Strawberries N’ Cream Bread + Video of Gabriella

So apart for the sleep training & a few nights of crying, Gabriella is at a REALLY fun age! I feel like I say that every time I talk about her age, but seriously it just keeps getting more fun. Her little personality just comes out more & more.

She also started crawling…which of course was HUGE! I caught it on video (I hope it works- if it doesn’t work & you want to see it, try playing it in ‘full screen’ mode), which you can see below. Please don’t fun of my voice- I was sick (very sick!) & of course I was doing baby talk.

As you can see her funny crawl is more of a frog hop- she looks hilarious!

Monday night we started baby proofing because the first thing that caught her attention are the outlets and she is UNSTOPPABLE. Even though she ‘hops’ along she can MOVE! My Mom was cracking up when she saw her. She was like ‘well, it’s definitely not a ‘normal’ crawl, but she is crawling!’

We also had to add a baby gate to the front of our TV/ DVD area because she pretty much attacks the DVDs the second we aren’t looking. (which doesn’t happen anymore, this was before we realized HOW mobile she really was)

(Mom: Please note which movie we are watching, Despicable Me, and please notice the part that it is currently on. She’s definitely your grandchild because it is actually the only movie she will sit and watch. Not that I can blame her! )

I also love how much Gabriella loves being in the kitchen. She can be incredibly fussy & then I bring her into the kitchen with me while I cook dinner and she LOVES it. I can already tell she is going to be the BEST kitchen helper! I am VERY much looking forward to making Christmas cookies with her this year!!! It makes my heart melt when I think about it.

The other day our afternoon walk plans were ruined. It was POURING outside & there was NO way that we could do anything outdoors. I could tell Gabriella was getting a little antsy, so I figured we would head to the kitchen & figure out something to bake.

I looked through a few recipes & decided on Strawberries N’ Cream bread. It is the perfect summertime bread, full of fresh strawberries & Greek yogurt for the ‘cream.’

I changed a few things around to make this bread a bit healthier and no one will know the difference between the original recipe & this ‘health-ified’ recipe, I guarantee it

Strawberries N’ ‘Cream’ Bread

(adapted from this recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Truvia baking blend*
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I used 0% Chobani)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

*If you prefer not to use the Truvia baking blend, just use 3/4 cup sugar & omit the 1/4 cup additional sugar.

Directions:

• In a large bowl, cream butter, Truvia and sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg, then egg white. Add Greek yogurt and vanilla; mix well.
• Combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened. Fold in strawberries and 1/4 cup nuts.
• Pour into a greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining nuts. Bake at 350° for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 1 loaf.

Not only did I have a very happy baby (happy baby, happy life ) while we were baking, but I also ended up with a DELICIOUS quick bread that we could all enjoy! Not only did we enjoy it by the slice, but it’s also good crumbled in yogurt, Chobani of course.  

The best part about this recipe is that you probably have all of the ingredients in your house right now! And you may just want to try this bread out for your July 4th holiday breakfast. Perfect way to start the day.

Any fun plans for tomorrow?? Do share!

We are heading to Jacksonville to see my family & to see some of my friends. I can’t wait!! And of course I can’t wait for Gabriella to see fireworks!! I have a feeling she’s going to love them!

Triple Berry Muffins

Good Morning! So, guess what??! You made it past yet another Monday. That should make you smile just knowing that little piece of information. 😉 I think getting past each Monday just makes the week a bit better, don’t you agree?

I know what else will brighten up your morning.

Aren’t they pretty? Those are my flowers that Craig sent to me for Valentine’s day. Normally I’m not a big rose person (sunflowers are my favorite), but these roses are just particularly pretty. I love when they always bloom in unison. Some flowers that I have received in the past were pretty, but they never bloomed. Luckily these turned out perfect!

You know what else will help brighten your morning?! A new muffin recipe. (ok, so maybe that doesn’t really brighten your morning, but I’d like to think so. 🙂 )

You know how I shared my love of Chobani with you yesterday?? (Have you entered the giveaway yet? You definitely should, if not.) Well, one of my favorite things to do with the yogurt is to bake with it. (I know this girl does too! Oh, and by the way, have you seen her latest creation?!?! DORITO BROWNIES, yep, you read that right. Check it out!!)

It’s great to bake with because you can cut out the oil, and it still leaves the baked goods moist. It also helps to add a bit of protein. (at 14g per container, you can’t beat that!)

Fruit is finally coming into season, so I have been buying strawberries & blueberries like a crazy woman. I go through BOTH of the LARGE cartons about every 3 days. It’s almost ridiculous how much I eat them. I think I’ve just been missing the summertime fruit, and getting just a bit sick of eating apples everyday. Look at how HUGE this strawberry is that I found in my container. It’s the size of my hand!!!

When I was coming up with this recipe I decided to include BOTH strawberries & blueberries, since I can’t get enough of them. While I was making these I also think I ate my weight in fruit. I’m shocked I had some left for the recipe. I decided to add even more fruit to the recipe by using a Passion Fruit Chobani in the batter. So I shall call these…

Triple Berry Muffins

Yield: 12 large muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp. + 2 tsp. Truvia (you could also replace this with 1/4 cup white sugar)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1 container 2% Passion Fruit Chobani
• 2 egg whites, beaten
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup strawberries, chopped
• 1 cup blueberries

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a muffin pan. (or use muffin liners)
2. In a large bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. (flours through salt)
3. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients. (applesauce through vanilla) Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well.
4. Add the strawberries & blueberries to the batter combine.
5. Divide the batter equally between the 12 muffin tins. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

I suggest topping them with just a pat of butter. Butter makes all things a tad tastier. (I sound like Paula Deen)

Now just wait. Check out what these look like on the inside.

I always hate eating a muffin that has like two blueberries in it. Every bite of these are chock-full of berries.

Want to know what else is great about these muffins? Check out these stats: (per muffin)
Calories: 117, Fat: 1g, Carbs: 26g, Protein: 4g

So now you don’t have to feel bad about eating one. Or two. Or ten. 😉