vanilla banana bundt cake

well.  heeeey fit friends!  i took a teeny, tiny break and recharged my blogging batteries and to put max effort into something i’m ridiculously crazy excited about.  6 days from now a dream that dropped into my spirit back in 2012 will become a reality.  like, in real life!!!  God continues to blown my entire mind throughout this process.  i’m celebrating early with this here dairy-free, flour-free, low-sugar cake healthy vanilla banana bundt cake! 

like you ever need a reason to eat cake tho. 

i can say with full confidence that we (mostly me lol) are transitioning into a completely dairy-free household and it has never been easier these days.  sooooo many options and alternatives out there now vs when i was growing up.  heck, even just a few short years ago.  that said, let’s talk about this super easy, non-dairy, 2 ingredient vanilla pb icing first 

i took some So Delicious Coco Whip (i suggest using the regular version and not the light…it’s way too airy and doesn’t set as well) 

and mixed it with this Peanut Butter & Co Vanilla powdered pb I walked up on randomly and couldn’t leave the grocery store without. 

i combined a tub of the Coco Whip with about 2 heaping tbps of the powdered pb.

add more or less depending on your taste buds! i didn’t want the pb flavor to overpower the cake, so that amount was perfect. set it in the fridge and get crackin’ on the cake.

Vanilla Banana Bundt Cake

a dairy-free, flour-free, low-sugar healthy treat for my peanut butter & banana lovers!

Servings 12 | Prep Time 10 | Cook Time 30

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cup oat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup ripe, mashed bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup dairy-free vanilla coffee creamer
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup agave nectar

Servings: 12

Instructions

1. preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. combine oats, soda, powder, cinnamon, & salt well. (if you are making your own oat flour, add everything to your blender and blend until combined). dump into a large mixing bowl.

3. in a medium mixing bowl, combine agave nectar, coconut oil, bananas, creamer, vanilla, and eggs well.

4. add the wet ingredients onto the top of the dry ingredients. fold gently yet quickly until just combined.

5. pour mixture into your greased or non-stick coated bundt pan

6. bake for approx 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean

Recipe Notes

let cool completely before inverting onto a flat plate.

i usually put my pan into the fridge to speed up the process if need be!  #cantwait

coat cake with icing and top with pecans (optional) 

adapted from here. 

this is it, fit friends!  i’ll be settled in a new blogging space the next recipe you see from me  enjoy and TAG me on Insta or Facebook if you make this! 

sunday family fun day

i have been teaching my 11am 24 Hour Fitness Total Conditioning class since the beginning of 2013.  i've had a crazy good time meeting so many new members and sweating our faces off together sunday after sunday for these past 9 months!   nevertheless, after having a sit-down with Sonny and fighting weeks (ok months) of conviction, i have finally decided to give it up.  even if a class inconvenienced me, leaving is always difficult.  i despise disappointing and letting people down, especially when they get a routine going and expect me to hold up my end of the bargain and be there.  i guess i despise it cause i know how it feels.    this isn't the first class i've had to leave in my 6 years of teaching, but yesterday gave me that overwhelmingly bittersweet feeling.  again.

i could barely let my supervisor know my decision let alone share my 'important announcement' with my class today.  yeah.... this is always my answer to that dreaded 'what's one thing you would change about yourself' question.

if we made it to church for early service, i felt good.  starting my sunday with Word and worship with my fam is well, the best way to start the day IMO.  however,  if we were out too late at a saturday night event (which happened all too often e.g. birthday parties, dinners,  gatherings, weddings, etc.) early service was out of the question, which meant church didn't happen at all.  i have missed church more times this year than i have in my entire life...and that is so unfair to my family.   individual worship is important to grow your relationship with God, definitely....  but church is a vital part of that growth for me and my spiritual life has suffered because of its absence.  when this happens, i have to evaluate whatever is going in my life at the time,  pinpoint those distraction(s),  and either move or remove them.  it took me 9 months to accept this, but i finally let it go.  why? because it's the best move for our family and the head of my household and heart agree.  masking those feelings of disappointment completely will come with time, but putting it that way makes me feel a whole lot better.

and i really miss going out to eat after church. lol. not just as an immediate fam, but meeting up with my parents, friends, and extended family, etc.  we have either turned down those invites or showed up super-duper late.  rushing off to the gym after service was the only thing on my mind...  if i hadn't gotten my routine together the night before, i found myself writing down moves during service instead of giving God my undivided attention.  ok i could go ON.

---------->let nothing hinder or get in the way of your worship & relationship with God or block the spiritual & emotional growth of your family.  nothing.<----------

now does this mean i won't workout on sundays anymore?  not at all! i appreciate having the option to go at a more convenient time though vs. mandatory for sure. no pressure.  those family gym dates will keep right on rolling.

 i'm so grateful for these two knuckleheads cause they are totally worth the sacrifice.  so each sunday when we do our family thing, i'll capture the moment, upload it to Instagram, and hashtag it #sundayfamilyfunday.    seeing other families spending quality time together really makes you appreciate and cherish what you have.  so if you're following me on IG, well, join in and share!  just don't forget to hashtag it #sundayfamilyfunday. eating, chilling, hanging out, exercising....WHATEVER it is you and your family do together, share it.   i have a feeling most pics will revolve around food - i know most of ours will :shock:

**********

if there's a HEB by you, fresh salmon is on sale for 6.97 a lb this week until tuesday!

 i got us a couple pounds this past weekend and i have been roasting it with hidden valley ranch dry ranch dressing mix.

Walden Farms dressings have been BOGO (buy one get one free) at Sprouts Farmers Market this week so i got the Asian and Balsamic flavors on my last trip there.

 you can use them as actual salad dressings, or as marinades for your proteins (fish, chicken, beef, shellfish).

that chicken up there turned out great (roasted it for 50 minutes on 350 degrees) and i threw it on a salad for lunch last week.

see! it's a berry almond Asian chicken salad.  romain lettuce mix, raw sugar snap peas, strawberries, cherry tomatoes, sliced almonds, roasted chicken breast (marinated and sprinkled with Mc Cormick Perfect Pinch Asian seasoning), all drizzled with a little more Asian dressing.  crunchy, crispy, fresh and healthy.

back to the salmon - i've been making these 'teriyaki' bowls by throwing everything into a container (carbs, veggies, protein, fat) and drizzling it all with one of the WF dressings.  flavorful, fresh, and addicting.  switch out any and everything for your favorites!  countless combos i tell you, COUNTLESS!!!!!!

  these fantastic sales are over this week (tuesday and wednesday), so take advantage.

we always have enough to be happy if we are enjoying what we do have and not worrying about what we don't have.

you'll always be waiting for or on SOMETHING.  take a look over your life and praise Him for all you have right, right now.  you are so BLESSED!

Q: what day of the week do you consider your family day?

le

products that change the game

goooood morning!

i'm feeling pretty darn good today- had an energizing, stick-to-your-ribs breakfast:

 i can eat peanut butter by the spoon and jar-full. sucks that it's almost 100 cals per tablespoon and 8 grams of fat (2 saturated) though.  i've tried adding it to my oats before, but 1 tbsp doesn't provide a strong enough pb flavor, and anything over 2 makes the nutritional stats of my oatmeal skyrocket. you can't just get all willy nilly with your pb serving sizes- it adds up so fast.  even nutella- it's DELICIOUS (although way too high in sugar) but i honestly can't stay under the recommended serving size sometimes.  let's be real.  which brings me to a product that has very well changed my LIFE, overnight. thanks, Alli!!!

 PB2.  i can't tell you how many times i walked past this stuff in the store thinking 'uh, i bet that fake, powder pb crap tastes horrid.' well my friends, let's just say i was in my kitchen toasting bread at 11pm just so i could slather this stuff on there.  it comes in two flavors- original peanut butter and chocolate.  it's in powder form, so there's a little mixing required. no big deal.

2 tbsps of PB2 +

 1 tbsp of water and..

 BAM.  sweet, creamy, peanuty, chocolaty, the real deal.  i was immediately reminded of a pb smoothie my college roomy introduced me to @ Jamba Juice- Peanut Butter Moo'd.  i went to their site to check the nutritional stats on that thing and i was completely blown away.  it's a DIET DISASTER.  for the original size, it's 770 cals, 20 grams of fat, and 126 carbs.  however, can you believe we both used to get the Power size (one level above that)?! and NO we didn't buy one and share either. my goodness- i don't event want to know what those stats look like.  ironically, the power size isn't even available anymore- maybe JJ saw just how ridiculous a 1000 calorie smoothie is. *shrugs*. man, we must've had crazy high metabolism back then. nevertheless, peanut butter everything (cookies, smoothies, etc,) seem to always be calorie/fat loaded...but now, just LOOK at these stats:

2 TBSPS	PB2	Peanut Butter	Nutella
Cals	45	200	200
Fat	1g	16g	11g
Sat. fat	0g	3g	3.5g
Carbs	6g	6g	22g
Sodium	70mg	110mg	15mg
Protein	4g	8g	3g
Fiber	1g	3g	1g
Sugars	3g	3g	21g

all natural.  i can recognize and pronounce every single ingredient.

*faints*

i'm ok. next up, green tea. i am SO on the green tea kick.  i was going hard with coffee before i got preggo.  my OB told me to cool it, so my 'addiction' eventually wore off after going so long without it.   besides, i was only adding coffee to my cream and sugar- it has to be super sweet.  sure i used low cal sweetners like torani's sugar-free vanilla syrup (great stuff) but ultimately, coffee does nothing for me but stain my teeth.  i occasionally have a treat from starbucks- a tall skinny vanilla latte when it's cold out, and any of the light frappucino drinks in the summer.  but now, green tea is def my daily drink of choice these days.  i tried a different brand at WF- the 'with white tea for a smoother taste' sold me because green tea can leave quite a bitter aftertaste.

why you should drink green tea every day too:

• aides in burning fat!!!! EGCG speeds up the rate at which fat is burned in your body which produces a faster metabolism.  music to my ears.
• calorie free. long as you stick with those zero calorie sweeteners:)
• provides stable energy. no spiking of your insulin levels which means no crashing and/or burning.  also wards off fatigue, irritability, and fatty food cravings. helps keep your appetite in check!
• aides in lowering the risk of several types of cancers, including heart attack, and stroke.
• antioxidant loaded = cell regeneration = 200 times more powerful than vitamin E when it comes to destroying those skin damaging, wrinkle causing free radicals.
• the tannins in green tea help with digestion after a meal.  however they also give it that bitter aftertaste.  that's nothing a little squeeze of lemon or lime can't fix though!

*just a tip:  green tea contains less caffeine than coffee, but consider switching to decaf if drinking before bed so you can get to sleep.  for real. staring at Sonny getting some good sleep gets old real fast.

le