Dego's Dedication Day + Chocolate Chick Cookie Pie

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baby Dego was dedicated to the Lord recently!  Sonny and i both desire to raise these boys up His way.... that is our daily prayer.  though our parenting styles differ in some ways one thing is clear; we both love our boys deeply and have their best interests at heart.  always.  we want them to both have their own personal relationship with our Savior and we can illustrate that best by setting the example.

our niece, Camille, was also dedicated that same day!  so sunday was pretty busy.  i didn't get to meal prep like i planned,

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but i did get a quick workout in that morning before coming home to cook dinner for the family we had coming over.

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fresh trout is on sale at HEB this week, so i seasoned a 2 lb. fillet with one of my fave spices! i can only find Adams Reserve at HEB, and the Smokey Sweet Potato is BOMB.  450 degree oven, 12-15 minutes or until cooked through. depends on the size of the fillet though.  just pierce the thickest part with a fork to check and make sure it's done.

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on the side, i made a fresh spinach salad with Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing!

whisk together:

  • 2 tbsp raw honey (or 2 tbsp granulate stevia packets)

  • juice of 1 lemon

  • 1 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

  • 2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar (or white wine vinegar

  • 1 tsp lemon zest

  • 1 tsp poppy seeds (i get mine from the bulk spice aisle at Sprouts Farmers Market)

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i added crumbled goat cheese, cucumber, and avocado on top.

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toss and coat!

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my dad is a bean eater so i had to include them on the menu.

for dessert? deep dish cookie pie. again!

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man. i have made this dessert like 6 or seven times in the past few weeks.  this has become the kind of recipe i don't even need to read anymore; it's all in my head.  and it's SO good!  and deceiving!  

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Chocolate Chick Cookie Pie

the stuff:

  • 1 -15 oz can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats or oatbran

  • 1/4 tsp baking soda

  • 1 tsp baking powder

  • 2 heaping tbps unsweetened applesauce

  • dash salt (maybe 1/4 tsp)

  • 1.5 tbs melted coconut oil

  • 1/2 cup golden brown sugar or coconut sugar

  • 1/2 cup dairy-free mini chocolate chips

do this:

  1. throw everything except the chocolate chips into your blender/food processor and let it rip until a smooth and creamy consistency is achieved.

  2. in a mixing bowl, add the batter + 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips and combine really good

  3. pour into prepared baking pan, spread batter evenly across, sprinkle on a few more chocolate chips on top, then bake for 35-40 min.

the chocolate drizzle is just melted down dairy-free chocolate chips mixed with a little unsweetened cashew milk ;)

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i plopped two spoonfuls of Arctic Zero's A Lil' Bit Chippy ice cream on toppa there. had to!

we thank our friends and family for celebrating Dego's dedication with us.  it's a REALLY big deal and we treated it like one.

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up on the jumbotrons!

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our homework was to write a letter to Dego as if he were 18 years old.  man, each family that went up had beautifully written, heartfelt letters for their children!  it was incredible to witness. sure we wanted to write a novel (ok, i did) but Sonny kept ours short and sweet.

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what is this, a natural hair convention? LMBO

my mom, brother, and sis-in-law came up to pray over Dego with us.

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Dego was pretty excited for his big day.

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i was looking through my closet for something to wear that morning and came across my baby shower dress!  last time i wore this thing we were two weeks away from meeting Dego.  sure it was a lil' baggy, but it was perfect for the occasion.

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congrats to baby Camille and baby Dego; God's will was certainly done.

le

____-free

posing practice, weight training, cardio, grocery shopping, church, and family time.

that was my weekend.  how was yours?

this particular trip to HEB was one to remember!  i have been hearing about Walden Farms this and Walden farms that in cyberspace recently.  Walden Farms products claim to be:

calorie-free

sugar-free

fat-free

carbohydrate-free

gluten-free

cholesterol-free

not ALL products are free of ALL of the things i listed, but just read the label to be sure!

my ears perk up when i hear  '____ - free' regardless, but not once have i heard so many in the same sentence and referring to one product!!!!!  my curiosity got the best of me and i ordered the infamous Walden Farms pancake syrup online.  however, man, sometimes all you have to do is ASK.  'do you carry Walden Farms products?' i asked the store associate.  i just knew she would look at me crazy and reply with 'who!?', but nope, HEB always come through for meeeeeee.

could that be?...no... calorie-free ketchup!? yeah it scares me too...i'll go back for it later though lol

i read A LOT of product reviews (i do hope for the best that they aren't fake or anything) and the Walden Farms dips (chocolate, caramel, marshmallow, etc.) aren't sounding too good.  so, i left them alone for now.

there they are...in all their glory!  bbq sauce too!  WF is on a roll.

and dressings! so for those of you who like to eat salad with your dressing lol, you should give these a try.

this is what i got outta there with in addition to my fresh fruits, veggies, and proteins.  syrup (pancake and chocolate) sesame ginger dressing (which is nothing short of awesome) and more PB2- there was a 50 cents off coupon running and i couldn't pass it up.

saturday morning, i made Chiso a bowl of oatmeal and topped it with fresh blueberries, chia seeds, peanut butter, and almond milk.

then i made some more of those oatmeal pancakes i had last week (i am HOOKED!!).  i made up the batter the night before this time and let it sit in the fridge.

 we had them again this morning. ready to try them?! here's that recipe:

super moist banana oat pancakes

the stuff:

  • 1/3 cup rolled oats (***you can use pre-ground oat flower, or ground them yourself in your blender or food processor***)
  • 2 egg whites
  • couple dashes of cinnamon (be generous)
  • splash of  real vanilla extract (OR you can use a couple drops of vanilla creme stevia if you want them sweeter!)
  • 1/2 a mashed ripe banana
  • 1/8th tsp of baking powder
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk
  • 1 heaping tbsp greek yogurt or unsweetened applesauce

do this:

  1. mix all the ingredients well in your blender or food processor!  *s/n: if the batter is too thick for you, add some unsweetened vanilla almond milk to stretch it.  i've been adding water to keep my nutritional stats the same for my competition diet though.*
  2. pour into a non-stick/sprayed skillet or griddle. you can make 1 big cake like they do at restaurants, or a stack. i like to do 4 mini cakes.
  3. 3-4 min on each side.
  4. you can add SO many things to your batter- the options are simply endless. top or incorporate your fav fruit or nuts and don't forget that sugar-free syrup.  i also sprayed mine with some 'i can't believe it's not butter'.  this is too easy!!! i don't even need a pancake cheat meal anymore!  tastes so darn good.  i'll be adding some PB2 into my batter when i can have it again.  enjoy and get creative.

 (for the ENTIRE recipe)

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   Chiso is a fan.

heck, oatmeal hating Sonny likes them AND the syrup too. jackpot.

About Time sent me some free samples of their whey protein this past week- chocolate and birthday cake flavor.  no carbs, no fat, no aftertaste, and all natural. hmmmmmmmmmm!  as usual, i will be trying, next month.

don't wait til morning, go make some pancakes right now.  have a blessed rest of your sunday.

what is your experience with Walden Farms!? any products by them the world should know about? share!

le