Despite the length of the ingredient list, this was a fairly simple recipe. And my husband said that he might actually like these brownies more than he likes non-banana brownies.

As long as you’re a chocolate and banana kind of person, these brownies are a win.

Things the recipe doesn’t say that I did

• I melted the butter first then let it sit for a little while to cool down so it wouldn’t scramble the eggs.
• Then I imperfectly smashed two bananas right in the bowl and didn’t measure how much it was.
• The brownies ended up needing an additional 15 minutes to cook since every time I went to check the brownies, the batter jiggled so much I didn’t even need to poke it.

I eat gluten-free, so I used a special flour for the recipe that’s supposed to be good enough to replace 1 for 1 regular flour. I don’t know if that’s why my brownies turned out looking so holey or if I did something else weird.

My hypothesis is that I had more banana in the batter than the recipe calls for.

Bird Dog

1. Begin in a crawling position
2. Move one arm out straight in front of you and extend the opposite leg behind you.
3. Tighten your abs and keep your hips level. Your body should remain firm and not wobble or shift.
4. Hold for a few seconds, then return to your hands and knees.
5. Switch to the other side.
6. Aim to complete five reps on each side or 10 reps total.

This exercise strengthens your core muscles: abs, glutes, hip flexors, pelvic floor.

(source)

The post 1 Easy Recipe + 1 Simple Exercise first appeared on MS and Mo.

I remember feeling lonely at that time of my life so this invitation and experience had a significant impact on me.

Since that day I’ve made it a tradition in my home to have butternut squash soup and breadsticks for dinner on Halloween day.

The biggest difficulty I have with this recipe every time is that a butternut squash is INCREDIBLY HARD. I used to try to chop it in half and then cut the squash off the rind. I have since learned a magnificent trick.

PEEL the squash. It sounds crazy, and it takes a few passes with the peeler to get the outside off, but it works pretty well.

If you’re really going for simplicity though, I recommend buying the pre-cubed butternut squash. I peeled the squash and was surprised at how much effort it still took. I also nicked myself on the finger with the peeler.

Other tips:

• Microwave the garlic clove for 4 seconds and the peel will practically slide off.
• After cutting onions, rub hands on stainless steel under warm water to get rid of the onion smell.
• I used chicken broth rather than vegetable broth which added a nice flavor.
• After blending everything in my blender I added a splash of heavy whipping cream which made the soup extra velvety.

Dumbell Row

How to: Hold kettlebell or dumbbell in left hand and place your right hand and knee on a bench as seen in the picture.

Your back should be flat and your left elbow stays close to the body.

Hold your left arm straight.

Flex abs while pulling the weight up to where your elbow makes a 90 degree angle.

Lower the weight back to starting position.

Repeat 10 times on each side.

Image by Racool_studio on Freepik

The post 1 easy recipe + 1 simple exercise first appeared on MS and Mo.