What I Ate Wednesday #90: Homemades

There have been a lot of delicious things going down in the kitchen lately. Protein bites, more nut butter, and some bread [that needs a little work] to name a few. I also have a recipe for a new chia pudding for you today; it was the perfect snack. You know, between all of the almond butter I had.

Pre-Workout
Apple pie protein bite. It’s my latest bite creation and I will definitely be sharing the recipe soon!

Breakfast

I’m back on the oatmeal train! I used up the rest of my coconut cashew butter with this batch of oats but while they were cooking, I also whipped up my first batch of almond butter. It came out pretty darn perfectly!

Morning Snack

This is pretty how it goes down after every new batch of nut butter. I wouldn’t want a drop to go to waste so the Vitamix comes to the computer with me as I figure out how to get every last bit out of there. Without cutting my fingers 😉

Lunch

I also have a problem when I make a new nut butter that I need to eat it multiple times that first day. Actually, it’s not a problem at all. This kabocha and tuna with almond sriracha sauce was perfect.

Afternoon Snack

Chocolate almond chia pudding. It finally occurred to me that while I’m not a fan of the texture of chia pudding, using milled chia might be more favorable. Success!

Ingredients
– 2 tbsp milled chia seed
– 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
– 1 tbsp almond butter
– 1 tbsp cocoa powder
– 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
– 7 drops liquid stevia

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well until everything is fully incorporated. Let set in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Top with your favorite fruit, granola, or more nut butter! I used Love Grown Foods Apple Walnut Delight.

We also had some baking adventures yesterday. We’re still learning and this was our second roll of the night. It definitely turned out better than the first but still very dense.

Kierston is my bread inspiration so I might be calling on her soon for tips!

Dinner

I adjusted Lindsay’s honey ginger tofu stir fry to make it with chicken instead since I have a non-tofu eater over here. I had a couple leftover cauliflower rolls so I crumbled one up in the bottom of the bowl and used it as rice. It came out great and we have lots of leftovers. Always a good thing!

Dessert

I told you. Multiple times a day. I couldn’t not have more almond butter with my apple!

Food for Thought

Are you a fan of chia pudding?

Foodie Friday: Buffalo Bourbon Peanut Butter

A stressful week calls for a Friday cocktail, yes? How about combining that cocktail with a little peanut butter? Now we’re talking! I might have gone back for seconds, thirds, fourths.. you get the idea. That jar was definitely my friend yesterday. It was even broken out with dinner!

Nathan and I have really come to love bourbon recently. The oaky flavor is something that we both really enjoy and the caramel and vanilla notes really play well in desserts [remember my Bourbon Banana Cheesecake?]. My favorite dessert lately? Anything with peanut butter. So why not combine the two?

Buffalo Bourbon Peanut Butter

Makes eleven 2 tablespoon servings

Ingredients
– 2 1/4 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts
– 1 tbsp bourbon [I used Buffalo Trace]
– 2 tsp honey
– 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 tbsp sea salt

Directions
Place the peanuts in a high-power blender or food processor and give it a whirl until the peanuts really break down to almost a crunchy peanut butter consistency. Add in the rest of the ingredients and blend until totally smooth.

I found that because of the liquid added to the peanut butter, it didn’t come out quite as creamy as when I do plain nuts, but it is so good! I have a feeling this jar isn’t going to last too long at all.

Nutritional Information
Per 2 tbsp serving

140 Calories  /  11g Fat  /  5g Carbs  /  2g Sugar  /  2g Fiber  /  6g Protein

Cheers and happy Friday!

Food for Thought

Have you ever made your own nut butter?
Is there another liquor you’d add to a nut butter?

Will Run for Beer

Have you entered my Peanut Butter & Co. giveaway yet?

Well this was another relaxing and fun weekend! Friday night I met up with Kara for a drink at Prizefighter. I hadn’t been yet but heard that they were known for their cocktails. Since it was rainy, I was feeling something nice and warming and opted for the Nuevo Viejo.

I could use some help on my cropping skills.

We met up with Nathan at Summer Summer for some delicious Thai food for dinner. And lucky for us, they had a good amount of options on the happy hour menu.. cheap date 😉

Saturday was pretty laid back. It’s been raining constantly since Thursday so that doesn’t really make for fun times outside. We went out again for dinner to get out of the house and revisited The Bureau 510. I got the Mother Nature sandwich that I was eying the first time and it was great.

Grilled tofu, avocado, alfalfa, onion, red pepper spread, butter lettuce, lavash whole grain

I also got an awesome package from Caitlin and immediately had to dig into my goodies!

She’s the best!

Greek yogurt mixed with TJ’s chocolate coconut milk ice cream, topped with a sunbutter GoMacro bar and a few PB M&Ms. Perfect night time treat!

Yesterday I braved the rain and met up with Melissa, another Tone It Up-per, for the Park Chalet Beer 5K. Being sick all week, I considered skipping out because running in the rain may not be the best idea, but I was feeling much better so I decided to give it a go and I’m so glad I did!

We met some friends along the way

I’m usually not one for enjoying the rain, but there was actually something nice about it. Maybe because I was actually treating this as the fun-run that it was so I was just taking it all in. But that definitely deserved a brewski [or 2] afterward!

Cheers to finishing the run!

Those beers really did me in and I was happy to get home and into warm, dry clothes. Nathan took the reigns on dinner and roasted a beautiful bird! I added some roasted asparagus and naan on the side and heated up some korma sauce. Indian in a snap 😉

He knows his way around a bird!

Weekly Meal Plan

Saturday – Went out
Sunday – Roast chicken, asparagus, & naan with korma sauce
Monday – Chipotle black bean burgers, roasted potatoes, & side salad
Tuesday – Healthier Cincinnati chili over zucchini noodles
Wednesday – Leftover roast chicken with panzanella salad
Thursday – Black rice salad bowl with chipotle orange chicken, cashews, & feta [a repeat from last week!]
Friday – Valentines Day! We always work together on dinner and dessert and we’re still discussing our options.

We also have a new addition to the kitchen.. now we just have to hang it!

I could use some help with my chalkboard handwriting!

But now we won’t have to check the blog for reminders on the menu 😉

Food for Thought

Have you ever done a race or fun run in the rain?
What’s on the menu at your house?

Link Love #22

Ooooh my gravy. Well I have to say, I’m definitely feeling better than I was over the weekend, but a workout plus 4 loads of laundry yesterday and I was knocked on my butt the rest of the day! One day at a time and lots of sleep, I should be back to myself soon 🙂 In the meantime, lots of love!

Health

Do you need to do cardio if you’re lifting heavy? | question from a reader – FitKnitChick

Do you need to do cardio if you’re lifting heavy? | question from a reader – FitKnitChick
4 Ways To Stop Eating A Million Calories Every Night – JillFit
The Makings of the Best Diet Ever – Truth 2 Being Fit
What a Dietitian Eats – HuffPost Lifestyle
Paleo Diet Pros and Cons – Kath Eats

Fitness

Get Bootylicious: Best Glute Exercises For Women (And Why) – Lifting Revolution

Get Bootylicious: Best Glute Exercises For Women (And Why) – Lifting Revolution
A core workout for runners – Crazy Running Girl
Burpees or Bust Challenge and Roundup #FFBurpee – Cotter Crunch
Winter Interval Treadmill Workout – Sarah Fit
Stability Ball Workout – Fitnessista

Food

Bourbon Caramel Almond Butter Cups – Minimalist Baker

Bourbon Caramel Almond Butter Cups – Minimalist Baker
Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins with Almond Butter Filling – Running on Real Food
Lentil Sloppy Portobello Joe – Peachy Palate
Honey Porter Glazed Chicken Skewers – The Beeroness
Healthier Magic Cookie Bars – Eating Bird Food

Food for Thought

What is one of your favorite posts from the last week?

Sometimes You Just Need to Rest

Hi friends, happy Monday! I hope you had a great weekend and didn’t have too hard of a time staying awake during that rousing game last night. I also hope you’re not a Broncos fan.. eesh! Sorry about that..

We didn’t have much planned for the weekend, but ended up really relaxing. Friday I went to another awesome yoga session with the SweatGuru team.

Rooftop yoga in the sunshine.
Source: Sweat Guru Facebook

Nathan and I went out for dinner and drinks. And despite the fact that I mentioned feeling “off”, I thought it was a good idea to have a couple beers with my smoked bbq tofu sandwich. Which was awesome.

They LOADED that bad boy up with avocado! Part of it fell off the other side 😉

Fast forward to Saturday morning, 4:30 am I decided I should be nice to Nathan and lay down on the sofa instead of continuing to toss and turn. Turns out that “off” feeling I had Friday night was me getting sick. Go figure. Luckily I had a rest day planned already but with my morning starting as early as it did, breakfast came at a whopping 6:45! Oats, of course. And coffee.. LOTS of coffee.

My fave.

A couple hours later, I saw a tweet from Nicole with this recipe. Holy cannoli I needed that in my life! I had to sub some ingredients, but it ended up being a darn tasty snack.

And looking a lot like my breakfast.

Lunch time rolled around and Nathan had been dying to try the famous fried chicken sandwich from Bakesale Betty. I opted for a salad from The Mixing Bowl and I would definitely go back! Nathan, on the other hand, felt differently about his sandwich. Unfortunately it wasn’t a hit for him.

The salad didn’t come with kabocha squash. I just saw it elsewhere on the menu.

My weekend excitement kind of ended there going out, but luckily the good food didn’t end. The rest of Saturday and pretty much all day Sunday was spent on my butt trying to beat this cold. Or flu. Or whatever it is. At least I got some fresh air on Saturday though!

We did make our pizza and wings for the game yesterday and it was awesome! The naan pizza worked out great and the wings were incredible. You’ve never seen such clean chicken bones.. the meat literally fell right off the bone. We demolished a good 2 lbs.. whoops! Haha can you blame us?

These wings could be famous. Seriously.

By last night I was feeling a lot better and I’m hoping that all that rest really helped me kick it. Two days off from workouts and I’m ready to kill it at the gym.

Weekly Meal Plan

Saturday – Leftover spaghetti squash casserole for me. Leftover mango beef stir fry for him.
Sunday – Korean BBQ chicken wings & naan pizza.
Monday – Grilled jerk chicken for him & mahi mahi for me with roasted asparagus and plantains.
Tuesday – Green chile turkey burgers with cajun roasted potatoes for him and zucchini noodles for me.
Wednesday – Vietnamese Bun Cha Gio’
Thursday – Black rice salad bowl with chipotle orange chicken, cashews, & feta.
Friday – Going out!

By the way, the Move Nourish Believe Challenge with Fit Approach and Lorna Jane starts today! Have you joined yet?

Food for Thought

What did you do for the Superbowl?
What is your favorite comfort food when you’re not feeling well?

Fitness Friday: 30 Minute Fly-By Cardio

Happy Friday!! I know you’re just as excited for the weekend as I am. We’re planning on heading into San Francisco again tomorrow for the farmers’ market at the Ferry Building. We haven’t been to that market since we were out here in 2012 but I remember it being fabulous. We’re really going because RoliRoti, where we got the rotisserie chicken and potatoes, only serves their porchetta sandwiches at this market and Nathan has been dying to try it. Who am I to say no when there’s so much good stuff there?!

Today I wanted to share a cardio workout that I did this week. Despite the 5Ks that I’ve done in the past [and those coming up too..], I’m not a big fan of running, but sometimes it’s good to switch it up in the gym. Jumping back and forth between the elliptical and treadmill definitely made this workout fly by faster than a regular 30 minute run on the treadmill!

Tweet or Instagram me and hashtag #FlyByCardio

Feel free to set your own resistance, pace, and elevation. On the treadmill, I ran at about 7.5-8 for the first 3 rounds and then 8.5-9 for the last 2 rounds. Really try to push it for the last minute! I finished mine up with a short cool down walk on the treadmill and covered 4.25 miles. Now, maybe I should have thought ahead and saved this workout for another day when I wasn’t doing my Best Body Bootcamp lower body workout right after, but hey, I’m still alive 😉

By the way, this is the last round of bootcamp and I’m really sad. I’ve loved every round I’ve done but I guess now I’ll just have to make sure I get all of my workouts in a binder for future use! Anywho..

Go knock out a few miles and have a great weekend!

Food for Thought

Do you enjoy running?
What are your weekend plans?

Five Things Friday

Holy moly, what a week! In my attempt to take a quick breath [but not really], let’s do a little week wrap up, shall we?

1. IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING! We’re no longer hotel dwellers! We finally moved out of the hotel Thursday morning, slept on an air mattress last night, and the movers are delivering our things today. To say that I’m excited would be an understatement. Six weeks in a hotel is entirely too long.
   

   P.S. the internet is killer!

2. Funny story about entirely too long. Wednesday morning, someone staying in the hotel said to me “you were here last month, right?” Immediate thought was “oh great, now I’m being recognized..” Well, not only was he here last month, he’s been home and is now back. The lady that works the breakfast shift also disappointingly asked if I was leaving them as I was wheeling out a couple suitcases. It’s time.
   
3. My aunt and uncle got us a Vitamix for our wedding gift but we asked them to wait to order it until after we were moved in. Guess what was delivered on Thursday! Nut butters, smoothies, soups, and more.. HERE I COME! [Nut butters especially..]
   

   Roasted Coconut Peanut Butter – Peachy Palate

4. ALSO! My mom ordered me a spiralizer! That was another kitchen gadget I planned on getting as soon as we were settled but she beat me to the punch 🙂 I’ve been pinning away at some veggie noodle recipes and I cannot wait to start trying them.
   

   Roasted Butternut Squash Zucchini Pasta with Kale, Apricots, and Wheat Berries – Inspiralized

5. On Wednesday afternoon, Sweat Guru and OMPower teamed up for an Iron Yoga class. I absolutely love the idea of incorporating weights into yoga and was bummed that I couldn’t make it but with all things moving [yay!], it just wasn’t realistic. Luckily for me [and anyone else in the San Francisco area], they host classes every Wednesday at 2pm. Check it out!
   

   Iron Yoga with The Sweat Guru and OMPower

Welp, I guess it’s time to unpack! I’m hardly disappointed that I have to unpack so many boxes. I just can’t wait to have my stuff again. And sleep in my own bed! YES!

Food for Thought

What is the longest you’ve ever stayed in a hotel?
Share your favorite Vitamix recipe with me!