Waking up, tired, lacking coffee and trying to get two rambunctious kids ready in the morning – it’s easy to grab a pre-made pastry, food on the go, or worse – eat nothing. Here is an easy make ahead meal prep that will provide multiple days of healthy, delicious breakfasts!
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Nothing beats filling your house with the smell of fresh baked cinnamon rolls. Warm, gooey & slathered in delicious cream cheese frosting – these are well worth the time to make.
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In honor of today’s big Super Bowl game, more than likely we’re all huddled around our TV’s gorging on wings, chips, dips and more! Below is one of our favorite go-to dip recipes that offers the warm cheese-y, bacon-y goodness that any great dip has with a slight kick to wake your taste buds up. This is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
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I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it a few more times…
Green smoothies are my favorite go-to breakfast!
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They’re quick, easy, filling and best of all, healthy! [this smoothie is right under 300 calories] But they aren’t so quick & easy if you have to slice & dice all your fruits and such in the morning, not to mention not all of those fruits will last long enough for you to make all your smoothies [damn you perishable items]. So here is my take on how to “meal prep” your smoothies ahead of time – ensuring they’re always quick, easy and oh so tasty! Continue reading
Oh man – was our weekend filled with lots of Malmy Madness! Ever wonder what it’s like to live a weekend in our shoes – follow along!
It all started when Leep came hobbling home early on Friday complaining of toe/foot pain. Off to the doctors he went to come crutching home with a burst tendon diagnosis. My first thought was “Man, those crutches are going to make our fun-filled weekend a little more tricky!” I also learned that the bedtime routine for a 9 month old of playing, bathing, changing and feeding is a lot harder solo. [shout out to all you awesome single parents]
Gunnar typically wakes up around 7:30a and we play and have his morning bottle. After I got ready, Gunnar & I packed up and headed to Meme & G-Dawgs house to grab some breakfast and let Leep rest his foot peacefully, but not before stopping at Starbucks – of course.
The 4 of us went to a cute little breakfast/lunch restaurant in Pungo – The Bee & The Biscuit. It was a busy morning but the weather was perfect, so we grabbed a table outside to wait. They have a bar and an assortment of games for you to play while you wait for your table. Gunnar enjoyed his favorite game of throwing everything off the table while I enjoyed their Seasonal Sangria and Meme & G-Dawg both had a Sassy [spicy] Bloody Mary. We all enjoyed a delicious breakfast [Gunnar ate his weight in scrambled eggs] and by the time we were done Leep was at my parents house waiting for us. It was time for a nap for Gunnar before off to our next adventure!
When Gunnar woke up, the 5 of us headed off the the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival! It was hot, it was crowded and the lines were long. But there was more beer, bourbon and bbq to taste than one person could consume. We hit up a few tents sampling various beers, flavored bourbons and some new bourbon batches – it wasn’t long before everyone was sweating and Leep was tired of crutching around. We found a shady spot for him to sit and Gunnar to get out and play. We had a good system, taking turns going to get everyone different samplings to taste and friends would stop by to chat and love on the baby. We were even close to the tasting theater where every 2 hours they would host a different distillery to sample their bourbons. Overall the event needs some improvements, but we made the most of it and had fun!
After a long day of boozing and sweating, Sunday was reserved for the pool! We spent most of Sunday swimming and splashing at my parents house and spending time with G-Dawg before his surgery on Tuesday. This baby loves the water and is already a great swimmer. He loves jumping in so his face goes underwater – it’s so cute!
Overall the weather was great, the company was even better and we made the most of our daylight hours! What did you do this weekend?
I’m officially into week 3 of my Bikini Body Guide 12 week program! I wanted to provide a quick update for you all on my progress and overall thoughts.
Progress 8/16: 2 Weeks in, 5 lbs down, clothes are fitting looser
I’ve found the diet fairly easy to follow. Mind you, I have modified it quiet a bit to fit my lifestyle. I feel Kayla’s original recipes are a bit too “fancy”. I don’t want to have to go spend extra money on muesli and I don’t eat fish. So with that in mind, for example – I’ve substituted rolled oats for muesli and shrimp for fish. I’ve written everything down so maybe when I have some extra time I can share my modified weekly meal plans.
As far as what they include – it’s your basic weekly meal plan when on a diet. Smoothies, fruits, nuts and veggies. I can say she does a great job of switching up the proteins and overall meal ideas. Most diets can get very dull, very quickly with salads and chicken, rice and veggies over and over again
#bbgfood on Instagram
The fitness is alternating days of LISS [low intensity steady state] cardio and then other days a 28 min circuit targeting a specific body area [legs, arms & abs, full body]. 28 minutes doesn’t sound like a long time but when you’re doing non-stop circuits, you easily work up a sweat. Each week Kayla changes up the circuits so you’re using different muscles and not the same workout. For the LISS it’s really personal preference – spin, walk, swim, run, you name it. It offers a lot of flexibility to do which workouts when you want to.
I like to go hard when I commit to something so I’ve recently added a fasted HIIT [high intensity interval training] cardio 30 min spin class early morning to ramp it up a notch. Burpees still are not my friend…
5 pounds isn’t too bad for 2 weeks. Leep says hes starting to notice a difference and my clothes are fitting a bit looser. All wins in my book! While I have slacked off a bit these past 2 days, I’ve had a tummy bug and only wanted carbs and haven’t felt up to working out, I’m excited to get back at it and see what these next two weeks hold.
We are snackers.
My husband can be found multiple times a day staring into the pantry or the fridge just “looking for something to snack on”. If there are chips, cookies or any junk food in sight it will be devoured first and in a matter of days while the carrot sticks and strawberries go bad. I learned if there aren’t unhealthy snacks at our disposal, we will eat what is there – so always keep healthy snacks on hand!
One of our go-to snacks when we’re craving something salty and crunchy is roasted chickpeas and edamame. Follow the easy, foolproof steps below and you’ll be crunching on these healthy bites in no time!
Ingredients:
1 -2 cans chickpeas
Oil
Spices (I used salt, pepper and cayenne pepper)
Directions:
Ingredients:
1 -2 bags frozen edamame (defrosted)
Oil
Salt
Directions:
Comment below some of your favorite healthy snacks – salty and sweet!
May 4th was always just another day, until I met this amazing man…
Now May 4th is known as “Star Wars Day”.
Before meeting Leep I had never seen a single minute of a Star Wars movie. [gasp] Now, I’ve seen all 7 [there’s currently 7, right?] and Star Wars has become a part of my everyday life. I’ve made Star Wars cakes, hosted Star Wars birthday parties, dressed in Star Wars clothes and even had a glimpse of it at our wedding.
So in honor of today, and my amazing husband Leep, here’s a photoblog of some of our best Star Wars moments.
R2D2 cake – homemade
Storm Trooper Cupcakes
Lightsaber Wedding Entrance
Lightsaber Wedding Entrance
Lightsaber Wedding Exit
Lightsaber Wedding Exit
Star Wars themed Christmas ugly sweaters
Star Wars themed Christmas ugly sweaters
Storm Trooper onesie
Leep’s Star Wars birthday
Leep’s Star Wars birthday
Leep’s Star Wars birthday
Leep has a deep love of spiced rum, so for his birthday a few years ago I set out to make some Captain Morgan spiced rum cupcakes. I scoured the internet high and low with not much luck on what I was looking for. So I gathered up a few different recipes and worked some cooking magic to combine them into my own personal mix.
The cake is spicy and moist while the frosting is sweet and boozy. These are one of his favorites and get rave reviews by all who taste them. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
Cupcake Ingredients:
1 French Vanilla cake mix
1 1.75oz (4 serving) instant French vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 cup Real butter, melted
1/2 cup spiced rum
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350º. Combine all ingredients and beat for 2 minutes. Pour into lined cupcake pans and bake for 22-24 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack.
Directions:
In the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter to lighten. Add 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated. Turn the mixer to medium and continue to beat until well blended. Add the whipping cream, vanilla and Spiced Rum and beat until smooth. Add the pinch of salt and the remaining sugar, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition, until the desired consistency is reached. Each time I make this I end up using different amounts of sugar. Use immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to two days. If refrigerated, bring to room temperature and beat lightly before using.
Optional: Sprinkle cinnamon on top.
As stated in my Body After Baby post – eating healthy and exercise have not been in my vocabulary these past 4 months. That all changed this week, Leep and I are back on that healthy wagon. [Still waiting on our damn spin bike though – come on FedEx!] We instituted a “Meatless Monday” and being avid meat lovers – I’ve been on a chicken wing kick lately – I’m not sure how long this will stick. Here are some of my favorite meals and recipes from this week!
![[1]](https://malmymadness.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/quesadilla.jpg?w=306&h=306&crop=1 "quesadilla")
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[1] For Meatless Monday we kicked it off with a Roasted Veggie Quesadilla. Roast off some of your favorite veggies with a little oil and lots of seasonings – we used squash, zucchini and red bell pepper. If it weren’t for Leep I would have thrown in onions, mushrooms the whole smorgasbord. But he’s slightly picky. I also made this Avocado Lemon Dressing just kept it thicker. Warm your tortillas, fill with dressing, veggies, feta cheese – fold and flip to crisp both sides. Yum!
[2] In the mornings I have very little time with getting myself and Mr. Gunnario ready to walk out the door on-time [meaning 20 mins late] so I opt for an easy grab and go. My go-to is a green smoothie! I fill it with handfuls of baby spinach, half an apple, pineapple chunks, coconut oil, coconut/almond milk, protein powder and ice. Blend and go!
[3] One of my favorite lunches this week was Avocado & Peanut Noodle Spring Rolls. Mix your prepared soba noodles with the peanut sauce. [1/4 cup peanut butter , 2 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tsp soy sauce , 1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar or lime, 1/2 tsp ginger , 1/2 tsp Sriracha , water as necessary] Wrap all your ingredients in spring roll wrappers. We used spinach, carrots, red bell pepper, avocado, cucumber and noodles.
[4] I picked these up on a whim from Kroger and have loved them! They’re perfect to munch on while sitting at my desk all day. I’m going to attempt to make them myself here soon – stay tuned!
Have some great recipes or favorites food finds this week – please share in the comments below!
Malmy Madness 