recipe round-up! This week I put together a week of Kid-Friendly Meals to inspire you! Hopefully you’ll find a couple of new meal ideas your kiddos (and YOU!) will enjoy!

A Week of Kid-Friendly Meal Ideas to inspire you!

If you have kids that are picky eaters, it can be easy to fall into a food rut and make the same things over and over. Remember it’s important to keep trying new things. Some day they might surprise you and eat them!

Breakfast

Several kid-friendly breakfast ideas for you to try!

  • Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies via Iowa Girl Eats
  • Healthy Chocolate Crepes via The Adventure Bite
    • Stuff these with all sorts of delicious options like nut butter, fresh fruit, yogurt, etc. Not in the mood for chocolate? Make my Vanilla Cinnamon Crepes. You could even wrap up scrambled eggs!
  • Instant Oatmeal Packs via The Yummy Life
    • Super easy to personalize the mix-ins for each kiddo. If you have an older kid, they can heat water in the tea kettle and make the oats for themselves and younger siblings! Top with nut butter or fresh fruit if desired! Have a younger baby? Make them some of my Homemade Oat Cereal for Babies so they can join the party!
  • Breakfast Banana Split via Eat Drink Love
    • Feel free to mix up the toppings with their fav fruits, nut butter, fruit sauce, nuts and seeds or even a few chocolate chips!
  • Pancake Bites via Cooking Classy
    • Customize with their fav mix-ins! Go sweet with fruit, choc chips, etc or savory with a few veggies or some sausage.


Lunch

Some delicious kid-friendly lunch ideas

  • Vegetable Beef Alphabet Soup via An Edible Mosaic
    • The alphabet noodles make it fun and making it homemade with lean protein and veggies makes it healthy!
  • Chicken Sausage Pretzel Dogs via Mariah’s Pleasing Plates
    • Easy to make and the kids will love eating them!
  • Homemade Lunchables from Bentos For My Girls
    • So many options – just be sure to include a protein, some fruits and veggies and a healthy cracker. Or try this Kiddie Salad Bar idea from Nutritious Eats
  • Apple Sandwiches from Finger Pricking Good
    • Dip in lemon juice to keep from browning, add nut butter & some nuts or granola for a little crunch!


Dinner

Some new kid-friendly dinner ideas!

 

See anything that looks good? Don’t forget to do some food prep once you have your meal plan in place! It’ll only make your week easier!

Here are some food prep ideas for this menu:

  • Make several baggies of instant oats so they’re easy to grab in the mornings.
  • Make a batch of crepes and store them in the fridge for easy filling.
  • Bake some pancake bites and reheat during the week before serving.
  • Bake a  double batch of breakfast cookies and freeze some!
  • Make a big pot of soup.
  • Write down a few lunchable ideas so you can quickly and easily pack lunches each night.
  • Make some spaghetti-o’s and meatballs.
  • Stock your freezer with some chicken tenders.
  • Prep some chicken in your crockpot so all you have to do is turn it on one morning.
  • Prep a casserole so it’s ready to throw in the oven.
  • Bake a batch of quinoa cakes, or at least cook the quinoa so you can make them faster!

weekly meal plans

Want more ideas? Check out the full gallery of weekly meal plans here!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay-

Almond Butter Banana Cookies

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These Almond Butter Banana Cookies are gluten-free and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They’re packed with protein and fiber and are healthy enough for breakfast. Add a little glaze and you’ve got dessert!

These Almond Butter Banana Cookies are gluten-free and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They're packed with protein and fiber and are healthy enough for breakfast. Add a little glaze and you've got dessert!

You guys.

These cookies. I love them.

Last week I found myself with 6 overly ripe bananas on my counter. Typically I turn them into muffins but to be honest, that sounded a little boring. Plus I already have some great muffin recipes on the blog like these Peanut Butter Banana Oat Muffins and these Blueberry Muffins.

So the thought of a muffin was doing nothing to spark my creativity. Cookies on the other hand? Those I can get behind. Since I like a good challenge, I decided to attempt a relatively healthy cookie- one I’d feel good about eating as a snack.

These Almond Butter Banana Cookies are gluten-free and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They're packed with protein and fiber and are healthy enough for breakfast. Add a little glaze and you've got dessert!

 

It took a few tries – good thing I had all those bananas…but I figured it out. And then I added a glaze because glaze = delicious. Duh.

Let me tell you a little about these cookies. I rarely analyze my recipes for nutritional content (even though I get asked to all the time) because I think it’s easy to get hung up on the numbers. Instead I focus on creating tasty recipes made from real food ingredients. But every once and a while, I make something like this and find myself wondering what the nutritional stats have to say.

These Almond Butter Banana Cookies are gluten-free and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They're packed with protein and fiber and are healthy enough for breakfast. Add a little glaze and you've got dessert!

So I ran it through My Fitness Pal to get a rough estimate:

If you make 12 cookies, each one will have approximately 6 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber. If you make them without the glaze, they have 5 grams of sugar and they’re about 180 calories. So you could eat 2 for breakfast and you’d get 12g protein, 8g fiber, 360 calories and 10g sugar. That’s pretty good in my book.

Or, add the glaze for a little extra sugar rush 🙂 Or don’t add the maple syrup to lower the sugar content even further. The possibilities are endless!

These Almond Butter Banana Cookies are gluten-free and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They're packed with protein and fiber and are healthy enough for breakfast. Add a little glaze and you've got dessert!

They’re packed with chia seeds and hemp hearts for omegas and extra protein. Oh, and they just so happen to be gluten-free.

Ready to make them?

Here’s how:

When I make these, I leave out the maple syrup and add the glaze and they’re sweet enough for me. But if you have more of a sweet tooth, I’d leave the maple syrup in.

These Almond Butter Banana Cookies are gluten-free and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They're packed with protein and fiber and are healthy enough for breakfast. Add a little glaze and you've got dessert!

So there you have it, friends! Hope you enjoy. Remember you could use any kind of nut butter if almond isn’t your fav.

These Almond Butter Banana Cookies are gluten-free and lightly sweetened with maple syrup. They're packed with protein and fiber and are healthy enough for breakfast. Add a little glaze and you've got dessert!

[Tweet “Enjoy these Almond Butter Banana Cookies from @leangrnbeanblog for breakfast OR dessert!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Homemade Oat Cereal For Babies

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Want to make baby oatmeal? Made with just oats, water and a little cinnamon, this homemade oat cereal for babies is ready in 15 minutes and is cheaper than store-bought!

Made with just 3 ingredients and ready in 15 minutes this homemade oat cereal for babies is an easy alternative to store bought!

Hi Friends!

Today I wanted to share how to make baby oatmeal. When my oldest was little, we used a mixed approach that involves some baby-led weaning and some spoon fed things like oatmeal. Baby oat cereal was definitely one of his favorites but I got tired of paying so much for oat cereal marketed specifically at babies so I decided to figure out my own baby oatmeal recipe. It’s not really a recipe since it’s basically just oats…and water…and a little cinnamon but I think it’s worth sharing because it’s SO easy.

How To Make Baby Oatmeal

Learn how to make baby oatmeal! You're just 3 ingredients away from homemade baby oatmeal cereal.

Since oat cereal is basically made out of just oats, I figured it would be easy enough to make my own. Since I food prep every weekend anyway, why not add this to the mix and save a little money by avoiding pre-packaged baby cereal. I calculated it out and if I buy a 10-pound box of oats at Costco and make this myself it costs something like $0.08/serving vs. $0.55/serving for a packaged brand!

A Note About Oatmeal For Babies

One thing that’s important to remember is that a lot of parents use homemade baby oatmeal (or storebought) as a source of iron for babies. One of the best things you can do to help your babe absorb the iron in oats is pair their baby oat cereal with a source of vitamin C. This helps them absorb the iron, which is a critical nutrient. You can easily add vitamin C to baby oatmeal by topping it with fresh berries like berries like strawberries, mixing it with pureed  or mashed sweet potatoes or serving with a side of kiwi!

Ready to make your own? Here’s how you make it:

Homemade Oat Cereal For Babies

This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled to make a bigger batch.

Homemade Oat Cereal for babies

Like I mentioned in the recipe, this will firm up into a semi-gelatinous mass once it cools and is stored in the fridge. I serve them thick to my kiddos but if you want to thin them out, feel free to add a little formula or breast milk.

Made with just 3 ingredients and ready in 15 minutes this homemade oat cereal for babies is an easy alternative to store bought!

I love exposing him to spices at such a young age so I add cinnamon when I make them. I also often mix in some fruit or veggies before serving. He loves them mixed with pears, applesauce or avocado!

One nutritional note: Store-bought infant cereal is typically fortified with iron, which is an important part of a baby’s diet. Formula is also typically fortified with iron and since my oldest was formula fed, I wasn’t concerned that he would be missing out on iron in his cereal. However, if your baby is exclusively breastfed and is 6 months of age or older, it’s important to make sure they are getting iron from other sources if you are giving them homemade cereal. The good news is there are plenty of other ways to add iron to your baby’s diet as they delve into the world of solid foods! If you’d like to alternate between homemade oat cereal for babies and storebought, one brand I really like is the Happy Family Organic Oats and Quinoa Baby Cereal. It comes fortified with iron as well as vitamin C to help absorption!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

A Week of Grab and Go Meals

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Looking for some healthy recipes you can eat on the run? Here’s a week of grab and go meals that are easily portable and can be eaten quickly!

A Week of Grab and Go Meals

Hi Friends!

Time for another week of meal plan ideas. This time I put together a week of Grab and Go Meals for you. So many of my readers are busy during the week and I wanted to give you some healthy options that you could eat on the run!

Looking for healthy meals you can eat on the run? Here's a week of grab and go meal ideas!

Most of these recipes are easily portable and many can be eaten with one hand! Hopefully you’ll find some delicious new ideas!

Breakfast

Grab and Go Breakfast Ideas

 

 

 

Lunch 

Grab and Go Lunch Ideas

 

Dinner

Grab and Go Dinner Ideas

  • Tropical Chicken Burgers via The Healthy Foodie
    • Slap it on a bun or wrap it and lettuce and eat on the go!
  • Spinach Ricotta Lasagna in a Mug via Healthy Nibbles & Bits
    • No huge pans or serving spoons needed! Perfectly portioned and easy to grab when you head out the door.
  • Meat Bagels via Ditch the Wheat
    • A fun spin on burgers
  • BBQ Chicken Pizza Calzones via Rock Recipes (learn how to freeze them here)
    • Change up the fillings to fit your taste preferences. Stock your freezer and then just reheat and go!
  • Quick & Easy Chicken Burritos via Gimme Delicious
    • Mix everything in one dish, spoon into a tortilla and wrap in foil to make it easy to hold and eat!

 

Looking for some food prep ideas for the recipes in this meal plan?

You could:

  • Make a batch of banana pops and freeze them.
  • Make a double batch of oatmeal cups and freeze half for another week.
  • Prep a batch of breakfast cakes.
  • Cook the quinoa for your parfaits.
  • Cook chicken to use in the mason jar salads and pitas.
  • Prep a couple of mason jar salads for lunch.
  • Make a batch of sweet potato waffles to have on hand to make sandwiches.
  • Bake or grill some chicken burgers.
  • Prep and freeze some pizza calzones.
  • Cook the chicken, rice and beans for burritos.

weekly meal plans

Need more ideas? Check out the full gallery of weekly meal plans here. 

 

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Chili Cornbread Skillet

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Simple and flavorful, this Chili Cornbread Skillet is ready in about 30 minutes for an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.

Simple and flavorful, this Chili Cornbread Skillet is ready in about 30 minutes for an easy weeknight dinner.

Hi Friends!

Wanna know what’s irritating? Buying a new memory card for your camera because you lost yours, making something great to photograph for the blog and then realizing the memory card you bought is WAY too big and won’t work with your camera.

Then you’re faced with the dilemma of either eating what you made without taking pics and having to remake it or not eating it until you can get a new memory card and then going hungry.

I went with option 3- take a few quick pictures with your iphone, hope they turn out halfway decent and then eat! Seems like a win all-around, right?

Because let’s be honest…we all know how the photo-taking sessions have been going around here lately. Rushed with a side of screaming baby. This mom doesn’t have time for remakes of a recipe that turned out perfectly fine the first time 🙂

Simple and flavorful, this Chili Cornbread Skillet is ready in about 30 minutes for an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.

So anyways, bottom line is – excuse the photos and focus on the delicious recipe.

I made a version of this Chili Cornbread Skillet way back when I first started my blog and recently decided it was worth revisiting. I made mine with beef but you could use turkey…or even tempeh probably if you wanted to. I also used a cast iron skillet. If you don’t have one, you could make it in a regular baking dish (I’d probably try a 9×13 pan).

Here’s how you make it:

I’m lazy and usually just use the recipe for cornbread that’s on the Quaker cornmeal container. Here’s the Quaker Cornbread recipe. This makes a pretty thick piece of cornbread on top. If you want less cornbread, more chili you could halve your cornbread recipe for a thinner layer or half the recipe and just plop some blobs of batter across the top instead of making a solid layer.

Simple and flavorful, this Chili Cornbread Skillet is ready in about 30 minutes for an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.

Hubby suggests serving it upside down so the cornbread is on the bottom.

[Tweet “Need an easy weeknight dinner? Try this Chili Cornbread Skillet from @leangrnbeanblog!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

We Rise By Lifting Others

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This post recaps a sponsored trip. My expenses were covered. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Hi Friends-

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Eat Sea Retreat at Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Thanks to the resort and a couple of other amazing sponsors – Stonyfield and Nature’s Path, a small group of amazing bloggers were able to get together for a few days to eat, drink and chat about blogging and life.

Our group included:

The group was the perfect size for productive, yet intimate blogging sessions and for me it was a great mix of bloggers I knew very well and some I was less familiar with. When I was initially invited on this trip, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go. My plan was not to travel much until Squish was a little older but as I learned more about it- who was going, what the agenda was, I decided it would be worth it.

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And I was so right. It’s probably the most valuable thing I’ve ever done for my blog.

Being a part-time or full-time blogger is a somewhat unique career and because of that, it can be a bit isolating. It’s not like we all work in the same building, or even the same city! We don’t always get a chance to meet the people we interact with every day. Opportunities like this are wonderful because they allow bloggers to connect in person and talk about the behind the scenes blogging things that people in your personal life might not necessarily understand because they’re not bloggers themselves. It allowed us to share tips and tricks, offer constructive criticism and critiques, brainstorm and problem solve.

But probably most importantly, it allowed us to support each other. I titled this post with one of my favorite quotes “We rise by lifting others”, because although all 8 of us are bloggers and some of us even blog in similar niches, work with the same brands, etc, there wasn’t a single time during the trip where I didn’t feel 100% SUPPORTED & ENCOURAGED by everyone else who was there.

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Blogging is a tricky beast and if you let it, it can easily become a cut-throat, competitive, money-obsessed occupation. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, this retreat just went to show that in many cases, bloggers can be each other’s best advocates and supporters.

One of my favorite activities from the trip was what I’d call the “struggle circle”. We all came up with one thing we’ve been struggling with lately, described our problem to the group and then we went around and everyone offered a suggestion or solution. Since we all had unique experiences and insights, everyone left with several different ideas and suggestions for fixing their problem. We covered everything from time management to rebranding to blogging burnout to figuring out how much to charge the companies we work with and so much more. And many of us found ourselves relating to more than one of the struggles.

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It was so refreshing to be able to chat with people who understood what I was going through or had been in my position previously and could offer insight. Most of us have been blogging for 5+ years and to be able to have a “meeting of the minds” like this where we could share experiences, tools, suggestions and encouragement was absolutely invaluable.

I could go on and on about my trip but I’ll leave you with these 5 valuable lessons that this trip helped remind me of:

1) Stop comparing yourself to others. What are you doing when you’re comparing yourself to others? You’re doing nothing to move yourself forward!

2) Just do it. There’s never going to be a “perfect” time to do something, whether it’s increasing your rates, quitting your job, rebranding, whatever. It’s always going to be scary, but you’ll never know until you try.

3) Find your niche and rock it! You cannot please everyone. If you try to, you’ll end up being mediocre in lot of areas instead of excelling at a few.

4) Get help. If there are things you don’t enjoy doing or don’t make the best use of your skills or talents, find someone else to help you do them.

5) Spread the love. Surround yourself with people who believe in you, support you and encourage you and make sure you’re doing the same for those people.

 

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To give you a brief recap of our trip: I got to LAX around 9am on Thursday and took a cab to Amelia’s house. We ran to Whole Foods & the farmer’s market to get some supplies and then headed up to the resort. After we unpacked, we met up with Ashley, Megan and Lauren at the pool. Liz & Kristin arrived and we headed back to our villas for a happy hour.

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That evening we had a several course dinner complete with wine pairings that was incredible. Friday morning we were up early and after a delicious breakfast thanks to our sponsor and then we spent the rest of the morning taking turns leading sessions.

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Liz and I shared our tips for productivity tools and time management techniques, Ashley and Kristin talked about building a loyal following and Lauren and Nicki branched out and talked a bit about how to approach brands and expand your portfolio. The great thing about the sessions is that we had a rough outline but then we were able to each chime in whenever we wanted and address other related issues that came up.

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After our session we had lunch on the patio of our villa cooked by some of the resort chefs and then we squeezed in a little more time at the pool before heading back to our villa to get head shots taken. We enjoyed a happy hour at one of the other resort restaurants and then came back to make dinner and chat some more.

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Saturday morning we fit in a couple more sessions before the first group of us headed to the airport. It was a quick trip but it was jam packed with useful information.

Like I mentioned before, I found the chance to get together with such amazing women and fellow entrepreneurs in a small-group setting to invaluable and it definitely gave me a push to make some changes and improvements I’ve been contemplating for a while now.

Huge thanks again to Terranea, Stonyfield and Nature’s Path for making it possible and to Amelia for organizing such a great retreat.

A few sponsor-related notes:

  • If you’re looking for a California vacation destination, I highly recommend Terranea Resort. The resort staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, the rooms/villas we stayed in were spacious and clean and the resort itself was beautiful, with all sorts of available activities from hiking to spa treatments to poolside lounging. It was like escaping to Hawaii for the weekend- without the extra-long flight!
  • Stonyfield has a couple of relatively new products you should check out: Greek & Chia Yogurt and Oh My Yog! I hadn’t tried either before the retreat and I liked them both! The Oh My Yog is delicious for dessert!
  • Nature’s Path Organic also has tons of great products. My favorite was the Qi’a Superfoods Hot Oatmeal packets we got to try for breakfast. They were a fun change from my regular oatmeal and SO delicious. I loved the Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed flavor!

 

Let’s chat:
What’s the most valuable life lesson you’ve learned or been reminded of lately?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

California Turkey Burgers

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These California Turkey Burgers are packed with delicious flavors thanks to the addition of avocado, roasted red peppers and bacon! Perfect for grilling season!

These California Turkey Burgers are packed with delicious flavors thanks to avocado, roasted red peppers and bacon. Perfect for grilling season!

Hi Friends!

Time for another month of Recipe Redux!

The theme for this month was spring cleaning. Here’s the prompt:

Go through your pantry, cupboards, freezer, or fridge; what ‘treasures’ have you found? Pick an ingredient/spice/condiment that’s been hanging out for a while and give it the attention it needs. Share a healthy recipe made using your new-found pantry prize.

I’m actually pretty good about cleaning out my pantry but sometimes I find things lurking in the back of my fridge so I checked my shelves and sure enough, I found some roasted red peppers that my mom bought while she was in town. I really like roasted red peppers and typically I like to roast my own, but until lately it had been forever since I’d done it. For the past few weeks I’ve gotten back into the swing of it because they’re one of Squish’s favorite foods….but anyways, I found this jar and knew I needed to use it up!

With grilling season upon us, I knew I wanted to make something we could make on the grill and burgers came to mine. I don’t like beef burgers but I do enjoy a good turkey burger every once and a while so I decided to make those, with a California spin in honor of my upcoming trip to Cali. That trip is now over, but I made these a few weeks ago when I was getting excited about it!

These California Turkey Burgers are packed with delicious flavors thanks to avocado, roasted red peppers and bacon. Perfect for grilling season!

Of course, it ended up raining the day I made these so I made them in the oven, but you could easily make them on the grill. I added some typical burger toppings to the inside of the burger to change things up – roasted red peppers, avocado, bacon, etc.

Here’s how you make them:

Feel free to add or subtract mix-ins to fit your taste. Also make sure your mix-ins are pretty finely diced before mixing to make it easier for the burgers to stick together.

These California Turkey Burgers are packed with delicious flavors thanks to avocado, roasted red peppers and bacon. Perfect for grilling season!

Be sure to check out the link-up below to see how others turned their spring cleaning into a new recipe!

[Tweet “These California Turkey Burgers from @leangrnbeanblog are perfect for grilling season!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

An InLinkz Link-up

Mini Greek Yogurt Pies

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Ready in 60 seconds, these super simple mini Greek Yogurt pies are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth. 

mini-greek-yogurt-pies-3-via-@semihealthnut-at-semihealthyblog

Hi Friends!

I’m away at a little blogging conference today so my girl Amanda is taking over to share a tasty treat with all of you! Enjoy!

 

Hello there Lean Green Bean readers! My name is Amanda and I blog over at Diary of a Semi-Health Nut about a variety of things like semi-healthy recipes, my attempts at running, and lately my new cat, Zoey Fluffy Butt.

I’ve had the pleasure of following Lindsay’s blog for the past 3(?!) years and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to take it over for the day. Hopefully this means she gets a little more time to snuggle squish (<-her cute baby, incase you didn’t know) and update her Bean Bytes so I know what posts I need to be reading next week.

Keep it Simple and Semi-Healthy

I’m with Lindsay—healthy food shouldn’t be complicated! I think sometimes we get into our heads that to live a healthy life, we have to do workout for hours every day, and spend another couple of hours cooking healthy meals with weird healthy ingredients so we can be a healthy living goddesses.

That’s simply not true! Don’t overwhelm yourself with complex workout routines and recipes. Just keep it simple! That way you won’t give up after a week due to unrealistic expectations.One unrealistic expectation (for me anyways) is giving up dessert. I often wonder…is this person who says they are giving up dessert never going to eat another piece of chocolate again? How is this possible?

Instead of totally giving up desserts, why not try to make your desserts semi-healthy? Adding bananas and protein to cookies, flaxseed flour to fudgy hot cocoa bars and even making your own homemade fruit roll-ups are just a few ways to satisfy your sweet tooth while adding some needed nutrients into your body.

Win-win, right?

This isn’t to say that I don’t ever eat regular desserts, I just try to make most of my desserts semi-healthy so I’m at least getting some health benefits. Chocolate is always a viable option by the way…hello antioxidants!

Mini Greek Yogurt Pies

Ready in 60 seconds, these Mini Greek Yogurt Pies are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth!

I’ve brought you guys a super simple semi-healthy dessert you can whip up in 60 seconds flat. You could probably even get your significant other, kids, friends or anyone who doesn’t like to eat “healthy” to dig into this tasty sneakily-healthy creation.

One of my favorite things to do is whip up a semi-healthy dessert, feed it to friends and not tell them there’s anything healthy in it until they are done raving over it.

Then boom! I drop the health bomb on them!

Okay not really, I just let them know there are a few healthy ingredients and watch their surprised faces! These mini Greek yogurt pies have been perfect for me as a treat after a run or as a little something sweet after dinner without being TOO sweet.

Mini Greek Yogurt Pies Recipe

Ready in 60 seconds, these Mini Greek Yogurt Pies are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Ingredients:

Mini graham cracker pie crust*

1/2 cup your choice of Greek yogurt

Toppings such as sprinkles, cinnamon-sugar, whipped cream, mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts

Instructions:

Pile your Greek yogurt and toppings into a cute little mini graham cracker pie crust. I used leftover sprinkles and cinnamon sugar from my recent (sweet sugar and butter-filled) dessert Lemon Snickerdoodle Funfetti Cookies. Grab a spoon and dig in!

*I found these at Target, but you can also find them on Amazon. An alternative could be made by putting some graham crackers and melted butter into a food processor and pressing the mixture into the bottom of a small bowl or cupcake liner. Scale down this recipe for precise measurements. You could also just use crushed graham crackers if you want to nix the butter. It’s your dessert!

Ready in 60 seconds, these Mini Greek Yogurt Pies are the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth!

Benefits of Greek Yogurt

Not all Greek yogurts are created equally, but in general, these tend to be the benefits:

-Higher in protein than regular yogurt

-Lower in sugar than regular yogurt

-Probiotics which aid digestion

-Calcium for your bones

-Other surprising benefits

So what are you waiting for? Whip up your own awesome Mini Greek Yogurt Pies and be sure to let me know what you came up with!

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Thanks Lindsay for letting me take over your blog for the day.

Questions:

Are you a fan of Green yogurt? Which brand and flavor?

Do you make semi-healthy desserts? What’s your favorite recipe? Share it below in the comments!

30 Healthy Dessert Recipes

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Got a sweet tooth? Here are 30 Healthy Dessert Recipes for you to try! 

Chocolate Almond Meal Cake

Hi Friends!

Today is a big day. It’s my birthday! And not just any birthday. I’m turning 30! Eeeeek! So it seems only natural that we talk about healthy dessert recipes.

On Monday hubby threw me a little surprise birthday party (he’s the best) so I got to celebrate in person with my friends and family! Now if I could just figure out a way to get together with all of my fabulous blogger friends and readers to celebrate as well, my birthday would be perfect! Since I can’t, we’ll have to settle for celebrating virtually. To make it more fun, I invited 30 of my favorite food bloggers to my virtual party and asked them to bring dessert. Here are 30 of their favorite dessert recipes for everyone to check out! Funny thing is, I never said anything about them having to be healthy. That’s just how it ended up. Fairly healthy, as far as desserts goes. I guess that’s just how me and my bloggy friends roll!

Looking for some new healthy dessert recipes? Here are 30 delicious dessert recipes from some of the best food bloggers around!

Get ready to start drooling. And be sure to pin some of these so you can make them for yourself later! I tried to notate any special dietary categories they fit into if applicable.

30 Healthy Dessert Recipes

Chocolate Raspberry Tarts

Chocolate & Raspberry Tartlets via Living Well Kitchen

Lemon Berry Napoleons

Fresh Lemon Berry Napoleons via Wanna Be A Country Cleaver

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream via The Lemon Bowl
{Vegan, Gluten-Free}

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Chickpea Blondies

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Chickpea Blondies via Hummusapien
{Gluten-Free, Vegan}

Doughy Peach Pie Bars

Doughy Peach Pie Bars via Yeah…Imma Eat That
{Gluten-Free}

Paleo Cashew Butter Cookies

Cashew Butter Cookies via Fit Foodie Finds
{Grain-Free, Paleo}

Paleo Orange Maple Sugar Cookies

Orange Maple Sugar Cookies via Cotter Crunch
{Grain-Free, Paleo}

Vegan No Bake Blueberry Custard Pie

No Bake Blueberry Custard Pie via Fannetastic Food
{Vegan, Gluten-Free}

Rhubarb Chai Cream Pie

Light Rhubarb Chai Cream Pie via Healthy Seasonal Recipes

Paleo Dark Chocolate Cake

Deep Dish Dark Chocolate Cake w/ Almond Butter Swirl via A Clean Bake
{Paleo, Gluten-Free}

Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake via The Healthy Maven
{Gluten-Free}

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes via Keep it Sweet

Black Bean Brownies

Black Bean Brownies via Meal Makeover Moms
{Gluten-Free}

Dark Chocolate Almond Oatmeal Cookies

Dark Chocolate Almond Oatmeal Cookies via The Foodie Dietitian
{Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free}

Crepe Cake

Chocolate Crepe Cake via Food Faith Fitness

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches

Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches via Kumquat
{Gluten-Free, Vegan}

Cinnamon Raisin Spice Cookies

Cinnamon Spice Raisin Cookies via An Avocado A Day
{No Added Sugar, Grain-Free}

Creamy Avocado and Lime Tart

Creamy Lime & Avocado Tart via Eating Bird Food
{Vegan, Gluten-Free}

Flourless Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars via Well Plated
{Gluten-Free}

Welcome To Chunkytown Cookies

Welcome To Chunky Town Chocolate Chip Cookies via Crave by Taylor
{Paleo, Grain-Free}

Light Triple Coconut Cream Pie

Light Triple Coconut Cream Pie via Back To Her Roots

Chocolate Almond Meal Cake

Chocolate Almond Meal Cake via Edible Perspective
{Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free}

Flourless Double Chocolate Brownies

Flourless Double Chocolate Brownies via Running with Spoons
{Gluten-Free}

German Chocolate Cupcakes

German Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Pecan Coconut Icing via The Spicy RD
{Gluten-Free, Vegan}

Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl Bread

Banana Chocolate & Peanut Butter Swirl Bread via Healthy Nibbles & Bits
{Gluten-Free}

No Bake Salted Caramel Slice

No Bake Salted Caramel Slice via The Big Man’s World
{Gluten-Free, Vegan}

Mini Chocolate Layer Cakes for Two

Mini Chocolate Layer Cakes via Dessert for Two

Small Batch Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Small Batch Dark Chocolate Cupcakes via Peas and Crayons

Reeses Cupcakes

Vanilla Bean Cookie Butter Cupcakes via Ari’s Menu

Fudgy Paleo Brownie

Fudgy Skillet Brownie via Running to the Kitchen
{Grain-Free, Paleo}

Anything catch your eye? Leave a link to your favorite healthy dessert in the comments!

[Tweet “Hungry? Here are 30 Healthy Dessert Recipes for you to drool over via @leangrnbeanblog!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

A Look In My Diaper Bag

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This post was sponsored by Boppy™. I was compensated for my time. All thoughts and opinions are 100% honest and my own.

Hi Friends!

Today we’re switching gears from food to babies! More specifically, I’m going to introduce you to my new Boppy™ Diaper Bag and give you a peek of what I keep inside.

boppy diaper bag

Let me start by saying this bag was a serious a fashion upgrade from my previous bag which was functional but a totally boring plain black. My new bag is so pretty! I love the colors and pattern (there are several fun ones to choose from!) and I also love the fact that it’s fashionable, but not over-the-top girly, so hubby still feels comfortable carrying it!

boppy diaper bag

 

The bag itself is well made and sturdy. It has tons of pockets both inside and out to help keep things organized, a binky holder (clutch!) and an external strap to to clip on extra items like a nursing pillow or a sweater. And it zips closed on top- critical for me because I’m constantly throwing the bag around when I’m in a hurry and I don’t need things spilling out all over the place.

boppy diaper bag top

As an added bonus, it comes with a matching clutch and changing pad. When I published my 10 Tips For New Moms post a couple months ago, one reader had a great suggestion to keep an extra diaper bag in the car because you never know when you’re going to run out of the house in a hurry and forget the diaper bag. As a frequent sufferer of mom brain (believe me when I say, mom brain is a real thing) I pretty much thought this was the best idea ever! The clutch is the perfect size for a pack of wipes, a few diapers and a clean onsie. I’m leaving the clutch and diaper pad in my car from now on for emergencies!

boppy diaper bag clutch

When you leave the house with a baby, you need a lot of stuff. Gone are the days when I could just run out the door at the last minute with nothing more than a credit card and my keys. Now, when I venture out with Squish, I not only need him and his carseat, but I need diapers, wipes, and a changing pad so I can change his diapers. I need a change of clothes in case he has a blowout. I need a bottle and formula in case he needs to eat. I need toys in case I need to entertain him…..see what I mean??

So, I thought i’d be fun to share what I keep in our diaper bag, so I made a little video!

And here it is laid out all nice and pretty! Like I said, it’s a lot of stuff and I love that all fits in my Boppy™ Diaper Bag AND there’s room for more!

diaper bag contents

I asked Squish what he thought about the bag and he gave it his seal of approval as well!

boppy diaper bag and baby

He did get a little tired of me taking pictures though 🙂

boppy diaper bag

Anyways, I hope some of you found this review helpful. Keep it in mind next time you need a gift for a baby shower!You can find them at Amazon, Babies ‘R’ Us or Buy Buy Baby.

Oh, and they also have this super convenient changing pad station for a smaller grab and go option! That clip makes it perfect for clipping on a stroller which is making me want to get one for myself for summer!

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Be sure to check out the Boppy™ website to see all the fun pillows, bags, toys and chairs they have.

boppy® logo 3.5.15 white outline

 

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Boppy via Burst Media. The opinions and text are all mine.

A Week of Spring Meal Ideas

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Looking for some ways to use your fresh spring produce? Here’s a roundup with a week of spring meal ideas to inspire you!

A Week of Spring Meals

Hi Friends!

Time for more meal planning help! As you’re planning your menu for next week, take a look at this week of spring meal ideas!

Looking for new ways to use your spring produce? Here's a week of spring meal ideas!

Make them all or just make a few but hopefully this round up will give you some new ideas and inspiration for using up all of the delicious spring produce that’s currently in season!

Ready? Here we go!

 Breakfast

Easy breakfast ideas using spring fruits and vegetables.

Lunch

Easy lunch ideas using spring vegetables!

 Dinner

Easy dinner ideas using spring produce!

If you’re adding some of these to your meal plan, be sure to spend a little time food prepping as well to make your week easier!

Here are some ideas:

  • Make a double batch of quiche cups. Freeze half for later and have the other half on hand for a grab and go breakfast.
  • Bake a batch of oatmeals. Simply cut and reheat throughout the week.
  • Make some pancakes ahead of time, or just shred the carrots so you can whip up the batter quickly.
  • Prep the crockpot minestrone so all you have to do is dump it in and turn it on one night during the week.
  • Roast or grill your veggies for the cobb salad and hard boil some eggs while you’re at it!
  • Slice the veggies for the buddha bowl and salad for quick assembly.
  • Cook a batch of dried beans and freeze some for later.
  • Grill or bake some chicken so you can easily slice it to top salads and pizza.
  • Make the spring pea sauce for your salmon.
  • Chop the veggies for the pad thai.
  • Make a batch of soup.

weekly meal plans

Want more ideas? Check out the full gallery of weekly meal plans here!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Potato Soup

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Made with simple ingredients, this Potato Soup is nutritious, flavorful and perfect for busy weeks!

This potato soup is made with two kinds of potatoes and makes a great, nutritious option for lunch or dinner!

Hi Friends!

I realize that some of you may be approaching the end of soup weather, but it’s been raining here for pretty much 5 days straight and to me, rain = soup weather. Plus, I happily eat soup year round, but that’s a whole other thing.

Anyways, I wanted to pop in and share this Potato Soup recipe with you guys because I’ve made it several times over the past few weeks.

This potato soup is made with two kinds of potatoes and makes a great, nutritious option for lunch or dinner!

When I first made this soup, I intended to just make it with white potatoes, but I didn’t have enough of them so I had to throw in a sweet potato. It ended up turning out well so I keep making it like that, but you could use all white potatoes or all sweet potatoes if you wanted to!

Here’s how you make it:

You could easily make it vegetarian by omitting the bacon, but I think it adds great flavor!

This potato soup is made with two kinds of potatoes and makes a great, nutritious option for lunch or dinner!

[Tweet “Enjoy this simple Potato Soup from @leangrnbeanblog for a quick lunch or dinner!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

PS. If you like sweet potatoes, be sure to check out my favorite Curried Sweet Potato Soup!

Coffee Protein Shake

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With just a few simple ingredients, this Coffee Protein Shake is the perfect way to refuel after a tough workout!

Made with just a few ingredients, this Coffee Protein Shake is the perfect way to refuel after a tough workout!

Hi friends!

Today I thought I’d pop in and share my hubby’s new favorite post-workout drink. This Coffee Protein Shake is super easy to make and Mr. Bean says it tastes like coffee ice cream- his favorite!

I’m not a huge fan of coffee-flavored stuff…but if you are, then you’ll definitely like this.

It does require a little bit of prep work. And by prep work I mean you need to brew a pot of coffee, pour it into ice cube trays and stick them in the freezer. That’s it.

Think you can handle it?

Made with just a few ingredients, this Coffee Protein Shake is the perfect way to refuel after a tough workout!

Here’s how you make the shake:

So there you have it! Like I mentioned above, my ice cube tray holds about 10 oz of coffee so you can estimate how much coffee you’re putting in each shake by the amount of cubes you use.

Made with just a few ingredients, this Coffee Protein Shake is the perfect way to refuel after a tough workout!

If you want a thicker shake, just add some regular ice cubes!

[Tweet “Refuel after a tough workout with this Coffee Protein Shake from @leangrnbeanblog!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

You’re Still A Great Mom If

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Hi Friends!

As a new mom, it’s easy to compare yourself to all the other moms out there…especially today when Pinterest is all the rage and social media makes it easy to see what other moms are doing all the time.

Over the past five months I’ve learned that there are a million ways to be a mom…and even though it may not always feel like it, you’re still a great mom even if you do things a little differently than others.

great mom

I thought I’d share a few examples today.

You’re still a great mom if:

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1) Your baby doesn’t have a set nap or sleep schedule.
Squish sleeps when he’s tired and is awake when he’s not. Some days that means getting up at 8am and napping at 9. Some days that means he’s awake from 9am to 2pm without a nap. It’s ok.

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2) Your baby still sleeps in the pack and play.
I had every intention of having him in his crib when he hit 3 months. He’s 5 months and still sleeps within arms reach. Why? Because it’s easier for me to just reach out and flip him over or give him his binkie at 3am instead of getting up and going to the next room to do it.

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3) You let your baby watch tv.
Everything you read says no screen time before age 2. Squish watches a little TV every day and I don’t feel bad about it.

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4) You let your child cry when you’re busy.
Sometimes, I let my kid cry. If he’s safe, fed and has a clean diaper and he’s still crying when I need to finish up something for work, take a few pictures for the blog or finish cooking dinner, I let him cry. And it’s ok.

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5) You take your child out of the house occasionally without checking the weather.
Sometimes I take Squish with me to run a quick errand and it turns out it’s 40 degrees instead of 60 degrees like I thought it was. Should he have on pants and socks instead of shorts and bare feet? Probably. But is it the end of the world? No, he’ll be fine.

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6) You play rap songs for your baby because they like the beat.
Sometimes we turn up the rap music and dance with Squish. Are the lyrics completely inappropriate for kids? Yes. Does he love it? Yes. Do I think it’s ok right now because he’s only 5 months old? Yes.

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7) You sometimes let baby go 5 days without a bath.
I’m definitely not in the bathe your kid every day camp, but my goal is to get him in the tub every 2-3 days. However, sometimes the week flies by and I realize it’s been 5 days since he had a bath. Whoops. Gross? Kind of. End of the world? Nope. He’ll be fine.

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8) You rock your child to sleep instead of putting them to bed awake.
Yes, I know it’s supposed to be better if he puts himself to sleep. Can he do that? Some nights. Other nights I rock him to sleep because I’m tired/It’s easier/I like doing it…and you know what? It’s ok.

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9) You rarely sanitize stuff.
Baby put everything in his mouth….and I mean EVERYTHING. Is some of it dirty? Yes. Should I be cleaning his toys/binkie/etc more often? Probably…but it just doesn’t always happen…and that’s ok!

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10) Your kid is not always dressed and/or matching.
Squish has a lot of cute outfits…but there have been many a day where he stays in his pjs all day long. Some days it’s just easier that way. And some days he looks ridiculous because no part of his outfit matches…And that’s ok too.

IMG_3478

11) Sometimes you forget to read to your baby.
I love reading…Squish loves books. I love when we read together, but some days I just forget to get the books out. And that’s ok. There’s always time for extra reading tomorrow.

IMG_3486

12) Sometimes you count down the minutes until help arrives.
I love being home with baby all day. Most days we survive without a major incident. But some days, ohhhhh some days, you better believe I’m counting the minutes until hubby gets home from work. And that doesn’t make me a bad mom.

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13) You let the dogs lick your kid’s face.
Sweet? Yes. Unsanitary? Yes. Does it happen? You betcha.

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14) All the baby toys have dog hair on them.
With two dogs and two cats, that struggle is real. I’m not proud of it but my kid probably ingests enough pet hair to form his own hairball. But that’s ok.

So there you go. In case you didn’t pick up on it, I do every single one of the things on this list…and I don’t think that makes me a bad mom! I’m certain there are people out there judging me for it, but the most important thing I’ve learned about parenting so far is that the best things you can do are the things that work best for you and your family. Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. It’s not worth your time!

[Tweet “You’re still a great mom if you do things a little differently via @leangrnbeanblog!”]

Let’s chat:

What’s one thing you do as a mom that might be “frowned upon” by others?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

I was inspired to write this post after I read You’re Still A Great Mom Even If… on Scary Mommy.

A Week of Vegan Meals

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Looking to add more meatless meals to your diet? Here’s a week of vegan meals to inspire you during your weekly meal planning session!

vegan meals

Hi Friends!

This week’s meal plan features a week of vegan meals. I’m not vegan and probably never will be, but I do believe that everyone can benefit from adding some plant-based, nutrient-rich meals to their diet!

Menu planning? Check out this week of vegan meals for some delicious meatless breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas!

This isn’t a meal plan I’m following and you don’t have to follow it exactly either, but here are 5 vegan breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas for you to check out. Consider adding a few of them to your meal plan for next week!

Breakfast

Menu planning? Check out this week of vegan meals for some delicious meatless breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas!

 Lunch

Menu planning? Check out this week of vegan meals for some delicious meatless breakfast, lunch, and dinner ideas!

 

Dinner

A week of vegan dinners

[Tweet “Add some meatless meals to your menu! A week of vegan meals from @leangrnbeanblog!”]

 

Want to make your week even easier? Do some food prep. Here are a few ideas based on this meal plan:

  • Make a batch of the apple pie bars or a few batches of protein overnight oats to keep in the fridge for a quick grab and go breakfast.
  • Chop veggies and cook the beans you’ll need for a tofu breakfast scramble.
  • Make a batch of lentil chili and you can reheat it all week.
  • Make a big bowl of quinoa edamame salad. Eat it for lunch or add it to dinner as a side dish.
  • Bake some quinoa bean bites. Grab a few when packing your lunch to put in a wrap or on a salad.
  • Chop and cook the veggies for your Philly sandwiches for quick assembly.
  • Make a batch of chickpea burgers and freeze them. Pull them out and reheat as needed for quick weeknight dinners.
  • Make a double batch of lentil mushroom ragu and freeze half to have on hand for a busy week later!

weekly meal plans

Looking for more ideas? Check out the full gallery of weekly meal plans here. 

 

Let’s chat:
What’s your favorite vegan meal? Leave a link in the comments!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Fitness Friday 70

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Hi Friends!

Hard to believe it’s been two months since I posted my last Crossfit After Baby post!  I’ve now officially been back at Crossfit for 3 months! Here’s a recap of my workouts for the past two months…plus some thoughts.

I had a bit of a slump for a couple weeks where I took a few more rest days than usual. I was sick, then baby wasn’t sleeping, then just life. I’m trying to adjust to the fact that this is my new normal and sometimes getting to Crossfit just won’t happen. I’m also grateful for all the workout equipment we have at home!

ff1

1. Lots of pull-ups and burpees…the the wod. Finished in 11:07 with hand release push-ups instead of handstand push-ups
2. A workout, then some time in the sun with the boys!
3. 7×5 back squats (110#) at home, then a tough EMOTM, then 8:25 for the wod with manmakers and 145# DL
4. Front squats, then a long wod. One round of cindy is 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups, 15 air squats. Then you do 1 clean and jerk, another round of cindy + 2 clean and jerks…repeat up to 10 c&j. Finished in 27:58 with 85# <– the most weight I’ve put overhead since I’ve been back!

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1. Squats – 8×4 @ 115#
2. 6 +35 Rx with slooooow burpees.
3. Did a nice little partner wod this morning – harder than it looks. Then 6×6 back squats at 110# – a little tough after 10×3 at 122.5# yesterday.
4. Each round is 8 minutes. If you finish early, you rest until the end of the 8 minutes. Only round I didn’t finish was the second round. I did man makers for muscle ups, hand release push-ups instead of hspu and dips with the red band. My TTB were slow but I did them all for the first time since I’ve been back!

ff3

1. Survived my squats tonight! 7×5 at 120#.
2. Holy hard. 2, 1+15, 1+7, 1+5, 1+6 Rx. #toomanythrusters — time for a homemade protein bar and lots of water!
3. When it’s late…and you’re tired…and you feel like skipping…that’s when it counts.  8×4 at 125#
4. Good workout tonight! Part 1- 6:11 // Part 2- 3:11 // Part 3- 5:48 // I used 65# and did regular pull-ups

Snowing like crazy outside, squatting like crazy inside! 10×3 at 135#! #crossfit #squat #fitcolumbus #fitfluential

A video posted by Lindsay L, RD (@theleangreenbean) on


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1. Not my best effort. TTB will be the death of me. Almost finished 6 rounds Rx but didn’t quite get my toes to the bar on the last few so I didn’t count them. Making progress though!
2. So many pull-ups. 9:35 Rx
3. Crushed it. 8:28 Rx
4. Grandparents watch baby, mom & dad do partner wod!

I do my best thrusters with @yakattack7 & @scootboody! #crossfit

A video posted by Lindsay L, RD (@theleangreenbean) on


ff5

1. Holy legs! 12:51 Rx
2. Lots of TTB – Finally back to stringing 4-5 together at a time!!! Then 8+17 for the wod. I subbed 6 push-ups for the hspu
3. If you were to design an open workout that included my 3 least favorite movements, this would be it. 86 reps thanks to a mental struggle with my snatches and 105# clean and jerk. Cleaned 115 but need to work on my jerk. Glad it’s over. Bring on 15.2!
4. Lots of squat cleans, then 6+20 Rx for the wod

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1. Pretty much a double workout. 4/6/9/9 for the tabata, then 12:53 for the wod with regular pull-ups for 30 and 20 and 25 muscle up progressions on the rings for the muscle ups
2. Cross 15.2 off the list! Not quite as good as last year but I got 66 reps and I’m feeling pretty darn good about it 🙂 Squish got to hang out with his adoring fans
3. I did ’em both! Redid 15.2 and got 8 more reps for a score of 72, then did the wod in 9:06 rx
4. Not fast but I kept moving! 2+ 26 then 1+13

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1. Garage wod with my little man.
2. Brutal, especially after 100 burpees! Finished in 3:51 Rx
3. Finished in 14:15
4. Busy being a blur of awesomeness during 15.4 – 8 min AMRAP – 10 push press (65#) 10 cleans (75#). Finished 105 reps

If you were paying close attention, you’ll notice I didn’t do workout 15.3 of the Open. I have mixed feelings about the Open this year. This was my third year doing it and I was way less excited going into it…mainly because I knew I wasn’t in the best shape. But they also made a lot of changes to the Open this year, including adding a scaled option which I don’t love. Anyways, I won’t get into a whole rant on my feelings but suffice it to say that 15.3 started with muscle-ups, which I can’t do and I felt like the scaled option was terrible and not really a “scaled” representation of the Rx workout so I didn’t do it. 

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1. 13:38 Rx.
2. Loved this one! My pullups felt strong! Shoulder burner! 425 reps Rx
3. One of the worst workouts I’ve ever done. More thrusters than Fran…and worse than Fran because it’s ALL legs, no break to do pullups. Finished in 13:08 and my legs were sore for 4 days.
4. Hit a post-baby PR squat clean @ 130#! Was feeling pretty proud considering my legs were shot from the day before. Then 7:52 Rx for the wod.

And then, yesterday we did Grace.

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Grace is actually one of my favorites as far as benchmarks go…but yesterday it was HARD. 95# used to be easy for me. What made it hard was doing it as fast as I could. Now, getting 95# over my head is HEAVY. And hard. And just finishing this workout was hard, let alone doing it with any sort of speed. I finished in 5:41 Rx. My old PR was 4:30 I think so in reality finishing only a minute slower than that is pretty good.

But that’s the thing about Crossfit. It builds you up, strings you along, makes you feel pretty good about yourself and then BAM, a workout totally humbles you.

And that’s why I love it!

Overall I feel pretty good after being back for 3 months….but I’ve still got a ways to go…and I can ALWAYS get better!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

by 67 Comments

Nutrient rich and super simple, this chocolate avocado pudding makes a great snack or dessert. 

Nutrient dense and made with just four ingredients, this Chocolate Avocado Pudding makes a great snack or dessert!

Hi Friends!

Today I’m finally sharing that delicious Chocolate Avocado Pudding recipe I’ve been teasing you with for the past week. I’ve never been a huge pudding fan myself but hubby likes chocolate pudding and I’ve had it on my list of things to make for a while now. I’ve looked at TONS of recipes and was just never crazy about the ingredients that most of them used.

Nutrient dense and made with just four ingredients, this Chocolate Avocado Pudding makes a great snack or dessert!

When I did find a few recipes that I liked the ingredients in, several of them used bananas and nut butter to thicken them. Hubby doesn’t like bananas and I wanted this to be truly chocolatey, not overshadowed by nut butter mixed in.

Nutrient dense and made with just four ingredients, this Chocolate Avocado Pudding makes a great snack or dessert!

I decided to use dates as the base. They’re naturally sweet and I like how you can puree them to be totally smooth. I figured I could combine them with avocado for a thick, smooth pudding.  I added a little cocoa powder to get the chocolate flavor and some milk to help blend it all together and voila! 4 ingredients and crazy delicious.

Here’s the recipe (inspired by Minimalist Baker):

When I told hubby what was in this pudding, he said “No f*!@king way!”.

Mind. Blown.

Even Squish can help make this recipe! Take a look:

Since I love peanut butter and banana I chose to add those to mine as toppings. Feel free to add whatever toppings you want or eat it as is.

Nutrient dense and made with just four ingredients, this Chocolate Avocado Pudding makes a great snack or dessert!

Keep in mind that while I would consider this a healthy pudding option full of nutrients, it’s still calorie dense….so a small serving is all you need! If you divide one batch into 3 small servings, it’ll probably around 225 calories.

[Tweet “You’re just 4 ingredients away from this Chocolate Avocado Pudding from @LeanGrnBeanBlog!”]

Let’s chat:
Are you a pudding lover?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

A Week of Slow Cooker Meals

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A week of slow cooker meals that includes 15 recipes made in the crockpot- ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

slow cooker meals

Hi Friends!

After taking last Saturday off to share my 12 Ways To Use Leftovers post, I’m back today with a week of slow cooker meals to inspire for you! Like I mentioned previously, this isn’t a meal plan that I’m following, nor does it need to be followed exactly. It’s just meant to give you some ideas for meals you could add to your menu for next week! This week I’m sharing 15 recipes that can all be made in the crockpot!

Need some new meal ideas? Here are 15 recipes (breakfast, lunch & dinner!) that can all be made in the crockpot!

Be sure to pin this post so you can refer back to it later! Hopefully you can find an idea or two that appeals to you!

Breakfast

Crockpot Breakfast Ideas

 

 

Lunch

Crockpot Lunch Ideas

 

 

Dinner

Crockpot Dinner Ideas

weekly meal plans

Need more ideas? Check out the full gallery of weekly meal plans here!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Lentil Macaroni and Cheese

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A childhood favorite kicked up a notch! This Lentil Macaroni and Cheese is packed with vegetables and lentils for a hearty vegetarian meal. 

A childhood favorite kicked up a notch! This Lentil Macaroni and Cheese is packed with vegetables and lentils for a hearty vegetarian meal.

Hi Friends!

Time for another second-look recipe. This Lentil Macaroni and Cheese is one of my absolute favorites. I first shared it on the blog back in 2012 and I’ve probably made it 100 times since then. What can I say? I love mac and cheese. Always have. Always will. Plain old mac and cheese will probably always be my favorite, but to make it a more complete meal, I’ve added lots of veggies and some extra protein to this version. I can easily make a batch and eat it for lunch or dinner several days in a row. So good.

A childhood favorite kicked up a notch! This Lentil Macaroni and Cheese is packed with vegetables and lentils for a hearty vegetarian meal.

I made a few tweaks to the original recipe and took some new pics so I thought I’d share it again! The best part about it is that it’s a very forgiving recipe so you can really vary it based on what veggies you have on hand, add extra cheese or a different kind if you want (I’ve been known to throw in some goat cheese!), throw in some meat or beans instead of or in addition to the lentils, etc.

Here’s how you make it.

I usually make it with fresh spinach and think I like it slightly better that way, but frozen was all I had on hand this time and it worked just as well! If you don’t like spinach, leave it out all together. For veggies, I usually use fresh red peppers and onions and then add a couple cups of frozen mixed veggies. Broccoli, green beans, peas, carrots, etc are all great options. I’ve also added sweet potatoes.

A childhood favorite kicked up a notch! This Lentil Macaroni and Cheese is packed with vegetables and lentils for a hearty vegetarian meal.

If you’re feeling adventurous, check out my How To Sprout Lentils post and use those when you make it! If you don’t like lentils, sub your favorite protein – it’s a great way to use up leftover chicken or pork and I often add chicken sausage when I make it!

A childhood favorite kicked up a notch! This Lentil Macaroni and Cheese is packed with vegetables and lentils for a hearty vegetarian meal.

You get the idea. As you can see, this is just a base recipe. Put your own twist on it!

[Tweet “A childhood favorite kicked up a notch! Lentil Veggie Mac and Cheese from @Leangrnbeanblog!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Slow Cooker Loaded Sweet Potatoes

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Let the crockpot do all the work with these Slow Cooker Loaded Sweet Potatoes. Individual foil packets make them easy to serve and cleanup is a breeze!

Let the crockpot do all the work with these Slow Cooker Loaded Sweet Potatoes. Individual foil packets make them easy to serve and cleanup is a breeze!

Hi Friends!

Just popping in with super simple dinner idea for you! I’ve professed my love for loaded sweet potatoes many times but this time I made it even easier by using my slow cooker.

Basically, this is another fix it and forget it meal idea that just requires you to make up a few foil packets, throw them in the crockpot and go on about your day. When you come back, you’ll have a delicious packet of Mexican goodness waiting for you. The foil packets pretty much go straight from crockpot to table leaving you with no messy crockpot to clean and hardly any dirty dishes!

Let the crockpot do all the work with these Slow Cooker Loaded Sweet Potatoes. Individual foil packets make them easy to serve and cleanup is a breeze!

This recipe is easy to customize based on flavor preferences and doesn’t need exact quantities. Just pick your favorite toppings, pile them on and voila!

Here’s what you need:

I kept these vegetarian by omitting the meat, but you could easily add some leftover chicken or pork, or some pre-cooked chicken sausage, etc if you’re a meat-eater. I forgot to include this idea in my 12 Ways To Use Leftovers post! Choose your favorite grain. I used wheat berries but rice, quinoa etc would work just as well!

Let the crockpot do all the work with these Slow Cooker Loaded Sweet Potatoes. Individual foil packets make them easy to serve and cleanup is a breeze!

I chose small sweet potatoes at the store specifically for this recipe so I put a whole one in each packet. If your sweet potatoes are larger, consider using only half in each packet.

Let the crockpot do all the work with these Slow Cooker Loaded Sweet Potatoes. Individual foil packets make them easy to serve and cleanup is a breeze!

Clearly I forgot to add the avocado before I took these pictures! But make no mistake, it was added when I ate one for lunch!

Let the crockpot do all the work with these Slow Cooker Loaded Sweet Potatoes. Individual foil packets make them easy to serve and cleanup is a breeze!

[Tweet “Add these Slow Cooker Loaded Sweet Potatoes from @Leangrnbeanblog to your dinner rotation!”]

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–