28 Days

Hi Friends!

TGIF!! Do you have an exciting weekend planned?! Tomorrow is a busy day and then I have absolutely NOTHING planned for Sunday except hanging around the homestead. I've been looking forward to a PJ Sunday all week!

As you know, and I'm sure it's been obvious from my lack of posts lately, I have been busy. Both Derek and I have been moving at warp speed with barely a moment of peace. I keep thinking things are going to slow down, but they don't ---- so we are just starting to accept this busier lifestyle as the norm.

We are in need of a break and a mini-break we shall have at the end of March. We just booked ourselves a mini-vacay to Nashville followed by Easter with my family. I am beyond excited about the thought of getting away for a few days; especially to one of my fave places!!

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 Derek & I rarely get away by ourselves, so it will be so nice to spend some QT with each other and I always love a visit with my fam! Have you ever been to Nashville before? We're planning to hit some of our fave hotspots, as well as a Nashville Predators game, the Grand Ol' Opry and shopping is a must at Opry Mills Mall!

March 1st marked 28 days until our little getaway, so I've set some goals for myself for the next 4 weeks:

*Eat clean every snack/meal except one free meal over the weekend.

*5 workouts per week

*8 glasses of water per day

*Unplug & be in bed by 11 p.m. (7 hrs of sleep/night is the goal!)

*Maintain a food journal

*Try a new workout once per week to keep things interesting

I do so much better with short-term goals; especially when I have a *reward* at the end. I hope you don't mind, but you're going to be seeing a lot of meal plans, clean eating photos and fitness updates over the next 4 weeks!

What short-term goals do you have set for yourself right now?

Do you love vacationing or do you prefer downtime at home?

Have a great weekend and I will see you with a meal planning post on Monday!

Andrea

xoxo

Food for thought:

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Grandma's Banana Muffins

Happy Monday! I hope you've had a great day!

I'm so sorry that I've been MIA once again --- this summer has been so darn busy that it's hard to find time to keep on top of the blog. There is so much I've been up to, you know with all the summer barbecues we've had to attend, the summer concerts we've enjoyed, the ice cold bevies that have been consumed, oh yeah and there's that Vegas trip I'm booking!!!

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That's right, Derek & I are heading to Las Vegas for a friend's wedding that is taking place on Hallowe'en!!!The flights were booked last night and tonight we're booking our hotel. I cannot wait and I have to admit that all of my spare time has been dedicated to searching out the best flight and hotel deals and to end my mission to find the cutest Hallowe'en costume ever!!

Have you ever been to Las Vegas before? I have once and Derek has twice and we absolutely LOVE it! There is so much to see and do! I think it's safe to say you might hear a little about our trip as we start our planning :-D

But today is not about Las Vegas.....it's about sharing a fabulous recipe courtesy of my grandma L. I've been gone far too long and I want to make it up to you and this is the best way I know how! This is a beloved family recipe that my grandma makes time and time again. If you stop by for a visit there are bound to be some delicious banana muffins kickin' around for you to snack on. Derek and our friend, Jeff, stopped by to give my grandpa a helping hand last week and they got sent home with 2 muffins each. If only the world could revolve around 'payment by muffin' instead of money!!

Grandma's Banana Muffins (w/ Chocolate Chips)
Makes 12 muffins

These are the best banana muffins ever in my opinion! I will cherish this recipe until the day I die and I hope that it can be passed down through our family to my neices and nephews and then on to their children. The nice thing about these muffins is that they freeze really well. That's an important quality to have when you could eat 3 or 4 muffins in one sitting...er, not that I would know ;-) Enjoy!

3 ripe bananas
1 egg
1/3 c. vegetable oil  (I would have used coconut oil, but I didn't have enough)
1/3 c. white sugar
1 c. white flour
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
Optional Addins: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, dried fruit (I used chocolate chips today)

Preheat your oven to 350.

Grease your muffin pan or line it with muffin cups.

Add the banana, egg, oil and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir until well blended.

Add in the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon evenly into 12 muffin cups.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes. I always use the ol' toothpick trick ~ you know they're cooked through when the toothpick can be inserted into the middle and is clean when pulled out.

Remove from the oven and cool on a cooling rack. You might want to enjoy one asap, but be careful of the chocolate chips! Those babies are HOT at first and you don't want to burn your tastebuds off on the very first bite!!

Yummmmm......

Do you have a favourite family recipe that you love to make that makes you think of your grandmother?

Have a great night!

Andrea