Carb cycling + Protein Balls

Ya’ll why is trying to eat healthy and lose a few pounds so freaking hard?  If you remember last spring I embarked on a journey to get healthy again. Losing my “baby weight” from Max was damn  near impossible. I tried anything and everything and nothing really worked. I don’t know if it was my “older “ age but I was so frustrated and down. When you are petite every little pound shows! Plus my dad was a very bad diabetic (heart attack in his 40’s, leg amputation in 50’s, legally blind in 50’s, stroke and gone from us by 56). Diabetes is terrible! Not only on my dad but for the whole family. I was 16 , sister 14, and brother 7 when my dad had his FIRST heart attack. Guys it is something that never leaves you. I remember that day like it was yesterday and not 22 years ago . The point to this story is I want to do everything in my power to be the healthiest person I can be for my kiddos and husband. My goal isn’t to be skinny (that was my obsession in my teens and 20’s) . I won’t lie though do I want to drop 20 lbs and be at my “ideal” weight? Hell yes ! But being super skinny isn't cute at my age. It makes you look haggard! Who wants to look older than ya already are lol. Not me!! Being healthy and not being a size 2 (because let’s face it I would be sooo skinny but it would not be a good look on me!!) is not my goal. Nor is it what I want to teach my daughter . I am thankful that her favorite foods are healthy ones! But that’s all her! I don’t want to push too strongly at such a young age . Plus she is super active. Now that I am off track lol. Let's get back to carb cycling. You can read more about carb cycling Here. I love love my Facebook group that is on this journey with me! Our coach, Stacey, is amazing! Every day she posts a live video , inspiration , recipes, and more. I thrive on the encouragement and bible verses she provides and the other group members as well.  I took a several month break from doing it and was so excited to start back last week. I gained about 5 pounds back from what I lost last year. Part of this journey is learning to give yourself grace. I struggle with this so much. I can beat myself down with negative thoughts til I want to break. The sisterhood of this group who is there to cheer you on when you have a great day or a crappy day is awesome!! If you are interested in learning more about carb cycling feel free to message me and I can send you Stacey’s way.

This past weekend I made some protein balls!! Omg! They are soooo good! One of the girls in our group posted a recipe for protein balls. The hardest part

about making these are wanting to eat the whole batch lol. These are perfect for “feast days”! Also, my kids love them and bonus they are peanut free. We have a hard time finding protein bars that Mere can eat because of her peanut allergy. 

Protein Balls

1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond butter (I substituted sunbutter due to Mere’s nut allergy)
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup raw honey
1/4 cup ground flax seed

To make just combine all your ingredients into a large mixing bowl. 

Roll out teaspoon sized balls on baking sheet (mine were bigger lol). Freeze balls until set (about an hour). Enjoy and keep leftovers in ziplock baggie in fridge or freezer!!

Christmas + Cinnamon Roll French Toast Bake

I hope ya'll had a holly, jolly Christmas! I must say for us this was one of the best Christmases in a LONG time. Too many times I have let the stress level of Christmas Eve and Day get the best of me. Also, because of that and other issues the hubby and I have not exactly had the best Christmases. We put on a good front for the kids and family but on the inside we want to strangle each other. lol! No lie we probably could have on several of our past Christmases. But this year was amazing because we were actually happy. It was such a great feeling too. Even the kids bickering with each other didn't get us in a bad mood. For me this was one of the best gifts just us being happy....2nd of course to those UK tickets! ha.

On Christmas Eve we spent time with my family in Augusta at my brother and sister in law's house. We have outgrown my momma's small apartment. My kids love getting time to play with their cousins. My momma spoiled all the grandkids and us as well!! My bestie came down to see us with her little boy so we could exchange our gifts as well. Max was excited to get to see his bestie too!! We thought about staying and going to Christmas Eve mass with them at the church I grew up in but Mere wanted to go to ours so she could wear her new Christmas outfit lol. We had planned on going to midnight mass but we were all getting tired so we arrived back at our house in time to change our clothes and make it to the 5 o'clock service. I am so glad we did too. Not sure we would have made it to midnight mass. Walking out of church and seeing the snow was a magical feeling. (and I am not a cold snow type person). After mass the kids were ready to put on their pj's and get settled into bed so santa could come. Nick and I enjoyed the peace and quiet watching a Christmas movie and a bottle of wine.

My momma, siblings, in laws, and grandkids

all the girl grandkids

all the grandkids

Christmas day the kids woke us up at 6 am....yikes!! I tried getting them to go back to sleep and just wait another hour but they were having none of it. So we all got up to see what Santa had brought. I was worried the kids might be disappointed in their gifts. Santa wasn't bringing as much since our NYC trip was part of their gift from us. They each had 6 presents to open form us (Santa doesn't wrap!!) and were thrilled with their new Nike gear ! I was spoiled by Nick with lower arena Uk tickets, TOMS slippers, Loft giftcard, UK sweatshirt, and some Victoria Secret that I will keep secret lol. The kids got me a new pink Yeti. The kids each picked out 2 things to give their daddy out of all the stuff I bought. Mere cracked me up because she had to give him his bourbon!! After I cleaned up the disaster from opening all the gifts I made Breakfast. I used a recipe I saw floating around on facebook. I was a little nervous on how it was going to turn out. But ya'll it was DELICIOUS!! I will share the recipe at the end of the post! We drove back to Augusta to my aunt's house to celebrate with all the extended family! The kids crashed once we got home. I could have used another day off today to recover but back to work I go!! Have a great week!!

Max's favorite gift: cordless vacuum. My boy loves to clean and vacuum!

CINNAMON ROLL FRENCH TOAST BAKE

I found the recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tubes refrigerated grand cinnamon rolls (10 rolls total, the big kind)
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup maple syrup, divided
• frosting from the cinnamon rolls, warmed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Pour melted butter into 13x9-inch (3-quart) baking dish.
3. Cut dough into 8 rounds (if it's not already segmented into rounds) and place the cinnamon rolls into the bottom of the baking dish. Set icing aside.
4. In medium bowl, beat eggs.Add in cream, cinnamon and vanilla until well blended.
5. Pour egg mixture over rolls, it's okay if it completely covers the roll
6. Pour 1/2 cup maple syrup over the rolls and sprinkle with pecan bits.
7. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Pour the extra 1/2 cup of maple syrup over the cooked rolls and drizzle with the warmed icing.
9. Enjoy!

OMG! It was sooo good!! I will admit I was mixing the ingredients together and I accidently dumped the cinnamon on top of the rolls! I was able to spread it out and save them lol. I normally do something dumb like that while making stuff. Since Christmas has passed would be great to make ahead of time for New Years Day morning!