Healthy, no flour, no oil/butter, no added sugar banana muffins!

I made these sweet little muffins the other day and was very excited with the results! Super moist, surprisingly sweet, and pretty dang healthy for a muffin! I liked them, but I'm easy to please when it comes to healthy food. Ben on the other hand, not so much! So when he said he really liked them too I knew this recipe was a keeper! Try it out, because I think you will like it too!

Ingredients:

- 2.5 cups of old fashion oats
-2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of honey
-1/2 cup of plain or vanilla yogurt (I used vanilla)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbls ground flaxseed
- 2tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. grease 12 count muffin tin. Put the oats in either a blender or food processor and pulse for about 12 seconds. Next, add all of the other ingredients and blend until the mixture is smooth. Put them in the muffin tin and if you would like you can add chocolate chips, craisins, peanut butter chips, any kind of nuts, blueberries, or just leave them plain! :) bake for 16-18 minutes. Enjoy!!

8 months old

Finley turned 8 months on the 1st. She is such a happy and content baby, we are so lucky to be her parents! SHe has been on the move now a days and is never in the same spot I originally set her down at. This is by far my favorite stage so far. SE is learning SO much and loves to play and interact with Ben and I.

At 8 months Finley is,

- laughing at everything. She thinks that everything is funny and I love it!
-she scoots and rolls all over the place still, constantly on the move
-is always moving her hands and legs, little wiggle worm
-loves to nuzzle in and cuddle, especially when she is tired
-favorite toys are water bottles, her Tupperware, brush, and clothes. She also loves to play with the wet ones
-she talks ALL day long! Sometimes she does the loudest continuous yayayayaya, so loud Ben and I cannot have a conversation because we can't hear each other! But we laugh because she is just experimenting with her voice.
-she has said dada and mama, but she doesn't know what she is saying yet :)
-she officially knows how to clap
-she can wave (been waving since around 6 ish months, but now she does it more consistently
-gets so excited and makes the funniest noise when Ben gets home from school, or when she hasn't seen me for a little while
- has now tried Gerber sweet potatoe puffs
-can feed herself with her pointer and thumb (which is so cute to watch her do)
-stands all the time,
- is super strong
-sleeping and napping like a champ
-has 6 teeth, 4 maxillary, 2 mandibular
-her hair is getting longer and is turning into a pretty golden blonde color

Avocado egg rolls with cilantro dipping sauce

So.. Ben and I have been in a rut lately. We have started to exercise regularly with him training for a half iron man and me training for a half ( possibly whole) marathon. We have not been doing so great in the eating department. We crave sweets like crazy these days, which I used to hardly ever crave sweets, and with all of the snow and freezing temperatures here in Wisconsin we have been eating a lot of comfort food, which equals LOTS of carbs and processed foods.

This week we are turning over a new leaf! Yay! I decided that I will blog occasionally on here when I have an especially good healthy meal, so others might feel inspired to join us in our quest to be healthier ;)

Avocado egg rolls with cilantro dipping sauce

Egg roll

- 1 large Avocado

- 1 TB. sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

- 1 tsp. chopped fresh cilantro

- 1/8 tsp. salt

- 3 egg roll wraps

- 2 tsp chopped red onion

- 1 egg for wrapping the egg roll (optional)

Dipping sauce

- 1/4 tsp. white vinegar

- 1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

- 1/2 cup honey

- 1 pinch powdered saffron

- 1/2 cup chopped cashews

- 2/3 cup fresh cilantro

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 TB sugar

- 1 tsp. pepper

- 1 tsp. ground cumin

- 1/4 cup olive oil

Prepare dipping sauce first. Combine all ingredients except the oil and blends in a blender or food processor. Put it in a dish and add the olive oil. Put it in the fridge to chill. Next, combine the ingredients for the egg rolls and put about 1/4 c of filling in each egg roll. While folding the wraps seal the folds closed by wiping a little of the egg on the opening then pressing it together for a moment.. You could just use water for this step as well.

I chose to bake our rolls instead of frying them in an attempt to make them a bit more healthy. To do this preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place egg rolls on a foil lined baking sheet and spray them with olive oil spray. Bake for 12 minutes, or until light brown and crispy!