All in Snacks

Best of Both Worlds Banana Bread

This banana bread is for everyone. Chocolate fans, vanilla lovers, and those who can't decide between the two (hey, that's me!) - we can all enjoy this one.

I make a lot of chocolate recipes on here and that probably won't be changing anytime soon. Chocolate is my JAM. But ya know what, I love vanilla too. If I'm going for ice cream and I have to pick between chocolate and vanilla ice cream, I'm going for vanilla hands down. I have a piece of chocolate basically everyday though. I really would rather not have to decide between two good things. So when I was making this banana bread I realized that one less chocolate vs. vanilla decision was needed on that day and the Best of Both Worlds Banana Bread was born. YUM.

I heard somewhere, and I can't remember where this came from, that life is all about seeing how much you can get away with. After hearing that I have been living by it. You think after hearing something that had a big impact on me that I'd remember where it came from, but NOPE. No idea. 
Anyways, I've been living by that statement now and life has gotten so much more fun and exciting! I do things that I wouldn't have done before, and not in a way that harms myself or others. Just in a fun, bold way. It's made me not want to make so many decisions that I thought I had to make prior to this. Cake or ice cream; why not both? Bike ride or running; a little of each works. Vanilla or chocolate; equal amounts of both. We spend so much time thinking that we can only do things or have things be a certain way because that's how they are. But that's not the case a lot of the time. We can do things that don't even cross our minds because they're not in our routines or they're not things that we often see being done by others. That doesn't mean they're wrong to do or that we can't do them. In fact, that probably means that we should do them!

So today we're doing that with some banana bread. Starting out small just to get us prepared for the bigger things. We gotta start somewhere and if that somewhere involved chocolate, vanilla, and bread then I think it's a great place to start.

Chocolate Caramel Apple Pops

I've been buying apples this year from a local produce market down the road from my house. I must say, I love doing this so much more than buying apples from the grocery store for a few reasons. 
I've gotten to know the owners and they share information about the apples or upcoming produce that they'll be selling. Pears are coming up and I am !!!!!! about that.
I get to support a small local company which as a yoga teacher and business owner (that's weird/amazing to say) is so important to me because I am grateful when others do the same!
And I get amazing quality produce. The apples I got are huge and delicious. I love it. 

As you can tell, I'm excited about the apples in my life and when I'm excited about something I'm all in. I tend to "accidentally" buy too much of it or get way over the top obsessed with it. In this case, I bought tons of apples. A good problem to have, I must say. 

Now that it's officially fall, I'm over my morning oatmeal and back on the smoothie train in the typical backwards fashion that I am. I figured that I need some way to use these apples in a fun way. That's where these apple pops come in.

Sure, you can make slice up the apples, dip them in chocolate, top 'em with caramel and other fun toppings and just eat them like that. But putting them on a stick just amps up the excitement factor. What's more fun than eating a sweet chocolatey apple on a stick? I really can't think of too many things!

So grab your sticks, go on the hunt for some of your favorite apples, and let's make some apple pops! 

No Bake Carrot Cake Balls

Spring is officially in full swing and I am so pumped.

Warmer weather, blooming flowers, brighter days, carrot cake.

Oh, yes. Carrot cake.

So let's be real, as much as I love the idea of eating carrot cake every day in celebration of spring I don't see that as being very realistic. And the thought of that made me sad. That's when I decided to take matters into my own hands and these carrot cake balls were born. Made from whole foods, a spring snack that you can take with you on whatever adventures you're going on.

Spring cleaning, baseball games, Easter gatherings, long walks; whatever you have going on is a perfect event for this little snack.

Chocolate Crunch Bites

Sometimes you need a little bit of crunch in your life.

I'm not big into most crunchy foods. Whenever I think of crunchy I think of salty things. I'm more of a sweets person so crunchy doesn't happen too often. But who says you can't have crunchy sweets?

You can, you definitely can.

This is my go to recipe for when I'm craving those potato chips that I don't even care for in the first place. I'm a big fan of potatoes, but in chip form... not my thing. These chocolate crunch bites, totally my thing.

Healthy 6 Ingredient Granola Bars

You know how sometimes you have tons to say and then other times you don't have much to say at all? Today is one of those "not much to say at all" times and I'm not sure why. Instead of coming back to this at a later time with something witty to say, I decided to just keep it real.

It seems like all of the times that I want to sit down and write something great is a time where I am unable to do so. But when I have all the time in the world then all of my thoughts go out the window. I'm just going to roll with it though and let things happen as they do.

When making these granola bars I was thinking about the store bought granola bars that we know and love. I got to thinking about how there really aren't many bars that you can buy that have pistachios in them. That's really such a shame because pistachios are one of my favorite nuts. I love the counteracting flavors of the pistachios with the cinnamon and sweetness from the syrups. So into it.

Vegan Almond Butter Cups

It's no secret that chocolate is my jam. It's been a while since I've made my own and I figured that it's about time to change that.

More healthy fats popping up in my diet lately. A very good thing, I believe. I want to do a whole post on digestion soon, when I can type again. My finger got into a fight with a knife the other day and the knife won. Let's just all take a moment to be grateful that the tip of my finger is still attached because it sure was a close one. Anyways, digestion post. Stay tuned for that; but to sum it up really quick lets just say that I've been making some changes and I have more that I want to make to try and get my body working properly. Ah, life.

On to the important topic of the day; almond butter cups. All natural ingredients that are good for your body and soul. Mmm. Simple to make. You can have a batch made in 30 minutes, no problem. Probably best for those of us living in cooler climates if you want to take them places. But still a great snack to grab out of the fridge for the lucky ones living in warm places too. And on that note; let's get to it.