Food: Almond butter banana chocolate chip muffins

Hey everyone it is the twins from pure2raw. Are you ever in need of a healthy recipe that is full of protein and fiber all while being a little sweet? And anything with chocolate makes it all better, right? Our recipe for your today is one that accomplishes it all.

 Growing up, banana chocolate chip combo has always been a favorite. And muffins are easy and portable that are great for people on the go, like we are. But we wanted more from our muffin. So we jazzed it up some by adding flax and almond butter for fiber and protein. 

 

Pure2raw recipe: Almond butter filled banana chocolate chip muffins prep time - 5 minutes bake time - about 30 minutes servings - 8 large muffins or 12-15 small muffins 

 Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (we used a gluten free blend)
• 1/4 cup flaxmeal
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp guar gum (only if using gluten free flours - helps hold it together)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 cups bananas (about 3-4)
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (or your favorite baking oil)
• 2/3 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup water or milk
• almond butter - about 1/2 -3/4 cup, will vary on how much you scoop on top of your muffins.

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  

Mash up bananas. Place sugar, oil, vanilla and mashed bananas into mixing bowl. Then stir in your chocolate chips and dry ingredients. End with your water, milk, or non dairy milk of choice. Stir till combined, batter will be thick. Scoop muffin batter into muffin liners. We used a large muffin pan, but can use a regular 12 muffin pan. *note it will make a few extra

  

Once muffin batter in liners, use a spoon to form a little dip on top. Then spoon in almond butter. 

  

Bake for 30-35 minutes. 

 

A great recipe for a healthy on-the-go snack or breakfast! Whip up this muffin next time you need a healthy on-the-go breakfast. This muffins is moist, dense and full of nutrition and does not lack in flavor.

  

Enjoy!  

-post and images by pure2raw

Design: Decorating with Green

It's almost springtime and I'm pretty sure a lot of you have green on your mind. Drew here, showing you one of my favorite color trends going on right now. I can't seem to get this brilliant shade out of my head.
 

I mostly think of Cassandra over at Coco Kelley whenever there is an abundance of kelly green. So, I guess you can say this is a dedication to her favorite color and all of you other kelly green lovers!
 

What's especially striking is when a room is filled with an assortment of green shades. The contrast between a mint and hunter green is so charming and lush, while a jade and chartreuse can have you yearning for more of this natural hue. Check out how these rooms portray green in its utmost perfection!
 

Tobi Fairley

Vintage Luxe

Shelterness.com

The Decorista

House Beautiful

        House Beautiful   

Want to turn your favorite room into a green room, now?

Here are some pretty spiffy pieces to get you started!
 

   

1) Branca Armchairs

2) Fotki Curtain Rod

3) Hive Modern Table Lamp

4) C Wonder Elephant Plate

5) Figuier Candle via Nordstrom

6) One Kings Lane Pillow

7) West Elm Rug

8) Moroccan Prestige Pouf via Amazon

9) Ikea Plant

10) Anthropologie Ikat Bowls via Real Simple 11) Fotki Box12) One Kings Lane Couch

-post by drew humphries

Food: Cookie Hearts

Hello Friends!!! It is Lori and Michelle from pure2raw. 


Today we have a super easy and super tasty Valentines Day inspired dessert!  It can be made ahead of time too! And another great part about this chocolate dessert is that there is no baking required, so whipping these cookie stacks can be done easily!

 

This dessert is made out of cashews for the cookies and is layered with a creamy banana cocoa mousse. Perfect for those chocolate lovers at heart like us. And any amount of chocolate screams Valentine's Day right? These may look difficult to do but promise they are not. An exquisite looking healthy dessert that anyone can do! Just our kind of recipe! We pulled out our Valentine day heart cookie cutters and decided to use 3 different sizes to make a cookie stack. 

We love desserts with layers. What about you? Recipe: Cashew Banana Cocoa Mousse Triple Cookie Heart Stacks prep-time: about 10 minutes the amount of cookies it makes varies depending on what size cookie cutter you use.  

Cashew Cookie Ingredients:

• 1 cup cashew pieces
• 1/2 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup agave nectar (maple syrup or honey would be fine, or even a few pitted dates)

Directions: Place all your ingredients into food processor and pulse till combined. You want the batter to be holding together but without being to wet. 

 

 

Place cashew cookie batter onto a cutting board and roll out. We used a rolling pin. You can use your hands (great for kids) 

 

Once the cookie dough is rolled out grab your cookie cutters and start cutting into the shapes.

 

Set aside the cookies. And the hard part now is trying not to eat them all.

   

Now time to make your banana cocoa mousse for the filling. Banana Cocoa Mousse Ingredients:

• 2 medium bananas
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• splash vanilla

Directions: Place bananas, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and vanilla into a blender and blend till smooth. Pour filling into a bowl and let sit in fridge for 5 minutes to set. This makes it easier to use on cookies for layering. Once you have everything ready time to begin building the stacks. We got three stacks with a few extra cookies. 

 

Place one cookie down on the bottom and top with some mousse. Repeat layers till you get a stack of 3 cookies. With our cookie stacks we did 3 different sizes of hearts so we started with the large cookie heart on bottom followed by the medium size heart and then topped with the smaller heart.

 

We feel with the 3 different sizes really helped give this dessert more personality and depth. But if you only have one size cookie cutter that is totally fine too. The stacks will still look amazing!

 

After building all our stacks we placed them in fridge and let them set for a few minutes. This makes them a little easier to eat. 

 

We hope you all enjoyed our Valentine Day inspired dessert! Making these cookie stacks are a perfect way to show that special someone how much you love them. 

 Enjoy! Lori and Michelle

DIY: Monogrammed Wine Corks

Hello beautiful Made by Girl readers!  Jenny here from the Swede Records.  Today's DIY project is for the wine lovers out there. Over the years, I've purposely accumulated an abundance of wine corks in hopes to one day make a project out of them.  

The day finally came when I was searching for a unique piece to put above my DIY Bar Cart and I came up with the idea.  My husband & I share the same initial so it was perfect. 

All you need for this project is: 

• Wine Corks
• Thick Poster Board 
• Scissors 
• Small Paint Brush
• Hanging Brackets 
• Glue 

Start off by neatly placing all the corks on the poster board in the styled letter of your choosing.  Play around with the calligraphy but make sure to place them as close together as possible.  

When your letter is exactly arranged to your liking, take a #2 pencil and carefully trace around the entire letter.  Next, push all the corks to the side and cut out your letter. 

Once the letter is evenly cut out, use a small paint brush to whisk the tacky glue onto the poster cut out and start placing your wine corks on immediately thereafter.  Be sure to save the most appealing wine corks for the outer rim.  Wait a 2-3 hours for it to dry after all the corks have been placed.   

Then simply hang the monogrammed letter in your favorite tasting area! Such a personalized & inexpensive piece of decor for your home.  If you decide to make one on your own, make sure to share it with Made by Girl!

-post by jenny may 

Food: White Bean Kale Soup

Hello again! Heather Freeman here from The Lovely Cupboard. I've got one of my favorite soup recipes to share with you today. I think that I could eat soup everyday in the winter and be totally content. There are so many reasons to love soup. In case you haven't entered this love affair, let me try to entice on soup's behalf:

-Warm soup in cold weather fights the chill.
-Hundreds of varieties=endless dinner possibilities
-Most soups taste better the second day. PLUS they freeze well if you make a large batch
-You can dip all sorts of lovely carbs into your soup (Bread sticks, rolls, crackers, pretzels...Need I go on?)

Today's soup employs buttery white beans, kale, and Italian sausage. It's a creamy and hearty soup that can stand alone as a main dish. Here's what you'll need to pick up at the store:
 

1. Brown 1 pound of Italian pork sausage over medium heat. Drain excess fat and set the meat aside for later.

2. Mince one shallot and finely chop three carrots. Saute both in olive or grape seed oil over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of dried winter savory (or your favorite herb). Rough chop one bunch of kale and set aside.

3. Add 1 cup of cream and 3 cups of water to the carrot and onion mixture in a large pot.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat and add three chicken or vegetable bullion cubes. Stir until dissolved.

4. Add meat and  simmer on low, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes.

5. Add the kale and one can of cannellini beans (drained and rinsed). Continue to simmer on low for 10 minutes. Serve with a salad (and maybe your carb of choice.)

One of the best things about this recipe? It is husband tested and approved. Score! 
 

-All images by Heather Freeman

Design: Amethyst

Hi again, fellow design enthusiasts!  

It's Brooke (While Jen is on her way to NYC) I'm here again to share with you my latest obsession: AMETHYST. I stumbled across this amazing image a few weeks back and can't get this semi-precious stone off my mind!

Using amethyst in decor is a little bit glam, a little bit rock and roll, a little polished and a little raw- the perfect combo for a statement accessory, if you ask me!  Here are some picks to add this look into your home and wardrobe:

1. Framed Mineral Art by Christopher Marley from The Pheromone Gallery

2. Purple Rock Crystal Ring from Fred Flare 

3. Raw Amethyst Cuff by Jody Candrian from Far Fetch

4. Amethyst Mineral Lamps from 1st Dibs

Mother Nature creates the most beautiful art, no?

{image via The Glam Lamb}

-post by brooke jones

DIY: Rope Bracelet

Hi everyone! It's Jenny Bevlin bringing you another DIY post. I love accessories, but I especially love jewelry! I've noticed lately that I have been buying a lot of bracelets and even making some myself. I find that making my own accessories is very rewarding. It's fun and you will love all the compliments you receive when you say you made it yourself! What you need to make this bracelet:

• Hot Glue Gun
• Flat Nose Pliers
• Scissors
• Rope trim
• Jewelry Jump Rings
• Jewelry Lobster Clasp
• Jewelry Ribbon Endings

Steps: 

Measure the rope around your wrist leaving about an extra inch longer than your wrist. Cut the rope. Make sure you add a dot of hot glue to the end of the rope you just cut to keep it from unraveling.

Cut 3 more strands the same length as the first strand. Make sure to add a dot of hot glue to ends of the rope each time you cut it.

Lay out the rope as shown in the photo above.

Overlap the rope as shown in the photo above.

Pull the end of the top rope under and up through the bottom rope.

Pull the ends of the rope tight.

Trim the ends so that they are all the same length. Make sure to add hot glue to the ends to keep them from unraveling.

Put the rope ends into the ribbon ending and close with the pliers.

Use the pliers to add the jump rings and lobster clasp.

- post and images by Jenny Bevlin