Spiced Almond Popcorn Snack Mix | #CelebrateAlmonds

I’ve partnered with California Almonds to bring you this sponsored post and all opinions stated are my own.

Almonds and popcorn and seeds—oh my! These three things may just be my ultimate snacking trifecta. They are all easy to pack in my purse or bag when I'm on-the-go, as well as for when I feel a between-meals snack attack coming on. So combining the three might just be one of the smartest things I've done lately.

Hemp-Chia-Flax Einkorn Crackers | #EinkornExperiment

It's time for another edition of The Einkorn Experiment! This month I decided that I wanted to try my hand at using einkorn to make crackers. Homemade crackers are usually pretty simple to make, and always leave me feeling a sense of accomplishment as I pull them from the oven.

Since I'm still getting comfortable with einkorn flour and its slight differences from all-purpose in a recipe like this, I chose this recipe by Cathy from Bread Experience via Einkorn.com as a starting point. So, here's the thing about einkorn flour—it absorbs liquid slower than all-purpose flour, so you have to take things a little slow, and take care not to over-mix in an effort to incorporate everything.

Yogurt Chia Pancakes

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of The Greek Gods® Yogurt. All opinions are my own.

If I ask my kids what they want for breakfast, 9 times out of 10, their answer will be (or include) pancakes. It was probably the same in my household when I was kid. Perhaps pancakes are the universal language of love. It's not difficult, but to see mom in the kitchen scooping, measuring, and stirring ingredients together means something.

I'm not sure if this extends beyond American households (since pancakes differ across the globe), but I know that the pancake process is a rite of passage in these parts. It starts with the small, neatly cut squares of pancakes scattered on the tray of a highchair. As a toddler, you want to drag a chair up to the stove while you watch the bubbles burst on the pancake dough and then help mom by flipping each and every pancake in the batch.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Bars

Thank you to Meijer for sending me a box of essential health products to kick-start my health, fitness, and diet goals in the new year! All opinions shared in this post are my own.

Well friends, we are officially into the third week of 2016. I meant to share this post with you in the first week, but this year started off very rough for my family. It's not something that I'm ready to talk about yet, but I will be soon. So, I apologize for starting the year a couple of weeks late.

Tell me, did you make any resolutions or set any goals for yourself this year? I've never been big on resolutions, since any I set seemed like things I should always be striving for anyway. So, I tend to call them goals instead. But really, I guess they're just the same thing—changes, improvements, and things I want to accomplish going forward. One foot in front of the other seemed like a good place to start recently.

Gluten-Free Chia Seed Peanut Butter Oat Cookies

I don't know much about gluten-free baking. It's one of those "one day I should figure this out" kind of things...I just haven't figured out which day yet. So, when Carrington Farms asked me if I'd be interested in sharing their delicious and healthy cookie recipe that also happens to be gluten-free, I thought it was something I should try out for myself first (and then share the results with you if I liked it).

Guess what? I liked it. I liked it alot, actually. I stayed pretty true to their recipe, which can be found on the back of the current packaging for their chia seeds, I did add a little salt to the recipe (as I do 99% of the time in sweet baked goods) because it enhances the flavors. Their recipe calls for optional chocolate chips, which I considered leaving out entirely since I'm not usually one to add chocolate to my peanut butter cookies...but I figured I was already adding oats and chia seeds, so why not give it a go. But I also wanted to try them without, so I added mini chocolate chips to half of the batch.

Strawberry Chia Jam with Chia Seed Pancakes

It's the second Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time for another round of #bloggerCLUE! Our theme this month is RED—and for more reason than one. February is a busy month. Of course there's Valentine's Day. Red! And then there's the Oscars. Red (carpet). It is also National Heart Awareness month, and well...red! So yeah, I had all sorts of fun rummaging through my assigned blog for the month, which was Curry and Comfort.

Curry and Comfort is written by Ramona, who writes of her love for curry and American comfort food (and everything in between). Let's just say that I spent a long time perusing and hunting down red things, and I had a list so long it trailed behind me by the time I finished. Or at least it would have if it was printed out. Next I spent time slowly crossing items like Chinese Hot and Sour Soup, BLT Pizza, and Crockpot Paprika Chicken off my list.

What caused me to leave tempting food like that simmering on the backburner? Two words: chia seeds. To know me is to know my love for those little power-houses. I drink my daily chia, and am always looking for food I can sneak them into. Well, when I laid eyes on Ramona's Strawberry Chia Jam, nothing else stood a chance. I'd been meaning to try chia jam...any variety...for quite some time, but still hadn't gotten around to it. Mystery solved. Decision made.

Peanut Butter Apple Raisin Waffles w/ Chia Seeds

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of National Peanut Board. All opinions are 100% mine.

In celebration of Better Breakfast Month, I'm bringing something both nutritious and delicious to the table today. Packed with protein, fiber, and fruit, these waffles are inspired by one of my family's favorite snacks - crisp apples slices with a shmear of peanut butter and a smattering of plump raisins, or as we like to call them—ants on a raft. They're crisp on the outside and moist on the inside, plus they aren't too sweet (which makes them the perfect vehicle for a drizzle of pure maple syrup).

I'm excited to be partnering with the National Peanut Board today to highlight Peanut Butter for Breakfast! Now, I grew up with the old adage "breakfast is the most important meal of the day", a belief that I've passed on to my own children. Many people may think that's just something parents say to get their kids to eat breakfast, but it's based on good fact—especially if your breakfast includes a high amount of protein. Studies show that people who enjoyed a breakfast that included at least 35 grams of protein felt fuller, had fewer cravings, and even ate fewer high-calorie snacks later in the day. Starting the day by eating breakfast is also associated with weight loss and maintenance.

Adding peanut butter to your breakfast is a fantastic (and easy) way to get that protein into your morning meal. Even if you're in a hurry (and I know this from experience), it's simple to toast a slice of bread, and then spread it with peanut butter. Another quick and easy idea is to swirl it into some yogurt, with a palmful of chopped peanuts and some banana slices (even a few mini chocolate chips).

Superfood Pancakes

Whether it's an early breakfast, a leisurely brunch, or breakfast for dinner, our family loves pancakes. The kind we eat most often are what most people would consider diner-style, aka Malted Pancakes. It's not often that all five of us agree on a single favorite rendition of a certain dish, but this is one such dish.

That said, pancakes in general are hard to turn down. If I have a jar of sourdough hanging out if the fridge, I'll add some to the batter. I also like to stud them with fun things like sausage and cheese or bacon, blueberries, and brown butter. Cardamom and strawberry...a handful of wheat germ...cornmeal and blackberries...or the all-out decadence of banana pancakes scented with ginger and cinnamon and smothered in a Butter Rum Banana Maple Syrup. Sigh. I could go for a plate of pancakes right now.

So really, what better vehicle is there than a family favorite for experimenting with healthier choices? I can't think of one.

Hibiscus-Raspberry Black & Green Iced Tea w/ Chia Seeds

Guess what? June is National Iced Tea Month. And how does one celebrate the glories of that cool, refreshing beverage? By entering a contest to win a 7-day trip to London. ENGLAND!

Why London? London just so happens to be the birthplace of Tetley Tea. I was beyond excited to receive an invitation to participate in the London On Ice contest, which is put on by Tetley USA in honor of their new Black & Green Blend. My challenge: to create a non-alcoholic (cough, cough...ahem) iced tea recipe using Tetley's Black & Green.

Commence testing!