Pure Happiness

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Melanie

Happy happy hump day!

Since I decided to post about my new adorable Ellie workout gear yesterday, I failed to update you on my nummy day of eats from Monday. Since I had a major lack of food photos yesterday (zip-zero), I am going to catch you up to speed from Monday.

Breakfast

Breakfast was a piece of toasted almond bread with organic natural peanut butter and raw honey, served with a cup of coffee with my new favorite cream!

This picture makes me so happy. Photographed is one of my favorite foods: peanut butter, my favorite morning drink that comforts my soul: coffee, and gorgeous yellow roses that my mom gave to me: love and friendship. Pure happiness.

Lunch

A bed of mixed spring greens topped with deviled eggs, red bell pepper, celery, olives, peas, avocado, sunflower seeds and Annie’s Green Goddess dressing. Way good!

I ate it outside in the sunshine which probably made it taste even better!

Dessert

Driscoll’s beautiful organic raspberries. Nature’s candy.

There was definitely more snacking that happened in the afternoon. There are no pictures of it but I am guessing I had some mixed nuts, some carrots, and maybe an apple.

Dinner

For dinner I roasted up brussels sprouts and broccoli with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. To go on top of the veggies I made a marinara sauce using Ragu No-Sugar-Added spaghetti sauce, with one Italian turkey sausage, and sautéed onions, mushrooms, and garlic. I sprinkled in some dried basil and oregano too!

To plate it up I started with a layer of veggies, next I grated some fresh parmesan cheese, and then finished it with a huge serving of the sauce which in my opinion is the best part!

I wasn’t loving the brussels sprouts that night. I had bought them fresh and then froze them, and feel they take on a bit of a different flavor once I use them out of the freezer. Anyone else experience this? Anyway, I still enjoyed the dish and ate all but three bites.

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

Alright, it’s time for me to go pack up my lunch and think about what I want for breakfast! I am so food-minded; always prepared for moments when I may need to eat. The hardest part is not knowing what I will be in the mood for come lunch time. I usually pack myself a couple of options so that I can pick and chose what sounds good.

I am super excited that thunderstorms are possibly going to happen this afternoon. I LOVE a good thunderstorm, as long as no one gets hurt and no damage is done of course. They remind me of being young and hanging out with my family in our safe home. As the thunderstorm approached we would watch the news and make sure we didn’t have to go to the basement. Then, as it whooshed over us I would watch safely out the window as the lightning struck and the thunder rolled (Garth Brooks anyone?) and it would make me so thrilled! I still feel that way when a thunderstorm rolls around! My mom also loves watching storms; she must have passed that gene down to me.

Watch, we won’t even get one now that I got all hyped up about it.

Do you enjoy thunderstorms?

Have a great day my friends!

Quinoa Tabouli Recipe & Switching to Raw Honey

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Melanie

Oh happy day! Who’s doing their Friday happy dance? I am.

Yesterday was a day of great eats. Although I didn’t get too creative with breakfast and went with my fav; banana with peanut butter, cinnamon, and a touch of honey, I did change it up just a bit. I am now using raw honey instead of the good old honey bear and this stuff rocks my socks for multiple reasons.

Why I switched to raw organic honey

It tastes incredible.
I bought it locally and could tell you exactly what farm in MN it came from.
It has health benefits such as: wound healing, boosts immunity, traditionally has been used to heal ulcers, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal issues.
Rich in B vitamins and vitamin C and contains healthy minerals too!
In the processing of your everyday honey bear squeeze bottle honey, beneficial enzymes, nutrients, and antioxidants are often destroyed. Instead of reaping the wonderful health benefits of honey, you are really stripping away the goodies.
I love it.

some information was gathered from this source

The only downside is it is definitely a little more expensive than the traditional honey bear, but you can see why right? It’s worth it! Another FYI, buy organic if you can.

A friendly reminder: children under the age of one should not consume any type of honey as it has the potential of causing botulism.

Lunch

Anyway, moving on. After my Insanity workout, I was craving nutrients in a huge way. Usually I hedge toward smoothies post workout, but today I went the salad route. I must say this turned out to be one pretty darn beautiful salad.

What’s in it: mixed spring lettuce, grated carrot, grated pepper cheese, peas, red bell pepper, sunflower seeds, Applegate roasted turkey from the deli, and homemade mustard dressing.

Dressing: deli mustard, red wine vinegar, dash of garlic powder and black pepper, and a touch of water.

Yum-o.

Mediterranean Feast

For dinner, we had my mom and dad and brother Kevin over for a Mediterranean themed dinner.

On the menu: chicken and veggie kabobs, hummus, veggies, fresh fruit, and quinoa tabouli!

Quinoa Tabouli!!

Oh my goodness I love this food so much. I especially love making it at home because I can control EVERYTHING that goes into it–including the salt content.

This was my first ever attempt at making tabouli. Traditional tabouli uses bulgar wheat, but I wanted to make mine with protein-rich quinoa, and am THRILLED with the result. If you are a tabouli fan, this is a recipe you are absolutely going to want to try! It’s truly so easy too!

Quinoa Tabouli

Ingredients

juice from ¾ of a large lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
½ tsp. dried oregano
3 garlic cloves
2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled
2 cups parsley, chopped
¼ cup mint, chopped
½ cup cucumber, diced
½ cup onion, diced
1 Roma tomato, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, and use a fine cheese grater to grate garlic cloves into juice mixture.
Add remaining ingredients into bowl, stir to combine.
Cover and refrigerate overnight if possible to let flavors blend together.
Serve cold on a bed of lettuce (optional). Great with chicken kabobs and hummus.

Happy Friday to all of you beautiful people. Catch up with you later!

What are your favorite ways to enjoy honey?

My favorite ways are of course drizzled over pb toast or pb and banana with a touch of cinnamon, or in a mug of hot water with fresh ginger.

Honey P. Nutty Bars

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Melanie

It’s a rainy day, it’s a rainy day, raining outside so we can’t go out and play, so what are we gonna do, anyway? What is that from? My mom always used to sing that with us when we were young. My guess would be Barney or Sesame Street but I really don’t know.

Anyway, it is very rainy and very gloomy over here today. The kind of day that makes you want to snuggle on the couch with a movie and a bowl of popcorn and just stay there for a while. Who knows, that may be on the agenda for the evening, we will see.

Breakfast

I can’t believe I’m saying this but I did not have one single bite of peanut butter yesterday. That is unheard of for me! I started the morning off with a bowl of Fage Greek yogurt with blackberries, blueberries, a touch of honey and chia seeds.

Gym

I hit up the gym shortly after for a chest, shoulder, and tricep weights day. Dana was my “personal trainer” and definitely pushed me harder than I would have if I were there by myself. This is a GOOD thing. I am hoping to be able to make it to the gym more often with him so we can train together. I need the extra help especially if I’m going to reach my April Fitness Challenge!

(old photo)

Lunch

While I threw my lunch together, I snacked on some walnuts. Lunch was a humungo salad with mixed spring greens, celery, red bell pepper, mushrooms, black beans, peas, and red wine vinegar mixed with olive oil and herbs. I added some cheese and hummus after I snapped the photo.

For dessert: an apple.

Afternoon snacks included a Honey P. Nutty bar!

I received this package of bars from Honey P. Nutty after checking out their website and drooling over their products. They make delicious honey and peanut butter bars that come in a variety of flavors: Chunky PB, Red Chili PB, Cranberry PB, Salty PB, Espresso PB, and Chocolate PB. Their products are also gluten and dairy free with the exception of the chocolate PB which may have some dairy.

Of course the first one I reached for when I received the package was the Chocolate PB, aka my favorite combination EVER!

I love that the ingredients are so simple: Whole and ground roasted peanuts, honey, organic cornmeal, vanilla extract, and sea salt. Depending on the flavor there are add-ins for example the chocolate PB has chocolate added, the cranberry PB has cranberries, etc. You get it.

The bars are chewy and sweet. Personally, I would consider them more of a dessert treat but they could also be used as an energy bar before a workout, after a workout, or for an afternoon pick-me-up.

They remind me of peanut butter cookies. They have a wonderful roasted peanut flavor and in combination with the honey, they are perfectly sweet.

Yea, I REALLY enjoy them. To check out their products you can go to their website at honeypnutty.com. They are a new company and have so much potential for growth with this tasty product! I LOVE IT!

Dinner

Last night we grilled up some salmon and green beans. I actually deviated from my favorite salmon recipe if you can believe that!

I marinated two salmon filets in this marinade:

1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp coconut aminos (you can use soy sauce instead if you prefer)
1/4 tsp dried ginger
1 garlic clove, grated finely
1 tsp honey

I let them marinade for about 30 minutes before the grilling them up! The green beans were seasoned simply with olive oil, salt and pepper and then grilled.

I still prefer the other recipe for salmon with the sesame oil, butter, capers, and almonds, but this one was really good too! I was proud that I switched it up.

Alrighty, I’m going to go milk this cold I’ve got and get on with my day. Have a good one!

Go Green Tropical Smoothie

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Melanie

HAAAPPPY GOOD FRIDAY! This week really flew by for me and I’m not complaining about it one bit.

We are going to have one VERY relaxing Easter weekend! We already celebrated Easter with Dana’s family last weekend, so this weekend we will be celebrating with my family on Sunday. Tonight we have zero plans, and tomorrow we are going to do some spring cleaning! Yes, I’m excited about it. I’m hoping it’ll be nice enough that we can open the windows and let the “winter air” out of the house.

I’ve been loving my new NutriBullet. I whipped up another smoothie and have been having fun mixing in different veggies and finding combinations that keep my taste buds intrigued Yesterday’s was a tropical-ish smoothie.

Go Green Tropical Smoothie

1 cup pineapple
1 small-medium ripe banana
2 small celery sticks
1 big handful of kale
almond milk**—as much or as little as you would like to reach desired consistency
aloe vera juice (optional)

**Coconut milk would be a GREAT substitute.

A little lunch action…mixed greens with tomato, guacamole, and an over-easy egg alongside a leftover almond biscuit and a juicy apple. Perfectly satisfying.

In the afternoon I snacked on some walnuts and raisins to give me a quick energy boost.

Afternoon Workout

I pulled up YouTube on our Apple TV and flipped through some workouts and found the ToneItUp girls arm workout. I completed their arm workout and then went right into Insanity’s cardio abs routine. After that I headed down to the treadmill and cranked out a half hour walk. I felt a little guilty that I didn’t take the pup out for a walk outside, but it is SO muddy and I just didn’t feel like dealing with that yesterday. Sorry Mooser. Maybe next time.

Dinner

I roasted a large handful of Brussels Sprouts in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. While those roasted, I cooked a couple of mini turkey patties on the stove, along with sauteed onions and mushrooms. Once everything was done cooking, I plated up the sprouts, then the turkey patties, onions, and mushrooms, and I finished the dish off with some shredded cheddar and monterey jack cheese.

I ate a couple spoonfuls of cooked quinoa while I waited for this to come together.

Talk about taking a trip to flavor town! The only seasonings I used in this whole dish were salt, pepper, and olive oil, but the foods all took on their natural flavors and it tasted absolutely delicious.

I spent the evening ~~sobbing over~~ watching Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I read these books a long long time ago, and watched the movies, but it has been so long. Oh how I love a good chick flick! For an evening snack I had a handful of dates with pb; definitely my biggest weakness lately.

Okey dokey, I’m off for the day! I hope you all have a fantastic Good Friday!

Do you celebrate Easter? Do you have any fun plans this weekend?

A Hungry Morning

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Melanie

We are half way through the work week! How about that?! I hope everyone is having a great week.

Yesterday was one of those days where my body just couldn’t get enough to eat. I think I did a pretty good job of listening to what my body was asking for and feeding it lots of healthy foods. The morning was a feeding fiasco.

It started off with a bowl of gluten-free Erewhon Buckwheat and Hemp cereal with homemade almond milk, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and banana. I had to remind myself to slow down as I ate this but it was SO good I couldn’t help myself!

I really want to try other Erewhon cereals. They have strawberry crisp, raisin bran, crispy brown rice, and more. They all sound fantastic! I haven’t had cereal in forever.

For my workout yesterday I turned on Apple TV and found a ZUMBA workout led by a young male Zumba instructor who was a really good dancer. It was fun but not as fun as actually being in a class with other people dancing with me. After Zumba I completed a 15-minute intense ab workout.

Many snacks proceeded the workouts. I ate walnuts, dates and peanut butter, a banana, celery, and an energy bite. I’m probably missing something else in there.

After all of the snacking, it was only about 11:00 am but I figured since I was still hungry I may as well make lunch.

I sautéed onion, green bell pepper, and mushrooms. I then added a splash of bone broth, leftover chicken and black beans. I topped off this concoction with avocado and salsa. NUM!

After “lunch” my belly was finally feeling satisfied. The hunger staved off for a while after that!

Later in the afternoon I took the pooch for a 3-mile walk around the neighborhood. It is extremely messy around here these days. The snow is definitely melting and we are left with very muddy grass, wet sidewalks, and a dirty dog, but I’ll take it because that means spring is really here!

More snacks happened in the afternoon.

Dinner was light because I had done the majority of my eating throughout the day and wasn’t super hungry, but still wanted some nutrition. I threw together a lazy salad with mixed greens, red bell pepper, peas, olives, pickles, avocado, sunflower seeds and a dressing made with Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar. It was simple but tasty.

I am pretty much convinced that I could put avocado on anything and it would taste good. The avocado really stole the show last night.