Tasty Tuesday: Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sunday I was finally able to celebrate Bradley's birthday after not seeing him for three weeks since he's been in Serbia!

More on our sweet time together tomorrow :)

Today I want to share with you this piece of divine deliciousness.

Bradley's favorite flavor is mint chocolate chip (very important girlfriend information).

This flavor, however, is most often found in ice cream and milkshakes.  I couldn't exactly drive for two and a half hours in July with frozen milk in my car, so I found this recipe for mint chocolate chip cookies (via Pinterest, of course).

Here's my altered version:

Ingredients:

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix

1/2 cup Smart Balance Buttery Spread, softened (or butter)

1/2 teaspoon mint extract

1 egg

5 drops of green food color

 1 cup dark chocolate chips

3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 Andes mint per cookie (the recipe makes 24)

Directions:

1.  Mix the sugar cookie mix, buttery spread, extract, egg, and food color together in a mixing bowl.

2.  Stir in the dark chocolate and semi sweet chocolate chips (not the Andes mints).

3.  Scoop 24 dough rounds an inch or two apart on two baking sheets.

4.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12.5 minutes.

5.  Let cool for 5 minutes.

6.  Gently press a single Andes mint into the top of each cookie.

If you want to add some extra sweetness, write down a certain number of reasons why you're glad someone you love was born, cut out each of the reasons, tape them to toothpicks, and stick one toothpick in the middle of each cookie :)

Tasty Tuesday: Banana Quinoa Breakfast Spread

Late last week I was searching the interwebs for a simple breakfast recipe with bananas, oatmeal, and quinoa.  I never found one.

So I decided to think for myself and create my own!

Experimental baking makes me nervous, so I made a breakfast spread!

Ingredients:

2 bananas

1 cup rolled oats

3/4 - 1 cup uncooked quinoa

~ 1 1/2 tbs honey

Extremely Complicated Directions:

Mash bananas;

peel bananas;

combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.

I later decided to throw in a handful of dried cranberries to the mix.

It was a good decision.

This spread is great on a toasted bagel.

Or just by the spoonful :)

Smell the Roses: Lovey's Market

Today I'm linking up with Jessica from Lovely Little Things for this week's Smell the Roses task:

Visit a place you've never been.

After work Wednesday night, I had an hour and a half to kill before I needed to be at a college small group.  I decided to try a local health store called Lovey's Market.

I walked in and made a beeline for the salad bar.

It did not disappoint.

Kale and edamame, quinoa salad, ginger tofu, shaved carrots, and tortellini.

I was on the phone with Bradley since it was midnight in Serbia, and therefore his actual birthday.  After we hung up I wrote down the twenty-two and a half reasons why I'm glad he was born.

This is only half of the store.  Beyond that orange wall are aisles and aisles of delicious organic goodness!

I am so glad I checked out this new place and will definitely be back again!

High Five for Friday!

It's Friday!
Which means one more week spend with my family, one more week until I see Bradley and my best friends who are overseas spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, and one LESS week for me to get prepared to move into my apartment--eek!

But it's Friday, which calls for me to reflect on how awesome of a week it was:

I'm linking up with Lauren for High Five for Friday!

ONE.

Saturday morning my sister, Ashley and I had a coffee date.  Coffee dates are my fave thing to do. Especially when they're downtown.

We went to Port City Java and talked, laughed, and read.

And afterward we went shopping and found some awesome deals...and discovered just how eclectic downtown Wilmington is.

TWO.

I made this banana quinoa spread Tuesday morning for breakfast.

It was so good, I had some with dinner that night, and every breakfast since.

Be on the lookout for a new recipe post on Tuesday :)

THREE.

I've been eating up Romans lately...and chapter 8 hit my type-A, results-oriented heart like a ton of bricks.

FOUR.

Sunday lunch was spent with my family as per ush, and we went to Bluewater, a restaurant that is right on the Intracoastal Waterway.

The view from our table.

A and me.

FIVE.

Yesterday, Bradley turned 21!
I am SO excited to celebrate his birthday more when he returns from Serbia!

Happy Friday!

Wednesday Wellness: My Favorite Food

Blueberries are my favorite food.

Smoothies, muffins, bagels, frozen or straight out of the plastic grocery store produce container, I love 'em.

They are great with breakfast.

And in salads.

Not only are they delicious, they also love your body!

Some of the health benefits include:

~ 80 cals per cup

Virtually fat-free

Loaded with Vitamin C

Rich in dietary fiber

Packed with mangnese

They are one of the highest antioxidant activity-producing foods out there!

For more information.

Grab some bluebs and get to chompin'.

High Five for Friday!

Coming back from a fantastic, refreshing, worshipful weekend...I can't believe it's already Friday!

Hopefully these next few weeks will fly by...Bradley and two of my best friends, Bailey and Leah, along with other college students and leaders from our church are headed to Serbia, Kenya, and Taiwan to proclaim the victory and grace of Jesus Christ. 

I am thrilled for them and pleading with the Father that He would be glorified in, through, and before them.

Today I'm linking up with Lauren for High Five for Friday!

ONE.

Last Friday I went in to work at 7 am (this is not normal, PTL) and didn't have time to spend time with the Lord before I got there. This was my view when I walked in:

And no child arrived for THIRTY MINUTES.  I got to dwell in scripture and pray over the kids in the classroom.  It was such a sweet time.

TWO.

Saturday morning Bradley and I went to a coffee shop...for 3 hours :)

We're both talkers.

The coffee was black and the conversation was rich.

My favorite coffee date.

THREE.

Spending time with this little man Sunday morning before church while his awesome parents were doing ministry.

Happiest morning person I know.

And Bradley picked me up an hour later when G's dad came home.

We had an accidental few minutes in their home alone with G. 

Reading with a clean diaper :)

FOUR.

My family and I headed downtown on Wednesday to celebrate the 4th by watching a fireworks show over the battleship and Cape Fear River.

FIVE.

Magran brought Fudgscicles into our home on Wednesday.

This is how many are left:

Good things are happening.

Happy Friday!

High Five for Friday!

As much as I love summer and taking a break...I really do love a schedule.

Ahem, I make a schedule of my day, nearly minute-by-minute, the night before...tell me I'm not the only one.

...Yes, I realize this is sinful.

But I am thankful for my job and people in my life who keep me busy :)

Today I'm linking up with Lauren for H54F!

ONE.

Saturday my brother Trey and I had a marathon date.

Hibatchi heaven for lunch.

Do we like white sauce, or do we like white sauce?

Followed by Sweet Frog (frozen yogurt).

No pictures. We ate it too fast.

A long walk on the beach.

A walk around the loop at Wrightsville.

And then we were planning on going to a church service that night, but once we got there we realized they don't have church on Saturday nights, just Sunday. Oops.

JD online pulled through. 

TWO.

Before watching one of JD's sermons, I made this deliciousness:

Blueberry Broccoli Summer Salad

...Trey chose to eat this massive conglomeration of carbohydrates instead:

THREE.

I started an internship with the director of the counseling ministry at a local church in Wilmington on Tuesday!

The woman who I'm working under is such a gift.  Her love for solid theology matched with her gracious attitude is edifying and super convicting.

She gave me this book to read weep over.

FOUR.

Celebrating Magran's 75th birthday last night at Nana's house!
Can you tell by all the grandma pet names that we're southern?


Our family is MUCH better because of this woman.

FIVE.

I'm working at the daycare today from 7 am till 5 pm...

and then driving to Durham to see my best friends and hang out with all the City Proj kids and some incredibly wise couples!

I. Am. So. Excited. 

God has been so good to me through my community at the Summit.

Have a great Friday!

Tasty Tuesday: Blueberry Broccoli Summer Salad

Saturday evening, after Trey and I had a super fun and humbling date, we went home. 

(After trying to go to a church service that night, and then realizing that particular church has Sunday night services, not Saturday. Summit member mistake.)

I made a salad while Trey made the biggest fish taco I've ever seen.

Here's what I made:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup fresh blueberries

2/3 cup broccoli

1/2 cup carrots, chopped

1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped

2 egg whites

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil & balsamic organic vinaigrette 

(or any vinaigrette-based dressing of your choice)

First I chopped up the veggies:

Then I threw in the veggies and blueberries in a large bowl.

I removed the yoke from the two boiled eggs, chopped the whites, and threw them in the mix.

Finally I squeezed the lemon juice and drizzled the dressing over the salad, and gobbled half of it up!

You could easily double this recipe to feed a family of four.

Yes, this can be a meal--veggies, fruit, and protein!

Or it can be a great summer snack to reach for.

No more sugary cereal, Kayla.

Trey tasted it, and wasn't a fan to say the least...but he's a sixteen year old boy who eat fish tacos the size of his head.

Tasty Tuesday: Culturally Confused/Healthy Burrito

Friday night I came home from a ten-hour work day to a Mexican dinner.  Score.

However...Mexican food is typically in conjunction with extreme overeating and a load of regret.

So I decided to be proactive and before I gazed too long at a giant white flour tortilla and regular sour cream (fortunately, I don't eat red meat), and tried to make it healthy!

I grabbed these tortillas that I knew were hiding in the fridge just waiting to be chosen instead of their nutritionally and financially cheaper counterparts. 

Not too shabby.

I grabbed two (it was Mexican night, give me a break):

Opened a can of black beans, and distributed 2/3 of a cup of the beans onto the tortillas.

Sprinkled some feta cheese on top...

Now I know what you're thinking.  It does indeed seem like a Greek dish thus far.  I promise I indulged in the deliciousness of Mexican night.

Zapped it in the microwave for about a minute, and loaded some mild (I'm a wimp and unashamed) salsa and lettuce on top.

Yummy, filling, and not too much.

What are some tricks that you use to make Mexican food a little less...suicidal to your health?