“Maybe 2020 isn’t so much about specific goal setting as it is taking care of our mind, being kind through our thoughts, fine tuning our daily mind set, and seeking to uplift ourselves and others. Perhaps everything from there with naturally find its course.”
Here’s the deal: since having a baby 3 months ago (what!!??) and now being at home with a new appreciation for all things parenting, I’ve decided to pick this blogging thing back up! I needed a ‘me’ activity. Yes, I do consider my workout time me time, even with little Oliver sitting right there watching and giggling at me the entire time! That aside, unless you want to consider showering my personal time, I don’t have too much of it. My incredible husband (like, seriously, out-of-this-world-amazing. Does middle of the night wakeups, the bad diapers, knows when to refill my wine glass when I haven’t said a word…) suggested that I start to do something that is truly me time. While I LOVE a good workout and am so excited that we just got a lawn mower, this blog has been on the back burner (hah!) for quite some time. I’m ready to pick it back up with some TLC!
So, in quick mom fashion, here’s the DL. Having Oliver is probably the greatest thing to happen to me, to us, ever! I can’t even begin to explain the love I have for him – if you’re a parent, you know what I’m talking about. Like, right now at 9:45pm, while he is asleep, I just watch him on the monitor and want to cuddle him!! Obsessed is an understatement.
Anyways, I could ramble about him for dayssssss. Seriously. Little did I know that being a mom would take up every breathing moment of mine. Feeding him alone is a full-time job! Oh, and then my husband and I are both in graduate school. LOL. We love to take on as much as possible, clearly! With all of that + my husband working like crazy from home, I didn’t think I should get any down time, so I totally just shut off any part of my brain that wasn’t related to baby / dog / school / scheduling. But hey, guess what? Mental health needs some lovin’ too there, mama! Which is where I was like dang, I miss that blog. I’ve put so much time into this baby and then I just stopped writing. Stopped baking. Stopped experimenting. So, boom, I’m going to wipe the dust off of this thing!
I then started to write down recipes like crayzee! But not just any recipes. Healthy ones. Quick ones. Parent-friendly ones. Cause here sits a mom who has anywhere from 15 minutes-2 hours when babe is napping that I can do things. Sure, I love to let him do independent play, but I also love to play with him and watch him grow every single second! So, these recipes are a mix of healthy and slightly not, simple and quick, hell, a lot of them will probably even be raw and frozen because helloooo timesaver and what’s up Atlanta summer from March-November!
Recipe #1. Peanut butter s’mores. An eggless PB cookie + a 10-minute marshmallow + a simple chocolate dip. What more could you want!? Not your traditional s’more setup, but peanut butter is my jam – and it’s a top allergen so I should just be consuming it by the jar, right?! And I am storing these babies in the freezer, which is my place of choice to keep desserts. Something so decadent about a frozen treat to me! Also. Still no dairy for this gal, so ice cream is not an option. Probably ever again. Eye roll.
How many times have I said that I’M BACK!!? Let’s try this again. Get ready for parent-friendly, quick, minimal ingredients, healthy, TASTY snacks/goodies/what have you. This mama is making her comeback!
peanut butter cookie ingredients
Peanut Butter—4.75 oz, or ½ C
Honey—1.5 oz, or 3 TBL
Vanilla Extract—1 tsp
Coconut Sugar—1 TBL
Flour—3 oz, or 2/3 C
Baking Powder—½ tsp
Maca Powder—1 tsp
process
Preheat your oven to 350˚F.
In a medium sized bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and maca.
In another small bowl, combine the peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract.
Add the wet into the dry, mix until combined.
Roll into balls, about 1 tablespoon in size.
Flatten each cookie and, if you wish, make a crisscross with a fork (in true PB cookie fashion!).
Bake for 10 minutes until they just begin to brown around the edges.
Remove from the oven to a cooling rack.
marshmallow
Recipe can be found here! I have cut this down into a quarter of the size, as you do not need that much!
chocolate dip ingredients
Semisweet Chocolate Chips—¼ C
Coconut Oil—2 tsp
process
Combine the chocolate and oil in a heat safe bowl.
Melting this for 20 second increments in the microwave is the quickest/easiest way to do so!
assembly
Once the PB cookies have cooled, spoon a dollop of the mallow on top.
If you have a torch, light these babies up! It’s a fun ‘indoor s’more’
Put these into the freezer to set up slightly while you melt the chocolate.
Once the chocolate is melted, dip each cookie halfway into the chocolate.
When you are finished coating in chocolate, place the tray in the freezer.
I have found that there store best in the freezer, as they are a nice refreshing treat!
Recipe makes 16 PB S’mores
Bon Appétit!
