Fresh Fig Smoothie

I was thrilled to see organic fresh figs at our local co-op today! Absolutely love them. I have never tried them in a smoothie until today, but it was seriously amazing, one of the best smoothies of all time I do believe :)

Ingredients: 

5 fresh figs, stems removed

1 small banana

1/2 cup frozen berries

1 scoop (about 2 tablespoons) almond butter

1 tablespoon honey or agave

1 cup dairy-free milk of your choice (I used unsweetened vanilla cashew milk)

Directions:

Add all ingredients to blender and blend on high til smooth. Enjoy!

                        

                                    

Homemade Play Dough

                 

Today I tried out an idea I had seen on Pinterest for making my own play dough from every day ingredients out of the kitchen. It was a success! Here's what I did:

Basic Play Dough:

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup salt

1/2 cup water with color of your choice (see notes below)

1/2 tablespoon coconut oil (or any cooking oil will work)

1/2 tablespoon cream of tartar

Directions: 

Using a glass measuring cup, microwave 1/2 cup water (along with any fruits or spices for coloring, see notes below) for approximately 1.5 minutes or until boiling. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until it forms a ball, then remove from heat and knead. 

Color options:

Yellow- I added 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder to my water before boiling in microwave

Pink- I added a couple tiny slices of a fresh beet

Cream- I used 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, it also smells nice!

You can make other colors using various ingredients, for example add some cocoa powder for brown, or smashed blackberries or blueberries for purple (strain any berries through a cheesecloth or coffee filter), pureed spinach for green, just experiment and have fun!

It only took me about 30 minutes to make these three batches. I found a bag of dough cutting toys and a rolling pin at Target for $1 each in the dollar spot, score! My daughter and I had a great time playing with the dough :) 

Vegan Coconut Oatmeal

                        

This is one of my favorite breakfast dishes and it's very easy to make so I wanted to share! I just tried Irish style oatmeal and it is amazing! Any non-instant oatmeal will work for this but I recommend trying the Irish style (aka steel cut oats), the texture is wonderful :)

                     

Serves 1

Ingredients: 

1 cup water

1/2 cup steel cut oats (or rolled oats if you prefer)

1 1/2 tablespoons raw coconut butter (I like Artisana)

2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon (or to taste) pure maple syrup

1/4 cup coconut milk (I use So Delicious brand)

Directions: 

Bring water to a boil, add in oats and cook according to your package directions. When oats are done, remove from heat and immediately add coconut butter, stir well to combine. Next add in maple syrup and all other ingredients and stir. Enjoy!

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Oat No Bake Bars

                 

Time for another sweet treat recipe! This one is full of healthy ingredients, has no refined sugars, and is so so easy, it only took 10 minutes to make. They make a great snack or even breakfast when you are on the run. 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Oat No Bake Bars

modified version of this recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (I used freshly ground, which was a little chunky but whatever you have will work)

1 cup dark chocolate chips (65% cocoa or higher if you can get it) OR 1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/3 cup virgin coconut oil

1 cup dry oatmeal

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

honey or agave to taste (optional-I used a little honey but I think it would be best without, unless you use super dark chocolate or the cocoa powder-but then again, I don't like super sweet stuff, so you be the judge lol)

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, melt peanut butter and coconut oil (and honey/agave if using) over medium-low heat. Stir until blended, then turn down to low and add in chocolate chips. Stir until chips are completely melted; remove from heat. Add in remaining ingredients and mix well. Press into an 8x8 baking dish and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Cut into bars. (They are a little difficult to cut but not impossible, I managed just fine with a butter knife :))

Cute autumn finds for little ones

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Fab Etsy Finds

Another round up of some sweet Etsy loot I've discovered:

Geo Fox raglan from twostringjane

Bunny necklace from iamabird

Custom tree ring by monkeysalwayslook

Embroidered animal portrait necklace from KnitKnit

Mountain plush pillow from ThreeBadSeeds

Owl needle felting kit from fancytiger

This lovely print by DannaRay

Triple berry + raw cacao smoothie

                     

This is my all time favorite smoothie, so yummy! I like to use a mixture of frozen and fresh fruit for this, so you can mix it up depending on what you have on hand.

Serves 1-2
Ingredients:
1/2 banana
1/3 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/3 cup raspberries
1/2 cup strawberries
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
1 tablespoon raw shelled hemp seeds
small handful raw almonds
1 1/2 cups hemp or coconut milk
honey or agave to taste

Directions:
Add all ingredients to blender and blend til smooth.

Fitness

Since having my little one, I don't exactly have tons of free time for going to the gym/working out. I used to love Zumba classes, but for me now, that is no longer a practical option, so to stay in shape, we take walks on the beach every other day or so, and I also like to squeeze in workouts at home with the help of some fitness dvds. I've tried many different ones but these 3 have turned out to be my favorites. Jessica Smith and Amy Dixon are some of the best instructors I've personally seen so far because they explain the moves well and are easy to keep up with. 

1. 10 Minute Solution: Quick Tummy Toners This is definitely my favorite of them all, I love that the workouts are only 10 minutes long but they are enough to get my heart rate up. I especially love the "Bikini Belly" and "Yoga Abs"  segments. I  feel like my stomach is the area I'd like to work on most, and this is perfect for that, and the best part is that most of the exercises on this program are NOT crunches, yay!

2. Women's Health: Total Workout in Ten! This video features four 10 minute sessions so you can do just one if you're pressed for time, or you can mix and match to build your own workout. It has a mix of cardio, toning, and flexibility and balance.

3. Women's Health: Train for Your Body Type I love the wide variety of options here for building a custom workout and switching it up for many different combinations.

I've had these dvd's for a few years now, and while they're all good and have plenty of options, I still have trouble getting motivated to do them and I am also craving some new material... So, I decided to join a Beachbody challenge group! It starts this coming Saturday and I'm pretty pumped! A friend of mine is a beachbody coach and I'll be working with her and checking in with the group every day which I think will be a huge motivation to actually get it done. I've never been accountable to anyone for my workouts before so now I can't use lame excuses to get out of them :)

I'll be doing the "Focus T25 Challenge". It's led by Shaun T (creator of the Insanity workouts) and it will be 5 days a week for 25 minutes a day. I think it's totally doable. I'll report back later and let you know how it goes! What's your favorite way to stay in shape??