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?

Five Things Friday {12/26}

Happy Friday, friends! I hope everyone is able to enjoy a nice 4-day weekend!

1. We kicked off our Christmas day with our second annual dim sum brunch at Lai Hong Lounge. We figure there’s a reason Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas, but we wanted to one-up it with dim sum and it’s just so darn good! We kept a bunch of faves from last year, too.
   

   BBQ baked pork buns.. these are my fave!

   

   Dry braised green beans are SO good.

   

   Garlic pea shoots.

   

   Pan-fried mixed mushroom bun.

   

   The prettiest Christmas duck I ever did see.

   

   Duck bun all wrapped up!

2. No trip into Chinatown is complete without a stop at Rogue and a walk by the water.
   

   The Bruery – Seven Swans a Swimming Quad

   

   Such a clear, beautiful [and windy] day!

3. I’ve been powering through some sort of cold or something this week so I’ve spent a lot of time on the sofa the past couple days. I’ve also done my best to make sure I’m getting my greens and proper fuel to get better fast. I decided to whip up this smoothie on a whim and it was awesome!
   Chocolate Cherry Protein Green Smoothie
   
   Ingredients
   – 1/2 bottle Cherry Charge Mamma Chia Energy drink
   – 1 bottle Chocolate Light Core Power
   – 1 scoop Skoop A Game
   – 1/2 english cucumber
   – 1-2 handfuls spinach
   – 4-6 ice cubesBlend it all up and enjoy! It would also be awesome with some frozen cherries in there too.. next time!
4. We watched The Interview on Wednesday night. I’m not really sure what all of the craziness was about but I’d say if you’re in the mood for a silly, chuckle here and there kind of Seth Rogan movie, go for it. Pretty much what you can expect from him. On the flip side, Gone Girl. Watched that last night; you need to watch it, too. Best movie I’ve seen in a while.
5. If you are in the bay area, or know anyone in the bay area, looking for a personal trainer, I’m running a special in January. First 1-hour session is $50, normally $80, and if you purchase a package of 10 sessions, you get 10% off. If you’re not in the bay area but still want to train with me, check out my 4-week personalized training package!

Hope you enjoy your last weekend of 2014!

Food for Thought

Any fun weekend plans?

What I Ate Wednesday #105: Nut Butter All Day!

It should come as no surprise that we currently have 5 open jars of nut butters in the house. That said, they’re all dwindling because I can never decide which one I want and I never want to finish a jar. Such problems, right? Most days I usually have 4 of the 5 nut butters; I’d say that’s a good day!

The health benefits of nuts, including peanuts [technically a legume], are undeniable. Aside from just being known for healthy fats, they also contain a number of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants.

[Pre-Workout]

I wasn’t even counting my Skoop blueberry bite, but this does have some PB&Co. Bees Knees in it. Peanuts are higher in protein than most nuts and are a heart-healthy food due to the mono-unsaturated fatty acids that can help to lower bad cholesterol and increase good cholesterol.

[Breakfast]

You all know how much I love my melty nut butters on my oatmeal. This bowl has a mixture of peanut butter, coconut cashew butter, and protein almond butter. Almonds are a fiber-rich nut which, along with the healthy fats, helps you stay full. And a recent study funded by the Almond Board of California has shown that these nuts can even raise the levels of good bacteria in your system for a healthy gut!

[Lunch]

I swapped out my healthy fats at lunch for a little avocado on my snack plate. As for the tuna, I mix in some ketchup and relish.. is that strange? I’ve put ketchup in tuna my whole life so I don’t even know. Ha!

[Afternoon Snack]

Soon after my lunch, I had a few slices of freshly roasted sweet potato with more coconut cashew butter. This was pretty much the best combo all day! Cashews are a great source of iron—helps to prevent anemia—, zinc—for immune health and vision—, and magnesium—to help improve memory. Crunch on some cashews so you can remember all of this 😉

[Dinner]

Skipped the nut butter in dinner again, but there’s a sprinkling of peanuts on top! I filled my bowl up with tons of broccoli and it hit the spot. Nice and light but super filling.

[Evening Snack]
Sliced up an apple with some more peanut butter. I just can’t get enough!

Nut butters are something I always have to use measuring spoons for, otherwise I’d go crazy! So while it may look and sound like I’m eating a ton of nut butter, I’m actually limiting it to about 2-3 tablespoons per day. You bet your butt I could eat more [like a jar per day!] but there is such a thing as going overboard on healthy food too 😉

Food for Thought

What’s your favorite nut?
Do you measure out your nut butter or just go for it?

Sources: 29 Amazing Benefits Of Peanuts For Skin, Hair And Health & Why You Should Go Nuts for Nuts

Pin It Party #5

I mentioned before that I’m going to be working at Truve, a pretty awesome new private wellness center, as a trainer [if you’re looking for a trainer, hit me up!]. The building has been under construction but the keys were finally handed over and yesterday some of the team got together to put together the brand new pilates equipment!

Source

Source

Source

I’m bummed I was already working and couldn’t be there, but we’ll be all moved in soon enough! I can already tell it’s going to be a fun place to work. In the meantime, if you’re in the bay area, there are free Saturday classes by the columns at Lake Merrit every week until we open.

Another thing to be excited about is Lindsay’s Pin It Party! It’s been a few months since she hosted the last one and I can’t wait to look through all of the fun posts from the other bloggers. If you missed the last 4 that I participated in, get yourself up to date!

Pin It Party #1
Pin It Party #2
Pin It Party #3
Pin It Party #4

And if you’re not following me on Pinterest, what are you waiting for?! Without further adieu..

Cardio + Pull Circuits Workout

Apple Pie Protein Bites

Spiralized Cinnamon Apple Chips

Skoop Superfood Blueberry Bites

Sesame Carrot Noodles with Beef, Broccoli, & Asparagus

This last recipe is a current fave. I made it the other night with chicken instead of beef and lots of extra broccoli! The carrot dressing is what really makes it [so I made lots extra!] Hope you enjoy the pins 🙂

Food for Thought

What kind of recipes or workouts do you want to see more of on the blog?
Any big plans for the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #104: Restaurant Quality

Nathan can take credit for the title, but I’m taking credit for the meal behind the title! Not all of my eats from Monday might qualify as restaurant quality, but seeing as how I was pretty darn excited when Nathan made that comment about dinner, I say it works. Honestly, though, who’s to say my favorite oatmeal breakfast shouldn’t be served at a restaurant? I’m pretty sure it’s better than any bowl of oats I’ve ever had out!

[Pre-Workout]

I love starting my morning with a Skoop superfood blueberry bite. Don’t be fooled by the color; they’re delicious!

[Breakfast]

I guess if I were serving this in a restaurant I’d have to make it look a little prettier, huh? Looks aside, the banana, cinnamon, and nut butter combo can’t be beat. Knowing that I have this waiting for me is mostly what gets me through my workouts every morning 😉

[Mid-Morning Snack]

I’ve recently decided that it’s a better idea when I’m not working too late at Athleta to save lunch for after work instead of trying to scarf it down in 15 minutes. [Not to mention, it’s less food to pack the night before!] I’ve fallen back in love with these peanut butter ThinkThin bars. They’re just too good and with 20g of protein, they hold me through the next few hours till lunch.

[Lunch]

And speaking of.. snack plates are fun. And even more fun when you have leftovers [even though this is the pork that I gave Nathan a hard time for ordering]! It’s just tastier than grilled chicken and nice to mix it up sometimes.

[Afternoon Snack]

I totally forgot that I have paleo bread in the freezer! I mixed up some of my NuStevia cocoa syrup into plain greek yogurt, crumbled a piece of bread on top, and drizzled a little more cocoa syrup. It was nice and filling with the protein from the yogurt and the fat from the almond meal in the bread. Yum!

[Dinner]

I have a feeling this dinner is going to become a staple. This is my “restaurant quality meal” courtesy of Half Baked Harvest. I subbed turkey for the beef and made cauliflower rice instead of regular rice [still added the lemongrass but not the coconut milk.] It was super easy because I was just using ground turkey instead of having to slice up some chicken breast and it was crazy flavorful! I also used our homemade thai chili sauce which might have kicked it up an extra notch. Yea.. definitely making this again!

[Evening Snack]
The fuji never fails me! I’ve been trying some new apples since the season is upon us but the fuji is still my go-to.

Food for Thought

What’s your most successful meal that you’ve made?
Now that apple season is back, do you have a favorite kind you’ve been waiting for?

Foodie Friday: Skoop Superfood Blueberry Bites

You all know how much I love my bites. They’re pretty much in every WIAW post and I’ve racked up quite a few recipes! A few weeks ago I was contacted by Skoop asking if I’d like to review one of their 3 powders—A Game, B Strong, or B Lovely. Seeing as I’ve had the chance to try a handful of protein powders, I decided to go the other way and asked to try A Game, their superfood powder.

On their website, they list some of the benefits of this superfood powder including:

• Probiotics for gut health
• Fights inflammation
• 10 servings of fruits and vegetables
• Fiber to buffer sugar
• Phytonutrient rich
• Adaptogenic herbs
• Clean all-day energy
• Antioxidant rich
• Immunity boosting
• Speeds recovery

I’d never tried anything like this before and it’s hard to argue with those benefits. They offer a Sweetgreens flavor as well as Chocofresh. Skoop not only generously sent me a bag of the Sweetgreens to review, but also a couple samples of B Strong and B Lovely to sample as well [definitely have to try the Chocofresh soon!]. I was surprised to find out that the Sweetgreens A Game, while has a green hue, tastes very much like blueberry/acai. I knew it would be a great addition to some bites and when I saw Lindsay’s Blissful Blueberry Oat Cobbler Healthy Bites [she is the queen of healthy bites, after all], it was a done deal! I put a little twist on the recipe and it came out great.

Skoop Superfood Blueberry Bites

Makes 46 Bites
Adapted from Cotter Crunch

Ingredients
– 3/4 cup granola [I used 1/2 cup Love Grown Foods Apple Walnut Delight & 1/4 cup Udi’s Blueberry Cashew Granola]
– 1/4 cup dried blueberries
– 2 scoops Healthy Skoop A Game
– 1 scoop vanilla protein powder [I used Healthy Skoop B Strong]
– 1/4 cup coconut flour
– 1 tbsp cinnamon
– 1 tsp sea salt
– 2 tbsp unsweetened apple sauce
– 2/3 cup nut butter [I used Peanut Butter & Co. The Bees Knees]

Directions
In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. Add in the applesauce and nut butter and mix until well combined. Using a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon, measure out and shape the bites. Store in an air tight container in the fridge or freezer.

Nutritional Stats
Per 1/2 tbsp bite

46 Calories  /  2g Fat  /  6g Carbs  /  3g Sugar  /  2g Fiber  /  2g Protein

I may say this every time, but I think these might be one of my favorite bites yet! I think because of the amount of peanut butter I used, they’re extra creamy, even right out of the freezer. And, as always, they’re a great pre-workout snack.

To top it all off, Skoop is offering all of you 10% off your order! Just enter the code BARR10 at checkout for your discount. Enjoy!

Did you miss my other bite recipes?

• Peanut Butter Wonderful Powerballs
• Dark Chocolate Dreamy Powerballs
• Blueberry Lemon Cookie Dough Bites
• Apple Pie Protein Bites
• Dark Chocolate Berry Protein Bites
• Carrot Cake Energy Bites

Food for Thought

Have you ever tried a superfood powder?
What’s your favorite bite flavor combo?