Black Bean Brownies & Talkeetna, AK

This weekend, Craig, Lindsey, and I spent the weekend near Talkeetna, Alaska in hopes of an good ol’ Alaskan adventure. (Check out my post from our last trip to Talkeetna back in May.)

Before we left on Saturday, I had some leftover black beans to use up, so I search for a recipe and this is what I came up with.

Black Bean Brownies!! That’s right, there are actually black beans in that pan of brownies. The black beans replaced the flour; how cool is that!! And let me tell you, you would have no idea!! You must try this recipe!!

Black Bean Brownies

After baking the brownies, we drove to the cabin (a.k.a. The Moonflower) we would be staying at for the weekend.

It was a super cute A-frame cabin tucked away in the woods. And, yes, the purple color theme was carried throughout the entire cabin.

The bedroom upstairs in the loft. Both Craig and I love lofts and would really like to have one in our future cabin.The kitchen.

They even left a pan of Banana Nut Bread waiting on the table for us! (However, I’m not convinced it was homemade.)

That evening, we went over to my in-law’s cabin and had dinner with them.

Sunday morning, we slept in, lounged around for a bit, and then adventured to Talkeetna where we enjoyed some brunch at Twister Creek Restaurant.

We enjoyed our brunch on the patio out front. I love outdoor seating!! We haven’t been able to enjoy many meals outside this summer because of the rain and cooler temperatures, so this was a treat!The owner is a friend of the family, so we go to support them–but also because the food is awesome!

I was craving eggs, so I got a side order of 2 scrambled eggs.

As well as some fresh fruit. Sometimes the fresh fruit at restaurants contains only a couple different kinds of fruit, but this bowl had five different kinds!!

Craig order the French toast–it was a large order of French toast. (He shared some with me. 🙂 )

This bread is made with the “spent grain” from the Denali Brewing Company connected to the restaurant. It was awesome French toast!!

After filling our bellies with delicious food, we walked down to the Susitna River and along the riverbank.

It was then time to head back home and prep for the upcoming week.

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Lastly, I wanted to share a conversation I overheard between two adult men the other day while I was grocery shopping. The first guy said, “yeah, my son’s lost almost 80 pounds and is doing really well.” The second guy responded by saying, “what is he anorexic?”

At first I didn’t really think much about it, but as I reflected on it, I started to think to myself, “that’s unfortunate our society has this preconceived notion that losing weight can’t be done unless you starve yourself. As in, it is so difficult to lose weight that the only way is to deprive yourself of food.”

Yes, losing weight IS difficult. It takes a great deal of dedication and self-discipline, but it does not require starving yourself. It is sad that so many people think it is too difficult to lose weight and won’t give up their bad habits for better health and a better quality of life!! Yes, losing weight is difficult, but just look at those who have already accomplished this goal!! If they can do it, so can you!! (Cheesy, I know, but also very true!)