Absolutely Awesome Almond Butter- Banana Bread Squares

One of my favorite things to bake is Banana bread. I may not share that much here on the blog but is one of my "most commonly baked items". Although I have a sweet tooth, I do make a conscious effort to make my treats as "healthy" as possible. This past weekend I cached the baking bug and decided to check the web for yummy {and somewhat healthy} recipes. I found this one on the Cooking Light website which turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. Once  I realized I had the ingredients in my pantry, I got to work.

Another thing I love is almond butter and so, I adapted the recipe to include 1/3 cup of almond butter. Guys, this was the best idea I've had in a very long time. Absolute Heaven.

Ingredients:

Prep Time:
Click on the Cooking Light recipe above for exact measurements. Didnt see the point of copy/pasting on here. I followed the exact recipe except for the fact that I added the 1/3 cup of almond butter. 

To the Oven We Go at 350 degrees {couldn't find my favorite banana bread pan so a random pan had to do}:

...thanks to the pan, instead of baking regular banana bread I had to make the best out of what I was able to find. I had the "bright" idea of turning this  calling this recipe banana bread squares and prepped them in to snack bags to have them as a treats throughout the work week:

Perfect timing as I ran out of my granola bars, so now I have a nice home-made replacement :)

I may or may not recommend smearing a nice dollop of almond butter on top of these before you eat them and while you're at it, pour yourself a cup of almond milk. 

You're welcome. 

Tell me, what is YOUR favorite thing to bake?

Love,

Mabelle

Fortunate Fridays {Family + baking + running + working, Edition}

Good morning! 

Happy Friday. 

Breakfast this morning: Organic oatmeal w/ sliced almonds, raisins, ground cinnamon, & almond butter toppings

Hope everyone had a great week but even if you didn't, guess what-- you made it to Friday! Today's post is going to be quick as I have a long day ahead of me but as always, feeling grateful for everything that happens. And here we go.

1. First park outing with the family- Family and I celebrated mother's day at the park this part weekend and had a great time.

2. The joys of baking- Was looking for something sweet to eat after dinner on Monday but there was nothing in my apartment as I usually keep junk food out of the house. Decided to go search one of my favorite blogs for a recipe and it did not disappoint (cookies lasted about 3.5 days). Baking is one of those activities that calms me and brings me 'zen'. Does anyone else feel that way?

Chocolate Chip PB banana Cookies

3. The inspiration to cook dinner- I meal prepped on Monday so this entire week I had a combination of brown rice and beans with either chicken or shrimp. And of course, my veggie on the side. Pretty satisfying.

4. First outside run of the year- All of my workouts since the beginning of this year have taken place inside a gym. I am so excited for the nice weather (finally) and was able to complete my first outside run in about 6+ months! Looking forward to more runs on nice days.

5. More billable hours at work- More hours, more clients, very excited and simply humbled and thankful for all the opportunities.

And that's all folks. Thank you so much for reading and wishing you a great weekend.

Tell me, What was the best thing that happened to you this week?

Love,
Mabelle

Ran, Baked, Hair and Nails done-- Are YOU ready, 2013?!

Hey all!!!

So I have to admit today was quite the productive Sunday  Yesterday was supposed to be my last run of 2012 but this morning I woke up with the running bug and I just couldn't say no. It may have something to do with the fact that the sun was beaming through my window and I decided I just couldn't put such a gorgeous day to waste and so off I went for a ~3.45 mile jog/run/walk (in that order). It was quite windy this morning but somehow I managed to pull through. It was just me and another girl running at the track this morning. We smiled at each other a few times (the only two crazy gals running in 30 degree weather on a windy winter morning). She seemed super nice. I kept track of my run with the Nike app but forgot to "end" the run and so, the app kept running for HOURS later to the point that when I realized it was still on I had been "running" for 3 hours. No picture as it wouldn't be accurate. But yeyyy for morning runs! :) Here are a few pics of the track-- you can see the sun in the background. Quite a difference from yesterday!

Post my run I had planned to go to church but by the time I looked at the time it was already so late :(. Not happy about that. Need to get better about going to church. Not because is a "new year" but because I enjoy it and would like to make it a regular part of my life.

I had quite the satisfying breakfast. I used the leftover omelet from yesterday and made myself an omelet-egg mc muffin if that makes any sense (the english muffin was 100% whole wheat). I paired it up with my usual cafe w/ almond milk and it was so delicious. 

To be honest, at least 5 hours later I was still not hungry but made myself eat a pear and a granola bar while I waited to get my hair and nails done (more on that below). 


So last night I was in the mood to bake and so I did what I love to bake best (after carrot care)-- Banana Bread! I used This Recipe from the clean eating magazine website minus the chocolate chunks (because I ate all my chocolate last week).   I loved how it came out like a real loaf. I got super excited and all I have to say it came out sooooooo good! Super moist!!! I am trying to figure out what I did differently because I made muffins a couple of months ago (same recipe) and they were a bit dry.  I dropped some of the egg yolk by mistake (recipe calls for only 2 egg whites) I wonder if that had something to do with how good the loaf came out. To all the bakers out there, what do you think? Anyways, here are some photos of my "masterpiece":

So, back to hair and nails. As I was saying-- I took advantage of the day today to go get my hair and nails done. I know that all salons will likely be super packed tomorrow and I do not want to deal with that craziness on my absolute favorite day of the year! 

Here are a couple pics of my nails:

Wasn't crazy about the color at first but it'll do for now :) (I was thinking of black or something more dramatic but opted for the festive option). I wont be showing my hair until likely my next post because it is currently wrapped (if you are a Latina with curly hair or an African american you know what I am referring to! lol).

I know in a previous post I mentioned I would be embracing my curly hair more. And I am!! I am contemplating this being my last hair blowout for the next 12 months but I am not sure if that's something I can keep up with. Either way, I plan to wear my hair down and curly more often than the past and thats a big deal for me (ive already been keeping up with that!).

After my long day I got to my apartment starving so put together something quick, healthy and delish. I had some leftover whole wheat pasta from the other day. I sauteed a cup of the pasta with red onions, peppers and some curry powder. I added some chunks of ground meat I had brought from my moms home the other day and this hit the spot for sure-- with a side of Avocado, of course:

Now I am lounging on the couch writing this post, having chai tea and a piece or two of my banana bread. I should really share this and stop being so stingy with my food.=)

Thanks for reading :) Will try to post something quick tomorrow if time permits. Otherwise, see you in 2013! (A whole lot of exciting things coming for the blog. Stay tunned!)

Question: What are you doing for new years eve? do you have a yearly tradition or do something different every year? Whats your favorite day of the year?