Tag Archives: muffins

food, food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts, travel

Currently: March!

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I can’t believe it’s already March, y’all. Where has this year been flying away to? I didn’t expect 2018 to go so quickly. Anyway, here it is, basically a full week into March, and I suppose I really am ready for spring. I’m linking up for today’s edition of Currently with Anne in Residence and Sarah of Foxy’s Domestic Side. I hope you’ll comment or link up, and join us! Here’s what I’m up to currently…

Planning || a trip to DisneyWorld in April! I’ve been reading up on more tips (I mean, we went two years ago, but now we’ve got another kid and different ages!) and scheduling our character meals and fast passes. This time we’re driving, so I’m also planning how to survive a car trip that long (Google maps say 8.5 hours, so probably more like 10) with the three babes. I’ve got an amazing travel gal I plan with, so if you’re local, drop me a line and I’ll share her contact info! Here’s a photo from our last trip – I can’t believe they’re so much bigger now!img_8239

Seeing || a few little sprouts of basil in our indoor garden! The hubs (and J!) planted a bunch of seeds about two weeks ago, and we’ve been watering away, hoping they’d grow inside – and they did! When they get big enough to transfer (and it’s warm enough for long enough) we’ll move most of them outside into the beds, or into small pots to share with friends. Here are our basil babies!

Making || sausage balls and healthy muffins! Part of the meal planning (I use that term quite loosely) of the month will be those two breakfast and snack staples. Everyone’s happy to eat them at any time of day, and that works for me! I usually try to do healthy things (the muffins always are) but the sausage balls are a comfort food treat for everyone.

Pretending || to be excited about summer. To be totally honest, I’m getting a little nervous that I won’t be able to occupy everyone sufficiently once school is out. They’re all getting big enough that I know I’ll be spending a LOT of time out of the house, which is good, and we’ve got a few camps we’re thinking of doing, but I don’t want to spend too much money just to keep them busy. I want camp to be a special treat type thing. I know I have things I want to do with them that are just for us, too, so I don’t want so many camps that we’re always apart. I just get nervous that they’ll get bored of me after a few weeks!

Wearing || my Chacos. The first hint of sun in NC makes me wear nothing but Chacos till the snow starts again. I mean, almost. I’ve got happy feet when I’m wearing incredibly comfy and cute, supportive and rugged-approved sandals. ALSO I found a pair in J’s size on our local buy, sell, trade Facebook group… and he loves them! I am so happy one more person in my family loves them!

Drop a line and tell us what you’re up to currently!

food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts, travel

Currently – May

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Hi friends! It’s that time again… that time that seems to come more quickly every month. Time for a new currently! I probably say this every month, but I can’t believe May is here! Already, our garden is flourishing, the kids have only a few weeks of school left, and I am already trying to make sure our summer isn’t boring!

Thanks to Anne in Residence and Nancy of NY Foodie Family, we’ve got another currently link-up. Here’s a little bit about what’s going on currently…

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Baking || some Healthy Oatmeal Muffins. During my fitness challenge, I was looking for ways I could feed everyone healthily and easily. These muffins are a win with me, the hubs, and all three of the kids. I’ve made them three times in the last six weeks! Now I just need to start doubling the recipe so I don’t have to make them as often. I should also add that this same gal, Bren, has a deadly delicious chocolate peanut butter muffin recipe that’s healthy, also! I made them on Monday. Some pics are on my Instagram!

Listening || to First Aid Kit. They’re a couple of Scandinavian gals who sing Americana. It’s actually really cool, with some lush harmonies and some interesting (and also not clean) lyrics. Check them out! I’ve enjoyed several of their albums.

Loving || some of the things we have planned for our days Charleston this week! We have some friends getting married there, and so we will fill our free time with the beach, the aquarium, sweet friends, and good eats!

Planting || all of the things! That torrential rain we got here in NC last week was actually good for us, as far as our garden goes. I can tell things have been growing, despite getting beaten by the rain. We’ve planted seedlings and seeds of all sorts, including several types of lettuce, yellow and green squash, eggplants, carrots, broccoli, radishes, cucumbers, tomatoes, lots of herbs, and a few blueberry bushes. I can’t wait until things start bearing fruit and we get to eat all our hard work!

Lovely lettuces.
My little helpers!
Soon you will be tomatoes!

Remembering || to keep on eating healthy and getting my rest. I transferred my registration from the half-marathon this past weekend to one on May 13th. I had been feeling so poorly for several days before that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to actually race well. It was really disappointing, to be totally honest. It was a hard couple of days knowing I should have been up to it but I wasn’t. But now I’m back at it to make sure I am healthy, fit, and can race well on the 13th! I even bought a fresh pair of runners to start breaking in since my current pair is beginning to wear out. 

The new girls.

Training in my glasses because eye infections are the WORST.

That’s about it in our world. What have you been up to currently? Feel free to join our link up, or comment and let me know!

food, home, mommyhood, random thoughts

Currently

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I keep on saying that every Currently that’s late is the latest one… however, this Thursday night edition may take the cake! I’ve had a busy week, amid semi-sickly kids (getting over some junk from last week) and finally catching a bit of it myself. You’d better believe I’m overdoing the Vitamin C! Anyway, I’m joining Becky’s link up as usual (thank goodness it’s still open!) and here’s what we’ve been up to…

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Baking || muffins! I have had a can of pumpkin staring me in the face for a couple of weeks, and I finally used it today! I found this recipe for paleo pumpkin streusel muffins, and had to have it. 

 I’ve never been a great food photographer (or a chef focused on the look of the food) so don’t let their uglyness deter you!

Watching || Grimm. Hubby and I only have Netflix and Hulu plus, and somehow we’d missed that Grimm had started back up for the season until a couple of nights ago. We blasted through the first couple of episodes in one night! We really like that show, no matter how not great it was when it first started. 

 Hoping || that I don’t get sick(er?) and lose my voice. It’s really inconvenient for a worship leader to lose her voice! So, hot tea, Vitamin C and water, water, water for me! 

I’m also hoping that J’s tantrum throwing slows down a bit once the sickness is cleared up and everyone is sleeping more. I can’t figure out what might be causing them (aside from the fact he’s almost two) so I’m holding on to the hope that they’ll pass. We are getting about one a day, typically right after his nap… It’s so sad for me, and I’m sure for him, too!

 Enjoying || some time outside with my kids. I often spend my time outside working while they’re napping, but the past week or so, I’ve made sure to include them in the yard work. Even if they make more work for us (read: raking the leaves the wrong direction) it’s fun to be outside with them!
Wishing || that I had some time to sit and write. All of my writing (including this post!) has been in a short burst here or there, or with a kid or two distracting me. I would love a couple of hours to just sit and write, with nothing else going on around me. It seems easy, in theory, to squeeze in an hour or two… but I know if I’m at home, I’ll find “better” things to do, like dishes, laundry, and the like. Which brings me to…

Anticipating || Our first day having someone come in to clean the house tomorrow! We haven’t decided how often we’ll be making this happen, but we are REALLY excited about our first “deep clean” tomorrow morning! (Local people: we are using Maid Right, based in Greensboro!)

Anyway, there’s a little bit about my life! What’s going on with you currently?

food, food, home

Nesting Means Baking!

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Apparently, when I get into nesting mode, I just can’t stop baking. I had a day last week that I made several batches of muffins to freeze, and here I am, at it again!

I’m still working on that enormous zucchini I mentioned – which is a damn shame, because today I picked another huge one (also hiding). It’s been in every smoothie and several recipes now, and I’ve still got about two cups left of the other one. Sheesh. Anyway… Since I had so much still, this baby STILL has not graced us with his presence, and because Hubby and EK were out visiting this morning, J and I got to baking.

I chose two Paleo recipes, one from Against All Grain and one from Detoxinista. It’s a battle of the zucchini bread, y’all.

Against All Grain Zucchini Bread (Muffins)



  

Detoxinista Zucchini Bread


The main differences were almond flour vs. coconut flour, and honey vs. maple syrup. Both recipes turned out incredibly moist (yum) and obviously delicious. While waiting for the loaf to bake, J and I ate three muffins. Obviously nothing wrong there!

All in all, I’d say they both turned out well enough for me to do them again! The Detoxinista recipe was so sweet that I think if I do it again, I’ll lay off on the maple syrup just a bit. But folks, they’ve been eaten right up, so I’ll say they were a success!

food, food, home, mommyhood, pregnancy

Muffins For Days!

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Y’all… I’ve been losing my mind. I’ve not necessarily been any busier than usual, but I’ve been the most forgetful I think I’ve ever been, and the most distracted. I can’t seem to get my normal rhythm going. And on top of that, today I had the pregnant rage of a total crazy person. Poor family. Anyway, sorry for the blog lapse. It was unplanned, accidental, and so sad! But here’s a good one… now on to what I’m actually talking about!

A couple of days ago, I finally acted on my idea to make several batches of muffins so that lots could be frozen, and I could use them as easy breakfasts for the kids and me when baby D gets here. I chose several different recipes, including one adapted by a friend. They’re all gluten free, and fairly healthy – no added sugar! I’m not a very good food photographer, or else I’d have taken some awesome pictures. I apologize. There are pictures that accompany the original recipes that I’ve linked for ya.

Strawberry Shortcake Muffins

I first found out about these on my friend Melissa’s blog (One Mother to Another) although they’re originally a Dashing Dish recipe. They. Are. Delicious. I basically just made these because I wanted them. I wasn’t sure how they’d freeze, so I only froze a few from the batch and will let you know how they warm up later. (By the way, I did what Melissa did in her original post about them, and instead of a dry sweetener like stevia, I used 1/2 cup of honey and just cooked them a minute or two longer than the recipe suggests so they were cooked through. STILL DELICIOUS.)

Paleo Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins

These yummy little guys are actually mini muffins, so I doubled the recipe for good measure. Hubby had just picked a HUGE zucchini from our garden (we lost it underneath the squash plants that were growing all around it) and I had to figure out how we could use it. He grated it and we are adding it to basically everything. So naturally, I googled around a bit for a recipe! I wanted muffins instead of the usual zucchini bread because I wanted them to freeze well. I let Hubby choose between two recipes, and he obviously chose the ones with chocolate! (By the way, I didn’t have any grapeseed oil, so I used coconut oil instead. It worked just fine!)

Carrot Cake Muffins (adapted by my friend from Against All Grain’s Black Forest Cupcakes)

These babies have shredded carrot added in, and some cinnamon instead of the cocoa, and they’re delicious! Technically they’re cupcakes, but I didn’t ice them and I figure they’re so healthy I’ll just call them muffins and eat them for breakfast! Also, if you like chocolate, I suggest making the originals, too!

What are your favorite muffin recipes? What else do you stock your freezer with?