Tag Archives: fall

Spotlight Blog Hop Day- Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Protein Bar

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Happy Friday friends!
Welcome to the last weekend in October! Time sure is a-flying!

If you are here for the first from the awesome blog hop, welcome! I’m so glad you decided to stop by!  This is my third blog hop, and I have loved getting to read new blogs and get to know some new bloggers! You can read a little more about me in my previous hop posts here and here, or on my about me page!  Thank you again Kristy at Runaway Bridal Planner for organizing such a great event!

I am heading to the pumpkin patch this morning now the the weather has cooled down a bit.  And by that I mean, the high has only been in the mid 80s vs 90-100+ degrees!
Speaking of pumpkin, I have an abundance of it right now! I apparently had several cans of it in my pantry from a few weeks ago that I forgot about and grabbed a few more on sale last week. With so much pumpkin it gave me a great opportunity to work on my pumpkin protein brownie bar recipe.  I’m not really sure if I would call them a brownie exactly, they are almost a mix between cake and a pie. So I settled on brownie 🙂
This week I had plenty of extra pumpkin to work with for our Foodie Friday theme!
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I am linking up with Farrah from Fairyburger, Annmarie from the Fit Foodie Mama, and Jess from Hello to Fit for our kitchen cleanse themed week!

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Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Protein Bar

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup gluten free flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 3 scoops unflavored collagen peptides
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/3 -1/2 cup coconut sugar
  • 3 organic eggs
  • 1 can Organic pumpkin purée
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup Enjoy life dark chocolate chips
  • Coconut oil for greasing baking dish or parchment paper

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Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375*
  2. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish with coconut oil, or line with parchment paper.
  3. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl, set aside.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin and vanilla till fully blended.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently mix until just blended.
  6. Add in most of the chocolate chips, gently fold into the batter.
  7. Scoop batter into greased pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.
  8. Bake for 20-25 min or until toothpick comes out clean from the center of the brownie bar
  9. Enjoy

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

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 + Jess.)

  • 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! :)

Thanks again for stopping by! Join us again next week for some Healthifying A Favorite Sweet themed recipes!

May you be filled with joy and health!
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Veggies, veggies, veggies! 

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Happy Friday friends. Oh I’m so glad it is Friday. It was a bit of a rough week (more about all that soon) but made it through!

Something you may not know about me is that I was a vegetarian for several years.  I have never been much of a meat eater to begin with, and one summer during jr high my sister and I decided to try it out.  I ended up enjoying the lifestyle and stuck with it for a few years after that.  I am not strictly a vegetarian any longer, but I do enjoy my veggies.  I prefer them over meat most days.  I married a huge meat eater, but he does let me cook vegetarian meals here and there 😉
October is vegetarian awareness month!  Did you know there are different types of vegetarians?

  • Ovo-vegetarian: Eats eggs but no dairy
  • Lacto-vegetarian: Eats dairy but no eggs
  • Lacto-ovo-vegetarian: Eats both dairy and eggs
  • Pesco-vegetarian: Eats fish and seafood

This month we have been trying a few more vegetarian dishes than we normally have.  I saw some other fun ideas on Dietitians on Demand. 

  • Visit your farmers’ market and buy local fruits and vegetables. This is a great way to give back to your community and also learn about the produce grown in your area seasonally.
  • Go meat-free for the month of October. Give it a try! Meatless meals do not have to be taste-free! Research some new recipes online and even try some vegetables you’ve never heard of.
  • Participate in Meatless Mondays. This is a better option for those not ready to fully commit to being meat-free. Try and spend only one full day a week without meat! Learn more here.
  • Host a vegetarian potluck at work. Join us at Dietitians on Demand and host your own meat-free potluck! Our employees will each be bringing in an item containing at least one vegetable or fruit to share. Creativity is encouraged.

To celebrate this month we are kicking off this month of Foodie Friday with vegetarian recipes.

I am linking up with Farrah from Fairyburger, Annmarie from the Fit Foodie Mama, and Jess from Hello to Fit for our vegetarian awareness themed week!

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Butternut Squash Veggie Hash

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 butternut squash, peeled
  • 1 red pepper, washed, cored and chopped into cubes
  • 3 cups kale, washed and chopped into smaller pieces
  • 1/2-1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 TBS avocado oil
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • Spices to taste- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin

Directions

  1. Spiralize the butternut squash (if you don’t have a spiralizer, just slice & chop into cubes) (the link is not affiliate, just the one I have and enjoy using)
  2. Heat oil in a large pan and add the garlic.
  3. Once garlic browns, add the butternut squash and half of the broth.
  4. Cook squash for 5-7 min or until it begins to soften.
  5. Add in the red peppers and continue to cook.
  6. Add spices to taste more broth if needed to help the squash cook faster.
  7. Once the squash is fully softened, add the kale to wilt in.
  8. Once kale has wilted, serve and enjoy.

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

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 + Jess.)

  • 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 Choctober themed recipes! It is gonna be amazing!!!

Be filled with joy and health!
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Peppermint Protein Hot Chocolate 

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Happy Friday friends!
Been a little quiet this week over here. It was a pretty busy week and I have focusing on some other areas of life. Had a girls night, went to my Bible study group, worked on finding curtains for our master bath (and was successful!) as well as spending quality time with the hubs, some evening kick butt workouts and cooking a LOT!

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Yay for new curtains!

Plus getting ready for another weekend away so yep, it’s been a busy week!

Fall weather decided to grace us with its presence a few mornings this week and even yesterday afternoon! The humidity has dropped to around 50% and it has been feeling glorious! Makes me miss the cool northern fall weather and I even put on our little firepace (minus the heat element for now…hehe)
SO of course this weeks recipe theme was perfect with the change of weather!

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I am linking up with Farrah from Fairyburger, Annmarie from the Fit Foodie Mama, and Jess from Hello to Fit for our hot & festive drink themed week!

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Peppermint Protein Hot Chocolate

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1/2 cup carob chips plus a few to sprinkle on top
  • 1/2 TBSP raw cacao powder
  • 2 scoop unflavored Collagen Peptides
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp peppermint extract
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 4 oz homemade whipped cream

Directions 

  1. Boil water in a med saucepan then remove from heat
  2. Add in carob chips and whisk till melted/blended.
  3. Add in remaining ingredients (minus the whipped cream) and whisk well together.
  4. Pour into 2 mugs (I love using the mugs we made on our anniversary date last year!)
  5. Add a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of carob chips on top

 

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

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 + Jess.)

  • 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 vegetarian awareness themed recipes!

Be filled with joy and health!
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Foodie Friday: Roasted Pepper and Butternut Squash Soup

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Happy Friday y’all!  It is that time of year again when I am obsessed with roasting veggies!  I even had to buy more baking sheets to stay on top of all the veggies I have been going through!  So easy, so healthy and so YUM!
Today I am linking up once again with Farrah from Fairyburger, Annmarie from the Fit Foodie Mama, and Jess from Hello to Fit!! Our theme this week is meatless! 
When I first saw the meatless theme pop up, all I could think about were some awesome chicken recipes I have been looking at on Pinterest!  But then I was at Trader Joe’s and tasted some awesome salad I decided to make some soup to go along with it!  And it turned out wonderfully!
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Roasted Pepper and Butternut Squash Soup

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Ingredients

  • 12 cups of cubed butternut squash
  • 4 pepper (red and yellow)
  • 2 cups veggie broth (give or take)
  • 4 TBS olive oil
  • Salt, pepper, garlic
  • Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425* F
  2. Spread olive oil on a baking sheet.
  3. Place squash on the baking sheet.  Sprinkle spices lightly on the squash.
  4. Roast the squash for 15 minutes.
  5. Add the red peppers to the squash and roast for 10 more min.
  6. Let the veggies cool for 20 min.
  7. Blend the veggies with the broth in a food processor or blender.  Adding 1/2 cup at a time till it reaches the desired consistency.
  8. Reheat if needed.
  9. Enjoy with toppings (if desired)


I paired it with the Harvest Blend salad from Trader Joe’s!



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

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 + Jess.)

  • 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! 🙂


Don’t forget to tune in next week for kitchen cleanse recipes!

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Five Things Friday: Favorite Fall Activities!!

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I am back linking up for Five Things Friday with Courtney (Eat, Pray, Run DC), Cynthia at You Signed Up for What and Mar at Mar on the Run for some Fall

 

1. Visit a pumpkin patch and also pick apples!

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2. Run. I love running pretty much any time of the year, but fall is my FAVORITE!  It was so great to have fun my first ever half marathon in the fall!  I can not wait for the next few weeks where I will tackle 15 races!
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3. Bake and cook yummy holiday food 🙂
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4. Have options for cute toes in sandals and getting to wear my boots!
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5. Of course, anytime is a great time for some chocolate!!
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What do you enjoy doing in the fall? Fill me in 🙂

Join the link-up
FridayFiveLinkup

XO,
Esther
-Chocolate Runner Girl-

Is it fall yet???

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I am a sun, summer loving, flip-flop queen, beach bum through and through, but there is something about the fall that makes my heart so happy! However, here in TX we don’t really get a true fall. In the 4.5 years I have lived here, the average temps in October and November fall in the mid 70s-low 80s. Yes, that does feel much cooler than the triple digit days in July and August, but still not really like what I grew up with in the north.

Despite the still warm temps here, I decided that it was time to find a new soup recipe and try it out! I happened to get a plethora of red peppers and yellow squash at the Farmer’s Market and I decided to google a soup recipe with these ingredients to see what I found. I happened across this recipe! The pictures made my mouth water, and I could not wait to make it! It was great timing as I was hosting a little lunch and I figured this would be a good time to try out the soup 🙂

I did some tweaking to the original recipe that I found, and I have to say I am REALLY happy with the end result. I did not use onions to avoid my allergy issues. I also used a few more squash that the recipe called for, maybe cause I felt they were a little on the small side. In the end the ratio of squash and red pepper was about equal in my pot.

Ingredients

2 to 3 Tablespoons organic coconut oil
3 or 4 sweet red peppers, chopped into large pieces
3 or 4 yellow summer squash, cut into large slices (I used about 6)
6 cups (48 ounces) chicken stock, I used organic low sodium broth.

Spices to your liking. (I used garlic, pepper, salt, paprika, italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and basil.)

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Directions
Heat the coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat and add the peppers, squash and spices. Let cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes to ensure that all the vegetables have oil covering them.
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Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer with the lid cracked for about 20 minutes. Stir every few minutes and check the vegetables to ensure they are soft between 15-20 minutes.

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Using a counter top blender and carefully puree the soup to desired consistency.PLEASE BE AWARE THE SOUP IS HOT AND CAN SPLATTER EASILY IN THE BLENDER. I made so much soup it took 2 rounds of blending to puree all the vegetables and the stock.

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Enjoy hot, or you can also chill it and enjoy it cold!          

I paired this soup with some thick french bread and a tasty salad with Italian chicken!