Archives for July 2011

Do you miss back to school shopping?

You know what I mean.  The excitement of going and stocking up on all your school supplies.  Pens, pencils, markers, notebooks(remember trapper keepers?!)!  Maybe even a new outfit or two.  I always loved August when I was a kid because it meant back to school shopping time!

Once you get out of school you kind of miss that excitement (although I’m sure it’s not exciting for all the parents out there, cha-ching!). 

Well, even though I am technically a student and get to do a little back to school shopping (but my stuff is bigger ticket items unfortunately- printer ink, a new computer(just had to get a new one), textbooks) here’s a way to still feel that back to school excitement even if you won’t be sitting in the classroom!

My church has a program called “Love your neighbors back to school drive”.  This is where we take the school list for Fort Worth ISD and go and purchase everything that the kiddos need to get the school year started!  Then we take it up to the church and drop it off and they do the rest of the work for us.

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Here’s my thought if you don’t go to church or maybe your church doesn’t do this.  Do it anyway!

Go to your local super target or walmart(or something equivalent to that) and get the school supply list for your local school- they usually have copies there at the store!  Then get everything on that list and take it to one of your local schools.  I guarantee you they won’t say “no thanks”.  Having been a teacher for 5 years I know that there are children at every school that are in need of those school supplies.  There are children who don’t get to have that experience of back to school shopping and have to show up empty handed on the first day of school.  No shiny new backpack for them. 

 

Here’s ours- I think our grand total was somewhere around $25.  Yours might be more or less, depending on the supplies that the school asks for and the brands that you buy.

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Do it! You will feel amazing when you drop that backpack off I promise- and not just because you got to go shopping!

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Fit Fab Friday!

What up peeps?!  It’s time for another Fit Friday! 

Guess what? 

My broken toe is almost healed!  (I can almost bend the toe now without searing pain shooting through my foot!  Almost.)

And guess what else?

I ran this week!!!  Open-mouthed smile

This week I was able to work out 3 times- one day of walking (2 miles) + weights, one day on the elliptical (40 mins) + weights, and one day of jogging (1 mile).

I’m so so happy I’m able to be more active again!  And I’m totally pumped for next weeks workouts!

So here’s what I have planned for next week… (with the obvious stipulation that if my toe starts hurting then I need to stop)

Today(Friday)- 2 mile run + weights
Saturday- walk (2 miles, maybe 3)
Sunday- REST
Monday-  Kickboxing!  (It’s been forever since I’ve been and now that I can put shoes on for more than a few minutes it’s time I got my booty back there!)
Tuesday- Elliptical + weights
Wednesday– 2 mile run
Thursday- Bodypump (I keep saying I’m going to take this class and then I chicken out at the last minute.  I’m gun shy about these kinds of classes because I went to a S.E.T. class at the gym once and the teacher was horrid and called me out in front of the class and embarrassed me so I haven’t been back to a weights-based class since).  We’ll give it a try and see what happens!

How were your workouts this week??

Hooray for being fit and fab!  Oh, and hooray for Friday as well!!!

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Decadence and moderation

Let’s talk about moderation friends (this talk will be followed by a decadent recipe, so hang in there! Winking smile).

I’m a big fan of moderation.  I believe that’s what makes a healthy diet and a healthy life!  I can’t even imagine how sad my life would be if I said “sugar is evil and I will never ever eat it again!”  I love love love to bake (and eat said baked goods)!  Never eat a cupcake, brownie, cookie again?  No way!  That makes me sad just thinking about it!!

Decadence can be a part of a healthy lifestyle.  It’s okay to indulge your sweet tooth(or your salty tooth if you don’t like sweets- I have to say though, I don’t trust anyone who says they don’t like sweets or desserts! Winking smile (kidding!) )  Let’s NOT think of this as “cheating” or “being bad”!  Food is not the enemy and it’s not healthy to think of it as being such.  We’re not just talking about dietary health here, but mental health as well.  When we start demonizing food we’re playing a dangerous mental game!

On a daily basis I like to minimize added oils and sugars because that’s what makes me feel my best and healthiest (plus added fats tend to wreck my stomach if I don’t moderate them!).  But when I want to indulge, I indulge!  If there’s a decadent cake or cookie recipe I am dying to try I go for it!  Denying yourself the things you love is another one of those dangerous mental games!  I don’t do this on a daily basis so indulging in a treat occasionally is even more amazing because it becomes something special- I savor it and enjoy it!

Enough lecturing, let’s talk about this recipe!  Chocolate + peanut butter= true love forever!  The combination has never done me wrong and this recipe is no exception!  This is absolutely decadent and one of those things that you want to just sit and savor every single bite!  And this recipe freezes well, so it’s easy to portion these out and wrap them individually and put them in the freezer!  Let’s get to it, shall we?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Graham Bars
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
for the bars:
1 1/2 cups organic peanut butter
2 cups graham crackers, crushed
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup earth balance, melted
1 tsp vanilla

for the frosting:
1 cup chocolate chips
2 Tablespoons coconut oil (or use earth balance if you don’t have coconut oil)

Directions:
Grease an 8 x 8 pan or line with parchment paper.

Combine grahams, melted butter, and peanut butter.

Stir in powdered sugar (slowly so you don’t get covered in it!) and vanilla.

Press mixture into pan.

Place in refrigerator while you’re making your frosting.

Prepare your frosting by melting together in microwave or double boiler the chocolate chips and coconut oil.

Spread frosting over the top of the PB mixture and place back in fridge until chocolate is firm.

Slice into small squares and enjoy!  P.S. be careful taking them out of the pan- they can be a little crumbly.

 

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Don’t forget to savor every last bite!

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What I Ate Wednesday: Cinnamon Raisin Bread Edition

 

 

It’s time for another installment of What I Ate Wednesday!  Last week’s was a really big hit so I’m definitely going to continue doing it!

What was on the food agenda for me??

Well, for breakfast I had put some whole wheat cinnamon raisin bread in the bread machine the night before!  It turned out soooooo good!  The recipe will be at the end of this post!

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I had two slices with a little Earth Balance.  It was amaaaaaaazing!!!  I had this along with copious amounts of caffeine.

 

For lunch I made my new favorite salad!  I can’t believe I’m going to admit this, but I totally ate this salad while I was driving to school.  I put the bowl right in my lap!

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In my salad:

  • several big handfuls of Romaine lettuce
  • a few handfuls of broccoli slaw
  • cubed, baked tofu (the love of my life!)
  • sprinkle of wasabi sunflower seeds and sesame sticks
  • 2 T Annie’s Light Gingerly dressing

Don’t forget the apple slices!

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Perfection!!

Class was boring as usual.  I think that it gets more and more boring every day.  I’m kind of done with that class, honestly.  Bah!

But I’m NOT done with this after school snack!  (nice transition, huh?)

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Chocolate chip coconut granola bar- used this granola bar recipe and added some shredded coconut to it. Mmmm!

 

Dinner was a brand new recipe!  Come back on Monday and you can get the recipe for these Pizza Stuffed Portobellos! (trust me, you’re going to want this recipe!)

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We had our stuffed shrooms with some steamed broccoli sprinkled with garlic gold nuggets(love those things!), and a salad with Annie’s light honey mustard.

 

Welp, that’s all my eats for the day!  How about a recipe?  This is a spinoff of my Whole Wheat Cranberry Walnut Bread and it’s fantabulous!

 

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup agave nectar (honey would work too if that’s what you have)
3 cups organic whole wheat flour 
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup raisins

Directions:
Add ingredients to bread machine in the order that your bread machine recommends (mine says wet ingredients then dry)

Some people say to add fruit and nuts during the last knead cycle, but honestly I just threw them in there with everything else at the beginning and it worked just fine!

Let your bread machine do its thang! (I used the basic 1- 1 1/2 lb loaf size bread setting with a light crust)

Devour! 

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Happy WIAW- what are you munching on today??

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Meatless Monday: Don’t Wanna Cook?

 

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Happy meatless Monday friends!!

We all know how much I love to cook.  But honestly, sometimes I just don’t really feel like cooking.  I think we all feel that way sometimes, am I right?

So let’s talk about some ways to still have a Meatless Monday without cooking!

Take Out, veggie style!

Obviously this would be the first thing we think of when we don’t feel like cooking!  It’s not as hard as you might think it would be doing a meatless take out!  A few options…

  • Subway!  Easy peasy!  Get the veggie delight and stuff that sucker FULL of your favorite veggies!
  • Asian food… you may be surprised at how many veggie dishes an Asian style place can have!  Veggie stir fries, black bean sauce, vegetable dumplings, steamed rice, tofu, veggie sushi, edamame, spring rolls…   If you have one of those Mongolian stir fry places near you they’ve got TONS of veggie options!!
  • Pizza!  This one’s much easier than you think!  Some pizza places even have whole wheat crusts and non-dairy cheese now!  When we have pizza delivered Pizza Hut is the only place near enough to deliver so we usually do the veggie lovers without cheese.  Sometimes I’ll add my own non-dairy cheese but most of the time I eat it sans cheese!  I think you might be surprised at how delish pizza is without meat and cheese.  It really lets the flavor of the sauce and the veggies shine through, not to mention the fact that it won’t clog your arteries!!
  • Grocery store salad bars!  There are so many grocery stores that have amazing salad bars now!  It’s an easy and quick meal to go!  Whole Foods, Central Market(these are only in TX), natural foods stores, and I’ve even seen several Kroger’s with salad bars!  Pile up those veggies peeps!  (I love to add lots of beans, baked tofu and grain salads to my grocery store salad!)
  • If you haaaave to do a fast food place (ugh), Taco Bell’s beans do not have lard so they have several vegetarian options.  Bean burritos(vegan without cheese), Seven layer burrito (vegan without sour cream and cheese), a taco salad without meat are just a few.  I’ve done taco bell in a pinch and it’s pretty easy to do veggie style.

Leftovers!

Freeze Meatless Monday leftovers so that you’ll have them on hand for nights that you don’t feel like cooking!  Easy!

Sandwiches/wraps

I always keep sandwich and wrap ingredients on hand so that they’re easy to grab if I don’t feel like cooking!  You should keep your fridge stocked with veggies anyway (cause, duh, they’re good for you!).  Things I keep on hand for veggies and wraps…  Bread, California Lavash wraps, lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, sprouts, avocado, pickles, hummus, etc… Pretty much any veggie you can think of!

Convenience Foods

I try not to do too many convenience foods because they tend to have a lot of fat and sodium in them.  Not to mention that most of them are highly processed!  A few things I sometimes keep on hand are Amy’s products!  The whole line is vegetarian, with many dairy free options as well.  And they don’t have weird unpronounceable ingredients in them!  I like their enchiladas, their burritos, and their veggie pot pie is to die for!  I usually also keep some type of veggie burger in the freezer as well, just in case.  The Dr. Praeger’s California Burgers are phenomenal!

 

Anyone have a go-to noncook item to add to the list??

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