This Butternut Squash Bread, based off of a recipe form My Baking Addiction, is incredible!  It was one of the first recipes that I posted on LWYD and is still one of the BEST QUICK BREADS that I have ever made.

It uses some unique ingredients to keep the bread healthy and clean!

And one of my favorite spices!

This is a simple recipe…

That creates a phenomenal bread that will have your friends asking…what’s in here??? 

It’s up to you if you tell them the secret ingredient is SQUASH!

Butternut Squash Bread

Adapted from My Baking Addiction

Ingredients
1 cup butternut squash puree* (I use fresh, but Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods sell it canned)
2 eggs
1/2 cup safflower oil
1/4 cup water
½ cup turbinado sugar
1 cups whole wheat flour

¾ spelt flour
1 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the butternut squash puree, eggs, oil, water and sugars until thoroughly combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.
3. Stir the dry ingredients into the butternut squash mixture. Combine just until incorporated; do not over mix. Pour into the prepared pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Not in the mood for bread? Although I’m not sure how that is even possible, there are plenty of other butternut squash friendly recipes on my RECIPE PAGE!

Cereal

Have you Tried it Yet???

Wine of the Month

Cookbooks (arriving SOON from Amazon)

Favorite Sweet Snack

Sandwich Shop in Town

Toy (electric wine opener…on sale at Target…so fun!)

Matching Lulu Gear

Hat

Made by my mom, it’s a baby gift!

Movie (Actually an old movie, but new on DVD)

Trader Joe’s Chips

They go great with hummus, guacamole, or salsa

Flowers

(And Improved) 2010 Blog Posts

Favorite Tween Trilogy Turned Movie

What are you doing the last weekend in March?  I know where I’ll be!

What’s new and exciting in your life???

Although this view is never quite as beautiful!

I did enjoy the quick commute to work and the gorgeous iced tree branches.

10 hours later, my work day was over.  I was as sore as if I’ve been tri training, yet I haven’t worked out all week and I don’t feel like the best version of myself.  On the BRIGHT side…it was a successful weekend of class and I was able to apply all my new knowledge with my patients this week.  The BRIGHTER note…we have a mostly quiet weekend ahead.  I drove home with no traffic (I guess some people DID get a snow day), and I was happy to finally be moving out of my car.

I walked into a super clean house (thank you cleaning service) and a BIG SURPRISE…

A beautifully set dinner table and stunning flowers!

And guess who made a vegetarian dinner???

Spinach and garlic stuffed Portobello mushrooms,

With potatoes, broccoli, and onions,

And some extra cheese for the BOY.

He even treated us to a fancy desert.

It is soooo good to be home!

Since every meal I had yesterday was eaten on the run, quickly shoveling food into my mouth, I loved the idea of sitting down and enjoying my breakfast (eggs and toast) this morning.  And not feeling rushed before heading out the door.  Yesterday, you may have noticed some nasty looking bananas in the background of my pictures.  I was WAY TOO tired to stage anything.

They were leftover from the course this weekend, and so I snatched them up for banana bread.  I decided to make mini loaves for my five coworkers who were in the class with me as a little happy to get us through the week.

I have numerous banana bread recipes, but one of them is super easy and comes together in just ONE BOWL.  I’m not exactly sure how it works as many quick bread recipes have multiple steps and many bowls, but this is one of the best recipes out there, I promise!  It is actually a muffin recipe given to me by a friend and I don’t know the original source.

I always have the ingredients in the house, so you just need some old bananas, a big bowl and a hand mixer!

Starting with the bananas, all of the ingredients (wet and dry) go into the bowl.

I only own 4 mini loaf pans, but I wanted to make 5 loaves, so I pulled out my fall pumpkin mold.

The benefit of mini pans is that it decreases the baking time.  After 30 minuets, I pulled 4 beautiful loaves and one festive pumpkin out of the oven.

It kind of reminds me of that old Sesame Street song…’One of these things is not like the other…one of these things just doesn’t belong!”

I wrapped them up for my friends at work figuring that whoever ends up with the pumpkin will definitely get a laugh out of it.  Plus, if they are like me and haven’t had much time to get to the grocery store, they’ll be happy to have a homemade treat!

One Bowl Banana Walnut Bread

Ingredients

3-4 medium very ripe bananas

1 1/4 cups (6 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour (I have also supped in whole wheat and spelt in the past which was a huge success)

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup safflower oil

1 large egg

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place rack in center of oven.

-With Metal Blade (a hand mixer works just fine), process bananas until smooth, with a few bumps remaining.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process for 3 seconds.  Scrape the work bowl and process just until mixed, 1-2 seconds more.  If there mixture is still not fully mixed, gently stir with a spatula to combine.  DO NOT OVER MIX!!!

-For Muffins: divide batter amount 10-12 prepared muffin cups and make until brown, about 25 minutes.

-For Bread: pour into a greased loaf pan and bake until brown, about 50 minutes.  Decrease time to 30 minutes for mini loaves.

Let’s just call it back since I’m currently in my own home, but just for the night as I am heading back to my parents’ tomorrow night.  I’m slightly disoriented and had to have the woman at Trader Joe’s tell me what day it is.

It was a crazy busy weekend (and Monday) in class.  The past four days were both physically and mentally exhausting as I learned a lot of new theories and skills and bounced back and forth between home and work all of the while reminding myself that another weekend would come.  I crashed hard last night and gave up my morning run to enjoy a blissful 10 hours of sleep.  I knew before coming home tonight that I would have to make an emergency grocery store run.  The BOY went out for the ‘essentials’ while I was gone, which included chocolate milk and bacon…not enough to get me through my week even with a few nights back at my parents!

Thanks to the holiday, there was no traffic.  I made it home before the BOY and threw together a quick and easy dinner (thank goodness for frozen veggie burgers).  Someone in the class this weekend told me about a kale recipe and I found a few leftover leaves in the fridge that were still fresh and crisp.  I can’t believe the BOY didn’t eat them…ha ha! 

In this recipe, you start by cutting the leaves off of the stem.

Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil.

Then sprinkle on garlic powder and my secret ingredient…Trinidad Lemon Garlic from The Spice House!

The worst thing about kale is that it doesn’t photo well.

The good news…it makes a fresh and healthy side dish for dinner.  The lemon and garlic make the perfect combination on this crispy green. 

BTW, not pictured on my dinner plate is the HUGE bowl of air-popped popcorn (also covered in Trinidad Lemon Garlic) that I had after dinner when I finally sunk my bottom into my couch to zone out and watch some TV. I can’t believe tomorrow is Tuesday and my workweek begins. I’m not sure if I will be able to drag myself off of the couch ever again!!!

A few other fantastic kale recipes to try this winter…

Green Smoothie (can use spinach, chard or kale)

Kale Chips

Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup

Spanish Chickpea, Tomato, and Kale Soup

Two Bean Soup with Kale

Curried Red Lentil Soup

Lemon Garlic Kale

Ingredients

1 batch of kale, rinsed and dried well

Olive oil (about 2 teaspoons)

Juice of 1/2 of a lemon, squeezed

Garlic powder

Lemon garlic seasoning

Directions

-Cut the kale off of the stem, leaving the leaves long.  Spread them out onto a cookie sheet, covered in foil, and sprayed with cooking spray.

-Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over kale.  Do not soak or it will not cook evenly.

-Sprinkle garlic powder and lemon garlic seasoning over kale.

-Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 12 minutes or until edges just begin to brown and kale becomes crispy.  Keep a close eye on the kale and DO NOT OVER BAKE!

-This makes the perfect side paired with fresh fish or can be eaten as a snack with nuts and dried fruit.

Since I love to bake, I’m always happy to bring some baked goods to our classes.  Yesterday, I went with my favorite box mix from Krusteaz.  If you haven’t tried this one, it is absolutely incredible!

Tonight, I didn’t have any energy for serious baking, so I went with my FAVORITE easy muffin recipe.  It only takes 2 ingredients.

And a glass of Champagne never hurts!

Simply combine the pumpkin and cake mix.  I chose a spice cake mix tonight, but chocolate is good and marble cake is the BEST!

The batter is thick and stiff, nothing like a real cake or muffin batter.

Spoon your batter into a greased mini muffin pan.  Don’t worry about any bumps or peaks.  These are not going to be your prettiest looking muffins.

I told you these guys look a little funky, but trust me, they taste fantastic!  They are perfect in a pinch because who doesn’t have a cake mix and can of pumpkin in their pantry?!

Now I just have to figure out when I’m going to get to the grocery store because cake mix and pumpkin are ALL that we have in our house right now!

Two-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 box of spice cake mix

1 can of pumpkin puree

-Combine 1 box of cake mix and 1 can of pumpkin.  Stir until just combined.

-Fill mini muffins tins with batter.  These will not expand like regular muffins, so they can be pretty full.

-Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 16-18 minutes.  Muffins are done when the top springs back to your touch.

-Let cool before enjoying!

-Store in an air tight container.

***You won’t taste the pumpkin in chocolate muffins, I promise!

***If you want to get real daring, you can add a third ingredient…pecans with spice or chocolate chips with marble.

By the way, I just found this recipe for Two Ingredient Pumpkin Cookies!  Will have to give those a try soon…maybe even this week if I don’t make it to the grocery store!

Other Two Ingredient Recipes to Try:

Yellow Cake (I love this recipe…it’s addicting)

Two Ingredient Strawberry Fudge

Two Ingredient Crockpot Chicken (This could be your families new favorite dinner!)

Butternut Squash Puree

Kale Chips

Parsnip Chips

Confession…I didn’t even change out of my PJ’s.  I turned on some trashy TV, found a stop watch and began the exercises.

Each exercise is done for 1 minute at a time so you don’t have to count reps.  I didn’t rest long in between sets, except to grab some water when I needed it.

20 minutes later, Kim K was still frustrated with her husband, but my heart rate was pumping, my arms were tired, and I was surprisingly sweaty!  Plus, I got in a workout without leaving my house.  Bonus!  

Take Home Message

TRY IT!  The moves are tough to do and after 45 seconds, you will be feeling them.

This workout is very arm heavy.  My recommendation would be to add some core.  Throw in a 1 minute plank at the end and then do 4 rounds to reach your 20 minutes.

Looking to increase your cardio, add in a minute of mountain climbers, jumping jacks, sprints, or jumping rope in between exercises.

This will make a great post workout breakfast!

What is your favorite way to exercise at home?

However, the butternut squash that I roasted earlier in the week went bad.  I was still in the mood for curry and had lentils and an onion ready to become soup, but I didn’t have anything suitable to substitute for the squash.  I found another lentil soup recipe on Oh She Glows.  I modified it slightly and got started with the chopping.

I have been SO GOOD about not drinking soda, but I had a treat while I worked played in the kitchen.

I used garam masala along with my curry powder for an authentic taste.

The soup came together quickly and caused the whole downstairs to smell amazing.  Even the BOY asked what I was making.  I think I see a theme here…he is interested in anything the moment he smells curry powder.

It was my February goal to eat more leafy greens, and thus far, I am failing. 

This adaptation of Angela’s recipe gave me the idea to add some kale to my soup.

This fragrant soup tasted just as good as it smelled, although I think my kale pieces are too big.  I expected them to wilt a little more.  My only change for next time would be to cut/tear my kale into smaller pieces.

Without butternut squash, the texture of this soup is different, but the soft carrots and kale bring a lot to this flavorful broth.  This hearty soup will warm you up on any cold day!

Curried Red Lentil Soup with Kale

Adapted slightly from Oh She Glows

Ingredients

1 large onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1.5 Tbsp curry powder

1/2 Tbsp garam masala powder

1 cup uncooked red lentils, rinsed and drained

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth (or water)

1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

Sea salt and pepper to taste

1 bunch of kale, torn or cut into TINY pieces

-Spray Dutch oven over medium heat with non stick spray or coat with olive oil.  Add onions and carrots, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes until onions are fragrant.  Add garlic and cook vegetables until soft, stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes.

-Add curry and garam masala, stirring to coat for 1 minute.

-Add lentils, veggie broth, salt, and pepper to taste.  Add in lemon juice.  Stir and bring to a boil.

-Reduce heat to medium low.  Stir in kale and simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered.  Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes until kale is wilted.

Do you have any big plans???

Our house is feeling very festive this Valentine’s Day even though we don’t have anything exciting going on.  Speaking of festive, check out my Valentine’s Day outfit.  Is this shirt not ridiculous?!?!

The kids thought it was fabulous and their parent’s liked it too!

Especially the matching socks!

We wrapped up our secret Valentine Day celebration complete with treats (yes, that’s a red velvet whoopie pie), and I found out which of my friends bought me all of the fun gifts (including the puppets at the top of the post).

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I am sharing two sweet recipes with you.

Both are quick, decadent, and perfect for a holiday celebration!

Kahlua Cake

Beat the following ingredients for 4 minutes:

1 yellow cake box mix

1 box instant chocolate pudding

4 eggs

1/4 cup kahlua

1/4 cup vodka

1 cup oil

3/4 cup water

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Cool before serving.

I am sorry that I don’t have any better pictures of this moist, rich cake!  It is always a crowd favorite and easy to make because it starts with a box mix.

Strawberry Two Ingredient Fudge

Recipe from Cookies & Cups

Other V-Day Worthy Recipes (that I can’t wait to try):

Red Velvet Cupcakes in a Jar

Chocolate Cake Balls

Snickerdoodle Cookie Bars with Pink Cream Cheese Frosting

Vegan Cookie Dough Truffles

Mega Chocolate Chippers with Sea Salt

5 Minute Chocolate Chocolate Fudge S’mores Mug Cake

Red Velvet Popcorn

What is your favorite dessert recipe?

Leave links below!!!

Into breakfast On-the-Run!

I tend to get a little grumpy when I have to go into work on Mondays.  And since I am in class this upcoming Friday-Monday, this morning it was off to work.  But first, I got up nice and early and headed to the gym for a run.  Mondays are a day that I count on for a BIG calorie burn, and I didn’t want to miss it just because I had to work.  I ran 5 miles on the treadmill alternating between 7:30 and 8:00 minute miles.  I am hoping to increase my race pace to close to 8:00 minute miles for my half-marathon in May.  On gym days, I usually shower, change, scrunch up my hair, and try to get back on the road in ~20 minutes.  This leaves little time for water breaks and no time for breakfast.  Because I am me, there is no way that I can survive the 30 minute car trip to work after a workout without eating, so I end up eating breakfast in my car.  I have tried a variety of on-the-go breakfasts.  Two handed foods requiring a spoon, like overnight oats are tough, but peanut butter and banana sandwiches work well, leaving me a hand free for the steering wheel.  This morning’s breakfast was a combination of the two:

Peanut Butter and Banana Oats On-the-Run.

One batch of this baked oatmeal creates 4 servings (almost a week’s worth), and is easy to eat as a finger food while speeding down the highway or commuting on the train.  It is super healthy (no sugar added) and can easily be vegan by replacing the egg with a flax egg.

This breakfast was so filling that I wasn’t starving at 10AM, like I usually am, and I was able to make it to lunch without a snack.  It might have helped that a coworker friend brought me a morning HAPPY (a soy cinnamon dolce latte…yummy!) since she knew that I would be here on my day off and that the two of us were beginning 12 straight days at work (the class we are taking is at our clinic this weekend).

Can you feel the love???  If not, you just have to look at all of my coworkers’ socks!

Valentine’s Day is in the air…Oh the joys of working pediatrics!  I have enough pairs of Valentine’s socks that I actually started wearing them last week.  To make things more exciting, we also do a Secret Valentine at work where we leave each other little gifts throughout the week leading up to a celebration tomorrow, complete with decadent desserts.  I have the BEST V-buddy ever, who along with the adorable finger puppets and perfume spray, bought me this body wash!

It is perfect timing because I just noticed this morning that the body wash in my gym bag is running low, and I feel very strongly that  a woman should have a NICE body wash and lotion if she has to bathe in the gym showers before work!

What is your grab-and-go breakfast on a busy mornings?

Peanut Butter and Banana Oats On-the-Run

Adapted from Peanut Butter & Banana Baked Oatmeal

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 tsp baking powder

2 Tbsp flax

1 egg

2 Tbsp (32g) natural peanut butter

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 cup water

1 tsp vanillas

3 overripe mashed bananas

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 9×9 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

-Combine dry ingredients (oats, baking powder, and flax) in a small bowl.

-Using a mixer, beat the egg, peanut butter, milk, water, and vanilla until smooth.  Add in the mashed banana and stir until combined.

-Stir in the oat mixture until just combined.  Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake for 35 minutes until edges begin to brown and the middle is set.

-Makes 4 servings for a weeks worth of breakfasts!

-Store in air tight container or freeze individually.

Vegan Option: replace egg with flax egg, omitting the flax from the dry ingredients

Add Ins: walnuts, almond butter, cacao powder, dried fruit or whatever else you think might taste good!