It's FRIDAY!!! Man oh man, am I happy this week has come to an end! It's been long, and HOT, and stressful at work, so all in all I'd say I am ready for the weekend!
This week was my first week of skipping morning workouts (minus Monday) and only working out once since then (yesterday). I have to admit, it feels great to sleep in an extra 1-1.5 hours in the morning, especially since I work at a dialysis center and have to be at work by 7am most mornings. Waking up at 4 or 4:30am for my workouts was exhausting me, even though I miss my morning routine like crazy! I love the quiet of the morning, working out, and starting my day off with some activity. But, I feel chronically sleep deprived, and sleep is so important for our well being!
This week felt like a recharge, since I got about 7-8 hours of sleep every night, and am feeling much more rested. Moving forward though, I am contemplating doing some morning workouts on days that I don't have to get into work too early, but mostly doing afternoon workouts. Almost like proving to myself that I CAN workout in the PM, since I've always functioned better in the AM. It's a trial and error type thing for me. Being active is a really important part of my life, so I want to make sure I schedule it in and prioritize this time. My motivations to workout have changed. have changed. I do it now for the release of anxiety and the overflow of endorphins that it gives me. Plus I am so grateful to God for a body that can move, so why not move it, ya know?
But enough about that, and onto zee food! Last night, I felt like baking (even though it's been over 100 degrees here in so-cal!) I spotted 2 almost black bananas on our counter, and found some shredded coconut that I hadn't used in forever, and got to work. I made a banana bread loaf with some shredded coconut mixed into the batter, and it turned out better than I thought! And the best part, it is gluten free, contains healthy amounts of coconut (so good for us), and tasted awesome with a smear of PB on top this morning! Here is the recipe!
Banana Coconut Loaf (makes 1 loaf pan, about 8 slices)
1.5 cups gluten free pancake mix (I love Pamela's brand!)
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup stevia (baking blend, cup for cup measurements)
2 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
1/2 cup applesauce
2-3 T shredded coconut, unsweetened
1 tsp cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. First, mash the bananas with the applesauce, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Grease your loaf pan (I used coconut oil), and bake the bread for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. I let it cool off for about 20 minutes before digging in...SO delicious!
