Homemade "Laraballs"

Who is in the mood for a snack?  Last night I made some super easy (and totally yummy) "Laraballs" (aka knock off Larabars in the shape of balls.  Creative, eh?)

Enjoy- they make a great snack, especially if you're busy and need something to hold you over until your next meal!  Pop a couple in a ziplock and throw them in your purse for some 'om nom nom' on the go!

Who wants some eggs?

Gooooood Tuesday, my dear friends! Since I have been ridiculously busy with rehearsals, work, house showings, music lessons, etc., cooking food ahead to make it 'grab and go' has been filling up my [lack of] free-time. But, doing this is SO important because I need to have nourishment to make it through the day! One thing I love to eat are hard boiled eggs. They're perfect on-the-go snacks, or easy to chop up with some celery, mustard, salt and pepper to make a great spread in some lettuce wraps! After a few trials and errors (ok, mostly errors...), I came up with the perfect hard boiled egg cooking method. 

Watch. Learn. Love. Eat.

 xoxo

AH-Mazin' Punkin' Smoothie

Hi folks- TGIF!

The Halloween decorations are down, Thanksgiving decorations are up.  Because we're so knee-deep into fall... and bordering on Christmas (holy cow), I was inspired to make some Punkin' Protein Smoothies!  These.Rocked.My.Socks.

Punkin' Protein Smoothie (serves 1)

1/4 C Milk
4 Ice Cubes
1/4 C Protein Powder
1/2 C Canned Pumpkin
1/2 t Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 t Cinnamon
1/2 t Vanilla Extract
1/2 t Maple Syrup (or honey)

BLEND!!!!

This was so good- I downed it in a gulp and a half.  TOTALLY making this again- it's like pie in a glass.  

Enjoy your evening, lovelies!  Better get my bread out of the bread machine before it browns too much!  Yipes!!  And don't forget to turn your clocks tomorrow night!  Lordylordy knows I need the extra hour!!

The Sunday Newspaper- Bringing Snacks Your Way!

Every Sunday I look forward to looking at the newspaper ads.  I am not sure exactly why I like looking at them so much- I think it goes back to my childhood days of looking at them while eating a snack after church.  Nostalgia...

So this morning was like every other Sunday morning.  I woke up early (of course, because I CAN'T sleep in anymore) and went outside to grab the paper.  The bag that the paper came in had an ad on it (like normal) but it also had a little snack sample.  Check out this nutritious find!!!  Weight Watchers fans will fall in love!

Only 80 calories!!!  Real fruit bites made with yogurt and whole grain oats.  AWESOME!!!  ...right?

....I hope you can sense the sarcasm....

When you turn this little bag-o-death over, you can see that the pineapple chunks have ingredients in them.  Hello?  Why?  Just dry some pineapple and call it a day, ok?  

And then the yogurt has trans fat (aka that hydrogenated palm kernel oil), but not enough for it to be put on the nutrition facts, so no one would even know it unless you looked at the ingredients.  Thanks DOLE!  WAY TO PROMOTE HEALTHY SNACKING, DOLE!  COME ON.

Awesome.

I threw it away.

Last week there were Cinnamon Cheerios with extra fiber.  Because that's healthy.  ???

Rawr.

Ba ba ba, ba ba ganoush

Our CSA yielded us a TON of eggplant this year.  I decided to make some baba ganoush!!  If you haven't had it before, it's kind of like an eggplant hummus.

1- take 2 eggplants, wash, and cut slits in the skin

2- roast at 400 until tender, about 30-45 minutes, then let cool for about 10 minutes

3- scoop the flesh out of the skin and let drain and cool in a colander (ewwww...it looks gross, right?!)

4- in a food processor, process eggplant guts (HAHA), with the juice of half of a lemon or lime, 2 T tahini, 2 T olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic (or more to taste) and dashes of sea salt, black pepper, chili powder, and sesame seeds.

5- blend until smooth and then let sit at room temperature for a hour before eating

Salsa Time!

Do you have a MILLION tomatoes that you need to get rid of?  Try making this nummy salsa!

Here are the ingredients:

For those that need an ingredients list....

1 medium tomatoes
1 small handful of cherry tomatoes
1 small onion
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 clove of garlic
Dash of sea salt and pepper
1 T cilantro


In a blender, whirl all of the ingredients together until coarsely chopped.

If you're like me, you like heat in your salsa, so add some Tabasco to taste
















Enjoy!!

My New Addiction

I have a new addiction, and I'm sorry to say that they are SO addicting that I cannot buy them every week.

I.  Love.  These.


What I love even more are the ingredients.

Nice.




Aren't these little 'mistakes' cute?

You can't really tell which flavor you'll get because they all look alike.  It's like a surprise in each bite!


If you're at TJ's any time soon, pick up a pack.  I think they're only $2.50ish.


Have a good Sunday!

Busy? No Problem!

Can you believe it's Monday already?!  Where did the weekend go? 

People often tell me "I'm too busy to eat healthy" or "I'm too busy to exercise".  Those comments are not true, if you set yourself up for success.  Here are some tips:

1-  Don't buy junk food.  That way, you have no choice but to eat healthy at home!  Easy snacks are apples, bananas, almonds, raw food bars, cut up veggies, or green drinks. 

Make your lunches to bring to work the night before.  Some things I like to throw together are an avocado taco with an apple and some trail mix, or a salad with an orange and some almonds.  Both of these lunches take no more than 5-8 minutes to make.

It takes a lot less time to make a meal at home than to go out to a restaurant, whether it's a drive through or a sit down place.  My favorite breakfast is oatmeal, and it takes 3 minutes to prepare.  I take 1/2 c of quick cook unflavored oats, and add in 1 c of water.  Put the oats in the microwave to cook, or cook over the stove.  In the meantime, cut up whatever fruit you would like to put in, and get out whatever spices you like (I use cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice the best).  I also put in a little bit of organic black strap molasses for a little sweetness and iron.  Once the oats are cooked, I throw it all together!  That's it!

As far as exercise, there are a TON of short workouts (20 minutes!) that you can squeeze in.  Here are some ideas:

*On your lunch hour at work, spend 20 - 30 min taking a walk.  If you have stairs in your building, use them! 
*Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred is CHEAP on Amazon (under $10!), and each work-out is 20 min long.
*To get the most from your work-out, incorporate weights and cardio.  For example, if you are riding a stationary bike, do some arm curls, shoulder press, and tricep extensions at the same time.  The goal is to get your heart rate up to make the most of your time.
*Cleaning the house really gives you a workout!  If housework is looming over your head, do some calf raises while you put away dishes, or squats while you load the laundry.  It all adds up!

So the moral of the story?  You are not too busy to eat healthy, nor are you too busy to work out!  If you don't have your health, you don't have anything.  Make your health a priority.

Holding Steady

First of all, I am happy to say that I am holding steady at 152.8!  That's a good sign, right?


I started the day off on Saturday with a yummy bowl of Oatmeal, topped with Pineapple and Cherries.  If you haven't tried this oatmeal combo yet, you are missing out.  YUM YUM YUM YUM.

I worked out about an hour afterward (burned 200 calories in 28 min!  NICE!), and made myself a MASSIVE salad.

Topped with black beans and avo-  oh sooooo good.  Paired with pineapple and one of Averie's Peanut Butter Protein babies, it was the lunch-o-champions!

After lunch, I ran out and did some errands all over town.  So much for a relaxing Saturday!!  Once returning home, I decided to get a little creative with dinner.  Still having a fridge full of lettuce, and being semi-tired of salads, I created a Quinoa Salad that rocked my face off!!

I cooked the Quinoa according to the package directions, then drained it and tossed in Broccoli, Lettuce, Garlic, and some Brown Mustard.  Stirred it all together and that's what it looked like!  SOOOOO yummy, if you like Mustard.  Brenton wasn't a fan-  he doesn't like Mustard, so the next time I make it, I'll leave the sauce off.

I also had an Orange and an Oatie....





























mmmmmmm Oatie...

By about 8pm, I was hungry again.  This is what working out does to you, I swear!!  So, I had a piece of Sprouted Whole Grain toast with Peanut Butter and an Apple topped with Cinnamon.

I feel like I'm eating a TON!  But, the combo of low calorie foods and exercise will do that to you I guess.  I am happy to say, though, that today (Sunday), I weighed in at.... are you ready for it???....


151.6!  (whoooo hoooooo dance dance dance spinnnnnnn jump jump)

Sweet Treat- Chocolate Covered Raisins

Hi everybody!   Happy almost TGIF!  AND it's almost TGIF of a LONG WEEKEND!  Woot woot!!   Just a quickie post about my brand new favorite sweet treat!  I got inspired to make some chocolate covered raisins the other day (remember having those chemical-laden ones as a kid?!...gross). 

Check it out!

















They look pretty good, no?  All I did was melt a square of Trader Joe's dark chocolate with a pinch of coconut oil over the stove (you could use the microwave if you wanted), and threw in a handful of raisins.  Stir stir stir and plopped on some aluminum foil.  I stuck them in the freezer to harden for a minute or two, and devoured them in about the same amount of time.  Brenton didn't like that I used dark chocolate.  He said "Eww... that's that bitter chocolate you eat.  Milk would be much better".  and then continued to eat a few more (hahaha)

Did you win anything on Angela's Shop 4 A Cause yesterday??  I was out-bid at the veeeeery last second!!!  Just when I thought I was going to win- BANG!- a higher bid.  Oh well.  She raised a TON of money for Cancer research, and THAT'S what's most important.

Any big plans for the long weekend?  I have some teaching to do on Saturday, and then I think we're going to go to the cemetery and then take a walk at Highbanks Metro Park to enjoy the weather a little bit. Then on Sunday I think we're having a BBQ cookout at my brother and sister-in-law's house... thinking of making BBQ Tempeh 'Ribs' and grilled veggies.  We'll see what inspires me!!  My goal for my day off on Monday is to do as little 'work' as possible and really enjoy the day.  (I say that now, but you KNOW I'll be knee deep in laundry or something)

Have a fantastic-o Thursday!!

Starbucks gone RAW!

It's been a long time since I've been in Starbucks.  Actually, the last time I was in one was before our trip to Miami last October.  My sister and I went a few days ago, and let me tell you, I was AH-MAZED!

I cannot BEGIN to tell you how excited I am that Starbucks carries Annie's organic snacks and (OMG!) RAW FOOD BARS!   

Look how great!  These are made by Two Moms in the Raw, and I gotta tell you- the bar that we split was DE-LISH!  Look at all of the yummy goodness!!!  It was SOOOOO good.  We'll be stocking up the next time we go!




















What I like even more is all of the natural and organic ingredients.  WHO KNEW YOU COULD FIND SOMETHING SO GREAT AT STARBUCKS?!

Nutrition in a pouch.  What a great snack to have on the go to give you tons of energy!!



















Thank you, Two Moms in the Raw and Starbucks for making healthy choices available.

A new, weird snack....

Good Saturday afternoon! I was hungry for a snack today, so I decided to get creative. Unfortunately, when I start to get creative, WEIRD things happen!! I read somewhere that you can mix Amazing Grass Greens Superfood powder with yogurt. I decided to give it a try!!

Here are my ingredients-



Amazing Grass Powder
Stoneyfield Organic Yogurt
Organic Strawberries

So, I bet you're wondering what it looked like...

Well, it looked kinda gross...





The most important thing- how did it taste? Actually, not too bad!!! The strawberries made it a little bit sweet, and overall, it was a pretty good snack. It reminded me of the first time I learned to mix protein powder in with Cottage Cheese or Yogurt... a different taste, but not bad!

I encourage you to get Amazing Grass- there's some GREAT greens in there that offer MAJOR health benefits. Whether you mix it with your smoothies, or mix it with your yogurt, it's an incredible healthful treat!

5k!!

So Friday was 5k day. I was bound and determined to try to run the whole thing, so I knew I needed my energy!!! I started the day off right with a cup of Oikos, topped with some Cascadian Farms Organic Honey O's and some frozen organic raspberries. And... the beginning of the water overload!!!




Work was 'as usual' if you will, but I brought a special bar for my snack. Sorry Larabar... I wanted to make sure I got my greens!!! And to be honest, I wasn't even THAT hungry for it by 10:30am... which means that breakfast was doing the trick!!!



I really like this bar! It looks absolutely GROSS when you open it (yeah, it's green...) but it tastes really good. Lots of greens and quality ingredients. Any time these guys are on sale at Kroger, I stock up!!!

I didn't actually get to eat my lunch until 1pm, but that was ok. I made sure not to bring too much since the run was t minus 6 hours away. I made some whole wheat pasta and threw in some leftover veggies from the YUMMY veggie sandwich I made the day before. I paired it with half an orange, and a few bites of TJ's Dark Chocolate. mmmmm!!!!








Oh yeah, and that water overload that I mentioned... that continued....



I got home around 4:45, and wanted to make sure I had a little something in be, so by 5:15, I had made up the pre-run meal that I try to always do...



Toasted Ezekiel topped with Almond Butter, 1/2 a banana, and some organic blueberry preserves....


And a GM!!!! To celebrate the 'World Famous Pig Run' that I was about to do, I drank out of the glass I got from it last year. This GM was made out of the other half of the banana, a kiwi, a handful of spinach, 1/4 zucchini, 1 T of Chia Seeds, and a little bit of water. YUM!!!! Energy was flowing!! Oh, and more water.

For luck, I wore my favorite socks (just for my Disers)!!!



Since I was so determined to get a better time, I decided to make a new playlist on my Ipod to run to. I swear that music REALLY helps to keep me going. Here's what I programed:

Hey You- 311
Electric Feel- MGMT (great song... check this one out)
Africa- Toto
Eons- 311
Let Go- Frou Frou (another great song)
You Only Get What You Give- New Radicals
Remind Me- Royksopp
Blame It- Jamie Foxx
My Hero- Foo Fighters

That was 38:24 min of music, and YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT I FINISHED BEFORE THE LAST SONG WAS DONE!!!!! I finished at 37:22. Last year, my best time was 39:45... in October!!! The course was REALLY hilly... which took a lot out of me. I walked a lot, but I RAN FAST to make up time. The only problem was- I had to REALLY watch my heart rate... it got up to 197 at times!!! It was then when I knew I needed to slow way down. When my heart got back down to 180, I kicked it up to a run again. I really pushed myself, but I DID IT!!

When I got home, I had to have a post-race recovery...



An egg white 'burrito' with a little bit of salsa, mushrooms, spinach in a whole wheat tortilla and 1/2 of a tomato. AND MORE WATER. It was HOT HOT HOT outside, and I was SOAKED. At the turn around, I actually got water, which I never do. It's a good thing I was drinking ALL DAY LONG!! The only bad thing was that my Mickey socks gave me a blister!! Not fun. Oh well, I had to represent!!!

I was very proud that I shaved 3min and 30 sec. off of my last 5k time (from July 4), and am ready to start training for the next one. Have a fantastic evening, all! I'm off to do some Billy Bootcamp Tae Bo.

Until next time, push yourself- you'll never know what you can do if you don't. Namaste.