Lauren Brooks Fitness

I must admit going from 2 kids to having 4 kids was not a breeze. Especially when each of them are picky eaters. Sometimes I find myself making 4 different dishes. Oy vey! I know I could just send them to bed hungry if they don't eat the one dish I make. But I can be a softy at times. I want to find what the kids enjoy! Now I'm finding dishes that are healthy that will sustain them for a few solid hours! The simple egg muffins have become a staple in our house. Our pickiest eaters want them. They  keep well and you just reheat in moments and bam you've got an incredible breakfast or snack on the go. We began this journey with making an egg muffin with organic cheese, organic cooked turkey bacon and organic free range eggs. Lyla and Chloe wanted to make these for everyone so here is how it's done! I tried to keep this around 2 minutes so there are portions sped up. I find it super cute, but again they're my kids. Don't expect you to. :) Maybe this will i...

This Egg bake did not last long in my house. My poor husband was drooling and waiting ever so patiently while I was taking a few photos. I've never seen him so patient while hungry. He knew it was good and wanted to me to share this with the world. This dish is super easy to make. You can use any veggies and cheese you want. I used Goat Cheese but prior to this egg bake I made mini egg, turkey bacon and cheddar cheese bakes using muffin tins that the kids loved. I used a 5 cup Pyrex dish because it was just for my husband and me. You can double the recipe if you're making it for a larger group. Ingredients 8 Organic Large Eggs (whisked) 1 cup of chopped broccoli 1/2 cup of Goat Cheese Handful of arugula 2 chopped jalapeños 1 chopped green onion 10 cherry tomatoes cut in half  1 tsp of Vital Salt - Black Truffle Sesame Salt Directions Preheat oven to 350. Place all the chopped veggies evenly in a 5 cup 1.2L dish. Pour the eggs  evenly over the vegetable...

These delicious pancakes have been a Sunday tradition with my little girls for years.  Over time I've made them in slightly different ways.  I may have finally mastered a recipe that truly suits everyones tastes.  The good thing about these pancakes is I don't have to feel guilty eating them. I'm able to have loads of energy afterwards and it's on track with my clean eating philosophies. Oh and did I tell you making them is easy and painless?   INGREDIENTS This recipe makes about 2 servings 1/2 cup Organic Gluten Free Oatmeal 1/2 cup Almond Flour 2 Organic Free Range Eggs 1/2 cup Almond, Coconut OR hemp milk 1 Tbs Organic Coconut Sugar * 1tsp Vanilla 1/2 tsp Cinnamon 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 cup of blueberries or any fruit of choice* *Optional My girl is not included.  She insisted on being in the photo since these Pancakes are her Fav!!! DIRECTIONS: Grind the oatmeal in a food processor or blender. (...

After making a delicious pumpkin bread yesterday that went very quickly, I decided it was time to start experimenting.  I had some dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's and a very ripe banana.  I use the last bit of honey I had from yesterdays Pumpkin bread, but had some organic raw Agave that needed to be used.  I knew this would be a different bread.  Within one hour of mixing and crushing a chocolate bar, I had probably the most delicious bread, other than my apple cinnamon bread .  Kids like this even better. Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Chunk Bread (Gluten Free, Low Sugar) Ingredients: 2 Cups Almond Flour from HoneyVille 1 Very ripe Banana Smashed 1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree 1 small bar of Dark Chocolate Bar 72% Crushed and broken (or 1/4 cup of Dark Choc chips) 2 Jumbo or Extra Large Organic Free Range Eggs 2 Tbs of Organic Raw Agave (if you like very sweet bread add more) 2 tsp of Pumpkin Pie Spice 1 tsp of Cinnamon 3/4 tsp Baking...

Now that Fall is here I get in the baking mood.  Especially when it comes to using Pumpkin. After all who doesn't like Pumpkin?  This was the first time attempting Pumpkin Bread. I've made pumpkin muffins before, but this was different since I only had a limited amount of ingredients.  It's one of the lowest sugar and high protein pumpkin breads I think I could make without actually adding protein.  I don't like to cook with protein powders.  Almond flour is packed with protein, fiber, and good fats. Ingredients: 1/2 cup Organic Pumpkin Puree 2 cups Almond Flour 1/4 cup Honey 2 Large Organic Free Range Eggs 2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice 3/4 tsp Baking Soda 1/2 tsp Cinnamon Directions:  Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately very well.  I recommend using a mixer to blend all the ingredients together nicely.  It will be a thicker batter.  Put in a loaf tin.  Bake at 350 for 30-40  minutes.  I took mine ...

First of all my kids won't stop asking me to make these.  They devoured them in minutes!  These mini egg bites or egg muffins were inspired from my friend  Allison  who found this on Pinterest .  Of course I immediately went to her board and had to repin it.  Allison is a mom of 2, almost 3 kids, who I truly admire.  She always has the coolest ideas from anything to recipes, costumes, to home organization.  As a working mom of 2 kids myself, I truly don't know how she does it all!   Originally I wanted to use the large muffin tins that these are designed for.  However, due to our home flooding a few weeks ago, I currently don't have a kitchen.  Our kitchen supplies were quickly packed in boxes and it's hiding in one of the 40 boxes that were packed by the emergency flood workers.  The only muffin tins I could find were my mini muffin tins.  The positive side of using mini muffin tins is they take jus...

Don't you dare throw your coconut flesh away!  When I was pregnant with my first baby 6 years ago, I some how stumbled upon fresh young coconuts.  The market near my house would actually open them for you if you requested it.  They would stick a straw in the top and I would drink the coconut water as I walked around shopping.  Well by the time I was done shopping I had already finished it and was craving another one.  The fresh coconut water that came out of these amazing coconuts were pure heaven to me and extremely hydrating.  I was extremely thirsty during my pregnancy to the point even water wouldn't satisfy me.  Now many times I would eat the flesh, but sometimes my stomach wouldn't be in the mood for it.  I actually use to just throw the coconut away. BIG MISTAKE!  Scoop the flesh out and put it in the freezer for homemade smoothies and ice cream treats. Here is a smoothie I just made this morning before my strength and ...

This apple bread reminds me a little bit of the delicious apple cake my step mom use to make.  It must have been at least 20 years since I've had any.  I was inspired to bake this for a few reasons.  First reason is I had a whole bag of organic green apples in my refrigerator that needed to get used.  Second a friend of mine was talking about his apple cake he threw together, which got me craving it.  Third, my whole family has been wanting dessert so I wanted them to have a healthier option. This is the second batch I have made in just a few days.  I will not make this for awhile since it's too good and gets eaten way to fast.  First batch of Apple Cinnamon Bread 2nd Batch  Ingredients I used 2 cups         Almond Flour 1/2 cup       Raw Pecans (Ground in to flour) 1 1/2          Organic Green Apple (Peeled and chopped) 1/2            Organic ...

This weekend I went to a Vegan potluck dinner.  My friend Melanie, made a Corn and Arugula salad that was a huge hit.  I could not believe how delicious it was.  I felt like I was at a fine dining restaurant. The dressing was made from scratch along with slicing the corn off the cob and putting it in to the salad.  All the tastes just went so well together. The recipe was derived from the Corn and Arugula Salad recipe at allrecipes.com however Melanie made some changes to it and then I made a subtle change as well.   Here it is and I will put notes of how I did it in red. Ingredients 1/4  cup  cider vinegar ( I used unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar ) 3  tablespoons  minced shallots 2  teaspoons  Dijon mustard 1/2  teaspoon  salt ( only added a dash, since I'm not a believer of using too much salt ) 1/4  cup  olive oil 4  cups  fresh corn kernels (from 4 or 5 ears; see notes) (only use...

I make these pancakes almost every Sunday for my family. They are healthy and delicious. You can get creative with these. I have been adding Organic Pumpkin Puree this month making them Oatmeal Pumpkin Pancakes. You can add a banana or any fruit of choice to change them up.  I also added an apple a few times and it was amazing.  This makes a perfect amount for myself, husband, and toddler. Ingredients: 1 cup of Oatmeal ( use Certified Gluten Free, if you have Gluten intolerance) ½ tsp of baking powder 3 Eggs 1 Egg White ½ cup of Low Fat Plain Yogurt or Organic Non Fat Greek Style Yogurt ½ tsp of Vanilla Extract 1 tsp of Cinnamon and can add a pinch of nutmeg * Optional (1/3 cup of Pumpkin Puree or 1 small banana smashed or add any fruit at the end) 1 cup of organic Frozen blueberries for Blueberry pancakes For extra protein or fat you can add a few Tablespoons of Flaxmeal. Directions : Grind Oatmeal to a fine powder in a blender or food processor. Then blend the r...

This is the perfect fall treat around halloween and Thanksgiving.  In fact, I love pumpkin all year around!  With kids around it's essential to have some healthy goodies available. I also like to reward myself from time to time with a good muffin. The beauty of this muffin is it's made of almond flour and uses a little honey for the sweetener.  I don't feel so guilty after having one of these low carb muffins. With no refined flours, low sugar, and being Paleo friendly, it's hard to resist. Lyla and I made these together yesterday. I did one of my best workouts in a long time after having one of these dense muffins. No bloating or tiredness afterwards! I took this recipe from the Specific Carbohydrate Diet website. I made some slight changes below. View the recipe here   Pumpkin Muffins - made with Almond Flour You can substitute honey with agave syrup to lower the GI even more.  I left out the raisins and walnuts as well to lower the sugar a bit and ...

For those who know me I don't spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen. This banana bread is THAT good that I wanted to share it with everyone. Yesterday was Ben's birthday and I wanted to make him a cake that we could both eat without feeling too guilty. Guilty meaning no stomach pains and bloating afterwards. This banana bread / cake is made with Almond Flour. Here are the ingredients. I found this on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet website but used less honey, more bananas, and added spices to make it a little healthier and tastier. Here is the recipe. 3 cups of Almond Flour 1/3 cup of honey 3 eggs 2-3 very ripe bananas 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and nutmeg Smash Bananas or put in a food processor. Mix all ingredients together unti smooth. Pour in a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes depending on your oven. If you pour in 3 mini loaf pans (which I did) then bake for only 40 minutes. It was moist and sweet. I...