I keep this blog ‘o mine up and running for a number of reasons:
1. Around Thanksgiving every year the Yes, You Can Make Pumpkin Pie Without Evaporated Milk post gets a lot of web traffic, and frankly, that just cracks me up. (The traffic to that post basically pays for the annual web hosting fees to keep this whole thing going, so why the heck not.)
2. The Intermittent Fasting post continues to be visited regularly as well, and I still love IF and want to keep that post up too.
I’m calling these cookies “healthy” because a.) they aren’t loaded with sugar and b.) they contain squash.
(Well, pumpkin – but pumpkin is a squash last time I checked. Consider this your homeschooling lesson of the day.)
They are sweetened only with banana and a little maple syrup, which makes them low enough in sugar that I feel I can throw the word “snack” into the title as well, while also keeping my conscience clear.
I whipped these together yesterday morning using this banana oatmeal cookie recipe as my starting point, subbing pumpkin for flour and using maple syrup instead of white sugar.
I’ve got another pumpkin recipe today, but please don’t be annoyed. I promise that I’m about to lay off the orange stuff for a while to ensure my hands stay on the paler side of normal this season.
I’ve had a hankering for granola, but every time I look at the ingredient list on the packages in the store and then look at the price, I sigh dramatically, throw my head back with my forearm over my brow and cry “Why, Granola? WHY?” (and then I look around the granola aisle and say “who said that? people in this store are crazy!”)
Here we go. The season of Everything Pumpkin has arrived. Are you ready? Do you have your pumpkin game face on? Pumpkin pie! Pumpkin spice lattes! Pumpkin lasagna! (Pumpkin lasagna?) I’m even ready to declare September “National Pester Your Mother to Make Pumpkin Muffins Month” because that’s exactly what my kids have been doing: pestering me to make pumpkin muffins.
OK gang, I’m ready. Let’s do this.
Today’s the end of Week 4 of my little Project Weight Loss here, and not much has changed from last week to this week.
Last week I weighed in at 143.8, today I weighed in at 143.6
Even if it’s not a lot of progress, it’s still progress. I’ll take what I can get! Today I’m celebrating the small victories.
1. the scale did not go up
2. I’ve put away the maternity jeans, I can once again fit into a couple of pairs of old jeans with a button and zipper!
2a. I didn’t have to lay down on the bed and hold my breath in order to zip them up
Today let’s be thankful for leftovers.
I made pumpkin pie this year! Until this week, the only thing I knew about pumpkin pie was that I liked to eat it.
Therefore, as a pumpkin pie newbie (and a girl without a lot of extra energy to spare right now), I decided to go with the tried and true recipe on the side of the can of Libby’s pumpkin puree.
And it looked simple enough. Pumpkin, sugar, spices, eggs… a can of evaporated milk?
Enchiladas for dinner tonight!
And they. were. awesome.
But guess what’s inside of them? Just guess!
Never mind, you won’t be able to guess. In fact, you won’t even believe me when I tell you.
OK fine, I’ll tell you.
In a minute.
First, let’s start with these little buggers. They played a big part of what made tonight’s meal so good.
While I’ve made my own enchilada sauce before, I did it a bit differently this time.
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
So I hurt my wrist.
I know. It’s always something, right? Left pointer finger. Left knee. Left wrist. What’s left?
I’m not even sure how I did it. I think it’s keyboard/ergonomics related, so I’ve changed some things up on my desk, but the pain went from “niggly” to “bad” to “awful” in a matter of days. Dr. Google suggested a wrist brace and it’s helping! The real doctor today said the same thing about the brace, but didn’t agree with my self diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome.
It’s simply that time of year.
I don’t usually buy flavored coffee, but for whatever reason, I decided to go for it this time. I think the Green Mountain Coffee Marketing Department totally sucked me in with their “Limited Edition!!” ploy. I can’t miss out! Throw it in the cart!! HURRY!
I’m such a sucker.
It’s too pumpkiny though, to the point of being nearly undrinkable.
I solved that pumpkin problem by buying a pound of regular and brewing a 1/4 pumpkin, 3/4 regular in our little 4 cup pot.
(Alternate – and perhaps more catchy? – Title: The One Where I Show You My Underwear)
(Took me a minute to decide.)
So!
White bean blondies aren’t the only thing you can bake to heat up your kitchen. Pumpkins are good for that too, especially first thing in the morning.
This pumpkin showed up in this week’s CSA share, and I swear, my first thought was “A pumpkin?? How on earth do you cook THAT?”
And then I reminded me that a pumpkin is just a squash.
Oh yeah.
More Mama’s Weeds
