Pep in Your Step!

Life is meant to be lived, enjoyed, and experienced - not merely endured. So, today I bring you two things to  escalate the fulfillment and kick up the pep in your step!

First, Read THIS:

"My wife, Harriet, and I love riding our bicycles. It is wonderful to get out and enjoy the beauties of nature. We have certain routes we like to bike, but we don’t pay too much attention to how far we go or how fast we travel in comparison with other riders.

However, occasionally I think we should be a bit more competitive. I even think we could get a better time or ride at a higher speed if only we pushed ourselves a little more. And then sometimes I even make the big mistake of mentioning this idea to my wonderful wife.

Her typical reaction to my suggestions of this nature is always very kind, very clear, and very direct. She smiles and says, “Dieter, it’s not a race; it’s a journey. Enjoy the moment.”

How right she is!

Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey. I don’t go cycling with my wife because I’m excited about finishing. I go because the experience of being with her is sweet and enjoyable.

Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end?

Do we listen to beautiful music waiting for the final note to fade before we allow ourselves to truly enjoy it? No. We listen and connect to the variations of melody, rhythm, and harmony throughout the composition.

Do we say our prayers with only the “amen” or the end in mind? Of course not. We pray to be close to our Heavenly Father, to receive His Spirit and feel His love.

We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect. “This is the day which the Lord hath made … ,” the Psalmist wrote. “Rejoice and be glad in it.”⁶ 

  ^{[For full talk, go here.]}

^{Second, Make THESE:}

PB ‘Nana Cream Bites 

by Nom!Nom!Nom!

I hes­i­tate to even call this a recipe, as it’s so basic it’s really more of a guide­line. These cold morsels of nom­ness con­tain the tri­fecta of fla­vor– banana, peanut but­ter and choco­late, mak­ing for a lux­u­ri­ous ice cream-esque bite. You can always sub­sti­tute a dif­fer­ent nut butter.

2 large bananas
1/4 cup nat­ural peanut but­ter
1/2 cup choco­late chips
2 tbsp-1/4 cup milk of choice [I used coconut oil]

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper or parch­ment. Slice bananas into coins about 1/2–3/4 inch thick. Spread a lit­tle dol­lop of peanut but­ter on top of each one. In a small bowl, com­bine the choco­late chips and milk (remem­ber, less is more). Microwave in 15 sec­ond incre­ments until you can whisk them together. You want it to be a dipable con­sis­tency, not spread­able. Add a splash more milk if nec­es­sary. Dip the banana chunks using a fork as a lit­tle chocolate-coating fork­lift, dip­ping them into the melted choco­late. Place choco­late coated bananas on the pre­pared sheet and place in freezer until com­pletely frozen (3–5 hours). Remove frozen banana chunks from the sheet and store in a freezer container.

Read, create, enjoy! Finding joy in the everyday moments is what makes this journey worth every step.

Finger-Licking Good!

We read books in our house. A lot of books. If I sit down, it's as if I've signalled to my boys that I am craving a good long reading session, and so they oblige by bringing grabbing all the books off the shelf and hauling them over to my empty lap. We sit and devour each and every story, sometime reading the same book several times before moving on, until the boys are tired and needing to move to re-energise their sweet little bodies. While reading our 'Magic School Bus' collection [I have to say, they are brilliant books! Darius can tell you all about ants, bees, bullfrogs and more simply because of the Magic School Bus!] we grew tired at the end of our beehive exploration adventure. At the end of that particular story, the class makes honey buns and Darius thought that was a fabulous way to cap off our reading adventure as well! The only problem with his plan was I had just finished baking bread right before our marathon reading session, and I had no desire to bake buns sorry kiddo!  A friend of mine was going through a bit of a challenge, so I suggested we still head to the kitchen, but that we create something new and delicious! My sweet boy met my proposition with enthusiasm, and we skipped off to the kitchen! I felt like a mad scientist creative genius as we measured, crushed, and added more to the bowl. What resulted is a sweet and salty, creamy and crunchy, mostly healthy bit of heaven. My sweet friend gave them high praise and approval, so I thought it only fair to share the recipe and see what you think!

Pretzel Crunch Cookie Bars

an original recipe created by me!

6 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 c. all natural crunchy peanut butter*
1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c. dark chocolate chips
3/4 c. broken pretzel pieces

3/4 c. dark chocolate, melted

4 tbsp raw peanuts, chopped
4 tbsp pretzel pieces, chopped

For the Base: mix the first batch of ingredients listed in a big bowl. Mix until all ingredients are thoroughly incorporated, then pour into a foil lined, and greased, 8x8 pan.

For the Chocolate Layer: Next, melt the chocolate in 10-20 second increments in the microwave, making sure to stir the chocolate often. Do not melt the chocolate past the creamy stage as the chocolate will 'seize,' becoming a thick, grainy like consistency. Pour the creamy melted chocolate over the base, spreading the chocolate evenly.**

For the Topping: sprinkle the chopped pretzels and peanuts over the melted chocolate, then put in the fridge for at least 3 hours to set.

Once it is all set up, cut into bars [I cut 28 squares out of the batch] and store in an airtight container in the fridge. Enjoy!

*natural crunchy peanut butter is a must! The crunchiness adds to the texture of the bars, and the purely peanut buttery goodness is out of this world good!

**if you want a clear division of layers, put the base layer in the fridge for a few hours before pouring melted chocolate over it. When both layers are creamy, they blend together a bit, but the blurring of lines is something that doesn't bother me one bit in this dessert!



Brand New

It's been almost a week since I last posted, [apologies] but I have a VERY good excuse. We moved into our BRAND NEW house on Tuesday, and we've been busy making it our home! Along with all the boxes to move, unpack, sort and organize, comes the marking of territory [so to speak] that my little men must do around their new neighborhood. This process entails hunting down the best parks [there are so many to choose from!] scouting out the best water features [the lake wins in my books - the boys have yet to decide] and making friends left right and center. Why is it that children can make friends so easily??? Darius saw some kids at the park as we played on Saturday evening [and by kids, I mean three 11 year old girls who could care less about my sweet and precocious three year old boy] and stated very matter of fact, "there's some kids Mom! I'm going to go talk to them." Then off he strode to those girls, who proceeded to ignore him until he lost interest in them and challenged me to a race. Thank goodness he's such a resilient little man!

Anyways, with all the bustling about, blogging has been put on the back burner. Now that I'm feeling a little more settled, and am starting to see the light as the boxes empty and retreat to the basement, I actually took the time to go for a run in what feels like FOREVER! My Amazing Husband held onto the monitor [and dutifully folded laundry - thanks Hon!] while I hit the streets for my inaugural run in our new digs. After not running for weeks [packing, cleaning, and moving out take up LOADS of time - time I usually reserve for me haha] it felt good to pound out a 45 minute run with only minor hiccups.

Here's the breakdown:

Distance: unknown
Time: 45 minutes
Speed: actual unknown/ perceived 6.5 mph range

Making the transition from mainly treadmill running back to gravel, dirt and pavement is oddly nice and relaxing. I forgot how distracting the flashing display can be, and how meditative nature [even with roads, cars, and houses crowding around me] can be.

Do you prefer to run on a treadmill? Or do you enjoy fresh air and nature - even if you're in the middle of a concrete jungle?

After my run I enjoyed a large organic carrot and homemade hummus. Hummus is soooo incredibly easy to make that it should be in everyones fridge at all times [personal opinion...but still very true.] My favorite hummus flavors are roasted garlic and roasted red pepper, but I always start with the same base. For those of you who aren't sure where to start with making their own hummus, but whom now believe that maybe they should have some in their fridge right now, here's how to make it happen!

Super Easy Hummus

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed clean
2tbsp tahini [sesame seed butter]
4tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
garlic to taste
spices or roasted vegetables to taste, as desired

Blend all the above ingredients in the blender until a consistent, spreadable dip is achieved. Now enjoy!

There are loads of variations on this basic hummus recipe, and while I haven't tried this one I'm dying to try Cheri's Peanut Butter Hummus she posted recently. Doesn't it look Divine?

Heaven on Earth

While getting creative in the kitchen I made a little discovery that I have now made a few times. No joke. It is a gluten free, dairy free, egg free little number that has my taste buds singing! I started out with the express purpose of creating a muffin that I could share with family and friends in the gluten free camp.  Reports have been coming back that this 'muffin' is the BEST gluten free treat on earth - and while I am not one to brag, I think they might be right! Without further ado, I give you a little piece of heaven on earth!

 Chocoholic Banana Dream Muffins


3/4 cup rice flour
1 cup black bean flour
1/2-2/3 cup cocoa powder
3 large ripe bananas
1 cored apple
1 tsp vanilla
3 tsp baking soda
3/4 c honey
1 cup peanut butter
plus dark chocolate chips for sprinkling on top (I used roughly 2/3 cup)




Preheat oven to 300F convection (or 325F if not on convection)


Place banana and apple in vitamix and blend together.


Once pureed, add the honey, vanilla, and peanut butter and mix.


When all wet ingredients are completely mixed together, start adding the dry ingredients, stopping to scrap down sides and pulse mixer often.


Scoop mixture into lightly sprayed muffin tins (I use a canola oil cooking spray, you can use what you like best!) and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Place the muffin tin into the oven, and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean.


Let muffins cool on wire rack for five minutes, then gently lift muffins out of tins and onto rack to cool completely. Enjoy warm, cool, or frozen - they're amazing just about every way we've tried!

Have you made any yummy discoveries lately? Have you begun your Canadian Thanksgiving recipe search? I know I have!