Sort of Loving The Rosebud’s Christmas album

(Source: Spotify)

(Source: Spotify)

(Source: Spotify)

96: Banana Blueberry Muffins & Fig Brownies (GF/PF)

So. Much. Baking! Don’t worry, my busy bodied friends! These are a cinch to make and well worth the very little effort. I made each batch one after the other in about an hour and because they are made with almond/ coconut flour the actual bake time is short. Also, they’re gluten free and paleo friendly (if that matters to anyone).

Fig Brownie Balls (Recipe Here)

• 1½ cup dried figs (any stems removed)
• ⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
• 6 tablespoons coconut flour
• 3 eggs, whisked
• ½ cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, melted
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt

Banana Blueberry Muffins (Recipe here):

• 3/4 cup ripe banana (about 1 and 1/2 ripe bananas)
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup blueberries

This would have been plenty of treats for our road trip south this week; however, I gave a eight of them to our neighbors and saved a couple for my family. They were gone shortly after the first driving portion of our vacation. Oh well, better luck eating “healthy” round trip next time.

97: Pumpkin Nut Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving road trip!  Matthew and I have agreed that we are going to try to eat gluten free most of the week but accept the food we’re given on Thanksgiving proper (in moderation). My mother is southern and southern women don’t take kindly to people rejecting their delicious food (and I kind of just want to enjoy myself even at the cost of a bellyache)! My sisters house is about 16+ hours away from where we live in Providence, RI and we don’t want to feast on McDonalds and Red Bull the whole way. That’s why tonight I started to make a series of road trip snacks for us! 

You guys, these cookies are so great. They are the sweetest thing I’ve had in a really long while… but they are not too sweet (which is why The Girl Who Went Paleo calls them breakfast cookies)! Matt even liked them a great deal and he is not too fond of sweets. With ingredients that include pumpkin, honey, nuts, vanilla, almond butter, and chocolate chips… what’s not to love?!

One snack down, three more to go!

Ingredients: (For The Full Recipe Click Here!)
Makes 10-12 large cookies
1/4cup canned pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix in a can)
1/2cup almond butter (or any nut butter you prefer)
1/2 cup honey
1tsp vanilla  
1cup almond meal/flour
1tsp pumpkin pie spice or 1tsp ground cinnamon 
1/4tsp baking soda 
1/2cup dark chocolate chips, or any dried fruit would be wonderful
1/2cup walnuts, or pecans, or whatever you’d like

98: PAELLA: Chorizo, Chicken, Clams, Mussels, Lime…Oh My!

Around this time last year, I was in Spain eating all the paella and croquetas I could get my hands on. This year, I am in Providence, Rhode Island attempting to eat gluten free and paleo friendly in hopes that my insides, and the insides of my significant other, will feel better after eating. Guess what?! That’s not going to stop me from eating paella! I found this killer recipe for paella online that is easy to make and guilt free. You guys, this is probably one of my favorite meals I’ve tried my hand at in the last year. It’s that good. I might have to make this for everyone always. Anyways, the recipe called for clams and mussels. I’ve cooked shrimp and lobster but that’s pretty much the extent of my shellfish cooking experience. It was super easy! I steamed them in broth until they opened right up and then tucked them in to the rest of my ingredients. For rice, I used cauliflower grated in a food processor. Aside from the mussels, clams and cauliflower, the recipe included chorizo sausage, chicken, onions, shrimp, chicken broth, clam stock, lemon (I used lime, it was great), and a whole lot of spices! 

99: Autumn Romps With The Family

Today, Matthew and I decided to take Opie out for a long romp in the woods and on the beach. It was “colder than a witches booby in Alaska!” (as my mother would say) in the shade of the tall pine trees. We made the best of it. We played in leaves and let Buggy run around off leash over boulders, through the woods and along the water. Opie really loves Autumn, you guys. As Matthew would kick up huge piles of leaves, Opie would literally frolic beneath them as they fell. Heart melt!

Opie on the beach!

Opie in the foam?

Trees & Sunshine!

No one in sight!

Bare branches!

Lookin’ sexy and pasty while rolling in leaves, as per usual. I love that every pic of me now features Opie’s dog hair on my clothing. C’est la vie! Matthew refused to play in the leaves for fear of what the leaves covered (poop, snakes, etc.). I did it because, well, i’m clearly a bad-ass. It was awesome.

Bug and leaves!

Courtesy butt shot!

Bug, Matt and boulder.

Little fur baby!

Is there any better season anywhere than fall in New England? (OK, Spring in the alps? Winter in Norway? OK, I know. Fall in New England has some serious competition. It’s wonderful, though!)

100: Waiting For Forever

I had a bunch of new things I wanted to talk about today, but Matthew says I’m not allowed to. Let’s just say we saw a really terrible movie in theater, went to Home Goods and then maybe watched another terrible holiday movie on Lifetime!

Instead, I’ll just post another movie (I watch a lot of movies, you guys!) that I saw today called Waiting For Forever.  Waiting For Forever is a film about a street performer that follows (stalks?) his childhood best friend who he is still in love with unbeknownst to her.It certainly was a different kind of independent romantic comedy. I’ll give it that much. Although, the soundtrack was really good. Swoon worthy, I’d say. So much so that I edited my Spotify account and listened to it twice before bed. Check the movie out on Netflix, if you feel like it! How am I feeling? I’m feeling preeeetttty hormonal today. I’m going to go make Matthew give me hugs and snuggle with our dog. 

Happy Saturday!

101: A Very Furry Holiday Come Early

Matthew, Opie and I are going on vacation to South Carolina next week and, unfortunately, can’t bring sweet Amelie! Amelie would hate her life what with the sixteen hour drive there, three dogs, infant, eight adults, and sixteen hour drive back! Also, I don’t know if she would be too pleased with having to stay anywhere but home (she’s a reserved cat). So, if we can’t find a person to kitty sit, we are leaving her home with Animal Planet and having our awesome landlord (who lives above us) check in on her over the course of four days. Feeling pet owner guilt, we thought we would give our animals a little taste of the holidays early this year. We bought Amelie a brand new collar and tag (i’m super neurotic about her getting out while we’re away), a cat scratch post and toys to play with. Opie also got a new tag, harness, bones and toys which he already destroyed. The fur babies are quite content right now! 

103: Orange Chicken!

It was Matthew’s turn to make dinner again tonight! Chef Matthew decided to go with a  paleo friendly, gluten free  orange chicken! It was really good. We both agreed we would change the recipe slightly to make it more citrusy and less soy sauce filled as Matthew thought it was a bit on the salty side. I really enjoyed dinner, though. The portion sizes were pretty great for two people!

Recipe (full recipe here!): 

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite size pieces)
• 3 T fat (coconut oil works well here)
• juice of 2 oranges*
• zest from 1 orange
• 1 t fresh ginger
• 3 T coconut aminos or wheat-free soy sauce
• 1 t chili garlic sauce or sriracha
• 3 green onions, chopped