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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easy green smoothie bags

I'm still full! Stuffed! Two turkey dinners left me utterly and completely stuffed.  In the best possible way, of course. :)  So, Monday morning I whipped not just one smoothie, but a whole weeks worth. These little smoothie bags make my daily smoothie regime much easier.  Instead of prepping all the ingredients each morning, I just dump one of these little bags in the blender and add a wee bit of oj and coconut milk.  Easy peesy. 

The secreat ingredient to these little bags is the green ice cubes.  They do require some prep, but they are packed with green goodness... kale, spinach, and a touch of mint.  A regular detox cocktail. By whipping up green juice and freezing it in ice cube trays, I don't have to worry about my greens going bad and I can pack more greens into my smoothie. Which I certainly need these week.  Here's to detox. 

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banana coffee cake

This time of year is all about traditions.  I am kind of a tradition freak. My parents made everything so perfect during the holidays and even just during a normal week that I felt a little lost once I got out of the house. I wanted to hold on to those traditions, but in a different house with a different person, not every tradition fit. But after the ones that didn't work gave way, we were able to develop our very own traditions. 

One of our favorite traditions is Sunday morning breakfasts. Jason works most Saturdays, so we try to savor Sunday mornings.  Pajamas, fresh coffee, newspapers, the works.  And of course, breakfast.  Sometimes, we head to a diner and sometimes we eat in.  I made this coffee cake last weekend and Jason loved it.  I served it alongside a ham and cheese omelet and he just about died.  I have to admit, it was pretty darn delicious. Warm, cinnamon-y, and with just the right touch of chocolate, I'm sure this number will be a regular on crisp Sunday mornings. 

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