Some of My Favorites

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Melanie

Happy Thursday to you all! I hope everyone is having a fabulous week full of happiness.

A quick rewind to Tuesday evening

I had tacos on my mind. I had some pre-cooked pinto beans in the freezer so I grabbed those, defrosted them, and threw them in a pan with sautéed onions, garlic, red pepper, cumin, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. I then added a splash of chicken bone broth to the pan and let it cook out; this helps make the beans more saucy (just don’t let them cook too long after the liquid has cooked out or they will start to get too starchy).

I love cooking a huge batch of beans and freezing them so that they are ready for me whenever I need them. I use canned beans on occasion and am sure to rinse them really well to remove some of the sodium, but I prefer dried beans that I cook myself. That way I know exactly what goes into them.

I used lettuce cups as the taco shells then assembled the bean mixture, shredded cheddar cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and lastly the salsa.

This dinner seriously came together in about 10 minutes and it was SO good as always! Taco night is one of my all-time favorites!

Wednesday

After my Insanity workouts, I often crave a huge fruit and veggie-packed smoothie. Yesterday, I threw together one of my favorites:

a large handful of kale
1 frozen banana
1 Tbsp peanut butter
3/4 scoop of chocolate egg-white protein powder
~1/2-3/4 cup almond milk
splash of aloe vera juice

Again, I give full credit to my friend Shannon for this one. I think of her every time I make it. It tastes like a chocolate shake and who doesn’t enjoy a chocolate shake in the morning?! I am totally into it.

I have some exciting news. When it comes to my coffee I am a coffee with cream kind of gal. I enjoy a smooth creamy mug of coffee and as much as I tried to “wean” myself off of the creamer, I just couldn’t get into it. I tried for a good 5-6 months to go au natural, which I would say was a fair shot, but still no dice.

The main reason I wanted to stop with the creamers is because I was not liking the ingredient labels on some of my favorite creamers, namely hydrogenated oils aka trans fat. Not only that, the ingredient labels were way too long and full of unrecognizable words.

I have been on the prowl for a creamer replacement. I tried coconut milk, almond milk, soy creamer, but nothing was giving my coffee that creaminess that I loved and missed so much.

I made a trip to Whole Foods to browse their milk and cream section and I found something that has made me so extremely happy and makes my coffee blend into creamy just the way I like it…

SO Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer in hazelnut flavor. That’s the stuff!

There are a few ingredients that I’m not particularly fond of, but for the most part, I can accept it considering I do a very good job everywhere else in my diet with keeping things clean. What’s great about this creamer is that it’s dairy free and trans fat free!

Until I find my next creamer replacement, I am very happy with this one. Can you count how many times I said cream or creamer or creamy in that last little coffee bit?! Haha.

Dinner

While I prepared dinner there was some major snackage happening. We have a ginormous bag of carrots because I am a huge carrot eater and lover, so I cracked into that along with some hummus to tide myself over. This has to be up there on the list of my favorite snacks: veggies and hummus. NUM.

Thanks to some food prep earlier in the week, dinner came together in a snap.

In a saucepan I browned up about 1/4 lb of lean ground beef. I then sautéed mushrooms in the same pan as the beef and lastly added no sugar added spaghetti sauce. I let this all blend together, added a few sprinkles of garlic powder and onion powder and let it simmer until everything was cooked and heated through.

In a separate pan I sautéed two minced garlic cloves and then added pre-cooked spaghetti squash. I like to cook the squash in a pan for a little while to help cook out some of the extra liquid and moisture, which helps prevent a super watery plate of spaghetti squash.

Once the squash was heated through I plated it up, ladled on a big scoop of meat sauce, and then sprinkled fresh grated parmesan cheese over the top.

Such a comforting and healthy dish, and a very healthy italian dish. Italian food is another one of my favorites!

I’ve had a couple of days of my favorite types of foods. Of course I snacked on some bananas and peanut butter here and there too, so don’t worry, I got those in. That snack is high up there on my favorite foods list. And chocolate. I had to have some dark chocolate. My list of favorite foods is probably a mile long. What can I say? I’m a foodie!

I’m off to take on the day! Go tackle yours too!

What are some of your favorite meal cuisines? Italian? Mexican? American? Etc.

My Intelligent Nutrients Experience and A GIVEAWAY! {GIVEAWAY CLOSED}

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Melanie

It’s Monday and I know personally I sometimes struggle with the thought of Monday but I just may have something to perk you up.

A week ago, I was invited in for an organic experience at an incredible health and beauty shop called Intelligent Nutrients in the Mall of America. I have so much to tell you about this wonderful company. Here it goes…

The Founder

In 1978, a man by the name of Horst Rechelbacher founded Aveda Corporation, a global plant-based cosmetic company, and ushered a new consciousness into the world of beauty. Nearly two decades later, he sold Aveda to Estee Lauder. He shifted focus to Intelligent Nutrients, a health and beauty company that lives to the highest standards of 100% food-based, safe, non-toxic and organic ingredients. source

The Philosophy

“Everything that we put on our bodies must be nutritious and safe.” ~ Horst Rechelbacher

All of their products are 100% certified organic. It would be safe to consume their beauty products (although it’s not recommended unless you like eating soap ). Their products are completely free of pesticides.

Nutritional Chemistry: Their products are free of sulfates, plastics, parabens, silicone, mineral oil, petrolatum, petrochemical-derivatives and synthetics. Instead, they are formulated with state-of-the-art science that makes them potent and high-performing.

Plant Stem Cells: They utilize plant stem cells cultivated without soil in the purest lab conditions. This revolutionary process lets us release the life force of the plant in its most pure form – with some delivering as much as 1000 X the anti-oxidant activity of the entire plant.

source

The shop = gorgeous

The products: They have everything from skin care, to body care, hair care, nutraceuticals, aromatics, and more. Check out their complete list of products.

Almost every one of their products has something called Intellimune which is a super antioxidant seed blend. They take thousands of certified-organic fruit and vegetable seeds packed with even more potential than the plants themselves. Because they are the source of all life, they cold-press them without chemicals for a potency far greater than the sum of its parts. They then take these highly antioxidant-dense seeds and cold-press them without chemicals or heat for absolute potency.

The results: Intellimune fights off free radicals, reduces inflammation, protects healthy cellular activity and growth and helps to slow unnecessary premature aging and disease in the process.

source

My Experience

Are you still with me? I know this is a lot of information but it so exciting to me. Upon arrival I was greeted by the very welcoming team. David (who is a remarkable man BTW) started my visit with a tour of the store, while explaining the philosophies of IN as well as product information, allowing me to test out some products, and ask as many questions as I wanted.

Next, I was sent to the biofeedback area. Here I placed my hand on a sensor, first alone without any scents in front of me, and then a second time with a particular aromatherapy under my nose. This biofeedback read my stress level as well as different areas of my brain such as creativity, intellectual, physical, and emotional levels, among others.

The first reading told me that my overall state at that moment was very nurturing and that the intellectual part of my brain specifically was being stimulated. This was probably because I had just received a lot of information from David about IN and in general I am a very nurturing and compassionate person.

The second reading with the scent under my nose, came back as somewhat more physical and I had an increase in energy from that particular aromatherapy.

I was absolutely intrigued.

Next it was time for my scalp massage. David massaged oil into my hair ( I believe it was the destress express oil) as I immediately began to relax. Next he shampooed and conditioned my hair with the Pureluxe Harmonic hair products.

He left the conditioner in my hair for a while, and wrapped it in a warm wet towel as I relaxed and enjoyed the aroma oxygen bar. He also massaged some oil onto my hands and let them rest under a warm wet towel. I felt like a princess.

The finishing touch was a hair blowout completed with round brushes. I was in pure bliss. Total relaxation mode.

Before I left I snapped a photo with two of the three team members. As you can see by my droopy eyes I was still in total zen mode. I had fallen in love with this place, people, and these products.

Even after just one treatment, I could absolutely feel and see a difference in my hair. I had fewer split ends, it was softer, and it just felt clean. I felt great.

They sent me home with an extremely generous care package which I was more than grateful for.

To be perfectly honest I could go on and on about this stuff all day because of how amazed I was with my experience and these products. I encourage you to check out the Intelligent Nutrient website and learn more. I am so impressed by this company.

But before you leave, I have more to share. YOU could be the owner of an Intelligent Nutrient’s Pureluxe Harmonic Shampoo and Conditioner!

IN and I are hosting a giveaway for one lucky Beautifully Nutty reader. We want you to experience these wonderful products. Here is your chance to win!

To enter for your chance to win:

Comment on this post telling me why you would enjoy this product
Earn a second entry: Go to http://www.facebook.com/beautifullynutty and “like” BN on facebook.
Earn a THIRD entry: Tweet “I entered to win @intelligentnutr hair products from @NuttyMelanie http://bit.ly/U6z15b

Make sure you include extra comments on this post telling me you “liked” on facebook and tweeted.

Entries will be accepted until Wednesday February 13th, 9 pm central and the winner will be announced on Thursday February 14th. This giveaway is open to continental U.S residents only (again, so sorry to my out of country readers!).

I am VERY excited about this giveaway. Good luck!

Disclaimer: The services and products from Intelligent Nutrients were given to me as complimentary gifts. I was not paid nor asked to write a review based on my experience. All opinions expressed about this company are my own.

Cabbage Roll Casserole–Give it a Chance!

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Melanie

Happy Saturday you beautifully nutty readers!

My Saturday is off to a great start because I woke up feeling SO much better. I can actually breathe through my nose today which is a good thing since we have plans to meet my mom, dad, and grandpa for breakfast this morning. I don’t know about you but I do enjoy tasting my food.

I’m going to make this short and sweet for you all and focus right on in to dinner last night. After lying on the couch until 3:30 yesterday afternoon feeling completely groggy, I forced myself into my tennis shoes and hit the treadmill for a nice slow walk. The walk did wonders. I felt slightly less groggy and more energized. I made sure to utilize that slight energy surge by preparing dinner.

Dinner was something out of the box, and out of my comfort zone: Cabbage Roll Casserole

I had planned earlier in the week to make cabbage rolls, but kept putting it off since I wasn’t feeling good and the process seemed a little tedious. Then I got to thinking, there’s nothing saying I have to make the cabbage rolls into actual rolls, I could just chop it up and bake it like a casserole. I went with it…

And here is what I came up with! I know cabbage may not be #1 on many people’s list of favorite foods, but give it a chance. I promise you this turned out to be such a great and SUPER healthy dish!

It was comforting, savory and satisfying. Both Dana and I really enjoyed it!

Cabbage Roll Casserole

Recipe type: Gluten-Free; SCD

Ingredients

⅓ lb ground lean turkey
1½ cup onion, diced
¾ cup green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp chili pepper flakes
¼ tsp dried basil
salt and pepper
2 cups crushed tomatoes (fresh or canned)
½ jar of no sugar added marinara sauce
½ head of cabbage, chopped into shreds
¾ cup bone broth (chicken, turkey, or veggie broth would work fine)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a pan on the stove top, brown the meat.
Then add onion and bell pepper and saute for about 3 minutes.
Add garlic, oregano, chili pepper flakes, basil, salt and pepper; stir.
Add tomatoes and sauce and stir. Turn off the heat. Add cabbage and stir to combine.
In a 9 x 13 oven-safe baking pan, pour cabbage mixture and spread evenly in pan.
Pour broth over cabbage.
Bake covered for 45 minutes and then remove cover and bake for an additional 35 minutes.
Enjoy this delightfully healthy dish warm!

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing on the couch and watching the majority of the movie Valentine’s Day which was on TV. Of course I naturally got into it since it was the definition of chick flick and it has a great cast. We had to DVR the end of it though because I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Stay awake until 10:30? Not a chance when I’m sick.

Moose had a relaxing evening as well.

The evening was complete when Dana came home from a run to CVS for cold medicine for me and also brought home one of my favorite dark chocolate bars. I’m only allowing myself one piece a day at max. I can’t believe my will power with sweets these days. It’s incredible how taking yourself off of sweets can change your will power for them so drastically. I like having control. Now I have to work on my peanut butter and date control.

Okie, doke friends. I’m off to get ready for our breakfast with the family. I hope you all have a relaxing and fun-filled Saturday. Catch up with you soon.

Question of the day: Do you have any foods that test your will power?

Baked Santa Fe Spring Rolls

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Melanie

Hi there my loves! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. I have some catching up to do so here we go….

Saturday

I cracked open the Parkers Farm Crunchy Honey peanut butter and let me tell you, I was in heaven. The slight sweetness of the honey mixed with the crunchy and smoothness of the peanuts paired with a good ol’ banana made me one happy little girl.

After breakfast I hopped on the treadmill and did one sweaty and very nonboring routine:

10 minute walk to warm up
1 mile run at 6.0 mph
2 minute walk at 4.0
1 mile run at 6.5
2 minute walk at 4.0
1 mile run at 7.0
10 minute recovery walk

I was really sweating after this one and the best part was it went by very fast.

After the run I completed my second session of the Ab Challenge circuit . I’ll be completing my third session today so that I reach the weekly goal of 3-4x a week. Tomorrow begins the second week with a new ab workout. I’m loving it.

I wasn’t very hungry for lunch but knew I needed to eat, so I whipped together a smoothie with Jay Robb’s chocolate egg white protein, almond milk, kale, strawberries, half a banana, and blueberries. Very satisfying.

Then I got to work on what I love doing oh so much…experimenting in the kitchen. Later in the afternoon I had plans to go to my mom and dad’s for dinner. They were going to be making chicken and I told them I would bring a salad.

My wonderful aunt introduced me to a deli-bought salad couple of weeks ago that I absolutely adored, and I had decided I needed to try to recreate it. The salad she had was made with chickpeas, but I wanted to use black beans instead. You could definitely substitute with chickpeas if you would like.

Here is what I came up with!

Ingredients

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup bell peppers, diced
⅓ cup red onion, diced
1 green onion, diced
2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
Sauce:
juice of ½ of a lime
juice from ½ of an orange
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
salt and pepper

Instructions

In medium bowl combine beans, peppers, onions and cilantro.
In a separate small bowl mix the sauce.
Pour the sauce over the bean mixture and stir gently to combine.
Serve cold as a salad or with corn tortilla chips.

I snacked on a small handful of Driscoll’s blackberries in the afternoon. I realize now how much fruit I ate that day!

Then off to mom and dad’s for the evening for church, dinner and the Viking vs. Packer football game.

Abbie chose the right move by sleeping instead of watching the Vikes lose so terribly.

Sunday

I was a cleaning machine in the morning not to mention we hit the coupon jackpot. I swear the coupon books (all four of them) were made specifically for me. There were coupons for so many things I actually use. I was psyched.

I headed to the treadmill again on Sunday this time for a long walk (4.0 pace). I walked for about 50 minutes while watching who knows what t.v. shows. Okay, I watched the Kardashians. Guilty pleasure. I also completed my 1-minute plank from the challenge.

Dinner:

I used the leftover bean salad to make Santa Fe Spring Rolls! I added about 3/4 cup of corn and 1/4 cup of shredded cheese into the black bean salad recipe.

The spring rolls I used are made from rice flour, water, and salt. They come in a round package and are very hard. To soften them you simply take one and turn it in a bowl of warm water. It softens right up and is pliable to work with.

Santa Fe Spring Rolls:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare a baking pan with parchment paper. Once rice paper is pliable, place on flat surface and spoon in bean mixture just off-center.

Step 2: Fold up bottom end of paper to cover mixture.

Step 3: Fold in both right and left sides of paper.

Step 4: Gently roll up the paper into a roll and place on prepared baking pan and spray the tops with olive oil.

Here’s the kicker…since this was my first time ever working with rice paper, I had no idea how long to bake these. We baked the rolls for about 20 minutes and then switched the oven to low broil where they sat for another 10 minutes. Since the inside did not need to be cooked for any reason, our biggest intention was to crisp up the rice paper.

If I were to do it again I would still probably bake it for 20 minutes, and broil for 10, but I would flip the rolls half way through the broiling process to crisp up both sides.

But anyway, the result was a very tasty sinless meal. I served the rolls with a side of Parkers Farm mild salsa.

They were definitely very crunchy too! This was a fun change of pace meal for us. BTW before I prepared these rolls I devoured a load of broccoli and hummus, so that was part of my dinner too.

The rest of the evening was spent being pretty lazy on the couch. I made myself a bowl of FAGE 0% fat Greek Yogurt with fresh Driscoll’s strawberries and blackberries.

It was a nummy day!

I have some fun plans on the agenda today including a hot date with a girlfriend of mine! I am super duper excited. I hope you all have a fabulous day and I will check back in with you very soon.

Lentil Fajita Salad

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Melanie

Hola mis Amores! How is everyone doing? I am great. I just finished off a 3 mile run outside with Dana and Moose. It was basically brutal again because of the extremely cold temperatures, but we still finished nonetheless. The plan for the 10K on January 1st is not to worry about time and instead just remember to try to have fun. The goal will be to simply finish.

Now I am sitting on the couch in warm sweatpants, drinking a cup of coffee to warm up and we are going to er-er-er rrreewinnndd to yesterday.

Friday

Mark this on your calendar…I went to the gym yesterday! I eased my way back into the gym routine by cardio’ing 20 minutes on the elliptical, 10 minutes on the stair-stepper, and 5 minutes on the row machine. I then finished with some core work with the Bosu ball.

I MUST get back into strength training again because I know how fabulous it makes me feel when I actually do it.

I am getting back on the healthy eating train for sure. Lunch was a pretty typical Melanie salad full of dark greens, olives, peas, sunflower seeds, asparagus and Newman’s Own Lite Honey Mustard dressing. My fav. There is definitely something about olives, peas, and sunflower seeds on salads that I enjoy very much.

After lunch I dove into one of the most un-fun tasks of all time….sorting through the sock drawer. It had turned into one giant heap of socks and drove me crazy every time I had to go find a matching pair, so I made yesterday a mission organization sock drawer.

I did make it more fun by blaring the tunes and dancing around like a little girl.

I cracked open one of my new cans of Perrier sparkling water. I went with the grapefruit flavor and I truly enjoyed this drink. It was so refreshing, with a perfectly subtle grapefruit flavor, and the can was just my size. This definitely gets a thumb’s up.

For dinner I cooked up a batch of brown lentils: combine 1 cup of lentils and 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (you can use water instead if you would like) in a medium pan on the stove. Bring it to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 20-25 minutes. Then drain the extra liquid off and set the lentils aside.

In the same pan I sautéed a half of a large onion and a half of a green bell pepper. I added in some homemade low-sodium fajita seasoning. Once the veggies were sautéed, I added in the lentils, added more seasoning, and let it all warm through.

In the meantime I prepared some quick guacamole: one avocado, one Roma tomato, cilantro, and pepper. I plated up two heaping mounds of dark green lettuce, followed by the warm fajita lentil mix, then some grated cheese, guacamole, and lastly I dressed the whole salad with Parkers Farm Mild Salsa.

Ya mix it all together and what do you get?

Lentil Fajita Salad awesomeness!

After dinner Dana and I grabbed a cozy blanket, turned on the Christmas tree lights, planted ourselves on the couch, and watched the movie, “Eat, Pray, Love.” I read this book a couple of years ago and have been wanting to see the movie since it came out. Lo and behold Target had it on sale for $4.50 and I just so happened to walk by the rack and snag it.

When they make movies from books, 9 times out of 10 I prefer the book (I prefer my own imagination apparently ), but this time I would say I enjoyed both the book and the movie equally. They did a really great job with portraying the characters in the book on film.

Dana and I split a super juicy amazing pear that was the size of a softball.