Chocolate Almond Blossom Cookies {Gluten Free}

Hello friends and happy Friday! It has been a crazy few weeks over here in CRG land.  My plate has been a bit more full and that balancing act sometimes wears me out…lol
The last 2 weeks my site has been going through some issues, but they are all fixed now (yahoo), so I am finally back for a Foodie Friday!
A few weeks ago the Hubs was wanting a cookie.  I didn’t really have time to make my sugar cookies, or have all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies, so I did a little digging around pinterest and got inspired to make my own version of peanut butter blossom cookies.  The hubs was wanting something with chocolate in it, and I decided to try using my homemade chocolate almond butter (you can also use store bought).
They came out better than expected! I was really pleased with the texture and the flavor was a nice balance of almond butter and chocolate.

I am linking up with my fav Foodie Friday gals, Farrah from Fairyburger and Annmarie from the Fit Foodie Mama.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate almond butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cup gluten free flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cream of tarter
  
• 1/4 tsp pink salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon sheets.
3. In a medium bowl, sift together dry ingredients, set aside.
4. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
5. Add in the almond butter, then each egg and the vanilla, bland well.
6. Slowly add in the dry ingredients until just combined.
7. Using a cookie scooper or a Tbsp measure, scoop 2 Tbsp and roll into balls.  Place each ball on the baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
8. Using a fork, make a # symbol on each cookie.
9. Bake for about 9-11 min.
10. Let them cool on the cookie sheet for several minutes before placing them in a wire cooling wrack.
11. Store in an air tight container.

Make sure you check out the amazing ladies and their awesome mouthwatering recipes!!

• Farrah | blog | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Annmarie | blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Esther | blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’

Do you have an awesome recipe you’d love to share? Link up with us on Fridays for our weekly Foodie Friday posts! (Co-hosted by Annmarie, Farrah + Esther )

• Please link back to the co-hosts, and comment/share at least a couple other Foodie Friday posts! Don’t just leave your link and run away! :O
• Please only link up recipe posts! 🙂Join us next week for some apple recipes.

May you be filled with joy and wellness!

Pumpkin Oat Protein Bars {gluten free}

Hello and happy Friday!

I want to start off by saying a HUGE thank you for the outpouring of love and support from my posts on Wednesday! I am so thankful and grateful to have such wonderful people in my life (both in person and via social media).  My heart is overwhelmed by the kind and generous outpouring of words and comments.

I don’t know about you, but Monday holidays always seem to make the week feel off.  I could not remember what day is was for most of it! But I am was thankful for an extra day off that helped me get a lot accomplished around my house.
September is upon us.  It still feels like summer here in Houston, but I am going to pretend that fall is on its way with some cooler temps and less humid! It is one thing I don’t mind too much in the summer when we can spend the day at the pool, but once school starts back up, I am ready for some fall temps.  That is one of the few things I miss about living in the north.

I am not a PSL girl, but I do love me some good pumpkin baked goods!  I could make pumpkin things all year round, but it is sometimes hard to find in the grocery store.  I am that girl who buys a tons of canned pumpkin near the end of the holiday season so I can savor pumpkin items a little bit longer!

This recipe today does NOT disappoint! It is packed with flavor from the pumpkin and the spices.  It kind of melts in your mouth when it is still warm from the oven! I made a test batch and within 12 hours there was only 3 bars left! Kids and several adults approved so I know it is a win!  With a little added bonus of collagen peptides, I even had a slice for breakfast as my pre-workout fuel!

I am linking up with my fav Foodie Friday gals, Farrah from Fairyburger and Annmarie from the Fit Foodie Mama for fall flavor recipes!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1-2 tsp cinnamon (for added flavor)
• 4 Tbsp collagen peptides
• 1 1/2 cups gluten free flour
• Optional add ins- chocolate chips, nuts, dried cranberries)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 375*.
2. Line a 13 x 9 baking dish with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl mix together the butter and the sugar.
4. Add in the pumpkin, eggs and vanilla, mix well.
5. Mix in the oats.
6. Sift in the baking soda, spices, collagen and flour, mix until just combined.
7. If adding in an option, gently fold it into the mixture.
8. Scoop the mixture into the baking dish and spread evenly.
9. Bake for 15-20 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
10. Enjoy!

Make sure you check out the amazing ladies and their awesome mouthwatering recipes!!

• Farrah | blog | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Annmarie | blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Esther | blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’

Do you have an awesome recipe you’d love to share? Link up with us on Fridays for our weekly Foodie Friday posts! (Co-hosted by Annmarie, Farrah + Esther )

• Please link back to the co-hosts, and comment/share at least a couple other Foodie Friday posts! Don’t just leave your link and run away! :O
• Please only link up recipe posts! 🙂Join us next week for some sandwich recipes.

May you be filled with joy and wellness!

September goals & what is on my heart

Hello friends!
Happy Wednesday!

This is a bit of a vulnerable post here folks.  If you saw my Instagram earlier today you may have already seen this.  I wanted to write a little more about what has been on my mind for a while.

I’ve spent a lot of my life being ashamed at my appearance. No matter what I have done in terms of eating, working out, and self care, I have always been in a larger body. I spent so many years killing it in the gym or running mixed with not properly refueling myself and going nowhere fast! Thankfully I learned to dial it down with how much I exercised and learned a lot more about fueling my body properly and listening to my body and taking rest when I needed it.

For 5 years I said I wanted to be a Body Pump fitness instructor but would look in the mirror and tell myself that I could never do that till I reached a certain size and ‘looked’ like a certain way. Thankfully over the past 2 years I had 2 amazing mentors who encouraged me to take the jump, and I am SO glad I did! I love teaching my classes each week and encouraging others along their wellness journey! It has taken me out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways, and I am blessed to have AMAZING people in my classes who have become like a little family! They have been a huge support in my teaching experience and are always happy to see me when I am teaching! I know I still have room to grow, but I think I am a pretty darn great instructor!

Through all this I still felt like I was broken inside. I was asked all the time why I was not losing weight and what was wrong with me? I have had every blood test in the book done to see what is ‘wrong’ with me with no real ‘answers’ while my body stumped many doctors. I have heard harsh words and even a few doctors who judged me simply on the number on the scale while my blood work remained perfect. I even had a doctor tell me I needed to have bariatric surgery!

The past 6 months or so I have been on another journey of healing my mind and my love towards myself. I had finally reached a point where I grew 100% tired of not loving every part of myself!

I stumbled upon some really helpful books and podcasts from amazing people who continually remind me that I am not broken! That I am enough just as I am! That I don’t need a certain diet or to look a certain way or have the scale say a certain number to love myself. I am just hitting the tip of the iceberg with my self discovery and the array of tools that speak the truth that I AM enough!

My mind has already shifted in incredible ways! I don’t think about food & exercise the same way. I don’t look at people’s weight loss photos and long for my own revealing moment! I don’t stand in front of my classes and tell them they are here to burn calories. I don’t try be be anything less than authentic with my life. I’m not on the hunt for any magic pill. I speak more positive words to myself. If I hear you speaking negatively about your body or someone else’s, I will say something. I am here to share what I am learning and hopefully encourage others to dig deep and find more love within themselves as well!

These books above have been very encouraging and empowering. I will continue to share what I glean, but I recommend you go order Body Kindness to start! Check out the podcast too!

So my new goals this month are simply

• Move daily
• Nourish & hydrate my body and soul
• Connect with those I love
• Get great sleep!

If you ever had any questions or want to chat about any of the above information or books feel free to message me!

Now go show yourself some love!

I am linking up with Wendy and Holly for their weekly wrap and  AnnMarie and Nicole for Wild Workout Wednesday!

May you be filled with joy and wellness!