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Jalapeno Cheddar Sweet Potato Puffs

February 4, 2014 by Lindsay 56 Comments

These Jalapeno Cheddar Sweet Potato Puffs are the perfect finger food! Make them as an appetizer for your next party, a snack for the big game or as a side dish for dinner!

Hi Friends!

If I had my act together, I would have posted these little puffs in time for you to make them for the Super Bowl. But I don’t, and I didn’t…so I’m posting them now. Luckily for me, I just found out that February is, in fact, National Sweet Potato Month! How perfect for me, right? I’ll share this recipe with you…and then at the bottom of this post I’ll round up some of my favorite sweet potato recipes for you to check out if you need more sweet potatoes in your life. And trust me- you do 🙂

These Jalapeno Cheddar Sweet Potato Puffs are a savory spin on my Sweet Potato Banana Bites that I make weekly for a pre-workout snack! They’re simple to make and require only a few ingredients!

These Jalapeno Cheddar Sweet Potato Puffs are the perfect finger food! Make them as an appetizer for your next party, a snack for the big game or as a side dish for dinner!

Here’s what you do:

Pretty easy, right? Like I said in the recipe, you don’t have to use cheddar cheese….I think pepperjack would be great as well. If you like spice, use serrano peppers instead of jalapenos, or a combination of the two.

These Jalapeno Cheddar Sweet Potato Puffs are the perfect finger food! Make them as an appetizer for your next party, a snack for the big game or as a side dish for dinner!

These are best served warm but they can be made ahead of time and reheated in the microwave if needed.

These Jalapeno Cheddar Sweet Potato Puffs are the perfect finger food! Make them as an appetizer for your next party, a snack for the big game or as a side dish for dinner!

I brought these over for my in laws to taste test and they gave them a thumbs up. Hubby and I have also eaten two batches since last Friday, so that’s a good sign!

Let me know if you give them a try!

And here’s a roundup image in case you want to pin something so you have the links to all my favorite sweet potato recipes in one place!

Cranberry Sweet Potato Cottage Cheese Muffins
Sweet Potato Brownies
Sweet Potato Egg Boats
Sweet Potato Falafel
Microwave Sweet Potato Muffin
Mexican Loaded Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato Puffs
Sweet Potato Banana Bites
Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
Jalapeno Cheddar Sweet Potato Puffs

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Personal Planner Giveaway

February 1, 2014 by Lindsay 244 Comments

Hi Friends!

Remember last week when I posted a picture of my new planner?! Check it out:

Last month, Lisa at Personal Planners reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in creating a customizable planner from their site. You guys know i LOVE paper planners….I’ve tried to switch to using just my phone and computer and it just doesn’t work for me…I gotta write stuff down. SO, I immediately jumped at the chance.

Here’s some of the information she gave me about their planners:

Outside

– Upload personal pictures for front and back cover from desktop and Instagram

– Change background, size, font, lining, images

Inside

– Pick what month you want your planner to start

– Design writing space details; “work”, “graphs”, “daily training” “exam schedules”, “to-do lists”, “goals”

– Include personal calendar dates as birthdays and holidays

– Add extra pages in the back for addresses, lined pages, coloring pages

Sounds pretty awesome, right? I headed over to their site immediately to design mine! When I came, I loved it so much that Lisa & I decided to let you guys have a chance to create one as well. AND, since you guys gave such a positive response when I asked if you’d be interested on Instagram and Facebook, we’re giving away TWO planners!

I absolutely love mine. It’s well made, the photos I chose from my covers look great, the colors are bright and I loved how there were so many things you can customize! My only word of caution is to pay attention when you look at the sizes. The measurements are listed in centimeters first, with inches in parentheses. I wasn’t paying attention so I chose the smallest size thinking it would be the same as the one I have now. It ended up being a bit smaller, but that works fine for me because I wanted to downsize anyways 🙂 SO, just make sure you look at the numbers in parentheses to figure out what size you want!

Check out the Personal Planners website. They also offer wall calen

Enter the rafflecopter giveaway below and I’ll pick two winners on Tuesday! Giveaway is open to EVERYONE worldwide!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!
–Lindsay–

I was given a coupon code to design my planner free of charge. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Foodie Penpals Reveal Day – Eat Hard Work Hard

January 31, 2014 by Lindsay 3 Comments

Hi Friends!

Time for another Foodie Penpals Reveal Day!

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This month I exchanged boxes with Amanda from Eat Hard Work Hard. Check out her blog if you haven’t already. She rocks!

Here’s what she sent me:

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Homemade Cookies 🙂 She knows the way to my heart
Granola bars- delicious
Treats for the dogs! They love her!
Peanuts- such a good snack
Candy- who can say no to that?
Nut and seed mix- addicting!

Thank you so much Amanda! I loved everything and it’s pretty much all gone 🙂

Want to participate in next month’s Foodie Penpals? Here’s some more info

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written.
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans.

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for February, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by February 4th as pairings will be emailed on February 5th!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Garden Fresh Salsa

January 29, 2014 by Lindsay 27 Comments

Put those summer tomatoes to good use and make some Garden Fresh Salsa! Bonus points if you’re into canning and make extra to eat year-round!

Hi Friends!

I’m glad you all enjoyed Mr. Bean’s guest past so much yesterday. You’ve successfully inflated his ego, increased his twitter following and given him blog post fever all in one day. He’s already plotting his next post.

Until then, you’re stuck with me 🙂 And I have a new recipe to share with you guys! Let’s talk salsa.

If you follow me on Instagram or read my Weekly Eats posts, you’ve probably noticed that I’m mildly obsessed with salsa. And not just any salsa- Jack’s Hot Salsa. I put it on pretty much everything. So good.

I’ve been meaning to try to replicate said salsa for a while now. I actually love their ingredient list and don’t mind buying it…but it’s always fun to be able to make something yourself.

Put those summer tomatoes to good use and make some Garden Fresh Salsa! Bonus points if you're into canning and make extra to eat year-round!

I was also looking to test out my new Ball FreshTECH Automatica Canner. I was sent this canner by Food & Nutrition Magazine (FOR FREE) to review independently of the blog, but I loved it so much I thought I’d share a little bit about it with you guys. Lemme tell ya, it is awesome. I’ve always been afraid of canning but this machine literally does all the work for you. You put the jars in, press a button and it preheats them. Then take them out one at a time, fill with whatever you’re canning, stick them back in, press another button and voila! Just take them out when they’re done and that’s it.

Anyways, I’m fully aware that February isn’t exactly tomato season here in Ohio…but I love salsa so much that I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to test out my canner AND test out a salsa recipe.

So I adjusted one of the basic salsa recipes that came with my canner and here’s what I came up with:

A few things. The canning recipe called for you to add all the ingredients to a pot, bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. So that’s what I did since I was testing out the canner…You can do that if you want, however, I don’t think it’s necessary and I won’t be doing it for the next batch of salsa I make.

Put those summer tomatoes to good use and make some Garden Fresh Salsa! Bonus points if you're into canning and make extra to eat year-round!

I cannot wait to try this during tomato season with some fresh, juicy farmer’s market tomatoes! Oh, and here’s a shot of the canner in action:

Put those summer tomatoes to good use and make some Garden Fresh Salsa! Bonus points if you're into canning and make extra to eat year-round!

Happy scooping!

Put those summer tomatoes to good use and make some Garden Fresh Salsa! Bonus points if you're into canning and make extra to eat year-round!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

It’s Not Easy For Everyone

January 22, 2014 by Lindsay 333 Comments

Hi Friends!

I wrote this post about six months ago….after I’d been trying to get pregnant for over six months. I wrote it mostly for myself after a particularly hard day…and I thought I might share it with you guys at some point…but I wasn’t sure when. A couple weeks ago, Colleen wrote this post (please read it if you haven’t already) and I decided now was as good a time as any.

This post is simply intended to bring awareness to something I never gave a second thought to before I started trying to have kids. My hope is that, if nothing else, it will make you more aware of something you may not think about…and my greater hope is that it will help someone out there going through the same struggles feel a little less alone. I hope it also helps remind you that bloggers are real people too…with real struggles, triumphs and disappointments. Life is not perfect for anyone. Focus on the good.

So here you go:

I’m just gonna lay it all out there, friends: Having kids is not easy for everyone. I want to take a minute to fill you in on some things I wish you knew when you ask that seemingly simple question, “When are you guys going to have kids?”

I want you to know that every time someone asks me that question, it feels like a knife stabbing me in the heart.
That sometimes I just want to scream or cry or run away after you ask me.
But that I know you’re not trying to hurt me.

I want you to know that it doesn’t happen after only one or two months of trying for everyone.
That just because we don’t have kids yet doesn’t mean we don’t want kids or that we’re not trying.
But that maybe it’s none of your business when I’m going to have kids.

I want you to know how hard it is to be immersed in social media day after day, to see dozens of photos of adorable kids and read pregnancy announcement after pregnancy announcement.
That I’m genuinely happy for all of you out there that are pregnant or already have kids…I think it’s something everyone should be able to experience if they’d like to.
But that it still hurts on the inside.

I want you to know that every month it doesn’t happen for us, my heart breaks a little bit more.
That the tests, exercise restrictions, pills and the lack of explanation are frustrating, gut-wrenching and something I wouldn’t wish on anyone else.
But that we still have hope.

I want you to know that this journey is taking an emotional toll on me.
That my heart aches and I cry and that I never thought it would be this hard.
But that we’re not giving up.

Mostly, I just want you to take a second to consider what others might be going through. I want you to think about it for a second before you ask someone “When are you having kids?” Because someday, someone might just give you a brutally honest answer…and it might be more than you bargained for.

————

A few notes:

This is not in any way directed at anyone specifically. If you’ve asked me about kids in the past, please don’t feel like I was writing this about you/toward you. These are general statements about my experience.
This is not a stab at anyone who is pregnant or has kids. I’m simply sharing another side of the story. In no way do I think you should stop posting pregnancy updates, stop posting about your kids, etc. I’m sure i’ll do the same someday.
I’m eternally grateful to have my hubby as a support system on this journey.

——————

I shared this post with hubby while I was still deciding whether or not to post it and he offered to give his insight as well. Here’s what he has to say:

Bean had me read this. She shared it shortly after I came home to find her inconsolable and tried my best to cheer her up- that’s been the hardest part so far. It’s a really personal topic and something we don’t really even talk about with our friends. Quite frankly, I don’t hear many people talk about it all. For us, it’s not because we don’t love and trust our friends, but its kind of a downer and not good dinner conversation. “Hey, can you pass the wine? Also, we can’t seem to get this pregnancy thing nailed down.” However, I know the disappointment we both feel every month when I say “well?” and Bean shakes her head “no”, so I thought I’d offer the male perspective since its getting put out in the open.

First of all, I’m sure I’m not the first to chuckle at the intense irony that you spend most of your life trying NOT to get anybody pregnant, and then after all precautions are thrown out the window, there’s no result. Health class made you feel like even looking at a girl wrong would get her pregnant. But alas, Bean and I made it! We did the right thing! We fell in love, got married, waited until we felt we were well suited to do what we’ve been engineering our lives to finally accomplish, STARTING. A. FAMILY.

Now that we’ve made it this far, I promise you that not having a baby unexpectedly wasn’t hard- pretty darn straightforward in fact. So enter part two: In light of our experiences to date, accidental pregnancies piss. me. off. “Whoops, guess we’ll get married.” How much does it suck to be envious of someone else’s mistake?

Then it gets slightly awkward. What’s missing? Why isn’t this working? Whose fault is it? Is it me? Welp, got to go get tested. Talk about an awkward experience. I’ve never paid $90 to do THAT before. Results look normal- Ok, so what’s next!?

I stay positive. I’m sure I talk about it more than Bean does. I have friends that I mention it to. They say positive things. Share their thoughts. Say things like “relax” and “don’t think about it”. I look at each month as a new opportunity. I reset the clock. I have faith that it’s going to happen. I know we’re not the only ones who have had issues. I know there still may be a long road ahead. I know people have struggled much longer than we have to date.

But it still sucks.

Bean mentioned social media. I talked to my mom the other night about that, and it’s certainly a game changer. It took my parents awhile to have me, but they didn’t have compact digital devices flooding their faces with pictures of their friends accomplishing the one thing they’d been focused on for over a year. That’s a new curve ball for our generation. It’s also a strenuous mental exercise to simultaneously be genuinely excited for friends while suppressing envy that you wish you didn’t have.

I guess when I take stock today, I keep thinking about that Einstein quote that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I don’t know what’s next, but we’ll keep hanging tough, get this thing figured out, and I know we’ll eventually get what we want.

————-

I appreciate hubby sharing his thoughts. This is an issue that doesn’t get talked about very often from a female perspective, and even less from a male perspective. I’m a pretty private person…and this isn’t something I would normally share, but I realize that I have a unique position as a blogger to reach more people than others do and sometimes that can be used for good.

So please know this, most importantly of all: If you are struggling as well, you are not alone. There are other people out there who understand what you’re going through. Don’t be afraid to talk about it. We’ll all get through it together.

Much love,

–Lindsay–

5 Steps To A Healthier Pizza

January 21, 2014 by Lindsay 48 Comments

Hi Friends!

It’s time for another Recipe Redux post! Here’s the prompt they gave us for this month:

Pizza Party! Give the delivery guy a day off; whether it is for Friday Fun Night with the kids, a pizza chef competition among friends, or for Super Bowl Sunday (February 2). Share your healthy pizza recipe that we can all look forward to after a long week…or a long day.

I’m a huge fan of pizza…and I’m a firm believer that there’s nothing wrong with faceplanting into a good old fashioned greasy pepperoni pizza every once and a while.

Healthy- no? Tasty- you betcha!

healthy pizza 1

HOWEVER, I’m also a firm believer that pizza CAN be part of a healthy diet. So I thought I’d take a minute to give you my top 5 tips for a healthier {homemade} pizza…because we all know I love homemade everything because YOU control the ingredients. So- here we go:

1) Make your own crust. I’m not sure people realize just how easy it is to make your own pizza crust. Traditional pizza dough involves a minimal number of ingredients and it’s perfect for making ahead of time. With a little planning, you can spend 5 minutes putting together the dough one night and enjoy homemade pizza in a jiffy the following night!

If you’re going for traditional crust, spice it up by adding herbs or hot red pepper flakes and opt to roll the dough thin instead of leaving it super thick.
If you want to be non-traditional, try a socca crust (made with chickpea flour), cauliflower crust or even a homemade whole wheat tortilla!

2) Make your own sauce. Instead of buying pre-made sauce that tends to be loaded with sodium, opt for no-salt added plain tomatoes. I love Pomi Strained Tomatoes because they have just one ingredient- tomatoes.

From there, you jazz up the sauce with your own seasonings!

Add oregano, basil, garlic and just a pinch of salt and let simmer.
Plan ahead and make a batch of Crockpot Roasted Veggie Sauce. Freeze in batches and defrost when needed.
Take it a step further and puree some white beans into your sauce. It will add protein and fiber and no one will even notice!

3) Load up on healthy toppings. Think beyond just traditional pepperoni or sausage. There are all sorts of healthy toppings you can add to your pizza:

Grilled Chicken
Peppers
Onions
Eggs
Mushrooms
Spinach
Broccoli
Pineapple
Avocado
Pumpkin
Eggplant
Sweet Potatoes
Kale
Asparagus
Tempeh
Artichokes

Rule of thumb- add your veggies, then add an extra handful or two 🙂

4. Go light on the cheese. To me, cheese is what makes pizza pizza. I know that’s not true for everyone…but in my world, almost every pizza needs some cheese. However, that doesn’t mean it needs a whole bag of cheese. Go for a flavorful cheese where a little goes a long way and learn to rely on the flavors you’ve incorporated into your homemade crust and sauce, plus the flavors of the toppings.

Try fresh mozzarella, goat cheese or parmesan!

5. Add veggies as a side. I always make an effort not to just eat pizza by itself.

Try serving it with a side of raw or roasted veggies, a slaw or a big salad!

—————–

So, now that I’ve given you my favorite tips to healthify a pizza, here’s one of my favorite combos:

Grilled Chicken, Avocado & Fresh Mozzarella Pizza

Crust (makes 2 pizzas):

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1-2 teaspoons crushed hot red pepper flakes

1. Combine the water and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 2 minutes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined. Add a bit more water if necessary. If you can’t get it all to combine with a spoon, dump it on the counter and knead 5-6 times. That’s it.
3. Let rise for 2 hours on the counter (or overnight in the fridge).
4. When ready to eat, divide dough in half and use a rolling pin to roll into a thin crust.
5. Add sauce and toppings and bake at 425 for 7-10 minutes.

Sauce:

13 oz Pomi strained tomatoes (or other no-salt added tomato sauce)
2-3cloves garlic
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 – 1 cup white beans
pinch of salt

1. Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
2. Pour into a small pot and let simmer for 15 minutes.
(I don’t like a lot of sauce. If you’re a heavy saucer, you might need the whole 26 oz box)

Toppings:
Diced chicken
Red peppers
Onion
Fresh Mozzarella
Avocado

1. Put the chicken, peppers and onions on the pizza.
2. Top with slices of fresh mozz.
3. Bake until cheese is melty and crust is golden brown.
4. Top with avocado after removing from the oven.

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

You Made It 2.0

January 18, 2014 by Lindsay 7 Comments

made1

made2

made3

made it 5

made4

made6

made7

made8

made9

made10

made11

made12

made13

Have I mentioned lately that my readers are the best?! Just wanted to take a few minutes today to do another edition of You Made It!

I LOVE seeing you guys making my recipes. Nothing makes me happier than hearing that someone tried a recipe and loved it. You guys are doing so much to help me spread the message that healthy eating doesn’t have to be gross, boring or complicated!

Here are the links to the recipes mentioned above in case you want to check them out:

Breakfasts
Cranberry Sweet Potato Cottage Cheese Muffins
Healthy Blueberry Scones
Quinoa Breakfast Bars
Crockpot Pumpkin Steelcut Oats
Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Bars
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

Main Meals
Spicy Lentil Sausage & Kale Soup
Black Bean Meatless Meatballs
Cheesy Mexican Quinoa
Greek Yogurt Chicken
Cheesy Mexican Chicken Skillet
Tuna Quinoa Cakes

Snacks
Freezer Chocolate PB Cups
Pumpkin Pie Balls
Sweet Potato Bites
No Bake Protein Bars
FroYo Bites
Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
No Bake PB Chocolate Oatmeal Balls

Sides
Cranberry Corn Muffins
Fresh Cranberry Sauce
Homemade Whole Wheat Tortillas

Desserts
Sweet Potato Brownies
Peanut Butter Cookies with Fresh Cranberries
Peanut Butter Avocado Cookies

Other
How to Cook & Freeze Beans
How to Cook Spaghetti Squash

Thank you a million times to each and every one of you for reading, cooking, baking, tasting and supporting The Lean Green Bean! I couldn’t do it without you guys 🙂

–Lindsay–

Fitness Friday 62

January 17, 2014 by Lindsay 21 Comments

Hi Friends!

Time for the first Fitness Friday of 2014! The last workout I shared when we left off was my drop-in WOD at Crossfit Dumbo while we were visiting my parents. Here’s what I’ve been up to since then:

ff1

1. Adjusting to wodding again after a little break due to xmas and traveling
2. Sunday Funday- This ended up being much harder than it sounded when we made it up- 3+17
3. Worst combo for your wrists is heavy overhead squats and pushups- 7 + 2 Rx
4. New Year’s Day WOD – 2 + 38 Rx+ (I did 75# thrusters and 20# wall balls)

ff2

I suffered my first box jump injury. I was working out by myself, wasn’t focusing on what I was doing and totally missed the box. The picture doesn’t do it justice…this bruise was gnarly. And it didn’t go away for over two weeks. I even had pants on when I did this. Painful.

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1. Good one! Lots of hang cleans & squat cleans at 115#, then 8+7 Rx for the #wod
2. A slightly modified version of the filthy 50 to kick off Saturday! 32:28
3. Sunday Funday – 16:02 with banded ring dips
4. Overhead squats- got 3 @ 115#, then conditioning test- did scale 1 (5 thrusters, 5 pullups and 5 burpees every minute on the minute for as long as you can) and finished 11 rounds with all butterfly pull-ups!

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1. Woof. Finished 6 + 2 rounds and let me just say, doing 62 chest to bar pullups is NOT fun.
2. Loved this #wod – 7:34 Rx
3. Tore my hand doing chest to bar earlier this week so had to skip today’s wod and do something that didn’t involve pull-ups or holding a barbell! Finished this one in just over 8 min with a 20# wall ball and 25# plate for the lunges.
4. This is what I was doing when I got my boxjump injury.

It’s fun to flex your muscles every once and a while 🙂

Friends & I tried something new last weekend! Church &#crossfit combo. An inspiring message about how we’re all fighting for something in our lives…and then a tough #wod. I did the middle option with pull-ups, TTB and goblet squats.

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1. Best #wod we’ve done in a while! 7+3 Rx
2. Rough. 5:09 Rx
3. 7:10 Rx
4. Still patiently waiting for my custom nanos to get here! Can’t wait!

In other news, it’s almost time for the Open! This is basically the beginning of the road to the Crossfit Games. Anyone can participate in the Open. It’s five weeks long and they announce a new workout each week. Once the workout is announced, you have 4 days to either go to a crossfit affiliate and do the workout or videotape yourself doing it. Everyone does the same workout, with the same weight and you submit your scores. Then after 5 weeks, the top 45-60 competitors in each region go on to regionals and the top finishers at regionals go to the crossfit games.

Last year I’d only been doing Crossfit for about 3 months when it started. I was nervous, the weights were heavy, the skills were hard. This year I’m excited. I’m stronger and more skilled…but that doesn’t mean it will be easier. That’s what I love about Crossfit…you can always make it harder. You can always push yourself more. You can always go faster, get more reps…I can’t wait to see what the workouts are for this year!

That’s all for today! Happy Friday!

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter

January 16, 2014 by Lindsay 40 Comments

A nutrient packed nut and seed butter that tastes WAY better than it looks!

Hi Friends!

Here’s the deal today. Today’s recipe is…..unfortunate looking.

Remember last week when I was complaining about how hard it was to make Breakfast Enchiladas look good? Friends, those were a cakewalk compared to trying to make this Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter look appetizing.

Hubby even went so far as to tell me not to post this because it looks so gross. Clearly I’m ignoring him (but with good reason- I turned to Instagram and you guys told me to post it!) Anyways, if poop grosses you out, you may want to stop reading this post. If you can get past the appearance, this stuff is darn tasty.

Tired of peanut butter? This Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter is a delicious homemade nut butter alternative!
I had good intentions when I started. I bought a giant bag of pistachios at Costco a few months ago and I noticed the other day that they were kind of getting buried in the back of the pantry. Since I enjoy making my own nut butter, but don’t do it nearly enough, I thought that would be the perfect way to use some of them up. Pistachos themselves, without the shells or skins are a lovely green color. Problem is that I’m lazy. I bought pre-shelled pistachios and I wasn’t about to sit there and try to get the skins off before making my nut butter…so I decided to throw in some pumpkin seeds (which I’m obsessed with & eat on my oatmeal every morning) thinking hey- they’re green…maybe they’ll brighten things up.

WRONG.

It just ends up this unfortunate brown color. Oh well. You guys will just have to close your eyes and enjoy this tasty treat!

Here’s how you make it:

This is a taste as you go kinda recipe. I added a little more cinnamon to mine because I’m a cinnamon addict. If you want it sweeter, add more honey. If you use unsalted nuts, feel free to add a little salt. If you want to add a bit of oil, go for it!

Tired of peanut butter? This Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter is a delicious homemade nut butter alternative!

It’s delicious on toast with banana on top. Also delicious in my morning oatmeal bowls!

You’re gonna have to have a little faith that this is actually gonna work when you first start. For the first 5-7 minutes, it doesn’t look like there’s any way it’s actually going to turn into nut butter. Just be patient. Keep scraping down the sides every few minutes…you can even bang on the sides of the food processor bowl while it’s running like I did to knock some of the mixture back down towards the blade.

Tired of peanut butter? This Pistachio Pumpkin Seed Butter is a delicious homemade nut butter alternative!

Eventually it will start to ball up and then it will smooth out. Be aware that if you taste and then decide to add more honey, it will probably ball up again when you turn the processor back on, but it will smooth out again.

Let’s chat:
What’s your favorite nut/seed butter?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Overnight Baked French Toast Cups

January 15, 2014 by Lindsay 24 Comments

A delicious french toast recipe developed for the Healthy Aperture blog.

Hi Friends!

Remember about six weeks ago when I posted this photo for these delightful little Overnight Baked French Toast Cups?!

And then I proceeded to bombard you with IG photos of me eating them at pretty much every meal for the next week or so?

But I couldn’t share the recipe because it was for a client?

Well, good news! The recipe is now live on the Healthy Aperture blog!

{Photo credit: Regan Jones}

CLICK HERE to head over to Healthy Aperture and get the recipe!

Let’s chat: French toast or pancakes?

Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

Move for 5

January 14, 2014 by Lindsay 67 Comments

Hi Friends!

Today’s post is all about movement. When I first started working from home, I noticed that I’ve was doing an incredible amount of sitting. There were days when I was literally sitting in front of my computer for 4-5 hours at a time without moving once.

NOT GOOD.

We all know the dangers of sitting too much. Have you heard the phrase “sitting is the new smoking?” I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get up and move as much as you can throughout the day. I understand it can be hard if you have a desk job, but you have to make the effort.

Make it a goal to get up and move at least once an hour.