Chocolate Banana Bread Protien Muffins

I've been dealing with ravenous boys every morning for months now. They usually start out with a go-gurt type yogurt in the mornings, then move to either a bowl of cereal, or cheese stick, and are always begging for more to eat. (Sometimes even after their third and fourth bowl of cereal) I know I'm totally not alone here, as I have had all my friends tell me their kiddos are exactly the same.

So, I had been tossing around the idea of banana bread protein muffins with my husband for a few weeks and we weren't sure how to go about it. We were in NO WAY looking to make Paleo, or Sugar free, or basically anything considered a "health food." We just knew our boys loved nothing more than mom's chocolate chip banana bread for breakfast, and thought we could maybe fill their bellies a little more if we somehow accomplished that same flavor, but with more protein. That is how I came up with this recipe.

It's still a work in progress, but this first trial run wasn't bad at all, and the boys ate them up this morning and were of course, asking for more.

Give it a try, and see what you think. They'd also be super easy to have a little assistant chef help you with. I made a batch last night (Sunday) that I hope will last us the whole week.

Tip: I stick my bananas in the freezer for weeks before pulling them out to thaw and make banana bread. I think this gives my Banana Bread a little something extra, but I could be crazy. (It's been said before)




Recipe:

1 egg (beaten)
1 cup sugar
4 over ripe bananas
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup chocolate protein powder
2 tsp cocoa powder (I used dark choc.)
1 tsp. Vanilla (I love Mexican Vanilla)
Dash of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees, and line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. (You could also just grease with spray or butter) I did the liners and then a light butter spray. Put all the ingredients in a mixer and mix on low speed until well blended. (Could also totally be mixed by hand)

Pour into muffin cups, filling about 3/4 full. Place in oven and bake approximately 45 minutes at 350. I checked mine every 20 minutes, then 5. Once a toothpick placed in the middle of the cup comes out clean, they're done. Just cool and serve. Or serve hot with butter, that's a winner also.

Please let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments if you try it. I'm hoping I had two little boys that weren't starving at school all day waiting for lunch. ;)

Boppy Cover DIY

I absolutely love my Boppy Pillow for Nursing, for baby propping up, for impromptu photo shoots, the list goes on. I also love making super adorable covers for ours, and others. I once tried to make one on my on, without a pattern. My friend Heidi will tell you, that was a fail. It was my first ever Boppy Cover and I thought I could totally handle in on my own, without a silly pattern, like I do most of my sewing projects. WRONG!



So, the next time I decided to take on Cover creating, I searched for help, and found it here. I sent the PDF over to Office Depot, had two copies printed on a firmer card stock, then brought those babies home to get started.















Now, obviously my pattern has gotten some use, but it was super easy to assemble, and is a great pattern. I do not really like having my zipper on the back of the pillow, I prefer it at the top of mine, so I use the front pattern piece for both pieces of my fabric. After cutting, this is what I am left with.













I then start with the piece of fabric I have chosen as my front and get to pinning on my zipper. I choose the approximate placement and get started. I like to use "invisible zippers" in the 20"-22" range for my covers. But I have seen them done with regular zippers and those look great too.

the zipper needs to be face to face with your fabric when pinned, as shown. The underside of your zipper should be facing you as you sew. I start with the zipper unzipped a bit, as shown here. Once I reach the zipper, I lift my presser foot, and zip it up to the beginning, and get to sewing the rest of the way. I stitch very close to the metal zipper edge, and for that you need to make sure you are using your zipper presser foot. Don't be like me and constantly forget that step, its just annoying and messy.



After you have your zipper attached to the front of your cover, you will want to place your back fabric piece, and pin it to the other side of the zipper, as shown.

When your zipper is pinned, you can get started sewing. Start at the end without the zipper, and work your way toward it. This time, have it zipped all the way, and when you get close, zip it down past where you have already stitched. Continue to the end, and your zipper is done!

Not the best picture, but just trying to show how close to the metal part of the zipper I stitch.

After the zipper is attached, I go to each end and stitch across, like so. This is important, and helps prevent your zipper from popping out of your seam later.

Also, it helps to have a super cute assistant at your feet while sewing. Just don't let them get too close to the presser foot, that could be disasterous.



Now that your zipper is completely attached, lay your cover flat, and make sure you brush out any bumps or bubbles. Then start pinning all the way around.



I pick a side that I am going to stay true to, usually the front and make sure I pin to it, all the way around. occasionally, I need to trim the back piece to make it fit better to the front.

Make sure your zipper is open enough to flip your cover right side when you're done with your seam. You'll be mad as heck at yourself if you forget. (totally not speaking from experience here)

Sew around the entire pillow. I follow the edge of my front piece to the edge of my presser foot the whole way around.

Once your seam is done, all that is left to do is flip it right side out and stuff it like a turkey.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and would love to see any covers created using the pattern above!