Yup I did it...

Yup I did it...I was tired last night, crabby and ended up eating way more than I should have. I was one cranky Chrysta. I wasn't hungry I just wanted to eat something. None of it horrible, at least it was healthy foods but still more than I should have. This morning I was thinking about why. Reasons being, just tired and wanted some instantaneous comfort I think. In a way I think its a good thing, making mistakes allows you to learn from them. Next time I feel this way I can think back to last night and really analyze whether or not I'm truly hungry or just wanting that instant gratification. I think the key is realizing that you can't be perfect all the time and expecting to never err is completely out of reach. We are all human and make mistakes sometimes and the best thing to do is just to learn from them and move on. So instead of feeling horrible I decided to treat my body well today by filling it with amazingly healthy awesome foods and a great workout. I think this is the best way to get over a night of not so great eating.

So on that happy note, I started my day with Pumpkin Spice Coffee (Thanks Mom!! She always sends me flavored coffee from this coffee shop back in PA that I LOVE! And this month she sent me Pumpkin Spice and Hawaiian Coconut) and also a big bowl of.....you guessed it! Hot oatmeal! Nice!

Lunch consisted of Kale and tahini and some eggwhites on the side. I also picked at some granola.
Mid day snacks were crackers Barney butter! So delish. I hit the gym after work and had one rockin workout. I ended the night with a huge plate of apples with cinnamon and mesquite and a greek yogurt with some cocoa powder and stevia. After my sweat fest and day of fabulous eats Im already back on track and feeling great. Heres to a great start of a new weekend!

Cauliflower "Pizza" and some ramblings

So I had some creative juices flowing this morning and came up with an idea for a mock pizza. (Picture is not the best, sorry about that, it just doesnt do it justice...it was quite tastier than it looks!) While not a traditional pizza by any means it was super tasty and made an excellent lunch! Started off with a crunchy cauliflower crust, a spicy pumpkin sauce and topped it off with sauteed onions and seitan! So maybe pizza isn't the right word for it, but hey as long as it was tasty! I still have to play around a bit. I think i need more egg to bind my crust together better but the flavors were great. And due to lack of time, since I made this over my lunch break, Id like to caramelize the onions for longer and sear up the seitan more. But all good! There's always a next time.


Basic idea was to make a cauliflower crust with smashed cauliflower and egg whites. Then some added garlic and pepper to spice it up. I made the pumpkin sauce from pureed pumpkin, garam masala, garlic, all spice and a bit of cayenne for some kick. Then I seared up some onions and seitan with a bit of sage to top it off. Made a tasty lunch!

I followed up with some trail mix that I made. Oh my gosh, next to granola, this is my weakness. Raw almonds, peanuts, organic raisins, goji berries and dark chocolate pieces. (Ok and you might find a rogue grain sweetened SunChip in there too!) Heaven I tell ya! I try to restrain myself because I know far too well that its easy to way overdo it on something like this. While super healthy, it is high in calories and that is something that you still should be aware of. I find though with foods like this, I do allow myself to eat in moderation. Just with personal experience placing certain foods off limits just makes you crave them even more and puts you at risk for way overdoing it once you do eat them. Its like when you were in high school and your parents told you no, you just wanted to do that even more just because you knew you weren't allowed. Well to counter balance this I don't place any foods out of reach. Just certain ones I watch my portion sizes a lot closer than others. This seems to work pretty well.

Oh and another side note, its interesting to see how you change along your way too. I think about 2 years ago my splurge item might have been some onion rings or some other fried food and now its trail mix! I do love change=)

And I ramble on, its just something Ive learned along the way. Hope everyone has a fantastic day!

Ok, I get it now....

Ok, I totally get it now. I LOVE Barney butter. At first bite, I'll admit, I didnt understand what the fuss was about. Then on second bite I thought myself.."hhmm this is prettty tasty, texture is nice..." But I put it in the cabinet and moved on. The next day, while hunting around in the cabinents for a little snack I found the jar again. I decided to put it on my crackers and then it was all over. I found myself putting it on everything. (Yup, I even licked out a container I had in my lunch bag) Smooth creamy and oh so delicious, Im hooked. If you haven't tried this stuff yet I recommend you give it a go. Its worth it!

Crunchy chicken strips with a spicy banana sauce

Today was my rest day. I got to sleep in a bit, have a slow morning and all together start the week off nice and rested. I ate my crepes that I posted about earlier for lunch, which was super fantastic. I love the fact that they take only about 10 minutes to cook up and is super filling. But for dinner I decided to make some dinner for Austin and I. He loves chicken fingers, the kind that comes fried in a basket with a side of honey mustard. Although I know he wants to start eating alot better. So i decided to make some crispy baked chicken strips with a spicy banana "ketchup". This was based off of a recipe I found off of Eating well.

Crispy Baked Chicken Strips with Banana "Ketchup"

Chicken:
1 Chicken Breast
1 egg
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. panko
1 tsp. garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. pepper
pinch of salt

Banana Ketchup:
1/2 banana
1/4 c. onion
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. all spice
1/4 c. apple cider Vinegar
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. chili flakes
1/4 c. water
splash of evoo

For the chicken, cut into strips and rinse clean. Put egg into one bowl, flour into another bowl and panko with seasonings into a third bowl. This works best with a shallow bowl or plate. Dip chicken into flour first, then egg wash and lastly into panko mix. Place chicken strips onto a greased baking pan and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or so. (Depends on how thick you cut your chicken)

For the ketchup dice onion and add to sautee pan with olive oil, ginger and chili flakes. Cook until onion starts to soften. Add in all spice and cook for another minute. Add in mashed banana, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar and water. Cook over low heat to reduce. About 10 minutes. Let cool, move to food processor and blend.

They came out super crunchy and moist on the inside. The sauce was really delicious. Just a perfect blend of banana with a bit of a kick. The vinegar helped to offset the sweetness in the banana. Really tasty! I thought that it went well with the crunchy chicken.

I wasnt overly hungry tonight unfortunently so I just took a few bites of the chicken that I made for Austin. For myself I made a great giant salad with carmelized onions and peppers. I threw together a quick dressing with balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic and a bit of coconut vinegar. I also love to throw fresh herbs into my salad. Tonight in some cilantro I had lying around. Delish!



And now Im off to bed. Tommorrow is spin which means early morning! Have a super night.

Happy Sunday!

I hit up a different Spin class this morning. Ive been really trying to try new teachers and classes lately just to mix things up alot and this teacher was so incredibly motivational. He was super energetic and really into the class. Its amazing how much of a difference this makes. I love his philosphy of "sweating out your old self to bring in the new...spring cleaning for the body" Its so true and really keep me moving hard.

I came back from class and was famished! I decided to make a spelt and egg white crepe on a bed of kale with some tahini on the side. I followed it up with a huge, sweet amazing honey crisp apple. I'll tell ya, there is nothing like apples in the fall! I had some mesquite seasoning and sprinkled some on a la fitnessista style. It was a fabulous combo! It sure hit the spot.

Then it was on to start dehydrating! Im a huge snacker so Im making some zucchini, eggplant and sweet potato chips!
So i popped these veggies into the dehydrator and 8 hours later I had sweet crunchy veggie chips! Yum!

After all my chopping efforts I made a nice big bowl of chocolate chia pudding and peppermint green tea. Time to kick my feet up and enjoy the rest of my evening.

Figgy Bites

These little mini bars are perfect fall snacks! Packed with oats and dates, they will definitely satisfy that sweet tooth in a perfectly healthy way! Plus they make your kitchen smell amazing.

1/2 c. regular oatmeal
1/2 c. regular oats ground to a fine flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbs. Agave
1/4 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/8 c. water
pinch of salt

Filling:
4 oz (115 grams) prunes
56 g. dates (about 4 medium sized dates)
1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger

2 Tbs. almonds slices

Mix dry ingredients together and set aside. Combine all the ingredients for the filling into a food processor and pulse to a paste. Set aside. Spray down a mini muffin pan. First take the crust and press down into the bottom of the pan. (this is way easier if you just use your fingers as the crust is a bit sticky=) Take the filling and press down on top. Sprinkle with a few almond slivers. Bake in over at 350 F for about 10-15 minutes. Makes about 16.

Enjoy!!!

Mac and Cheese

One of the things that I used to love was macaroni and cheese. There was something about all that meltey gooey cheese baked with luscious fresh pasta that brought about the ultimate feelings of comfort to me. It was my food comfort blanket. Now that I'm older I realize that maybe all that gooey cheese (although while still quite delicious) isnt something that i need to be eating regularly. I started playing around with a recipe off of fatfreevegan.com and she has a fantastic vegan mac and cheese recipe. Its going to take some playing with as I cut the recipe down a bit. So once i get my measurements in order I will post the recipe. But I must say, this totally hit the spot. It was super creamy, delicious and above all good for you!

My food philosophy is that you should never feel guilty about eating a certain food. Food should make you feel awesome and fantastic! Not hiding in shame.


Close up of the creamy goodness! I rounded out my meal with yummy cheery tomatoes and cut cucumbers.



This morning I hit the gym as usual. I went to my 75 minute Spin class which rocked out. New instructor and she worked us hard. Which i love. Hey, if I'm going to spend my free time at the gym, I want to make it count and put my all into it! After lunch though, that was a totally different story...I grabbed some yummy tea and a gossip mag (guilty pleasure) and hit the couch for a bit of well deserved R&R! I love saturday afternoons! I plan on cleaning and cooking up a storm though later. And going for a walk as its gorgeous out today. So will post back later! Have a good one!

Today is rockin! Loving my Fridays!

Today is rocking!! I missed my workout yesterday cause the alarm clock decided to completely die out on me. Scary. I'm glad I woke up in time for work though! Whew! So I charged on over to Bed Bath and Beyond and crisis has now been diverted.

So I usually end up taking Fridays off but I hit the gym today since I missed yesterday. Gotta be flexible with the schedule! And today just rocked! I tried out a new spin class, muy bueno. 60 minutes of heart pounding fun. Plus I got a great workout and cool down session in too. I'm feeling amazing. I made an appt. with a trainer for next week too which I'm really excited about. Id love to learn some new things. I think its super important to mix up your workout routines. Shakes the body up and plus you don't ever get bored! I grabbed my usual bowl of oats and coffee and time to start my morning!



Lunch was quick, simple and above all delish! ABout 2 giant handfuls of fresh spinach, cucumbers, cherry tomaoes (they were super sweet!) I can of tuna and salsa on top. Had some crackers with cheese on the side too. Pretty tasty. I grabbed some chocolate tea for the afternoon as well.

Later tonight we hit up Menchies. I have a huge froYo fan and this completely hit the spot. I swirled in French Vanilla, with a bit of pumpkin and strawberry shortcake. Delish! Austin added a bit more to his!=)
Have a great friday night!!

Spaghetti Squash with a Cilantro Pesto

I woke up this morning at my usual time. 4:45. It was super chilly. In my opinion anyways although I think some people would disagree. (Hey I love the hot weather!) and hit the road to the gym. I was a little sluggish today for some reason, so when I came home I made sure to chug a huge water bottle of cold water. For some reason this really help to perk me up. Then packed up the oatmeal for breakfast and off to work! I chopped up some veggies before work real quick that I could roast up for later. Gotta multi task!


Im thinking today for lunch I need to do something with all that spaghetti squash I have lying around left over from my pancakes I made the other night. Using up the ol' leftovers. I actually love left overs. Gives me a chance to make some totally new from something old. Spice it up a bit.

I did a little research of squash first. I like to see what health benefits my foods have. In general its good to stay away from empty calories. Meaning limit the amount of calories with no nutritional value you take in. I LOVE this post by Katie.

Her example is spot on! A 100 calorie snack pack vs. banana. Sure banana might have a few extra calories but oh man are you getting a TON of amazing vitmains and nutrients that you body needs in that banana. If its your thing though, just keep it in moderation!! More bang for your buck and thats the way I roll! Snack pack is pretty much 100 calories of nadda. Well sugar and chemicals=) If its your thing though, just keep it in moderation!!

Ok, back to squash peeps. Squash is an amazing source of Vitamin A, Folate, Omega 3 acids, pantothenic acid and niacin. (Thank you George!) Vitamin A, in the form of beta carotene, has amazing anti inflammatory properties as well as many antioxidants. It helps protect against heart attacks and strokes. Squash is also good at regulating blood sugar levels. And I don't know about you, but when my blood sugar spikes I turn into a huge sugar monster out to destroy any innocent little cupcake that might be lying around. So regulation is a good thing=)

So for lunch today I made a quick spaghetti squash pasta toss. I love the delicate sweetness from the apples and squash. Its offset by the slight firey kick from the chili peppers. Delicious. Shrimp add a nice bit of protein to the whole toss.


Spaghetti squash and Shrimp Toss

1c. spaghetti squash
1/2 c. tomatoes
2 Tbs. diced onion
2 cups spinach
12 small shrimp
1Tbs. garlic
squeeze of lemon
pepper and red chili flakes to taste

In a small pan heat spaghetti squash on medium heat until slightly crunchy. Next add in Shrimp. When the shrimp are done add in the spinach, tomatoes and sautee for about 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted. add in garlic, lemon, pepper, chili flakes and parsley. Serve hot and enjoy!


I then packed up my snacks for the day which normally is peanut butter on crackers but i decided to switch things up a bit and eat my pudding instead for a snack. I find at night I get super pickey so Im thinking that if I avoid sugar at night it might help with this. Today is an experiment! So in the bag went apples and pudding! (Along with all the fixin's!)

Its a Glo-Bar kind of Day!

So I got the most amazing package in the mail today. My Glo-bars!! Oh man, I could not wait to tear into these puppies. Even as I opened the box, they looked incredible! I immediately went for the Revive bar. Dark chocolate and Peanut butter?! Yes please! When I opened the package a waft of delicious chocolately goodness hit my face. At first bite they were an instant hit. They taste amazing, texture is nice, soft and chewy. Love it. It tastes so decadent but its full of wholesome wonderful ingredients. This one gets two thumbs up in my book!! As you can see in the picture, I took a bite before I even took the picture! ha!


Next up the Endure Glo bar. I LOVE spelt and was really curious how this would taste in a bar. First bite..oh gosh, vanilla heaven. I had to take all my will power and put this one back in its wrapper before I ate the whole thing. Im gonna go out on a limb and say I like this one a bit better than the Revive bar. The vanilla flavor is wonderful! Wow. Hits of cranberry and coconut are present and make this bar a fanastic treat. Great flavor.


Renew bar was fabulous too. Slight bit of sweetness but not overpowering and I love the fact it has Chia seeds in it. I do love my chias! Had a nice little crunch to it which I found to be nice.

When I work out I don't like to eat things that are too sweet. And the Run Glo Bar is exactly what the type of thing I would take with me. The aftertaste has slight notes of peanut butter and vanilla. So yummy. I can see myself packing some of these to the gym or on one of my rides. It doesn't have that overpowering sweet taste that a lot of bars have. It tastes way more natural to me and that gets a huge two thumbs up in my book! I already put a few in my bag to take to the gym with me.


Last but not least is the Classic Glo bar. Cant go wrong with a classic right? Right! This ones a winner. Peanut buttery taste, slightly sweet. Reminds me of the Run glow bar. It has ground flax and hemp seeds in it which Im always looking to eat more of in my diet.

Overall thoughts? These are A-mazing. As I was saying earlier I love the non-commerical very organic natural taste that they have. The bars are chewy, not too sweet and made with wholesome ingredients. I would hands down recommend these to everyone I know. I love the inclusion of Omega-3 and Omega-6 stats in the nutritional info as well. They are 100% vegan, (which means Im so sending my mom a case of these) and 100% organic. Rock on! Each bar is filling, delicious and the perfect snack for anyone on the Glo...I mean go!=) Be warned though, they are crazy addicting. (I had to put mine in the cabinet so I wouldn't eat them all in one night)

Thanks Angela for the amazing products. I know I will be ordering a bunch more in the near future. I cant wait to try the granola as well!

Autumn is here!

I absolutely love fall. Its my favorite time of year. The trees are changing, the air is crisp and chilly and everything just seems so comforting and amazing to me. I woke up this morning and curled up on the couch with my big warm bowl of oatmeal and a steaming hot cup of coffee. Its the usual, but always hits the spot. I went to the gym and hit the elliptical for 75 minutes today! Crazy! There was a good show on, I couldn't stop watching. The time jsut flew by. I have to say I love days like that. After a great gym session I came home and was starving. Definitely in a bottomless pit kind of way. I ended up eating some fiber crackers with 1 Tbs. of peanut butter. some cereal and a apple. Overall not too bad. I definitely could have don't more damage. Then onto making some dinner. Since I was feeling festive I decided to make some spaghetti squash pancakes with a spicy pumpkin and black bean salsa on top of a bed of roasted spinach. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine was. They were super crispy, a bit spicy and sweet at the same time.

But first I had to curb my sweet tooth before I cooked so I popped a few of these. Delicous...chewy, sweet..did the trick. If you love black licorice I highly recommend these. It only takes one or two pieces to satisfy me.



I had two beautiful fall squashes lying on my kitchen counter that I could not wait to use. Spaghetti squash and a sugar pumpkin. Tasty and versatile they are a great choice for dinner or even dessert dishes! Super healthy to boot too! (And did I mention low calorie?) I started off my cutting my squash in half. I laid each half into about 1 inch of water and covered with foil. Then about 30 minutes later its time to shred!


In about two minutes I had a huge bowlful of shredded spaghetti squash. The pumpkin takes a bit more time but super easy. I cut into big cubes. Carefully cut the outer skin off then cube. I plan to use the pumpking for my pumpkin and black bean salsa and the other half for my dehydrator to make some pumpkin leather.


Spaghetti Squash Pancakes with a Spicy Pumpkin and Black Bean Salsa:

Pancakes:
2 c. shredded spaghetti squash
3 Tbs. liquid egg whites
4 Tbs. whole wheat flour
pepper to taste


Salsa:
1 c. cooked pumpkin, small dice
1/2 c. black beans
1 Tbs. garlic
1/2 c. tomato, small dice
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 lime, juiced
1 tsp. chili powder
pinch of salt and pepper


Put cooked squash into a big bowl. Add in egg whites and flour and pepper. Mix. Heat a griddle, spray with your favorite non stick cooking spray (these puppies will stick horribly if you don't) Take a small scoop of the "batter" and form into a pancake shape. Put into pan. Cook on medium heat until heated through. Flip and cook opposite side.

For the salsa:
Add all ingredients into pan and toss to combine. Set aside and let the flavors marry each other. Longer it sits the tastier it is!

When pancakes are done, place onto plate, scoop salsa on top and enjoy!

I enjoyed mine with a side of sauteed spinach. It was amazing! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Have a wonderful evening!

Yoga and Snacks

I went to my very first Yoga class yesterday and it completely rocked! Im used to doing alot of long endurance type cardio but this was amazing. It really stretched my muscles out, relaxed me and felt like a great workout for my core. Which is something that I really need to work on more. Overall I cant wait to take another class, its definently something that I want to start doing on a regular basis. If you haven't taken one before, its just overall fun! Don't worry about keeping up or not understanding the poses. I was a little slow at first since I didn't understand the different poses but you pick it up quickly. Plus I had a great instructor that really helped me out.

When I got home I had the picks! I just wanted to snack a bit so I made up some spicy chipotle lime toasted chickpeas and my "famous" guacamole. (Not to toot my own horn but I make a mean guac!) I love chickpeas. They are a fantastic source of fiber, protein, folate and maganese just to name a few. And if you watching your budget, dried chickpeas are super cheap and can be stored for months in a an air tight container! So chick pea it up!



Spicy Chipotle and Lime Chickpeas:

1/2 c. dried chickpeas (or 1 can if that is what you have on hand)
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 Tbs fresh garlic
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. garlic
2 tsp. ancho chili powder


juice from 1/2 lime
dash of hot sauce
(salt and pepper if needed-I didnt use any, but you can add in whatever you'd like!)

soak chick peas in water overnight. Drain, rinse and throw into pan with enough water to cover. Add in fresh garlic. Boil until soft. Drain and add to bowl. Toss in your spices, lime juice, hot sauce and sprinkle onto baking sheet. Toast in oven at 350 until nice and crispy. Enjoy!!

(My husband says these remind him or corn nuts, HA!) Also, being a huge football fan actually ate a bowl of these instead of the usual chips which watching the game. Total score!


And now for the guacamole! The trick to amazing guacamole is just finding the ripest most delicious avacados that you can. When Im at the store I always squeeze and smell my avacados before I buy them. If they squish a bit, I will buy those as they will be pretty good for guacamole. Avacados are amazingly healthy and full of healthy fats (the monosaturated kind). Sine they are high in fat though you should eat them in moderation. This recipe is simple, delicious and takes no time to prepare. Its fanastic with some warmed up tortillas or fresh cut veggies.

Guacamole:

3 avacados
1 lime
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 sweet onion
2-3 jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like it!)
salt
pepper
1 heaping Tbs of fresh garlic

Peel and rough chop avacado. Once the pieces are all in the bowl, add in your lime juice. The lime juice not only adds to the flavor but the acid in the lime prevents the avacados from browning. Not take a fork (or hands!) and mash away. small dice your onion and jalapenos and mix it. Season with garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Toss in cilantro. Mix.

Thats it! Easy and delicous. I like to eat mine margarita style!! Enjoy!

Gorgeous and Sunny!

This morning was amazingly gorgeous, warm and sunny outside. Its been super cold and rainy so its been such a great change! I woke up, had my usualy tasty breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and hit the road. I had my spin class this morning and it was fabulous. Lots of hill climbs and speed work. Perfect way to start the morning. Then after class I was off to Whole Foods. This place is super dangerous. I know alot of people say its pricey but really I dont find it to be way more than other grocery stores. You just have to really shop around and look for good deals. Their 365 brand of products I think are very quality and reasonably priced. I must say I so totally scored this morning! Yessss! Heres some of the booty:


Ok so my puffed Kamut 2 for $2! Good deal! I love this stuff. Im such a grazer so I love to just keep it around and snack on it. Turbinado raw sugar just $2.99..I checked, its the same price at Trader Joes so thats cool! Pure Maple syrup is always a bit pricey but worth it. I paid 15.99 for this. (Its a 32oz bottle) I dont know if this is a super steal or not but considering I sent my husbands to the grocery store the other day and bought me a Ralph's brand maple syrup that was only 12 oz for $14 bucks I think he said. So to me this seemed like a decent deal. I also found some Barney Butter! Ive been hearing so much about it and have really wanted to give it a shot. So I'll post back later on that one. And my dark chocolate chunks. I plan to do a little baking today so I needed these. They are 70% pure cocoa. Its the highest I could find in chips and it was pretty cheap as well. I also bought bags full or organic veggies and fruits but I'll admit, i do splurge alot of my veggies!

On the agenda today is cleaning. Fun stuff! But also I plan to do some cooking, baking and I also have a new class I'm attending today! Its a mix of pilates and spin. Sounds way interesting so Im super excited! Texas game is on today and my husbands and our good friends are making there legendary game day tater tot nachos. They tell me this is something you should never eat if you value your health. HA! Hey, all in moderation though, right? I'm definitely going to post pictures of their master piece once its finished. Have a super day everyone!

Peanut Butter Pudding Love!

So I just completed my metric century last weekend. I'm a bit gung ho about it and I read about another one that takes places in a month! hhmmm.... I was thinking about giving myself a mini break but this one seems really fun. So I'm kind of contemplating whether or not to go for it. In the end I think I will, just to challenge myself. But we shall see.

Today was waaay warmer which was awesome. After work I got to curl up and watch a Sons of Anarchy episode that I had recorded (which totally rocks! its like Spranos but with a biker gang!) and suddenly realized that I was out of my all time favorite dessert! My Peanut butter tofu pudding! Im the kind of person that has to have some type of dessert every night and for me it fits the bill! Plus its somewhat healthy so I can justify eating it everyday! First up I gather my ingredients. Its super super super simple to make. In about no time flat you will be in peanut butter pudding heaven!
All you need is some Silken Tofu, PB2 (you can always use any nutbutter, its delicious anyway you make it!) and some stevia to sweeten it a bit.


Throw the tofu and Peanut butter in the food processor and let 'er rip! You might have to add a bit of water depending on thin or thick you like it. Thats it! Wow easy! I usually just spoon some into a bowl and sweeten to taste with some stevia. My favorite toppings are some bananas, chocolate chips and granola. Super tasty snack!

Check out these awesome give-a-ways!

This morning I had such an amazing Spin class. Lots of hill climbs and sprints. It definently rev'd me up for the day! I guess it made me feel lucky and I wandered across all these sweet give aways! Rock on! These sites are amazing and who doesn't love free stuff? I recommend checking these out for sure! Good Luck!

Jocelyn's big A-mazing give away!

Agave Give away!! Check this out!

OneFitFoodie is giving away some awesome coupons for Nasoya Product. Love it!

Eat,Live,Clean,Green is giving away some awesome Nature's Path products!

Spelt is a girls best friend

I was on a baking roll today. I had a huge monster cookie craving and just had to do something about it. Luckily while surfing around I found an amazing recipe for vegan spelt chocolate chip cookies. These seemed ungodly amazing. The velvet texture of the spelt flour combined with pure golden maple syrup, raw crunchy almond butter and hints of cinnamon and pure vanilla seemed like just what I needed. These were crunchy on the outside and moist and delicious on the inside. Warm from the oven the chocolate chips just oozed everywhere. Pure heaven! This so completely made my night and I went to bed a very happy girl!

Rain, workout excuses and more spiralizer fun!

This morning was a tough one to wake up for the gym. It hardly ever rains in SoCal and when I woke up this morning it was a torrential downpour. Amazing! A part of me would have loved to just stay snuggled under the covers listening to rain on the roof but on the other hand I wasn't about to let a little rain interfere with my morning! SO I got up as fast as possible and hit the road. Once I got to the gym (this always seems to happen to me) I stepped out of the car and into I swear the biggest puddle in the parking lot. Naturally. Luckily my shoes dried fast. Although I did forget that they were wet on the soles and I almost slipped off the elliptical. Ha! Graceful. But I ended up having a fantastic workout and I really enjoyed my morning! Just by chance I got an email this morning from fitness magazine about the top 8 workout excuses..

1) I'm too tired
2) I'm too busy
3) I'll never look like Jennifer Lopez, so why bother?
4) I'm too sore from yesterday's workout
5) I feel as if I'm getting sick
6) I'm bored with my workout
7) I'm stressed
8) I'm not in the mood

I thought this was a great list they put together. Although I would have added weather as one! Does anyone ever feel more sluggish on cold rainy days? I do! But I always make sure to go anyways.

I've totally been there with all of these and can totally relate to them. On the flip side though I've taught myself how to make it through each excuse and still get in a killer workout! For instance saying I'm too busy or too tired..I feel that squeezing in some time to workout, even if its just a 30 minutes quick walk actually makes me feel less tired and busy. The time I take to do something active makes me feel as though I have some time to myself and it also perks me up! Which makes me more productive.

Excuse numero three.."I'll never look like Jennifer Lopez, so why bother?" I think a comment like this really affects upon a lot of factors that I could go on and on about. I think the bottom line is setting goals and working on them will help you see past these idealized views of others. We tend to forget sometimes that celebrities have a ton of personalized dieticians, trainers and amazing make up personnel that can make them look the way they do. And as easy as they make it look, Im sure its a lot of work to maintain that appearance. (Hey we are all just human!) Be happy knowing you are beautiful and taking the time to do something active will keep your outlook positive and body as healthy as possible! Now onto excuse 4!

"Im too sore from yesterdays workout". Well just from personal experience I find that doing some light activity can actually help relieve tense muscles and help to stretch them out. The day after I rode my long distance ride, my legs and back and shoulders were pretty sore. But I went to the gym and did some light cardio and stretching. I found I wasn't quite as sore later that night. I'd say even just a small walk or anything can help get the blood flowing and help to heal sore achey muscles faster!

"I feel as if I'm getting sick" - I think this is something you really have to make the call on. Growing up my parents always had us "sweat it out" when we were getting sick. Whether or not this is a good idea or not I think is up to you.

"I'm bored with my workout" - Well one way to fix this. Mix it up! Try a class at your local gym. Go for a hike, try a new running route, swim anything! Maybe even try out something you've always wanted to do but haven't before like rock climbing. Anything you can do to get that heart rate up is great!

And last but not least. "I'm stressed" and "I'm not in the mood". I find working out to be a great stress reliever. Its amazing how taking your frustration out on the treadmill can really improve your mood. Studies have shown that any form of exercise can relieve tension and help calm. As for not being in the mood, again, any for of excercise can really help boost your mood.
So put on those running shoes and get out there! You'll feel 100% amazing after wards and feel as though you did something great for yourself!

Id love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this!

Since it was still amazingly rain cold tonight I was in the mood for something warm and comforting. Dinner was a big bowl of roasted veggies over noodles. I tossed them in a touch of Braggs and some hot sauce and I was super happy!

Amazing workout and a new toy!

4:45am this morning and I was up with a bang! Time for Spin!..If you couldn't tell I'm obsessed with Spin! So much fun! I just love the music and the energy of the class. I look forward to these days. Its a way for me to de-stress and have some me time. Really helps to re-set me and energize me for the day. That's what I love about working out. All the amazing energy I get from it. Anyways after a fantastic class I grabbed some oatmeal and off to work. I received a package in the mail today. My Spiralizer came in! Hot Damn! This thing just rocks my socks off. I accidentally bought an enormous amount of zucchini the other day, (Don't ask) so its gonna be zucchini noodles for awhile for me!


I cut up some ribbon shapes and spaghetti shapes. Pretty cool!

And for dinner tonight....Zuchinni pasta! Will post back later with some pictures of the final masterpiece!

Tea of the week! White Chocolate Kisses

I am such a bargain shopper. Maybe a bit impulsive about it but I love finding great deals. Ive also discovered that buying in bulk saves alot of cash. (Although now I have a cases of items sitting in my dining room! I really need a bigger pantry. Ive found a couple things on amazon the other day and its like christmas! They shipped everything seperately so Ive been getting a new pacakge everyday. Today my new tea came in! Nothing fancy, its Bigelow teas and the flavor is White Chocolate Kisses. Sounds amazing, right?

Well it is! This is my tea of the week. Im such a huge fan of teas. I have my usual go to teas but I love trying new flavors. I have tons of boxes sitting around. This week Ive been craving chocolate more than normal, so the White Chocolate Kisses tea does the trick. I'll admit, it doesnt taste like white chocolate. More just dark chocolate which is more than ok with me! I way prefer the taste of dark chocolate over white chocolate any day.

Going Bananas!

Lately Ive been really interested in incorporating more nuts into my diet. I love the larabars and thought it would be a great idea to try and make my own. I found a recipe online from OhSheGlows.com for banana larabars and gave them a shot. They turned out super tasty and oh so amazing. I so cant wait to experiment and try out tons of new flavors. So thanks for the recipe!!

They are incredibly simple and easy to make! I took one of my old brown bananas that I had lying around and sliced it very thin. They I stuck it in the oven for about 2 hours on low heat.


I so had to eat some banana slices when they came out of the oven. They were crispy and carmelized and heavenly. Next up was the dates. I rough chopped about 3 dates. That equaled to about .25 cups. Then threw those in with the banana chips into the food processor and grinded them for about a minute or two.

I set this mixture to the side and put about 1/3 cup of almonds in the processor and grinded those to a coarse meal. I mixed the wet and dry ingredients together and formed them into little ball shapes. I opted for this over the bars cause I was in the mood just to pick and I wasn't sure I could actually finish a whole bar.


The end result was a perfectly sweet banana almond treat. I'm in love with these! I'm thinking already of how to make tons of different flavors. They were simple fun and amazing. Thanks so much for the recipe Angela!