Five Things Friday

It’s Friday!! I’m not sure if I could be any happier that I actually made it out of this week alive [..so far].

1. The past 2 weeks have been absolutely nuts at work but it makes the weekends all that much better.
2. Speaking of weekends, tonight at sundown begins Yom Kippur which means 24 hours of fasting. I’ll be staying off of Pinterest tonight and tomorrow!
3. HOWEVER! Today is National Peanut Day. Quite possibly one of my favorite days ever [after my wedding day and National Peanut Butter Day, of course]. So I’ve rounded up a few of my favorite peanut recipes for you.
   

   Sweet

   

   Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bark

   

   Hail Merry Peanut Butter Coconut Banana Bites

   

   Healthy Banana Peanut Butter Cups

   

   Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

   

   Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs

   

   Sweet Potato Dippers

   Savory

   

   Buddha’s Feast with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

   

   Peanut Chili Baked Tofu

   

   Tilapia Stir-Fry with Chili Peanut Sauce

   Enjoy 🙂

4. Another round of Best Body Bootcamp started this week. Looking over the workouts I definitely thought they didn’t look so bad and I’d probably breeze through them. Holy cow was I wrong! All of the workouts were deceptively difficult and I left the gym drenched. It was a great feeling!
   

   Cardio and core work

5. I wandered around the food area of Marshall’s last week and found a few fun things. I’d gotten plain ginger chews for Nathan to try once upon a time and he said they were a bit spicy for his liking. When I came across a bag of peanut butter ginger chews [here I go with the peanut butter again!], I couldn’t pass them up. They have more of a peanut butter flavor with a little kick of ginger spice.. seriously addictive! And they’re individually wrapped so you can throw a few in your bag for later!
   

   Peanut Butter Ginger Chews

And on that peanutty note, I hope you have a lovely, restful weekend!

Food for Thought

Do you have a favorite food holiday?

Pin It Party

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Pinterest. I mean, really, I must have said it about 100 times on here! When I saw that Lindsay was having a Pin It Party, I knew I had to jump in.. although choosing just 5 recipes was not easy. I definitely play favorites!

Savory

Buddha’s Feast with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce*

Grilled Chicken Cemitas & Garlic-Chipotle Love

Chipotle Lime Sweet Potato Tofu Burgers

Sweet

Maple Cinnamon Walnut Butter

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bark

Can I throw another one in? I shouldn’t but I can’t help myself..

Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs

Don’t forget to check out all of Lindsay’s awesome posts to pin! What are you waiting for? Start pinning!!

Food for Thought

What is your most favorite recipe you’ve pinned?

Foodie Friday: National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day!

Let’s be honest, I celebrate peanut butter everyday. Personally, I think everyone should. Peanut butter is delicious and nutritious and should be a balance part of every diet; and by balanced, I mean feel free to replace meals with jars of peanut butter. [I wish I could!]

I want you to celebrate National Peanut Butter Lover’s Day the right way, so I’ve compiled a list of sweet and savory peanut butter recipes. Enjoy!

Sweet

Hail Merry Peanut Butter Coconut Banana Bites

Healthy Banana Peanut Butter Cups*

Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake*

Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs

Sweet Potato Dippers

Savory

Buddha’s Feast with Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce*

Peanut Chili Baked Tofu*

Tilapia Stir-Fry with Chili Peanut Sauce*

And of course, don’t forget to top any of your favorite oatmeals or sweet scrambles with peanut butter. It’s just wrong not to! 😉

*These recipes were made using peanut flour, but you can substitute regular peanut butter.

Food for Thought

What is your number one go-to peanut butter? Do you prefer other nut or seed butters over peanut butter?

Holy Week 7!

Remember wayyy back at week 1 when I mentioned rumors of burpees? Yea. I found em. Welcome to week 7 where we are not. Messing. Around.

Power training is the name of the game for the final 2 weeks of bootcamp. I absolutely do not hesitate to admit that these workouts are the most difficult of the entire 8 weeks, but they’ve also been my favorite and most rewarding.

Week 7 Thoughts

You really don’t realize how so many simple movements can add up. Ever tried an Alligator Walk? I didn’t think it looked that bad. And it didn’t feel that bad either for the first few steps. But by the end of 4 sets my body was burning! Another move to try is the bench popover. I was definitely intimidated seeing the short clip of this but I’m in love. It’s my new favorite move! Maybe I’m crazy, but I think it’s fun 🙂

And while I was having fun mid-week, when I got to Friday’s 3-move workout, I knew I was in for it. Three moves? No problem, right? How about when that includes 180 burpees? Definitely found the burpees. It was rough but I got one hell of a burn that day and somehow still left the gym with a smile. [Go figure!]

I have to admit, I’m really looking forward to my workouts this week and even more so, finishing bootcamp strong! It doesn’t get much better than this..

Favorite Meal of the Week

Sometimes all I really want is a big bowl of roasted vegetables. I may have also thrown a homemade turkey meatball on top for extra protein, but the entire bowl really hit the spot. If you haven’t already, check out my Buddha’s Feast!

Previous Reviews

Best Butt-Kicking Bootcamp [Week 1]
Bootcamp – Take 2 [Week 2]
Beat Up Bootcamp [Week 3]
Bootcamp: The Midway Point [Week 4]
Bootcamp is Almost Over?! [Weeks 5 & 6]

Food for Thought

What is your favorite workout move? Is it something that you were intimidated by when you first saw it?

Foodie Friday: Buddha’s Feast

Often times, Thursday ends up being a dinner of leftovers from the meals we had during the rest of the week. We typically plan on going out to dinner on Friday so we’re happy to use up what’s available in the fridge. This Thursday offered up some delicious choices; homemade turkey meatballs, lemon herb chicken, and roasted spicy orange chicken.

As I was trying to figure out what intrigued me, I came across this tweet. Done! I couldn’t wait to get home for dinner!

Traditionally, a “Buddha’s Feast” bowl is a vegetarian dish, but since I was using what was already cooked, I decided a turkey meatball would be a great addition. Below is the recipe for the specific bowl that I made, but this is so versatile that you could really make it with anything! The end of this post has a bunch of different options you could try!

Buddha’s Feast

Serves 1

Ingredients
– 2 beets; sliced
– 1/2 medium sweet potato; diced
– 1 cup broccoli florets
– 2 oz turkey meatball
– 1 cup baby spinach
– 1 tbsp peanuts; chopped
– 1 – 2 tbsp spicy Thai peanut sauce [recipe below]
– 1/3 – 1/2 tbsp EVOO
– Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place beets and sweet potato on a lined baking sheet. Drizzle with EVOO, season with salt and pepper to taste, and roast about 20 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet from the oven, add broccoli florets, and toss with EVOO, salt, and pepper. Return to the oven and roast another 20 minutes until all vegetables are tender.

In a bowl, add your spinach and top with roasted vegetables and turkey meatball. Drizzle with spicy Thai peanut sauce, top with chopped peanuts, and devour!

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

Serves 2

Ingredients
– 2 tbsp peanut flour*
– 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
– 1/2 tbsp lite soy sauce
– 1/2 tbsp garlic chili paste
– 1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

Directions
Add all ingredients into a small bowl and mix until well combined.

Nutritional Information
Per Buddha’s Feast bowl with 1 serving Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

371 Calories  /  18g Fat  /  37g Carbs  /  7g Sugar  /  10g Fiber  /  23g Protein

Additional Buddha’s Feast Options

Bases:
– Quinoa
– Brown rice

Greens:
– Spinach
– Kale
– Collard greens
– Swiss chard

Roasted Vegetables:
– Sweet Potato
– Broccoli
– Brussels sprouts
– Asparagus
– Beets

Protein:
– Chicken
– Beef
– Turkey
– Tofu
– Tempeh
– Beans
– Nuts
– Seeds

Dressings:
– Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce
– Creamy Tahini Nooch
– Spinach Basil Walnut Pesto Aioli

Food for Thought

Do others’ posts or tweets ever inspire your meals? How would you customize this bowl?