You can watch the video below to see how easy and fast this charcuterie board is to make!

Keep the ingredients simple!
Everything I used to make these date night Valentine’s Day charcuterie boards:

Thin Crisp Triangle Triscuits
Mary’s Gone Crackers Super Seed Everything Flavor
Raspberry Jam
Candy Hearts
Mini Chocolate Bars
3 Pepper Colby Jack Cheese
Cranberry Cheddar Cheese
Peppered Salami
Purple M&Ms
Grapes
Salted Mixed Nuts
Kombucha

Some of my favorite movies to watch on Valentine’s Day

1. The Proposal
2. You’ve Got Mail
3. My Best Friend’s Wedding
4. Pretty Woman
5. 13 Going on 30
6. Notting Hill
7. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days
8. Wedding Planner
9. 27 Dresses
10. The Best of Me
11. A Walk to Remember
12. The Last Song
13. Never Been Kissed
14. Dirty Dancing
15. Just go With it

More charcuterie boards you may love!

Question for you!

1. Are you a sweet and savory mixer?
2. Candy hearts or chocolate bars?
3. What is your favorite romcom?

I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend! The 4th of July weekend always makes it officially feel like summer. We had a great weekend celebrating with family and friends. My recap will be up sometime this week, along with a recipe for apple fritter cake! On Saturday morning, I had a few girlfriends over for a trail walk, followed by a DIY papaya boat board. When I used to take my trips to Hawaii, I had both girls visit me! We fell in love with fresh Hawaiian papaya (never the same on the mainland!) It grew on the trees at the house we were staying at, which made it even better! After playing tennis in the mornings, I started making papaya boats with homemade granola. 

Emily messaged me on Instagram after seeing one of my stories and said she wanted to make these again, so I told her I’d do it for us on Saturday! It was just as good as I remembered, and I need to start making these more!

Mix the chia seeds to thicken if you use a dairy-free yogurt. 

This recipe can easily be gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan! Just use a plant-based yogurt, and make sure to use certified gluten-free oats with granola. 

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Yogurt Papaya Boats with Homemade Crunchy Granola

Course Breakfast

Servings 4 Boats

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 2 Papayas
• 4 Cups Yogurt Any Kind (use a dairy-free to make this recipe vegan)
• 1 Cup Mango diced
• 1 Cup Fresh Berries
• 2 Bananas sliced
• 1 Dragon Fruit Sliced
• 2 Cups Homemade Granola
• 4 Tsps Chia Seeds

Instructions

• Slice the papayas in half and scoop out the seeds.
• Fill each half with one cup of yogurt.
• Top the yogurt with fruit, chia seeds, and granola.

  You can also mix the chia seeds with the yogurt.

Papaya is incredibly healthy!
 
I hope this post gives you a fun breakfast idea!

Questions for you!

1. Do you like papaya?
2. What is a food that only tastes good in your state! 
3. What is your favorite brand of yogurt?

I’m finishing up a few parts for my 2nd-trimester recap and will have that ready to go live tomorrow! I can’t believe the baby will be here in a few months. Life hasn’t slowed down one bit. Yesterday, I had to get my 1-hour GD glucose test. It was not as bad as I anticipated, but I did get a bit of a sugar crash in the afternoon. I wanted to curl up in a ball and sleep. The weird thing was that even though I had all of that sugar in my system, I was craving something sweet. I decided to make low-carb, and no added sugar muffins in the afternoon with a cup of decaf coffee. I used my lemon poppy seed muffins as my base and switched up a few ingredients to make them work.
These muffins turned out perfect, and the house smelled like a bakery when they were in the oven. They did not taste like they were made with almond flour or added sugar. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, made without butter, no added sugar, and made without flour! They also only have a few ingredients you most likely already have in your house. I’m so excited for you to try this recipe out! I included the video in this post so you can see how easy they are to make. Who doesn’t love a recipe you can make using one big bowl and no electric mixer?

Low Carb and Sugar-Free Muffin Ingredients

Almond Flour
Monkfruit (you can use any sugar replacement of your choice)
Lily’s No Added Sugar Dark Chocolate Chips
Eggs
Salt
Vanilla (also really delicious with almond extract)
Baking Powder
Unsweetened Almond Milk (you can use any milk substitute)

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Low Carb & No Added Sugar Chocolate Chip Muffins

These low carb and no added sugar chocolate chip muffins are gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, and low-carb. They are so simple and easy to make!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword gluten-free, dairy-free, no added sugar, sugar-free, low carb,, healthy, easy baking, chocolate chip muffins, kid-friendly, almond flour

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Resting Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 12 Muffins

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 Cups Almond Flour
• 1 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 Cup Monk Fruit
• 1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1 1/2 Tsps Vanilla
• 2 Large Eggs
• 1 Cup No-Added-Sugar Chocolate Chips

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350-degrees.
• Mix the almond flour, baking powder, salt, and monk fruit in a large bowl.
• Mix in the almond milk, eggs, and vanilla.
• Fold in the no-added-sugar chocolate chips.
• Evenly distribute the muffin batter into twelve liners.
• Bake for 25-27 minutes. Use the toothpick method to determine if they're done. Let them cool in the muffin pan for about fifteen minutes.

I hope you’re having a great start to your week. We still have snow on the ground, which is rare for the south. It usually melts within 24-hours, but it’s unusually been cold. The crazy part is that we’re expecting more snow on Friday! This is starting to feel like midwestern weather, but I love it. While it was snowing on Wednesday, I made a batch of my favorite peanut butter chocolate chip protein balls. I didn’t plan to blog this recipe (which is why they are all cell phone photos), but I had so many people asking for it when I posted the photo on Instagram. They are so simple to make and tastes just like dessert!
These peanut butter protein balls are perfect for on-the-go snacking or when you need a quick pick-me-up. I love having them right when I wake up or before bed if I’m hungry. I leave them out on my countertop next to the coffee maker. Kyle loves having them after his peloton rides. They are gluten-free, plant-based, and require no baking at all.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Balls

These delicious peanut butter chocolate chip protein balls are gluten-free, vegan, and can be made in ten minutes!

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword gluten-free, dairy-free, snacks, vegan, oatmeal bites, peanut butter, chocolate chip, maple, protein balls, healthy snacks, on-the-go snacks

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Servings 28 Protein Balls

Author Taralynn McNitt

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Quick Oats
• 1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1/4 Cup Unsweetened Coconut
• 1/4 Cup Vanilla Plant-Based Protein Powder
• 1/8 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1/2 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips
• 3-6 Tbsps Almond Milk

Instructions

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, peanut butter, coconut, protein powder, sea salt, cinnamon, maple syrup, and three tablespoons of almond milk. Use a fork or electric mixer to combine.
• The consistency should resemble cookie dough. If it's too dry, add in a tablespoon of almond milk. If it's too sticky, add in more oats.
• Fold in chocolate chips.
• Roll approximately one tablespoon-sized scoop of the mixture into a ball.
• Store inside the fridge or in a container on the countertop.

  Ingredient Swaps:

Maple Syrup – Honey
Chocolate Chips – White chocolate chips, walnuts, cranberries (any fillings you’d like!)
Plant Protein Powder – Any kind will work!
Almond Milk – Your choice of milk or water
Peanut Butter – Your choice of nut butter.

This recipe can be made without salt, cinnamon, and coconut.
I hope you all enjoy this recipe!

Questions for you!

1. What flavor protein balls should I make next?
2. What do you like to eat first thing in the morning?

You may also like these protein ball recipes!

I have been on a yogurt parfait kick lately and start each morning with a giant bowl. I decided to bring a styled board with all the best fruit and yogurt parfait toppings. This is such a fun idea if you have any brunches coming up, and it’s so easy and quick to throw together. One of the convenient parts about this board is that you can customize it to fit your dietary needs. You can make it vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, etc. I chose some of my favorite parfait ingredients for this board. I added homemade banana bread, my cranberry granola, chocolate peanut butter granola, fresh blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, oranges, cherries, maple pecans, plain Greek yogurt with honey, and strawberry banana Greek yogurt to the board.
  When I visited Hawaii, banana bread was always served with breakfast at restaurants. Even if I ordered eggs and bacon, a side of banana bread would be on the plate. I loved that idea, so I decided to incorporate banana bread with this board. I was initially going to cut up the bananas for the board, but sometimes I’m just in that baking mood! 
For my yogurt, I used Siggi’s plain Greek with honey mixed in, and for the flavored yogurt, I used Danon strawberry banana Greek yogurt. If you want to keep this board vegan, there are many dairy alternatives at grocery stores now. I love coconut milk and oat milk yogurt, too! Being pregnant, I try to eat a ton of Greek yogurt since my body needs calcium.
I think breakfast boards will be a part of my life more. I’ve been thinking about making a french toast-themed one, a pancake one, and maybe an avocado toast board! They are just so pretty and easy to throw together. I put them wooden pizza board and used little white bowls for the ingredients.

I hope you’re feeling inspired to make your fruit and yogurt parfait board!

I hope you all had a great holiday

Questions for you!

1. What are some of your favorite parfait toppings?
2. What theme should I make next?
3. Did you have a great Christmas?

Questions for you!

1. What is your favorite flavor of sorbet?
2. Are you holding on to summer or hoping for fall?

We have been blessed with the most amazing weather the past few days. I thought we were doomed and going to be stuck in the ’90s after a heat streak, but it was so nice out this morning I had to wear a sweatshirt on my walk. It felt like those first few days of fall there for a moment. I’m currently sitting on my back porch listening to the birds and taking in the sunshine, with Leo sitting next to me on the couch. We had our house pressure washed over the weekend, so it feels much better outside rather than breathing in all the pollen leftover from the yellow season. That’s one of the downfalls of living in the south during the spring.

I have a few more hours of calmness before I start going into email mode/get the house ready for family mode. We are leaving for the wedding in one week! Almost everything is done, but I have some last-minute details to take care of.

I’m going to try to keep up with blogging for the next few days, even if it’s just a recipe post or a little check-in. I shot about ten recipes early spring that I have coming up for the blog! I also have a ton of Disney blogs to write and edit. I know this summer will be filled with a lot of downtime to get back to writing consistently again. It’s been a crazy few months. Starting in July, recaps will continue weekly. Kyle and I have been living off these chocolate chip blender oatmeal bars for the past few weeks. Sometimes we make them with berries, raisins, and walnuts, but our favorite way is chocolate chips. They take five minutes to prepare and only 20 minutes to bake! You throw all the ingredients into a blend, bake, and it’s done! Remember my blender muffins from a few years back? Well, this is just the bar version of those!
These oatmeal blender bars are so fluffy and filled with flavor. You can have this as a to-go breakfast or a late-night snack! It tastes like dessert, even though it’s on the healthier side. There’s nothing better than the chocolate chip and oatmeal combination! This recipe is gluten-free, and dairy-free, and can be made using an egg substitute.

I am making a lemon-blueberry version of these tonight! I’m going to use almond butter instead of peanut butter, and add in blueberries, lemon extract, and lemon zest! I may add in some poppy seeds too. 

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Baked Chocolate Chip Blender Oatmeal Bars

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate chip, blender, oatmeal bars, breakfast, gluten-free, dairy-free, healthy breakfast, on-the-go, blender oatmeal bars

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 Large Banana Extra Ripe
• 1/4 Cup Honey or your choice of sweetener
• 3/4 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk or your choice of milk
• 1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter or your choice of nut butter
• 2 Tsps Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/2 Cups Oats
• 1/2 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Sea Salt
• 1 Large Egg
• 1/2 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips or nuts, berries, raisins...

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375-degrees
• Add the banana, honey, unsweetened almond milk, peanut butter, vanilla, oats, baking powder, salt, and egg to a blender
• Blend on medium speed for about 20-seconds. Lower the speed for another ten seconds. **Do not over blend. You should still be able to see specs of oats**
• Fold in the chocolate chips
• Pour the batter into a greased or lined 9x7 baking dish. Top with extra chocolate chips and bake for 20-22 minutes.
• Allow the bars to cool for 20-minutes before slicing into them.

One of my favorite parts about this recipe is that the clean-up is so easy. You don’t have to get a ton of bowls dirty or clean out an electric mixer. You use the blender! You can store these on the counter, the fridge, or the freezer. Questions for you!

1. What flavor of blender bars should I try to make?
2. Did you have a cold front this weekend?
3. Do you like a sweet or savory breakfast?

Unsweetened Almond Milk – or you can use water as a substitute.

Keto Nutella – You can also use any nut butter as a replacement.

Cashew Halves

Plant-Based Chocolate Protein Powder

Dates – make sure to pit them! The first thing you’ll want to do is soak your cashews for about thirty minutes to soften them up. This will make blending them much easier! I’ve used salted and unsalted cashews to make these, and both taste delicious. If you want that chocolate sea salt taste, go ahead and use the salted cashews. Adding salt is an excellent idea if you’re going to have these after a workout. Add the soaked cashews to the blender or food processor with the dates and one tablespoon of almond milk. Lightly pulse until the pieces are small. You don’t want to over blend or it’ll turn into nut butter. You can watch my video to see how I did it. Transfer the ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Mix in the protein powder and hazelnut chocolate spread gradually. You can add the almond milk (or water) by the tablespoon to help make it easier to mix.

The consistency should be similar to cookie dough.

Form oversized tablespoon balls using your hands and store them in the refrigerator for best results! You can sprinkle with a touch of sea salt if you want! 

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No-Bake Chocolate Hazelnut Protein Balls

Course Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword gluten-free, no-bake, protein, grain-free, chocolate, hazelnut, nutella, easy, 5-ingredients, snack, on-the-go

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 32 Balls

Ingredients

• 4 Cups Cashews pre-soaked for 30-minutes
• 8 Scoops Chocolate Protein Powder I used plant-based
• 2-5 Tbsps Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/2 Cup Chocolate Hazelnut Spread I used Keto Nutella
• 5-7 Medium Dates Pitted

Instructions

• Presoak the cashews for about 30 minutes. Drain and add to the blender, or food processor, with the pitted dates and one tablespoon of almond milk.

  Pulse until the dates and cashews are in small pieces. Don't over blend, or it'll become a nut butter.
• Transfer to a large mixing bowl and alternate adding in the chocolate hazelnut spread and the protein powder. Add in the almond milk tablespoon at a time if you need help mixing.
• Roll into oversized tablespoon balls and store them in the fridge.

  *top with sea salt, optional

Notes

Depending on the type of protein powder and hazelnut chocolate spread you use:

For TWO protein balls:

180 Calories, 23g Protein, 9g Carbs, 3g Fiber, 1g Sugar, 7g Fat

I think you’re going to love these!

Questions for you!

1. Do you like to have a meal before a workout?
2. What flavor of protein balls do you want to see next?

You may also like:

Good Morning,

I’m sipping some coffee and putting off packing until the last minute. I have to be at the airport in a few hours, but packing is the last thing I want to do right now. I’m taking in all the dog cuddles as they sit next to me while I blog. Before I head to Miami, I wanted to share a recipe for pumpkin spice energy bites! These are delicious, and I’m bringing a batch with me on the trip! Even my non-pumpkin-loving boyfriend loves them. 
These pumpkin spice bites are made with only four ingredients: pumpkin spice, dates, cashews, and almonds. They taste like a decadent pumpkin pie and are the perfect treat for fall. They take about ten minutes to make and perfect for on-the-go.

I think they go even better with a homemade pumpkin spice latte  
I bought most of the ingredients from Trader Joe’s because I find that they have the best selection of nuts for the best prices. I never feel bad about using a whole bag of nuts on a recipe when they come from Trader Joes. Now, if I buy them at Whole Foods, I try to be stingy with my nuts because hello, expensive! Anyone else?  
If you can’t use almonds or cashews, you can sub them for walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, or any other nuts! And if you do not want to use dates, go ahead and use dried figs as a replacement. I’ve used dried figs for a lot of my energy ball recipes, and they turn out just as good. 
In the food processor, I crush the almonds and cashews. Once those are all chopped, I add in the dates. If it’s too crumbly, I’ll add about a teaspoon of water until I get a perfect consistency. You want it to be gooey, but not too gooey. Makes sense? Cool.

Then, add in the best part…the pumpkin spice!  
I used a tablespoon to measure and rolled them up into bite-sized balls.

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Four-Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Energy Balls

Keyword gluten free, dairy free, vegan, energy balls, pumpkin spice, paleo, whole30, healthy, snacking, vegan, vegetarian, raw diet

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Author Taralynn McNitt

Equipment

• food processor

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Raw Cashews
• 1 Cup Raw Almonds
• 7 Dates (pitted)
• 2 Tbsps Pumpkin Spice

Instructions

• Add cashews and almonds to the food processor and chop.
• Add the dates.

  **you may need to add tsp of water to help combine**
• Add in the pumpkin spice
• Roll into tablespoon sized balls!
• ENJOY!

I’m so excited to head out with my best friend on a trip today! When I get back, expect some fall decorating videos, fall recipes, more California blogs (i know I’m behind), Miami blogs, VLOGS, and…….the big news!!! xo xo

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Remember to take a moment of silence today for the families & beautiful souls who lost their lives 18 years ago today. 9/11 NEVER FORGET  

Questions for you

1. Do you ever get the nut-guilt when they are so expensive?
2. Are you team pumpkin pie or apple pie?
3. Anyone else still facing the upper 90-degree temps!

I’ve been focussing on eating less processed, more whole, and lower-sugar foods this summer. A few months ago, I found myself eating way too many “healthier” processed foods and not paying attention to added sugar in anything. I’ve been focussing on eating more “real-food” protein sources instead of relying on my protein powders or snack bars. I feel a lot better. I hardly ever need my afternoon cup of coffee, and I don’t experience the “sugar crash” at the end of the day.
These 3-ingredient brownies are WHOLE as it gets. A few years ago, I was on peanut butter and banana brownie kick. I made a recipe similar to this one with peanut butter, brownie, egg, and sweet potatoes. It was one of my favorites! Since I needed to use up the bananas before they went bad, I decided to make a similar recipe using only two other ingredients: almond butter & banana.

Please follow me on Instagram for more food inspiration! —> @TARALYNNMCNITT

These brownies are going to impress you! They are fudgy, super chocolatey, and just as sweet as the real deal. We don’t give bananas enough credit for their sugary goodness. You could probably trick your kiddos into thinking that they are eating the most demanded brownies. The top of the brownie’s texture reminded me of those cosmic brownies I used to eat as a kid.

This recipe makes 12 brownies, and the nutrition facts are pretty good!

98 Calories, 11g Carbs, 3g Fiber, 6g Fat, 3g Protein, 4g SugarTHREE INGREDIENTS
-Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
-3 Extra Ripe Bananas
-Salted OR Unsalted Almond butter.

And just because I used three ingredients for these brownies doesn’t mean you have to. You can use this recipe as your “base” and then add things you like such as cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate chips, or icing on top!
You can replace the almond butter with ANY nut butter of your choice. 
My favorite part is how easy these brownies are to make, and you probably already have all the ingredients in your house!  
Don’t let the batter go to waste. Grab a spatula and eat all the leftover batter! It’s the best part about making brownies.

Look how incredible they look! Hard to believe they’re made with only three ingredients. 😮 & if you want me to blog the sweet potato brownie recipe, let me know! It’s been a while since I’ve made them, but I’m sure I can figure out how I did it. This recipe makes 12 brownies!

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3-Ingredient Fudgy Brownies

These healthy fudgy brownies are made with only three ingredients! They're vegan, gluten-free, paleo, and budget-friendly.

Course Dessert, Snack

Keyword brownies, paleo, whole30 compliant,, snack, breakfast, healthy, gluten free, dairy free, vegan, on the go, whole foods

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 19 minutes minutes

Servings 12 Brownies

Calories 98kcal

Author Taralynn McNitt

Equipment

• oven

Ingredients

• 3 large bananas extra ripe
• 1/2 cup organic creamy almond butter salted or unsalted
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350-degrees
• In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas until lump-free.
• Mix in the almond butter, and cocoa powder.
• Grease a baking sheet, and evenly distribute the batter into the pan.
• Bake 17-20 minutes.

  Use the toothpick method to determine if they're done.
• Let the brownies chill in the refrigerator for 45-minutes.
• Store in the refrigerator for best results.

I hope you try this recipe out! & if you do, don’t forget to tag me so I can see your creations! ♥️

Questions for you!

1. Do you have a favorite 3-ingredient recipe?
2. Do you find yourself eating healthier in the summer or winter?
3. Are you team walnuts in your brownie?

you may also like…

I have made these brownies weekly! Here are more photos. With an almond butter swirl on top! 
With sugar-free chocolate chips on top! 
Try it with unsweetened coconut! It toasts up perfectly! This time with an almond butter swirl and caramel chocolate on top!

SHARE YOUR PHOTOS WITH ME! (check out other submissions)