The New Addition To Our Family......

So last week our I was so sick and tired of our blender I threw it out and went to Costco to buy...............A BLENDTEC

I'm so excited...I watched the Blendtec Demonstrator for about an hour until I decided to buy it. It is about five machines in one! It is a wheat grinder, a food processor, a blender, and ice cream maker, a bread dough kneader, juicer, etc... I am thrilled to try it out! I have been working all weekend so I haven't been able to put it to use. I will give you updates and recipes to try! I want to make my own salsa, peanut butter, hummus, pumpernickel bread, ice cream, vegetable juice, fruit juice, jam, and more!! Everyone should invest in one of these. 

If your interested this product has been shown on "Will It Blend". They blend everything from hockey pucks to Iphones! And they have a four year warranty! You can't beat it. (I know I should be a sales rep for this company :)

JOIN ME.....

So I decided I needed to get excited for summer and plan some fun activities to do! I have done two half marathons before, and decided I wanted even more of a challenge but do not want to do a marathon! So...I signed up for the Timp Trail Half. It is a trail run which I have never done before and pretty hilly.....so I will see how that goes :) I started training again for it this week, and decided I am not as young as I used to be. My hip completely gave out on me because I pushed myself to far. Hip bursitis is what I have, and the only way to treat it is REST and ice. How can I do that if I have a half marathon to run in 8 weeks! haha. We will see how that goes. If anyone wants to join me sign up and let me know! It will be an awesome run!

Not The Best Looking........

So I was really sketchy about trying this snack that I found on another blog http://www.une-vie-saine.com/....

But it was actually very tasty! And FILLING! I'm always looking for something to make me satisfied, because I feel like I am always hungry if I don't!

1 cup pumpkin, 1/4 cup peanut flour, splash of vanilla soy milk, 1 T. chia seeds, 1/2 T. almonds, stevia, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and a 1/4 cup fiber one cereal! 

It didn't taste like too much pumpkin like I thought it would! It tastes more like peanut butter goodness :) Try it out! Pumpkin is amazing for you, it is a lower glycemic index food so it doesn't spike the blood sugar, and it has great fiber components! Don't be scared off from the picture. It's yummy!

Perfect Protein Waffles

I got these waffles "The Body of a Mother" blog....Perfect Protein Waffles.....
There are amazing and so filling! Best waffles I have ever had! I know my pictures aren't the best, I haven't learned blogging photography of food yet :)

• 1 cup oat flour (I just grinded oats in the blender to fill one cup)
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 scoops vanilla protein powder
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup vanilla soy or milk
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cap full of vanilla

MIX ALL TOGETHER IN A BLENDER AND POUR INTO WAFFLE IRON....Makes 8 waffles
about 130 calories per waffle and 10 g. of protein!

I topped mine with a little bit of peanut flour paste, cinnamon, and sugar free syrup!!

EZ Whole Wheat Bread

I got this recipe from my hair dresser, Jodylynn! I love it! It isn't heavy like normal whole wheat homemade bread. It is light and great for toast, sandwiches, etc!!!

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup honey or agave
• 2 3/4 cup whole wheat bread flour
• 1/4 cup wheat gluten
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 T. nonfat instant dry milk
• 1 T. oil
• 1 T. vinegar
• 1/4 cup potato flakes

Mix in order with dough hook about 12-15 minutes. Let rise double (1-1 1/2 hrs.) punch down and shape into rolls or 1 loaf. Let rise double again.

Cook at 325 for 30 min (until brown)

or 350 for 25 min.

Makes 1 big loaf of bread or about 15 rolls (you can let the rolls rise in a 9x13 pan).

Intuitive Eating Part 2

I am almost finished with my book that I talked about earlier and I had some great thoughts that I wanted to share with you guys!

• #1 Respect Your Body:  It is hard to lose the "diet mentality" if you are overly critical of your body shape! Being negative is no way helpful and will not change anything on your body, it will just make your more miserable.
• How to respect your body: 
• Make it comfortable: wear comfortable clothing, and underwear! Wearing stuff that is too tight or constricting even makes the tiniest person feel uneasy about themselves!
• Meet it's basic needs: eat what your body needs and exercise
• Quit the body check game: checking out others and comparing them with yourself doesn't do any good. Doing this will only make you feel worse at times. 
• Stop body bashing: Enough said!
• #2 Honor Your Health: You don't have to eat  a perfect diet to be healthy! One meal, snack, or day of eating will not make you gain/lose weight. It is consistency overtime that matters. Progress, not perfection, is what counts.
• #3 Enjoy Exercising: Exercise to enjoy how you feel afterwards, not to burn calories or lose weight. Usually people don't stick to exercise regimens because it is usually paired with a new diet or trying to lose weight. Usually the new diet is composed of low carbs, which then turns into no energy at the gym! Who likes to work out when they don't have energy! Not me! It is the worst. Make sure to eat plenty of carbs before and after your workout. Did you know that running 2 miles burns about 50-55 carbs which equals 3 slices of bread! And running 6 miles burns about 150-170 carbs, which equals 10-11 slices! This shows you how important carbs are! When your body doesn't have carbs to use up for energy, it breaks down your muscle to use protein as energy. Less muscle=lower BMR (less calories burned at rest during the day).
• #4 Healthy Eating: Healthy eating = healthy food + healthy relationship with food. The media is causing us to get so confused about what is healthy and what is not. It is causing many of us to develop an intense fear of food, and doesn't allow us to trust what our body craves.  A lot of misleading food products out there are confusing us. (example: added fiber to sugar laden cereals, to make it sound healthy!!)

I absolutely have loved this book. Not everything said in it pertains to me, but it sure does put things in perspective. 

Peanut Flour Paste

So I came across this little recipe that is a great substitute for peanut butter because it has way more protein! Not saying PB is bad for you, it is amazing for you! This stuff is just better :) It took me awhile to find peanut flour and I had to order it online. Peanut flour has 110 calories per 1/4 of cup and 16 grams of protein! So each Tbsp. is about 40 cals and 4 grams of protein! Amazing!

• 1/4 cup peanut flour
• Dash of cinnamon
• Stevia to sweeten
• A couple of splashes of water 
• MIX UNTIL IT FORMS A PASTE LIKE ABOVE!!

Enjoy it on oatmeal, waffles, pancakes, as a dip for apples, etc!!! So excited to make a PB flour paste/Jelly sandwich...

For those of you that are interested....I ordered my peanut flour at netrition.com

SMOOTHIE TIME

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Protein Smoothie:

This is Bradon's favorite smoothie! Drinks one everyday! Full of complex carbs, protein, good fats, and fiber!

• 1 cup milk
• 3 ice cubes
• 1 scoop chocolate peanut butter (Elite brand) whey protein
• 1 spoonful of peanut butter
• I spoonful of plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup oats

Berry Spinach Protein Smoothie

This is one of my favorite smoothies. Don't mind the color, it tastes delicious!! 

• For after a workout: about 250 calories, 25 grams of protein
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/3 of a frozen banana
• about 5 frozen strawberries
• handful of frozen blueberries (or other berries)
• handful of spinach
• a little bit of water

• For a meal: about 310 calories, 23 grams of protein
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup oatmeal
• 1 T. chia seeds
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
• 1/3 frozen banana
• same berries and spinach as above.

***The reason why the shakes are different for a meal or after a workout is because after you are physically active you need quick carbs and protein. Where as in the meal smoothie you have chia seeds (which are full of omega-3 fatty acids and fiber) and you have oatmeal which is full of complex carbs and fiber. Fruit absorbs much quicker then oats, thus needed after a workout!

***You can buy chia seeds at any health store, I buy mine in the bulk at sunflower marker which is cheaper. 

Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken

This meal is very yummy and you can prepare the night before, put in the fridge and turn the crock pot on in the morning! Walaa! Dinner is ready when you get home at night!

info: 5 Servings, 3 hrs high/6 hrs. low

• 2 slices of bacon
• 1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (can use 1/2 cup chicken stock + 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice)
• 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 5 chicken breasts
• 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley

• Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Crumble when cool
• Drain off almost all of the fat from the pan. Add onion and cook over medium heat, stirring, until soft (3-6 min). Add garlic, thyme, fennel, pepper, and bay leaf and cook, stirring for 1 min.
• Add wie, bring to a boil for 2 min, stirring. Add tomatoes and their juice and salt; stir well
• Place chicken in 4 qt. crock pot (or larger). Sprinkle the bacon over chicken. Pour mixture over as well. Cover and cook until it is tender. Remove bay leaf. Serve sprinkled with parsley

Quick Boca Burger Sweet Potato Lunch

I got this quick lunch idea from another blog and I wanted to share it with you!

I always try to eat unprocessed, whole foods when possible and this is one of those meals!

• 1 boca burger patty cooked and crumbled
• I small sweet potato cooked and cut up
• A cup or so of steamed veggies (I used the Normandy blend from Costco)-Included cawliflower, broccoli, carrots, and squash
• Handful of spinach steamed
• 1 TBSP of balsamic vinaigrette or honey mustard vinaigrette
• Salt and Pepper to taste

MIX TOGETHER AND EAT! YUM!!!

I added a few leftover kidney beans too! 

Great protein! Great complex carbs! and of course my favorite.....VEGGIES!

Overnight Oatmeal

I ate warm oatmeal almost every morning for a while until I got extremely sick of it! I needed a new way of eating oatmeal! I found this on another blog and I love it. It is perfect if you need something quick to grab in the morning on your way out the door. It is cold, but you can warm it up if you want.

The night before mix:

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup light vanilla soymilk (or milk)
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 T. raisins

Put in airtight container and put in the fridge. In the morning add some chopped almonds, banana and chia seeds or flax! It is delicious. Tastes like rice pudding!

Get creative and add whatever fruit, nuts, or liquid you want! If you find something that is tasty post it on my comment section!

Roasted Cinnamon Sugar Almonds

I love almonds but I get so sick of plain ones! I love cinnamon, so I made these and they are wonderful!

• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp. cold water
• 4 cups whole plain almonds
• 1/2 cup sugar or stevia (I use stevia powder)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Beat egg white, add water and beat until frothy. Mix sugar salt and cinnamon together in a bowl. Add almonds to egg white and water mixture. Stir until covered. Add sugar mix and toss.
Lay on cookie sheet. Cook for 45 min-1 hr stirring occasionally until golden. Allow to cool, then store in airtight containers!

If you use stevia, there are no added calories to the almonds! Just a lot more tasty!

MY HOMEMADE PROTEIN BARS

I got this recipe from the internet and did some major adjustments through trial and error. They are amazing now! Even my husband likes them!

• 3 cups oats
• 6 protein servings (I use 6 scoops) of chocolate peanut butter or chocolate flavor
• 3/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1 1/2 cups milk or soymilk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 egg whites
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

To help it mix better, I combine all the wet ingredients first then the dry. Mix very well in mixer. Pour into an oiled 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 25-35 min or until top is browned. Cut when they are cooled.

Makes 12 bars. After cut, put in the fridge. Must stay in the fridge or they will mold very quickly!

Estimated Nutrition:

Calories: 240 a bar

Fat: 8 grams

Carbs: 16 grams

Protein: 22 grams

**Its a perfect combination of protein, carbs, and fat! Help you feel full and satisfied during your busy day! Great for post-workout as well!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

This is my new favorite meal for lunch right now! It is delicious and nutritious. All you need is:

• Sandwich thins (you can find them at any store)
• 2 cans of shredded chicken (I get them from costco-they are the bigger cans)
• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 T. mayo
• 1 tsp. sugar or stevia
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard (or regular)
• Dash of black pepper
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 2/3 cup chopped apples or grapes
• 1/3 cup chopped celery

MIX TOGETHER! Makes about 5 servings!

If you don't love it, don't eat it. If you love it, savor it!

I am currently reading a book called "Intuitive Eating". It is a book that helps you give up the diet mentality forever. It is an awesome book and gives you great pointers on how to listen to your body. Eat when your hungry and stop when your full. You eat what sounds good to you at the moment and don't deprive yourself of things you think you should not eat. It seems easy, but if you really look at your eating habits you probably don't do this.