How is it Thanksgiving next week? These past 7-8 weeks have been a blur of newborn cuddles, feedings and changing diapers while staring at the cutest little face.  Immediately prior to having the little guy, I felt like I had an eternity at home with him, but now it feels like it's been the blink of an eye and we're almost 2/3 through my leave.  Time flies!

There is an understandable immense amount of focus on the turkey dinner recipes floating around out there with less than one week until the big day, but this week's recipe is more about breakfast on the day of or on the day after, which is even better, because who wants to cook on the morning after Thanksgiving?

I'm still learning more about using grain free flours, but these muffins came out soft and yummy with almond flour.  I've learned the hard way that it is essential to wait until they cool before removing them from the baking pan AND make sure that you generously prep said pan with non-stick cooking spray or your oil of choice to ensure these delicious muffins easily remove from the pan.

Give this recipe a try this weekend and freeze these muffins to be ready for Black Friday morning with a hot cup of coffee after your midnight shopping spree or a slower morning after the big turkey day.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Grain Free Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
(makes 1 dozen)

Ingredients
-3/4 cup applesauce
-1/2 cup sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-2 eggs
-2 1/2 cups almond flour (not almond meal)
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 tbs cinnamon (or more/less if you prefer)
-1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
-1/2 cup-1 cup chocolate chips, depending on your preference

Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and generously use non-stick cooking spray to prepare your muffin tin.  Add muffin liners if you prefer in addition to prepping the muffin tin.  In a large bowl, mix together the applesauce, sugars, eggs and vanilla extract until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips.  Scoop the batter into the muffin tin and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan completely- this is important.  Use a sharp knife to loosen the cooled muffins from the tin and enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.

I always think it's the holiday season in December that is the busiest time of year, but the spring frenzy of school events and extra-curricular activities sneaks in and quickly brings that into question.  So, I've fallen off my weekly post the past few weeks and I'm striving to get back there.  Just a couple of weeks more and the schedule of evening and weekend events should lighten up as we roll into summer and we're definitely looking forward to it.

Full schedules need breakfast on the go and this week's recipe for a Buckwheat Flour Banana Bread brings the combination of flavor and nutrition to go with your morning cup of coffee. A small investment of time one weekend morning or late evening can set you up for the week.  Serve it warm with just a smudge of butter and enjoy. Oh! And this recipe is gluten free too!

Buckwheat Flour Banana Bread (Gluten Free)

Wet Ingredients
-2 overripe bananas
-2/3 cup organic vanilla yogurt
-2 eggs
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1/2 cup sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients
-3/4 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1)
-3/4 cup Buckwheat flour
-1/2 cup oatmeal (use gluten free to keep the bread gluten free)
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-2 teaspoons cinnamon
-1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a loaf pan by spraying with non-stick cooking spray.  In a  large bowl, mix together the overripe bananas, yogurt and eggs.  Add in the sugar and continue to mix.  Add the vanilla and mix.  In a separate bowl, sift together all of the dry ingredients.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until fully incorporated and mixed together.  Pour the bread batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes.  Test with a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean after inserted into the middle of the baked loaf.  Allow to cool in the pan for 15-20 minutes.  Remove from the pan and allow to finish cooling on a wire rack. Once completely cooled, store in a freezer bag or air tight container in fridge for the upcoming week. Enjoy!

I'm very motivated to create chocolate recipes that can double as quality nutrition and I think I'm onto a little something with this recipe.  This recipe packs the nutrition power house of sweet potatoes along with some peanut butter for a soft, rich brownie that could double as a cake dessert too as it isn't overly dense and fudgy.  Although I enjoyed my brownie plain this weekend, I think it would be to die for layered and topped with a coconut whipped cream and banana slices. Instead of conventional sugar, this recipe only uses maple syrup to keep the refined sugar count to a minimum too so I may even grab one of these for breakfast one morning this week. Annnddd....to top it all off, I made these super quick in my Vitamix. Blender Brownies for the win!

I hope that the weather is more spring like wherever you are because we. are. still. getting. snow. here. Enough. Seriously.

I hope you enjoy the brownies!

Grain Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
(makes approximately 12 small brownies)

Ingredients
-3 eggs
-1 cup mashed, baked sweet potato
-1/3 cup maple syrup
-1/2 cup peanut butter
-1/3 cup organic raw cacao powder
-1/4 cup coconut flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Place all ingredients in a high powered blender with the wet ingredients first.  Blend until a thick batter forms.  Line an 8x8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper.  Pour the batter onto the parchment paper and use a rubber spatula to smooth and spread the batter evenly around the pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted to the middle of the pan comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before lifting the parchment paper out of the dish and slicing the brownies.