Two friends, miles apart, who love to bake!
Chocolate Pretzel Cookies with Peanut Butter Chips. Phew! What a mouthful. But I promise these cookies are worth the extra long title, especially if you’re like me and love that salty sweet flavor combo. I got the idea for these cookies thinking about my go-to …
I’m baaaaack! Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe on LDB so I’ll just give a quick update on where I’ve been before I get to these delicious treats! If you follow us on social media, you might have noticed that this …
Sure, fall means pumpkin spice everything, but fall also means FOOTBALL!
We’re pretty big football fans here at LDB. Kelly is a USC alum (fight on!) and Steph went to Boise State (go broncos!) so football games are a fall tradition for us. The tailgating and viewing parties may be more fun than the actual games though! And you definitely can’t show up to those empty-handed.
While these are a little more time-consuming than a regular peanut butter cookie, they are totally worth it. Not only because they’re adorable, but because of the addition of chocolate! Chocolate and peanut butter go together like USC and Song Girls, or Boise State and the blue field. They just fit.
It’s been a long time since I’ve made peanut butter cookies and I kind of forgot how good they are. The centers are chewy with just a slight crunch of the edges, and the chocolate makes them even softer. They’re rich though! You’ll definitely need a glass of milk.
Or a cold beer. This is tailgating season after all, we won’t judge.
~Stephanie
Peanut Butter Chocolate Football Cookies (adapted from Crazy for Crust)
If your Pinterest feed is anything like mine, you’ve seen protein and energy bites all over it for months. Kelly made a haystack version of them and my fiancé even got an email from Golf Digest with a recipe for some. As usual, I’m behind …
Sometimes you move to a new city and have to make new friends. And sometimes these new friends invite you over and tell you to bring dessert. Being a food blogger, you feel like you need something impressive. As usual, your other half suggest “those …
One major perk of the fiancé’s new job is that we both get memberships to the athletic club in town. I attempted to get into running a few summer’s ago, when Kelly and I did the San Francisco Half Marathon, buuuuttt after we ran that race I kind of got out of my work out routine. I think part of me died on the Golden Gate Bridge that morning and I never fully recovered.
Now that we’re officially in our first Southern summer, I’m realizing you don’t actually do anything outside. The humidity hasn’t been terrible yet, but you do any sort of physical activity outdoors and you’re sweating. It’s disgusting. Needless to say I’m pretty excited we have a gym.
I’ve never been that great about eating those protein packed pre or post workout snacks. That is what you’re supposed to do, right? I don’t even know. I do know though that the fiancé always makes himself chocolate milk and I’m always jealous. Why does he have a tasty treat and I just pour myself water?!
That’s when I decided to combine a few of my favorite things (pb, bananas, and chocolate) into a delicious smoothie as a reward for actually going to the gym and not binge watching Season 3 of Orange Is The New Black.
Obviously I knew this was going to be good, this is one of my favorite flavor combinations, but I didn’t realize just how good it was going to be! I originally planned on sharing the smoothie, but then had to make a second because I slurped the first one down too quickly. And also because I’m a terrible sharer. But seriously! This is one of the best smoothies I’ve ever made. Not exaggerating.
It’s sweet enough it feels like a treat, yet healthy enough you don’t feel guilty drinking it after the gym. If you’re like me and love the peanut butter, banana, chocolate combo you’ve got to give this a try!
~Stephanie
This post sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds
Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
*Alternatively, use 1 fresh banana and a few ice cubes if you don’t have frozen bananas on hand
*I personally like to put the smoothie in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to make it more of a frozen slushy/milkshake consistency
Two posts in a row that involve peanut butter… yep, I’m on a PB kick. But then again, when am I not? My cousin is getting married in less than two weeks. We just celebrated her bachelorette party in Vegas at the end of May …
What?! I know… just go with me on this. We LOVE peanut butter here on LDB. Whereas my love for Nutella is reserved solely for desserts (for fear I will eat the entire container if I have it around), peanut butter is a staple in …
I love breakfast just as much as the next person, maybe even more. Give me some eggs, toast and hash browns and I’m good to go. And there has to be hash browns. I really don’t love cooking breakfast though, especially not for just one person. It makes such a mess! There’s a pan for the eggs, the cutting board for veggies, the cookie sheet for hash browns…ok maybe it really isn’t that many dishes. But first thing in the morning that is too much for me to handle! So I need something easier.
I know lots of people who loooove their smoothies for breakfast. Aren’t there even smoothie diets or cleanses or something? I’m sure they taste delicious, but I need something more substantial. Whenever I try to be healthy and make a smoothie as a breakfast substitute I end up hungry a few hours later. What good does that do??
This is the first smoothie I’ve made that gets me through the morning without needing an extra snack. I think it’s the oatmeal that curbs the cravings, although it could be the peanut butter. Or the chia. Or really anything. I have no idea, I just know it works!
I like to use frozen bananas because A) I always have them on hand (unless I’m making banana muffins) and B) I don’t need to use ice! If I plan ahead I will peel and slice the banana before freezing, which makes using them in smoothies super easy. Most of the time though I will just slice the banana while it is frozen, peel still on, then peel each individual slice. Still easy! If you don’t have frozen bananas don’t worry, just pop a few ice cubes in there.
I found this picture on my camera today, I didn’t know the bf had taken it! If you’re curious what working a full-time (non-blogging) job + attempting to develop/bake/shoot/edit/post recipes regularly looks like…this is it. Cut off tees, no makeup and hair that probably hasn’t been washed in three days. The honest truth. (Also, please ignore the 1990’s slam dunk champions poster in the background…)
Happy Monday everyone! P.S. Did you hear the news?? In addition to our personal Pinterest accounts (here and here) we decided LDB needed a pinterest of its own! Make sure to follow along!!
~Stephanie
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Smoothie
I’m fairly convinced I could be a vegetarian without much hassle. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some steak fajitas, barbecued ribs or pork chops…I just don’t cook meat that often. Especially if I’m only cooking for myself. That being said, I’ve had low …