Paleo Apple Donuts

And so I continue with my baking experiments, as well as attempt to get as much use out of the donut pan I got for my bridal shower.

These happened in an attempt to make PaleOMG’s (do I link to that website enough or what?) apple cider donuts. After I got somewhat into it I realized I did not, in fact, have apple cider. Fail. So I decided to wing it. I’m really happy with the result. Especially since the apples I made these with are straight from our back field, that we FINALLY got a chance to navigate to yesterday. It took some climbing through thick brush and swamp, but we made it!

There were a few apple trees and after eating enough to give me a stomach ache sampling them, I shoved as many as I could into my pockets and headed out. They’re not pretty, but they’re delicious!

Since they weren’t aesthetically wonderful, I decided to peel some and do a little baking. You don’t have to use backyard apples for this recipe!

Paleo Apple Donuts

Makes about 15 mini-donuts

1/2 cup almond butter (or other nut butter)

1 cup shredded apple (about 1 large or two medium…or 5 backyard teeny ones LOL)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 heaping teaspoon of baking powder

1 egg

1 tablespoon of raw honey

dash of nutmeg

1 tablespoon of coconut flour

**Pre-heat oven to 375

1. Beat your egg and mix together with the apple and almond butter until incorporated.

2. Sift in coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder.

3. Add the honey and mix everything together.

4. Spoon small amounts into a GREASED donut pan (these would work as muffins too you just have to bake them longer).

5. Bake for roughly 10-12 minutes. Be sure to check on them. Take them out when they are turning golden brown on the top.

 

What’s your favorite way to eat apples?

WIAW: Low motivation

Due to the fact I actually took pictures of some of my eats yesterday, I decided to continue the trend with What I ate Wednesday. This isn’t everything I ate….didn’t take pics of lunch or dinner but…..

 

I am obsessed with most of Juli at PaleOMG’s recipes. I think I’ve woken up and made her carrot breakfast cake/muffins at least five times this summer. And that’s saying a lot since usually when I wake up I need to shove my face with food and coffee immediately. They take about 30 minutes to bake. So if I’m willing to wait you know they’re good!! Her blog is probably my absolute favorite blog to get recipes from and I have been known to repeat many of her recipes and use them several times a week. They really are amazing. Love it!

I added blueberries instead of raisins. And there’s some frozen strawberries from my berry picking adventure last week.

Yesterday I FINALLY found the new Quest bar flavor White Chocolate Raspberry. I have been looking for it forever and shamelessly begging them to send me a sample.

Verdict……meh. I think it might have been a fluke though because the texture was just dry and crumbly. It might have been an issue of the GNC storing them wrong or getting damaged during shipping because the flavor was really good but it seemed dry for some reason. I have experienced inconsistencies from bar to bar though with Quest Bars so I will not give up on this flavor!

In other news: Here are some pictures of things you probably shouldn’t have in the house when you want your pants to fit.

Ohhhhh myyy goddddddd….. This is really a mistake on my part for buying this at Wal-Mart and now getting addicted to it. If you feel as if you can support a 3-5 dollar a pint addiction, go pick up a pint. So creamy and full of flavor. This company also uses all natural, non-GMO ingredients and doesn’t have any nasty additives (this is what justified me buying it). I literally CANNOT put it down once I start eating it. I am in an internal battle regarding the question to buy this again or not. I want to try the coconut kind really bad!!!! But I also like fitting in my pants!!!

Also, a stroll through the kitchen for any reason is finding me grabbing a handful of these babies….

Seriously…why do I buy these things?!?!?

But in all honesty, I am definitely off track as far as my eating habits go since returning from the honeymoon. I don’t know if it’s just being idle and not working and having a routine….or what. I am constantly hungry (hence all day snacking on chocolate chips) and when I do eat meals it doesn’t even satisfy me. I have no motivation for ANYTHING including workouts. Ugh. I know it’s from all the crap I put in my body the last month and am hoping I fall into a better routine and start feeling better once school starts. I joke about it but I know I just need to stop buying things like the stuff in the previous pictures because if it’s not in the house I won’t eat it. But.it’s.so.good…..It’s an ugly cycle because I feel like crap, which makes me want to eat more crap, which makes me feel like crap! I need to get my motivation back!!

What do you do to motivate yourself when you’re in a slump?

Are there any snacks you absolutely CANNOT put down therefore do not buy?

Pin It Party!

I’m so excited that Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean decided to do another Pinterest Party! I am obsessed with Pinterest…I think I’ve mentioned it once or twice on here. Pinterest came into my life in February 2012 and it has never been the same.  I am slightly having an anxiety attack over what my life will be after I am done pinning wedding ideas on Pinterest. So sad.

Anyways, the idea of the Pin It Party is to help us bloggers get exposure by sharing pinnable images and then visiting other sites to pin what we like! Great idea. Pinterest is actually how I got into blogging. Pinterest brought me to blogs, which in turn made my read more, which made me want to start my own. So- needless to say I think it’s pretty sweet.

Here are my five Pin-able images:

Strawberry Almond Flax Smoothie

Spinach Garlic Pizza

Banana Peanut Butter Stuffed French Toast

PB & J Protein Dessert

How to grocery shop on a budget using coupons

There you have it…check out some of my recipes that I did before you followed my blog! And join the Pinterest Link Up Party!!!

Can we just all talk about how awesome Pinterest is? Like, for everything in life?

Sunshine Award & PB & J Protein Dessert

I was so excited when Leslee at Her Happy Balance nominated me for a Sunshine Award! I’ve never done one of these survey things because I didn’t think anyone actually cared that much about my personal life but……it’s definitely fun to do one once in awhile. Anyone remember those email surveys from middle school? I used to be ALL about them!

Rules:
If nominated for this award, you must include a link in your blog to the person/blog that nominated you. You must also answer some questions about yourself, nominate fellow bloggers, link their blogs in your post, and inform them that they have been nominated.

Questions:

• Who is your favorite philosopher? Ummmmm….this one?

source

What is your favorite number? I don’t really have a favorite number, but right now my favorite number is 08-02-13..my wedding day!

 

What is your favorite animal? Easy.

 

Frank.

What are your Facebook and Twitter? I don’t have a Facebook for my blog yet….it’s a current goal of mine. I think I am putting it off because I’m too embarrassed to see how many people actually won’t follow it. No confidence. Follow me on Twitter! 

What is your favorite time of day? I really like mornings. I don’t know when I established myself as a morning person but I think it’s partly because of breakfast….and coffee.

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas is always cool……presents and crap. But my absolute favorite holiday has to be the 4th of July. Summer. Sun. Friends. Family. Food. It doesn’t get any better.

 

Austin and I 4th of July 2012

What is your favorite physical activity?  Going to the gym mainly. I also go biking. We’ll see how that goes this year with my back and all. I’m mad because my Dad got me all this cool biking stuff for Christmas and I’m just hoping I get to use it by summer and my back will be all better!

 

What is your favorite non-alcoholic drink? COFFEEEEEEE. And water. I know I’m boring, but my philosophy is this: if it’s not alcoholic and it has calories, why even bother?

What is your favorite flower? Any flowers would be nice. You know that great feeling when you get flowers just because? >Hint Hint<

 

• What is your passion? Recently, with the help of the blog community I’ve become extremely passionate about food and healthy living! I love everything about the blog community and how it inspires and supports this lifestyle!

Nominees:

Eating Chalk

Running on Peanut Butter

Lessons Life Teaches Me

Fit Cupcaker

Cookie Dough Katzen

 

I also wanted to share what I have been eating for my late night snack every.single.night. this week. Yeah, it’s becoming a problem. A problem because I am going to use the last of the cottage cheese as I make this dessert AS SOON as I am done with this blog post.

It’s a spin off a dessert I posted about a couple of weeks ago, Almond Joy Protein Pudding. 

PB & J Protein Dessert

1/2 cup of fat free or low fat cottage cheese

2 tbsp PB2

1/2 packet of stevia

1/8 tsp of vanilla extract

Toppings of choice: I top mine with berries, peanuts, or sugar free jam to make a PB & J flavor!

 

Just blend everything up in a food processor and spoon the yummy-ness into a bowl with a spatula. So addicting and a good dose of protein before bed!  It is 125 calories without the toppings and it fills me up. I promise I’ll stop with the PB2….I know I’m obsessed with it. It’s just so delicious and versatile!

What snacks/foods do you get addicted to and cannot stop eating? Tell me I’m not alone!