HI and bye breakfast bars...

Lava rock at Pine Trees Beach

It's been two weeks since I stepped off a plane onto the Big Island of Hawaii, and each day the island continues to captivate me. The goats, chickens, and yellow parakeets, the true "aloha" spirit, forming a friendship after just one conversation, enjoying a slice of lilikoi cheesecake at sunset, and the sweet smell of flowers, being on the island is like living a dream. As we settle into a new routine, David and I are constantly on the go, making the most of every daylight hour. When you wake up to a view of the ocean from the top of a cliff, you can't help but want to be in the water. Before starting work at 10 AM, we're in the truck by 6:30 AM, eager to find the perfect spot to begin our day. We have spent those three and a half hours beach hopping, climbing a ridiculously steep hill as our exercise, shopping, or simply going to our favorite beach to have our adventures. Our favorite beach is called Pine Trees. It's just 20 minutes away, right across from an incredible coffee shop, Kona Mountain Coffee, where my go-to order is now a Chai Latte with Macadamia Nut milk and coffee jelly! Imagine a dirty chai mixed with boba; the bottom of the cup is filled with coffee gelatin, and the chai is poured over it, letting you break up the jello with a boba straw. 10/10 would recommend finding a local coffee shop with coffee jelly... okay, moving on!

Pine Trees is my paradise, filled with tide pools, shells, sea glass, and a large, beautiful lava rock where I can take an early morning nap and live out my childhood dreams of being Princess Ariel, while David surfs waist to chest-high waves breaking upon the Hawaiian reef.

Now I would love to rely on coffee jelly for my morning nutrients, but I need a grab-and-go breakfast to keep me energized after our adventures. While searching the fridge for meal prep this week, I noticed we had an abundance of carrots. My "bosset", as she prefers over "boss", suggested making carrot cake breakfast muffins. Realizing we lacked muffin tins, I baked this breakfast extravaganza on a sheet pan, then cut it into squares and baked it again. Technically, these are biscotti, as the Italian term means twice baked. Thus, Carrot Cake Breakfast Biscotti was born. They're perfect on their own but even better with a bowl of vanilla yogurt in the morning or vanilla ice cream in the evening. I encourage creative freedom with these, adopting a "kitchen sink" mindset: add shredded apples, toss in chocolate chips, swap blueberries for raspberries, including nut butter, or include your favorite protein powder —the pantry is your oyster!

While they may not be gorgeous, they are delicious!

Carrot Cake Breakfast Biscotti:

• 4 carrots, shredded

• 1 banana

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1 egg

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 1/3 cup frozen blueberries

• 1/4 cup chia seeds

• 1/4 cup steel-cut oats

• 1/2 cup rolled oats

• 2 scoops Jay Robb Collagen Peptides

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• 1 cup GF or regular flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the , shredded carrots, banana, coconut, maple syrup, egg, vanilla extract, and blueberries.

3. Add in your dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.

4. Spread the mixture evenly on a parchment-lined, small baking sheet, ensuring it reaches the edges. Bake for 25 minutes.

5. Let the cake cool for about 10 minutes, then remove it from the sheet pan using the parchment paper edges.

6. Prepare a medium-sized baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the cake into squares (see photo below for reference) and place them on the baking sheet, leaving some space between each slice.

7. Bake in the oven for an additional 15 minutes, or until the edges of each biscotti are slightly brown.

8. Let them cool, then store them in the refrigerator. You can enjoy them for up to a week if they last that long!