I LOVE Christmas.

This weekend was all about productivity. I jammed a lot in to a small amount of time but I am so proud of my accomplishments!

Friday night I had a cookie party with my mom.

But first we ate some take out! I had Chicken Marsala & Veggies… so good!

Once I finished eating we got prepared for a night of baking. My mom and I each chose a different cookie recipe to make. My mom chose my Grandma’s Anisette Cookies which are a family favorite. They are loaded with eggs & butter but they bring me back to my childhood Christmas celebrations so I was all for it.

I chose a Soft Sugar Cookie recipe that I incorporated a Chobani Greek yogurt into. They came out GREAT! I was a little nervous and went back and forth about making it, but I went with my gut and I’m glad I did! We all agreed that they were yummy and how could you not enjoy a HEALTHIER traditional sugar cookie.

SOFT SUGAR COOKIE

Ingredients:

• 1 Egg
• 1 container plain Chobani greek yogurt
• 2 cups of flour
• 1/4 tsp of baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup butter
• 2/3 cup sugar

Directions:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Place softened butter, egg, vanilla, and sugar in mixer and beat well. Slowly add in dry ingredients until dough has formed. Roll dough into medium size balls and flatten them on the pan. Add sprinkles. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-6 minutes or until golden on the bottom (all oven’s are different so make sure to watch them, they cook fast)

Enjoy!

Saturday morning I did Christmas shopping fairly early. I was able to get all of my shopping done by 10am. I was super pumped and impressed with all my good finds. I can’t wait to give everyone their gifts!

In the afternoon we headed to the YMCA to play while Marc worked out. Ava loved chasing the ball around, we had fun!

I didn’t need to use any of the equipment in the gym. Chasing Ava around for 45 minutes was plenty enough exercise for me!

Apparently being ultra productive and running a crazy amount of errands Saturday really did me in…..because I woke up with a sore throat on Sunday. I think it was a combination of not giving myself a break and catching a bit of Ava’s cold (YUP! She has another cold) She literally can’t win!

Not feeling too great and with a super productive Saturday already behind me, meant my Sunday was going to be a relaxing day around the house! However, it wasn’t too long after 10 am that I found myself out running a few more errands and continuing to check things off my holiday to do list! I did take it easy though… I watched a little football, took Cooper for a long walk, and then both Marc and I spent lots of time playing with Ava around the house.

We had a little Tea Party… Ava played with this toy set for 30 minutes. That is a long time for her to sit still.

Thankfully I can say I was feeling a bit better by the end of the day and Now I am off to teach Group Power! 

Are you all set for the Holidays?

Do you make cookies for Christmas? 

SKINNY PUMPKIN SPICE COOKIES

Ingredients:

• 1 cups quick oats
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (if you like the spice add a little more)

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 large egg whites
• 3 tbsp canned pumpkin (mine were heaping tablespoons!)

Chocolate chips ¼ cup (optional) I made some with chocolate chips and some without.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl combine all the dry ingredients except for the sugars. Mix well. In a separate bowl mix the butter and sugars until combined. Add in egg whites, pumpkin, and vanilla extract. Add in the dry ingredients and stir well. (Optional add in chocolate chips)

On a non-stick baking sheet drop about 1 tbsp of dough until you have 16 cookies. Bake for about 10 minutes.

Makes 16 cookies

About 80 calories per cookie, 1.9g fat, 13.8g carb, 0.8g fiber, 1.8g protein

Banana Bread Bite Size Cookies

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup instant oats
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 10 almonds (crushed)

Directions:

Mash Banana in a medium size bowl. Add oats and cinnamon to the banana and mix together. For the almonds, I placed them in a plastic bag and used a rolling pan to crush them into small pieces. Then I mixed them into the batter.

Spray the baking sheet. Form into eight balls and flatten on baking sheet. Bake them at 350 for about 14 minutes.

Makes 8 cookies, serves 2. You can double the recipe to make more and pack them as snacks for the week.

Serving size 4 bite size cookies: about 155 calories!