Helllooo there!  Today I'm sharing something new - a foodie swap! What the heck is a foodie swap? Well, if you're into blogging, you may have found that it's really about growing your community, growing a following and connecting with other bloggers. However, what I think a lot of us fail to do on the reg (I am totally guilty,) is blog in our own little bubbles - not quite connected with the other talented and unique bloggers. So Georgie created this fun concept called a "foodie swap" where a group of us bloggers are paired up with another (blindly) and we go out and put together a fun little food care package. 

Packages are fun, and so are letters - especially when they include surprises! I couldn't wait to find out who my foodie pen pal was and eagerly checked my mail every single day after work until my package came!

My Swap Box:

My foodie swap buddy was Liv, from healthy-liv.com! I was so happy to open my package to find it filled with a few of my favorite things plus an adorable note. Trader Joe's caramel cheddar popcorn is kind of amazing, and I'm SO happy she included it because I would usually go for the plane Jane popcorn and not buy this kind. As you can see from the photo, I couldn't even wait to take a photo without tasting it...

I'm also so happy Liv re-introduced me to Trader Joe's fruit bars. The only ingredients are fruit. In fact, I picked up like ten more today when I went shopping! I also received some Larabars, Kind Bars and Trader Joe's Brownie Crisp (amazing!!!)

THANK YOU Liv!! I hope you enjoyed your swap box! 

You can check out what I sent to Liv in her post. You should also take some time to check out her blog - she's a college student at UNC, an inspirational runner and she makes delicious recipes!

XO - Rach

Hey there! How was everyone's Labor Day weekend?

Mine was great - considering the awesome protein pancakes recipe I'm about to share with you :) On Friday evening, Michael and I headed up to the Poconos to stay with a couple of our friends at their house. I had never been up there before and it was just beautiful. So peaceful, quiet and we couldn't have gotten more lucky with the weather. I don't have many pictures because I wanted to disconnect a bit this weekend from technology. On Friday night we sat on the porch and had a few too many drinks in the cool weather. We had intentions to get in a workout Saturday morning, but instead we slept in and drove up the road for a diner breakfast - you know, the greasy kind that cures all feelings of a hangover? So great.

After getting some food in our bellies, we geared up for a full day at the lake with a huge cooler filled with LOTS of beer and snacks. We got to the lake and headed into the water for a full day of floating - with our floating cooler. We swam (floated) all the way to the other side of the lake and back, and didn't get out of the water for a good 3-4 hours. 

Obviously in Gator gear for an awesome Gator win on Saturday night! Full of beer and all sunned out, we headed back home to relax and grill a delicious dinner of chicken, asparagus and zucchini. 

We headed back to Philadelphia yesterday late morning. Today has consisted of lots of relaxing! I got in a great workout earlier, mostly because I had all the time in the world and didn't have to rush! I love that, don't you? I'll post my workout later this week - it was a sweaty one! Now we're just enjoying being lazy (aka blogging + watching Arrested Development the rest of the day) before getting back into a busy working routine tomorrow.

Before working out, we woke up slow and I wanted pancakes, but after a weekend full of not the healthiest meals, I wanted a healthier version - cue the homemade protein pancakes! These are easy to make and if you're one of those "ew cottage cheese!" people, I'm sure greek yogurt would work just as well :) 

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Good morning! How's everyone's week going? Mine seems to be flying by like crazy - I think it's a mixture between being consistently busy at work and not getting home until 8 every night due to teaching or working out after work. Busy is GOOD. Do you agree? A quick catch up before I share a Fluffy Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe!

Last night I taught my first spin class in a while at FitLife, which is conveniently located right near my apartment. It was a lot of fun - spin is definitely one of my favorites to teach.

As far as half marathon training goes, I've ran once this week and it was a disgusting, humid run. My right shin is acting up a bit, so I've been focusing on cross training and strength this week - I'll get back to it next week. I was going to taper off and do a shorter long run this weekend anyway, so I am still on track.

NOW, let's get to the fun part, shall we? Maybe you've noticed that a lot of my baked goods on the blog lately have been muffins. This is because 1. I love muffins. 2. The only type of pan I have is a muffin tin since I moved. I don't have a loaf pan or brownie pan yet to make bars or blondies - so muffins it is!

I wanted to whip up a light snack or desert I could have on hand for the week and these came out perfect. I hate when baked goods are just way too sweet and these are a great level of sweetness.

Here's what you'll need: 

• 1 cup oat flour (blended up oats!)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more, this is when less is NOT more)

Here's what to do:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350
• Mix together all of the dry ingredients (except the sugar) in a medium bowl
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, sour cream, milk and brown sugar
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until smooth
• Fold in the chocolate chips
• Grease a muffin tin and fill with batter a third of the way
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are just golden brown - let them cool

The recipe yields 12 small muffins.

The sour cream in these gives them a rich feeling, almost like pound cake, but the oat flour keeps them nice and light. I love using sour cream in baked goods - it really adds a lot. If you don't believe me, check out this article.

Have a good THURSDAY! Almost the long weekend :)

XO - Rach

What's your favorite kind of muffin?

Long weekend plans?

Scared of sour cream in baked goods?