a gentle reminder
Howdy and welcome to skin tip friday! Today’s skin tip is to sweat it out! Working out promotes circulation and toxin removal; two things essential to glowing skin, so get your fanny moving. I need to hear this more than anybody. Here’s why:
lately working out has been a difficult task to accomplish. In the past, I would just go to the gym, do my thing, feel great and that was that. These days I think about going to the gym and the I think how exhausting it all is, then I feel physically exhausted. With all of that exhaustion, I am unable to muster the motivation to get my fanny moving, so the workout never happens. Here is why this is a problem: I am the spawn of Satan when I don’t workout. I am grumpy, unproductive and I turn into the cookie monster when I sacrifice my gym time. I am aware this is not appropriate behavior and I would love to avoid turning into pitch fork holding, cookie eating, sloth, but it appears that will not be happening to in the near future, so I am hoping to turn my noggin’ off and just go to the gym. Today I literally had to sprint out of the house with my Rhianna blasting in my ears to convince myself there is energy somewhere deep inside. The first 15 minutes were brutal, but then the magic happened and I hit that workout sweet spot and I before I knew it my hour was up. I am sharing this story with you, to encourage you to just slap on your sneakers (who says “sneakers”), turn up your iPod and get the hell out of the house-even if it is only for 20 minutes.
I “pinned” this a few days ago as a gentle reminder to get my sweat on.
And with that I am off to give some facials!
Happy Friday!!
Grain Free Spice Muffins
In my kitchen domination post on Monday, I mentioned the recipe for grain free, protein packed spice muffins. These muffins are similar to a spice bread I made not so long ago, but the recipe for that was only shared with those who read skinspot’s letter of news. Side note: if you want to be a part of this very elite club, sign up here. However, I switched up the recipe a bit for two reasons: 1. I wanted muffins instead of a loaf (hate the word “loaf”) of bread to aid in portion control. 2. I needed to find a use for the Amande yogurt that I purchased, because I am not a huge fan of it on its own.
And with those very important facts, I bring you the recipe. This recipe was adapted from Elana’s Pumpkin Pie Muffins.
The Goods
- 1c almond flour
- 1/2c vanilla spice protein powder- you could use any vanilla protein powder
- 1/2c pumpkin pie puree- you could also use regular pumpkin puree
- 1/2c Amande- you could use Greek yogurt, coconut yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, or 1C of pumpkin puree instead of the 1/2c mentioned above.
- 1/3c molasses- you could also use maple sryup, but it would lose some of the “spice”
- 2eggs
- 1/4t sea salt
- 2T coco oil
- dash of cloves
- 1t cinnamon
- 1/2t nutmeg
- 1/4t ginger
- 1/2t baking soda
- 1t vanilla
How to:
- preheat oven to 350
- grease muffin tins with coco oil, or line w/ paper liners
- combine all wet ingredients in a large size bowl
- combine all dry ingredients, including spices, in a medium size bowl
- add dry ingredients to wet
- disperse batter among muffin tin
- bake for 30-35 min
yummmm
On a different note: I discovered a new snack.
Baked sweet potato + 1/2c 2%Greek yogurt+ 1T ground flax= pure bliss
Burt got to clean up the Greek yogurt container. Who needs a dishwasher?
Please note that Burt brings all goods back to his apartment (aka the gray fluffy monster).
get after it
And with that, I am off. Happy Wednesday!
kitchen domination
Last month the husband and I added up how much we spend at the grocery store and dining out and it wasn’t pretty. Food is definitely where the majority of our funds go, so in an effort to stretch our grocery store purchases and eat out less, I went a little nuts preparing eats for the week. I am also hoping that my prepping will aid in the loosening of my ever tightening pantalones.
Here’s what happened:
First up: a crust-less broccoli quiche.
Recipe:
The goods:
- 1 large broccoli head (chopped)
- 1 leek (chopped)
- 2 garlic gloves (chopped)
- approx. 14 mushrooms (chopped)
- 4 organic eggs
- 4 organic egg whites
- 2T feta
- 1.5t Ghee (butter, evoo, or coco oil will also work)- this is for sautéing veggies
- coco oil for pan greasing or whatever oil you so desire
- 1/8t garlic salt (to taste)
- 1/2t tumeric
- dash of black pepper
How To:
- pre heat oven to 325
- grease 12″ pie pan
- heat ghee in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in garlic, mushrooms, broccoli, salt, pepper and turmeric and continue cooking until soft.
- in a large bowl whisk eggs & egg whites together. Add broccoil mixture and stir to blend. Scoop into prepared pie pan.
- Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Next up:
slow cooker, salsa chicken.
I have seen this recipe (if you can call it a recipe) on other blogs and cooking websites, unfortunately I cannot remember what ones.
How To:
- line 3 (or however many you desire) chicken breasts on the bottom of slowcooker
- pour entire jar of salsa over chicken breasts
- set slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3-5 hours
- done
The chicken turns out superb and it couldn’t be easier. We ate some of it last night on top of a kale salad. Unfortunately, no photo was snapped.
Moving on…
eggs were hard boiled:
After a night of soaking, chickpeas were cooked. Dry chickpeas from the bulk section are so much more economical, but I always fight the purchasing of them because of the soaking required to use them. However, it just isn’t that hard. At 11:00 on Saturday night I put a cup of dry chickpeas in a bowl and covered them with room temperature water then went to bed. Why do I struggle with this?
I froze half of this batch, so next week all I will have to do is thaw. Again, why do I fight this process?
Next up:
Two sweet potatoes were baked. So easy: clean potatoes, wrap in tin foil, stick in oven or in toaster oven at 425 for 40-50 min depending on size. This process does not even require clean up.
Because I have a hearty sweet tooth, I needed to make sure I had some appetizing desserts on hand.
Behold grain-free, protein packed, spice muffins:
Stay tuned: Recipe to come this week.
The Man Piece’s Birthday is today. Happy Birthday Man Piece (Aka Keith)!! In lieu of his day of birth, he requested peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies. I obliged. I made these delights with the ingredients I had on hand which meant, they ended up being gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and egg-free. They still turned out pretty darn good. I should know because I think I ate my weight in dough and the Birthday boy seemed to enjoy.
Stay tuned: This recipe is also coming your way this week.
Burt also had one helluva Sunday. After using up the remainder of the sunflower butter in the above creation, Burt got to help in the jar cleaning process.
Very good at his job. Very good.
granola goodness
I had a major granola craving, but I hate paying a small fortune for a bag of the stuff, so I decided to wrangle up ingredients I had on hand and make my own version of the delicacy. This concoction is inspired from Ashley’s banana coconut granola.
I think I will call this batch banana, spice granola. Sound gross? It’s not.
The Goods:
- 1 c rolled oats- this recipe could be gluten-free if you use GF oats1
- T chia seeds
- 12 raw pecans (chopped)
- 10 raw cashews (chopped)
- 1/4t salt
- 1/8t nutmeg
- 1/8t ground cloves
- 1T molasses
- 1T raw honey (melted)
- 1t coco oil (melted)
- 1T Ghee (melted)- you could also use butter or coco oil
- 1/2 small banana (mashed)
- 1T pumpkin pie puree
- 3T shredded coconut
- 1t vanilla
How to:
- preheat oven to 350
- put ghee, coconut oil, & honey in a small saucepan on low until it liquifies
- put all in ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl
- spread all in ingredients out on a parchment lined baking sheet
- bake for 10-15 min, stirring every 5 min. Keep a watchful eye on the goods. They love to burn.
- allow to cool for 5 (or so) minutes and dive in.Mr. granola makes for superb topping.
granola a top oat bran
Granola residing upon Greek Yogurt and apples.
And with that, I am off to walk the pug.
Happy Saturday!
mason jar madness and peanut butter balls
I got a Mason Jar on Sunday (I know I am ubber trendy- deal with it) and I can’t stop serving all of my meals/ beverages out of it.
my new coffee mug
fits the green monster perfectly
one great pumpkin & peanut butter oat bran holder
makes the dandy blend that much more divine
Not pictured is my peppermint tea and Monday’s breakfast of overnight oats, both resided in the Mason.
Now onto the Peanut Butter Balls. For a while these were my peanut butter balls of choice:
However, due to a slight lack of control around them, I have moved on to these peanut butter balls
you will notice there appears to be one missing...
If you are chocolate, peanut butter enthusiast, these may change your life. I got the recipe for them from Oxygen Magazine. It lives here. I pretty much followed the recipe to a tee, but used maple syrup instead of honey and used a little less than 1/3c. I also used Thorne’s Vegalite chocolate protein powder instead of the Whey protein powder they use. These took me, maybe, 5 minutes to make and they are an awesome dessert. These balls are great because I don’t want twelve of them like I do with most desserts, but I am completely satisfied, so I am not craving a cookie after eating a “fake” dessert. The nutrition stats are simply superb. This is according to Oxygen’s recipe.
That’s all I have for now.
Happy Wednesday!
happy heart day
I know every gal on the planet says this, so I am going to say it too, I am not usually all about Valentine’s day, but cupid wiggled his fanny into my life today and stabbed me with this silly little arrow. Translation: I am feeling very mushy about all of the peeps whom I love so much in my life. In particular, this guy:
KP I love your guts! Thank you for marrying me.
Happy Heart Day, Everybody!
random things
This post is full randomness- proceed with caution.
1. Some dreams are not meant to come true. I ordered Lance from Proform on 01/27/2012 under the guise that he was to ship out on 01/28/2012.
2. On 02/01/2012 Lance still remained comfortably in Proform’s warehouse. Nobody could really explain why he still resided there, so the fellas at Proform threw in a free bike mat and a lovely 5% off of sir Lance with an assurance that Lance would be venturing my way on the following day with an email to confirm such endeavors.
3. As of 02/07/2012 and a few conversations with the folks at Proform, Lance still had not shipped. Again, I never really got an explanation as to why Lance was not on his way to my humble abode. Apparently, Lance was just not interested in leaving the warehouse, so I let Lance live there and decided to cancel my order.
4. A few hours later on 02/07/2012 Proform gives me a ring and asks me if I really want to let Lance live in their warehouse. Proform generously offers me the very same discount they previously offered with promises to ship Sir Lance tomorrow or the following Monday. I decline due to sheer annoyance. I was done with that silly little dance.
5. On 02/10/2012 a rectangular box arrived. In Mr. box is the mat that Sir Lance was to reside on, so I have a bike mat but no bike. A very sad day.
It is just too painful to open
On to more uplifting things. Burt’s dream did come true when I graced him with a very large beef stick. Hmmm that sounds a little naughty.
hooray for beefsticks
Side note: I spy an old man slipper in both pictures. They might be one of my favorite articles of clothing.
Moving on…
I had eggs for breakfast yesterday and didn’t hate it. This deserves a notable mention because I do not eat eggs for breakfast and I have always wanted to be one of those gals who could eat eggs for breakfast. Big dreams.
I bring you one baked sweet potato & 1 egg +1 egg white.
I became ambitious yesterday and replenished my egg stash with a dozen more eggs, assuming I had just transformed into an eggs-for-breakfast gal. Yesterday’s breakfast was great, but I did not want a repeat today. Turns out I really am not an eggs-for-breakfast gal. I am an ezekiel-peanutbutter-banana-for-breakfast gal. You can’t win ‘em all.
I also had big dream of drinking Dandy blend instead of my normal caffeinated cup-of-joe.
Dandy Blend is a caffeine free beverage that tastes remarkably similar to coffee without any of the negative side effects that traditional coffee offers. I really enjoyed the taste of this beverage; however, it will not replace my caffeinated friend. I will, however, enjoy Dandy in addition to coffee. I realize I completely missed the point of this beverage, but, again, you can’t win ‘em all.
That is all of the randomness I have to offer today. I am off to the gym to use their spin bike and lift some heavy things.
Happy Saturday!!
crock pot love
yesterday I mentioned that had a chicken, brown rice medley in the crock pot and I said I would share if it was edible. Well, hot dog, it was edible AND tasty. To boot, it is ridiculously easy to make. Every time I use the crock pot, I think why do I not use this more and it always takes me months to use it again. It is time to stop that insanity.
Without further ado, I bring you everything-but-the-kitchen-sink crock pot dinner. This recipe was adapted from Kath’s slow cooker pineapple chicken .
The goods:
- 1 slow cooker/ crock pot
- 2 boneless, skinless, loved on, organic chicken breasts
- 1c sprouted brown rice (the sprouted part is not a necessity)
- 2c chopped kale
- 1c organic chicken broth
- 1c unsweetened coconut milk
- 1T honey mustard
- 2T coconut aminos (Tamari or soy sauce will also work)
- 1 large broccoli head (chopped)
- 3/4 small bag of frozen mango
- 2 cloves garlic (chopped)
- dash of salt & pepper
- dash of red pepper flakes
- 1t tumeric
- 1t paparika
How to:
- place brown rice at the bottom of crock pot.
- place chicken breasts on top of brown rice
- place all spices, garlic, honey mustard, & coconut aminos on chicken
- add the chicken broth and coconut milk
- add chopped broccoli & frozen mango
- cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3-5hours.
- after done cooking turn the slow cooker to warm and add 2c chopped kale then stir and serve.
crock pot brown rice chicken
I topped with hot sauce, avocado, & garlic salt
And enjoyed with a lovely glass of vino
burt kept a close eye
Dessert involved 2 cookies, 2 pieces of dark chocolate and a kombucha
And that is all for now.
Happy Wednesday!
quit trying to stop dying… it doesn’t work
The above title is a paraphrased quote from Bernie Siegel, M.D. Yesterday, I was listening to a module for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition with Dr. Bernie Siegel as a guest lecturer. He kinda changed my life. Who is Bernie Siegel? Well according to Bernie’s website, Bernie is a physician who has cared for and counseled innumerable people whose mortality has been threatened by illness, Bernie embraces a philosophy of living and dying that stands at the forefront of the medical ethics and spiritual issues our Society grapples with today. {source}
The man himself
You do not need to be faced with a life threatening illness to be impacted by Dr. Siegel’s inspirational words. He offers simplicity, wit and wisdom to this thing called life that we often over complicate. Hearing Dr. Siegel’s lecture yesterday hit at a perfect time for me. Lately I have been struggling with trying to find the healthiest diet known to man and when I decide upon said healthiest diet, I often stray from protocol then feel tremendous guilt. This dilemma is the reason my blog posts have been few and far between. I felt that if I did not have the key to the fountain of youth, I had no business posting in regards to nutrition. I know this is just down right madness, but I cannot explain the cray-cray thoughts that roll around my noggin’ sometimes.
So back to Dr. Siegel’s quote: This quote made me fuzzy inside because he backed it up with a story regarding a man who ate all of the right things, ran every morning, meditated every day and still obtained a life threatening cancer. Frustrated that his attempts to escape death failed, this man essentially said if he knew he was going to die, he would’ve enjoyed more lobster and slept in a little bit more. The irony is the obvious fact that we are all going to die. I swear this is meant to be an uplifting post- so stay with me. If we are all going to die, we should spend less time evading death and living more. No? This may not be as applicable to everybody as it is to me, because not everybody spends as much time and energy stressing over the healthiest way to live. Consider yourself very lucky if you are not in this category. One morning a few years ago, when dumping a pound of spirulina and goji berries into my steel cut oats, my mom asked me “what are you trying to do live forever?” At that time, I did not have an answer for her because I do not want to live forever- that would be awkward, so I really could not backup my actions. After further inspection, I have an answer for my Madre’s question, I do not want to live forever, but I do want to live the best life possible in the short time that I am alive. That is the reason my obsession with health & wellness began. When I was 22ish I discovered running and eating better. As a result, my whole life changed, for the first time since being a wee little one, I was really happy, that is why I want a career in nutrition. I want to help people find their nugget of happiness. That nugget is a lot easier to find when when you feel good. Quite simply, I feel more motivated to be a part of the world after a good sweat session and eating well. It is that motivation that I hope to help others find. However, I do want that motivation to be taken too far in which it impedes in the happiness of everyday life. This post is meant to say, in a very drawn out way, that health and happiness are all about balance, so you can have your cake and it too just make sure to move your body and eat your veggies. This is by no means a new revelation to me, but hearing yesterday’s lecture got me to chill the hell out and remember to enjoy my life more, so it is my hope that this post may have a similar effect on you.
Now on totoday’s breakfast, which included some healthy and some not-so-healthy goods.
I bring you peanut butter & jelly yogurt bowl:
The stars of the show: peanut butter balls & strawberry fruit preserves
In the mix:
- approx 3/4c 2% Fage Greek Yogurt- I wanted to love Wallaby’s organic Greek yogurt, but it does not compare to Fage.
- 1T ground flaxseed
- a few drops of stevia
- approx 2t strawberry fruit preserves
- 1/2 honey crisp apple
- 1/2c peanut butter balls
Followed by: my beloved peppermint, mocha hemp latte, in which I almost gave up, but thanks to Bernie he will still remain a staple in my life.
I have a brown rice, chicken, mango, & broccoli concoction in the crockpot for dinner as we speak, if it is any good I will share this extremely simple recipe. Here’s hopin’…
And with that, I am off to donate some goods to Good Will and get some more protein powder. Simply thrilling.
Happy Tuesday!! I mean it- be Happy!
breaking up is hard to do
The time has come to part ways with an old friend foe.
Sugar has always been my Achilles’ heel. Sometimes the two of us can live in harmony. Sometimes we can not. Currently, we can not. I have been consuming said friend like the world is going to end at any given moment. I know better. I know way better. The problem with sugar is it is addictive. The more you eat sir sugar, the more you crave it, which makes for an all around thrilling cycle. Well I am breaking that cycle and walking away from sir sugs. As part of being a student at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition you work with a health coach and after speaking with my health coach yesterday, I became increasingly aware of the havoc Mr. sugar is having on my life. My health Coach gently reminded me that sugar not only takes a toll on your physiological health, but on your emotional health as well. Over consumption of sugar can lead to heightened feelings of depression and anxiety as well as disrupting one’s sleep (which heightens the previous conditions). Nobody wins in the above scenario. Crazily enough, my sugar consumption has been accelerated in the past couple of weeks and so has my less than happy emotions and anxiety. Not to mention, my sleep has been at an all time low. In summary, I have been a moody beast and while I am uncomfortable with the physiological implications of sugar on one’s health, I am even more motivated to ax sugar due to the emotional implications of it. Here’s is my plan of attack:
Take out all refined sugar.
Avoid to the best of my ability all other sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, molasses, agave & brown rice syrup. I know sweeteners are in everything, so I am not planning on running a hard-and-fast rule on all sweeteners. However, stevia is still permitted
Add in more of the good fats to cancel out sugar cravings. This has worked in the past, I am giving it a- go again
unrefined coconut oil, sunflower butter (unsweetened), evoo, ground flaxseed
eat more protein
Metagenic's Ultra Clear PH protein powder
up the probiotics to feed the good bacteria, which will help cancel out the bad bacteria that so badly want me to eat sugar
Wallaby's Organic Greek Yogurt
if consuming a food for probiotic purposes you want to make sure it states "live and active cultures"
a supplement is always helpful
minimize wine- this one may be hard this weekend given the ladies’ trip to Seattle I have planned this weekend.
minimize coffee- I usually only drink one cup a day, so I am cool with this.
I am going to keep processed food to a bare minimum and eliminate wheat & gluten to see if this helps as well.
I am halfway through day 1 and I could really use a cookie. Spoken like a true junkie…
Happy Thursday.
