No Bake Energy Bites

Hey yall! I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I received a great response to my chocolate chip & oatmeal no bake energy bites, so I thought I would share this super simple and yummy recipe with yall!

Not only are these easy and quick to make, but they are healthy enough to snack on while still tasting like a dessert.  These have been a staple in our house for the past few weeks, I love how they give me my chocolate fix while also helping to make me feel full.

I apologize for not taking more pictures during the process of making them, if you have any questions just post them below.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats (raw)
2/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut, toasted & cooled (350* for 10 minutes - ovens may vary)
1/2 cup ground golden flaxseed meal (I used Hodgson Mill brand)
6 tbsp mini chocolate chips (resist the urge to add more...they just end up at the bottom of the bowl)


Directions:

Stir together peanut butter, honey & vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.  Add the remaining ingredients until everything has been evenly mixed together.  Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls, getting your hands damp will help with the stickiness.  You can also refrigerate first before shaping - I am too impatient for this.  Place the balls in a sealed container and refrigerate before serving.  Enjoy! 

This will yield 20 energy balls.

If you try these out, leave me a comment and let me know if you love them as much as I do!

"FALLing in Love" Bucket List

Fall is such a gorgeous time of year! I'm not a huge fan of the colder weather, but nothing beats the beauty of changing leaves. Plus, I love any excuse to cuddle up under a blanket with my love! Since the Hubster and I are living in a new town (in a new state!) we decided to make the most of this time of year by creating a "FALLing in Love Bucket List".  We just started checking things off, but we are already having so much fun!

There's a mix of some of the classics, like pumpkin decorating, along with somethings we've never done.  Can you believe my husband has never been horseback riding?!  He hasn't, which is weird, so that definitely made the list.  And, I didn't know that apple picking was a "thing", but it's pretty popular around here so it made the list, also.  I love having a list of pre-planned dates, it makes the weekend feel more like an adventure! And to add a little extra cuteness, I found a maple leaf hole punch to use for check marks!

I am loving this Bucket List! What are some of your Fall Bucket List items?

Pumpkin Rice Krispie Treats!

Once I saw these Pumpkin Rice Krispie treats I knew I had to make them! They are super simple to make, and combine two of my favorite things: Pumpkins & Rice Krispies! Let's get started!

What you need:
1 Stick of Butter
2 1/2 (10 oz.) Bags of Marshmallows (Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows are now available!!)
12 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
1 tsp . Yellow Food Coloring
1/4 tsp. Red Food Coloring
One bag of Tootsie Rolls

Preparation:
Melt the butter on low heat in a large pot
Stir marshmallows in melted butter until dissolved

Mini Marshmallows are easier to work with!

Add food coloring to the butter & marshmallow mixture.
Stir until the entire mixture is the same color orange.
Mix Rice Krispies into the orange marshmallow mix until they are fully coated!

Lovely, right?!

Here is the "tricky" part. The Rice Krispie mix will be hot and sticky! I spooned generous sized balls onto aluminum foil and let them sit for about a minute. Once they cooled down a little bit, I was able to shape them into "pumpkins" with my hands. I then stuck a tootsie roll in the top to make a stem!
I made about 25 pumpkins...not including the ones we "taste tested"!

Ta-Da!

Good Luck & let me know how your's turn out!!

Baby Shower Diaper Cake

Diaper Cakes make a great gift for a baby shower.  Not only do they look great as a center piece, they are incredibly useful for the new parents!

I started with a 96 pack of Target brand diapers, they were a great deal plus they come with cute little stars on them. I opted for size 2 diapers, they had plenty of size 1, so that was the next best deal for the price.  I wrapped the extra diapers and gave them as an additional gift.

The first step is to roll your diapers and secure with a rubber band.  The skinnier the rubber band the better, I found a bag at Wal-Mart for under $1.  Half way through we realized that it's important to roll them all the same way, and to tuck the ribbed side on the inside, it will make the cake look much nicer.

             Left: Ribbed side out                   Right: Ribbed side tucked in.

The second step is to bundle the diapers into small groups to begin making the layers.  We chose to do bundles of 4.  Initially we did larger bundles, but it made it more difficult to shape the layers into circles.  We secured each bundle with a rubber band.  We then put 12 bundles together to make the bottom layer.  Then, another rubber band to secure the entire bottom layer together.

The second layer consisted of  6 bundles, with one being positioned directly in the middle.  You will need to work with the diapers to give your cake a round look.

The top layer was one bundle of 6 diapers.

Once you have constructed your diaper cake, you are basically done.  All that's left is decorating.  Many diaper cakes have rattles, pacifiers, teething rings and other necessities tucked into each layer.  I had already purchased my baby shower gift, so I went with a more simple and clean look.

I bought ribbon at Jo Ann's Fabric and downloaded a 50% off coupon on my phone while waiting in line!  I used two different ribbons, with the smaller one attached to larger one using small glue dots.  I went with green and brown, since the diapers already had purple and green stars on them. I secured the ribbons using tape on the back of the cake, it held up quite nicely and survived the 2 hour car ride.

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The final step was finding a cake topper! My mom found this adorable monkey at Target.  It looked perfect, and it also played music.  The tab for playing music ended up being super useful, I was able to stick it in between the diapers which kept the monkey securely on top of the diaper cake!

That's it! It was actually a pretty easy and quick craft! Plus the mommy-to-be loved it! :)