Healthy Melt in Your Mouth Pumpkin Pie Bars

I'm always on the search for healthy desserts and nutrient dense snacks that will fill my kids hungry tummies right up.  This recipe fits the bill for both.  These pumpkin bars by themselves make a great snack but by adding a few chocolate chips to the recipe I've tricked my kids into thinking they're now dessert.  Personally my favorite way to eat them is by ditching the chocolate chips and sprinkling a few chopped pecans on instead. Sometimes I will even sprinkle three-fourths of the pan with chocolate chips and the other quarter with pecans so everyone is happy.

Not only are these pumpkin bars easy to whip together and free of refined sugar but they taste amazing!  They are so moist and light they practically melt in your mouth.  There's no reason to wait until fall to make these dreamy bars.  They are the perfect treat any time of year. 

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Ingredients:

3/4 cup creamy almond butter

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1 well-ripened banana (should have lots of brown spots)

1/4 cup raw honey or pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon coconut flour

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon Real Salt

1/3 cup mini chocolate chips or pecans (optional)

Get the rest of the recipe over at Nourishing Bites.

Budsies - Custom Plush Creations (and a discount for you!)

It took us long enough but we're finally on Instagram!  Be sure to follow along @servingpinklemonade to sneak a peek at what we've been up to.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .




My two oldest children are exceptional artists.  They love to draw and have multiple sketch books filled with their creations!  Last summer I spotted an art contest at a store near us.  The winners of the contest would get their drawings turned into plush toys and would then be sold at the store.  How amazing would that be?  I'm sure a dream come true for any child.  I told my kids about the contest and they were super excited to enter.  They went right to work and within the next hour they had their entries complete.  They both came up with fun and clever ideas and I felt they both had a fair chance of winning.  My seven year old really wanted to win. He brought up the contest over the next several months weekly, if not daily.  His drawing was super cute, but knowing that there were thousands of entries I knew his chances of wining were slim.  After months of waiting, the winners were finally announced.  Even though my son knew the realty of winning was small I could see that he was awfully disappointed that he didn't win.

(Isn't this little guy just adorable? Who wouldn't want to hold and cuddle him?)


I started thinking that even though he didn't win the contest it would still be fun to turn his drawing into a plush toy on our own.  Doing it myself wasn't something I felt up to so I started searching for a company that would do it for me.  After looking at a few option I decided to go with Budsies.

I was really impressed with the whole process.  Creating the plush toy took several weeks but I loved how Budsies sent me emails keeping me updated on the progress as the toy was created.  First the designers interpreted the design, then sketched and cut the fabric, next was fluff and sew, then a double quality check, and last it was shipped to our front door.

My sons art-turned-plush toy arrived in this adorable box.



I could hardly wait to open the box and take a peek.  I loved how the first thing I saw when I opened the box was a copy of my sons original drawing and then underneath was his new plush toy!






I love how it turned out!  I think the design team at Busdies did a wonderful job. The craftsmanship is high quality and the fabric is so soft and cuddly.  I can hardly wait to gift it to my son for his birthday.  I can't wait to see the look on his face.  I just know he is going to be so surprised and love his new cuddly plush toy.



Can you hardly wait to turn one of your child's memorable pieces of art into their own custom cuddly plush toy?  I know it will be a gift they treasure!

The nice folks at Budsies are offering Serving Pink Lemonade readers 10% off their order.  Go HERE to get your discount!