Horse Show Fun

Ok, I told you a few months ago about the crazy workout that is 'taking riding lessons'! Well, all that hard work and sore muscles was about to be completely worth it! 

I spend the week cleaning my saddle and getting my show clothes ready to go! 

The show was the Thoroughbred Classic and it was down in San Juan Capistrano. I was originally going to stay in a hotel, but boy oh boy are they expensive! So, I went to trusty Airbnb and found a great place for next to nothing! 

I had a view of the ocean from the top of the hill!

And a friendly buddy to greet me!

I got there late Friday night and ordered some gluten free pizza and watched Orange is the New Black!

Then it was an early bedtime so I would be ready to go first thing in the morning! 

The Thoroughbred Classic Horse Show was at the Mission Viejo Riding Park right by The Oaks.

I got to the barn first thing in the morning to get my handsome steed ready!

Next, I took a look at my first course.

Then tried to figure out which fences were which. 

Then my next course.

It was first thing in the morning so the ring had not been touched! I was pretty excited to get out there!

I think he was excited too!

I wish I had more photos from the day, but you have to pay to get the professional photos and my mom couldn't figure out how to work the camera so the video of everything does not exist. 

After I was done for the day I was exhausted! You can probably see how gross and sweaty I was, and it wasn't even that warm out! 

I'll have you know, hair nets are a key component in horse show fashion! Hair nets and blue ribbons, the accessories every girl wants!

I had quite the workout, and I'm not even doing the big crazy jumps, yet! 

I'm pretty sure some of these horses can fly! They are incredible to watch!

Even if riding isn't for you, you should totally go check out a show sometime! They are usually free to get into so if you don't like it you can leave. But it is pretty amazing.

Another great thing about horse shows, is that horse people are generally also dog people.

There is a good chance you may find a puppy or two hanging around!

This particular show was all Thoroughbreds that were at one time racehorses. The organization bring light to the fact that these horses can do more than race and can have bright futures when they leave the track.

After day one was over I got to explore San Juan Capistrano a bit!

The Shwack was recommended and it was delicious! 

They even had yummy cider which hit the spot after a long day of riding!

The food was great! I had the salmon burger wrapped in lettuce and ate the whole thing as well as all the french friend I could find! 

The area we stayed was actually Dana Point, its a great neighborhood with cute shops, restaurants with a very beachy vibe. Get the salmon burger if you to visit Dana Point!

It was a bit cloudy and chilly that day but we still enjoyed exploring! We kept it low key though because I needed to be up pretty early again to get to the barn for day two!

The next day, we were back at it, get ready, learn the pattern and get out there and get it done!

My trainer is Janie Stiener and she is amazing! The teeniest woman, but don't let her size fool ya, she is a tough cookie and can get any horse to do just about anything for her! Plus she really pushed me and made me absolutely hate her some days, but  because of that I loved how quickly I got better!

The second day was a shorter day for me and I shared Sarafan with another girl that trains with Janie.

I think half the fun of showing is getting to hang out with and support the other riders. Its so much fun to just hang out, eat food and watch some classes. The riding part is fun too, but its a great community to  be a part of. 

By the end of the weekend our barn had racked up quite a few ribbons! 

Obviously we had to show them off! 

After the weekend I was so sleepy, and I needed to rest my body for a few days, but it was totally worth it!

Just to show you that anyone can ride, check out these future riders of America!

How cute are these itty bitty kiddos in the lead line class! 

So stinking cute!

Well there you have you it (minus the cool pictures from an actual camera since technology is really hard for some people *coughmymomcough*) The profession pictures are here but they are not very easy to see, but at least you can see that I physically got on the horse!

I had the most amazing time at this show and was planning on another one in November, however my trainer moved about an hour and a half away so now I'm looking for a new trainer. Super sad, but I will find something good! If you know any great trainers in LA be sure to let me know!

Please Follow us, Like us, Watch us, and Subscribe to us! Thank you so much for your support! 

Banana Quinoa Muffins on YouTube!

We have talked to you about these muffins in the past and they were such a hit at our first book club meeting we knew we had to make sure you knew about the recipe! Not only are they delicious, they are insanely healthy and about 75 calories per muffin!

Only 75 calories!

Ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas

1/2 cup quinoa flour

1/2 cup quinoa flakes

2 TBSP honey or agave

2 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Next, mash up bananas, and combine with eggs and honey/agave. Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. The batter should look similar to the picture below of the muffin tin. Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill muffin tins about half full. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

They are really that easy! Watch the Video here!

Go ahead and give these a try and let us know what you think! 

Also, be sure to watch the video to find out why Mahaley is rolling her eyes at Bailey!

You decide who the crazy one is!

Also, be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you would like to see us make next! Maybe just something you have been dying to try or something that you just cant seem to find gluten free! We will make it for you!

Please Follow us, Like us, Watch us, and Subscribe to us! Thank you so much for your support! 

Fig Baileys

I discovered a fig tree about two weeks to late last year and promised that I would not let that happen again this year. So, I basically stalked my tree for a few weeks. Then, all of a sudden I had more figs than I knew what to do with! I love figs but, had so many that I needed more creative ways to eat them!

We have all had Fig Newtons and they are pretty good, but they aren't gluten free and they are not savory melt in your mouth delicious. That is why I decided to 'fig'ure out (haha) how to make them bigger and better. Introducing Fig Baileys! 

Ingredients:

Fig Jam Ingredients:

6-8 fresh figs cut into quarters

1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla 

Cookie Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour

3/4 cup of almond meal

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

12 tbs of room temperature butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 tbs fresh orange juice

2 eggs

4 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

Start by washing your figs then cutting them into quarters. They look so pretty when you cut them open!

In a medium sized sauce pan add figs, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla and bring to a boil while stirring as needed.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, make sure you continue to stir.

While the mixture simmers continue to stir and use a fork to smash the figs. 

All the yummy seeds will come out and it will begin to take on a jam consistency. 

Remove  the jam from  the heat and let cool completely.

Now it is time to start on the cookie part! While the figs are cooling off get your ingredients together and pre-heat your oven to 350 and line a large baking pan with buttered foil or parchment paper. You want it to be the size of a cookie pan, usually around 9X13.

Ok, now in a larger bowl, beat the 12 tbs of butter with 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar until it is fluffy. I just my kitchen-aid mixer, just because it makes life so much easier.

Look at that action shot!

Add your 1 tbs  of orange juice and continue to mix.

 Add two eggs to the mixture and continue to beat. After the dough is mixed, add the 4 tsps of vanilla.

When it is all mixed together it should look fluffy and delicious like this!

Now, in a medium bowl mix together 3/4 cup of almond meal and 1 1/2 cups of All Purpose Gluten Free Flour, baking powder and salt.

Make sure to really mix it up before you add it to the butter and sugar mixture.

Slowly mix in all of the flour mixture until it is smooth and sticky.

If you have a large mixer, I recommend using it. There are some recipes that a small hand-mixer or muscle power does just fine. However, you want this to be nice a smooth, to save time, you will want to use something with horsepower! 

Next, butter two large baking pan sized pieces of foil and place 1 1/2 cups of the dough between the two sheets and flatten into a square.

 After you flatten it between the tow pieces, place it in the freezer for at least 20-30 minutes

Flatten the remaining dough on the prepared baking pan and bake for 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. 

Keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't cook too much. It will be going back into the oven soon! 

Let the bottom layer cool for a few minutes then spread the fig jam evenly on top. It might seem like you don't have enough, I was pretty bummed that there wasn't more and almost made more figs, but I didn't and it was actually perfect!

 Take the top layer out of the freezer and peel the foil off and place it on top of the fig jam. This can be kinda tricky. I recommend getting the foil stated all around the edges first and then using the foil that still sticks to the dough as a handle.  

You can then put it over the figs and peel the rest off without it breaking.

 Put the pan back into the oven and bake for about 20-30 minutes or until the top layer is golden brown. 

After it has cooled, go ahead and cut it into little squares. I first trimmed around the edges and then the 'scraps' were a tasty snack for everyone to munch on.

Thats it! Enjoy them because they will go fast!  

They are super moist and were good for the 4 days they lasted after I made them. To store, just toss them into a tupperware container and try to resist the urge to eat them all immediately. 

I was so proud of myself for coming up with this recipe that I made everyone I saw try these. I brought them to work in mini tupperware containers just to make people take a little taste! Everyone absolutely loved them, did not believe that they were gluten free!

You must try this recipe! These would be great for a bake sale, holiday cookie exchange, or just a quick cure to a sugar craving. Here it is all in one place!

Please Follow us, Like us, Watch us, and Subscribe to us! Thank you so much for your support!