Almond Flour Zucchini Bread for warm Fall bellies!

Good morning all! It seems as though Fall is slowly creeping into South Texas this month and I for one could not be happier! The Fall season has always been my favorite. It's not so much about one specific event (some people love Halloween, some love the start of football season...) but more of a feeling I get. There's a specific smell in the air, a fresh crispness that only Fall has, that always reminds me of home. It's all very nostalgic. ;)

Another thing that Fall invokes for me is a desire to bake. I'm not sure if it's the fact that turning on the oven no longer creates an unbearable heat wave in the house, or the fact that the smell of baked goods just seems suitable for the season. In any case, I love it and I'm excited to share my first Fall baking recipe with you!

This one I found through one of the many Paleo/cooking/healthy eating sites that I follow, and for the life of me I cannot find the original post or the site it came from. I will happily credit the creator if I can ever figure out who that was, promise!

I love this recipe for so many reasons: It's easy, it's grain free, gluten free, lactose free, and sugar free. And best of all, it tastes AH-MAZING so you'll never know the difference, especially when they're warm and slathered with a pat of butter.

Sorry this is not the best photo, but it's hard to get good pics when you're stuffing your face with this goodness. You can make these into loaves, but you know how much I love to use my muffin tin, so of course I made muffins. These little pre-portioned snacks are just so nice and portable too.

Ingredients (makes 2 mini loaves or 12 muffins)

1-1/2 cup blanched almond flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup honey
1 ripe banana
1 cup shredded, unpeeled zucchini
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
Place the wet ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, then beat on medium for 1-2 minutes until frothy and fully combined. Add the zucchini and beat again just enough to incorporate.
Slowly add the dry ingredients with the mixer running, until all of the flour mixture has been incorporated.
Spoon the batter into 2 mini loaf pans. You can also use this batter to make muffins.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until the middle is set and a toothpick comes out clean.

*A note about almond flour: They are all different, and each one will turn out a different color and texture of bread. If you're going for a lighter, slightly fluffier bread I would stick to something super fine and blanched like this from Digestive Wellness. If you're not so picky, you can totally use something like Bob's Redmill Almond Meal/Flour which you can find at some grocery stores, and pretty much any health food store.

Next time, I think I'll substitute pumpkin for the zucchini. While I loved the zucchini, my hubby was able to spot the "vegetables in my muffins," so the kiddos might too. Plus, who doesn't love pumpkin in Fall baking??

Have a great week!!

XOXO

Gettin' Fresh with Glade Expressions!

Hey all you lovely bloggers! I've got another fun product review for you all today. This one comes from our friends at Glade. I was lucky enough to be able to try out their new line of Glade Expressions with a starter kit of the Glade Expressions Oil Diffuser (pictured below right) and a starter kit of the Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist (pictured below, left).*

Let's start with the Glade Expressions Oil Diffuser Starter Kit:

First of all, the packaging is as beautiful as the diffuser itself is. It is modern, colorful, and inviting. It would certainly be a product that I would want to check out anyway. Unfortunately, of all the stores in my area I visited trying to grab one of these, there was only one store with one "flavor" option to choose from.

I'm not sure if this was due to their newness or if they're on the way out already but I ended up with the Pineapple Mangosteen scent. However, other scents available are: Cotton & Italian Mandarin, Fugi Apple & Cardamom Spice (which I am dying to try!!), and Lavender & Juniper Berry. When I got home, set up was super easy. Seriously, like one click and you're ready to go. The Pineapple Mangosteen scent started coming through right away so I tucked the diffuser off into my studio to let it get to work.

So pretty up there with all my fabric and notions!

A few hours later, I came in to find my whole studio was filled with a heavenly scent of pineapple and mangosteen. I LOVED it!! Over the course of the next couple of days, I was pleasantly surprised every time I popped in to my fruity fresh smelling studio.

I only give 3 stars for this one though, and that is due to the fact that the scent didn't stay very strong for very long. The first two days were amazing, but by now (4-5 days later) I can't smell anything unless I put the diffuser up to my face. So, that was disappointing. There's still plenty of fluid in the refill, and it still smells great up close but I wish I could smell it throughout the room like I could at first. My studio is a small-ish room that stays closed off so I would expect something like this to be noticeable every time I come in. Oh well! It was really nice while it lasted, and I do hope to check out some of the other scent options when this one runs out.

I also had the opportunity with this campaign to try out the new Glade Expressions Fragrance Mist. When I went to pick up my Fragrance Mist starter kit there was only one scent in stock, the Cotton & Italian Mandarin, so I grabbed that one and hurried home to check it out. However, this one also comes in Pineapple Mangosteen, Fugi Apple & Cardamom Spice (which I am dying to try!!), and Lavender & Juniper Berry.

The packaging, or starter kit container, is very pretty. I particularly like the fact that you can easily remove the label to leave the curvaceous mister sleek, white, and perfectly lovely for leaving out in plain sight. After unwrapping it, I immediately took it apart to get familiar with the refill process. (This might just be my favorite part!) All you have to do is unscrew the bottom, pull out the empty can, insert the new can, and screw the bottom back on. It's so easy, and you never have to purchase another mister even if you decide to switch fragrances. (unless of course you need an extra for another room!)

The sleek design of the mister is easy to squeeze, and produced a very fine mist perfect for spraying in any room. I absolutely love the Cotton & Italian Mandarin fragrance. It's fresh like clean laundry with just a hint of fruity citrus to make the whole room smell clean and fresh. The scent itself seems to linger nicely as well, for much longer than other room sprays I have tried in the past. That feature is especially nice when you live with stinky boys! haha!

I will definitely be using and purchasing these Glade Expressions products in the future, and would happily recommend them to anyone and everyone who likes to use this type of product. I hope that my local store restocks so I can try out the other scents as well!

I hope you all are having a wonderful week!!

XOXO

*These products were provided to me at no cost for review. All opinions are 100% mine.