Link Love #10

It’s that time again! 🙂

Health

How to: Learn to Love Yourself in 10 Steps – ElectraFi

How to: Learn to Love Yourself in 10 Steps – ElectraFi
Low Calorie Diets Can Be Dangerous – Slim Sanity
What I Need: The Problem With “Balance” – Fighting for Wellness
Feel Good Friday & Why is so hard to compliment Women? – Cotter Crunch
Tips for taking criticism without falling apart. – MizFit

Fitness

Max It Out Muscular Endurance Circuit – Fitnessista

Max It Out Muscular Endurance Workout – Fitnessista
Legs Like Jello Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers
Workout Finishers: Kettlebell Complex – Trainer Paige
The 5-Minute Workout Even the Busiest of Girls Can Make Time For – FitSugar
Super Sweaty 60 Minute Complete Body Circuit – Treble in the Kitchen

Food

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie – Peachy Palate

The Pie I Want to Be Buried With… – Peachy Palate
Epic Crispy Quinoa Burgers Topped with Sweet Potato Fries, Beer Caramelized Onions + Gruyere – Half Baked Harvest
Roasted Butternut Squash Zucchini Pasta with Kale, Apricots and Wheatberries – Inspiralized
Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce over Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Rice – COOKIE + Kate
15-Minute Mini Apple Pies – Dashing Dish

Food for Thought

What is your favorite post from the past week?

Have you made any new recipes that you’ve recently found?

Foodie Friday: Curried Golden Raisin Hummus

I’m sorry, I totally left you high and dry this week but work has been cuh-ray-zee! [That’s crazy.. if you didn’t get it.] Luckily, I did get to make a delicious hummus over the weekend that I’m psyched to share with you!

Nathan and I are in love with Baba’s Kitchen, a Mediterranean restaurant in the city. Every month they have a specialty hummus which I usually pass on because their baba ghanoush is so fantastic, but I couldn’t pass on the Curried Golden Raisin Hummus. It was equally as delicious as their baba ghanoush and I had been craving it since! I knew I had to figure out a recipe..

Veggie pocket platter over quinoa @ Baba’s Kitchen

Curried Golden Raisin Hummus

Makes fourteen 2 tbsp servings

Ingredients
– 1 tsp honey
– 1/4 cup water
– 4 tbsp golden raisins; divided
– 4 dried apricots; chopped [I prefer Sunsweet, they’re nice and soft!]
– 1 can garbanzo beans; drained and rinsed [I use reduced sodium]
– 1 tbsp + 1 tsp mild curry paste
– 1 tbsp lemon juice
– 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
– 1/4 tsp paprika
– 1 tsp kosher salt
– 1/4 cup EVOO

Directions
In a small bowl, microwave honey and water for 10 seconds. Mix together and add 3 tbsp of the raisins and all of the chopped apricots. Let the dried fruit reconstitute for about 10 minutes.

While the fruit is soaking, add the beans, curry paste, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, paprika, and salt to a food processor. Start processing and slowly drizzle in the olive oil. As everything starts to come together, add the fruit and honey water mixture. Process until smooth. [Feel free to add more water to adjust consistency to your liking.]

Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, stir in the remaining tbsp of raisins. Serve with chips, veggies, or smear it onto a sandwich. And if you didn’t eat it all in one sitting, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator 😉

Nutritional Stats
Per 2 tbsp serving

81 Calories  /  5g Fat  /  9g Carbs  /  3g Sugar  /  2g Fiber  /  2g Protein

Food for Thought

Have you ever made your own hummus? Have you ever tried different flavors of hummus? What is your favorite flavor?

P.S. GO ORIOLES!! Happy opening day to my favorite team 🙂 O-R-I-O-L-E-S!

What I Ate Wednesday #27 – A Day of Rest

I’m extending my Just My Imagination giveaway! You now have until Thursday, 12/20 at 11:59 PM EST to enter! Get your entries in 🙂

Who’da thunk running around non-stop for 2 weeks would completely wear you out? It just doesn’t make sense, right?!

Sunday was the first time we actually had a chance to rest and even though we planned on going to the outlets (the week before Christmas, no less) we never made it out of our PJs. I have no idea the last time this happened but there were no complaints! And I’m not sure I even realized that we literally did nothing all day until I went to lock the door before bed and it was still locked from the night before.

I happily laid around on Sunday and made some delicious meals. But before sharing them with you, I have to congratulate Jenn for celebrating her 100th WIAW “birthday!” And thanks for including everyone in your fun parties 🙂

[Breakfast]
I just can’t stop! The Sweet Breakfast Scramble is a habit hard to break.

[Lunch]
Kale & quinoa salad with a baked omelette on top! For whatever reason, I was in an egg kinda mood, so I decided to try and recreate a baked HUMONGOUS omelette I had in Florida. Unfortunately, it was not even close to as fluffy and large as the one I had before, but it was still delicious.. filled to the brim with sauteed broccoli and feta cheese. Yum!

[Dinner]
Another kale salad! This time topped with roasted delicata squash and a lightened up version of chicken cacciatore. I started with a Martha Stewart recipe and added tons of extra red bell pepper, red onion, and a splash of white wine. It was full of flavor and so easy.. definitely recommend trying this recipe!

[Snacks]
Clementines, celery, peanut butter, dried figs, and dried apricots were consumed over the course of the day. I could eat those things all day long!

As this week continues, I find myself hoping for another Sunday in my PJs. Oh how I love the holiday season 😉

Food for Thought

Have you been running around like crazy lately or have you found yourself with time to relax?

“KIND” Bar Crumbles

Before every vacation I scour the internet looking for fun, healthy snacks that are easy to take with us and with our upcoming Cali trip, I was on the prowl! Bars are always the way to go, so why wouldn’t I attempt to make one of our favorites? KIND Bars are the real deal.

I found this recipe from Peas and Thank You for homemade KIND bars and decided to take that and run!

Recipe adapted from Peas and Thank You

Ingredients
2 tbsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp flax seed
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup agave
1 tsp salt
1 cup almonds, roasted & chopped
1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup rice cereal <– Loved the added crispiness from this!
1/4 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/4 cup raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix ground flax seed, flax seed, honey, agave, and salt. Mix everything until well combined. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix until everything is evenly coated.

Spread everything onto a parchment covered baking sheet in ~1/2″ layer. Make sure to really smash it all together so it really sticks!

Bake about 20 minutes, turning half way through, until the bars have become slightly crispy.

Let cool completely before breaking into pieces. And try not to eat too much of it while packaging it up! 😉

Speak Up!

When you go on vacation, do you pack snacks? What’s your favorite travel snack?