Spiced Plum Cake

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If you have been following along here for a while you have probably realized that refined sugar and flour recipes don’t come around Nourished Peach much.  Quite frankly, this could be the very first one I have ever written about.  But just hear me out.

We eat well.  And by we, I mean my family at home and you, my NP family.  We do, we pack our every day diets with color and nutrients and protein and diversity.   Not because we want to see the scale drop or because we are trying to stay hip to new diet trends; because we care for our bodies, we care about the food we eat and because we get pleasure from gorgeous, enjoyable meals.  Food, with NP, is not only about fueling our bodies.  It’s about seriously enjoying the process of preparing the food and the gratification of the finished, delicious product.  And more than anything, to me, it is about sharing that finished product with the people I love most.  It’s about feeding bellies and souls.  Cooking is my favorite way to show love, and enjoying a meal with my friends and family is my favorite way to spend time.   Having all of those wonderful reasons we eat well allows us the ability to avoid diet rollercoasters, deprivation and unhealthful relationships with food.   Continue reading

Gooey Chocolate Zucchini Bread

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Guys, I write to you with reservation.  This is not how this was supposed to go.  We weren’t supposed to end our zucchini week this way.  I had big dreams.  High hopes.  Goodbyes are difficult…zucchini goodbyes, well, they deserve more than a confidence-lacking post.

You see, I was kind of saving the best for last here with this bread.  I made it last week…it was incredible…but I didn’t take photos.  Figured I’d make it again this week because my kids acted like famished wolves when I made the last batch…it would be a perfect opportunity for me to get some photos for you. How special to be able to share them on this last day we have together with zucchini.  I hate goodbyes.   Continue reading

Carrot Spice Cake Bars

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One bite of these yummy bars and I was immediately taken back to grade school.  My elementary school had some pretty amazing hot lunches they served; the same ladies in the kitchen every morning as the sun came up whipping the children up homemade, heart-filled food.  We were lucky; so different than things today, and because of it, I have serious aspirations of doing that lunch lady thing someday myself, in some capacity.

Getting nutritious, balanced meals into children’s bodies just once a day over lunch at school could be so beneficial for their health.  Regardless of what they are getting at home, how comforting to know they can be guaranteed one solid meal at school.  In my opinion, that should be part of the curriculum, along with a quick five minute chat with them about what they are eating, where it came from, and what it can do for their impressionable bodies.   Man, wouldn’t that be a game changer.  To me, this is just as important as learning about history or 2 + 2.  Because none of those fun facts and concepts can be properly maintained and applied without a healthy, nourished body to absorb it all. Continue reading