Link Love #77 + a Super Power Bite Recipe & Giveaway

Today is going to be a really exciting Tuesday. Not only do I have my usual link love below, but I also have a delicious recipe and giveaway!

A couple weeks ago, I received a sample of Manitoba Harvest’s Hemp Hearts. If you’re not familiar with hemp hearts, they are shelled hemp seeds that are considered a “superfood.” They provide 10g of plant-based protein and 10g of Omegas per 30g serving. With a slightly nutty flavor, they are great on salads, smoothies, ice cream, oatmeal, and more. I’m personally a fan of rolling some protein bites in hemp seeds for a nutty, sweet treat!

Chocolate Berry Super Power Bites

Makes 55-60 bites
Adapted from Cotter Crunch’s Gluten Free Triple Berry Chocolate Cake Bites

Ingredients
– 1/3 cup ground Strawberry Power O’s [can sub vanilla protein powder]
– 3/4 cup coconut flour
– 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
– 1 scoop Healthy Skoop SweetGreens A Game [can sub 1 tbsp protein powder or coconut flour]
– 1/4 cup granola
– 1 cup nut butter [I used Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams]
– 2 tbsp honey
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
– 1/4 cup Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts

Directions
Grind up the Power O’s and mix in a large bowl with the coconut flour, protein powder, Skoop, & granola.

In a smaller bowl, microwave the nut butter and honey to make mixing easier. Pour over the dry mixture, add in the vanilla extract and mix, allowing the nut butter to cool before adding in the chocolate chips. Mix everything except the hemp hearts until incorporated well.

In a small bowl, measure out the hemp hearts and using a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon, measure out the bites and roll in the hemp hearts. Store in the freezer for quick and easy snackage!

Nutritional Information
Per 1/2 tbsp bite
45 Calories / 3g Fat / 5g Carbs / 1g Fiber / 3g Sugar / 2g Protein

Want to win your own bag of Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts? Click here to enter my giveaway!

Health

Why Eating A Brownie Can Be Good For You – Love & Zest

Why Eating A Brownie Can Be Good For You – Love & Zest
The dark side of wearable fitness trackers – FitKnitChick
What to Do When You Gain Weight – Eating Bird Food
Food with Benefits – Carla Birnberg via EleVen by Venus
The Amazing Benefits of Honey – Organic Runner Mom

Fitness

“Ups” Pyramid Workout with Cardio Intervals – Pumps & Iron

“Ups” Pyramid Workout with Cardio Intervals – Pumps & Iron
Triple Threat Tabata Workout – Fitnessista
1,000 Rep Workout – Lindsay’s List
At Home Bodyweight Workout – Survive & Thrive
Weekend Warrior 3: Reach The Summit Advanced Workout – Lifting Revolution

Food

Grain-Free Chocolate Donuts with Peanut Butter Sprinkles – Yeah…immaeatthat

Grain-Free Chocolate Donuts with Peanut Butter Sprinkles – Yeah…immaeatthat
Double Chocolate Brownie Irish Car Bomb Cheesecakes – Half Baked harvest
Sesame Crusted Salmon with a Zesty Ginger-garlic Drizzle {Gluten Free} – Cara’s Healthy Cravings via Cotter Crunch
Roasted Broccoli with Curry Dipping Sauce – Delish Knowledge
Vegan Peanut Butter Shorties – Radiant Rachels

Food for Thought

Have you ever tried hemp hearts?
What’s one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Link Love #73

I have to admit, I totally expected yesterday to feel like 2 days. And today? Oooh, it’s a doozy! But there were a few things that made the day a little easier. Before I even got out the door, I got a picture of this little cutie.

I can’t believe how big she’s getting! And look at those little curls. Gah she’s the cutest!

And finishing up my shift at my first job, a gym member came in with this guy.

Such a sweet dog. I wish they came in earlier so we could have played more! Sometimes it’s the little things that make the day better. And to make your day a little better..

Health

How Weight Training Can Help You Keep the Weight Off – The New York Times Well

How Weight Training Can Help You Keep the Weight Off – The New York Times Well
Key Nutrients for Marathon Training – Elisa Zied via Carrots ‘N’ Cake
Why You Should Think Twice About Vegetarian and Vegan Diets – Chris Kresser
How to Eat Clean: The Do’s and Don’ts of Healthy Clean Eating – Clean Eating Veggie Girl
Stop Hacking Life – Carla Birnberg

Fitness

5 Ways to POWER UP Your Push Up – Cotter Crunch

5 Ways to POWER UP Your Push Up – Cotter Crunch
Weekend Warrior 2: The Trifecta Workout – Lifting Revolution
Legs + Abs + Arms Boot Camp Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers
Barre Ab Burner {Video} – Fitessista
Build a Better Butt – Pancake Warriors

Food

Paleo Chocolate Coconut Tart – Eating Bird Food

Paleo Chocolate Coconut Tart + Healthy Valentine’s Day Desserts – Eating Bird Food
The Last Chili Recipe You’ll Ever Need – Coconuts & Kettlebells
Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars – Lexi’s Clean Kitchen
Nutella Oatmeal Cookie Shake – How Sweet It Is
Cuban Fish Tacos with Citrus Mango Slaw + Chipotle Lime Crema – Half Baked Harvest

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from the past week?

Booch Beer + Sledgehammer

Hi there, friends! Sorry to leave you high and dry last week. Seems like my crazy schedule from the past 2 weeks finally caught up to me and my brain just said “no more!” Luckily, I had a nice, relaxing weekend to recoop [before another crazy week.. such is life!] First things first, congrats to Brittney for winning my She’s Losing It! giveaway!

Our weekend mostly began on Friday; Nathan took the day off and I only had a 7 a.m. client. It was amazing to be done by 8 a.m., be able to hit the gym, run a few errands, and then just kick back. We had to make a Costco run and thought it would be a much better idea to do that on a Friday afternoon than Saturday. When we first moved out here, someone said to me “people in San Francisco have jobs, but no one ever works.” Man, did that ring true. Costco was still crazy! Luckily, we had gone out to lunch before and had a little liquid stress-relief.

Mine came in the form of 50/50 citrus ginger kombucha & Sierra Nevada Kellerweis. I’m not sure why I’ve never thought of mixing my own kombucha with beer at home but it’s definitely going to happen now! Easiest way to make beer healthy, right?

We had a few quiet nights including a little wine + movie night action.

I’ve been singing Sledgehammer since I got the bottle..

We watched Nightcrawler on Friday and Birdman on Saturday. I’d definitely recommend both.

Sunday was for work and meal prep. I’ve been having a hell of a time trying to figure out how to create a meal plan that can work for both of us. This vegan thing is totally throwing me through a loop, but I’m hoping this week goes a little smoother. That said, Nathan took some of it into his own hands and made a beautiful porchetta.

I’m making him save me some 😉 In the meantime, I have a few vegan options planned out for myself this week.

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Roasted potato and asparagus lentil salad with tangy mustard-lemon dressing

Monday – Mushroom, lemon, & lentil salad
Tuesday – Plantain bean salad
Wednesday – Sweet potato & lentil salad
Thursday – Vegan cuban bowl
Friday – Lentils + roasted acorn squash & mushrooms
Saturday – Valentine’s Day!

Food for Thought

Did you do anything exciting over the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #115: Happy Hannuka!

Or Chanukah.. Chanukkah.. Hanukkah? I don’t know, you choose your favorite. Regardless of how it’s spelled, last night it began and I had fun making a traditional-style dinner and lighting the menorah. It was actually the first time using our new menorah that we got as an engagement gift!

But before we get to our Hannuka dinner, there was a lot more food!

[Pre-Workout & Breakfast]

Skoop bites, oatmeal, and nut butters. All day, everyday.

[Mid-Morning Snack]

I was running out the door but wanted a little snack so I decided to give this chia energy drink from Mamma Chia a try. I received 4 flavors to try as part of a FitFluential campaign and the blackberry sounded the best to me. I loved that it wasn’t overly sweet at all. If it were just based on flavor, I’d definitely get it again; unfortunately, as I’m not a big fan of chia pudding because of the texture, this drink didn’t quite do it for me. I’m thinking it would be pretty tasty added to a smoothie though! More on this later.. wheels are turning!

[Lunch]

I was pretty hungry when I got home, despite a couple samples I tried at the grocery store, so I grabbed some leftovers from the fridge and threw ’em all in a bowl. Butternut squash soup with smokey chicken wing chili and toasted pine nuts on top.

[Afternoon Snack]

I think I was craving a crunch after soup for lunch so I attacked that bag of sugar snap peas! A celery stalk also made its way into the almond butter too 😉

[Dinner]

If you know the Hannuka story, you know that there is a lot of frying going on [oh hey, 8 days of oil!] I opted for a healthier option with crispy baked chicken tenders, regular & sweet potato latkes [made with a fraction of the oil!], crockpot applesauce, and some leftover brussels. It was awesome. Even husband-approved and he’s picky when it comes to baked tenders! Not to mention I’d never made latkes or applesauce before. Success!

[Evening Snack]
I’m on a cottage cheese kick lately [you’re welcome for sparing you that picture.] I mixed in a little NuStevia cocoa syrup and cinnamon. Delish.

Food for Thought

What holiday do you celebrate?
What’s your favorite holiday meal?

Apartment Hunting and Another Quiet Weekend

Hi friends, happy Monday! I hope you had a relaxing weekend. We kept it quiet; Nathan’s been fighting some sort of sickness basically since we got back from Baltimore so we both took it as a chance to catch up on some rest. That said, Friday I was out and about for the majority of the day getting work done on the car and looking for a new apartment! Our lease is up at the end of January and we’re ready for something new. Friday was a total bust as far as the apartment search was concerned, unfortunately, but I did find a pretty fantastic ginger molasses cookie so that helped to make up for it.

I decided that both Saturday and Sunday were going to be good days to rest. No gym time for this gal over the weekend! Sometimes when you just don’t feel like going, you need to accept that you’ll be better off cozying up on the couch with a nice, warm breakfast.

Besides, I had to make sure I was prepared for Truve’s holiday party last night! There were snacks and booze and lots of fun people. And after being away for 2 weeks, it was nice to be able to see everyone again.

Fo realz, if you’re in the bay area, you should absolutely check out Truve. I’ll even give you a pass for a free week of classes! There’s every type of class you could think of and all of the trainers are awesome. So no excuses!

Oh! And I think we found a place to live.. not bad for only starting to look on Friday, huh? Keep your fingers crossed for us. Hopefully we’ll have more good news later this week 🙂 And with that, we’re back to the daily grind!

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Smokey chicken wing chili
Monday – Grilled chicken, smashed potatoes, and eggplant caponata
Tuesday – Crispy baked chicken tenders, latkes, and crockpot applesauce [happy first night of Hannuka!]
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Kung pao chicken
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Out!

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite holiday meal?

Link Love #64

Have you entered my Peanut Butter & Co. giveaway?

After staying with my parents for 2 weeks in Baltimore, it feels downright strange to be back in California. I’m a little confused as to where I actually live and why my parents aren’t around watching tv at night. Ha! Of course, Nathan and I made sure to get a little pick-me-up after we landed.

Well, that pick-me-up really ended up making us even more tired after a 3 a.m. wake up call so we just made our way to the grocery store and then back to the apartment to unpack. Just in case we didn’t have enough beer in our lives, we successfully hauled about 12 more beers back from Baltimore! Do you know how hard it is to find Bourbon County Stout?!

It was a long, tiring day so I was more than thankful for a delicious bibimbop carryout dinner from around the corner. Success!

I knew it was necessary when the thought of even microwaving the meatballs in the freezer seemed like too much. Yep. But now we’re back to the daily grind.

Health

10 Tips for Stay Healthy During the Holiday Season – Eating Bird Food

10 Tips for Stay Healthy During the Holiday Season – Eating Bird Food
All About Cider Vinegar – The Lean Green Bean
Mindful Monday: Herbs for Winter Wellness and Immunity – The Foodie Dietitien
The One Thing Top Nutrition Experts Do to Stay Healthy During the Holidays – Greatist
6 Ways Perfectionism is Sabotaging You – Too Much On Her Plate

Fitness

Fast Paced Upper Body Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers

Fast Paced Upper Body Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers
The 25 Reps Of Christmas Workout {Bodyweight} – Lifting Revolution
Why I love Drop Sets & Why They Are Effective – Powercakes
30-Minute At-Home Workout – Pumps & Iron
My Top 3 Exercises to Build the Glutes – and Why Squatting isn’t One of Them – Trainer Paige

Food

Pomegranate Sesame Chicken with Ginger Rice Pilaf – Half Baked Harvest

Pomegranate Sesame Chicken with Ginger Rice Pilaf – Half Baked harvest
Bourbon Peanut Butter Gingerbread Healthy Bites {Cyber Monday Giveaway} – Cotter Crunch
Crepe Cake with Pistachios And Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting – Food Faith Fitness
Roasted Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Farro Salad – Fit Foodie Finds
Peppermint Pretzel Marshmallow Fudge – Joy the Baker

Food for Thought

What’s one of your favorite posts from the past week?

I Mustache You Some Questions

I’ve got a fun one for you today. Danica did this survey on her blog yesterday and tagged me to do it, too. So let’s get to it, shall we?

Four names that people call me, other than my real name:

1. “Bub”.. a name that evolved over time that Nathan and I typically use for each other. Possibly the outcome of a joke from me calling him bubala? I don’t know but it stuck!
2. “Batyah”.. my Hebrew name. Also shortened to “Bat” at times.
3. “Britt the brat”.. a common phrase I’d hear from my grandfather. Though now he feels like he can’t call me that anymore.
4. “Squirt”.. because I was too old for “Britt the brat” 😉

Four jobs I have had:

1. Camp counselor
2. Web designer
3. Sales.. jewelry with my mama and now Athleta
4. Personal trainer. Hit. Me. Up.

Four movies I’ve watched more than once:

1. Coyote Ugly
2. Grease.. it’s the word, you know.
3. Anchorman
4. A Night at the Roxbury

Four books I’d recommend:
Eesh.. this is a tough one for me. I’m not a big book-reader, so I’m going to change this to blogs.

1. Cotter Crunch
2. Lifting Revolution
3. STUFT Mama
4. Carrots ‘N’ Cake

Four places I have lived:
Similar to Danica.. I haven’t gotten around too much!

1. Baltimore County, Maryland
2. Frederick County, Maryland [for a hot minute]
3. Baltimore City, Maryland
4. California

Four places I have been:

1. Captiva, Florida
2. Paris, France
3. Florence, Italy
4. Portofino, Italy

Four places I’d rather be right now:

1. In Maryland with my family and friends
2. Playing with my Jilly bean.. I guess that kind of goes with #1
3. In Captiva.. it’s one of our favorite vacation places
4. Exploring more of Europe

Four things I don’t eat:

1. Hamburgers.. unless we make them at home. And then only turkey burgers.
2. Hot dogs. Blech.
3. Fast food.. unless Nathan gets french fries. Then he needs my help.
4. Nut butter. HAHAHAHA! So joking.. nut butter pretty much makes up half of my diet. I just don’t know a 4th!

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Nut butters. All kinds.. I’m not picky.
2. Chocolate. Duh.
3. Winter squash. Particularly butternut, kabocha, and my new fave, red kuri.
4. Blue crab. Specifically blue. And don’t try to tell me a San Francisco “crab cake” is the same as a Maryland crab cake.

Oh, and ice cream since we moved to a place with the most ridiculous flavors around.

Four TV shows that I watch:

1. Pretty Little Liars. I powered through that series and I need the next episode!
2. Modern Family
3. Veep
4. The Newsroom

Four things I am looking forward to this year:

1. Going home for Thanksgiving/cousin’s wedding/Jilly’s 1st birthday!
2. A friend visiting next weekend
3. Enjoying the warmer weather while everyone at home will be freezing their tootsies off 😉
4. Just generally spending relaxing time with Nathan

Four things I’m always saying:

1. “Love you!” Always tell your family and friends.
2. “[Insert color] punch buggy! No punch backs!” They’re EVERYWHERE here!
3. “No, but fo realz.”
4. “Fudge ’ems!” .. when I’m actually cognizant of my words.

Four People I Tag:

1. Caitlin
2. Brittany
3. Laura
4. Jamie

Food for Thought

I want to hear your answers! Share something with me from the list above.

Pumpkin Recipe Round Up

I have to be honest, this past weekend may very well have been one of the least exciting weekends in a long time. Nathan had to work, I had to work, and Friday night was spent exploring Costco thanks to our LivingSocial deal. If that doesn’t sound like an old married couple, I don’t know what does! So because the highlights of my weekend included a brief dinner outing Saturday night and sitting my butt on the sofa yesterday, I decided I’d jump on the pumpkin wagon and share some of my favorite pumpkin recipes and the ones I can’t wait to make.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Proatmeal – Barr & Table

Pumpkin Protein Souffle with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Filling & Frosting – Barr & Table

Pumpkin Pancakes – Nosh and Nourish

Roasted Pumpkin and Brussels Sprouts Angies Recipes – Angie’s Recipes

Roasted Pumpkin Sage Soup – Skinnytaste

Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins – Eating Bird Food

Pumpkin Pie Butter Cups – Healthy Nibbles and Bits

Protein Pumpkin Bars – Moni Meals

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cheescake Cups – Ari’s Menu

Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies – Ari’s Menu

Pumpkin Pie Protein Chocolate Chip Fudge – Purely Twins

And if you need even more of an excuse to start some pumpkin spicing it up in the kitchen, Taylor from Lifting Revolution wrote a great post last week about the nutritional benefits of pumpkin spice [and included a killer recipe!] My Trader Joe’s hadn’t gotten their pumpkin shipment in the last time I checked but you better believe I’ll be stocking up as soon as they do.. along with everyone else! But hey, I’ve got a list to make my way through and I think you should do the same.

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Chipotle balsamic chicken with grilled romaine, caramelized onions, and blistered tomatoes
Monday – Rotisserie chicken [Costco what what!] with maple sriracha brussels sprouts
Tuesday – Greek Chicken Souvlaki and Cauli Rice Plates with Marinated Veggies – Half Baked Harvest
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Roasted chicken thighs & roasted eggplant with turmeric yogurt sauce
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

Have you jumped on the pumpkin bandwagon yet?
What’s on your menu this week?

Another Low-Key Weekend

With my crazy work schedule as of late and Nathan coming home from Vegas and promptly getting sick, a low-key weekend was just what we needed. Plus, in 2 weeks we’re heading back home for some more family time and a wedding that we’re both a part of so we need to save up all of our energy for that!

Friday night wine.

Saturday brunch. First time trying kippers!

Fabulous Saturday dinner – garlic herb roasted chicken, basil panko roasted cherry tomatoes, shaved parm, balsamic bbq, and red wine.

A new favorite healthy bites recipe – Coconut Vanilla Latte!

Nathan’s California burger tour continues to Habit Burger, voted the best fast food burger.

Habit Burger ranks #1 for me over In N Out or Five Guys. It helps that they actually have a few things on the menu for me to choose from!

Like I said, low-key but much-appreciated! Now we’re ready to take on this week’s craziness.

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Leftovers
Monday – Quinoa Crusted Chicken Strips with BBQ Honey Mustard, roasted potato wedges, & garlic broccolini
Tuesday – Sloppy Joes with corn, avocado, and quinoa salad
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – Kung pao chicken stir fry with green beans
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

Did you have any fun plans over the weekend?

Link Love #44

Have you entered my Bob’s Red Mill giveaway?

It’s only Tuesday but I’m already glad we had such a low key weekend. I can tell this week is going to be crazy nuts so I’m trying to make the most of every free second I have. I’m not usually one for making lunches the night before but I’m so glad I have been this week.. helloooooo extra sleep! Even if it is only 30 minutes extra.. Take what you can get, right? Now if I had a post below about how imperative sleep is, that would be a perfect transition. But I don’t. So here ya go 😉

Health

Should You Count Calories to Lose Weight? – Trainer Paige

Should You Count Calories to Lose Weight? – Trainer Paige
Orthorexia: The Fine Line Between Eating Clean & Eating Disorder – To Live & Diet in L.A.
4 Tips for Taking Citicism Without Falling Apart – Carla Birnberg
4 Reasons to Eat Fermented Food – Mommy Run Faster
Tips for Overcoming Excuses & Getting the Best Out of Exercise – Zen and Spice

Fitness

Hydration and Race Day Tactics – Cotter Crunch

Hydration and Race Day Tactics – Cotter Crunch
The Women’s Guide To Increasing Strength Without Increasing Bulk – Lifting Revolution
Secrets to Success: Arm Strengthening – Tina Muir
High Intensity Workout in 12 Minutes – Fit2Flex
Fit Friday: Top 4 Back Exercises for Women – Monica Nelson via Eating Bird Food

Food

Roasted Vegetable Tacos with Cumin Cashew Crema – The Roasted Root via Hummusapien

Roasted Vegetable Tacos with Cumin Cashew Crema – The Roasted Root via The Hummusapien
Grilled Cherry Milkshakes – Edible Perspective
Salmon Fig Pesto Pizza {Gluten Free} – Health, Love, & Chocolate
100-Calorie Peanut Butter Swirl Buckwheat Brownies – Fit Foodie Finds
Toasted Walnut Pesto and Caramelized Nectarine Pizza w/ Spicy Balsamic Drizzle – Half Baked Harvest

Food for Thought

What was one of your favorite posts from the past week?