My Favorite Recipes

Hey everyone!

I know I’ve been MIA lately, life has been crazy busy (I know you all feel that!). But I thought now, around the holiday season, would be a GREAT time to share some of my favorite recipes!!

Baking is one of my FAVORITE things to do, and I end up making a lot of my own things (like muffins, breads, energy balls, cookies) instead of buying them or getting them from elsewhere. Therefore, I have a LOT of recipes I’ve used from over the years that I wanted to share with you all!!

I’m NOT sponsored by any of these websites or anything; I truly just love them with all of my heart and they have the stamp of approval from me!! 🙂

Breads: 

Blueberry Banana Zucchini Bread

I LOVE this one because it’s got zucchini in it! I love banana & zucchini bread separately, so this one together was magical. I used to eat it over the summer all the time, it’s great with greek yogurt on top! You can also use greek yogurt instead of sour cream in the recipe!

Peanut Butter Cup Banana Bread

Rachel’s recipes are honestly some of my favorite, and this one is the original that stole my heart! You can even leave out the topping if you want it to be just a simpler bread!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

A simpler version of banana bread but still just as yummy! I use peanut butter instead of SunButter since I don’t have an allergy (and I love peanut butter!)

Balls:

Almond Butter Date Balls

I use peanut butter instead of almond butter, and almonds instead of pecans! My whole family loves these- great iron and fiber nutrients, and I told my little brother they were chocolate balls, and he believed me!

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

Again, peanut butter instead of SunButter, and we usually add in chocolate protein powder to the mix just to add a little extra protein. My family goes through these in DAYS, they’re so good!

Brownie Batter Truffles

These are *technically* truffles, but I never cover them in chocolate (too much work for me) and then I just eat them as energy balls! They’re soo good and I love that they’re made with chickpeas.

Pumpkin Pie Energy Balls

I never got around to actually making these, but I keep meaning to. They look delicious and probably taste like fall in a ball, honestly.

Peanut Butter Banana Energy Balls

Dorm-friendly! I used these all from food in my room or from the dining hall.

Muffins:

Peanut Butter Banana Muffins

These are my FAVORITE muffins and everyone I’ve shared them with loves them too. I make a huge batch and bring them to school with me (I keep them frozen) and they unfreeze super well and keep well too! I tend to use less brown sugar so they aren’t as sweet.

Pumpkin Muffins

This is technically bread, but I just break it up into muffin tins and it makes about 12 muffins instead. I’ve grown up eating my mom’s pumpkin bread, but this healthy version from Caroline comes super close and probably exceeds even that. It’s so, SO good.

Cookies:

Super Doughy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are the cookies that originally got me hooked on Rachel’s site! They’re so soft and nobody can tell they’re vegan 🙂

Oat Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

If you have anyone in your family who likes the taste of oats/oat flour, these are perfect. They don’t have oats in them so they’re not as chewy, but the oat flour gives it such a good taste! They can be a little dry, so just make sure to watch them when baking.

Chai Tea Sugar Cookies

Not exactly healthy, but these cookies are SO good. I make them in my house and they’re gone in less than a week. The kids I babysit always request them, and they’re Taylor Swift’s recipe! I use Trader Joe’s Chai Latte mix in it instead of chai tea, and it works well. I usually just add more cinnamon and cloves.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

My psych professor made these for us once and they were amazing. You can also exchange the butter for vegan butter to make them vegan and they’re even more delicious!

Assorted Desserts:

Peppermint Bark Puppy Chow

TOTALLY addicting. My whole family went through the bag in a day… and I made a LOT. I used Ghirardelli peppermint white chocolate pieces because I couldn’t find the Hershey’s kisses.

Peanut Butter Zucchini Brownies

These are SO good and even better the next day! They get fudgy and soft and perfect.

Healthy Buckeyes (Chocolate Cookie Dough Truffles)

I use peanut butter for this recipe instead of SunButter and they come out JUST like Buckeyes! My family makes these every Christmas, so it’s a staple and I love that they’re healthier.

Peanut Butter Skillet Brownie

This thing is SO good. You don’t have to make it in a skillet, but it’s such a good brownie recipe and so fudgy!

There ya go, my friends!! I tend to make a lot of these recipes over and over again… they’re just THAT good! But I also love trying new things, so every time I make a dessert, it’s usually something I’ve never tried before! You can never go wrong with any of the bloggers I used above!

Hope you all enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Laura ♥

Follow me @healthybalancedLaura on Instagram!

 

Things I Have Learned Through My First Year of College

Hi, friends!

So I just recently finished my freshman year of college at The Ohio State University and I am officially home for the summer. It’s scary, and crazy, and exciting, and overwhelming all in one. I can’t believe that the year is already over and that it went by as fast as it did. Sure, the weeks went slow, and sometimes I was living weekend to weekend with stacks of assignments, but overall I can’t believe that the anticipated freshman year is over. I wanted to share a few of my ‘wisdoms’ that I learned from this past year. We’ll keep the cliche ones like ‘join clubs’ and ‘learn to time manage’ to a minimum.

1. Cherish the time you have with your family.

So many of my friends were just itching to get out of their house, be independent, and not see their family at all. Maybe I just have a closer relationship with my family than my friends do, or maybe it’s because I went to a school 8 hours away from home, but I loved being able to spend time with my family when I traveled home, I loved getting texts from my dad with pictures of what ‘healthy breakfasts’ he was making that day, videos of my little brother, care packages from my mom. Don’t shut your family out the first chance you get. You have the rest of your life to be on your own; don’t rush it. 

2. Try new things and don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone a little.

Being at a university gives you so many new opportunities that I never would have gotten otherwise. For example, multiple events went on in my building where they would provide canvases and allow you to paint. There are clubs for literally everything you could want. There is no harm in trying. Maybe you won’t think you’ll be good at painting, or poetry, or raising a seeing-eye dog, or maybe you think you’re going to hate that kickboxing class, but if it interests you, you might as well try it. You could find a new passion, or maybe even find out you’re good at it. There is no harm in trying (plus, it’s free). I found out I love painting, I really enjoy barre classes, and that football games still aren’t my thing. But that’s okay. I found a lot of new things I loved. 

3. Likewise, don’t be afraid to hold true to your values and stay IN your comfort zone as well.

I have never been a partier, a drinker, or done drugs. I just do not like them and do not find them appealing. I don’t have anything against you if you do, but I myself do not choose to participate in these things. And that’s okay too. It’s okay if you do, but it’s also okay if you don’t. It doesn’t have to be your scene. If you find the right friends, they will not judge you for not going. Other things can be fun too, and you can still have friends that enjoy this type of scene and you can find other things to do with them. You don’t have to find partying appealing in order to have a good ‘college experience’. 

4. You don’t have to conform to anyone or anything in order to have a good time.

I struggled a lot with this within my first week. I’m an introvert. I wouldn’t necessarily call myself shy, but I do definitely need my time alone and can’t be out and about all the time. During the first week, there is a lot of welcome events and everyone on my floor was constantly out and about and meeting people and for me, it was exhausting. I was terrified I wasn’t going to be friends with any of them because these all seemed like ‘entry-level friendships’, and I preferred deeper, more meaningful friendships with a close few than being close with an entire group (i.e every single person on my floor that wanted to be an entire friend group). Don’t get me wrong, I liked a lot of them and would make a lot of conversations and was very friendly to anyone I saw in the bathroom. But during that first week, there were a few times I had to excuse myself from the group just to lock myself in my room. Eventually, you will find your groove. I came to school knowing absolutely no one, and I eventually found people I clicked with. You’ll just have to move around a little bit and try different things to find them.

5. Introduce yourself to everyone the first couple weeks.

ESPECIALLY at orientation. Literally everyone I sat next to was a game of, “hi, my name is Laura, what’s yours?” I met my now closest friends at orientation, and it helped me to get a foothold in the start of the school year, as they were in quite a few of my classes and we were able to just know someone in a crowd of such a big group of people. Everyone will be just as lost and wanting to meet people as you are, so don’t feel awkward or stupid. In fact, they’ll probably be relieved when you talk to them.

6. Sleep. It’s important.

So many people during college are like “omg I stayed up til 4 am last night working on my chemistry assignment and got up at 6 am to study for my test I’ve been running on 4 hours of sleep this entire week!!!!” It’s not cool. That’s not healthy for your body, and don’t let a college stigma that you can’t get any sleep take a toll on your mental and physical health. Yes, there were nights I stayed up late working on a paper or doing a chemistry assignment I forgot was due, but most nights, aside from weekends, I was in bed by 11 pm (I did have 8 ams three times a week). I don’t function well on little sleep, nor do I have the ability to sleep in, so I wasn’t one to stay up very late at all. The sleep is what kept me sane and able, and my time management abilities definitely helped. 

7. Download the school app, if you have one. 

It’s very easy to get lost, whether you go to a big school or a small school. My school’s app had a map on it where it would direct you how to go to your next building, and it honestly saved me. Like I said, everyone will be just as lost as you are. You won’t look out of place. (Plus, I still use the maps sometimes.)

8. Try new foods!

Some of the best foods I tried were ones I would not have expected to like. Turns out my dining hall has amazing vegan pizza, tofu (if cooked correctly!) is amazing, I like my coffee without as much creamer, salad is actually really good without dressing if you use dried cranberries instead, and smoothie bowls are my new favorite food. Maybe the food on campus isn’t always great, but the more you branch out, the better and less boring it turns out being.

9. Grades are important, but don’t hold yourself to the same standards you did in high school.

This is kind of a ‘duh’ moment, but it’s a lot harder to get good grades in college than it was in high school. A LOT harder. You don’t need to beat yourself up over getting a C on a test or a B on the paper you worked really hard on. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from professors during office hours or tutors (a lot of times they’re free on campus!) or other students. I’m not saying you shouldn’t strive for good grades, but be lenient with yourself. Sometimes a good night’s sleep is a lot more important than getting a perfect grade on a test. 

10. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

This is a tough one to swallow, for anyone. But do not be afraid to ask for help. On homework, assignments, understanding a paper, for your mental health, advice on boys, friends, health… anyone. It’s really hard to ask for help, but it can really be beneficial. I would have struggled a lot more this year if I hadn’t had help from so many of the people I did. I came out a lot stronger because of it. It’s not a sign of weakness. 

College is a change, no doubt. You’ve got a lot of independence (obviously), a lot of new opportunities, and a lot of growing going on. It can be a new invention of yourself, but it’s all what you make of it. Either way, you’ll make it through. It’ll be scary, but I promise it’ll get easier, and you’ll end up having a great time.

Laura ♥

Peanut Butter Banana Energy Balls

This is one of my favorite snacks to keep on hand in my dorm! It’s super easy to make and requires ingredients that I always have around (or, if nothing else, can steal from the dining hall)!

These are good for if you need a little something to tide you over, for breakfast on the go, or basically anything you want!

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana

1 1/2 cup quick oats

1/4 cup ground flax seed (I use Power Blend Omega 3 Original! https://powerof3nutrition.com/product/powerblend-original-flavor/ )

1 tablespoon honey (I use 3 single serving honey packets from the coffee shop!)

1/4 to 1/2 cup peanut butter

Optional mini chocolate chips or dried fruit (I usually just use the ingredients above, but this would be a great addition!)

Directions:

Mash the banana thoroughly in a bowl. Pour in the oats, about 1/4 cup peanut butter (I usually start with this much peanut butter, and then add more if they aren’t sticking together as well), honey, and flax seed (and optional chocolate chips or dried fruit). Mix until at a firm consistently, not sticky (you can add more oats or peanut butter if it seems too sticky), but not dry. If consistency seems dry, add more peanut butter or honey.

Refrigerate mix for at least 20 minutes. Shape into balls. Again, if the mixture won’t stay together, add more peanut butter! They won’t be quite the consistency and firmness of playdough, so they will fall apart, but they shouldn’t be crumbly.

Can be stored in the fridge or freezer for quite some time 🙂 Enjoy!

I’m back!

Hello there!!

I don’t know how many people keep up with this blog nowadays, but I really want to get started keeping up a ‘real’ blog. This may be kind of hard- I don’t have a camera, a ton of time (college student life), or a kitchen (college student life x 2), but I want to try!

I’m a freshman in college pursuing Medical Dietetics. I believe in BALANCE, but also health and treating your body the way it wants to be treated. I believe vegetables and fruits are delicious and yeah, your body does need quite a few servings of them each day. But, you don’t have to hate them! The ‘balance’ here is finding what you love, and making fun things out of them. 🙂

I hope you all enjoy- I’ll be sharing some of my favorite dorm recipes, or just recipes in general, and just trying to keep up to date!

Also-if anyone has an idea for a blog name, I’m desperate. I love peanut butter, cookies, spinach, baking, etc… help!!

Lots and lots of love,

Laura♥

follow me on Instagram! @healthybalancedlaura

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Frozen Yogurt

I have never made my own froyo before….. But this….. This has changed my perspective.

It’s honestly magical.

Case closed.

2 cups greek yogurt
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Chocolate Covered Katie’s cookie dough dip (if you don’t feel like making this, you can just use peanut butter, but the dip is worth it!)
1 tbsp PB2 (or regular peanut butter-omit if not using the cookie dough dip)

Mix all ingredients until fairly smooth. Put into an ice cream maker and let it do its work!

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can blend this in a blender or with a mixer and freeze it, it just won’t have the same consistency. But it will still be delicious!

Need anymore convincing?

Single-Serving Banana Spice Waffles

I love waffles.

And today is the third day this week that I’ve been out of school because of snow. I’ve been craving waffles for a while, but I didn’t want to make a batch of 14. My family all likes cold cereal for breakfast(boring!).

So I came up with these babies.

And they’re incredibly simple. Without cooking, it took me like four minutes to whip them up.

The recipe makes two good sized waffles(I don’t have a Belgium waffle maker, but I suppose it would make about one large one).

1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
Just under 1/2 banana, mashed
1/4 cup almond milk(may need a bit more-depending on thickness of waffle)

Combine dry ingredients, and then fold in wet. Mix until a smooth consistency. The banana doesn’t have to be completely puréed, if there’s a few chunks that’s totally okay.

Cook waffles until crispy or browned.

When finished, top with whatever you’d like(I decided on greek yogurt and banana coins)!

Chocolate Banana Oatmeal

This morning I woke up craving chocolate oats for breakfast.

Which is weird because I’m not really a huge fan of chocolate flavored stuff?

But this made it ALL worth it.

Plus, it’s actually really healthy(say whaaat?)

Here’s the recipe.

1/2 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup milk of choice
1/2 ripe banana
1 tbsp greek yogurt
1 tsp cocoa
1 tbsp chocolate chips(optional)

Cook milk and oats and cook according to the oats package(usually microwaving for 1 and 1/2 minutes on high).
While oats are cooking, mash the half banana in a bowl with the cocoa and greek yogurt. Mix until at a smooth consistency.
When the oats are done cooking, combine the mashed banana mixture with the oats and microwave again (for about 30 seconds).
When done, mix in the chocolate chips.

Seriously, this is delectable. Like, the chocolate melts and mixes in and it is HEAVENLY.

Chocolate for breakfast?

I think yes.

Chocolate Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

So I don’t know about you guys, but sometimes I can’t eat fruit without dipping it into something, because the acidity messes with my stomach.

And the day that peanut butter started hurting my stomach broke my heart.

I guess that just means I have to be more creative with what I dip my fruit into, right?

So I came home from school one day and decided I really wanted an apple. Looked at all my favorite food blogs… And all their dips called for chickpeas!!

We only keep chickpeas in our pantry in the summer months for bean salad, so I couldn’t make any of theirs.

So, I improvised this! Behold, the chocolate pumpkin cream cheese dip.

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp cream cheese
1/2 cup pumpkin
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp Greek yogurt

Mix all ingredients together, making sure to blend well.

(Side note-my mom thought this could have been a little bit sweeter than it was. If you agree, you can add a few tablespoons of brown sugar! Adding dry pudding mix to the equation would also sweeten it and add flavor.)

Something that I think would go really well in this dip(could also be replaced for the cream cheese) would be any kind of nut butter!

Also, you can’t forget to mix in a few chocolate chips afterwords. They are, after all, the best part.

Enjoy!!!

Peanut Butter Banana Oats

This is kind of a take on oats and breakfast pudding.

I love oatmeal. Like, a lot.

This breakfast is a really simple, on the go, cold or hot kind of thing. It’s full of protein and tasty at the same time- it reminds me of the peanut butter banana milkshakes I used to drink ALL. THE. TIME.

Except it’s healthy! And, you can eat it for breakfast.

1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk of choice(I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk)
1/2 of a medium ripe banana
2 tbsp greek yogurt(I used vanilla)
1tbsp PB2/nut butter of choice

Prepare the oats as directed on the package. (Using more milk will make more of a soup-type oatmeal, while using less will make more of a porridge.) Prepare to your liking.
While the oats are cooking/microwaving, mash the banana with a fork in a seperate bowl. When the banana is mashed, mix in 2 tbsp of Greek yogurt and 1 tbsp PB2 or nut butter.
After the oatmeal is done, combine the banana mixture with the oats and stir. If you prefer the mixture warm, you can microwave again on a low power for about 30 seconds. You can also refrigerate the oats and have them the next day, cold!
Top with whatever you’d like- more banana, nut butter, fruit of choice. Enjoy!

These oats are seriously delicious.
Let me know what you think!

Nutritional Info:
251 calories(as prepared with PB2 and almond milk)
4.75 g fat
45 g carbs
7.25 g protein

About Me

Hey guys!

I’m Laura. I’m 16 and I LOVE to bake.

Lately I’ve been scrounging every food blog in order to find a recipe that satisfies my ever-present cravings while still maintaining a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

So I decided to start my own.

Here I will post recipes that come from healthy, whole ingredients while still looking AND tasting delicious. 

I’m still in school, so I can’t promise that recipes will be posted daily or anything like that, but I DO promise that I am always thinking of new foods to concoct and share with you all. Suggestions are always welcome!

Thanks for visiting my blog- you’re welcome anytime!