Right now I’m a little pressed for time, so I’m going to dive right into my weekly roundup of favorites, Things I’m Loving Friday style! As always, I’d love for you to join in and tell me about something making you smile this week!
Things I’m Loving
I have a fantastic new protein powder to share with you guys! Have you heard of Active Stacks? I first learned about this protein powder from PaleOMG‘s blog and thought it sounded amazing when she said it tasted like chocolate milk. Sign me UP! The reviews also made it sound wonderful and I’m happy to report that it is, without a doubt, one of the most delicious protein powders I’ve ever tasted. I was also intrigued by this protein powder because it’s made with recognizable ingredients (only 4!) and is dairy-free and made from pasture-raised beef. I am a sucker for traditional chocolate whey protein powder and while I’ve found some plant based protein powders I like, I always go back to whey because of the creamy flavor. Well, this protein powder has all the creamy deliciousness of whey without the dairy! (I’m not dairy-free by any means but I admittedly eat a LOT of dairy, so finding a dairy-free protein powder sounded great to me.) Active Stacks Chocolate Protein Powder is now officially in my protein powder rotation and I’ve been loving it in smoothies and stirred into oatmeal or Greek yogurt. Note: They also have a vanilla flavor but I’m a chocolate girl so I haven’t tried that one just yet. It’s on my radar though!
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Toaster Oven Cookies + Frozen Cookie Dough
Don’t you love how I gracefully segue from protein powder recommendations to talking about cookie dough? I feel like that’s my blog in a nutshell right there! A little bit of healthy living and a little bit of sugar. (In case you’re new here, I’m very much in the camp that believes healthy living includes a little bit of sugar.)
A little over a year ago, during a trip to see my family in Florida, we all went to dig into ice cream after dinner when my brother-in-law told us to wait so he could quickly bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies go to with our ice cream. Fortunately for those of us who were ready for dessert ASAP, he had a roll of frozen cookie dough waiting in the freezer that he immediately sliced into cookies for our gang. Genius!! Ever since that lightbulb moment, whenever I make a batch of homemade cookies for our family, I try my best to remember to double the recipe so I can save some cookie dough in our freezer to bust out when a cookie craving strikes.
Another lightbulb moment? Using our toaster oven to bake small batches of cookies! Heating up a large oven for a small amount of cookies has always felt incredibly inefficient to me so whenever I use our frozen cookie dough to bake a mini batch of cookies, our toaster oven comes in clutch!
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Ryder’s Potty Training Progress
(I clearly lost control of the potty chart and Ryder put stickers everywhere. He just wanted to play with the stickers and was way more motivated by M&Ms and gummy bears than his sticker chart!)
I’m planning to share more about our potty training experience with Ryder in an upcoming blog post but I am just so proud of our little guy! He seemed genuinely ready for potty training and while we’ve had a few accidents (all part of the process, I know!), he’s doing so well. I say this in one breath but you know I have to keep it real and share that on Wednesday morning, Ryder found himself in the bath at 11 a.m. after a rather messy accident. But, for the most part, he’s doing great and we’re continuing to encourage potty success over here. (I know enough by now not to declare him “fully potty trained” in just a few days.) Yesterday morning we changed things up and progressed to hiding his gummy bears in secret spots while he used his little potty. He was so excited to try to find them whenever he finished on the potty and it took me back to Chase’s potty training days because I remember doing that hide-and-seek-a-treat game for weeks!
There’s a new pie shop in town! Buttermilk Sky Pie Shop recently opened near us in Birkdale Village and since a sweet tooth runs deep in our family, we were excited to give it a try. Last weekend, we brought home their chocolate cream pie and their apple pie and thought both were delicious. My father-in-law surprised us with a sampler of a few of their mini pies when he stopped by this week so now we’ve tried five flavors from the adorable little shop. My favorite, so far, has been the apple pie thanks to a thick, buttery-sweet crumble topping and a crust that tastes like a traditional flaxy pie crust with a touch of cinnamon sweetness… and almost a hint of shortbread cookie. I don’t know how to explain it but I was lovin’ every bite of that crust!
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Friday Flashbacks
Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad (I whipped this one up to have on hand for lunches this week and it’s such a great meal prep recipe. I included some chickpeas and lentils as well and loved it!)
Total Body Pyramid Workout (Love this one so much! Work your way up the pyramid and then back down for a serious sweat fest!)
Question of the Day
What is one thing you’re loving this week?
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That pie shop sounds amazing! I heard Charlotte got a Shake Shack, too!
I love your blog and always enjoy hearing what’s new with your little family. Today, though, I finally gave up trying to read due to all the pop up ads. Ads were popping up at the top, middle and bottom of the screen and making the text jump all over the place. Hope this was just a fluke – I’ll try you again next time.
I appreciate this feedback, Sherree, and will reach out to my ad network about this!!
Yes to the cookie dough and toaster oven! I started doing the same around the holidays. It’s so nice to be able to quickly enjoy a fresh-baked cookie or two (which is when they are the best) any time without much effort.