Bread with the Brisels

It's zucchini season! My favorite way to enjoy this vegetable is baked into a warm, cinnamon-y muffin. This summer I've been really working to decrease the amount of refined sugar in my diet, and I came across this recipe. The muffins are still plenty sweet and bonus: they passed my two toughest critics, Sammy and Jack. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try!  Zucchini Muffins  Serves: Makes approximately 36 mini muffins  Ingredients:  1/3 cup melted coconut oil  1/2 cup real, good quality maple syrup  2 eggs 2/3 cup buttermilk (I took 2/3 cup of milk and added 2 teaspoons lemon juice to sour it)  2 tsp vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour  1 tsp ground cinnamon  1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda  1/2 tsp salt  1 1/2 cup grated zucchini, with excess moisture squeezed out  Directions:  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get a muffin pan ready. I like to use a mini muffin pan.  2. Mix together...

Happy Monday! When you're a teacher in the summer, and your husband has a non-traditional work schedule, days of the week feel made up. But - for the sake of our schedule I have to keep some things straight to keep us organized. 😅 This week we have swim lessons and football camp bringing structure to our days, which is perfect timing! Sammy's just reached the point of summer break where he's starting to get a little bored of home, so he'll be excited (and tired!) after his activities this week.  Something that I've realized as a parent is that sometimes a change in the location of toys can make them seem brand new. On Saturday I took our collection our Magnatiles outside because... ...garage doors are magnetic. 😊 The boys acted like they had never played with them before in their lives and played happily for over an hour! Parenting win. Here's an easy idea for you to try this week if you're in need of something fresh! 

  It's Friday!  I'm linking up with Andrea and Erika to share some favorites from the week. Here we go!  Easy favorite was our Fourth of July! We had a festive day - we went to our parade in the morning and hosted a party in the evening. Look at these cute boys!  Big fan of fireworks and sparklers over here.  Sammy's favorite from the week was the visiting frogs and axolotls to our local library. He has big dreams of owning an axolotl - he's done extensive research 😉 - but we've come to the conclusion that the age of 14 seems reasonable to own an axolotl. Haha. He was very excited to see them up close and in person!  Our slow mornings of a cold brew + the boys playing in the basement are my FAVORITE for sure! I love these days.  Roo's favorite was easily sitting on my lap while I read outside. If you see a dachshund shaped tan line on my legs, no you don't. 😅 I have been eating this  High Protein Chicken Salad  on repeat for lunches! It i...

Here I go again, referencing protein. 😅 This recipe has been in my breakfast rotation lately and I love it! One serving will pack over 30 grams of protein and leaves me feeling full until lunch. I think this recipe will be a favorite when it's back to school season. Easy and satiating, win!  Cookie Dough Overnight Oats Serves: 1 Ingredients:  1/2 cup rolled oats 1 tablespoon chia seeds 1/2 cup skim milk  1 scoop of Clean Simple Eats Cookie Dough Protein Powder  Mini Chocolate chips to top Directions:  Mix your oats, chia seeds, skim milk and protein powder in a resealable container. Shake really well and store in your fridge overnight. When you're ready to serve top with a few mini chocolate chips. Yum! 

Happy Wednesday! Today I'm sharing just a few ways I'm trying my best to savor the season of SUMMER. All too soon, I'm going to be packing Sammy's backpack for another year of school, so I'm trying my very best to really enjoy these fleeting summer days. Here's a little bit of what I do to help me savor summer! 1. Slow Mornings  I try really hard for us to not leave the house before 10:00AM in the summertime. Haha. During the school year our mornings are busy, so I love mornings where we can linger in our pajamas and let the boys enjoy their breakfast and Curious George on the couch. Which brings me to... 2. Early Mornings I am an early bird so I really enjoy my quiet time in the morning while the others are asleep. Lately I try to get up by 5:20 to pray, journal, and do travel work, that way I have the rest of the morning ahead of me and my cup is full!  3. Easy Dinners Why do dinners seem so much easier in the summer? Likely we're grilling up chicken, slic...

This summer - more than ever - I am seeing the sweetest little friendship between Sammy and Jack. They absolutely have moments where they bicker, but they are also playing and giggling together more than ever.  Here are some of my favorite brother moments from the summer so far:  1. Stuffed Animals  The boys know the names of each other's stuffies and it CRACKS ME UP. The other day Jack said, "Bubba, you want me to get penguini?" So funny!  2. Willingness to Play Whenever the boys play together they have the silliest games. Sammy LOVES being the leader and Jack is all too willing to participate.  3. Water Play Nothing thrills the Brisel boys more than when there is a hose functioning on "jet power." They both love to take the hose, power it up and spray each other. It's the little things!  That's all today for this Tuesday. XX 

Here I am, joining the rest of the internet in making sure I am consuming enough protein day to day. 😅 I LOVE a chicken salad, especially during the warm months, so I found a way to add a little extra protein and make it a bit more satiating. I estimate that if you divide this recipe into two servings, each serving will have about 40 (!) grams of protein.  Protein Chicken Salad Serves: 1-2 people Ingredients:  1 chicken breast, cut into small cubes 1 cup of cottage cheese, blended  1 tablespoon of dry ranch seasoning  Salt & Pepper  *Note: If I had celery and green onion, I would have diced some up and added it for extra crunch and flavor. I didn't have any, and it was just fine without!  Directions:  In a mixing bowl, combine all of your ingredients and mix well.  Let chill until you're ready to serve & eat. I liked it with vegetables & Jackson Sweet Potato chips! 

  It's Friday, and it's the 4th of July Eve! Sounds pretty good to me. 😉 I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some favorites from the week.  I'm dipping my toe back into blog world because, well, I am missing documenting my kids' childhoods. It brings me such joy to go back and read through memories from years before documented in old posts, so I'm determined to hang out here a bit more consistently to share life.  This summer, I've got a seven (7?!) year old and a new 3 year old. Someone the other day was talking about what a difference a year makes from summer to summer and it is so true. For example, this year Jack and Sammy love to go play together. Last year, both boys required constant supervision. Last year Jack hated going to the pool, and this year he is a little fish! This is a BIG favorite for me! Last weekend Sammy participated in a "Run Hit Pitch" competition and won first place for hitting in his age division. He was so ...

  I've shared before that I am an early bird, but I definitely feel like a much happier early bird in the summer months. I love when I can take my time in the morning and get a few things done to feel productive ahead of the day starting. Today I thought I'd share a few rituals that I do every morning that make my day start oh so happy.  1. Earlier alarms.  During the summer months, I've been getting up at around 5:20AM. The rest of my house starts stirring around 6:30 (on days that Dustin works) and around 7:30 (on days Dustin is off). This gives me at least an hour to have to myself and that time has become sacred.  2. Ice roller and iced coffee.  Every morning I love to use an ice roller on my face when I first wake up. Mine is nothing fancy - I got it on  Amazon  but it feels so heavenly on your face in the morning. I also love iced coffee during the summer months. A glass of coffee + a little s'mores Chobani creamer makes me happy in the morning....

  It's July! Why did May seem to last seventeen years, but June flew by so quickly? I'd like this summer to slow down a bit.  I told my cousin yesterday that I successfully hibernated for about the first three weeks of summer break (was absolutely necessary after this school year, haha), and now I've reached the "organize, purge, deep clean" phase of summer break. In the last week we've done lots of house projects that have been half finished for awhile. It feels so good to get things done!  Looking ahead to this new month, I'm excited for a couple of things.  1. More pool time. We haven't been to the pool a ton because June really wasn't that warm. Jack has been excited to go too, so it's been fun to take him. Looking forward to more of that this month!  2. More house projects. We crossed the really big things off in June, but I have a few more things I'd like to get done this month before we head back to school in August.  3. More slow mo...