servin' it up

tomorrow is fridaaaaay!  man.  the spring semester Small Groups at Parkway Fellowship started up last week!  i am so happy to have a found a group specifically for expecting moms and moms with young kiddos. what a blessing it has been so far.  serving makes me incredibly happy, so i jumped at the chance and volunteered to bring snacks for our very first meeting.  here's what we munched on:

yall know real fruit snacks are pretty much always on my menu!  strawberries, nectarines, blueberries, pineapple, and cantaloupe, all fresh and on sale from my Sprouts Farmers Market.

roll up your sleeves and cut your own fruit!  that pre-cut convenience fee is ridiculous.  use those savings and buy more food. lol.

i skewered some of them just cause.

next, breakfast quesadillas!  i asked Sonny what i should make and he said breakfast tacos.  sooooooo, i tweaked his suggestion and did quesadillas, naturally. lol.  these got rave reviews from the moms!  the combo of fluffy, whole eggs, savory turkey bacon, fresh spinach, portabella mushrooms, and melty monterey jack cheese... i mean that just makes your mouth water, right?! the tortillas were fresh made from HEB.

i used whole eggs and cracked a bunch of them into a large mixing bowl the night before.  i diced half a yellow onion and threw that into the egg batter along with some cracked black pepper and liquid aminos.  the next morning, all i had to do was scramble and cook them all up of course!  i made an assembly line for each ingredient, added a little of each to the tortilla, folded it in half, and toasted it on both side using my griddle.  a little Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread  was put on the outsides of the tortilla before toasting. gave  them a lovely color, crunch, and of course that buttery flavor!

moving right along to these BOMB mini Banana Pecan Chocolate Muffins! the kiddos enjoyed these too and i'm glad because they are naturally sweetened and a great 'grab & go' option.  they work any time of day- breakfast, snack, or dessert.  you can also use walnuts instead of pecans.

i forgot to buy some greek yogurt while at the store but i had plenty of unsweetened applesauce at home. so i used that instead and they were still as moist and tasty as ever.

 it's refreshing to meet, connect, and discuss all things motherhood with other moms....or not!  we have already discussed such a wide range of topics and i look forward to more.  we all have our stories but one thing is constant; we are all women wanting to grow in our relationships with Christ and raise our little blessings up His way. 

speaking of motherhood, i wanted to share one of the best motherhood articles i've read in a good while. i completely identified with the author.

"One day….I will sleep peacefully through the night, never a worry of a sick child or a crying baby. It will be but a memory. These years of being needed are exhausting, yet fleeting. I have to stop dreaming of "one day" when things will be easier. Because the truth is, it may get easier, but it will never be better than today. Today, when I am covered in toddler snot and spit-up. Today, when I savor those chubby little arms around my neck. Today is perfect. "One day" I will get pedicures and showers alone. "One day" I will get myself back. But, today I give myself away, and I am tired and dirty and loved SO much, and I gotta go. Somebody needs me."

 that gave me chills.  especially since that paragraph described the day we were having at the time. LOL. at some point every single day, Chiso gets down on the floor to play with his cars, action figures, do flips, and other things little boys do... so Dego and i got down there with him to play.  seeing the world through their eyes is indeed humbling and Megan's article reminded me yet again to just slow down and soak in as much of these guys as i can.

my answered prayers. my miracles.

can you relate to her excerpt?

would you join or lead a small group yourself?

le

pancakes + homemade greek fro-yo + REST

oooh the time really got the best of me today.  i said i would rest the entire Saturday after teaching 6 classes this week, all of which included weights.   when i first started teaching, i wanted to teach the ALL OF HOUSTON, and i did. i think i was up to like 9 or 10 classes a week plus my  full time job.  oh and doing boot camps on the side for high school girls twice a week.  i actually kept up with it for longer than you might have expected, but then the health issues started kicking in (duh) as well as complete burn out from working out altogether!  you know the saying..too much of something isn't good, i know, i know.  that was obviously all pre-Chiso... speaking of Chiso, i really did keep my word to rest today so we walked over to the park for some play time.

from the swings,

to the slide,

back to the swings,

to the couch.  snacking on goldfish. watching cartoons.

i promised my pumpkin pancake recipe from this morning and here it is, you fit foodies, you!  i have so much more to catch you up on (v-day, etc) and i WILL! tomorrow.  i'll definitely be having these again before i head out to teach my class in tha morning and you should too.

pumpkin pie pancakes

the stuff:

• 1/4 cup oat bran
• 3/4 cup wheat bran
• 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (ya might need more)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 heaping tbsp 0% plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup pure pumpkin
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp all spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 5-7 drops of vanilla creme stevia
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 packet granulated stevia
• 2 egg whites

do this:

mix!  in a medium heated pan sprayed with no-stick cooking spray, pan fry them up like cakes.  once one side starts to bubble, flip it.   couldn't be any easier, right?  OH, the topping is 1 tbsp greek yogurt, 1 tbsp pure pumpkin, and 1 tbsp walden farms pancake syrup.  whip it up and make a pretty dollop on top of your stack.

for the whole shabang:

now, i MUST post this before i let ya go- a reader of mine and her husband are NOT fond of chocolate, so i vow to post more clean, healthy desserts of all varieties more often! there will be plen-tay in my e-book as well.  this dessert was an Instagram inspiration gone RIGHT.

blueberry greek fro-yo

the stuff:

1 packet granulated stevia

1 single size tub 0%-2% plain greek yogurt

couple drops of vanilla creme stevia (3-5-7)

1/4 cup blueberries (any kind!)

do this:

mix; you can throw this all in a blender for a smooth texture, or you can do it by hand.  since i like the fruit chunks i did it by hand as you can see.  put it in the freezer for about 30 min...you gotta watch it though cause i left mine in there too long and i had to wait until it defrosted some before i could inhale it. the longest 17 minutes, ever.  oh and i added pistachios, but it's your call on the nuts.

what day of the week is your rest day on and why?

have a beautiful evening!!!!

le