Hello from the Bay Area friends! We have made the pilgrimage up to the Bay Area to introduce the newest addition to our friends and family who live up here. Many have already met her but it never ceases to amaze me how deep our ties to the Bay Area really are. There are always more people to see, and we never hit everyone. With Nick and I both growing up here, we have friends and extended family on both sides that we love dearly and most definitely do not see enough. 

It’s a blessing and a curse having such a great ecosystem up here. We love living down in SoCal – we are the definition of beach people! – but it’s always bittersweet being up in the Bay, knowing we would be perfectly comfortable from a social standpoint and probably doubly supported from a childcare perspective. We constantly feel the tug to return home. And yet, we continue to choose Santa Monica/Venice. That must be a sign that we are doing something right with the life we built down south. 

Lucky for us, the 6 hour drive isn’t too painful given the hundreds of times we have done it. We could do it in our sleep now! We know our stops, we know when to leave, we know what to pack. Though I guess you could say it’s been evolving now with two very young kiddos. One who knows he is strapped into a car and desperately wants to run around. Another who sleeps most the time but does require more breastfeeding stops. The one thing that never changes on these journeys is snacks. Nick never thinks to pack anything, claiming he won’t get hungry. I always over pack, knowing full well he will want something salty to chomp on when bored on the 5. I am also now thinking of what healthy snacks I can have on standby for the kids. Not just on the drive, but when we get to the Bay. The last thing I want to do the day we arrive is spending an hour in the kitchen prepping food for Koa. So now I think ahead. I steam some corn (boy does Koa love corn), I wash some fruit, I air fry some meatballs, and I come with some baked good. Easy to have on hand, healthier than store bought (we are still minimizing processed sugar), and just as easy for me snack on when I inevitably wake up starved and in need of a protein boost. 

These are my new obsession. Well, Go Nanas banana mix is my usual obsession since you simply add 4 ingredients and bake. But these I can share with Koa. Though who am I kidding, I eat 85% of them. They are worth baking from scratch and are packed with protein so it feels healthy. At least they are healthy in my book!

For this batch, I chopped salted nuts for a little extra protein and fat on top. But you can easily omit or swap with chocolate chips (or do both like I did). The actual muffin mix is delicious and not too sweet so you don’t need to add toppings. But your girl likes salt on everything so I couldn’t resist. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

3 ripe bananas

2 eggs

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup avocado oil

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 cup almond flour

1 cup rolled oats

½ cup collagen protein powder

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tbsp. cinnamon

Dash of salt

Optional toppings: chocolate chips, chopped nuts, sea salt

Serving Size: 12

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 375F. 
• In a large bowl, mash up the bananas. 
• Then mix in the eggs, maple syrups, oil and collagen. 
• Gently stir in the almond flour, oats, baking power, cinnamon, and salt. 
• Pour into lined muffin tins. 
• *Sprinkle with toppings if opting to do so. 
• Bake for 20 minutes. 
• Let cool and enjoy!