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?

What I Ate Wednesday #39: A Weekend of Good

I’ve been loving having the past few weekends free of wedding planning. It has definitely been nice to take my good old time with everything and not have to make it to 100 appointments; plus I actually get to spend time with Nathan! We’ve been taking this time to take advantage of some of our favorite restaurants around town too which is one of my favorite things to do with him. Highlights to follow..

[Friday Night]
Thai Arroy. If you like Thai food, this is the place to be. Their food is authentic and always delicious. It’s also not too expensive [$11 for a chicken hot pot with leftovers!] and to top it off, it’s BYOB. You can’t go wrong with good food and wine.

[Saturday]

Lunch
I’m still not sure how I did it, but I convinced Nathan to stay home for lunch on a weekend. And I made myself an epic kale salad. Seriously, there were so many awesome veggies, a sweet potato quinao bean burger, homemade dijon vinaigrette, and avocado. Everything is better with avocado!

Wedding Research
We’ve been in the market of tasting cupcakes to choose the perfect flavors. I have to say, we might have found our chocolate! The salted caramel cupcake was incredible too, but so close to the vanilla that we’re going to have to find another. Such a tough life..

Dinner
…and a movie! The most important part of the night was the pitcher of white sangria we shared during the movie. Wonderful.

[Sunday]

Breakfast
A lineup of a chocolate Shakeology protein shake, water, and Lamplighter Triple Espresso Blend from my Relay Foods order were the highlight of my post-workout nourishment. I can’t speak highly enough about this coffee; it’s so tasty!

Brunch
Lebanese Taverna. While I love this restaurant to pieces, I should have stuck with what I knew. My poached eggs were not quite what I was expecting. Nor was the fruit parfait. Still, I devoured some of their amazing bread and baba ghanoush so I was a happy camper!

We spent the rest of Sunday grocery shopping and cooking up food for the week, including Spaghetti Squash Kugel and Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bark. I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend with my fiance!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite weekend activity?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bark

Sometimes my sweet tooth tends to take over in the kitchen. Where some people might see that as a bad thing, I see it as a challenge. It’s a challenge for me to figure out how I can tame my tooth without going on sugar overload.

Not only did I put together a sweet treat that I’m pleased with, but Nathan also likes it and he’s not much of a protein powder guy. I may have done a little St. Patty’s Day-inspired jig when he said he liked it. Don’t judge.

Ingredients
– 3 tbsp coconut oil
– 3 tbsp Perfect Fit Protein
– 3 1/2 tbsp dark chocolate cocoa powder
– 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
– 15-20 drops liquid stevia or 2-3 packets powdered stevia
– 3 tbsp peanut butter; divided [I used Peanut Butter & Co. Crunch Time]
– 1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
– Pinch of sea salt [Optional]

Additional Optional Toppings
– Chocolate chips
– Peanut butter chips
– Nuts
– Dried fruit
– Sunflower seeds or pepitas

Directions
Cover a small 8″x6″ pan with aluminum foil.

Scoop coconut oil into a small bowl and microwave about 15 seconds until liquified. Mix in protein powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon, stevia, and 2 tbsp peanut butter until everything is well combined. Adjust sweetness to taste.

Pour the mixture onto the pan. Scoop the remaining 1 tbsp of peanut butter into a small bowl and microwave 15 seconds until liquified. Pour on top of the chocolate mixture and swirl with a knife. Sprinkle the top with shredded coconut and a little sea salt.

Store this in an air tight container in the refrigerator or freezer.

Nutritional Information
For 1/12th of the recipe [This is difficult to measure as they break up into uneven sized pieces]

60 Calories  /  5g Fat  /  2g Carbs  /  1g Fiber  /  0g Sugar  /  3g Protein

Food for Thought

How do you tackle your sweet tooth? Do you have a favorite go-to recipe?