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healthy "no bake" cookie dough

2.20.2015

If we're friends on Instagram, you saw me post about this treat the other night. I have a serious sweet tooth which is usually kept at bay by keeping a bowl of Dove dark chocolates constantly filled. One little square and I'm typically satisfied. However, the other night I was really craving chocolate chip cookie dough (I know, so weird). I have been eating really well that day and I had just finished a quick workout so I didn't want to completely undo all my hard work. 

After digging around in my pantry, I figured I'd try to replicate the flavors with healthier ingredients. Note, I was not interested in cookies, just the dough part. 





Healthy "No Bake" Cookie Dough
Servings: 3

Ingredients

  • 1/2 oat flour (just grind rolled oats in your food processor)
  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 tbsp coconut (palm) sugar
  • 1 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 chocolate chips
Combine everything except the chocolate chips until a dough forms. Mix in chocolate chips. Eat with a spoon. Fall in love.

This turned out just perfect. The oats gave it a great texture and the yogurt kind of acts like what the butter would do in a traditional recipe. It adds a nice tangy-ness as well. I added the chia seeds just because...they are good for you! They don't add any flavor or really any texture. Coconut sugar is unrefined and much better for you (as far as sugar goes) and it can be substituted in a recipe just like many other sugars. You could totally play around with this recipe based on what you have on hand. I saw some recipes online that used garbanzo beans!!
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favorites // on instagram

2.18.2015

I really enjoy Instagram. Like, a lot. I check it multiple times a day and I've noticed that it helps me see the world a little differently, searching for beauty. I love keeping up with friends and family on it as well, many of my favorite accounts belong to people I know. We even used an Instagram hashtag for our wedding and I'm planning to make a book with all the pictures. Chatbooks will also make super adorable books from your snaps for only $6 (get your first one free with code: NQUJLC6T). 

I've found it really interesting to see how brands have started integrating Instagram into their social media presence. I actually don't think many brands are doing this very well - it usually feels so "curated" and scripted. As I scrolled through my "following" list, I realized I really don't follow many brands at all. I did finally settled on a few favorites to include as part of another #BlogLinkUp with The Well, mostly because they are unique and bring something different to the Instagram space. 

Ok so here is a brand that I believe is doing Instagram right. Their content is exciting to me because they often share content written, photographed, or curated by someone outside the company. That is so fun! I love that I can get connected to other green beauty fans and bloggers by following their feed. Their label is adorable as well so I always love looking at it.


First of all, Charmaine is amazing and her calligraphy work is so on point. She did a few items for me for my wedding (bridesmaid cards, a custom stamp, and place cards!) and she is a gem to work with. When I started teaching myself calligraphy, I was so bummed that I couldn't take her class in NYC. I love following her feed because her images give me so much inspiration. If you're interested, you can purchase her digital class on Etsy for a whopping $15!


I can't remember how I stumbled upon this feed (was it from Reese Witherspoon??) but it's stunning. While the images are technically "re-grammed" it makes for a really neat curated feed of these amazing floors all over the world. Maybe some day I'll stumbled across a cool floor and I'll have my 15 minutes of fame on this feed. Wanna be featured? Tag your photo with the hashtag: #ihavethisthingwithfloors

Looking for some more lovely to add to your Instagram feed? Check out some of these bloggers favorites Instagrams!

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monday musings.

2.16.2015


>> Love a good Monday holiday and even more excited that it's not snowing (though it did snow over the weekend). C has class so I saved up all my errands and random house things for today and it's been so great. I even scheduled a quick 30 minute facial for myself that was so lovely, despite getting sideswiped minutes before the appointment and losing our driver-side mirror. Ugh.

>> In true Thomas fashion, we spent the big holiday at home keeping it low key. We made these cocktails (um amazing), pasta from this cookbook, and nutella molten cakes. Everything was delicious and we even turned off almost all the lights to enjoy the meal by candlelight. We finished answering these questions together over dinner and then settled in to watch About Time (for a 2nd time) and really enjoyed it as much as we did the first time.

>> I'm really in a foundation rut. I've been a tinted moisturizer girl for quite some time before discovering this amazing mineral foundation over the summer. The powder just doesn't work for me in the winter and I've been looking for something that has more coverage than tinted moisturizer. I've tried a handful of these including Bare Minerals' new gel cream but I just can't seem to find the right thing that isn't loaded with chemicals. I'm giving this one from Clinique a try so we'll see how that goes. What do you love as your base?

>> After playing around with cocktail making this weekend, I was reminded how much I enjoy a new cocktail. We hardly ever make them at home but I always like to browse the menu when we're out for something new and unique. I'm also getting more encouraged to try things at home as well. I really love our bar cart and it's a great excuse to stock with with fun things to try out on the weekends. 

>> This app recently released all their tools for free and it's SO FUN (more on this later). Since recently inheriting C's iPad, I'm always looking for new fun apps to add to my collection. Do you have any that you love?

>> I read something recently about how often you should wash your towels and sheets and I was mortified. Let's just say, as soon as we have a washer/dryer in our house, I'll be doing a lot more laundry. Apparently 1x/week is unacceptable. Saving up quarters is such a hassle though which means I really try to limit how many loads I do. Ok so there you go, I basically just admitted to being really dirty. 

>> Has anyone seen Last Five Years yet with Anna Kendrick? I'm dying to see it (it's a musical) mostly because I'll see anything with Anna (or Reese for that matter) in it. 
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monday musings.

2.09.2015


>> It wouldn't be monday without more snow! My office is closed for the 3rd monday in a row and I'm honestly getting pretty tired of this. Our driveway is a sheet of ice about 3 inches thick that probably won't melt until June. I should have never wished for snow...

>> I've been really into watching YouTube videos from beauty vloggers. A few of my favorites include Essie Button, Ashley Tia, Zoella.

>> We ventured out into the cold for a date night (finally) this weekend. C remembered this pizza place we'd been wanting to try that also happened to be BYOB - score! Bufalina is our new fave. The pizza was better than any we've had in New Haven and we've made the rounds. So good that after we finished one pie, we ordered one to-go to eat the next day!

>> After a handful of crockpot fails, I was beginning to wonder what in the world I was doing wrong. But, alas, I made pork ramen last night and finally got back on track with our slowcooker recipes. It turned out really delicious and makes for great leftovers.

>> We leave for the beach in 19 days and I could NOT be more excited. We had a great trip last March to Greece and Turkey but it was definitely travel vs. vacation. When we returned, I proclaimed that our next spring trip had to involve a beach and warm temps. My wish is coming true! Time to dig out the swimsuits!

>> I've been doing really well with my closet lately. I'm really committed to loving/wearing everything in there and it has forced me to let go of items that I was hanging onto for strange reasons (but what if I need those 7 white tees, or that blouse I spent $$ on!!). I've also been employing the 1 in 1 out rule. This has helped immensely because if I buy a new sweater, I know I need to let one go. If I can't part with any of the sweaters, then I don't need a new one. What's your rule for keeping your closet manageable? 


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monday musings.

2.02.2015

>> It's monday which means, it's snowing again! I'm sort of kicking myself for wishing for snow back in early January. Now I'm really paying for it since we haven't just been getting nice, lovely, pretty gentle snow but we've been getting stop-the-presses, shut down the city snow. I'm grateful for the ability to work from home but dang, it gets boring!

are you sick of snow pictures yet...?
>> Happy February! This is such a great monday (my birth month) but I also feel like it's just a generally pretty month. Something about those 28 days...

>> We watched the big game with the Booth family last night and we had a great time. I made White Bean dip and Coconut Curry Cashews both from this cookbook. Then I made these cookies which were a big hit. C made his potentially now infamous guacamole. Meg made delish soup and the evening was a lot of fun. And those commercials, man! 

>> I picked up a few new products with various gift cards, coupons, and points I'd been saving up. I'll do a full post soon on my updated day/night skincare routine but for the time being here's the new stuff in the rotation: FAB Blemish Pads, Boscia Clarifying Tonic, One Love Organics Morning Glory, Tokyomilk Lip Balm (amazing!), Tarte Finishing Powder. I'm thinking of updating the "beauty" tab to reflect the products I'm currently using both skincare and makeup.

>> Finally got a library card so that I can borrow ebooks! It's pretty neat and I already put two books on hold! I like that I can start a book and if I end up not liking it, I don't feel guilty if I don't want to finish it because I didn't pay for it. 

>> I wrote some goals for January and I'm pretty happy to say that I kept all but one! I knitted (past tense??) something, write a note in calligraphy, finished a book...etc. I did not however, manage to work out 4x/week. But we didn't eat out for the whole month and I made a lot of healthy meals so I think it all balances out.

>> Do you have any fun Valentine's plans either with girlfriends or your significant other? I feel like it's not a big holiday for us since C's birthday is the end of Jan and mine is the end of Feb. But it's a long weekend this year so.... 
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