citrusy cranberry coconut quickbread

I hope your tree is trimmed, your shopping list is neatly crossed off, and your cards are addressed and out the door.  If all that is done, you are doing like 1,000 times better than me.  

Being a grown-up around Christmas... It's a hard thing.  Being a kid a Christmas, that's easy.  Was I naughty or nice this year? How should I decorate these sugar cookies? Do you think Santa will bring me a Barbie Bike and an American Girl Doll?  But a grown-up has to deal with office parties, Christmas cards, gifts to distant relatives, Christmas budgets, cookie swaps... The magic can fade into STRESS!

My solution?  It's pretty simple. Cry through The Navity Story with a slice of this amazing, Citrusy Cranberry Coconut Quickbread.  I love this movie. Great soundtrack, great acting, and great reminder. Recalling what this whole holiday is actually about definately takes the edge off. God chose to send his son to earth so that I could know Him. And he asked a teenage girl to risk everything to obey Him. Her family, her future husband, everyone turned against her... and she was faithful to obey and God took care of her. After remembering all that worrying about being "together" during the holiday season suddenly seems less important. And loving people seems more important.

So make this for your favorite peeps. I get so excited when gluten free baked goods don't taste gluten free. That is the charm of this little number.  It has the signature moist, dense texture that characterizes all classy quickbreads. Plus, it is packed with dried cranberries, orange zest, and lightly toasted coconut. It's faintly sweet, but not too sweet and substituting Greek yogurt for butter makes this lighter (and that's the secret to the amazing texture.) Last but not least, it goes great with Christmas Blend.

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banana-walnut muffins

Happy Friday!  Hope that you have BIG plans for this weekend.  Are you going to a cookout, headed camping, planting your butt on a beach towel, shopping for back-to-school?  We are going to the Outer Banks with my family and I'm really excited/nervous/excited!  It's Jason's first real vacation with my family, so I hope he doesn't think we are too crazy.   ;)  I think by now he has a pretty good idea of the mess he's gotten himself into...

Maybe...

Well, whatever you are doing these weekend, set aside half an hour to whip up these muffins for lunchboxes and breakfasts-on-the-go next week.  I've been searching for a guilt-free muffin and I've finally found one. Packed with walnuts and almonds, these little guys have enough protein to stick with you.  They are sweetened with raw honey and ripe bananas rather than refined sugar, but will turn out tasty enough to please even the pickiest of eaters.  

Plus, mini-muffins are always just so stinking cute. 

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strawberry french toast

Good Morning! Hope you had a good weekend! I spent it running errands, attending the cutest baby shower, watching the U.S. of A. with Jason, and spending some serious time soaking up sun.

I also stuffed my face with this... Is there anything better than a lazy breakfast? No. Our apartment overlooks a little lake and I have to be honest, eating breakfast out there is kind of a happily ever after moment.  Every time.  I know.  I'm pitiful, but it's true. 

Moving on... The real key to good French toast is patience.  You have to wait for your bread to get a little bit stale.  Then, you have to wait for the egg mixture to set. Lastly,  you have to wait for the bread to soak up the mixture. But, oh is it worth the wait. I like to sprinkle my toast with confectioners sugar and sliced strawberries. Berries are just always a good idea. 

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