{Primal Pumpkin Protein Cookies} + California Adventure Update

Hello Cupcakes!

I have another fun and exciting recipe to share with you...

{Primal Pumpkin Protein Cookies}

I am kind of bummed though because I took a lot of cool photos of these cookies and they did not upload to my computer... I already deleted them from my camera :( Oh well! At least I still have two pictures to share with you. 

Ingredients:

1 c. Anthony's Goods Almond Flour

1/3 c. Anthony's Goods Cassava Flour

1/3 c. Anthony's Goods Arrowroot Flour

4 scoops of Primal Kitchen Vanilla Coconut Protein Powder

2 eggs

1 can pumpkin

1/2 tsp. almond extract

chocolate chips of choice

Directions:

Place dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Next add wet ingredients and stir until completely incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips (I used ghirardelli dark chocolate chips). Use an icecream scoop to scoop dough out onto a greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. 

*You can also top the cookies with unsweetened coconut shreds or pecans*

Makes approximately 12-15 cookies

One of my best friends and my cousin are coming into town in a week! I am going to put these cookies in the freezer and take them out while they are visiting. I always love to have treats for visitors!

You can click the link to each of the flours and protein in the recipe to buy some of the goods for yourself. Both are also found on Amazon:

{Primal Kitchen Vanilla Coconut Protein Powder}

*Cheaper on Amazon*

{Anthony's Goods Almond Flour}

{Anthony's Goods Cassava Flour}

{Anthony's Goods Arrowroot Flour}

Also... update on some adventures:

This photo is from Potato Chip Rock in Poway, California. This hike is about 7.5 miles round trip and is also  has very heavily traffic because everyone wants their picture on the famous Potato Chip Rock. We hiked up the trail with our good friends Matt and Katie. They have been our hiking buddies since moving out to California. This trail was pretty fun and challenging but not super hard (if that makes sense). I always wear my heart rate monitor on hikes to see how many calories I burn. This one was over 2,000 calories if I remember correctly. 

Another hike we did was Cedar Creek Falls. This hike requires a permit. Oh and if I did not mention it before, Patch goes on all the hikes with us! He absolutely loves it! While I was researching this hike, I realized it is a bad idea to try to hike this one in the summer. It gets HOT! This hike was not hard at all when we went. If there would have been a little more rain we could have watched a waterfall at the bottom of the trail. This hike is located in Ramona, California. 

Patch stayed with some family in California while Cory and I went home for Christmas....I don't think he was spoiled at all! Haha! Thanks Sandy, John, Brandon, Alexis, Megan, and Jordan for taking care of Patch!

Once Cory and I got back from Indiana, we went straight out to the desert to meet our friends for New Years. This is Ocotillo Wells in California. We had the best time out there! It's kinda crazy because there is absolutely nothing for miles on miles. 

These are two of my girl friends, Maxine and Kali. Maxine, Cory, Patch, and I joined Kali's family and friends for the weekend. 

The picture above is Cory on a dirt bike. 

In January of this year Cory and I got to go to Disneyland. Our favorite was Radiator Springs. Disney did great at recreating this town from the movie. 

Later in January, my mom and Trish (family friend) came out to California from Indiana to visit Cory and I. This was my mom's first trip to Cali since I moved here last August. My mom wanted to go wine tasting in Temecula, California... so we went to two different wineries. Kali and Maxine also came with us! Our girls day turned out to be so much fun despite all the rain we had that day. 

Of course we had to take lots of pictures!

My mom and Trish also wanted to hike while they were here. We took them to Iron Mountain (which Cory and I hiked a few weekends before). Iron Mountain is about 5.6 miles round trip and is located in Powway, California. 

This is my mom and Trish towards the top of Iron Mountain. 

After our hike, we headed to Carlsbad to get Ice Cream at Sub Zero. I love this place because they have almond milk and coconut milk options! After eating our ice cream, we headed to the beach to watch the sunset. It was the best sunset!

I don't know about you, but there is just something so soothing and magical about palm trees. I think I love them so much because I did not grow up around them. I only saw palm trees on vacation. Now I feel like I am on vacation every day!

Our friends, Matt and Katie, invited us to hike THE HARDEST trail we have hiked so far. This one is called El Capitan in Lakeside, California. This hike is 12 miles round trip. We started off early in the morning to make sure we had time to hike the whole thing. It took us quite a while and the mountains and hills on this hike were so steep. I only wore my tennis shoes, but I would highly suggest actual hiking shoes for this hike. You need the support and grip of the hiking shoes. 

The hike was hard but also so rewarding. The view at the top of the peak was amazing. By the end of the hike I was so exhausted. Patch also came on this hike with us and he was so good the entire hike. What a trooper! He's an adventure dog.

Stay tuned for more adventures...

Later Taters 

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."