Yeehaw! Spices!

I know how to admit when I'm wrong about something...even when that something is Miss Paula Deen and her dinosaur/emu/lamb-duck-en wonders! My general reaction to her is thinking that everything she makes is covered in bacon fat and hoping her heart health is somehow hanging in there. Sorry, Miss Paula!

Prolly not fair since I have yet to watch even 5 minutes of any of her programming. Anyhoo...point being, my mother gave me some PD merch for my birthday, and I actually like it, so I figured I'd extend the olive branch and share about it!

These spices are fresh and yummy, I must say. I got the black pepper, cinnamon essence, and garlic salt, and I really like each one. The cinnamon is especially nice ground onto my coffee.

Mom also threw in a set of tea towels that any Deen fan would love...

So, despite the fact that I probably won't be getting chummy with the Queen of fried things, I will say nice work on the spice blends and keep on keeping on, lady! 

:)

More Fashion for the Fur Babies!

My friend Erin has more fashion gear posted for sale on her blog. The money she earns benefits local animals in need, so clicky clicky!!

Shop here!

Lotsa Healthy Eats

Food, glorious food!!!

Here's my take on a recipe from Jillian Michael's Master Your Metabolism cookbook: a yummy baked quinoa and flaxseed topping for fruit, yogurt, etc. I adjusted the recipe a bit (agave nectar instead of honey, coconut oil instead of olive) but it was still healthy and yum-tastic!

 A healthy lunch: Wasa rosemary flatbread crackers, homemade hummus, 1/2 an avocado, and raw veggies.

Best for last! I Heart Wellness' Trailblazin' Power Cookies! These are super delicious and feel like such a treat!

AFR: Hottie Black Eyed Peas & Greens

Here's another winner from Appetite For Reduction!

It's a variation on the basic beans-n-greens style meal. I made this one super easy, using kale I previous cooked and stuck in the freezer a while back. I also used canned (drained & rinsed) black-eyed peas. This whole meal took just a few minutes and tasted awesome! 

And just a peek at why we are infamous at our favorite grocery store...this is just one bag of my produce...heheh! Shoppers hate getting behind us in line, and checkout people dread my mountains of produce to ring up. Ah well! 

On the fitness front, I revisited Pauline Nordin's Butt Bible workouts. I've decided I kind of like them. 

I still love the Jillian Michael's workouts, but I think I've burned myself out on them for now. I'm mixing it up with running, walking, and strength. I have also decided that I HATE the scale. I took measurements today and am going to do my darndest to ignore that fickle piece of machinery on the bathroom floor. We shall see how that goes! Bye for now :)

Birthday Laydeeeee!

to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I am very excited to be celebrating my 33rd birthday today! I can, without a doubt, say I am my happiest, healthiest self ever, with nowhere to go but up!! Cheers!

Giveaway!

Click on over to the lovely Moon to Moon blog for a great giveaway for your home by Ramsign!

Appetite for Reduction: Lasagna!!

Um...yummmmmy! Isa has really done it with this deeeelicious roasted cauliflower-based lasagna. I roasted the cauli early in the day while I worked out, then made the rest of the meal later that evening. It was easy and so good! We had friends over and 3/4 of us were non-vegan, non-crazy health nuts, but everyone cleaned their plates- yay!

We also played rummy (my first time!) with my very special cards :P

Healthy Homemade Stir Fry & Shirataki Noodles

Using MyPlate at Livestrong.com has been very revealing about how quickly foods can add up! I am much more aware of my eating  after using it for almost a week, which is great. 

It can also be kind of lame.... the last Mexican food eating out extravaganza was a THREE DAY endeavor to recover from on all fronts- weight, sodium, calories, etc. Boo hisss! I'm gonna have to make some better choices eating out! I also discovered that my "healthy" version of a PB & J is packing almost 400 calories. I ate it quite frequently thinking that the sprouted grain bread, almond butter, and no sugar added jam were a good light meal. Kapow! I am not a calorie counter, but I must admit 400 calories for a silly "healthy" sandwich was quite a nasty shock. It is good to be identifying some of the foods that may have been hindering me from my fitness goals though!

But in good news! Ahhh so many delicious healthy meals to focus on. Today's is a homemade stir fry with tempeh and Tofu Shirataki Noodles. 

Yum! I also tried one of the Butt Bible workouts for the first time last night. 

Ironically, I did upper body, heheh. I liked it alright, especially the balance of arms, shoulders, and back. The instructor wasn't quite my style...she called out things like "Terminator!" at times, which although humorous, didn't really motivate me. Back to 30 Day Shred for now...yay!!

Attention shoppers...

Small-footed fashionistas: please follow this link. My very fashionable (and kind!) friend Erin is selling some of her closet surplus to benefit local animals. Please check out her blog and buy some goodies for yourself!

Help the animals, get cute shoes!!

Yay!!!

My birthday is in a week! I bought myself some supplies for party cake :) My honey is making me some vegan cupcakes...I'm thinking maybe cookies and cream...or something with espresso. 

They'll come from here, no matter what!

 Um, oh yeah, and we've been eating some food as well...I call these chickpea-a-dillas (so catchy, huh? heheh). They are Compassion Over Killing's Cheezy Garbanzo spread made into a quesadilla. SO good!

Latest Obsession...

MyPlate at Livestrong.com! Ahh, I love it! You just plug in your foods and it gives you the nutritional rundown! I also love logging my fitness, water intake, and vitamin-swallowing! It has really motivated me both exercise wise and food wise. 

Fringe benefit of all this hard work? A few months ago I bought a pair of brand new Marc Jacobs pants at a thrift store for a few dollars (!!!!) but my middle section refused to cooperate with the zipping and buttoning of said pants. I tried them on last night and commenced to skip around the house, fully buttoned, zipped, and breathing easily. Woohooo!! That was a great motivator. 

I'm still cooking quite a bit from Appetite For Reduction and I Heart Wellness. 

Here's a recent dessert from I Heart Wellness...it's surprisingly low calorie, but SUPER delicious!

Chocolate Chip Bars! 

Flax seeds, water, banana, coconut oil...off to a great start!

The bars, which also included oats, chocolate, Vega protien powder, and vanilla...

Ohhh heaven! Strawberries, a warm bar, and some homemade banana soft serve! Perfection!

More gushy love for Appetite For Reduction!

 Well, peepers, the AFR love continues! We have loved everything from this book so far! The latest dishes

were the Veggie Pot Pie Stew (pardon if I don't get the names exactly right, but close enough!) and Sweet Potato Biscuits.



The cookbook also recommends wrapping this stew in a wrap/burrito for a pot pie on the go...that is a delicious idea!

I was overexcited about the biscuits, so I didn't mash the sweet poe's too well, but these are delicious anyway!!













In other news, I lurve this belt buckle! See ya next time!

Happy trails!

Healthy Bootcamp!

Summer is SO AWFULLY HOT!!! I am hanging in, nay, battling it out still...avoiding sugar, doing cardio/strength 6-7 days a week, and eating all kindsa veggie and fruit goodness. I have a fairly embarrassing fitness motivation collage on the wall, my favorite Spice Girls cd, and a good attitude to keep me charging ahead!

I'm ridiculously sore in my lower half due to tearing it up yesterday with Stephanie Vittorino's 6 Round Slimdown. This lady means business!

It's a circuit workout a la Jillian's 30 Day Shred, but longer and with a little less intense cardio...still a total exercise explosion! I do circuit type stuff almost every day, but if I get too sore I just spend a day focusing on abs or some body part far away from the worn out area :)

In the food department...been trying to cut down on wine for right now. I'm drinking fancy fizzy water with fruit when I need to have a drink in my hand..pretty swanky and satisfying, especially when it's 100 degrees.

Still loving Appetite For Reduction! These are the Black Bean tacos...can't remember the full name but it involves zucchini, black beans, and olives. I added millet to make it even more filling. Sprouted grain tortillas and some yummy raw yellow bell peppers made it perfect!

And for dessert...I don't care how motivated I am to get that 6 pack, I will always crave dessert. That means finding healthier and healthier options to satisfy my sweet tooth without sabotaging my hard work. I Heart Wellness has been such an amazing resource for healthy sweets. These are the Lemony Oat Bars, made into cookies. Chia, oats, quinoa flakes, lemon...all sweetened with mashed dates...yay!

Bye bye for now!

Chowder-N-Burgers

More fun foods from Appetite For Reduction!

This is the Summer Lovin' Curried Corn & Veggie Chowder. I am almost curried out lately due to waaaay to many curry-ish recipes in the rotation, but this soup was very tasty and healthy. 

Zucchini-based!

 The end product- pretty!

Chipotle Lentil Burgers...definitely a new favorite! I couldn't find canned lentils, and the recipe specifies not to make any adjustments (i.e. home cooked lentils) in order to get the texture right, so I used a can of black-eyed peas. Tasty...but a little squishy. Nonetheless, we gobbled these spicy little wonders right up!

Cheers!