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No Sugar (& STILL Yummy) Peanut Butter Cups

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Most people who know me know that the two things I love most in life (aside from my kids) are peanut butter cups and wine. Not together. But sometimes. Occasionally. Okay, a lot. Most times.

Sigh…go ahead and judge, I don’t mind.

But, there are times when I find myself cruising at mock speed on the sugar train and decide to cut added sugar for a bit to put the breaks on my sugar addiction and get back on track. That means I need to say “no!” to Reese peanut butter cups and “hi!” to these beauties.

Okay, okay…listen…I’ll be honest…they ain’t no Reese. No one, and I mean no one, can compare. However, when you’re not on sugar but you still love a sweet treat, these do the trick.

But listen up…you get ONE a day. ONE. O.N.E. Capiche?

One.

You need to keep these in your freezer, too. The fridge works too, but I like mine in the freezer.

Give ’em a whirl. You’re gonna love ’em.

No Added Sugar Peanut Butter Cups

Delicious no sugar peanut butter cups will help you curb your sweet tooth without loads of sugar and WITH good fat.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
  • 1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp stevia optional
  • 2 Tbsp coconut oil melted
  • 1/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
  • 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp stevia optional

Instructions
 

  • Line 12 mini muffin tins with liners.

Bottom Layer

  • Melt coconut oil in a small pot on the stove.
  • Stir in next 4 ingredients (peanut butter, vanilla, cocoa powder, optional stevia.
  • Pour melted and mixed ingredients into 12 mini muffin liners.
  • Place into freezer for 5 minutes.

Top Layer

  • Melt coconut oil.
  • Stir in remaining ingredients.
  • Pour melted ingredients onto a somewhat set bottom layer.
  • Place the peanut butter cups into the freezer for at least one hour.
  • Place in an airtight container and keep in your freezer.
Keyword no sugar, peanut butter cup

#PushingForAwareness – Update on our Campaign to Raise Awareness for Childhood Mental Illness

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Well, we did it. We made it 50 days and we completed 50 pushups on each and every day of the campaign. There were certainly days when we did not want to get up, go live on Facebook and do our pushups. So. Many. Times. But, we did them anyway. Why? Because my son made us. LOL.

The purpose of this campaign was to raise money to help raise awareness for childhood mental illness. We do realize pushups won’t do a thing, but this campaign certainly did.

The final total raised was $5325.

With processing fees, my son has $5165 to divvy up between the four organizations we were raising money for. He has yet to decide how he wants to divvy it up just yet and seems to be putting a lot of time into figuring it out. I will not push him to make this decision but promise to update you all as soon as he comes up with a plan.

I must admit that I was a little concerned on Day 50 when we had over $1000 to raise to reach our goal of $5000, but as always, this incredible community came through and we exceeded our goal. The moment we reached our goal, I *may* have had a little cry when I hugged my son and told him he did it.

The moment we hit $5000 in our campaign #PushingForAwareness

From there, I couldn’t stop crying for about an hour. Quiet, silent tears…but still there. Still rolling down my face. I’m not sure why I was so emotional, but I believe, for the most part, it was because in that moment, I felt like my son was more supported than ever before.

I don’t think he understands the magnitude of what he’s accomplished but I think after reading him some of the comments from Facebook, the articles written about him and some of the emails I’ve received about his campaign…he may be getting it.

If you’ve sent Owen a note or left a beautiful comment for him, please know he’s been read them or he’s read them himself. He’s very proud of the articles from Blackpress and I’d like to thank Kendra Crighton for connecting and writing such awesome pieces.

The big question from my son now is:

“How do we keep raising awareness?”

This kid. Raising $5000 wasn’t enough…he would like to keep going and he’s requested we sell sweatshirts with all proceeds going to an organization that educates about mental illness. We will decide on one organization for this…and I will keep you posted on when and where you can buy your sweatshirt.

We have battled mental illness during this entire campaign. I’ve been exhausted at times and on top of the world at others. I’ve had to battle beside my kid on the hard days and I’ve reached for support and love during those times. Thank you to those around me who continue to support both my son and I.

The reality is…we’re not done. We have many battles to fight yet (though they will get fewer, I hope) but with the strength of this community and the support shown to our family…I have the strength to do absolutely anything.

To our fundraisers who signed up to do 50 pushups for 50 days and helped us raise over $5000…THANK YOU. Thank you for posting to Facebook and for talking about mental illness with your friends and family.

Celebrating our $5k goal! A family affair…just missing Dad (working…cuz someone has to).

To the 90+ people who donated to our campaign…THANK YOU. Achieving our goal has been an incredible confidence boost and I feel even more strongly about continuing on and forcing the issue.

Education is key and I refuse to remain quiet.

Most importantly, I am beyond proud of my son for using his voice to educate, to stand up and to tell the world that he may have a mental illness but that doesn’t define him…HE defines him. And HE is enough just as he is.

He is strong, courageous, smart and has more kindness in his pinky than a lot of people have in their entire body. Mental illness does not define my son…his brain, his fortitude, his silliness and his fun 10-year-old-boy personality defines him. Mental illness is just a part of who he is. Some days we hate it. But, most days…we honor it.

Because of anxiety and depression, my son is the person he is and I would never EVER EVER change a thing about him. Ever.

Please keep #PushingForAwareness. It’s important. #EndTheStigma.

#PushingForAwareness for Childhood Mental Illness- DAY 50!!! WE DID IT!

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50 days. 50 pushups. All to raise funds and awareness for childhood mental illness.

Today is Day 50 and I’m so proud to say WE DID IT! We made it through all 50 days and we did at least 50 pushups every day. There were hard days, happy days, sad days and everything in between days. There were days when we absolutely did NOT want to do pushups, but we did them anyway.

Why?

Because kids don’t get to decide what days that have a mental illness. Kids don’t get to decide if it’s a “good” day for depression or a panic attack. So, we got up and we did them. Every day for 50 days.

So far, we have raised over $4400 and have a goal of $5000. Please donate if you can!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

My son, age 10, diagnosed with panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety and depression wants to educate everyone about childhood mental illness. He wants other families to have the resources we didn’t have as we began our battle against mental illness. He’d love his classmates, teammates and the adults in his world to understand him just a little better.

My son, age 10, fights every day against his illness and he wants people to know this is not a choice and he would give anything to not have anxiety and depression.

My son, age 10, has more grit, determination, perseverance and desire to educate about a difficult subject than 99.9% of the adults I know.

He’s done 50 pushups for 50 days and we’ve had many conversations about childhood mental illness in random places like grocery stores, baseball games and tournaments. We’ve learned a ton of terrifying stats about childhood mental illness. We’ve educated ourselves and learned about resources like FamilySmart that help families learn about helping their child with mental illness.

But the greatest thing about this campaign is the pride in my son’s face as we’ve gone through the 50 days. He checked our campaign daily to see how much money we’ve raised to help others. He’s given gratitude to those acknowledging his hard work and now…he’s asked what’s next.

Apparently, we’re not done after this campaign is over and I couldn’t be more proud of my son for wanting to continue to educate and help and let others know they’re not alone in their battle against mental illness.

He’s thinking sweatshirts. So, stay tuned for more information on that!

But for now, I’m going to revel in the fact that my son and I accomplished this goal and battled mental illness every single day of this campaign. We won every battle. Some days left us a little battered and bruised, but we’re still here, standing together and figuring it all out.

Thank you for your support. Thank you to everyone who fundraised for Owen’s campaign and thank you to everyone who donated to our campaign #PushingForAwareness.

We are humbled by your support and so very grateful to each and every person involved in our campaign…whether you donated, completed your pushups or just had a conversation with us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

“Tired” Changes as Our Kids Grow – It’s Not a Competition, We’re All Exhausted

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I was talking with a few girlfriends the other day and we were reminiscing about the baby and toddler years. One of my friends said “I wish I knew what tired felt like back then”…and it got me thinking.

We’re all tired. No matter what stage of Motherhood we’re in, we’re all tired. Some days, we’re exhausted. But, comparing fatigue levels and one-upping one another seems a little silly to me.

As I was thinking about my reaction to my friends off-the-cuff remark (she wasn’t trying to stir anything up, it was just a conversation that got me thinking), I questioned why I wanted to defend the Mamas of newborns and little ones.

I realized, it’s not that we’re (the Mamas with bigger kids) more tired than Mamas of newborns, babies and toddlers…it’s simply that tired has changed.

I think until your kids are about five years you, the fatigue and the “tired” is physical. You’ve just either shot a watermelon out your cooch or you’ve been sliced open and your insides became your outsides for a bit, so recovery is tiring.

Then you’re nursing and going through teething and night terrors and growing pains. You’re not sleeping, so you’re still physically tired. You have to carry all the shit around – carseat, diaper bag, BABY, toys, food, bottles, binkies, babas and ALL THE SHIT around – you’re physically tired!

Honestly, the physical tiredness lasts until about five years old. So, new Mamas…you’re in for the long haul and this is one reason why being physically fit is super important! (I will talk about that in another post)

There are a few exceptions to the above, obviously. If your child is ill, or needs extra care or has a disability…your fatigue is different and your tired will be more than physical…I get that. But, for the most part, the tired of Mamas in the first five years of your kiddo’s life is physical.

THEN…YOU GO AND HAVE ANOTHER KID AND START ALL OVER AGAIN.

Sheesh, woman. Keep it in your pants.

Ha!

Moving on…

As our kids grow, I truly believe our tired turns to fatigue of our heart and soul. So, while the tired isn’t necessarily sleepless nights (or it is, but it’s because we’re worrying, not being woken up to “find a missing stuffy” at 2am), the fatigue comes from being a warrior for our kids for years on end.

We constantly have to teach, educate, protect, and stand for our kids. And that, my friends, is exhausting in a different way. No, you don’t have to change diapers in the middle of the night, but you will have to worry about your child’s happiness when they have social issues or they have a learning disability or they (gasp!) have a mental illness.

Your tired will come because you must constantly be the pillar of support for your child and again, while not physically taxing, your poor heart and soul really do some marathons out there.

I guess that is why I harp and harp and harp about taking care of your body (by moving it!), eating well, getting rest when you can and taking time to fill your bucket back up. Motherhood is tiring no matter what stage, so we need to put our health (physical, mental, social, spiritual) at the top of our priority list so that we have the energy required to make it through raising super amazing kids.

New Mamas – You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. Take a breath. Rest when you can. Know you’re amazing and all your new baby needs is to be snuggled, fed, changed and loved.

Mamas to babies – hang in there. You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. Take a breath. Rest when you can. Know you’re amazing and all your baby needs is your heart, your smile, your love and your silliness (and the necessities of life, obvi).

Mamas to toddlers – OMG. You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. Take a breath. Rest when you can. Know you’re amazing and all your toddler needs is BOUNDARIES…and your love, support, education and knowledge of how to get on in this world they’re discovering.

Mamas to kids – You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. Take a breath. Rest when you can. Know you’re amazing and all your kids need from you is for you to be strong enough to guide them through learning the ways of the world (not much to ask, is it?! Oy.) Be there for them, even on the most tiring days hug them and love them up. Let them know they belong.

Mamas to big kids – You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. Take a breath. Rest when you can. Know you’re amazing and all your big kids need to know is that they are loved and adored and they belong in this world with you by their side. Let them feel your joy and your love. On their hard days, hold them closer even as they try to push you away.

Mamas to teens – You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. Take a breath. Rest when you can. Know you’re amazing and all your teens need to know is that you are a safe place for them to come and be vulnerable. They need to know they’ll always be loved and adored and belong somewhere…and that somewhere will be with you when they choose to fall into your arms. Try not to be offended when they choose something else, just be there. Breathe. This too shall pass.

Mamas to young adults – You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. Take a breath. Rest when you can. Know that you’ve raised incredible kids and take a step back to appreciate all you’ve done and all you’ve guided. All your kids need to know is that there is always a loving and safe place for them to come home to. Arms open, Mama…even on the exhausting days.

Mamas to adults – You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. Take a breath. Rest when you can. All your kids need to know at this point is that you’re proud of them, that they are loved and that you remain a safe place for them to come home and be their authentically true and vulnerable selves. You’ve given this gift their entire lives, keep at it. You did a good job, Mama. A very good job.

To ALL the Mamas – You’re tired. I hear you and I feel you. I choose to not compete with you but to align myself with you and support and love you up. I choose to dole out what energy I have left after I’ve given it all to my kids and support you in any way, shape or form I can. I feel you, Mama. We will get through all of this and at the end of it…we will have amazing kids to show for it.

I just hope we can stay awake to appreciate it. xo

Podcasts! WHO KNEW?!

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The thought of 12 hours in the car with my two kids, ages 8 and 10, had me a little daunted, I’m not gonna lie! Every year we travel to Saskatchewan for a family reunion. It’s SUPER fun once we get there (ain’t nothin’ better than small town Saskatchewan on Canada Day!), but getting there is long and booooooooring.

BUT…this year, THIS YEAR, I attempted podcasts to make the drive a little more exciting.

It started like all other mornings….me panicking to get out the damn door so we didn’t miss the ferry. But once across on the ferry, we got into our rhythm and I thought “Alright, let’s see what all the fuss is it all about”!

Well…NOW I KNOW!

I realize I have my own podcast Dig Deep with Dr. Lindsay Gee…but I record workouts and coach you through the entire session…so it’s not really full of talking and information…it’s not your “typical” podcast.

I asked my bestie which podcast I should download and she said she’d heard good things about “Moms and Murder“. I’m a Mom and I like True Crimes…so what could go wrong?

Oprah’s Soulful Conversations was also recommended, so I ended up downloading about five episodes from that series.

There’s also a Pinterest podcast I should have downloaded…but I wanted mindless and not really super thought-provoking, to be honest. I kinda wanted to just listen to stories and GET TO WHERE I HAD TO GO!

The Pinterest one will be good when I am in work-mode…but I’ve been full-on work mode for about 6 months and I needed mindless, non-work chatter.

The result?

PODCASTS ARE AWESOME!

Listen, I know most of you know this already, but this was (#truthbomb) my first ever podcast listening. Ever. Ever, ever, ever!

So, I downloaded about 6 episodes from Moms and Murder…and the time FLEW! I did have to be careful…my kids were plugged in to their own movies, but I watched and any time they took their headphones off I paused my podcast. Probably best they didn’t hear about Moms killing their babies…

ANYWHO…

Time flew, flew, flew!

Did y’all know about these things?! Are you a podcast lover?!

I WANNA KNOW…what’s your fav! I have another 8 hours today…so…what do I download?

What’s your fav podcast?

Any recommendations for podcasts to listen to WITH your kids????? My son ended up listening to one of them with me about Diane Schuler (the mom who drove the wrong way down the highway and ended up killing herself and a bunch of kiddos)…and was hooked. But, I decided it wasn’t the best content for him…so…

Recommendations???

I know I’m behind the times, but if you’ve never listened to a podcast…YOU GOTTA! It was the shortest 10 hour drive ever and I was riveted to the content.

The best!!!

I want your recommendations! Please drop them below…I’m officially a podcast convert! Now…gimme your favs!