Hi there! And TGIF! Before I get to the post, I want to send a very special birthday shout out to my mom- I hope you have a wonderful day and I can’t wait to see you and celebrate you tomorrow. Love you so much!

How has your week been? Have any fun plans this weekend? My week has been quite different than normal in that my company held it’s “All Hands” meeting in Boston (Boston Harbor Hotel- oh, la la!) on Tuesday and Wednesday so I was making my old trek back into the city instead of my new commute to Wakefield. I have to admit: it made me miss working in the city even more than usual! On top of that, Thursday I spent the day in a “new hire training” back in Wakefield. To say this week was a bit of a wash on the work front is an understatement, but it was kind of nice! I’ll take “easy” weeks whenever I can 😉

Tuesday night, we went out on an Odyssey dinner cruise which was a blast!! The food, open bar (wine and beer), conversations and view made for an awesome night.

As for this weekend, tonight I’m going to RM’s mom’s house to have her teach me how to make authentic Italian sauce. I’m so excited! Tomorrow I’m teaching my FIRST class at my new gym and I have to admit, I’m a little nervous! It’s always kind of scary going into a new gym to teach because you don’t know what they’re used to or if what you planned is too hard or easy. Hopefully it goes well! After that, I have to rush back and get my place ready for my parents to come down. I’m hosting them at “Hotel Monique” for the night and I can’t wait!

But, before all those fun things kick off, I wanted to share a recipe that I think you’ll all enjoy. My friend, Noelle, posted some pictures on Facebook and Instagram and as soon as I saw them, I knew I needed her to guest post the recipe on this ol’ blog. I can’t wait to make them. Thanks again, Noelle, for sharing this!

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Hi everyone! I’m Noelle and I am elbow deep in buttercream frosting and croissants 50 hours a week. I am a pastry chef at Whole Foods in Wellesley, MA where I am busy cake decorating and opening and closing hot ovens… It is an absolute blast! I worked for a gluten free bakery start up business last year after I finished pastry school and learned quite a bit. It was a perfect start to ease me into the baking world, seeing I am gluten free myself (not Celiac, just feel better without it). I learned a few tricks to the difficult world of gluten free baking that I will take along with me. Although gluten free flours can be quite tricky, baking with simple and clean ingredients is what I choose to do at home. This recipe below is a dump-in-a-bowl and call it a day kind of recipe, which will leave you with some pretty satisfying bites. Enjoy!

No Bake Gluten Free Breakfast Bars– Inspired by Two Saucy Sisters

Ingredients:

• 3 c. gluten free rolled old fashioned oats, divided
• 2 T chia seeds (or ground flax seed*)
• 1⁄4 tsp salt
• 1⁄2 c. chopped raw almonds
• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1⁄2 c. peanut butter (we used all-natural)
• 1⁄4 c. honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1⁄4 c. chocolate chips, optional (I chopped up Easter chocolate..yikes)

Directions:

1. Grind one cup of the oats in a blender or food processor until it is a fine flour. In a large bowl, combine the ground oats with the remaining 2 cups of whole oats, chia seeds, salt and chopped almonds.

2. In a separate bowl combine the mashed banana, peanut butter, honey and vanilla and stir until it is smooth and fully mixed. Pour the peanut butter banana mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until no dry spots remain. You may add the chocolate chips at this point if you are using them.

3. Line a 9×9 inch square glass dish with wax paper. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the dish and set in the refrigerator for about 2 hours to firm up. When they are ready, use the edge of the wax paper to gently lift the un-cut bars out of the dish. Cut into 12 bars and store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Umm, I’m pretty sure these will be made within the next week or so. I love that there is very little added sugar, which is my goal with baking recipes at this point. I also love that you don’t have to cook anything- perfect for hot, summer days and nights!

Thank you so much for sharing, Noelle! If you want to see more of her delicious treats, check out her Instagram account- I drool over her posts daily!

Questions for you: Who do you follow on Instagram for food pictures? What’s your favorite gluten free recipe? Do you make granola bars?

Speaking of gluten free… check out this meal that RM made on Monday. Orange Macadamia Nut Encrusted fish… amazing!!