Grilled Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich

Whew! Fell a little bit behind, but I am back! Today, I bring you some super fun to make extra use of that George Foreman grill you have lying around. I know you have one...we had one since the day we got married in 1999 and still have one living in Holland, so I know you have one. But, did you know you can use it for more than just grilling meat?! I came up with this idea when I saw a "panini" maker advertised in a catalog on Christmas...I was living in a small apartment and really wanted one, but was so tired of buying new gadgets! So, I thought to myself, hey, these look an awful lot a like, so I gave it a go and it worked famously...we now call the grill the panini maker half the time. This is one of our favorite things to make in the grill.

This amazingly delicious grilled peanut butter and banana panini. It is a delicious treat, in all its peanut buttery, honey, glory. 

Here is what you will need for one sandwich...

• 2 pieces of cinnamon raisin bread
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/2 banana

Here's what you do...

1. Spread some peanut butter on one piece of your cinnamon raisin bread (you can put some on both pieces if you are a peanut butter nut like me hehe, but be careful it is high in calories as good as it is for you ;))
   
2. Slice up half that banana and put it on top of the peanut butter.
   
3. Drizzle a bit of honey on top.
   
4. Top with second slice of bread.
   
5. Put in the George Foreman grill and put the lid down. I let mine toast for about 10 minutes, but keep an eye out as yours may be at a hotter temperature than mine. 

This is probably the teeanger's new favorite thing for breakfast...what is your favorite thing to make for breakfast?

B is for...Breakfast Center

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Seriously, one that should not be skipped for any reason. But, so many people do because they just don't have time. Well, this breakfast center I created has really helped do away with the morning rush in our house.

My teenager had been starting to skip out on breakfast because I wake up a little later than her and she couldn't decide what to put together for herself for breakfast....so, I decided to nip that in the bud and make it so she could see what easy, quick breakfast fixings we had on hand that she could make herself without much work.

I also realized after having some company that if I wasn't cooking breakfast that morning our guests needed a spot to see what exactly was available for easy to make breakfast items.

I keep it well stocked:

On the left are our tea fixings. We have a few friends that aren't coffee drinkers, and I like tea to flavor my water since I don't really drink much outside of water.

In the middle I keep some powdered greens and raw cacao powder to put into smoothies or oatmeal. I also keep spreads here, right now all we have is peanut butter-pure peanut butter no salt, oil, or sugar added-and pure creamed coconut. My secret of the creamed coconut is it is the same texture as coconut butter but it is waaaaaaaay cheaper....the only ingredient is coconut. I also keep some powdered sugar around in case anyone wants to sprinkle it on their pancakes or waffles. I have some just regular processed table syrup but pure maple syrup as well. I store my banana's in here along with oranges, I've found everyone is likely to grab one of those if they are in there. I also keep a loaf of Whole Wheat bread and a loaf of raisin nut bread.

On the right I have some Frosted Flakes-Frosties here-for the husband and the kiddo when it tickles her fancy, which shockingly isn't often. We have two types of granola for just munching or topping smoothie bowls. We of course have some Hagelslaag. We usually have a dark chocolate one but the kiddo bought this when she went to the store for me. Hagelslaag are Dutch sprinkles and the are very popular for putting on toast here. I thought it was just a kids thing, but I have had plenty of adults confess it is still their go-to breakfast. In the basket is butter and oatmeal; when I'm feeling ambitious it contains my homemade instant oatmeal packets, I've been making these for almost 14 years now. These are a serious money saver.
Instant Oatmeal Packets

Cinnamon Brown Sugar

• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• Combine in one bag. 
• Instructions: add 1/2 cup water or milk of choice, heat in microwave at 30 second intervals until done to desired thickness.

This recipe is just my base, I change up the sugars, add dried fruit. The options for making these packets are limitless. Use your imagination and have fun creating any easy treat anyone can cook up!

Also, in the basket I have some recipe cards. These are easy mug recipes that take less than 10 minutes from prep to table.

Tell me, what is your favorite breakfast food?

Mine is waffles, especially Belgian ones where I can fill every hole of the waffle with syrup. Nom.

Apple Cinnamon Peanut Butter Wrap!

I love anything with peanut butter and anything in a wrap...so does my kid. This is a great lunchbox main course because even if your kid is in a peanut free school you can easily make this with an allergy friendly alternative spread.

I usually do not make this in advance as my child apparently has a very sensitive palate and she does not like the lemon juice I put on the apples to keep them from browning coupled with the PB so I just make it the day of and the apples stay fine until lunch.

What ya need:
1 tortilla
1/2 an apple
chia seeds
sprinkle of raisins/craisins
cinnamon and/or nutmeg

How ya do it:
Spread a tablespoon or so of peanut butter on the tortilla so it is sufficiently covered.

Dice up half an apple so it is fairly small, place in the middle of the tortilla.

Sprinkle with a few raisins or craisins or a little of both.

Sprinkle lightly with chia seeds for some added protein, then add a little cinnamon and nutmeg for some spice!

I put this in her lunch box with some berries and tomatoes and cucumber slices.

What is your favorite lunch item to take to work or school? How about for the kiddos?

Linking up to One Project at a time!

What I Ate Wednesday-Breakfast Edition!

I thought over the next few weeks for What I Ate Wednesday I would show y'all an example of stuff I have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...I will just break them down into those categories! So, today we shall start with breakfast, which, just happens to be my favorite meal of the day!

Every single morning I start off with a glass of warm lemon water then a banana. Seriously, this is the first thing I do even before I have coffee. I usually end my day eating anytime between 6-8pm and I wake up between 6-7am so it is nearly like a true fast, so I need some quick energy.

Warm lemon water and a banana are truly two of the best ways to start off your day. They help keep you regular and give you a solid energy platform for starting your day! Read through these lists of reasons why:

Lemon Water

From: Balanced Wellness

She also provides some valuable info on how to prepare your lemon water so go give her short article a quick read, then come back ;)

Here is a list of reasons why a banana is a good choice for that first thing in the morning food with a cup of warm lemon water:

From: Organic Facts 

Go read their page it is full of good info!

Here are other things I have after my banana:

Scrambled eggs with onion, spinach, and tomato on toasted baguette

Egg scramble with onions, mushrooms, sugar snap peas, chicken, and cheese. I think there is rice in there too.

Egg bowl with red onion, spinach, tomatoes, and cheese.

Omelette with cheese, avocado, and onion and a piece of toast with coconut oil

I love a great big breakfast after a tough workout since my schedule allows for it! What is your favorite breakfast or post workout fuel?

Menu plan Monday #33 + a weekend recap, of course!

Happy Monday! I hope those of you who suffering from nearly insufferable weather are faring ok! I know it is pretty darn cold out there for many of you so stay warm...here's a couple of fun jokes to get you through...

Comic Source

Comic Source

As for us we have had a shockingly mild winter! I can't even believe all the sun we have had. This time last year I was taking a Vitamin D supplement everyday, suffering from a hip issue caused by Vitamin D deficiency, and hadn't seen the snow since October 15th! Much different story this winter. I am a happy, happy gal!

That being said, since the weather was so nice we were able to get out a little this weekend since I was finally feeling better. We did two New Restaurant days (Friday & Saturday). The first was just to the new Five Guys they built. Of course we've been to Five Guys but it had been so long & all 3 of us really wanted a burger so off we went. I didn't take any pictures because we were all so hungry that I forgot! But, it was really good. It is on Robson St in Vancouver past Granville. Definitely recommend visiting if you want a good basic burger when you are here in Vancouver, those can be difficult to find.

Our second was impromptu...we didn't realize we would be going out, but were glad we did as the place we went was decent.

The inside was really nice. It is supposed to be like a classic English pub. They did serve traditional English dishes but we aren't too keen on those so we got some poutine which wasn't too salty so that is a first! Hubby loved it. Hubby had a jerk chicken burger. He said it was pretty bland, not much jerk flavour at all. I had the salmon...it too sadly was bland. But the broccoli & sweet potato fries were great! Lastly the drinks were phenomenal as they should be at a pub so all was right with the world in the end. We would definitely go back for drinks and appetizers, though!

The rest of the weekend looked like this:

Working on my new Beachbody Business

Worked on my #1 goal of flossing every day!

Worked toward my goal of better nutrition by having my Shakeology while helping my daughter clean out & organize her room (thus working on another goal toward a tidier home)

Finally, did a little shopping & bought these super cute workout shirts...I love the pink one it says "anything can happen". Yes, yes it can so long as you work hard enough! 

But, enough about us...on to the menu for the week!

Org Junkie Menu Link Up

Now, in my house since I have recently taken the step to becoming a beach body coach all of us have decided to take the beach body challenge and see where we can get ourselves so our menu is going to be full of whole foods and lot of healthy goodness to fuel our bodies for P90X3!

Monday

Breakfast: Waffles & eggs

Lunch: Shakeology

Dinner: Homemade Hamburger Helper with zucchini & corn & whole wheat pasta!

Tuesday

Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes and egg whites

Lunch: Leftovers

Dinner: Chicken breasts with rice & veggies

Wednesday

Breakfast: Paleo pancakes & egg whites

Lunch:  Sandwiches loaded with veggies; the husband will probably want a break & will eat out

Dinner: Crockpot beef tacos with salad & leftover rice (make it dirty rice to go in the tacos)

Thursday

Breakfast: Egg sandwiches with fruit salad and 

Lunch: Sandwiches and salad

Dinner: Lean pizza burgers with salad

Friday

Breakfast: Paleo Pancakes and egg whites

Lunch:  Tuna Salad/chicken breast & cucumbers for the husband

Dinner: Homemade calzones & salad

Saturday

Breakfast: Blueberry muffins, bacon, and fruit

Lunch: Snacks for cheer competition

Dinner:  Eat out....will be out of town at Cheer competition

Sunday

Breakfast: Blueberry muffins and fruit

Lunch: Big thick shakeology shakes

Dinner: Potatoes with bbq chicken legs and veggies

Snacks: Shakeology, nut thins & hummus or cheese, popcorn, peanuts & raisins

So, that is it for us for the week! I can't believe how late I am getting this thing posted...whew! I hope you all have a great week! Leave me a comment or two letting me know what you have planned to make for the week! Anyone out there trying a new recipe or two?

Birthday Cake Pancakes!!!!! (& a sleepover organization tip!)

This past weekend was my daughter's birthday. Normally we are huge, huge on birthdays. I mean the day of we celebrate the heck out of that person but this birthday was a crazy one and we celebrated her literally all weekend long!

It started with a big surprise party with 10 of her closest friends from school (how they all kept it secret I will never know, but boy was she surprised!). This was a total surprise to her. We had told her that due to our family Christmas gift we couldn't really afford the big party she originally wanted to she could invite a girlfriend or two to spend the night. Well, immediately after that I decided to coordinate the surprise party. I am so happy it worked out. The girls were so sweet and made it so special for her. I unfortunately didn't get the "surprise" on video, but here is on of them singing to her.

Then, on Saturday we let her have a sleep over since that was her "original" birthday party  with three of her girlfriends. I made homemade pizza, ribs, and peas (the mom in me can't go without a veggie on their plates; and contrary to what the USDA believes I don't count tomato sauce as a veggie). I don't buy paper plates or plastic cups so our cups were going to get used up very quickly with six of us in the house so I decided a bit of organization was in order. I thought at first about writing on the cups with dry erase marker, but was slightly worried that it would rub off and they'd still get them confused. So, I came up with this....

It was super easy. Just used a few post it notes, wrote their name on them and put the cups where they belonged! They could come out and grab a little water or soda, take a swig and either rinse it an put it down, or if it still had stuff in it just put it down over their name! They loved it and even thought it was a great idea!!

Now on to what you really came here for...

Birthday Cake Pancakes!!!

The original recipe that I used is here. I did mostly the same stuff. Here is what I did...

Ingredients

-Betty Crocker Party Rainbow Chip Cake Mix

-3 Eggs

-1 Cup of Water

-1/3 Cup of Melted Coconut Oil

First, I poured in the cake mix and took a wooden spoon to it to break up any lumps. Next, I added the eggs, water and oil and mixed it up, just until mixed. I also smoothed out any large lumps. I found since this is a cake mix it all mixed together pretty smoothly and I had no lumps.  

Once I got toward then end I poured them all willy nilly in the bottom just to get them made...after all I had four very hungry teenage girls! 

But, as you can see most of them I made quite nicely. See how beautifully they brown up? I pour a little maple syrup over top with some sprinkles. The original recipe shows using icing, but my kiddo isn't a huge fan so I avoided it. The other girls here didn't actually use anything at all to top their pancakes they were sweet enough without it.

All lit up!!!

The Birthday Girl blowing out her candles!

These made amazing pancakes. I couldn't even eat a whole one though, they are quite filling and a very special treat for a birthday boy or girl! I think these will definitely be a tradition in our house!

Does your family have any fun birthday traditions?

Menu Plan Monday #26: It's been a while!

Well Hello Blogland! It has been soooooooooo long since I have done a Menu Plan Monday Post! I am so glad to be back on the wagon!

So, this weekend we didn't do a whole heck of a lot, but here's a small collection:

The Happy Haunting sign can be found in my new Etsy Shop!!!! I am super excited, go over and "favourite" my shop so you can keep up with me as I get more and more inventory uploaded this week!  The top left picture is my gorgeous teenager modeling a cute peplum top grandma sent her for the fall. The bottom left was our Friday night pizza night. It was all homemade and so delicious! We also had drinks with friends at our favourite bar that consisted of a Tobelerone Martini (a chocolate martini) and an Irish Coffee. Very tasty way to end a Saturday! Sunday has consisted of some amazing cinnamon rolls and grocery shopping. 

This week I wanted to alert you all to a great ebook bundle that is going on right now: 

You get 5 different ebooks on cooking real, unprocessed food for the upcoming colder months!! I know this will be a great one for me simply because where we live I crave hot foods, but need healthy alternatives! The link above is an affiliate link so I will receive a small portion if you click and buy a bundle, any money earned goes right back into the blog though! ;)

Anyway....on to....

Org Junkie

Breakfast

Monday: Cereal

Tuesday: Parfaits

Wednesday: Cereal

Thursday: Parfaits

Friday: Cereal

Saturday: Eggs Benedict

Sunday: Freezer cinnamon rolls

Lunch

Monday: 

Teen: Ham and cheese with orange slices and spiced nuts

Me: Salad with spiced nuts and dried blueberries

Tuesday: Roasted squash and rice

Wednesday: 

Teen: Eat out

Me: Happy Birthday to my Mister, go have lunch with him!

Thursday: Egg and cheese sandwiches with salad

Friday: No School! Take a picnic lunch and hike the Grouse Grind. Homemade sub sandwiches with salad, soup, water, and beavertails for a treat!

Saturday: Leftover recreations!

Sunday: Eat up any leftovers/snack

Dinner

Monday: Egg and pancake panini's with fruit salad

Tuesday: Tacos/burrito cups with salad

Wednesday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MISTER!!! Chicken alfredo with salad

Thursday: Teenager cooks: Sausage and pepper sandwiches with leftover salad

Friday: Company Halloween Party/Game Launch Party: Carmelized chicken/zucchini and blackbean skillet with corn/broccoli, and rolls

Saturday: New Restaurant Saturday: Al Porto in Gastown (purchased off Groupon)

Sunday: Spaghetti with salad and leftover rolls (regular spaghetti for hubby and teenager, I will have spaghetti squash with a paleo sauce)

Snacks for the week:

Protein shakes: Apple Pie, Wendy's Frosty, Pumpkin Spice, Peppermint, Chocolate Peppermint

Pumpkin apple waffle-wiches, apple nachos, popcorn, leftovers, fruit, cheese crisps

Food Prep:

Ultra Creamy Hemp Seed Dressing & Delicata Squash (both are very tasty), in the middle is an Almond Creame from the Karma Chow Cookbook for parfaits.

Paleo Spiced Nuts: 1 cup of walnuts and pecan, 1T honey (I'd reduce to 1/2 Tablespoon), and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg. Bake at 350 for 10 min, continue baking if they aren't brown enough for you.

Our salad for the week! I can't wait to put that delicata squash over this with some nuts and that hemp seed dressing. Yum!

Well, that wraps up Meal Plan Monday! What are you making this week?

Menu Plan Monday #23

Good morning! Welcome back once again to Menu Plan Monday! I love writing out my menu for the week, it gives me such satisfaction! I didn't get it posted yesterday like I wanted because we were busy enjoying the day as a family and I was reading an amazing book I will share soon!

So, without further ado....

Org Junkie

Breakfast

Monday:	Blueberry Muffins
Tuesday:	Fruit and egg white salad with gluten free bagle
Wednesday:	Cocoa Puffs with banana slices	http://www.pinterest.com/pin/114912227965350872/	Prep: Make Sunday afternoon
Thursday:	Egg and cheese bagles with fruit
Friday:	Apple Nachos
Saturday:	Leftover cereal or eggs with bacon and fruit
Sunday:	Blueberry Muffins		No prep, make fresh in the morning

Lunch

Lunch	Cammi	Kate	Mark
Monday	Pizza Buns with cucumber slices	Leftovers	Pizza buns with cucumber slices
Tuesday	Turkey and cheese sub with popcorn	Ultimate vegan sandwich and popcorn	Popcorn with steak slices
Wednesday	Lunch out	Peanut butter and jelly with fruit salad	Lunch out
Thursday	Leftover in thermos	Leftovers	Leftovers ot use up food from earlier in the week
Friday	Lunch out	Lentil hummus with veggies and crackers	Lunch out
Saturday-Everyone eats the same	Homemade subs with side salad
Sunday-Everyone eats the same	Grilled cheese rolls with soup and cucumber relish

Dinner

Dinner	Title	Where it can be found	Prep	Variations for Familial Discontent
Monday	Cheese burgers with broccoli-cheese casserole and homemade fries	http://www.pinterest.com/pin/114912227965654860/	When making make extra broccoli for freezing and fries as well.
Tuesday	Paleo baked chicken tenders with corn on the cob and glazed carrots	http://www.pinterest.com/pin/114912227965015442/	Make a triple batch of chicken fingers so they can be frozen and remade for "quick" lunches or dinners, make a double batch of carrots and freeze for another day
Wednesday	Pork tenderloin in the crock pot with corn on the cob	http://www.pinterest.com/pin/114912227965216201/
Thursday	Steak sandwiches with cucumber relish and roasted mushrooms and onions.		Make a double batch of the steak so it can be frozen and reheated for a quick lunch	Hubby will have just steak and probably have corn for a starch
Friday	New Restaurant Friday		No prep, eating out!
Saturday	Chicken alfredo with garlic bread and side salad		No prep, made fresh	Hubby's will be made with classico sauce and chicken. The kiddo and I will have sliced chicken, spaghetti squash and will make a creamy paleo sauce to toss the "pasta" in, and will top with mozarella. Will serve with garlic bread and side salad.
Sunday	Bourbon street chicken with rice and green beans/carrots	http://www.pinterest.com/pin/114912227964027130/

I tried to include my hints and tips for making the most out of my cooking so I wasn't doing a ton of extra prep on Sunday, just doing as I went when I was actually cooking. 

For snacks and freezer items this is what I'm cooking up today...

Parmesan Crisps

Over on Pinterest I had seen where a woman had done this, but shredded zucchini into it and so that is what I am going to do today to have around for snacks, I'm thinking these with some tuna would be a fab afternoon snack! ;)

Hungry Healthy Girl

I will just make a few changes: I will use 2 flax "eggs" instead of eggs, and I'll be using a cup of butternut squash puree instead of pumpkin. :)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

The last two years I've made these every year right around this time. I use enjoy life chocolate chips, I use coconut palm sugar instead of brown sugar, and I use organic, unbleached flour. These are so moist, I usually double the recipe and I use her tip for making break and bake freezable cookie dough. They are a major hit with the kiddo and her friends!

So, those are just a few of the things I will be whipping up for this next week and freezing to make meals easier later on down the line! ;)

What is your favourite meal prep tip that just makes things so much easier?