Thanksgiving treats!

Its almost thanksgiving! That means Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

These cupcakes should NOT be an every day thing. I went to CalorieCount.com and entered the ingredients, and for 12 cupcakes, unfrosted, it calculated to about 207 calories a pop. The frosting divided into 12 servings calculated to 110.

So these are definitely not something you should eat often. Having them for special occasions is ideal here.

Now for the recipe.

What You'll Need:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup solid packed, canned pumpkin puree

What To Do:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Prepare cupcake tins
  • Either with papers - my personal choice; or with shortening and flour.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
• In another bowl, with your electric mixer, or hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, until each is fully incorporated, scraping sides of bowl after each addition.
•  Then beat in vanilla.
• With mixer on low, alternate adding flour mixture and pumpkin puree in three additions, beginning and ending with flour.
• Scoop your batter into your prepared cupcake tins, should get around 12.
  • I like to use an ice cream scoop to spoon the batter into the cups, it makes it easier, less messy, and helps keep the cupcakes the same size.

Bake on middle rack 18-22 minutes, or until tooth pick, inserted into the center, removes clean.
(if your pans dont fit on center rack together, make sure you switch them half way through)
Let cool completely.

Now for the frosting.

What You'll Need:

• 4 oz. cream cheese - room temperature.
• 2 tbsp butter - room temperature.
• 1 tsp vanilla.
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar.
• splash of milk if needed

What To Do:

• Mix cream cheese and butter with electric mixer, until combined.
• Add vanilla.
• Add the powdered sugar and milk, mixing until fully combined and fluffy.
  • You can add a few drop of food coloring to make them more decorative if youd like.
• Pipe frosting onto cupcakes with piping bag or ziplock bag with end cut to desired size; or spread with knife.
  • Add sprinkles, or decorations as desired. I like to sprinkle with a little of the ground spices used earlier. I think it adds a little extra deliciousness.

Voilà! Enjoy!

If you try these cupcakes please feel free to share with me your thoughts, or any twists you put on them. :)

DIY 2 Ingredient Face Scrub

This is something I've actually ive actually been doing for a few years now, and I'm surprised I haven't blogged about it once! Possibly the easiest, and cheapest facial scrub you could do yourself, this wonderful scrub only uses 2 ingredients which you (should) already have at home!

Things you'll need:
- your every day face wash.
- baking soda.
(Yes, that's all!)

So, what I like to do is simply wet my face with warm water. I like to use a wet wash cloth and let it sit on my face for a minute to open my pores and soften the skin a bit, making it easier to slough off those dead skin cells!
Then I take a little bit of baking soda, maybe a teaspoon or so. (Start off with a little in case you have sensitive skin, add more if needed.) to that, add your face wash. I use a basic cleanser for this..nothing too strong or anything with a ton of acne fighting ingredients or anything. Also add a little bit of water. Mix it all up right in the palm of your hand.
Now, simply apply it to your face all over and gently scrub in circular motions around your face. Careful not to rub too hard, the small gritty texture of the baking soda does a great job at exfoliating without the need to really scrub. You can let it sit for a few minutes if you want, but I like to wash it off right away. (Baking soda is a chemical, and for some people it could dry out your skin, so try it in a small spot first if you're worried.) you'll notice as you're rinsing it might feel like you're not able to wash all of the baking soda off. It that bothers you just add a drop of cleanser to help get the little residue off. ;)
Your face will look and feel amazingly polished, smooth, and soft afterwards! I always follow up with a good moisturizer after. And my skin feels amazing all week! My skin can totally handle this once a week, but those of you with sensitive skin might want to do it less often.

What is your favorite facial scrub? Do you like to make your own or is store bought more your style? Let me know! I'm always looking to try new scrubs! ;)

Have a beautiful day!
Stay humble & kind.
<3

New Year New Me? HEALTHY RECIPE

With it still being pretty early on in the new year, Im hoping most people are still sticking to their New Years resolutions. One of the most popular usually being to become healthier. So, with that idea lingering around I thought Id share a recipe today!

This is one of my favorite things to eat, and its SO healthy but doesnt even feel like it! Its also very easy to change and adapt to whatever you want really..

Ingredients:
12 eggs.
1/4 cup lowfat milk.
2 cup baby spinach.
1-2 cloves garlic.
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes or 1 fresh tomato.
1/4 cup feta cheese.
salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and a cast iron skillet* with some olive oil in it.
Once your skillet is up to temp, add your garlic and spinach, seasoned with a little s&p, and sautee until wilted.
Meanwhile, beat your eggs and milk in a large bowl. You can swap out half of the eggs for just egg whites if you prefer, it cuts back on a few more calories and lowers the cholesterol, but is not necessary.
Pour the eggs evenly over the spinach. Top with tomatoes of choice and sprinkle with feta cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked. Remove from oven and serve.

* if you dont have a cast iron, or oven safe skillet, add the cooled, sauteed spinach to egg mixture and bake in an oven safe dish. note that the cook time may be a little longer, since the dish is going in cold.

This delicious and simple frittata feeds 6, or can easily be doubled or halved to fit your needs. (just make sure you adjust the skillet size and bake times accordingly) It also stores and reheats well, and is equally as good cold if youre in a rush. (or if youre feeling lazy :P)

Heres the exciting part. One serving of this is only 155 calories! With a nice 13g protein and only 3g carbs.

This recipe is so versatile, you can add and change things however you want. You can keep it healthy with lots of veggies, or make it a bit more of a guilty pleasure by adding bacon and cheddar. Another fun thing you can do with this recipe is add the cooled sauteed spinach to the egg mixture and divide it into 12 muffins, topping with your cheese and tomato. Viola! now you have the perfect grab and go breakfast! Put one on top of an english muffin for a tasty little breakfast sandwich. Whatever you decide to do, its hard to go wrong with this recipe!

So, to those of you who decided 2017 was a year for "New year, new me" and your year to be a healthier happier you, good luck! And I hope you enjoy this delicious little recipe Ive shared with you today. If you want to see more like this leave me a comment below this post and let me know! :D