This has been a great birthday weekend so far. I couldn't have asked for better weather for February, thanks Mother Nature! Friday night I had some friends over - I decided it's easier to just have everyone come to me rather than going out, that way we can hang out at our own leisure and nobody has to worry about getting sitters for their kids or anything like that. Plus Justin makes pork steaks that rival anything I've had at a restaurant so I'm always happy to stay home if those are on the menu! Everyone brought a dish and we had a great evening. And I'm pretty sure everyone gave the thumbs-up on my "cheese"cakes!
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| Me, the girls, Elliot, and his two little buddies on the way :) |
Saturday we took Rachael with us to the St. Louis City Museum, because you're never too old for that place, and I wanted to do something I don't normally get to do. We got sushi for lunch and then played the rest of the day. It was fun! And a little rough on the knees... The weather was so perfect, though - which worked out great for playing outside!
Sunday Rachael and Cassie came over for a birthday party workout, which was so much fun! I really liked this one - Rachael surprised me with the line-up, so it was nice to not have to make one up myself. It was a rough one though! We started out doing 86 lunges... which we immediately decided to change to 86 front kicks and did 19 lunges instead. My butt is sore from all that leg work... I really liked that it was a 29 minute AMRAP though (As Many Rounds As Possible). It forced us to get a good half-hour workout in, when normally my crossfit workouts have been done in 5 minutes.
Later we took the Harleys out with Clay and Barbi and rode up to Bully's Smokehouse in Columbia for a late lunch. Ooohhh I've missed the bike... We hardly rode at all in over a year, being busy with the house and me being pregnant with Elliot, so it was nice to finally get a good ride in. Hope we can get more in the books this spring and summer!
Justin and I watched The Giver after the boys fell asleep. Holy crap that movie was powerful. Or at least I thought so. I read the book a loooong time ago so I kinda forgot what it was about, but I remember liking it. Don't remember it being that intense though...
After a busy weekend, I spent today, my actual birthday, not doing anything too exciting at all. We went to the chiropractor, then I had to get blood drawn to check my thyroid and adrenals (more on that some other time), happy birthday to me... Then we did a little shopping. We did eat at Olive Garden, per my request, and now I feel lazy and sluggish from the breadsticks and pasta. Good reminder why I try to keep my diet clean... Clay and Barbi are coming over again this evening for pizza (yeah, I'm doing it to myself again!) and that's a wrap for my birthday! It was a great welcome into the last year of my 20s!
Here's the recipe for my "cheese"cakes! I'll start with the lemon-blueberry. That was originally going to be my only cake, as I'm a sucker for lemon and blueberry flavors, but it's not a favorite flavor combo for everyone, so I did a back-up cake with a chocolate-heath flavor. It was way less healthy... but so freaking good regardless... haha :)
Lemon-Blueberry "Cheese"cake
For the crust:
2 cups pecans, ground into flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
Line a 7x11 (or 8x8, which is what I used) glass baking dish with parchment paper
Spoon in crust mixture and flatten evenly
For the filling:
2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
2 tsp lemon extract
3 tbsp lemon juice
Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.
Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, and salt in the food processor.
Blend until creamy and smooth.
For the topping:
2 cups blueberries, frozen or fresh
1/2 cup honey
1-2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Combine the blueberries and honey in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while adding the lemon juice and vanilla. Simmer about 5 minutes and add the arrowroot while stirring until it is all combined. Simmer on low until thickened and take off the heat.
1/2 cup honey
1-2 tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Combine the blueberries and honey in a sauce pan and bring to a boil while adding the lemon juice and vanilla. Simmer about 5 minutes and add the arrowroot while stirring until it is all combined. Simmer on low until thickened and take off the heat.
Take half the filling a set aside. Mix the other half of the filling with some of the juice from the blueberries. Swirl the two halves of filling together and spread out in the baking dish. Top with blueberries, place in the freezer for a couple hours to set, then move it to the refrigerator to soften before serving. Enjoy!
Chocolate Heath "Cheese"cake
For the crust:
2 cups pecans or almonds, ground into flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
Mix all ingredients until combined.
For the filling:
2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups pecans or almonds, ground into flour
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
Line a 7x11 (or 8x8, which is what I used) glass baking dish with parchment paper
Spoon in crust mixture and flatten evenly
For the filling:
2 cups raw cashews, soaked in water overnight
2-3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
Dash sea salt
1 tbsp cocoa powder
Discard the water the cashews had been soaking in.
Combine soaked cashews, coconut oil, vanilla, maple syrup, salt, and cocoa powder in the food processor.
Blend until creamy and smooth.
Spread filling out over the crust, top with melted chocolate and Heath toffee bits, and freeze for a couple of hours. Move to the refrigerator to soften for a couple hours before serving.
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