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Healthier Buffalo Chicken Artichoke Dip + Adventures in The Exumas, Bahamas

April 11, 2016 • 26 Comments

This Healthier Buffalo Chicken Artichoke Dip is a crowd-pleasing appetizer that’s secretly packed with vegetables and better-for-you ingredients — so you can feel great about eating it!

Well friends, it’s back to reality for this lady today. Did you miss me? I know I certainly missed interacting with you last week while I was on vacation! Three days ago, I was standing on cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean on one of the 365 islands that make up The Exumas. With my feet planted firmly on the summit, I breathed in the salt water air and told myself to savor every inhale. I wanted to bottle up the smell of the air, the sound of the crashing waves and the deep colors of aqua and blue that surrounded me. Lord, help me not forget this moment. Let me carry this peace and beauty of your creation with me through all of my days, I prayed.

Vacations never seem long enough to me. When the time comes to pack up and go home, I always find myself longing for another week, or even just a few more days. I know I should be grateful for just having the chance to go on vacation, but my soul always longs for more rest, more time with family, more time with God.

Many words could describe our family vacation to Exuma, but if I had to choose just one I’d go with blessed. Most people would be hesitant about going on a trip with their in-laws, but I have been blessed beyond measure with an amazing second family through my husband. I’ll never forget the first time I was invited to a Gaskill/Edman family gathering back when Mr. MLS and I were dating … From the get-go I felt like I belonged, and once the party was over I couldn’t wait to hang out with them again.

This was our third vacation together as a family, and I think it was our most adventurous getaway to date! While in Exuma we rented a boat and cruised around the islands for a day, docking our boat and swimming in wherever we wanted to explore. We also saw a family of dolphins, cannonballed off boats into the ocean, swam with pigs, played with endangered iguanas, drove to the Tropic of Cancer, got tossed around by the waves and found tons of beach treasures. The vacation wasn’t perfect by any means — I still had some bad pain days in paradise — but looking back on the trip I can’t deny God blessed the trip and we had a wonderful time.Read More

FJ 05: Barb Roose: Winning Your Ugly Struggle With Beauty

April 6, 2016 • 9 Comments

barb roose finding joy podcast with lauren gaskill 2

Finding Joy is a podcast dedicated to bringing you encouragement and inspiration in all of life’s moments — the good, bad and everything in-between.

Barb Roose is our guest for the fifth episode of the Finding Joy podcast! Barb has been speaking at conferences, churches and women’s ministry events since 2005. Whether she is sharing challenging Biblical teachings, telling a personal story, or making connections with audiences, Barb loves inspiring women to connect with God and each other.

In this episode, Barb and I talk about:

The anniversary of her book, “Enough Already: Winning Your Ugly Struggle With Beauty.”
Learning to be grateful, patient and content in all circumstances.
How to stop comparing ourselves to Barbie (or other women) and embrace our God given identity.
What it looks like to step out in faith and trust God with our future.

Barb encourages us to get to know God on a deeper level, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts as he changes our view of ourselves and our heavenly Father.Read More

Chunky Peanut Butter Chocolate Pudding Brownie Bites

April 4, 2016 • 17 Comments

Calling all chocolate lovers! These Chunky Peanut Butter Chocolate Pudding Brownie Bites come together in less than 10 minutes — so what are you waiting for? Treat yo self.

Aloha from the crystal blue waters of Exuma, Bahamas! Mr. Making Life Sweet and I are currently on a week-long vacation with his mom, brother, sister and gramma, so if you notice I’m not as active on social media or other blogs this week, that’s why. With this being our first vacation in a year-and-a-half, it’s definitely time for this lady to take a break, dig her toes in the sand and float in the ocean while sipping a piña colada.

There’s a part of me that longs to just pack my bags and move to tropical waters. I have and always will be a water and a beach girl. Where there is water and sand, I thrive. I think that’s one of the reasons why I loved our first home in Minnesota so much, because there is water everywhere in that state. You can’t go for a drive without running into a creek, stream, river, waterfall, pond or lake.

Mr. Making Life Sweet and I joke about moving to an island all the time. “I could write for the tourism magazines and open up a bakery and you could sell boat rentals,” I say to him. Though he agrees this plan is not a half-bad idea, I don’t think that will be happening for a long time — if we’re lucky, maybe when we are old and grey.

Before hopping on a plane to get to the Caribbean I was testing out recipes for these pudding brownie bites that are here on the blog today. You might think putting pudding (see what I did there? :P) on top of a brownie might be weird, but think again — it’s actually quite delicious and even more decadent than frosting in my opinion!

I was inspired to mix pudding with brownie bites after stumbling across this Chocolate Avocado Peanut Butter Pudding recipe from the Realistic Nutritionist. In her recipe for the pudding, she crumbles brownie on top, and it got me thinking: What if it were the other way around? What if you wrapped chocolatey brownie goodness around pudding?

I was hesitant to share this recipe with all of you because I know it might seem a little different, but I hope you’ll expand your horizons and give them a taste. The best part about this recipe — other than the fact that it comes together in less than 10 minutes — is that in the end you have leftover pudding! Did I mention the pudding is ultra good for you, too? I believe dessert is all about balance, and to me pairing soft brownies with a healthy, chunky pudding just feels right. Don’t you think?

Fried Brussels Sprouts with Honey, Balsamic Vinegar + Toasted Breadcrumbs

March 28, 2016 • 22 Comments

Fried Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Breadcrumbs create a delicious side to go with any meal.

Have you ever had a side dish where you wanted to just eat the whole pan as a meal and call it good? Yeah, that’s these Brussels sprouts to a T. Man can’t live on sprouts and breadcrumbs alone, but if I had to, I’d be content with these bad boys.

If you’d ask me five years ago what I thought of these little green trees otherwise known as Brussels sprouts, I would have stuck my tongue out and fake gagged. My only experience with Brussels sprouts growing up was eating them boiled. It wasn’t until I started cooking for myself in college that I began to research ways to cook them differently. Once I learned the better ways to prepare them, I couldn’t stop eating them. (I’m surprised I didn’t turn green after learning how to cook them, because there was a period where I think I ate them every day for about two weeks straight.)

If your not a huge fan of Brussels sprouts your only experience with them has been of the boiled kind, I urge you to try this recipe. Give the little green trees a second chance — they deserve it. Did you know they are packed with Vitamin K, which promotes strong bones (a 195% daily food value per serving to be exact!)? They also contain high amounts of vitamins C, A and B6, among other nutrients. So not only do they taste good when prepared well, but they are also incredibly healthy for you too!

If all else fails and the taste still doesn’t appeal to you, I won’t feel offended or judge you if you stuff your face with breadcrumbs instead. We can’t love all vegetables (it’s still hard for me to get on the kale train unless I’m eating kale chips), but we certainly owe each one the chance to win us over.

FJ 04: Kimberly Ann Bonds: Finding Joy in Surrender + Learning Who We Are In Christ

March 23, 2016 • 15 Comments

Dear friends, today’s podcast might just be one of the most inspiring conversations I’ve ever had and I’m so excited to share it with you today.

We all have memories that stay with us from our childhood, whether it was trips to the ice cream stand with friends, boat rides with gramma and grandpa, or making cookies with mama. While the latter memories are certainly precious and etched into my mind, there’s something else I remember about growing up, and that was listening to Kimberly Ann Bonds on the radio. Every time my family was in the car we had Pulse.FM on the radio and we always looked forward to this wonderful woman being the host.

Finding Joy is a podcast dedicated to bringing you encouragement and inspiration in all of life’s moments — the good, bad and everything in-between.

Kimberly Ann is the epitome of positivity — one of those people who is truly beautiful from the inside out. I am so excited to share our conversation with you today because this woman is so inspiring!

In this episode, Kimberly Ann and I talk about:

Her struggle with ADHD, drugs, an eating disorder and a suicide attempt.
How she learned to surrender the pain, heartbreak and struggles of her childhood and early adult years in exchange for God’s peace, love and grace.
Finding joy in surrender.
Finding our true identity in Christ alone and choosing to pursue wisdom, faith, knowledge, grace and love above all.
Imperfect progress and the redemption process.
Her ministry through Kimberly Ann Ministries and the Heart 2 Heart daily devotional program.

Kimberly Ann encourages us to embrace surrender, hold fast to what is good and trust in the One who holds our lives in His hands.

How to Listen to the Finding Joy Podcast

You can listen to the podcast here on this blog, or by subscribing to the podcast through iTunes.

Subscribe to the iTunes podcast HERE.

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Bagel Eggs Benedict with Avocado Hollandaise

March 21, 2016 • 35 Comments

This Bagel Eggs Benedict with Avocado Hollandaise is a unique, healthy twist on a classic favorite.

Is there anything more visually appetizing than an ooey, gooey, runny egg yolk? Your answer might be yes but for me, a perfectly poached egg is absolutely mouth watering. Combine that yellow goodness with avocado, roasted red peppers and proscuitto and you have a total flavor explosion!

And I didn’t even mention the bagel yet. I don’t know who first created a gluten-free bagel, but GOD BLESS YOU whoever you are. I’ve never met you but I love you.

The world has come a long way when it comes to gluten-free baked goods. (I’m still waiting for a gluten-free pretzel to come to places like Auntie Anne’s or The Pretzelmaker … but I’m thankful for what’s available today!)

I typically make Eggs Benedict with regular bread, but recently had the idea to try it with bagels instead. The result is this — AKA my new favorite way to make this classic dish! I recommend making this recipe as is, but if you want to add another layer of flavor, try smearing honey butter on the bagel before you put the proscuitto and other toppings on! Total breakfast heaven.