Things That Are Tickling My Fancy
Apparently it is the little things that blow ma skirt up lately- here are some things that have me all sorts of excited:
The homemade gluten-free, peanut butter, protein bars I posted about last week. I seriously look forward to these every morning and they fill ma fanny up.
Switching up my green smoothie recipes:
I have a green smoothie nearly everyday, up until last week I was in a green smoothie rut. However, I put an end to that madness and came up with these two delights….
concoction uno:
- 1c unsweetened coconut water
- 1T raw almond butter
- 1 apple
- 1T hemp seeds
- 2-3c spinach
- 5-6 mango chunks
- 3-5 ice cubes
- 1c unsweetened coconut water
- 12c frozen blueberries
- 1/4 frozen banana (peel and freeze and least 24 hrs prior)- could also use a regular ‘nana
- 3-4c Trader Joe’s power greens (could also use spinach or kale)
- 1T raw almond butter
- 1T ground flax
- 2T lemon juice
- 3-5 ice cubes
- dash of cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt (enhances flavors)
Cacao nibs on vanilla siggi for dessert = simmering of ma sweet tooth and helps in operation muscle excavation
Do you spy a bicep?
Another tool in Operation Muscle Excavation= my late afternoon snack
Trader Toe’s has these pre portioned nuts
I add a dark chic chips and wash it all dan with a kombucha. This combo is magical as I am actually full until dinner. This is no easy feat.
The last thing, that is really lighting ma fire =instagram It totally keeps me inspired on consuming healthy eats and moving ma bod. Seriously it is like food blogs without all of the words.
On Another Note
Live in portland?
Wanna Loose Weight Without Losing Your Mind?
Meg Worden of Feed Me Darling and Myself are starting another weight loss group starting on march 19th.
Loose weight. Love the process. Keep it off. Woot!
More Details here
And with that, I am off. Happy Monday!
Gluten-Free, Hormone Balancing, Energy Giving Peanut Butter Protein Bars & a Treadmill HIIT Workout
A tragic thing happened yesterday: I went to the Grocery store and they were completely out of my beloved Perfect Foods Bars. The horror. How was I to survive? I stood there and stared at the empty display case where my besties once lived for a good 30 seconds.
I pulled myself together and decided that I would try my hand at making a homemade version of PFB. Honestly, I love the Perfect Foods Bar and compared to a lot of bars out there they really are full of goodness, but there are two ingredients that kinda bug me: 1. The non fat milk powder is not organic and I would prefer a dairy-free bar. 3. The egg white powder is also not organic. However, they taste amazing and I have tried to recreate this amazing-ness a few times and failed, so I was a little skeptical on the possibility of recreating my beloved. Well, I gotta say I have come pretty darn close. My bars are not as tasty, but Lawd they will do.
Without Further adieu I bring you: Gluten-Free, Hormone Balancing Energy Giving Peanut Butter Protein Bars.
I basically used The Blonde Pony Tail’s recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Protein Bars as my jumping off point then merged it with my balls recipe.
The Goods:
- 2c organic, crunchy natural peanut butter (this ended up being the entire jar)
- 3/4c raw honey
- 1/2c maple syrup
- 2c chocolate protein powder- I used Thorne’s Vegilite
- 1/4c chia seeds
- 1/4c maca
- 1/4c unsweetened almond milk
How To:
- Heat peanut butter, honey and maple syrup in an a small sauce pan on low for 2-5 min
- mix the dry ingredients in a medium size mixing bowl
- add peanut butter, honey & maple syrup to dry goods and stir while adding bits of the almond milk at a time
- after the ingredients are fully combined, spread evenly in a 3qt baking dish
- allow to harden in refrigerator overnight then cut and serve
*serving will vary on how big you want the bars to be. I sliced them into 16 different bars.
*store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Good Lord these are good.
I enjoyed one with a green smoothie after a run and sweaty yoga sculpt class today. They definitely hit da spot. #nomnom
Yesterday, Burt got the left over peanut butter jar:
Dog loves peanut butter.
And for giggles here is the treadmill HIIT I did on Saturday that got me good and schweaty.
Time Speed
And with that I am off. happy Monday!!
What I Ate Wednesday
It has been a minute since I have done a WIAW.
Thank you Miss Jenn for hosting da food porn party.
I finally remembered to snap pictures of nearly all of my eats yesterday. I am starting to try to do this more to bring a little mindfulness back into my eating. So far, I have gone to the freezer out of frustration to grab “just a few” dark chocolate covered almonds and realized that I really didn’t feel like taking a picture of them, so I refrained from consumption. However, there are times when a few chips or bites of a cookie fall into my mouth and I simply can not take a photo. I am a victim.
Anyway, here are the majority of yesterday’s eats minus the bites of cookie and chips I am referring to above.
Breakfast:
My favorite breakfast of all time. I took a break from these delights, but I am back on the PFB train.
Lunch/ Post Workout Eats:
My favorite green smoothie creation as of late:
- 3/4c carrot juice
- 1/4c apple juice
- 1-3T lime juice (I love sour, so I tend to go more for 3T)
- 3C mixed greens (usually baby romaine, spinach & kale)
- a small hunk of fresh ginger (note the ginger in the pic is not the size I used)
- 1/2t matcha
- 2t Douglas Laboratories Ultra Tox (detox powder)
- dash of cinnamon
- 3-5 frozen mango hunks
- 3-5 ice cubes
Curried Cauliflower Soup
I am on a soup kick. The past two Sundays have been cleverly deemed Souper Sunday.
This Past Sunday I dominated Dr. Andrew Weil’s Curried Cauliflower Soup. I got the recipe from Sir Weil’s latest cookbook True Food. I adore this recipe for how simple and nutritious it is. I pretty much followed the recipe entirely, but I made a few tweaks to up the flavor a wee bit. Here is what my version looks like:
Curried Cauliflower Soup serves: 4-6
The Goods:
- 1/3c raw cashews
- 2t extra virgin olive oil
- 1medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large head of cauliflower- chopped into small pieces
- 1 (14oz) can light coconut milk
- 4c veggie broth
- 2T curry powder
- 1t turmeric
- 1T cumin
- 2T maple syrup
- 1/2t ground cinnamon
- 1/4t garlic salt
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over low heat add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add chopped cauliflower, cashews, coconut milk, vegetable broth, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, garlic salt, cinnamon and maple syrup. Bring to a boil and simmer until the cauliflower is tender (about 10min)
- Blend soup with immersion blender until desired consistency is reached- this may take a few minute to chop up the cashews and the cauliflower. Be patient. If using a standing blender, allow the mixture to cool for 20 minutes. Pour soup into the blender. Hold the lid down firmly with a clean, folded towel over it. Start on low speed and blend until the soup is smooth. Return to pot and reheat.
I topped this gem with Siracha & a few pieces of marinated & baked tofu. Toppings are endless…. pumpkin seeds, greek yogurt, or like Sir Weil suggests caramelized onions & cilantro.
I enjoyed this guy alongside a mixed green salad topped with dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and spicy cashew sauce.
yumsicles.
And with that, I am off. Happy Tuesday!
Holy Yum Granola
Lately I have been feigning for a good granola. I had it at a coffee shop for breakfast a few weekends ago and I am still trying to recreate the experience. While I am still missing the swanky ambience the coffee shop provided I do think I recreated the effect the granola had on my tastebuds. This granola is so textured and it is perfectly sweet (in my opinion). I love the hint of coconut too. Obsessed. Without further adieu, I bring you Holy Yum Granola….
The Goods:
- 1/4c flaxseeds ( I left them whole)
- 1/4c Chia seeds
- 1/3c Quinoa (rinsed or use truroots sprouted quinoa like I did)
- 1/2c Millet (rinsed)
- 1c Oats (I used Gluten-Free oats, but regular will work well too)
- 1/4c shredded coconut
- 1/3c cranberries or raisins
- 3T mini chocolate chips (optional)
- 1/4c pecans (chopped)
- 1/4c sunflower butter
- 1/4c raw honey (could also use maple syrup or agave)
- 2T coconut oil
- 1t vanilla
- Pre-heat oven to 300
- Rinse Quinoa and Millet, pat dry with towel or paper towel
- Combine Sunflower Butter, Coconut Oil, & Vanillla in a small saucepan and heat on low-med for 3-5minutes
- Combine the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well
- Pour saucepan of goodness over the dry ingredients and stir until fully coated
- spread mixture on a parchment paper lined baking sheet
- Bake for 30 minutes- stirring every 10 minutes
Sometimes You Just Gotta Cook
It is Wednesday and you know what that means…. another WIAW. Woot! Jenn thank you for hosting! If you want to see more eats, pop over to Peas & Crayons.
And for this What I ate Wednesday- here are my Tuesday eats.
I have this funky relationship with Tuesdays. I don’t like them. I don’t see clients on Tuesdays and as a result I save all of the not-so-fun paper work and other catch up activities for Tuesdays and my motivation mojo is always super low on these days, so I basically want to throw a temper tantrum all day long. I realize I am ridiculous. Yesterday instead of throwing a temper tantrum, I decided to stay in my PJ’s, light some candles, plug in the Chirstmas tree throw on the Michael Buble holiday station on Pandora and cook my heart out.
Burt was thrilled about this:
On the menu:
crockpot, vegan apple crisp:
Honestly, I did not love this, so I am not going to post the recipe. It needs tweaking.
I ended up using it as a little topping on some Greek Yogurt.
Next up was Sir Tempeh. I love tempeh from the restaurants, but I can never nail it at home. I think I nailed it yesterday.
I cubed an 8oz packet of organic tempeh, put in a bowl with the marinade below and let sit for 20 minutes.
Coconut Marinade:
- 1/4c lite coconut milk
- 1/4c tamari
- 1t raw honey
- 1T brown rice vinegar
- 1T shredded coconut
- sprinkling of ginger powder (optional)
- squirt of Siracha (optional- could use red pepper flakes if you want a little heat, but don’t have Siracha on hand)
Kale & Avocado Salad:
And for dessert…. Gluten-Free, Vegan Sorta Sugar Cookies
I followed this recipe except I used two flax “eggs” instead of the Ener-G “eggs” and I used sucant instead of sugar. I also used part of Pamela’s GF pancake mix for some of the GF flour because I ran out of flour. oops. I did not frost these bad boys, instead I rolled them into balls then dipped them in a bowl of sugar crystals. I also baked for 9-11 minutes because they are more dense than the flat cookies the original recipe calls for.
These are pretty good, but they almost taste more like scones than sugar cookies.
And today the kitchen is closed. I have work to catch up on, but it was nice to spend an unexpected day in the kitchen.
Happy Wednesday!
Three Things
I just discovered Hilary’s veggie burgers and they are too good to not give a shout out to. They are GMO free, Dairy free, Gluten Free, Corn Free, Yeast Free and they are simply delish. Nailed it. They are sold throughout the U.S.of A, so check their website or your grocery store to see if you can get your mitts on these fellas.
Please forgive the photo. I wasn’t planning on blogging about these gems, but they are just that good.
The fella in this photo is the adzuki bean burger smothered in ketchup & dijion mustard
Another food I am loving is avocado toast. I don’t why it took me so long to try this duo, but I am so tickled that I did.
Ezekiel toast, 1/2 of an avocado, 2t hemp hearts, a bit of garlic salt & red pepper flakes. So. Dang. Good.
And my final thought for the day, is my love affair with Medicine Mama’s Sweet Bee Magic Bee Balm. I am fairly certain that I have mentioned this product before on my site, but it really deserves another shout out. I swear by this product. I use it to remove make-up, on cuts, it is my lip balm and my go to product for any sort of dry skin issue. It is also my secret weapon in getting my skin to look extra glow-y. After I have put on my tinted SPF and my under eye concealer I dab the balm around my orbital bone (the circular area around your eyes).
Exhibit A
Exibit B
good lord that is a photo.
This balm is safe for those battling blemishes as the olive oil in it matches your skin’s on sebum (oil) and the propolis and honey are anti-microbial. However, I wouldn’t slather your skin in this balm if you are not exfoliating appropriately and you are acne prone- this product could be too much oil if the right about of exfoliation is not occurring. This wonder balm can be purchased from their site and some Whole Foods carry it- it is generally near the bandaids.
It looks like this, but I think their packaging has changed a wee bit.
While we are on the topic of acne, if you are battling it, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am all too familiar with sir acne, as I wrestled with him a few times in my years, and I know a thing or two about ridding skin of him.
Here is a recent testimonial I got from one of my clients. I am not sharing this with you to toot my horn, but to offer a resource to any body out there struggling with not-so-clear-skin.
I cannot begin to describe how wonderful Kelli is at Skinspot. My acne was pretty bad when I first visited Kelli, but from my very first facial, I was able to see obvious results from each visit. I can’t reiterate enough, how methodical and progressive each visit is. Kelli is knowledgeable, honest, and gives great practical advice. Above that, though, she is so kind, personable, and understanding about having skin insecurities.
I used to wake up each morning and look in the mirror, desperately searching for any improvement in my acne. Those days seem far away now, as I don’t have to wear make-up constantly and deal with the pain and embarrassment that comes with acne. I was the person who tried every type of facial and every face wash known to mankind, but to no avail. I was never rid of my acne until I saw Kelli, and so to anyone who is looking to clear up their skin or who just wants to know how to take care of themselves, I highly recommend Kelli at Skinspot. She’s a fantastic esthetician , but also such a great gal in general. – Maia R.
If you do not live in my neck of the woods, fear not, we can go through a strategy session to determine the best course of action to get you to clear skin. Honestly, home care is where the results are at, so if you are using the right products for your skin condition & type you will reach your clear skin goal.
To learn more about what I do go to skinspot’s website.
And with that, I am out. Happy Weekend!
Paleo Pad Thai, Gluten Free Brownies and Coconut Whipped Cream…. Oh My
Last night I went a little hog wild in the kitchen. I was planning on making the Paleo Pad Thai from the book Well Fed (I got the recipe off of Carrot-n-Cake here). I thought this would be an easy, peasy recipe. It was a wee bit more labor intensive than I thought. However, it is really good and it made a ton of left overs. I basically followed Tina’s post on the recipe, but I doubled the recipe and added about 2 more cups of spaghetti squash. I also used broccolini instead of pea pods. The sunshine sauce in this recipe is kinda amazing. Deep thoughts…
I threw a little of it over mixed greens for din-din. So good!
After dinner, I got a wild hair up my fanny and decided I needed to make a brownie recipe that I pulled out of Oxygen magazine months ago
Some of the goods used in the operation:
I basically followed their recipe, except I used Xyla instead of Stevia, cacao powder instead of unsweetened chocolate and coffee grounds instead of expresso powder. This recipe is a keeper and really simple. Side note: this is the first time I have ever baked with Xyla and I really like it. Xyla is xylitol -According to iherb it is a low glycemic sugar that is processed from natural xylan-rich sources. Xylitol is metabolized independently of insulin and is safe for diabetics and anyone seeking a healthier lifestyle. {source} Basically it is a sugar substitute that is not full of carcinogens and it doesn’t leave the funky after taste that stevia can leave. Big fan. To learn more about the benefits of this darling, go here.
Here is the recipe I used, which is heavily adapted from Oxygen Magazine’s Sugar Free, Gluten-Free Brownie Recipe
The Goods:
- 12 T of raw cacao or 60z unsweetened chocolate
- 3/4c butter ( they called for unsalted butter, but I didn’t have any, so I just went with regular)
- 3/4c Xyla or powdered Stevia or if you want to go the sugar route- 1.5c sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1t vanilla extract
- 1/4c + 2T gluten-free all purpose flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
- 1/2t salt
- 3t of ground up coffee or 3t of instant expresso powder
- Pre Heat oven to 325
- grease 8inch square baking pan.
- In a small saucepan dissolve the chocolate with the butter over low heat- whisk until both are completely melted
- Remove from heat and stir in Xyla (or whatever sugar you are using)
- Transfer to medium bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time with an electric mixer then add the vanilla
- Mix in the Flour, salt and expresso powder
- Flod batter into prepared pan and spread evenly
- Bake for 21-24 minutes- brownies may still appear moist on the surface
- allow to cool
On a different note, did anybody see Parenthood last night? Love. That. Show.
I am out… Happy Wednesday!
2 hits, 2 misses and new workout paraphernalia
I had big kitchen ambitions this weekend. I decided to take stab at some new recipes, some were winners and others not-so-much.
Hit numero 1:
I attempted Oh She Glow’s Naked Apple butter. I made mine a little less “naked.” I added (roughly) 3T fresh pressed apple juice, lemon juice and 2t maple syrup. This stuff is so dang good and so easy.
Hit numero 2:
Another recipe from Oh She Glow’s. I attempted her Apple, Peanut Butter. It is basically the apple butter mixed with peanut butter. Ummmm, this might be the best thing I have made to date. It tastes like peanut butter, but better and with half the calories. The only variation I did was less maple syrup because I added some to my apple butter.
Miss numero 1:
I tried to make homemade almond milk. I followed this recipe.
The recipe seemed simple enough and it probably is. I got through the soaking and blending part with the flying colors, but the straining part was where things got messy. Literally.
That would be almond milk covering the kitchen counter. Honestly, this is not entirely the straining gone a miss. It started out with a little puddle then I went to pick up the the jar and dropped it. I might try making this again with a nut milk bag, or I might not.
Miss numero 2:
I tried Oh She Glow’s Butternut Squash Mac-N-Cheese. I don’t know why I decided to hog wild with Angela’s recipes, but I did. She makes such good stuff and takes such pretty pictures, so I couldn’t help myself.
Her Version:
My Version with a side salad and homemade apple sauce.
In addition to the brown rice pasta, I added peas, chic peas, black beans and kale. I think I added too much stuff and did not make enough sauce. When I first tasted this, I thought it tastes a little blah, so I added (roughly) 1/3c shredded pecorino romano cheese. This was the wrong cheese to use. The flavor was too strong. Cheddar would have been better. Side note: I know adding cheese completely defeats the purpose of this vegan dish. These are details I choose to ignore. I think I will give this guy another shot, but follow the recipe exactly.
In other thrilling news, I been doing a few new workouts. I purchased the tighter in 10 days program. Honestly, I don’t know how I got suckered in, but I am really glad I did. I am not following the diet, but I love her workouts. They are fast, simple, you can do them at home and I am sore the next day. I am also seeing my muscles a wee bit more. I usually get on Lance for 20-30 min then I do either the Smooth and Sculpt, or the Tight and Tone workout. These workouts are great because they are between 25-37 minutes, so they are not a huge time commitment, but you get a good overall body workout. I sound like an infomercial.
I also recently purchased this kettle bell.
I have just been doing a few exercise with it, but I am tickled that I now have more diversity in my redundant routine. Switching up my workout routine really does help with the motivation factor- I highly recommend trying something new if you are guilty of monotonous gym time.
Those are my thoughts on this fine Monday. Happy Monday!
Almond Butter, Oat Bran Cookies
- 1/2C coconut oil
- 3/4 sucant
- 1 Egg
- 1/2C Almond butter
- 1/4C Maple Syrup
- 1t vanilla
- 3/4 c All Purpose GF Flour ( you could also use 1C GF or WW flour and omit the tapioca & millet flours below)
- 1T Tapioca Flour
- 1T Millet Flour
- 1.5C oat bran
- 3/4t baking powder
- 1/4t making soda
- 1/2c organic m&m’s or chocolate chips (optional)
