The BEST Keto Cinnamon Sugar Donut Holes

Okay, these were so good that I had to make a blog post to share them! Seeing as I haven't posted in forever, you know it has got to be good! These delicious cinnamon sugar donut holes are my current favorite keto treat. The taste is spot on and the texture is perfect (which is sometimes hard to find when it comes to anything low carb). 

Let's get right into it!
Here is what you'll need:

Ingredients:
2 Tbs ground flaxseed
4 Tbs water
2 1/2 C Almond Flour
a pinch of salt
4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 C monkfruit sweetner
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C cinnamon protein powder/or other keto friendly protein powder
1 tsp xanthum gum powder
1 tsp banking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg

coating
1 Tbs monk fruit sweetner
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions: (preheat oven to 350 degrees)

• In a bowl, mix flax with water and set aside for a few minutes to thicken.
• Combine almond flour, salt and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Add cinnamon protein powder, xanthum gum, baking powder and baking soda - mix well.
• Add monk fruit, oil and vanilla to the flax mixture and whisk together. Pour wet over dry and mix well.
• Add egg and beat with a hand mixer
• In a small bowl, stir together 1 Tbs monk fruit and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Set aside.
• Use a cookie scoop or your hand to make "holes" out of the dough. Roll each one smooth in your hands.
• Roll each "hole" in the cinnamon "sugar" mixture to coat.
• Put rolled donut holes onto parchment paper or silicone baking mat and put into the oven for 10-12 Minutes ( flip over half way through. )
• ENJOY!

Comment below if you end up making them and let me know what you think!

-Kayla

Cinnamon Glazed Donuts (Keto)

I am currently obsessed with these cinnamon glazed donuts (Keto style). Fall is right around the corner and those donuts from the pumpkin patch are going to be all too enticing and having an alternative is just what I needed. I adapted this recipe from (Caroline's Keto Kitchen).

Here's what you'll need: (donuts)

2 eggs

½ cup almond flour

¼ cup or 1 packet of Quest cinnamon crunch protein powder (any keto friendly protein powder should work)

2 tbsp coconut flour

¼ cup erithyrtol, granulated (sweetner)

¼ tsp salt

2 oz cream cheese, softened

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup water

Glaze (from Caroline's Keto Kitchen):

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup erithrytol (sweetner)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

1) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2) Separate 2 eggs. Set aside the egg yolks. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks with a hand mixer and set aside.

3) In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (almond flour, cinnamon crunch protein powder, coconut flour, erithrytol, salt, softened cream cheese and baking powder).

4) Add wet ingredients (egg yolks, vanilla and whipping cream/water). Stir until mixed very well. 

5) Gently combine stiff egg whites with the mixture. Stir gently until mixture is all one color.

6) Spray a muffin tin and fill 1/3 of the way up OR Spray two donut pans with coconut spray and fill each mold about 2/3 of the way.

7) Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. (Longer for a muffin tin) Let donuts cool in pan for 5 minutes, and then take them out of their molds and set on a paper towel. If you used a muffin tin use a rounded piece to cut out holes.

8) Melt butter in a frying pan and then add the erithrytol. Once the sweetner is fully melted, add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla, and stir over heat for roughly 5 minutes. 

9) Remove glaze from heat. If you want a thicker glaze, wait at least 45 minutes to apply glaze. If you prefer a thinner glaze, dip each donut once in the frying pan, applying glaze to both sides. If you like donuts very sweet, you can dip each donut twice. If you are not a fan of sweet donuts, you can spoon glaze over donuts rather than dipping them in.

Enjoy your delicious donuts!!!

I hope you enjoy these low carb / keto friendly glazed cinnamon donuts! I sure know I'll be making another batch soon!

-Kayla

Instagram @kaylawriter

Family Christmas Pictures 2014: Kayla

Good Morning! Can you believe there are only 3 days until Christmas? I love this time of the year! It is so beautiful outside as the seasons change, and it is great time to get the family together and take that yearly family Christmas picture. Perhaps you're waiting til the last minute, but I'm guessing most of you have sent your your family Christmas picture/greeting cards (if that's something you do). We took our pictures the weekend before Thanksgiving. We rarely get the chance to take pictures of the whole family all together, so I was excited we got a few good pictures. It is crazy how challenging it can be to get a decent picture of everyone. Kenzie had her work cut out for her, to try and get everyone's attention, and us all smiling at the same time. It is a big different to go from one kid to two, in terms of taking pictures. Haha. Anyway, I was happy with how they turned out, and I thought it would be fun to share them with you all! I always enjoy looking up picture ideas for family pictures on pinterest. Here you go!

And I just have to share this one of Simon and cousin Ben, the bestest little buddies!

Did you share family Christmas pictures on your website or blog? I'd love to see them, leave a comment below :)

Small Business Monthly Feature: Positively Oakes + SALE!!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is tomorrow! I decided to post our December small business feature a week early, so you don't miss out on their amazing sales this week. If you have a small business and would like to be featured you can CLICK HERE for more information, we would love to work with you! This month we are featuring a fun shop called Positively Oakes. Positively Oakes was created in order for kids to be comfortable but fashionable. They have the mindset that clothes should be functional and comfy for your little ones, but also fun! Which is great, because I think that is what every parent wants. They are having some great sales this week too, which is why I decided to post this feature a week early, so you don't miss out! You're welcome :)

Adeline wearing their Yellow Slouchy Beanie c/o Positively Oakes

The founder of Positvely Oakes is Jessica, who has a passion for fashion, sewing and growing this awesome brand. Positively Oakes is based in Idaho, but is widely known and has been featured on many blogs and a few magazines. 

 Simon wearing the Winterized Knotted Beanie c/o Positively Oakes (COMING SOON to their winter collection)

We received two products, the yellow slouchy beanie and the knotted beanie pictured above. We love them! Addie loves wearing this hat, which is rare, so that is great! Simon loved his little hat as well. Not to mention they are so adorable!!

Positvely Oakes features a variety of products including: tees, onesies, leggings, hats, headbands, and more! And they currently have the most adorable holiday collection, as well. One of my favorites is this "Don't worry my Dad has a beard" tee. Which would be perfect for Addie or Simon! :)

Be sure to check out this amazing shop - and find something or five things, for your little one!! Today's SALE -- All their tees are on sale for $14, one even marked down to $10!! Go check out the selection! Comment below if you find something that you end up purchasing or something that you would want to purchase! I'd love to hear about it.

Get social with Positively Oakes - Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter!

All Things Thanksgiving Round-up

Hi everyone! I hope you all enjoying fall/winter season! It has been feeling more like winter here. This morning there are freezing temps, and icy roads. However, Thanksgiving is only one week away, and I can't wait! Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday! Family, friends, FOOD, and shopping, are all among my favorite things. We will be having Thanksgiving with my family this year, so I don't have to worry about to much, as far as getting ready, but I know a lot of you do. Here is a round-up of all things Thanksgiving. From free printables to mouth-watering recipes, we've got you covered!

Free Thanksgiving Utensil Holder Printable by Craftaholics Anonymous

Mini Pumpkin Pies by Home is Where the Boat Is

Apple Pie Punch by The Cookie Rookie

Thanksgiving Minute to Win It Games for the whole family by U Create

Thanksgiving Day Menu Plan FREE Printable by Orchard Girls

DIY Thanksgiving Sign by Lil Mrs. Tori

Thanksgiving Candy Turkey Bark by Just  A Taste

DIY Leaf Garland by Happiness is Homemade

That's all for now, I hope these give a few fun ideas for the Thanksgiving Holiday! Have a wonderful rest of the week :)

Pumpkin M&M Cookies!

Happy day before Halloween, everyone! Can you believe that I received a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for my Birthday (in JULY!) and haven't used it once?! I think I've been a little intimidated by it, and having a brand new baby made baking seem like such a hassle. I finally decided to use it today to make these delicious Pumpkin M&M Cookies!

I used my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I shared with you all last year (it's our favorite!). I just substituted M&Ms because we seriously have a bunch left over from our huge Costco sized variety pack. I figured you could use any kind of leftover candy you had! I was tempted to use peanut butter cups, but those are just too delicious by themselves :)

These are very cakey cookies, which is a nice change sometimes. They aren't super pumpkin-y, so if you're not a huge fan of pumpkin, you might still like these. Give them a try! They're super easy, I promise- especially if you use a stand mixer ;)

Have a great day! And have a fun & safe Halloween tomorrow.

The Easiest Pumpkin Apple Muffins!

If any of you are familiar with fall baking, you probably already know this recipe! It's one of the easiest things you can bake- especially if you leave out the apple! I decided to share it since there might be someone out there who doesn't know this trick!

What you'll need:

-Spice Cake Mix

-16oz can of Pumpkin

-1 apple (I used Braeburn, but you could really use any kind you like or have handy!)

What you do:

1. Mix the cake mix and pumpkin into a large bowl. (You could just bake it like this if you didn't want the apple!)

2. Peel your apple. Using a shredder, shred your apple right into the bowl. Mix it up!

3. Scoop into regular sized muffin tin & bake at 350 degrees for around 25 minutes. This recipe makes a dozen.

4. Enjoy! They're super moist and not too sweet, so you don't have to feel guilty for having one three for breakfast.

Hope you all had a great week!

Hello Fall Free Printable

I hope you're having a great week. Today I have a quick post that includes a FREE printable. The weather today makes me believe that fall is officially here, and no more sneaky summer appearances. With that in mind, I made this simple fall printable to share! We still haven't made a trip to the pumpkin patch, and I'd really like to, I'm hoping we can make it happen this weekend at some point. What is your favorite part about fall? OH and if you're looking for more fall fun and decorating ideas you going to want to check out our post Top 12 Fall Decorating Ideas!

Yellow "Hello Fall" FREE Printable PDF Download

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Black and White "Hello Fall" FREE Printable PDF Download

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These are both suited to be printed on a standard piece of printer paper with a little extra room and perfect for 8x10 print as well. Have a fabulous fall!

An Easy Halloween Night-In!

Hey everyone! Guess what...

Well, actually, it's pretty much here!

We aren't super big on Halloween around here, but I always like to do a few things to make it fun. I grew up trick-or-treating and going to church events. We weren't allowed to dress up as anything "scary," and I've kind of stuck to that mentality as I've gotten older. We still had lots of fun, though! I DID get to watch Hocus Pocus every year, and it has sort of become the Halloween tradition we never really knew we had. 

Here are a few things that I plan on doing for Halloween this year!

Candy Corn Rice Krispie Treats 

Halloween Bark

Pumpkin Spice Halloween Punch

Hocus Pocus Pillow

Halloween Playlist (spotify playlist!)

Hilarious Buzzfeed Baby Costumes

So, as you can see, I plan on dressing up my baby, making some treats, and listening to some Halloween inspired tunes. We don't get any trick-or-treaters out here (country living!), so it will probably just be a fun little night in. 

What are your plans for Halloween this year? Any fun traditions I should start with my family?

Have a great rest of your weekend!