The verdict: Yummy!

As promised, here is the paleo pumpkin muffin recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almond flour/meal
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend well.
3. Coat muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray (or use paper liners) and divide batter among six cups.
4. Bake for 32-35 minutes or until muffins are cooked all the way through.
5. Allow to cool before serving.

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This recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs, Carrots 'n' Cake.  This is one of the first blogs I started reading.  She is a crossfit woman and posts lots of yummy healthy recipes.  

They were okay... I'm definitely not a big muffin fan in the first place, but if I were craving one, these would be a much healthier option!  Very nutty :)  

Even a caveman can do it...

Goodmorning!

Have any of you thought about trying the Paleo diet?  Michael did Crossfit a lot while he was living in Tacoma Washington stationed at Ft. Lewis.  He raved about it!  If you want to know more about the workout, here is the website.  Basically, there is a work out of the day (WOD) and you go to a crossfit gym and do the workout in a group.  The workouts last only 15-25 min, but it's high intensity!  The workouts can consist of anything really including lifting things, running, flipping tires, pushups, weighted squats, dead lifts, pull ups, ect. I can't really get more detailed than that... I'm not a crossfitter (yet!).

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So along with crossfit, they promote a diet called the Paleo diet.  Simply put, it's a caveman diet.  If a caveman can't eat it, you cant.  Soooo-- no bread, grains, oils, dairy, legumes and LOTS of whole foods like fruits, veggies, meats, almonds.

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Anyways!  Michael and I are going to attempt to do the caveman thing when we are together again, settled, and plugged into a crossfit gym!  Can't wait for lots of grilling of meats and veggies every night :) Speaking of my husband...

He left for HAWAII on Monday!  He is currently on the island and exploring!  He has the whole week of, so I've been getting pictures like this

and this...

Yeah.  Did I mention that it was 37 degrees yesterday morning here in Bethesda?  It's pure TORTURE hearing all of these things that he is doing out there by himself!!  I miss him SO much and I just wish we could both be out there exploring together... oh well, soon enough right?  2.5 more weeks :) :) :)

SO, back to paleo.  I'm attempting to make some paleo friendly muffins this morning since I have some time.  Here are the ingredients:

I'll be back later with the review and recipe.  Hope you're starting your day right as well!  Until next time, Aloha :)

<3 Mika

OBX or Bust

So, we went to the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina this weekend!  It's almost time for Michael to leave for Hawaii (2.5 more weeks!), and his family rented a HUGE beach house this past weekend so we could have a last Cryer gathering before we leave :)  Family, FOOD, beach, hot tub... doesn't get much better!

I was so happy that ALL of the Cryers were able to attend!  Michael is the oldest of 4 sibling-- so with all of the Cryer kids and their significant others (8) plus Mom and Dad Cryer (2) and Mema, we had 11 people in the house.  We all sat down together for dinner every night, walked on the sand dunes, and mostly just enjoyed everyones' company for the weekend that we were there.  We didn't want to leave!  I believe the pictures speak for themselves...

It was soooo hard to go back to work on Monday after this weekend... Oh well.  So long Atlantic Ocean!  We'll be hanging in the Pacific for the next 3 years :)

Oscars: the Highlights!

Hello from Ft. Benning Georgia!

I'm here visiting Michael on my weekend off (since I'm a nurse and I work rotating shifts, I have to work every other weekend).  It'll probably be my last time visiting him here at Ft. B since he's leaving for Hawaii soon(March 26th!) and pretty much all of my weekends are full with work or family stuff before I move in April (yeeeeeeah, soooo close!).

Anyways, I love coming here to see him because it's usually just good quality time with each other.  I feel like whenever he comes to see me in Bethesda (close to home for both of us), we have so much family and friends to see and spend time with that the weekend just flies by before we ever get any down time.  Here in Georgia, most of Michael's friends have left post already, and we have no family here, so the time is just for US! 

Here is how we spend a lot of it...

 

Couch time!  

This weekend has definitely been a good one :)  The highlights?  Going on bike rides and watching the oscars.  Michael made an AMAZING dinner of steak and yummy pasta salad... he always feeds me well when I come to see him.  

While we ate, we watched the Oscars!  We actually saw a lot of the movies that were nominated (Tree of Life, The Artist, The Descendants, The Help, and Bridesmaids).  No awards show is complete without a little friendly betting.  If Michael guessed the most winners, I had to do the dishes.  If I got the most, Michael would have to wash his hands whenever I tell him to.  AND, I WON!  YESSSSSS... I'm a clean freak and Michael doesn't wash his hands 10,000X a day like I do :) 

Headed back to Bethesda in the AM... Bye for a few weeks Michael... I'll leave you with a silly picture.

Ohhhh soooo true... goodnight!