I’ve also been following this blog of trainers for awhile who are all about getting women on board to a healthier lifestyle by following their nutrition plan and participating in their workout videos (which they conveniently post online). They have a bunch of really tasty recipes often not using any type of flour, granulated sugar or butter which are all good things in my book.

Last week I made their pancake recipe, which conveniently only made one large pancake (good or else I would have had 10), and used zero flour (also good, cause, well, ya…). Although I love the all-purpose gluten-free flour mix I discovered, using it too much, although gluten-free, isn’t a good habit and definitely not “healthy”.

So on to this amazing chocolate cake…

The “flour” ingredient used is protein powder (love!) and although a healthier option, should still be consumed in moderation. Below is the recipe I got my the tone it up girls, that exercise, nutrition blog I LOVE!

• 1 Banana
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/3 cup of strong, cooled coffee or 1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup protein powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)

Directions ~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all wet ingredients, including banana, together and set aside.  Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl and slowly combine into the wet ingredients, making sure to incorporate fully until adding more. Mix carefully – don’t over-mix!  Pour into a small sprayed baking loaf and drizzle about a tablespoon of pure maple syrup on top! Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from center.

*In addition, I added a small scoop of low-fat vanilla yogurt and sprinkled with some cinnamon.

OH — and if you can help me reach my goal for TEAM PAWS and help save the lives of dogs and cats, visit my page :) right over there at that link —–> and if you already have, thank you so much <3

This is what makes the city such an interesting place. You can be amongst thousands of buildings and at the same time, amongst many time periods and stories that are told through their exterior and interiors.

The day I took this photo, it was extremely foggy out that the trump tower begins to vade away towards the top. It’s amazing to see the difference of the two buildings and how architecture has changed over time. The old with the new.

I have started preparing for the visitors we tend to pile in over the ‘warmer’ months and it started this past weekend when a few of my family members came to visit. (lets not mention the snow we experienced the first day…)

We had the luxury of enjoying the city views while avoiding all the crowds and traffic aboard a little electric boat rental. Adventure around the Chicago river via boat was in our hands for two hours. To add to the experience, we loaded it up with a few bottles of bubbly to keep ourselves warm in the moderate 50 degrees.

It was a blast being all piled into the dinky sized boat just big enough for 10. Sunday funday with family and friends was just what I needed, you could say the happiness was contagious…am I right?

I could spend hours at the beach, not for the tan ’cause lets be honest…I’m Irish, but because of the relaxing atmosphere and a great spot to get away from everything. This weekend was gorgeous, it may not have been swimming weather but Barley and I took a long walk down to the water and it was refreshing. The water was so clear and so blue that it almost didn’t feel like we were in Chicago. Now to save up my dollar bills for a boat…

I followed the recipe up until I had all the ingredients mixed into the bowl and ready to be scooped onto a tray. In addition to the requested ingredients, I also added dried cranberries and instead of making individual cookies, I spread half the contents into a pie pan. Once the cookie crisp was done cooking in the oven and had time to cool, I added a scoop of greek yogurt and sprinkle of cinnamon to the top.

Ingredients

3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs (I used egg whites)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanut butter (I used sunbutter)
3 cups rolled cut oats
6 oz chocolate chips
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the sugars and butter until creamy. Beat in the eggs until mixed well. Add the baking soda, vanilla and peanut butter. Finally, add the oats, chocolate chips and cranberries until mixed evenly. Lightly grease a pie pan and spread half the mix evenly, cook for about 15minutes or until lightly golden on top. You can then make a second with the additional mix or make regular cookies. I chose to change it up again and put the remaining mix into the cups of a cupcake pan :) I used plain greek yogurt for the topping and lightly sprinkled with cinnamon.

Since it is only March and tourists aren’t yet in full swing, I had most of the area to myself. Although not very pleasing to the eye, the grunge gives this photo some interesting texture. From the subway tiled walls to concrete ceiling and torn up walkway with sand, salt and water scattered around. There’s light at the end of the tunnel…

The out of control plant has grown a ton already and the leaves are about twice the size of my head. I think the tropical feel of it is keeping me sane through this Chicago winter.

This isn’t to torture him as to say, look what they get to do and you can’t, it’s more of a way to teach him that he will get rewarded if he can watch the other dogs without reacting. So eventually, when the time comes and he’s allowed in the play area, he will understand that good things come when he plays nice and when he gets aggressive, he gets removed.

Obviously this alone will not fix the problem but it’s part of the process I think will be beneficial. During the two times we’ve visited, he’s been able to sit calmly a few feet from the fence as well as up close. He’s got as a close as sniffing another dog through the fence for a few moments before one lets out a yelp.

This past weekend we had our final session with the trainer and Barley received his obedience training certificate (wooh!). She was very impressed with his improved over the past few months and is very confident that he will succeed with our next steps. She has suggested that we get a muzzle (gross word) for Barley to use during an introduction with another calm and non-reactive dog. This will allow the two dogs to meet but won’t allow Barley to touch with his teeth. With a non-reactive, calm dog we won’t have to worry about putting Barley in a situation where he won’t be able to defend himself as the other dog would careless how Barley reacts to him. Our friend from PAWS has some awesome dogs who we have already introduced Barley to that we think will be great to work with.

I came across some baby red potatoes and shaved brussel sprouts at TJ’s the other day and decided to mix it all up into a little side dish…add some bacon and it’s a master piece! First I preheated my oven to 400 degrees. Then, I cut up my little 1 pound bag of potatoes into quarters, put them into a large bowl and tossed them with a little olive oil (about 1-1 1/2 TBSP), some sea salt, ground pepper, and minced garlic until evenly coated.

Then I put them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and popped ‘em in the oven for about 45 minutes, turning them about half way through. Meanwhile, I cooked about 5 pieces of bacon until nicely brown, removed from heat, patted with a paper towel to remove any excess fat, and drained the pan. In the same pan, I added about half the bag of shredded brussel sprouts, a little olive oil and cooked over medium heat until tender.

I chopped up the bacon strips into small pieces, removing any fat, and placed them into the pan with the sprouts. Once sprouts were nice and brown, I added in a dash of balsamic vinegar and water (suggestions from the back of the sprout bag). Finally, when the potatoes were complete, I folded them into the sprout mixture, being careful not to turn it into mashed potatoes, and wa-la. Side dish!