What I Ate Wednesday #94: Can’t Stop Me Now

Because if you’re hungry, eat! Ironically enough, I wasn’t all that hungry throughout the day but when the sun set, it was all I could do to keep my hands off of more food!

Breakfast

A normal start to the day. The best protein-packed oatmeal and nut butters. Also, homemade cold-brewed coffee is too easy. Do it.

Lunch

Use your imagination.. this was really my salad from yesterday but Monday’s salad was pretty close. Tuna has been my bff lately, it’s just so easy to throw on a salad when I’m running around like a nut. Which is most days right now! I also had a few Rosemary Black Pepper almonds. Because they’re amazing.

Afternoon Snack

I’m usually starving by the time I get off of work, but Monday I was just feeling something light. I just bought some kefir to try out and while I’m not a huge fan of it on its own, I do like going half and half with some greek yogurt. Of course I added some peanut flour to make a little PB&J parfait.

Dinner

Love love love this feta chicken recipe! I’d highly recommend it but definitely go for the fresh rosemary over dried; I’ve done both and fresh really makes it pop.

Evening Snack[s]
Let the games begin! I started with a couple little pieces of pineapple and an apple. And then…..

..a cinnamon toast rice cake with peanut butter. Eaten just like this.. standing in the kitchen, broken into pieces. Because that’s normal.

And because 2 snacks just didn’t suffice..

..this stuff is delicious! And it finally filled me up. Success!

I always try to practice what I preach. Even though I wasn’t very hungry throughout the day, my body was clearly telling me I didn’t eat enough and it caught up to me by the end of the night. So just because it was after 10 pm [GASP!], I continued to eat healthy snacks until I was comfortably full. Going to bed hungry is the worst!

Don’t forget to enter my Bob’s Red Mill giveaway?

Food for Thought

Do you have a cut-off time for when you stop eating each night?

What I Ate Wednesday #92: Breaking the Plan

We’re usually pretty good about sticking to our weekly meal plan even if we do swap a few days every now and then. I’m kind of a stickler for eating at home during the week, but when Nathan walked in after work yesterday asking if I wanted to grab a cocktail, I couldn’t say no. It had already been a long week and it was only Tuesday! It was an impromptu date night and it was just so nice.

[Breakfast]

I’ve been loving a new protein pancake recipe this week—I’m calling them coco-peanut butter pancakes. I’m still adjusting ratios a bit for the perfect texture but I will definitely be sharing the recipe soon.

[Morning Snack]

And because I haven’t had enough peanut butter, this PB&J yogurt “parfait” is hitting the spot!

Ingredients
– 1/2 cup greek yogurt [I use 2% Fage]
– 2 tbsp peanut flour
– 1 squeeze Pure Via [the vanilla is my favorite!]
– Splash of coconut almond milk
– A couple of your favorite berries [strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries are my fave!]
– A few Toasted Coconut and Blueberry Almond Breeze almonds
– 1 tbsp granola [I use Bob’s Red Mill Honey Almond]

Directions
Mix your greek yogurt, peanut flour, stevia, and coconut almond milk together until smooth. Top with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

[Lunch]

I was loving the smoothies at work for lunch but recently I’ve been in more of a salad mood. Especially with the delicious leftover brussels and sweet potato we’ve had!

[Afternoon Snack]

I pretty much could have eaten a horse yesterday. This was snack #2 after a lemon vanilla Luna protein bar. The gelato is pretty amazing and I’ll be posting a real review soon!

[Happy Hour]

Prizefighter is known for their cocktails. I’ve only been there once before but Nathan never had before and it was such a gorgeous night; perfect for a drink outside! My drink was the Tennessee Rye – rye, orange bitters, lemon, and soda. His was the Reconquista – mezcal, punt e mes, and aperol. They were both perfectly balanced and hit the spot. We’ll be back for sure!

[Dinner]

Dinner was an early one at Jasmine Blossom. They have an awesome happy hour—$3 drinks and $5-7 appetizers.

I got the fresh roll filled with beets, carrots, vermicelli noodles, mint, and lettuce and served with the most delicious peanut sauce I’ve ever tasted! Because clearly there’s never enough peanut butter in my life. I might have been nice enough to share the roll with Nathan too. I also got the ginger chicken salad which I love—it’s light and super flavorful. Nathan ordered the chicken pad kee mao which is essentially drunken noodles and again, delicious.

[Midnight Snack]
Dinner actually kept me full longer than I expected but my stomach was grumbling before bed so I grabbed a spoon, a jar of PB, and a little granola. Mmmmmmm.

And now it’s just a few more days till we’re headed home 🙂

Food for Thought

Do you stick to eating at home during the week or do you go out?

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary shipment of Toasted Coconut and Blueberry Almonds from BlueDiamondTasteMakers.com. All thoughts and opinions of the product are my own.

Foodie Friday: Apple Pie Protein Bites

Since making Lindsay’s PB coconut trail mix healthy bites a while back, I’ve loved keeping them in the freezer and popping a couple in the morning before my workout or throughout the day if I need a little something sweet. I’m not a fan of eating a full breakfast before a workout; something light does the trick when my stomach is grumbling! And even though they lasted a while, I recently ran out. The worst.

I loved them so much that I decided I’d try my own take on the recipe with some different ingredients I had in my pantry this time around. Musselman’s big cups and apple walnut granola? Boom. These babies were born!

Apple Pie Protein Bites

Makes 32 bites
Adapted from Peanut Butter Coconut Trail Mix Healthy Bites

Ingredients
– 1/3 cup coconut flour* [I used Bob’s Red Mill]
– 1/3 cup almond meal*
– 1 scoop vanilla protein powder* [I used About Time Whey]
– 1/3 cup nut butter [I used PB&Co.’s The Bees Knees]
– 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce [I used Musselman’s]
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
– 1/2 tsp sea salt
– 1/4 cup Love Grown Foods Apple Walnut Delight granola

Directions
In a large bowl, add all ingredients except the granola. Mix until everything is almost full incorporated and then add the granola. Continue mixing until the granola is evenly distributed throughout. Depending on the protein powder and nut butter you use, you may want to add a little more applesauce as you’re mixing.

Using a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon, measure out your bites and roll into balls. Place in an airtight container in the freezer.

*Note: you can use all coconut flour or almond meal but start with 1/4 cup applesauce and add more slowly. I wouldn’t use 100% protein powder as the texture will be off.

*These ingredients can be found on iHerb.com. Use code ZAF482 to receive $5 off of your first order.

 

Nutritional Information
Per 1/2 tbsp bite

32 Calories / 2g Fat / 3g Carbs / 1g Fiber / 1g Sugar / 2g Protein

You should also note that Nathan not only told me he like these bites but thought they were “really tasty!” To which I said “great! Now that you like them, I’ll let you know there’s protein powder in ’em.” Ha. Got him! 😉

Food for Thought

What is your favorite flavor combination?

What I Ate Wednesday #70: Beer, Food, and Sunshine

Monday we took advantage of Nathan’s day off and went into San Francisco for the day. We also took advantage of sleeping in and having a nice breakfast at home.

I’ve been loving topping my oats with my homemade nut butters, honey vanilla-bourbon peanut butter, and Love Grown granola.

After we were sufficiently fueled up, we hit the road! First stop was Rogue Ale House. Nathan had been before, but I’d never had a chance to go and it was such a nice day, I was excited to get some beer and sit outside.

I tried the Beard Beer, Old Crustacean Barleywine, Menage-a-Frog, and XS Imperial Stout. Nathan’s Double Chocolate Porter was the winner.

We didn’t have a set lunch plan but after some Yelping, we landed on Lai Hong Lounge. It was that good on Christmas!

Pea shoots, garlic cabbage core, XO beef chow fun, coffee-rubbed ribs, pan-fried mushroom buns, and pork shu mai.

We ordered entirely too much and came home with leftovers of everything. The coffee-rubbed ribs were almost like dessert; they were even served with some whipped cream on the side! It was all so good.

We were in need of a post-lunch walk and what better place to go than Buena Vista Cafe? We haven’t had an Irish Coffee since we were last in San Francisco in May 2012!

Just as good as I remember.

And then we continued down to the pier. It was so nice to be out in the sunshine and enjoy the fresh air.

After a nice walk, we made our way back home for a nice, light dinner. Thank goodness because we were still stuffed from lunch! We ended up not sitting down to eat until about 8:15.. whoops!

Roasted portabello caps with spicy mango slaw and chunky guacamole.

They were supposed to be tacos, but I opted to go tortilla-less for something a little lighter. Nathan made his into a burrito.. whatever works! The slaw was SO good and even though I only made a half recipe, there was still a ton leftover. It made a great addition to my salad and Nathan’s turkey meatball sandwich yesterday for lunch. Another meal plan success!

Monday was such a fun day. We didn’t go crazy doing too much running around, but it was a nice, relaxing day doing what we love—beer, food, and sunshine.

Food for Thought

When you go to a brew pub, do you opt for a sampler or a pint?
Have you ever had a real Irish Coffee?

Five Things Friday

It’s been a week since we moved in and I’m happy to say that we’re really getting settled now. It feels so good to sleep in our bed, eat at a dining room table instead of the coffee table, and play in the kitchen again!

1. Speaking of playing in the kitchen, I broke out my brand new spiralizer and Vitamix this week. Holy cow I’m in love! I’ve spiralized zucchini and sweet potato so far and can’t wait to play with more. I also may never buy nut butter ever again. In 2 days I made toasted pecan butter and coconut cashew butter. Seriously. Fresh nut butter in 5 minutes? Amazing.
   

   Couldn’t decide between the 2 nut butters.. why not both?!

2. I’ve also started going back to my Pinterest boards for recipe inspiration. The honey sriracha chicken turned out great and I full intend on making this Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Fried Plantain and Coconut Fried Quinoa with Macadamia Nuts soon!
   

   Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Fried Plantain and Coconut Fried Quinoa with Macadamia Nuts
   – Half Baked Harvest

3. Speaking of Pinterest, I’m loving all of the easy storage and decoration ideas I’ve found! Did you know lentils aren’t just for eating? 😉
   

   Crafty and delicious!

4. Last week, I won one of the Love Grown Foods 14 Days of Giveaways packages. I was far too excited to dig in before taking a picture, but this stuff is awesome! I’ve had it once before but I forgot how good it is. Perfect on top of my oats!
   

   There’s coconut in there too!

5. I’m looking into getting a personal training certification. I plan on pursuing NASM since I’ve read so much about it and it seems like that is the most universally accepted certification. Thoughts? Tips? Think I’m nuts? 😉

This whole “new life” thing is pretty exciting and pretty scary. But I think I’m doing alright. That said, if anyone would like to solve all of my life’s mysteries and tell me what I should do with my life, I’m all ears! Haha happy Friday!!

Food for Thought

What is your favorite type of nut butter?
Have you gotten a personal training certification?

Link Love #19

It’s the first Link Love of the new year! And there have been some good ones to share 🙂

Health

New Year New Word New Workout – Cotter Crunch

New Year, New Word, New Workout – Cotter Crunch
10 “New Ways” To Think of Fitness, Nutrition, Weight Loss, Strength In 2014 – Lifting Revolution
What If Every Day Were New Years Day? – Tina Reale
10 Nutrients Scientifically Proven to Make You Feel Awesome – Greatist
50 bite-sized resolutions for better health – NutritionElla

Fitness

A Sweaty Post Holiday Workout – Blonde Ponytail

A Sweaty Post Holiday Workout – Blonde Ponytail
8 Exercises to Help You Say Sayonara to Saddlebags – FitSugar
5 Things to Consider When Starting a New Training Program – Breaking Muscle
Row, Row, Row Workout – Peanut Butter Fingers
Sexy Dancer Arms Workout – Livewell 360

Food

Meyer Lemon Roasted Carrot Strings with Lemon Garlic Sauce – Running to the Kitchen

Meyer Lemon Roasted Carrot Strings with Lemon Garlic Sauce – Running to the Kitchen
Detox Quinoa Salad – Kiss My Broccoli
Spicy Sweet Potato Egg Skillet – Peachy Palate
Miso Mushroom Zucchini “Ramen” Noodles – Inspiralized
Crunchy Quinoa Granola – Iowa Girl Eats

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite post so far this year? 😉

What I Ate Wednesday #65: California Budget Living

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a steady stream of pretty fabulous looking meals. And it’s true, we have found some really delicious food to try in all of our exploration.

What you don’t always see is my daily budget eats from the hotel. I mentioned before that the hotel includes breakfast everyday and dinner/drinks Monday-Thursday and we try to take advantage of that as much as we can. So in true WIAW fashion, let me show you how we do 😉

[Breakfast]

Oatmeal with banana, hard boiled egg whites, granola, & Tru-Nut

The hotel oatmeal isn’t the greatest, but I do love my morning oats! They have bananas here too so I mash up 1/2 banana and break up a couple egg whites to mix in. The granola is pretty tasty and I switch up my peanut butter options by the day. They have Skippy packets here which I use most of the time, but my treats are Tru-Nut, Justin’s packets, and now some PB & Co. too.. all winnings!

Morning Snack

One of my favorites!

Have you ever had this yogurt before? It’s so tasty and I love that the fig & date is separate from the yogurt so I can add as much or as little as I want.

Lunch

Salad bar greens, tomatoes, & carrots +
Whole Foods roasted veggies, chipotle seitan & avocado dressing

The salad bar is one of the best parts of the dinner buffet and I brought back some mixed greens, baby carrots, and tomatoes. When it was lunch time, I dressed it up with my goodies from Whole Foods and had a wonderful lunch!

Afternoon Snack

Microwave this baby for 10 seconds and you have yourself a tasty treat!

One of my new favorite kombuchas!

Call me crazy, but I packed up my stash of bars and brought them with me to the hotel. I always love having them on hand and usually have a few in my purse with me wherever I go. I’ve also been treating myself to a kombucha a little more often recently. Love trying all of the new-to-me brands and flavors!

Dinner

Huge salad plate from the salad bar, mixed veggies, & red wine

Teriyaki chicken & rice pilaf

We almost always take advantage of the salad bar and drinks [the red wine and IPA are darn tasty!] and sometimes they even have a decent veggie side too. I’m really not picky when it comes to the veggies, so the frozen mixed veggies are perfectly fine by me!

Monday night we had planned on having dinner at the hotel—teriyaki chicken and rice pilaf—but we had a change of plans. We did, however, make it back to the hotel before they stopped serving dinner so I ran downstairs and packed up a couple of plates for us for Tuesday night [no shame]. I ended up filling up on so much salad and veggies that I only had some of the chicken and left my rice for Nathan. I even got enough chicken for 3 meals 😉

Evening Snack

Fuji apples!

Fuji apples are my fave and they have them available at the hotel. It’s my perfect night time snack.. and one less thing to buy!

So at the end of the day, I’ve really only purchased some veggies and protein for lunch, a bar, and a kombucha. I’d say it’s not a bad way to get by for a month! [Especially with the free wine..]

Food for Thought

Would you take advantage of the freebies at the hotel?

What I Ate Wednesday #28 – A Jewish Christmas

I can’t believe it’s the last WIAW of the year! 2012 has flown by faster than I ever thought possible and I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. I have absolutely loved seeing all of the posts and pictures with all of your holiday traditions. It definitely made me wish I was celebrating Christmas this year! But since we don’t, yesterday was a pretty normal day for us.. besides sleeping in on a Tuesday 😉

[Breakfast]
I reached the end of a jar of JIF Natural, so naturally my sweet breakfast scramble was dumped right in there! And of course, it was topped with a little extra PB and some homemade almond butter (I started with Chelsey’s recipe as a guide). A side of freshly brewed cinnamon coffee was more than welcome.

[Lunch]
I didn’t snap a shot, but we went to my parent’s house for “brunch”.. aka bagels, lox, whitefish, etc. Imagine it looked something like this..

Except I had a salad with chicken on top and some lox and whitefish on the side. My mom makes all of the fish herself, so I can never pass it up!

I also brought over a blueberry crisp that made almost exactly like my apple crisp. This time, knowing that it would be going into the oven the next day to warm it up, I decided to bring the blueberries to a boil on the stove with lemon juice, lemon zest, xylitol, and cornstarch to thicken it up. Then I refrigerated it overnight, topped it with granola right before going in the oven, and baked for about 20 minutes. It was heavenly!

And since I didn’t get to snap a picture of my lunch, I decided to share with you my gangster look. What can I say, it got warm in the car!

[Snack]
Homemade almond butter mixed with Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter on celery sticks. Try this.. you won’t be disappointed!

[Dinner]
Leftovers galore! I mixed the last of my roasted squash and turkey stew with some Asian style tofu macadamia nut stuffing, quinoa, roasted broccoli, pecans, and a little chili sauce. It was delicious!

[Dessert]
Sliced apple with peanut fluff and 1/2 crumbled white chocolate cherry macadamia nut cookie.

I certainly didn’t have the typical Christmas day meals but they definitely hit the spot!

Food for Thought

What was your favorite dish this holiday season?

‘Tis the Season

In the spirit of the holiday season, I’m excited to, not only, announce the winner of my Hail Merry giveaway, but also announce another giveaway!

So without further ado, the winner of the Choco and Blonde Hail Merry Macaroons is... Emily!

Emily says :
These sound sooo good! I want to try the Blonde Macaroons!

Congratulations, Emily! And thank you so much to the wonderful people over at Hail Merry for sponsoring such a tasty giveaway!

Happy Holidays Giveaway!

I know many, if not all, of you are familiar with KIND Snacks. If not, you should definitely familiarize yourself with this brand immediately.

“KIND is a brand of all natural whole nut and fruit bars made from ingredients you can see and pronounce and it’s also a movement that gives new purpose to snacking.”

I’ve been lucky enough to try almost all of the flavors of bars and I can honestly say that they are all incredible. So much flavor and it certainly doesn’t hurt that they’re natural! They have recently partnered with Arianna Huffington, Bobbi Brown, and Grace Potter for a program they’re calling “Snack & Give Back“.

They are selling limited edition KIND cubes put together by each of these women and donating a portion of the proceeds to a charity of their choosing. In the spirit of the holiday season, I have been given the opportunity to offer my lucky readers the chance to win one of these boxes! After looking at each of the boxes and researching all of the causes, I decided on Bobbi Brown’s box, Eat Pretty Powerful.

“A portion of sales of the cube will help KIND fund a new KIND Kitchen at the Broome Street Academy, a public charter high school that prepares New York City’s most vulnerable young people to graduate with Regents diplomas.”

While all of the causes are benefiting wonderful organizations, I truly believe in cooking as an outlet. To have the ability to give at-risk youth such incredible opportunities is such an amazing gift. And right in time for the holidays! I hope you not only consider entering to win a box of your own, but also consider gifting a box in support of one of these charities.

One reader will be the lucky winner of a cube containing 20 bars:

• 5 Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt
• 5 Cashew & Ginger Spice
• 5 Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Pecan [my personal fave!]
• 5 Madagascar Vanilla Almond

How to Enter

You have up to 5 chances to enter! Be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Entries will be accepted through Thursday, December 13th, 11:59 pm EST. A winner will be chosen on Friday, December 14th.

1. Leave a comment telling me which charity you would choose to support if you purchased a box. (Mandatory)

2. Follow @KINDSnacks and @BarrAndTable on Twitter and leave a comment telling me. (Optional)

3. Like KIND Snacks and Barr & Table on Facebook and leave a comment telling me. (Optional)

4. Follow Barr & Table on Pinterest and leave a separate comment telling me. (Optional)

5. Tweet “I entered to win a @justbobbibrown Eat Pretty Powerful @KINDSnacks box from @BarrAndTable! http://wp.me/p2mo7x-df #SnackWithPurpose” and leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet. (Optional)

*Winner has 48 hours to contact me and claim prize, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

**Images and quotes taken from KINDsnacks.com and HailMerry.com