Recipes Archives - Page 9 of 20 -

Frozen Yogurt Cake & Almond Cookies

Post author:Melanie
Post published:March 18, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Family / Misc. / Recipes / SCD / Sweet Treats
Post comments:2 Comments

The snow is coming down here in MN this morning. I can’t say I’m thrilled about it after all, spring begins on Thursday. BUT, I am thinking positively that this is our last snow of the season.

I’m pretty sure Moose is even bummed about the snow and he LOVES snow.

I have a little catching up to do from the past couple of days. On Saturday evening we headed over to my mom and dad’s to celebrate Dana’s birthday. Kev met us there too and the five of us had a Greek feast of a dinner thanks to mom and dad.

They even had Mediterranean-like music playing when we got there. Yes, they’re that cute.

I said I would bring the birthday dessert and Dana had decided he wanted an ice cream cake. He’s talking a homemade creation which really couldn’t be much easier.

At the store I had him pick out what kind of ice cream he wanted and then what cookie. He picked a Moose Track Frozen Yogurt and Oreo Birthday Cake Cookies

How to make ice cream or frozen yogurt cake

Birthday Frozen Yogurt Cake

Ingredients

1 tub of favorite ice cream or frozen yogurt
1 package of favorite cookie (try choosing a cookie that would taste good with the ice cream selection)
1 Tbsp butter, melted

Directions

Remove frozen yogurt from freezer.
Line a bread pan with plastic wrap; set aside.
In a food processor combine half of the package or Oreos with 1 1/2 tsp butter. Process until it reaches texture of coarse sand.
Pour crumbs onto bottom of prepared pan and use fingers to press them down into the pan forming the first layer.
Next, scoop all of the frozen yogurt onto the crumb layer; use fingers to pat it down.
In the food processor, add the rest of the Oreos and the remaining butter. Process again, but this time leave it a bit more chunky.
Top the ice cream layer with the last layer of crumbs. Garnish if you like. Place in freezer to set and VOILA you have homemade ice cream cake in about an hour!

**If I were to do it again, I would have probably added fun colored sprinkles to the top.

I topped everyone’s cake with some Cool Whip to really add that extra wow factor.

I am still passing on the extra sugars at this point, but everyone else gave this cake rave reviews! It is such a fun cake idea for anyone, because they get to choose exactly what goes into it! I made this other Oreo ice cream cake a while back—feel free to check it out!

After dinner we all just relaxed and chatted, and Abbie could hardly keep her eyes open. She was exhausted from all of the socializing!

Sunday

Happy St. Patty’s Day just one day late! We got real crazy…we slept in until 8:30 and read the paper, cut coupons, went grocery shopping, and get this, we even went to Petco for dog food. Talk about a CRAZY morning! 😉

Sunday mornings are my absolute favorite.

After restocking our fridge I threw myself together a spectacular salad with mixed greens, peas, avocado, chicken, sunflower seeds, olives, olive oil, and a piece of cheese and a Claussen pickle (my favorite pickle) on the side.

It’s green!

We had another family birthday party to celebrate in the afternoon so we got all prettied up and threw on our Get Lucky 7k sweatshirts—mine was from last year and his from this year. How embarrassing if we would have worn the SAME one. 😉

For dinner there were MORE veggies on the menu in the form of Veggie Hash or I like to call it Kitchen Sink Hash. We threw all of the veggies we had into a pan which included zucchini, green bell pepper, onion, broccoli, kale, and black beans. We gave these veggies a good sauté. Then we plated them up with some chopped tomato, avocado, cilantro, cheddar cheese, and topped it off with an over-easy egg.

Once again, this dinner never seizes to please me. It’s always good!

Since I am still watching my sugar intake until I am 100% healed from the UC, I made myself a little treat to help satisfy my slight sweet craving I had last night. I found a recipe off Pinterest for Easy Almond Cookies and were they ever! You can check out the recipe here. The only changes I made were I used honey instead of stevia, and vanilla extract instead of almond. If I HAD almond extract in the house I absolutely would have used that.

These cute little guys turned out well, and best of all they were so easy! Only 5 ingredients. They satisfied my sweet tooth which was what I was hoping for.

I suppose I should get this little lady ready for the day. I’m hoping the roads aren’t too terrible. Chances are they will be fine, it’s the drivers I usually worry about more.

Keep your head up and Happy Monday!

“So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life’s a beautiful thing and there’s so much to smile about.” ~ Marilyn Monroe

How was your weekend? Did you celebrate St. Pat’s Day?

Lots of Food Prep

Post author:Melanie
Post published:March 15, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Gluten-Free / Health / Home Life / Recipes / SCD / Snacks / Workouts
Post comments:2 Comments

Happy Friday!

I had a bit of a goofy tummy yesterday so my day of eats was very sporadic. I started the day off with a smoothie.

Strawberry Banana Cocoa Smoothie:

Strawberries
Banana
Kefir
Kale
Aloe Vera Juice
Cocoa powder

I really had to force that bad boy down; I just wasn’t feeling hungry. I drank about half of it and put the rest in the fridge.

I also sipped on a warm cup of Celestial Seasonings Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride tea. When I was in Colorado last weekend, I got to sample this stuff and really liked it so bought a box to bring home. I still need to tell you about my Colorado weekend!

Lunch was more of a snacky deal all day than an actual “lunch”. One of my snacks was ants on a log, aka celery with peanut butter and raisins…

This definitely brought me back to childhood. My mom would make us these for a snack or sometimes she would do banana with peanut butter and raisins. I really enjoy the crunch of the celery and the smooth peanut butter combined with the chewy raisins. So many textures and a nice sweet flavor!

Yesterday I received a book I ordered called “Nourishing Traditions” by Sally Fallon. It is a book my chiropractor recommended to me and one that he and his family use all of the time. I am just getting into the book but what I know so far is that this book brings us back to our roots, or really, our ancestors roots in regards to food intake. It is about eating whole foods, eating fermented foods to help with intestinal health, eliminating sugars as much as possible, etc.

I am pretty pumped about it and will keep you posted when I learn more. Right now I have a pot of bone broth simmering on the stove with 2 Tablespoons of vinegar (this helps leach calcium and minerals out of the bone and into the broth; it will simmer for 24 hours). Bone broth is something mentioned in the book quite a bit.

I also made my first batch of homemade fermented sauerkraut. It’s been a while since I have tried sauerkraut, but last time I did I wasn’t a fan at all. We will see how I feel about my own batch.

The directions said to combine one shredded medium head of cabbage, one tablespoon of caraway seeds, and two tablespoons of sea salt (it called for whey but said if you don’t have whey you can use an extra tablespoon of salt so that’s what I did) in a bowl.

Next, it said to take a meat tenderizer mallet and pound down the cabbage for ten minutes, to release the natural juices from the cabbage.

Arm workout, done. Next, you spoon the cabbage mixture into canning jars, smash it down with a utensil that fits in there (I just used a spoon) until water gathers at the top of the cabbage. You want to leave one inch of space between the top of the cabbage/water and the lid.

Cover the cabbage and let it sit in room temperature for three days, then place in the fridge and eat whenever! Like I said, we will see if I like it but it’s worth a shot at least!

I also made some homemade fauxtmeal raisin cookie bites made from dates, raisins, cinnamon, and almonds. These were also part of my snacky lunch.

In the later afternoon I took Moose for a walk outside and it was unbelievably gorgeous! In Minnesota at this time of year that means it was 40 degrees, but it sure felt warm! Moose was having a hay day with all of the smells everywhere in the snow.

For dinner, we made my favorite grilled salmon recipe with grilled parmesan garlic broccoli.

And an evening snack of FAGE Greek yogurt with honey and strawberries.

We spent the rest of the evening catching up on DVR’ed Whitney and Modern Family episodes that we missed while we were away.

It was a good day full of lots of food prep!

I hope you all had a great Thursday and have an even better Friday!

Grilled Chicken with Artichoke Salsa & Valentine Surprises

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 14, 2013
Post category:Blog / Dinners / Gluten-Free / Home Life / Recipes / Sweet Treats
Post comments:7 Comments

Happy Friday! Do your happy dance!

So, I have pretty much weaned myself off coffee in the mornings and instead have been enjoying a cup of kombucha tea (which does also have a tiny bit of caffeine) but I was really wanting a cup of coffee this morning, so guess what? That’s what I had.

I’m going to cut right to the chase from yesterday. I don’t have much to share up until the afternoon. As you know, I am one of the lovey dovey people who celebrates Valentine’s Day. I do agree that “everyday should be Valentine’s Day,” and that we should share our love all of the time, and not just on one specific day, but I also like the idea of a super special day of love.

We don’t go super crazy celebrating but we usually cook up a nice dinner and have some sort of decadent dessert. Gifts are usually optional or something small.

Valentine’s Dinner

I haven’t the slightest idea where I found this recipe, but it was tucked away in my recipe book and I was aching to try it. My guess is I had thought about making it last year for Vday?

Grilled Chicken with Artichoke Salsa.

We grilled two boneless skinless chicken breasts seasoned with lemon, salt, and pepper along with a bunch of asparagus stalks. Grilled asparagus is hands-down my favorite way to eat that veggie. It takes on a nice smoky flavor and is OH so good.

While the chicken was grilling I got to work on the artichoke salsa (recipe below). This dish was extremely simple to prepare and turned out so amazingly well.

And kind of fancy looking too. At least fancier than what we’re used to on a Thursday night.

Artichoke Salsa

Ingredients

1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped (I used jarred in olive oil)
1 Tbsp capers
2 Tbsp red onion, diced
2 tsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
dash of dried oregano
dash of dried thyme
dash of italian seasoning
salt and pepper

Instructions

Combine all ingredients and serve on top of grilled boneless chicken breast and asparagus. NUM!

Dessert

I had some homemade gluten-free brownies leftover from Tuesday’s work meeting, so I warmed those up for dessert. They were almost paleo, but not quite, so it was a bit of a “treat.”

I was originally planning on making a paleo molten chocolate lava cake, but after dinner I was first of all stuffed, and second of all just simply tired. These brownies were the perfect substitute though. Plus now they are out of the house!

The evening was full of surprises. When I first got home from work, I had a few cards waiting for me. Yes, actually legit cards that came in the mail. It always excites me to get actual “mail!” I was feeling very loved. Mooser even gave me a card. 😉

I sent Dana on a mini scavenger hunt for a few gifts that I had got for him. I love going on those scavenger hunts, so I thought I’d let him have some fun. I think he enjoyed it!

Dana surprised me with my very first Lululemon workout top. Actually my very first anything from Lululemon. That store is so outrageously expensive but holding that shirt I could feel the difference! So soft. I can’t wait to wear it!

As if that wasn’t enough, Dana tells me that he has another surprise for me. He said that he changed a few things on my blog. To premise that, there is a huge list of details I want to change about the blog, but I haven’t figured out how to configure the changes yet, so this surprise actually sounded like something he would have done. I was still a little skeptical.

I sit down at my computer to look at the changes, and he tells me to use the pullout keyboard (which is just a little pull out sliding shelf attached to my desk which is meant for a keyboard for a desk top). I have no idea what he’s talking about but play along and pull out the shelf and guess what was sitting there…

An Apple MacBook Air.

I couldn’t believe what was in front of my eyes. My computer has been on the fritz for a while now, and we talked about how my next computer will be a Mac, but I was thinking we would practically wait for my computer to start on fire before we replaced it. But no, no, I am now an official owner of a Mac.

Needless to say I feel more than a little spoiled. I spent the rest of the evening with my honey trying to figure out the ins and outs with my new toy and watching Modern Family from Wednesday (LOVE that show).

It will definitely take some getting used to but I already feel less stress while working on the blog. Uploading photos is faster because pictures taken from my iPhone are automatically synced onto my computer, there is no lag time due to overheating, it’s wonderful.

Dana outdid himself. Although he said the computer “isn’t a Valentine’s gift, because it was something you needed.” Either way, he spoiled me rotten.

I had a wonderful day as you can see. I hope you did too!

February Fitness Challenge

Today we enter into our third week of the February Fitness Challenge. I am happy to say I once again met my goal of three strength training activities for the week. Check out my workout log page if you are interested in what I did!

Question: Did you make any February fitness goals? If so, what are they, and how are they going?

I am very thankful it’s Friday. I have a fairly low-key weekend planned and I’m hoping to get a good run in, do some vacation shopping, and RELAX.

Happy FRIDAY! Catch up with you later gators.

Cabbage Roll Casserole–Give it a Chance!

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 9, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Fav Products / Home Life / Moose / Recipes / Sweet Treats / Workouts
Post comments:4 Comments

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?

Blueberry Lemon Bread & February Fitness Challenge Week 1 Recap

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 8, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Health / Recipes / Snacks / Sweet Treats / Workouts
Post comments:5 Comments

I’m finally nearing the end of this cold! By tomorrow I should be 100% back to normal.

After work yesterday I snuggled into my sweats and relaxed on the couch. I managed to eat my way through a good portion of this bag of trail mix while I vegged.

Eventually I got tired of sitting around and put on a very slow and easy breath and stretch pilates On Demand. It felt great to stretch and move a little bit because I’ve been pretty inactive the past couple of days. I also managed to get my 1 minute plank-a-day in.

Speaking of plank-a-day, today ends week 1 of my February Fitness Challenge. My goal was to complete 3 strength train type workouts throughout the weeks during February as well as at least a 1 minute plank every day. Considering I was sick this past week, I am proud to say I still met my week 1 goal.

Strength Training Activities:

Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred plus plank
This leg workout with dumbbells plus plank
A 30 Day Abs workout (from last month’s fitness challenge)

I’m hoping to make it to the gym this week and work it out there a bit. I haven’t been making too many appearances there lately.

Also, I NEED to start running again because I am officially registered for a 7K on St. Patty’s Day which is on March 17th. I am hoping the weather starts improving so I can make it outside, otherwise the treadmill will have to do. It’s time to get these legs-a-movin’!

************

Blueberry Lemon Bread (Gluten-Free and SCD Friendly!)

This may sound strange to some, but when I am feeling slightly under the weather, I enjoy relaxing in the kitchen, and baking up something tasty and comforting. So, that is exactly what I did last night.

How does blueberry lemon bread sound? It’s made with almond flour too so it is 100% gluten-free! Check it out.

Blueberry Lemon Bread

Recipe Type: Gluten-Free, SCD

Cuisine: Breakfast

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup applesauce
the juice of one lemon
the zest of one lemon
1/3 cup ripe banana
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup blueberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a standard bread pan with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt.
In a large bowl, beat together applesauce, lemon juice, zest, banana, honey, eggs, and vanilla until well mixed.
Add flour mixture into applesauce mixture, stir to combine.
Stir in blueberries until just incorporated (do not overmix).
Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out clean.

The end result is a not-too-sweet blueberry bread with a subtle lemon flavor. Eat it plain, or toast it up and add a small smear of butter, peanut butter, or honey.

Cooking and baking can be such a comfort!

Happy fabulous Friday to you all!

Do you find comfort in cooking and baking?

You Can’t Always Win

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 6, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / Health / Moose / Recipes / Workouts
Post comments:6 Comments

Yesterday I mentioned I was fighting off some sort of cold bug and I had big plans of squashing it before it made its way any further into my body, but I’m afraid it has won.

I did everything in my power to ward it off. I took all of my vitamins as I always do, I wash my hands, I got plenty of sleep, I made myself a fruit and veggie packed smoothie for breakfast…

Strawberries, blueberrries, kale, kefir, egg white protein powder

I sipped on warm water with lemon and honey, tea, and water all day, crammed fruits and veggies like it was my job, and even attempted to get a workout in to get the blood circulating and move this thing out…

February Fitness Challenge: I completed this ab workout along with 45 minute run/walk on the treadmill. My strength focus was on the core yesterday.

I was lovingly greeted/interrupted while doing the ab workout by this needy face…

Maybe he was trying to tell me about the spider crawling on the floor that I noticed shortly after he left while holding my plank-a-day? If so, that was sweet of him.

In the evening, my mom, dad and brother Kevin came over to join Dana and me for tacos. Abbie and Moose have yet to become buddies, so Abbie made her way over to her little roost where she overlooked the situation.

I used the chicken I had used for my bone broth for the chicken tacos. I diced the chicken meat, added it into my pan on the stove top, added bone broth, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and salt and pepper. I let it all simmer together until the liquid evaporated.

I also made refried beans with black beans which I cooked on the stove, again with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper (no paprika), salsa, cilantro, and some diced tomato. I added a touch of bone broth as well to get it moving along and let it simmer for a short while.

I got all of the fixings together and then dinner was ready. Tacos are so easy to make and always so darn good. I ate my tacos in lettuce cups but we also had corn tortillas for everyone.

After dinner, we all hung out and I played beauty shoppe with mom. I’ve never been too good with hair but I like to try being creative every once and a while, and mom is the perfect client. Her hair is the perfect texture that holds well to styling, and I’m pretty sure she is okay with the free head massage. Who doesn’t like getting their hair fanangled? I know I do.

I also thought a little TLC from the family may help fight this thing off, but unfortunately this morning I woke up feeling worse than yesterday. The darn cold definitely got me much to my dismay. You can’t always win as hard as you may try. 🙂

Let’s just hope I feel better as the day progresses. Even though it got me, I won’t let it stick around for long. Okay, enough of my belly aching. I hope you all are feeling well, staying active, eating healthy nourishing foods, and getting plenty of sleep. Take care!

Pumpkin Waffles and Super Bowl Snacks

Post author:Melanie
Post published:February 4, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Friends / Recipes / Snacks / Sweet Treats / Workouts
Post comments:3 Comments

Hello, hello! How did everyone’s Sunday pan out? Mine was pretty darn fantastic.

It started out with Sunday morning waffles and coupon cutting. On Saturday night I pre-made pumpkin waffle batter so that on Sunday all I would have to do is crank on the waffle iron and get pourin’. I adapted a pumpkin waffle recipe from PaleOMG and they turned out very tasty!

The first couple of waffles didn’t come out very easily but I think it was because I was being slightly impatient waiting for them to finish cooking and opened up the iron too early. The last few turned came out way better!

I made a big batch because I wanted extra waffles to freeze so that I could have some quick breakfasts in the future. I could even slather one of those bad boys with peanut butter and call it lunch!

Pumpkin Waffles

Recipe Type: Gluten-Free Breakfast

Recipe adapted from PaleOMG at http://paleomg.com/paleo-pumpkin-waffles/

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup honey
3 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Preheat waffle iron–(you could use a flat griddle instead and make pancakes).
In a small bowl combine dry ingredients, mix well, and set aside.
In a medium bowl combine remaining wet ingredients. Use a hand-mixer or a whisk to beat ingredients together.
Slowly mix in dry ingredients into the wet.
Spray your waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray or butter and use a half cup measuring cup to scoop the batter onto the hot iron. Close and let cook for about 4-5 minutes (keep an eye on them).
Serve with honey, peanut butter, syrup, or whatever you please! It would be really good to mix a small handful of chocolate chips into the batter too!

Speaking of lunch, after running our grocery store errands, I put together a snack plate with veggies and turkey wrapped cheese, avocado, and mustard.

For dessert I had a spoonful of peanut butter.

I got into my workout gear and cranked out this leg workout with dumbbells, my plank-a-day, and other core work. I continued my workout by dusting and vacuuming (<—-such a weird word if you think about if for too long) the house. That absolutely counts as exercise in my book!

In the afternoon I snacked on a super sweet tangelo that mom and dad brought home from Florida, and a handful of cashews.

Then it was time to get ready for a Super Bowl party with a bunch of our friends. I seriously couldn’t decide what to bring for a snack to share (I am the world’s worst decision maker, ask anyone), but decided on simple yet tasty garlic parmesan popcorn.

To make the popcorn:

Pop up a big batch of plain popcorn and place in a big brown grocery bag.
Melt a half a stick of butter on the stove with two garlic cloves that have been peeled and cracked open.
Scoop out the garlic and discard.
Pour butter over popcorn and mix well.
Use a mini grater to grate fresh parmesan all over the popcorn while it’s still hot. Give the bag a good shake. Serve warm if possible!

The night was filled with great friends, kiddos, football, and of course tons of snacks.

There was jalapeño popper dip…

Saucy BBQ meatballs…

Bacon wrapped lil’ smokies with a brown sugar glaze(!!)…

Warm and hearty taco chili, beer bread…

Fruit salsa with cinnamon chips, soft pretzels with cheese sauce, chips and dip…

And of course, the desserts.

I had good intentions of not touching any sweets but that intention was lost in the breeze as soon as my eyes caught the Special K bars. Those babies are definitely up there on the list of my favorite dessert bars. I kept shaving off piece after piece and wound up eating what would probably be equivalent to one of those big bars you buy in the bakery, but who’s keeping track?

As far as the clean eating goes, yesterday was what we call “a wash.” I am definitely okay with that though because it was GOOD, and it was just one day. Today’s a new day. 🙂 I had such a great time last night. Although I can’t say I watched a whole lot of the game, I thoroughly enjoyed the halftime show and catching up with friends. Beyonce’s still got it!

I have some very fun and relaxing plans on the agenda today. I can’t wait to tell you about it! Have a great day! xoxo

Question of the day: Did you watch the Super Bowl? What was your favorite snack?!

Overnight Chia Berry Kefir Bowl

Post author:Melanie
Post published:January 31, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Health / Home Life / Recipes / Snacks / Workouts
Post comments:4 Comments

It’s Thursday! Happy day to you. 🙂

Yesterday I rolled out of bed (I literally do roll out of bed btw) at 5:30 and hit the treadmill for a very leisure 45 minute walk while reading a book and drinking a cup of coffee. Doesn’t that sound nice? It really was. It would be even nicer it I were outside on the beach with the warm sun on my back…ahh less than one month.

Wednesday was day two of my personal “get creative with breakfast” movement. The evening before last, I combined kefir, frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, chia seeds, chocolate egg white protein powder, and a touch of honey. I gave it a good stir, covered it, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. In the morning I had a refreshingly sweet yet slightly tart chia berry kefir bowl!

For those of you new to kefir, join the club. This is my first week of experimenting with it. Kefir is a fermented milk product. It has the consistency of really thin yogurt and has a tangy flavor. It is a probiotic which has been show to help improve intestinal health by creating a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut and can improve digestion. I bought the plain version to try out but they have flavored versions at the stores now too.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am all about natural ways to stay and get healthy, and after talking about the possibility of adding fermented foods to my diet with my chiropractor, I decided to give it a go. Here’s a link to more info if you are interested: kefir info.

It is 99% lactose free and gluten-free, a good source of vitamin D and calcium, has 12 grams of protein per cup, and only natural sugars. Sold.

Lunch was a hodge-podge of all things—chicken with marinara and cheese, sugar snap peas, carrots, and an apple. I had an afternoon snack of a banana and a clementine.

For dinner I was not in a cooking mood at all but was getting pretty hungry. We were running low on veggies so that was making my dinner decision even more challenging. Then I spotted the sweet potato on the counter that I had bought last weekend and the decision was made. I wanted to experiment with it to see how my body reacted to a more “starchy” vegetable and I really do like sweet potatoes.

I made it the cheater way in the microwave. After scrubbing it down, I poked a bunch of holes into it, placed it on a microwave safe plate and cooked it for 3 minutes on one side, and then 3 minutes on the other. This was a monster of a sweet potato, so I cut it in half and saved one half for another day.

I added cinnamon, honey, peanut butter and raisins, and dug right in.

It was a nice change of pace and I really enjoyed my sweet dinner. I didn’t notice any negative symptoms from it either, but I do want to experiment with it one more time before introducing it more often. Potatoes are a no-no on the SCD but they they may be okay on my Melanie’s moderated diet (MMD), and I want to find out for myself. 🙂

I broiled the second half of the sweet potato in wedges to crisp them up, and refrigerated them for another day. I also finished cooking the bone broth–it needs to simmer for 24 hours to leach the maximum amount of calcium from the bones into the broth.

For a snack later in the evening I ate a few dates and had a couple small handfuls of cashews.

Dana and I sealed the grout lines in the tile in the laundry room last night. Once it was dry we moved the washer and dryer back into place. We haven’t been able to do laundry since last week and I haven’t miss it at all.

It is so exciting seeing the room come together. Next we will be finishing painting the shelves, assembling them, and moving storage bins in! We’re coming along! Don’t forget, once it’s ALL finished I will be sharing photos.

Have a happy day friends! xoxo!

Question of the day: What are your thoughts/experiences on kefir and other fermented foods?

Banana Almond Bread (Gluten-Free)

Post author:Melanie
Post published:January 30, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Lunch / Recipes / Workouts
Post comments:6 Comments

Howdy howdy howdy haaa…HAPPY WEDNESDAY! We are halfway through the standard work week! I hope everyone is having a good week so far.

In an effort to amp up my breakfast creativity, I have called on a little challenge with myself to limit my usual banana with peanut butter breakfast to every other day or less often. I love my pb and banana so much but am eating it so frequently in the morning that even I am getting bored of it. I am always up for a good challenge—so there you have it.

I switched it up yesterday and made myself a smoothie.

This is a kefir (first time trying kefir btw), egg white protein powder, strawberry, banana, and kale smoothie. The verdict on kefir? It made for a slightly tart yet sweet smoothie and I really liked it. I’m on the kefir train.

I ate my smoothie in a bowl with a spoon like soup. It makes the moment last longer than drinking it through a straw, and since I truly enjoy the eating experience, it’s a good way to prolong the enjoyment. If I’m in a hurry or running out the door though, it goes straight into a cup with a straw.

Who says you can’t have a cold smoothie in the dead of winter?

For lunch I ate a bunch of sugar snap peas and carrots, followed by leftover chicken salad from the night before with peas…

An apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter…

And I finished lunch with a small handful of cashews and a bite of applesauce. Very random and very satisfying.

After work I headed to the gym and snacked on two clementines. I am lovin’ those little cuties these days. I wasn’t feel super great at the gym which made for a quick trip. I fought my way through 20 minutes on the elliptical and then called it quits. Besides not feeling good, the gym was PACKED, and I just wasn’t feeling the ambiance at all.

At home I completed the rest of my workout which was the 30 Day Abs Challenge circuit.

Next up…dinner. I made a veggie scramble made of red onion, black beans, kale, one egg, cheese, cilantro, salsa, and avocado. It rocked my socks.

For “dessert” I had two dates and a small handful of raisins.

************

Banana Almond Bread–back tracking

Back on Friday, I threw together a mean gluten-free, SCD-friendly banana almond bread. I’ve been meaning to share it with you since I first mentioned it, but kept having other things I needed to share! Well now’s the time.

I realize now that I didn’t do a very good job of snapping a photo of the finished banana bread product. All I really have to show for it is this…

It didn’t get the photo recognition that it deserves because it did turn out great! Here is that recipe for you finally.

Banana Almond Bread

Gluten-free; SCD

Ingredients

2 cups almond flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP coconut oil, melted
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup apple sauce
2 cups ripe bananas (about 3 small bananas)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spritz a standard bread loaf pan with oil. Set aside.
In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir to combine.
In a medium bowl combine remaining ingredients and beat until thoroughly combined.
Slowly add in dry ingredients into wet, and mix until completely combined.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center of bread comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool before slicing. It will continue to set after it is removed from oven.

I enjoyed the bread plain, or with a little smear of peanut butter, almond butter, or with a little bit of butter. It’s best to store it in the refrigerator and lasts for about one week.

I hope you have time to get fun in the kitchen! Have a HAPPY day.

Question of the day: What is your favorite homemade bread?

Salmon on Sunday

Post author:Melanie
Post published:January 28, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Home Life / Recipes / Workouts
Post comments:4 Comments

Happy snowy day here from Minnesota! It is gorgeous outside. Finally, we have snow on the ground again and it feels so right. I just hope the roads are okay because I have a bunch of running around to do today.

So how was everyone’s weekend? Mine was spent working on the laundry room which is really coming along. The walls are painted, and the tile is down. Next will be to seal the cracks of the tile, finish painting a few shelves, and then begin to organize all of our storage bins in there! I’m still really excited about it if you can’t tell!

We are now on to the final week of the 30 Day Abs Challenge which means there is a new workout posted. Here is the final workout circuits. Circuit 5 is a doozy I tell ya. Yikes! I still can’t believe we are coming down to the end of January.

Once we were all finished with the laundry room yesterday, I cleaned myself up and got into cozies. I was sitting in the living room enjoying watching the snowfall, I decided there was one thing missing to really complete the cozy atmosphere…a fire in the fireplace.

Soon enough, Dana had the fire a-blazin’ and I was one happy girl.

Poor Moose really doesn’t appreciate fires like I do. This was way too close for comfort for him.

In the late afternoon I started marinading salmon with a honey, lime, ginger, and garlic powder mixture. It was salmon night again.

Remember how I mentioned that I don’t love salmon but I really wish I did because it is so gosh darn good for you? I made a deal with myself that I was going to eat it once a week in hopes that I will teach myself to like it. I’m getting closer, but still not quite there.

We cooked the salmon on a grill pan on the stove to get the feeling of grilling outside. 🙂 I took the advice from Shannon and lit two vanilla candles while cooking the salmon to try to eliminate some of the odor from the fish. We also opened up two windows and go the fan going above this stove. I think it all really worked! There was only a very faint smell lingering.

I topped the salmon with a pineapple salsa simply made from chopped pineapple, cilantro, red onion, a small pinch of salt, and garlic powder.

I still enjoyed the dinner greatly, just not as much as I typically do. I will get there! I will continue the once a week salmon challenge. 🙂

Alrighty, I am out. Have a wonderful day my friends. Catch up with you soon.

Question of the day: Is there a food that you don’t like that you wish you did?!

Newer Posts

Older Posts