Chocolate Chip Banana Bread made with Greek Yogurt

When you have bananas going bad one of the best things to do is make banana bread right? I used to love Starbucks Chocolate Chip Banana bread and though I still haven't mastered my chocolate chips not all melting in the bottom this recipe is one of my favorites I found on Pintrest that was from All Recipes and I've adapted a bit. Little by little I've been changing out ingredients to make it much healthier. I was planning on swapping the sugar for stevia this time but I just didn't have enough and wanted to get this sugar out of the house anyways so I just used what I had on hand. If you choose to swap make sure to look at a conversion chart because you won't need the same amount and it will depend on if you use regular stevia or the baking blend. Since the recipe uses Greek Yogurt in still trying to figure out what's right to replace the butter, and replacing the white flour with wheat flour really makes no difference at all. 

 What I love about this recipe is all I had to buy was chocolate chips,  everything else I had in the house and are things I usually do. 

This is quick and easy to put together, the longest part is waiting for it to bake for nearly an hour and then cool when your house is smelling of yummy goodness! 

 Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

Makes one loaf 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter (equivalent to 1 stick of butter), melted
• 3/4 cup white sugar or stevia check conversion chart depending on what you use 
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour ( I use wheat flour) 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 over-ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, stir the melted butter and sugar together.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.  Set the wet ingredients aside.
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
5. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
6. Add in the yogurt and the mashed bananas and mix until just combined.
7. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
8. Spread evenly into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan.
9. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick or fork comes out clean.   It may be done if all you have is chocolate on your fork 
10. Cool the loaf in the pan for at least 15 minutes (it's hard trust me!) before cutting into it. 

 

Now it's time to enjoy and try not to eat the entire loaf at once! 

 

A Disney Dining Must!

We recently returned from a long weekend at Disney. We usually go about twice a year though I am determined to squeeze it to 3 times here soon! We spent 4 years there and I worked there and I might love it just as much for the food as I do for the fact that its Disney. I am always about trying somewhere new we have never tried but a trip to Via Napoli always has to be on the list. Im pretty sure we used to go at least once a month. Before Via Napoli opened in the Italy Pavillion at Epcot pizza lovers were left with much to be desired in the way of pizza.

 

 This place is special the flour for the crust is Caputo flour imported from Southern Italy. The pizzas are cooked in one of 3 wood burning ovens named after the 3 active volcanoes in Italy - Mount Enta, Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli. It is traditional Neapolitan pizza.  Even some of their pastas are cooked in these ovens. One day we decided to get a smaller pizza and lasagna which was good but I just love their pizza. The pizza is seriously like non I have ever had but I have never traveled to Italy so....

Next on the list at Via Napoli is the Sangria. Best deal for a drink in park. At just $25 for a pitcher that fills about 6 glasses it cant be beat. A glass itself is $9. The red is my favorite and its refreshing on a HOT Florida day. 

I've seen people are mixed about using the dining plan here but I think its still worth it. We used it on our September trip and were happy to each get what we wanted on our pizza without having to compromise and got to try some delicious dessert. Seriously though put this place on your list for dining!

Tasty Tuesday Buffalo Roasted Cauliflower

Veggies are hard in our house, my husband is picky with veggies and I am too but more open than him. We get tired of the same thing over and over and typically just eat spinach, carrots and brussels sprouts. I love the roasted broccoli but can't stand the way it makes our apartment smell and it just lingers so we rarely make it. I tried this new recipe for buffalo roasted cauliflower  and it is delish and super easy! These would be a great healthy snack for your upcoming Super Bowl Party, and I'll be sharing clean Super Bowl treats the next few weeks leading to Super Bowl! 

What you need :

1 head of cauliflower 

Olive oil

Sea Salt (we use pink himilayan) 

Garlic powder 

Buffalo sauce or hot suace (I used Frank's red hot ) 

Cut your cauliflower into pieces and place in a bowl 

Add 1/4 cup of Frank's Red Hot, 1 tbsp of olive oil and salt and garlic to taste. 

Preheat oven to 400. Place on baking sheet and cook for about 20 min. 

I like to make sure it has some brown to it for it to be completely done. I also only used half a head of cauliflower since it was hair the 2 of us and saved the other half for another night. This was so good and will also be a great healthy snack for the upcoming Super Bowl parties to help you stay on track! On the 21 Day fix meal plan which we are following, this would be 1 green 1 tsp and 1 Orange. 

Enjoy! 

Interested in the 21 Day Fix or other meal plans, email me at meganalvey58@gmail.com or reach out to me on social media I would love to chat ! 

Tasty Tuesday Sweet Potato Fries

Are you guilty of buying that frozen bag of fries because it's "easier" to dump on the pan and throw in the oven? That was me. I love sweet potato fries. 

So here is an easy recipe to make them at home, and I mean so easy your husband could do it if he isn't kitchen savvy. 

Here is what you need : 

Sweet potato 

Olive Oil or Coconut Oil

Sea Salt ( you could use other seasonings also but I just keep it simple) 

I use one sweet potato for just the two of us. Clean it, peel if you would like, I leave the skin on. Cut the potato in fry like strips. Preheat your oven to 400 while you are doing this. 

Put the fries into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil or coconut oil I've used both, and sprinkle with salt. Then spread on baking sheet. 

Bake at 400 for 25-30 min or until your liking. Sometimes for me it varies as to how thick or thin the slices are. Thinner slices take less time to cook. Let cool and serve! 

These are so easy and to be honest we have both said we enjoy them much better. Also they aren't processed and you know 100% what is going on them. This is another great healthy easy treat for your upcoming super bowl party just make a larger batch depending on how many people you expect! 

Becoming Parents

I feel like the last 8 weeks have been a whirlwind. Between the birth of our beautiful baby girl, the holidays and visits from out of town family and friends I was happy when the new year rolled around to just be able to try and get in a normal routine as a family. 

Our sweet Girl was born Thursday November 19th, 2015 @ 10:56 pm and weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 20 inches long. I'm not going to lie her tiny little size was a big surprise to my husband and I both. He is 6'4" and I am 5'10", my husband was a pretty big baby at around 10 lbs and me a little over 7lbs so I was expecting atleast an 8lb baby, but as my husband has nicknamed her "Tiny", I love my sweet tiny girl. By the time we went to the doctor the following Monday she weighed in at 6lbs, but she sure doesn't have any issues growing now. I keep saying now she is my long skinny baby and I'll be excited to see how long she is at her 2 month appointment next week. There are some 3 month sleepers she can't wear anymore because of her length, yet they are loose everywhere else. 

Becoming a mommy has been the most amazing, incredible, rewarding thing I have ever experienced. You carry your baby for 9 months, your body protects them, feeds them, provides for them it's still just pure amazing that our bodies can do this. Then you give birth and the instant connection, over pouring of love, (which you already had as they grew inside of you) the feeling of immediately not knowing or remembering what your life was like before this beautiful child entered your world, and not even wanting to remember because your world has completely changed in an instant and you don't want to revisit your old life. The way you instantly love your husband differently when he truly becomes a Dad and you fall even more in love with him,  as he stands with tears in his eyes, as he tells you how amazing you are and how proud of you he is. How he instantly feels the same instant connection with this child he has been talking to inside your belly for months. (Atleast my husband did, every day)  Your world changes, his world changes, your world together changes. These are the  moments that make everything, every day spent sick, every pain your body experienced, every sleepless night and those to come, every ounce of anxiety you may have faced about labor and becoming parents, and everything else all worth it. 

We are blessed. God is so good and has blessed us beyond measure. Becoming a parent is a blessing, an incredible blessing no one should take forgranted. I will never take it forgranted. My heart breaks for friends and people out there who want a child so badly and struggle with infertility, adoption whatever it may be to become a parent. I will never know what they go through but now that I have a child of my own I pray for these people daily. 

Parenting may come with its ups and downs but every minute is worth it. I really don't remember what life was like before Emma Kate entered our lives. Someone seriously asked us the the other day if life was so different now and my husband and I both said we don't even remember what it was like before. I don't remember the woman I was before, it's like part of becoming a mother helps you find a part of yourself you never knew was there. 

And today I want to give a #MCM shout out to my amazing husband and daddy to our sweet Emma Kate. I know for him becoming a Daddy has changed his world for the better too. I see a side of my husband I've waited so long to see. I always knew what a great Dad he would be. He is a gentle, loving, compassionate all in kind of man. I am thankful for his constant help, whether it be helping in the middle of the night, to constantly doing things to help around the house to always making sure I get a little "me " time every day. I am also so thankful for the hardworking man he is, and the provider he is to our family. Because of this I am able to stay home and take care of our daughter while also focusing on some of my dreams and things I've been feeling God has called me to do. Kyle you make life so much better, your my best friend, love of my life and one amazing daddy! We love you, and I'm so glad we get to do life together as best friends, husband and wife, and Mommy and Daddy! 

Tasty Tuesday! Spinach Quinoa Egg Scramble

Tasty Tuesday is back, and hopefully regular blog post as well. If you don't know I had a baby just a little over 7 weeks ago so getting the hang of this new mommy thing! Anyways more on all that in another post. 

With a new year, a lot of BIG goals for myself for the year ( I'm setting goals not resolutions) and wanting to lose the remainder of my baby weight, get in the best shape of my life this year and to make a full lifestyle change and stick to it. Tasty Tuesday will be all about clean eats, with an occasional treat here and there. 

Yesterday I found myself with a little quiet time in the morning and time to actually make breakfast. Sunday we started the 21 Day Fix which was intended to be started last week and we did follow the meal plan pretty well but I wasn't quite ready for the workouts. I've  been having things like egg cups and yogurt with homemade granola prepped that I've made over the weekends while my husband would help with the baby (he is an amazing help, I don't even have to ask) so we could ensure we were eating well. This year is truly about lifestyle change for us. 

When I found myself with this time I decided to try a new recipe I found on pintrest that I had everything for because all 3 items are staples in my fridge for clean eats. I always have spinach and eggs even when I'm not at my best, and quinoa is always something I like to keep a cooked batch of in the fridge. Goes well with dinners and other things and it's nice to make a big batch and just warm it up. So all you need for this is those 3 items. Spinach, eggs and Quiona. 

I used 2 eggs, about 1 cup of spinach (one green on the 21 Day fix) and about 1/4 -1/2 cup of Quiona ( one yellow container on the fix) which is why I'm not sure the exact measurements. I cracked 2 eggs in a small bowl and scrambled with a fork and added a little Pink Sea Salt and Pepper. Threw them in a skillet with the spinach and while the eggs were still a little runny added the quinoa. I also added a little Parmesan cheese,  only about 1/4 a blue container because I needed the rest for dinner later but you can add more. I think goat cheese would be great too! Topped it with a little hot sauce and done. You could add more  veggies and any other seasonings you like. This would also be a great easy dinner or lunch. So there ya go. Stay tuned I'm going to get back at blogging regularly again just may take some time. I'm soaking up all the time I can with my sweet girl because I've heard they grow up to fast and I already feel that way! 

***Interested in the 21 Day fix and online accountability groups? Shoot me an email at meganalvey58@gmail.com or message me on social media, I would love to chat! ***

Tasty Tuesday: Gnocchi in Ricotta Meat Sauce!

Today's recipe is by no means a healthy or clean recipe but I still tried to make better decisions to keep it on the healthier side. This dish was inspired by a local place called Gravy where I had an awesome gnocchi about 2 years ago that hasn't been back on the menu since. I was craving it so thought I would try and recreate it the best I could. 
This gnocchi with ricotta meat sauce the sauce and meat are going to give us 2 additional dinners later on. I prob spent about $12 on all the ingredients including the bread, (I got some Laura's lean ground beef that was about to expire at a steal! Even bought some extra to freeze) but I already had sauce and the gnocchi at home so that's not included. 

What you need:

1 lb of Italian sausage (you can use mild of hot) 
1 lb of lean ground beef 
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons of ricotta cheese 
1 jar or 2.5 cups tomato sauce 
Gnocchi or pasta of your choice 

Ground sausage and ground beef together. One cooked drain, and split in half as you only need a full pound for the sauce. Set the other half aside or you can split your meat before cooking and freeze and save for later. 

I make my own tomato sauce ( well sorta) I buy the cans of organic tomato sauce comes in a 12 pack from Costco and then I make big batches at a time with seasonings etc...  and freeze. I had a big container in my fridge I had just made for some pizzas and had froze yet so I used that. I measured 2.5 cups of sauce and added it to the pan with the meat. 

One that started to cook and warm I added a 1/4 cup of ricotta and decided it wasn't enough so added 2 additional tablespoons. Let that all warm up and sauce was done. 

The gnocchi only takes 2-3 min to cook so I stared that and then drained and served. This was a while wheat gnocchi we had found at a place called Southern Seasons a while back and hadn't made yet, wasn't sure how it would be but it was really good! 

After you palace gnocchi in the bowl top with sauce and dinner is ready!  

The sauce did get a little thick and we had more than half left so we put in fridge to top pasta another night this week  for dinner.  We rarely make pasta but momma has been craving the carbs! More than likely we will put over a spaghetti squash. 

As for the remainder of the meat I mixed with the ricotta cheese and some Italian blend cheese for manicotti filling and placed in the freezer. I've had a box of manicotti noodles in the pantry staring at me for a while now and this is half my usually recipe for it so it worked out perfect and I'll  make it for dinner soon! 

Hope you enjoy!