Holding Out for Blueberry Muffin February 4, 2011

 

Hey y’all! Happy Friday! How’s your day been? I’m a sleepy girl tonight 😉

Breakfast this morning was back to oats…and a red mug of tea for Wear Red day 😉

Today’s mix was the usual banana chia seed mix topped with 1 tbsp Naturally More (I actually measured it today, and I was surprised to find out that a tbsp is more than I thought…YAY!), some Trader Joe’s Cranberry Apple Butter, 1 chopped date, 1/2 smashed banana, and blackberries.

I did some cleaning, practiced for Zumba, then off to meet my sister for lunch at Chipotle. Normally we roll at Qdoba but because of parking in Chapel Hill, we tried Chipotle today, and I was impressed!

All this for $5.95…lettuce, black beans, a little chicken (still undecided here), fajita veggies, 3 kinds of fresh salsa (pico de gallo, medium, and sweet corn), a little guac. All their veggies are organic and chicken in antibiotic-free. The freshness of the ingredients was evident. It was a small bowl but packed a lot of punch!

And Yo Po for dessert…my 2 favorite flavas: Tahitian Vanilla and Peanut Butter (imagine that). This was one of the best yogurt mixes I’ve had there, but my little cake cone was stale, so Amber ate that for me 😉

Why did we get fro yo…It’s so chilly here?! Fro Yo is good in any weather! I actually think I like if better when it’s cold outside…weird, I know! I went to Starbucks to study and got a Vanilla Roobios to keep me company.

Then it was off to a beautiful 90-minute Hot Kunga Vinyasa Detox at One Heart Yoga (the actual class was candlelight only)…

Mira kicked our booties with some challenging arm balances and flows. WOW! I was exhausted by my last chaturanga!

As a hungry girl in the kitchen when I got home, I just wanted everything “clean and raw” that I could find…

a Pretty-in-Pink smoothie (1/2 cup keifer, ice, 5 strawberries, 1/2 frozen nanner); bowl of edamame, celery, 7 baby carrots, green beans, 5 grape tomatoes, original tahini hummus; and dessert…

…organic pink lady, grapes, 1 square of 100% unsweetened chocolate…topped with sexy spice 😉

Still a little hungry, but it’s 10:00 p.m., so I’m waiting til breakfast 😉

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So, here’s a response from Trader Joe’s regarding peanut flour…

“We have discontinued the Peanut Flour in our stores due to slow sales. Because our stores have such limited space, if an item does not meet a minimum sales volume, we will discontinue it in order to bring in something we think will sell better. I will pass your  comments on to our buyers for consideration. From time to time, if there is enough outcry to bring back a discontinued item and we are able to do so, we will give it another run. 
 
Thanks for shopping with us,
Nikki
Customer Relations”

Let ’em know if you want it back: wcr001@traderjoes.com.

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Good news: I found a good deal on Larabars today at Whole Foods

Bad news: still no Blueberry Muffin in stores around here. 😦 Maybe soon…

That’s all for today. What do y’all have planned for the weekend? Super Bowl? 😉

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Too Sexy for My… February 3, 2011

…sexy spice! What’s up, loves? It’s been a fun day for food around here!

Breakfast: I’m a Real Simple kind of girl, and this month they had a special section on smoothies. My goal is to make all 10 by the end of the month. Today’s breakfast…a take on their Banana-Cashew Smoothie.

In my mix:

• 1/4 cup raw soaked pistachios
• 1 cup ice
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 tablespoon light agave syrup

Directions

1. Place ½ cup water and the cashews in a blender.
2. Cover and refrigerate until the cashews have softened, at least 6 hours (and up to overnight). (I keep soaked nuts and frozen bananas on hand for just this occasion 😉 )
3. Add the ice, banana, and agave syrup.
4. Blend until smooth and frothy
5. Top with raw old-fashioned oats, 1/2 sliced nanner, and peanut flour “butter.”

It wasn’t super filling and needed some sexy spice 😉 Next time, I’ll add sexy spice.

After a lot of studying and practicing for Zumba, my rumbly tumbly was ready for some lunch! And it was a BEAST of a lunch…

… organic mixed greens, steamed Brussels sprouts, sliced baby carrots, butternut squash (cold, I know it’s weird, but I like the texture in my salad), edamame, original tahini hummus, and 3 pieces of celery. WOW!!!!

Lunch dessert: a Ball of Energy over a cup or so of grapes that I topped with sexy spice! I’ve never put sexy spice on grapes before, but I didn’t hate it!

I have been so hungry all day! Snack time brought yet another Real Simple smoothie…the Kale-Apple Smoothie and the other half of the apple I used with some almond butter.

I’ve been wanting to try this combo for a while, and it didn’t disappoint! Aren’t the colors of these smoothies so fun?! It’s like magic when you press ‘Blend.’

My Take on This One:

• 3/4 cup chopped kale, ribs and thick stems removed
• 1 small stalk celery, chopped
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1/2 organic apple
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Place the kale, celery, banana, apple juice, ice, and lemon juice in a blender.
2. Blend until smooth and frothy.

I like this one!!!!!

I taught Zumba tonight to my biggest class yet! It was such a blast to feed off the crowd. Then it was cleaning out the fridge for dinner 😉

…2 chicken tenders that had been grilled with spices, the rest of my kale chips, some butternut squash (warmed), brussels sprouts and cauliflower that had been steamed and topped with nutritional yeast. I feel like I’ve been eating a lot of oil lately over all these veggies and such…I hope it’s not too much fat!

And dessert!!!! Some bedtime tea and Inside Out PB Cake that I was inspired by from Carrie

Inside Out PB Cake

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Trader Joe’s peanut flour
• 2 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp baking powder
• dash sea salt
• Stevia to taste
• 1/4 cup almond milk

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients and bake at 390*F for 15 minutes

ONLY 185 calories and 24g PROTEIN! (without toppings!)

Top with anything you like!! I topped mine with fudgie paste and blackberries!

Fudgie Paste (also from Carrie)

•  1.5 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp agave
• splash vanilla extract
• water to desired consistency

And of course, I topped it all with sexy spice 😉 WOW!!!!! The inside was still gooey!

It’s good to be back. Off to watch some surgery on Grey’s! Reader’s Request on the way!

I read Romans 14:13-23 this morning. Am I am stumbling block for my family as far as food goes? I try to educate them in love, but I fear I come across as judgmental and condescending. I don’t want to be a stumbling block for them, for y’all, or for me with all my crazy thoughts lately. I’ve become a lot more vulnerable on this blog than I ever imagined. Do you experience this? I’d love to hear what you think.

Romans 14:13-23 (NIV)

 ¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. ¹⁴ I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. ¹⁵ If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸ because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

 ¹⁹ Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. ²⁰ Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. ²¹ It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. ²² So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.^[a]

Today’s inspiration: (from my tea bag): “Experience your own body, your own mind, and your own soul.” This was great for me as I still haven’t decided how I feel about eating meat, and I had chicken tonight.

Do y’all have a favorite spice you like to use? Anything inspiring today? Thanks for reading today’s long post 😉 You made it across the finish line!

This and That February 2, 2011

Happy Groundhog day, y’all! Spring is on the way!!! Yippeeee! It got up to at least 68* here today! (Sorry, Clare!)

Breakfast today was a SIAB inspired by my smoothie yesterday. I just can’t get enough of that pretty purple!

In the mix:

• 1 cup plain keifer
• 1/2 frozen banana
• blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, a few goji berries
• 1 tbsp dark cocoa powder (protein powder was tastier)
• a little ice
• toppings: 1/2 sliced nanner, 1/4 cup oats, Ball of Energy, cacao nibs

Yummmmmy! It was fun to switch it up today!

Workout today: RPM, BodyPump, and BodyFlow.

I met my friend Lindsay for lunch today. We met at the gym and have become friends, so we decided to move our friendship out of the group fitness room and take it on the road…to Nil’s Bakery 😉 (my favorite! I just love supporting the locals.) And it’s so wonderful to have lunch with a friend who just “gets” me. Thank-you, Lindsay!

I switched it up today though! I ordered a “Terry Salad.” It’s not on the menu, but I told the sweet lady of the couple that owns it that I wanted the hummus veggie wrap as a salad, and she told me that’s what it’s called. Ever since Amber and I went to Sandwhich, I’ve been more aware of the option to turn a wrap into a salad…love it!

I officially have a new favorite at Nil’s Bakery and Cafe!!! It’s essentially a greek salad with roasted veggies and hummus. Does it get any better?!

I was still hungry, so while I was studying at Starbucks today I ordered a Grande Vanilla Roobios (trying new teas) Latte with soy milk. It was delish! The tea was described as “A lush and indulgent blend of rooibos, Tahitian vanilla, sweet cinnamon, apples and peaches.”  I wasn’t sure about the fruit in the tea, but I loved it, especially with the sweetness of the soy milk. It was a yummy dessert…and only 200 calories!

After a lot of reading, it was time for a Larabar 😉

Perfect! I can’t believe I ever used to eat Snickers bars 😉 I love Larabars!!! hehe I also spied this beauty that I’d really like to have for Valentine’s Day, but I have to save $ somehow. No splurges!

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After a little more studying, it was home for din din. I knew exactly what I wanted tonight.

Leftover kale chips, organic baked beans, and butternut squash (diced, in the oven at 400* for 33 minutes).

And dessert…sleepytime tea (I think it’s helping me sleep better), 2 squares of 100% unsweetened chocolate, an organic pink lady (isn’t that the cutest name for an apple) with some Naturally More as I haven’t had any all day!

Yummmmmmmmmmmmmy! The apple was perfectly crunchy and sweet.

WOW! Y’all have blown me away with the all the fun recipes while I was away. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to catch up, but I’m starting anew. I missed you.

Congrats, Erica!!! and Happy Belated Birthday, Amanda! I’m so sorry I missed it!

I love y’all bunches and can’t tell you what a joy you are to my life.

Food for thought:

Food Inc. that Lindsay told me about…have you seen it yet?

Oprah’s Vegan Episode…did you see it?