What I currently can’t get enough of……

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, I got 4 different job offers in a 2 week time period, left my first job in Virginia for a GREAT job closer to my house. This new job I will be making a GREAT difference in the lives of others, and though it wasn’t the highest paying job, it was personally the best one for the kind of person I want to be in life.

On that note, I have been going nuts about a couple of things over these past weeks:

1. I can NOT get enough of Jimmy Buffett, the Margaritaville station is on in my car non-stop and I have been listen to Last Mango in Paris & One Particular Harbour on a loop at my house. I personally blame my friend Carrie, for in Texas whenever I got in her car he was playing I have also been wanting a margarita, but I feel it’s just the music & memories of living in the islands. I am trying to talk my husband into going & hanging out in the parking lot before the Buffett concert here in July. We can’t afford the tickets ($135 for the LAWN, THE LAWN!!) and my husband it’s into Jimmy like me

2. Pinterest, I am on a HUGE kick again. I love then need a break from it, while I am on loving it again. My new job is inside, which is the first time since 2000 that I work inside & can dress business casual. I am looking for a new hairstyle, some simple makeup tips *ANY Favorite YouTube videos would be wonderful!*, and outfits! I have to look nice, and MUST wear closed toed shoes, but on the other side I can also wear scrubs some days

3. LesMils Combat, I know.. you talk about it ALL the time. Well, when you find your #soulmate workout I will listen you to you talk about it all the time too! I am currently at the end of week 3 of the Ultimate Supreme Warrior Program. I can honestly say that it is kicking me to the curb & I love it! I can also do more than 5 push ups in a row without breaks or falling on the floor Want to know more, just ask

4. Organizing… my new house, my new schedule, trying to get my hubby on a cleaning/chore schedule so he doesn’t flip out like a little kid on the weekends. *this happened last weekend about doing chores, lucky that our neighbor offered to mow the lawn… again… printing off tons of free printable thanks to Pinterest & Google search….

5. Reading; since quitting my job in Texas last November I have been reading like a crazy woman! I have been averaging 5 books a WEEK!! Now with my new job I have added a TON more, I need to get my butt in gear to my local library! I will be doing a book review very soon! One series was SO good that I stayed up until 5:30am to finish it!! I haven’t done that since Harry Potter! Yes, for some reason it was that I can’t put down good.

6. Learning to cook & meal plan without a microwave. This has been harder than I thought it would be, mostly for reheating left overs but I have also found that I can’t make some of my favorite breakfast foods because to re-heat them it must be a microwave… sigh… No microwave until we get the kitchen remodeled which won’t be happening for a while, if at all. It’s a double-sided sword, I WANT a new/ updated kitchen *current one is from 1979* but we will only be here for 3 years… it’s ALL that money worth it?

What are you currently into?

What are your top makeup tips? hair tips? clothing sites?

Current top reads?

Meal Planning: Week of April 28th

Good Sunday Morning!

On my twitter feed I have been getting a lot of questions about meal planning, where to start, how do you do did, etc. I started meal planning about 4 months ago, it’s been off & on due to the move, but now that we are settled into our house it’s been GREAT!

What meal planning means to me is that I sit down through out the week and take a couple of minutes here & there to get some ideas of what I would want to eat in the coming weeks. I mainly get all my ideas from either Pinterest or Practical Paleo over these past months of eating a more Paleo lifestyle. Meal planning has cut down on my grocery bills & taken away TONS of stress since you already know what you are doing to eat. I have also found that if I meal plan and prep accordingly we eat so much healthier! Which is always a great bonus.

My current job I get home really late, so I have been leaning more towards slow cooker meals so it’s ready as soon as I walk in the door.

Here is what I am planning for this week.

1. Slow Cooked Cinnamon Pork loin with Parsnips *2 dinners

2. Whole30 Thai Curry *1 dinner, 1 lunch

3. Turkey Burgers w/ Sweet Potatoes Fries *1 dinner, 2 lunches **I will prep the potatoes & have them frozen into servings for quick cooking.

4. Slow Cooked Chicken Curry with Greens *2 dinners

5. Slow Cooked Pineapple Chicken *1 dinner, 1 lunch

6. Sausage & Sweet Potatoes Casserole *1 dinner, 1 lunch

**Treat for the week: Freedom Brownies which are gluten-free, dairy-free, & grain-free!

This meal plan is good for 8 dinners & 5 lunches! Sometimes we have extra so that will count for more lunches!

Breakfast prep was all done last night: Apple Cider Pancakes and  Apple Egg Muffins (recipe will be posted this week!)

Hope this helped you with your meal planning! Remember to join my #30Day Health Meal Photo Challenge starting May 1st!

Here is a GREAT series of post from Lindsay at LeanGreenBean about meal prepping for the week!

Here are so fun FREE printable worksheets to help you with your meal planning! 1, 2, 3* this one’s not free but it’s too cute to pass up!

 

Apple Breakfast on a NICE day!

I was going to put sunny in the title but I think that is pushing it at the moment, but hopefully later! Since moving my diet lifestyle to Paleo I have been looking for something other than EGGS!! for breakfast. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE eggs but some days I wake up and my stomach turns at the thought of eating them for breakfast.

If you are in the same position or just looking for a fast healthy breakfast here you go!

Apple Cereal

One Serving

Time: 4 mins or less

Ingredients:

1 apple cut into bite size pieces; I like Fuji but at the moment have Red Delicious (They don’t hold up to well) pick something hardy

1/4 cup of raisins

1/4 cup of nuts, I am on a HUGE walnut kick at the moment

Dash of nutmeg

Dash of cinnamon

Almond Milk or Coconut Milk, as much as you like, it’s your bowl of cereal for the morning!

Bonus adds include: coconut flakes, coco nibs, coco powder instead of cinnamon

This is mine before I add the almond milk.

It’s nice and filling with that kick of natural sweet in the morning.

What is your favorite off beat breakfast?

Don’t forget to put in your order for Hip Hop Abs while it’s still on sale! It’s going to be ending ANY day now!! Mine should be here this week, I will let you know how it goes!

I am in the middle of week 3 already of Les Mills Combat and I LOVE EVERY workout! I am still sad when it is over! That is what I love about the Beach Body workouts, once you find ones you love, you can do them forever!

Apple Pie Omelette

I want to thank ALL of you so much! Yesterday I had the MOST visitors ever! I hope that you all enjoyed the post and more board game fun is to come! Wednesday is going to be recipe day, but I might have to add some recipes here and there just because I have SO many of late that I really want to share. Here is on of my new addictions.

Since moving into our new place for the moment I have been trying my hardest to make healthy choices. The last month as really been hard on my body and when I go to the Dr’s today I am more than a little worried to see that numbers on that scale. My clothes have been tight, my body just hurts, and I feel like a slug. *top reason I didn’t have a frig from Dec 6-Jan 10. Try eating healthy with shelf stable food only!

Now if you have been following me at all, you know that I LOVE apples! Cooked, raw, baked, in oatmeal, whatever just let me have them! I found this recipe on Livin Paleo along the way and added a little twist to it.

Apple Pie Omelette
Serving 1

1 Apple *see bottom
3 eggs
1 tbsp coconut milk or almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon *I love cinnamon so if you don’t add less
1/2 tsp nutmeg

*use any kind of apple you want I use Fuji; also the original recipe called to peel the apple which I don’t
**Want to learn the BEST way ever to cut an apple! Check out Let’s Talk Fitness post!

Cut up apple, and in a lightly greased pan lay out apple slices.
Cook apples over med hight heat for 2 mins.

apples all set for eggs!

Mix together eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg then pour over the eggs.
As the omelette sets run your spatula around the edges and let the uncooked eggs to the bottom. *really I just mess mine around so all the eggs get cooked
When eggs are cooked, turn heat to low and cook 2 more mins; flip omelette once and cook for 1 more min.

Here is my finally product, not that pretty but taste amazing!

What is your newest breakfast staple?

Crack Bites… or Coconut, Chocolate, Walnut no bakes!

Quick note: I will be playing catch up on a lot of post now that I am as settled as I can be, and have applied for a TON of jobs Now on with the to die for dessert! 

Very few books that I have read in my life made such an impact on my life as It Starts with Food by Melissa & Dallas Hartwig of the Whole9 life site. Since reading this book I haven’t stopped thinking about what they talk about and how it really has clicked with me. They live a Paleo lifestyle, here is a simple explanation from Robb Wolf, and I will be doing a whole post about it very soon. I decided to post this recipe first due to the demand when I posted the picture on facebook last night. 

I came across this recipe when Jrod asked if I could find some fun snacks for us to have. He is a snack attack man!! Slowly I am working on getting him to do the Whole30 challenge with me, but first he needs to get settled in his new job. I was in the parking lot of the grocery store and just goggled paleo dessert, that is when I how I found Fast Paleo, a paleo recipe sharing site.

Chocolate Chip and Walnut NO bake Coconut Cookies: or Crack Bites via Jrod
Servings: 5
Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

3 T. coconut oil
1/3 c. honey
1/2 c. almond or other nut butter
1 t. vanilla
2 c. shredded coconut *I used unsweetened
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/2 c. chopped chocolate *I used semi sweet chips
1/4 c. chopped walnuts * can easily use another nut or no nuts

Cooking Steps

In large saucepan, melt coconut oil, honey, and nut butter over low heat. Stir in remaining ingredients.
Scoop tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and place on cookie sheet.
Freeze for about 10 minutes, consume.
Store leftovers in a covered container in the freezer.

They remind me of oatmeal fudge no bakes if you want something to compare them to.

I am obsessed with APPLES for breakfast, you should be too!

The past couple of weeks I have been on this HUGE apple kick that just hasn’t stopped, it’s been in our breakfast, lunches, and dinners. I think that I am starting to drive Jrod a little crazy with them. He is a good sport though and doesn’t complain because it’s all healthy stuff, well okay the apple crisp I made probably wasn’t that healthy.

Here is what I am having for breakfast today, they were a huge hit the past couple of times that I have made them.

Healthy Cinnamon Apple Muffins by TheChicLife *if you haven’t checked out her recipes you are missing some AMAZING ones!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Bake Time: 18-22 minutes
Total Time: 28-32 minutes
Yields: 12 muffins

*Vegetarian, Vegan options listed*

Ingredients:

1 cup spelt flour (or sub your favorite flour)
3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (or sub your favorite flour)
1/4 cup flaxseed meal / ground flaxseed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sucanat (or sub sugar for a sweeter taste)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs (or flaxseed eggs for a vegan recipe)
1 cup milk (or sub vegan milk substitute)
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large apple, cored and chopped small, about 1 1/2 cups (I like to leave the peels on, but if you peel them, you’ll get a smoother texture in each bite)
non-stick spray or muffin liners
Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 12 cup muffin tin with either muffin cups or non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, combine spelt flour, all purpose flour, flaxseed, baking powder, and salt. Whisk till evenly combined.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sucanat and canola oil. One at a time, whisk in eggs. Add milk, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Whisk till evenly combined.
Pour wet ingredients into bowl with dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine, just till all dry ingredients are mixed in (careful to not over-mix – batter will be a little lumpy and pretty liquidy). Stir in apples.
Evenly distribute batter into each cup of a 12-cup muffin tin (should fill muffins cups pretty full).
Bake muffins for 18-22 minutes, until muffins are cooked through (a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin or loaf comes out clean).
Let muffins cool till they’re safe to touch. Serve warm or wait longer and serve room temperature. Enjoy!

These were mine:)

Diana at TheChicLife also has Apple Oatmeal Muffins with Sweet Oatmeal Topping. Try them out and head over to TheChicLife for more amazing recipes!

Since we are going to have a HUGE temperature drop for Friday morning, this is the plan for breakfast:

Slow Cooker overnight Apple Pie Steel Cut Oats! Thank you Jax!!!

This recipe makes 6 – 1 cup servings.
Nutritional Info per serving (1 cup) (before additional toppings):
115 Calories 1 Fat 26 Carbs 2 Fiber

Ingredients
- 1 cup of steel cut oats*
- 3 diced apples (I use Gala)
- 1 cup apple juice
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Directions – Slow Cooker

For Best Results: Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook for 2-4 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low until it reaches the consistency that you like. Be sure to stir every hour or so.

* You can also cook longer without stirring, but you have to add more water liquid and it does come out a bit mushier. Add an extra cup of liquid for 7-8 hours in the slow cooker. ***

* It must be steel cut oats when cooked in the slow cooker, as regular oats get very soggy when cooked this way. You can find steel cut oats in your local grocery store (sometimes they are called “irish oats” or “pinhead oats”). If you would really rather use rolled oats, be sure to use the stovetop method below and adjust your liquid/cooking time accordingly.

*** When I made this overnight I only added 1 more cup of liquid and it started to over cook. Thankfully Jrod was up really late that night. Next time I am going to add another 1/2 cup to the extra 1 cup and cook on low for only 4 hours, with the rest of the time being on low.

For toppings I just put a little bit of cinnamon on it, my staff puts milk in them, and Jrod puts brown sugar in the bowl first and then adds the oatmeal.

BEFORE COOKING

AFTER COOKING

What are your favorite apple recipes?

Must use all the baking supplies ASAP!

We are starting to really go through the house and get rid of everything that we won’t be able to move with us. Mostly we are starting to attack the Pantry area. Jrod really doesn’t spend much time in there, he knows where I keep his snacks and that is that. When we started to go through the pantry he finally realize how much baking supplies I have, and told me to start getting rid of it! What!?! You want me to bake until my heart is content, I can do that with the help of Pinterest.

First up is Chocolate – Coconut Bars by Martha Stewart (I still love her)

Prep Time
15 minutes
Total Time
1 hour
Yield
Makes 20

Ingredients

3 cups finely ground cookies (12 ounces), such as graham crackers or chocolate wafers, or a combination
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup pecan pieces
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly splash a 15-by-10-inch rimmed baking sheet evenly with water, then line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, stir together cookie crumbs, sugar, and butter until combined. Evenly press onto bottom and up sides of prepared baking sheet. Bake, rotating halfway through, until firm, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool, about 20 minutes.
Sprinkle cooled crust evenly with pecans and chocolate. Pour condensed milk over the top, spreading to cover completely (do not let it drip over the edges). Sprinkle with coconut.
Bake until coconut is toasted, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Trim edges, if desired, and cut into equal-size bars.
Cook’s Note

Sweetened condensed milk is made by heating whole milk and sugar until much of the liquid has evaporated. Do not substitute evaporated milk, which is unsweetened.

These are what mine looked like

The second one comes from All Recipes

Big Soft Ginger Cookies

Prep Time: 15 Minutes Ready In: 50 Minutes Cook Time: 10 Minutes Servings: 24

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons white sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then stir in the water and molasses. Gradually stir the sifted ingredients into the molasses mixture. Shape dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Place the cookies 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

*While I was rolling the cookies towards the end of the first set of sheets to go into the oven the dough just got to sticky. I just put the whole bowl in the frig while the rest baked and cooled. The next set was so much easier to work with.

Here are what mine looked like They were amazing and Jrod was so upset due to all the cookies going to a party that night. He LOVES ginger cookies, don’t worry I put some aside for him.

Elite Eight: Perfect Smoothie Bracket Challenge!

Elite Eight: Perfect Smoothie Bracket Challenge
Posted on March 29, 2012 by Ansley Fones
It’s getting down to the Best of the Best in our Perfect Smoothie Bracket Challenge, which means we’re only one vote away from our ultimate four-ingredient smoothie!

Last week, we had an Epic Vote in which we pitted sixteen popular smoothie ingredients against each other to determine YOUR favorites. Here are our winners…

Bases: Coconut Water v. Almond Milk. Winner: Coconut Water!
Bases: Fruit Juice v. Yogurt. Winner: Yogurt!
Vegetables: Spinach v. Cucumber. Winner: Spinach!
Vegetables: Seaweed v Carrot. Winner: Carrot!
Add-ins: Flax Seeds v. Chia Seeds. Winner: Chia Seeds!
Add-ins: Maca v. Cacao. Winner: Cacao!
Fruits: Mango v. Banana. Winner: Banana!
Fruits: Avocado v. Berries. Winner: Berries!

Pizza Focaccia

I am HOOKED on this pizza/ perfect dunking bread for soup! I was in charge of making this pizza on Tuesday night for dinner since I got home a little too close for the new 6pm dinner rule. We made it just in time I am happy to say! This pizza is now going to be standard made in this house, I can tell you that for sure.

Pizza Focaccia *from Eat,Drink, & Be Vegan

1 10in whole wheat pizza shell
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4-1 1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped *if not able to use fresh, use 1 tsp and crush it up in your fingers
1/3-1/4 tsp sea salt, to taste
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/2-1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh basil chopped

Preheat over to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a pizza sheet. Using a pastry brush, spread 1 tbsp oil over the top of pizza shell, then sprinkle on rosemary, salt, and pepper. Bake for 6-12 minutes, until edges are golden. Remove from over and drizzle 1 tbsp oil over the hot bread, then sprinkle on basil. Cut into slices and enjoy.

Meatless Monday turned into Tuesday?!?

My goal yesterday was to get home ‘early’ and make an amazing vegan meal/soup for Meatless Monday’s. We have started doing it at work and I am LOVING it!! Where I work is very very lucky to have head chef’s who are very passionate about farm to table and organics. Jrod’s newest ‘health’ kick is to now eat at or by 6pm every night, no matter what. I am all for that idea because it makes me try to get home earlier, the bad part is that he has to remember to start or make dinner when I am at work. I am sad to say that I didn’t get home in time to make dinner, so out to eat we went.

I am happy to say that Jrod made us an amazing dinner from one of my newest cookbook, Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan. Tonight we had Mellow Lentil ‘Sniffle’ Soup and Pizza Focaccia. I have to say that the moment I walked into the house with the soup on the stove filled with fresh herbs brought me so much joy. I knew that it was going to be a great, healthy meal and made the rush home worth it.

Mellow Lentil ‘Sniffle’ Soup from Eat, Drink, & Be Vegan

*makes 5-6 serving

1-1 1/2tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup carrots, diced
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3/4-1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 cups dry red lentils *I couldn’t find these so I used regular
3 cups vegetable stock
4-41/2 cups water
2 1/2-3 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped *if you can’t get this use 1 tsp dried and put in with other spices
2 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, salt, pepper, curry powder, paprika, and dried thyme and stir to combine. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Rinse lentils. Add lentils, stock, and water and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 12-15 minutes. Add rosemary and simmer for another 8-10 minutes or more, until lentils are completely softened. Stir in vinegar, season to taste with additional salt and black pepper if needed.

What’s your favorite Meatless Monday dish?