Peanut Butter Twix Bar (Dairy-free + Gluten-free)

If I had to pick a candy bar to eat for the rest of my life I would probably pick a Twix. They’re just so delicious — the caramel, the shortbread, the chocolate — all of it. It provides such a satisfying crunch while also delivering the perfect caramel to chocolate ratio. Seeking out a healthier alternative for my candy bar of choice, I came across Rachael’s Good Eats healthier Twix Bar. I made a handful of tweaks to eliminate the need for coconut flour as it’s not my favorite texture or flavor and then decided to use my peanut butter caramel in place of an almond butter based caramel. What I ended up with was a dessert that I am consistently stocking my freezer with and i am certain after you try it you will be too.

Peanut Butter Twix Bars

Inspired by Rachael’s Good Eats

Makes 20 bite size bars

Shortbread Layer:

• 1 cup almond flour

• 1 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup

• 1 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Caramel Layer:

• 1 recipe of my peanut butter caramel sauce

Chocolate Layer:

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Flaky sea salt for topping, optional

Make the shortbread layer: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a 9 x 5 pan with parchment paper (a standard bread pan). Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all the shortbread ingredients until well combined — ensuring there are no dry spots remaining. Transfer the mixture to the greased pan and pat down in an even layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Set aside and allow to cool completely.

Make the Caramel Layer: Follow the direction for the caramel in this blog post. Allow the caramel to cool completely before spreading it evenly on top of the shortbread layer. Place the baking dish in the freezer and allow the caramel to harden (about 1-2 hours).

Make the Chocolate Layer: Place the chocolate and the coocnut oil in a microwave safe container and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring between, until the chocolate chips have fully melted.

Putting it all together: Pour the chocolate onto the hardened caramel in an even layer. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Return to the freezer for another 10-15 minutes until the chocolate hardens. Remove from the freezer and slice the bars into 1/2” pieces widthwise and then cut each piece in half. Store in an airtight container in the freezer or refrigerate for up to a month.

Packing For 16 Days Abroad in a Backpack

I used to be the person that would bring the biggest suitcase on a trip. Through the years I’ve realized that even when I brought a big suitcase I didn’t wear 3/4 of what I brought. I’ve been working on minimizing my wardrobe for the past few years and it’s made me realize how little I actually need. This concept transferred over to travel and I’ve been slowly bringing less and less on our trips and it feels so good.

We recently got back from traveling around Norway, Sweden, + Denmark for 16 days. It was a DREAM. I’ll write more on the specifics of the trip later, but here I wanted to share the answer to the question on got most after I shared that I was only bringing a backpack. The burning question many of you had was, “What did you pack?” Understandably, a lot of you were skeptical this would be enough for me to even make it through the whole trip, but once I started hearing the skepticism I wanted to take the challenge a bit further. I wanted to move the challenge from “Packing for 16 days abroad in a backpack” to “Packing for 16 days abroad in a backpack AND not repeating an outfit.” Here’s proof that I stepped up to the challenge. Please know I have nothing against outfit repeating at all (I am a frequent “offender’) this just felt like a really fun challenge to push myself to be resourceful.

The main reason for bringing just a backpack was because we were moving around constantly and it was so much easier to just carry one thing. Plus, Europe’s cobblestone streets are stunning, but really not fun to roll a suitcase on. Below I am sharing my thought process when packing and a list of everything I packed to make it possible. I also share some of the things I wish I would have brought and some things I wish I would have left at home.

Please know, I am not a fashionista. I’m just a practical lady that wanted to pull together some comfy outfits that made me feel good and let me focus on experiencing the culture and sights around me. I knew we were going to be very active (walking 25,000+ steps a day, hiking, biking, etc.) but also sitting on trains and planes and ferries. Comfort was my highest priority. After comfort I tried to focus on packing some solid basics that could be mixed and matched — neutral colors, dresses that could be layered over, etc. This allowed me to bring fewer items because everything went together. I could easily thow my chambray shirt over my linen dress or wear it over a cropped tank with shorts for bike riding. Layers was a really important component I considered when packing. I wanted to make sure I had a variety of options because the weather could fluctuate.

This was the longest we had traveled period and it was definitely the longest I had ever lived out of a backpack. I’d definitely do it again, but here are some things I would bring with me next time and some things I would leave at home. I hope this brings you some packing inspiration for your next adventure.

Things I wish I would have left home:

• The active dress I brought isn’t my favorite. I feel like it is a weird length (like it needs to either be a bit longer or shorter to make it flattering).

Things I wish I would have brought:

• A rain jacket (we got lucky and it didn't rain on us much at all during the trip, but the security of that additional layer would have been nice)

• Instead of the active dress I would have brought this active skirt instead. It would have been more versatile to swap out tops to create more variation.

• A pair of linen shorts. It ended up being pretty hot in Flam (80F+) and my only option was to wear my sweat shorts - which was fine, but another option would have been nice and wouldn’t have really taken up much room.

Day 1 + 2

The Packing List

• Bottoms

  • Madewell Jeans - Similar here

  • Linen pants - Similar here

  • Aerie sweat shorts - Similar here

• Tops

  • Cable knit Sweater - They’re out of the color I have, but color that is in stock is gorgeous. Hold out for a sale. They always have good discounts.

  • Chambray shirt - similar here

  • White tank 

  • Black tank 

  • Brown t-shirt

  • White t-shirt

  • Crop tank (I contemplated bringing the skort that goes with this too for more versatility and in hindsight it would have been a good addition.) 

• Dresses

  • White linen dress - Similar here and here and here

  • Black linen dress

  • Athletic dress - I cut mine to be shorter, but I want to get it hemmed to be even 3 inches shorter.

• Outer layer

  • Jean Jacket

• Shoes / Accessories

  • Swimsuit - Similar here

  • Baseball hat 

  • Earrings (x2) 

  • Sneakers

  • Sandals

  • Canvas tote

  • Crossbody bag  - Similar here

• Undergarments / Sleepwear

  • 1 Sports bra

  • 10 pairs of underwear (see note below)

  • 1 nude colored bra

  • Pajama set

Notes

• Packing cubes are game changes. They keep things organized into categories (I usually do: tops, bottoms, dresses, sleepwear + undergarments, etc.)

• Here’s the backpack I took. I like that there are pouches on the front that allowed me to put things I wanted to reach quickly. It also qualifies as a carry-on. I’d say the quality is on par with the price point. I got it about 6 years ago and it’s got some rips in it now, but for less than $60 and the amount that I’ve put it through, I think it’s fair.

• Day 1 + 2’s outfit are the same because we ended up having to stay in London overnight and my bag was checked to Copenhagen (Omaha made me check the bag because the flight was too full already) - I only almost cried which after not sleeping for 48 hours felt like a win.

• I knew we would have access to laundry halfway through our trip so I only packed enough underwear for that (plus a few extra). If your airbnb doesn’t have laundry there are usually laundromats that you can post up at for a couple hours (obviously this depends on where you are traveling, but a good option to look into).

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Day 13

Day 14

Day 15

Day 16

Lemony Cucumber + Feta Pasta Salad

According to the calendar summer hasn’t even started yet, but we have already had our fair share of 95 degrees days. It’s days like these that a salad for dinner feels like the best option — for both your sweaty body and your vegetable-craving soul.

When we aren’t making this Italian Chopped Salad this summer, we will be making this cucumber and feta pasta salad. It’s light, refreshing, and really hits the spot on those hot summer nights. Pair it with some grilled chicken and string lights and you’ve got yourself a summer night’s dream.

Lemony Cucumber + Feta Pasta Salad

Makes 6 servings as a side dish

• 8 ounces of bowtie pasta, prepared according to package directions

• 1 large cucumber, diced

• 4 ounce block of feta, diced

For the Lemon Vinaigrette:

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 small garlic clove, grated

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• ¼ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste

• Freshly ground black pepper

• ½ teaspoon maple syrup

• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Optional Additions:

• fresh herbs for topping (mint, cilantro, parsley)

• Hazelnuts for topping

• chickpeas

Making The Vinaigrette: Meanwhile, In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, and honey, if using.Drizzle in the olive oil while whisking and continue to whisk until the dressing is emulsified.

Making the Pasta: Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Drain (do not rinse) and then while the pasta is still hot drizzle the lemon vinaigrette over the pasta and then toss together in a bowl. This will allow the noodles to soak up as much flavor from the vinaigrette as possible.

Bringing it all Together: Allow the pasta to come to room temperature on the counter and then add in the cucumbers and feta. If you’re adding chickpeas this would be a good time to add in as well. Allow the pasta salad to chill for at least an hour before serving. Serve the pasta salad up in individual bowls and then top with the herbs and hazelnuts. Enjoy!

Will keep in the fridge for 3 days. If the pasta is seeming a bit dry after it has been in the fridge overnight just drizzle it with a little extra olive oil and toss it together.

Italian Chopped Salad AKA The Salad of The Summer

This is like the salad for when you’re on the fence of whether or not you even want a salad or not. It’s jam packed with so much goodness that it will make all other salads seems boring — in fact, other salads ARE boring in comparison.

This salad was inspired by one we had at Pizzeria Ruby during our trip to Bentonville, Arkansas. After we had biked 18 miles in the heat of the day to get to this little pizza shop, all I wanted was their refreshing chopped salad. Don’t worry, we also got a pizza (and some gelato), but I might risk saying that the salad was the star of the show. It was full of olives, pepperonchinis, pickled onions, provolone, and salami (I’ve opted for pepperoni here, but to each their own). It was the perfect salad to fuel the remaining 18 miles of our journey and inspire a summers worth of lunches and dinner.

If you’re still skeptical that a salad can actually be that delicious, I challenge you to give this one a try. I can guarantee you’re gonna make it once and then have it on repeat all summer long.

Italian Chopped Salad

Makes 6 servings

For the Italian dressing:

• ⅓ cup olive oil

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoons honey or maple syrup

• 1 clove garlic, finely minced

• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning

• ½ teaspoon salt

  For the salad:

• 1 large head of romaine lettuce, chopped

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• 6 oz thinly sliced pepperoni, chopped

• 1 ½ cups cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

• ½ cup pitted sliced kalamata olives

• ¼ cup sliced pepperoncinis

• 4 ounces pickled red onions

• ½ cup cubed provolone cheese

• ¼ cup shredded parmesan

  Make the dressing: in a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar/honey, garlic, dijon, italian seasoning, salt and pepper.

  Chop and prep all your other ingredients.

  Assemble the salad: Next add in the chickpeas, pepperoni, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncinis, red onion, provolone cheese, + parmesan. Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately. To make this ahead of time keep the dressing separate until ready to serve.