why you should be snacking + a pancake recipe!

It's Monday!

I always love Mondays. They're a fresh start and the calm before the storm of a busy, yet wonderful, new work week.

This weekend was pretty low-key, but after going non-stop last weekend, a restful weekend was just want I needed. Friday was spent horizontal watching Grey's and doing things I had been neglecting all week. You know those inconvenient things like laundry, dishes, and mopping up drips of green smoothie that somehow appear randomly all over the kitchen floor.

Either there's a hole in my to-go cup or I'm thrashing my smoothie around in the morning. Jury's still out.

But an early bedtime Friday made waking up at 6am on Saturday for a long run possible. I met my running group at Riverview park for 12 miles.

3 mile warmup
2 miles @ marathon pace [8:10]
2 miles @ little faster than marathon pace [7:54]
2 miles @ half marathon pace [7:36]
3 mile cooldown

After a long mashing session by J on Friday, my legs felt really good. Having a running group and seeing so many other runners out there makes Saturday morning runs something to look forward to!

Came home, made a green smoothie [Vega One, chocolate soymilk, frozen banana, and spinach]...

....took a hot shower, and made pancakes!

Because nothing tastes better after a chilly long run than a big mug of coffee and flapjacks with maple almond butter.

Oatmeal Pumpkin Spice Pancakes [gluten-free]
makes 12 pancakes [2-3 servings]

1 cup oat flour [simply grind rolled oats in blender]**
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice [or cinnamon]
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg white
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
 ** if you want these to be GF make sure to use GF oats [I love Trader Joe's!}

Measure your dry ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Then add in the pumpkin, egg white and almond milk and stir until combined. It's okay to still have lumps, no worries!

The secret to perfect flapjacks is buttering your pan with either earth balance, butter, or this time I used coconut butter! This gives the outside that slight buttery crispiness and the inside remains fluffy, mmmm.

I ate mine with two scrambled eggs. Talk about some good eats, this hit the spot. 

These would also be great to make with friends for brunch or breakfast in bed for a loved one! 

You can also save leftover pancakes in a tupperware and freeze them for pancakes on any busy weekday morning! Expect to see more of these this week.

Because I'm hanging with three teenagers this week while their parents are enjoying St. Lucia for their 20th anniversary, how sweet. Saturday afternoon I went grocery shopping and meal planned and Sunday afternoon did all the cooking!

Oh man, how grateful I am for mommas. Cooking for a family takes some thought and planning, but I prepped everything on Sunday so this week should be super simple come dinner time.

And I also packed up snacks for the work week! Friends, make snack time a no-brainer. One, snacking in between meals boosts metabolism and balances hormones. Especially stress hormones and our appetite stimulant, ghrelin. And two) I love food too much to only eat 3 times a day. 

I say, snack on!

What I do is cut up a big thing of celery, wash it, and pack it up in a big bag. I do the same for baby carrots. Grab a jar of almond or peanut butter for dipping. Pack up a bag of fruit and nuts. This week it was roughly 3/4 cup almonds, 1/2 cup pecans, and 1/2 cup dried blueberries. Lastly a bag of edamame, they're full of protein, fiber, and are a good source of calcium and iron. 

I always pack extra fruit in my lunchbox too! With whole food, nutrient dense snacks you're never stuck being hungry- quite possibly, one of the worst things ever. 

I hope everyone had a restful weekend and enjoyed some tasty Superbowl food!