Peanut Butter Banana Waffles

I am so excited to be blogging! These past two weeks have been utterly crazy with projects, exams, papers and presentations but that is all turned in now and I have a moment to catch my breath. I have missed cooking and baking these past two weeks and I am looking forward to cooking up a storm this weekend. I also have a really, really exciting project I cannot wait to share with you so stay tuned! 

After a day of hanging out with friends today and checking out a local health food store I was pooped. I came back to my apartment and just chilled out. I had kind of forgotten how it felt to literally do nothing. I knew I wanted to make something yummy for dinner and breakfast sounded good. Anyone who knows me knows peanut butter and banana in any combo is my favorite, so I made it in waffle form and it did not disappoint. Plus I am happy to report these delicious waffles are completely dairy free and gluten free without any crazy or expensive ingredients! They can be made using whole wheat flour and are just as delicious.

Peanut Butter Banana Waffles

• 1 cup GF all purpose flour or whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon organic ground flax
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/4 cup all natural peanut butter, or nut butter of choice
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 tablespoon organic honey
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and ground flax.

After dry ingredients are combine add in all wet ingredients and stir. It will take some arm muscle to mix peanut butter in with other ingredients. You can use an electric mixer if you choose. 

Spray waffle maker with non stick cook spray or coconut oil. 

Once waffle maker is heated up scoop a few large spoonfuls onto waffle maker.

Allow waffle to cook until the center and edges turn light brown.

Depending on how large you make the waffles you can get 3 jumbo waffles or 6 normal size waffles. 

Nutrition per waffle (based on 6 waffles):

Calories: 190 

Fat: 9 grams

Carbs: 24 grams

Sodium: 151 mg

Fiber: 4 grams

Sugar: 6 grams

Protein: 6 grams

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Overnight Oats

An empty peanut butter jar could not have come at a better time. I have been insanely

busy with classes, obvious from my lack of posting, and have hardly had time to prepare food. I had finished off one of my absolute favorite peanut butters, Peanut Butter & Co Cinnamon Raisin Swirl (a must try if you have not tried it!).

I am all about easy meals so instead of tossing the jar I made overnight oats in it. The jar was not entirely empty, it still had about a tablespoon of peanut buttery goodness left in it, which is perfect for overnight oats.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Overnight Oats

• 1 almost empty peanut butter jar, about a tablespoon of peanut butter left
• 1/3 cup gf oats
• 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 2 tablespoons dannon light and fit vanilla greek yogurt, can omit
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon raisins
• 1/2 honeycrisp apple cut into chunks

Place everything inside the jar. Seal the lid and shake it up. 

Refrigerate overnight. Shake it up again before eating. 

Instead of having it for breakfast I grabbed it as a lunch as I headed out the door for classes. I also added in 1/2 of a small banana. Allowing the oats to soak overnight allows them to really absorb the flavor of the peanut butter and cinnamon.

Daylight Savings Time and Catch Up: Weekend at Home Part 3

A person can get a lot done when they wake up at 3:30 in the morning. My friends all think I am clinically insane, but I can't sleep in. The time change this morning screwed up my internal clock. My body was saying wake up, but it was only 3:30. Unfortunately I am one of those people who when I wake up I am wide awake.

I wasn't about to complain because there have been a lot that I have been slacking on, mainly cleaning, around my apartment because I have been so busy with classes. I whipped up a quick breakfast and got to work scrubbing. I scrubbed my entire apartment from top to bottom, baked cinnamon banana muffins to freeze for the week and changed my sheets. I may fall asleep in church later this morning...

Anyway, I wanted to catch up on the last of the pictures from the weekend I was home. Since my mom had recently had foot surgery she had not been able to go grocery shopping or do errands. Normally once a month we make a run to Costco to pick up a select few items. After my Saturday morning workout I set off to Costco and Whole Foods. I was in and out of Costco in record time, but on my way to Whole Foods I kept hearing this weird noise. I pulled over thinking I must have a flat tire, but I could not find anything wrong. I pulled out and kept going until I heard a BOOM! I knew it was my tire and of course I was sitting at a light for an intersection. Thankfully I was able to get through the intersection and into a gas station. Long story short there was no nail or anything in my tire just a decent sized hole- I was mad because my tires are basically brand new! I can do a lot of my own car maintenance, changing a tire is not one of those things though. I had to sit and wait for AAA, who thankfully was able to fix my tire. 

After an hour delay I made it to Whole Foods and they were out of stock of the item I needed most (it just wasn't my day). I picked up a few of the other items I needed and ran home to spend the rest of the day with Cora. She got a new toy when I came home and in less than an hour she had stuffing all over the living room. Seriously one of the most destructive dogs I have ever met, which is exactly why we stopped buying her dog toys. We now go to salvation army and get her a bunch of stuffed animals for under a dollar so I don't feel like I wasted a ton of money when she destroys them. 

I drove back to school Monday morning and after my evening class I threw together a bunch of leftovers I had brought back with me. I cooked salmon, but heated up leftover roasted vegetables, sweet potato and this insanely delicious mix of green beans and sliced potatoes tossed in a light seasoning. 

I had made a gigantic batch of roasted vegetables when I was home because my mom absolutely loves them. I used zucchini, yellow squash, sliced baby bella mushrooms, sweet onion, and yellow, orange and red bell peppers. Just like normal I dump all the veggies into a giant ziploc bag with a tablespoon of olive oil, ground pepper and minced garlic to taste. Shake it all up, lay it on a lined baking sheet and bake it at 350 for 45 minutes or until the veggies turn a golden brown. 

I wish I could tell you the recipe for the green beans and potato slices, but I did not make them so I don't know. They were very delicious though! 

I need to get back to studying for my statistics exam on Tuesday, but I hope everyone enjoys the extra hour of sleep and have a fantastic Sunday!