afternoon snack

These days it's hard to make meals and I find myself snacking or needing an afternoon pick-me-up. Food is an interesting subject for me since being pregnant. I went from being vegan before I got married, then vegetarian, and then during the middle of my pregnancy I started eating red meat (for the first time in my life-- I grew up vegetarian). Now I'm back to trying to be vegan/dairy free with the occasional fish/chicken meal. SO with all that being said my diet is ever changing and I'm trying to get off my carb/sugar binge from no sleep. 

Ginny Bakes is a healthy alternative to satisfy my afternoon sugar cravings. The cookies are made with all organic ingredients and they are gluten free. They have a great variety of flavors from pistachio + cranberry to oatmeal chocolate chip. They come in the bigger packages and the snack size mini bags. You can find them at Whole Foods, Earth Fair, Fresh Market, and even Publix. 

I paired them with my delicious homemade almond milk that I started making every week. I make a ton so I can put it in my coffee, oatmeal, smoothies, or just drink plain. I also got Ellie's Best 12x12 milk bag that has been a complete life saver. I was using coffee filters and that literally took FOREVER. So this bag allows me to make the almond milk in less than 10 minutes. 

Almond Milk Recipe: 

High Speed Blender (I use my vitamix and love it)

8 cups filtered water for the milk

4 cups filtered water for soaking almonds

2 cups of raw almonds (I got this bag off Amazon)

Pinch of sea salt

4 dates

Milk Bag (Ellie's Best 12x12)

Milk Jug (2 quart Milk Bottle)

Almond Milk Directions: 

Soak 2 cups of raw almonds in 4 cups of filtered water over night. I just put the almonds in the water before I go to bed and leave them in there until late morning when I get around to making the milk. I make it in two batches so I put one cup of almonds in the blender with two dates, a pinch of sea salt, and 4 cups of water. I blend on high for about a minute. Then I strain the milk through the milk bag into the jug. Repeat this again and you will have 2 quarts of fresh almond milk. Keep in the fridge for up to a week. 

Ginny Bakes Cookie Faves:

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Bliss Minis

Cranberry Pistachio Cookie Bliss

Special thanks to GINNY BAKES for the cookies!