dark chocolate rum cupcakes

I know I never did my Whole30 wrap up… it’s in the works y’all.  Actually that’s kind of a lie… It’s in my drafts folder, but not much progress has been made writing wise.  My apologies, but this recipe must be shared ASAP! *Note: these are NOT Whole30 approved ;)*  Alright, enough beating around the bush, I made these babies for my friend’s birthday.  Of course I made some healthy-ish improvements, but there’s also booze in them so… there’s that… and here’s the recipe!

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skinny mini pumpkin muffins

I have recently moved and although packing has never been a favorite of mine, this move was much easier than expected.  The packing, the transporting, the carrying, the unpacking, all were not quite as gruesome as I recall.  Maybe it is because I am use to moving every year and I have learned to make things easier (maybe I’ll do a moving tips post later).  I am not quite settled in yet…well, that’s an understatement.  If I am gauging this off of the level of groceries in my pantry and refrigerator, then I am dogging it.  One of the things I have learned from moving is this: it is a pain to transport food (in my opinion)–having to keep it all cold/frozen, worrying about spills and glass breaking etc.  That is why this time, I hadn’t been grocery shopping the two weeks prior to moving–and confession…I still have yet to go.  Needless to say, my food intake has been all over the place and it’s killing me and my workouts, but it has given me plenty of opportunities to use what I have and get creative.  Exhibit A: Skinny Mini Pumpkin Muffins.  

hearts, hearts and more hearts

I have been both single and in relationships for Valentine’s day, so I speak from experience when I say that Valentine’s Day is a very weird holiday on both parts.  V-day has always just be eh for me.  I don’t hate it, I am not its number one fan.  In my opinion, it is just a holiday in which everyone gets all stressed out and–more often times than not–just straight up sad on the 14th.  Please people.  Calm down.  If you have a significant other, just relax.  Spend the day together.  Do not build these huge expectations of grandeur.  My best Valentine’s day with my boyfriend at the time was a night spend at home making dinner together and watching Scrubs.  If you are single, oh my gosh!  Enjoy it!  Once I embraced being single (and happy) this Valentine’s Day, I am more in favor of this day of love than I used to be.

eggnog cupcakes

Merry Christmas Eve!  Just to let y’all know, this is my favorite holiday (in front of Easter and my birthday).  The excitement of Christmas approaching, family getting together, and all of the festive parties.  I never like going to a party empty handed, so when I was assigned to bring a dessert, my heart rejoiced!  I immediately thought of my favorite–eggnog.

not-so-texas-sized texas sheet cake mini cupcakes

I am finally satisfied with this recipe!  I have been working on it and perfecting it for a week now, and last night’s batch was the winner!  I am so excited with how these turned out!  They are soft, light, chocolatey, and very moist for being gluten-free.  This experiment first began as a Texas Sheet Cake (which I still want to make), but I was lacking ingredients for a full cake.  Then, I decided to cut down the recipe and make a small loaf of “sheet” cake.  I was trying to make this recipe gluten-free and healthier as I always do too.  

paleo strawberry shortcake cupcakes

This post will be just a quick recipe because I think I spoiled myself a little too much yesterday…  I have a horrid habit of thinking that “cheat days” will not affect my body what-so-ever, but man, am I wrong every time.  Yesterday was no exception.  I had my cinnamon streusel coffee cake yesterday for breakfast.  It started off as a little piece, but escalated into “just a sliver more” very rapidly.  From there, my family said they would like to have strawberry shortcake for dessert that night, so I headed off to the store for ingredients and picked up a few extra things along the way–including pistachios for my dad, it was Father’s Day after all.  Now, you might be thinking, “pistachios aren’t unhealthy,”  but nuts are my weakness and the empty shells began to add up…  That, added up with the mindless noshing and “taste-testing” while making the cupcakes, made for an unhappy tummy last night.  But, today is a new day and as I sip my water and get ready to make my green detox breakfast smoothie, I will post the recipe for my dessert last night.