Confessions

January 18, 2013 by

It’s a beautiful day!

Today marks another day where I went to bed after 12 and got up around 5. If things don’t make sense here, don’t blame me; blame my lack up sleep.

Is anyone else super worried they’re going to catch that dreaded flu? I swear if someone even sniffs near me I get super paranoid.

I’m a gem.

*****

1. There’s nothing better than the first spoonful of coconut butter right out of the jar.

baked kabocha

Tastes like candy, just melt in your mouth delicious.

Is there any surprise I roasted up some kabocha to go with this?

Do yourself a favor when ordering this stuff and stock up on mass quantities.

2. Addicted to caffeine.

coffee

My morning started out with life’s finests treasures. Coffee date x 2.

After 4 hours sleep, it was necessary.

3. Winter is having an identity crisis over here.

weather

Not that I’m complaining…fine I am a tad, because I’d just be really pleased with one day of snow.

4. When did water get so flipping expensive?

water-poured-into-a-glass

This morning, I forgot my water bottle at home and since I was at a spin class there is no way ever I could go without water…I went down and had to pay $3.75 for water!

What the what.

How is that even possible?

On the plus side, spin class owned me.

5. I was feeling a little plain Jane this week and decided to spruce up my nails this week with some sparkles.

nail polish

 { My favorite glittery polishes }

Adding a little bling makes everything better.

6. Some days I just don’t want Dinner and instead snack my way until my later bedtime snack.

apple snack

Yah, I admit it I’m a snack-o-holic.

Sometimes people even pull out the comments like “you’re eating again…you just ate”.

While I used to be extremely embarrassed by this, I refuse to go on being hungry.

They’re clearly jealous of my eating abilities.

7. I have plans to see Life Of Pi this weekend, but I kind of don’t want to watch it before reading the book first.

life of pi

Although books are almost always better than the movies, so maybe I’ll just wait until after anyways…

What’s your favorite movie based from a book?

What’s your favorite way to eat coconut butter? If you haven’t tried it, go out right this second and buy some.

What is a confession from your week?

Hope you all have a super swell Friday!

{35 Comments }

No-Bake Protein Bars + Strawberry Goat Cheese

August 3, 2012 by

Morning!

Yesterday, I took a much needed nap. I woke up with a throbbing headache, and needed some extra sleep. This new sleep schedule isn’t working out so well thus far. I’m still staying up way too late. Oopsy.

*beautiful sunrise a few days ago. I love waking up to a beautiful sky!*

I’m not even kidding when I say I have been having nightmares about peacocks the past 2 nights in a row. Some may find this random, in fact reading that makes me sound totally ridiculous.

We brought up peacocks after spin class the other day while stretching, and now I can’t stop have dreams about them! Fun.

I actually have a HUGE fear of peacocks, like I am insanely afraid of them and think they are the scariest animal ever created.

Anyways, moving on to more normal things…

Before my siesta yesterday, I decided to try out a new protein bar recipe to have for later. I didn’t want to fire up the oven and also didn’t want to make a whole bunch of bars in one sitting. So, I made a little creation and hoped for the best.

Exciting and breaking news, it was delicious! And some fun extra tidbits, these are gluten and sugar free and also vegan!

No Bake Single Protein Bars

  • 1/4 cup oats (I used bob’s red mill, gluten free)
  • 2 tablespoons protein powder (about 1 scoop, I used vanilla sun warrior)
  • 1 tablespoon coconut flour
  • 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree (or applesauce, banana, etc.)
  • 3 tablespoons almond milk
  • a dash of cinnamon and stevia
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt (to bring out the sweetness)

Melt the coconut oil in a bowl, add the dry ingredients and incorporate together.
Next, add in the pumpkin and almond milk and stir to combine.
Once it’s all mixed together, shape into bar form and place it on some tinfoil or plastic wrap.
Place in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, more if possible.

It was so filling and delicious. Has no funky ingredients and is bigger than your average protein bar.

*******

Breakfast was a delicious combo of some of my favourite things. So good and simple!

*I toasted up 2 slices of bread and spread on side with strawberry goat cheese (recipe below) and the other half had an egg mixed with 1/4 cup egg whites with added spinach after the picture.*

Some jammin’ recipes happenings over here today, clearly. Goat cheese is just the greatest.

I’ve been neglecting this item for some time since rediscovering avocado, but I needed a bit of variety added in once again.

Strawberry Goat Cheese

  • 1/2 cup goat cheese, creamy
  • 12 strawberries, medium sized
  • 1/4 teaspoon stevia
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

This is super easy, I don’t even think it can classify as a recipe.

First, microwave the strawberries for about 30 seconds, so that they become more mixable.
Next, I simply took the goat cheese, strawberries, vanilla extract, and stevia and mashed them all together with a fork until they were combined.
Chill before serving.

So dang yummy! I know this beautiful diva agrees with me.

Two of my favourite things coming together!

I’m now mad at my grocery store for not having more berries. Don’t they know I love strawberries and want them daily?;) I guess I need to find a new fruit to become obsessed with for now.

Off to grab a coffee and then get my hair did!

Are you afraid of any ridiculous animals as well? Please make me feel less like a loser…

Any fun plans for the weekend?

Have an amazing and fun filled Friday!

{51 Comments }

July Favourites

August 2, 2012 by

Morning!

Good gosh, welcome to August.

Hey, remember how everyone last year was freaking out about 2012 being that last year in the world? Is that still happening? Haven’t heard about that in a while. Not that I care. It was just weird to hear people yammer on about that for centuries.

I’m excited about this coming month, its still summer and hopefully exciting things will be happening over here.

Since yesterday was WIAW, I missed out on telling you all about my July favourites.

Avocado

Self explanatory. This pudding is my life. Sub cottage cheese with greek yogurt though.

Coconut Butter

(Instagram is too fun – follow me!)

What is not to love about this butter? It is simple a whole lot of nice stuff. Creamy, delicious, and all the lovely benefits that come from coconut. I’m talking about improved hair, nails, skin, stress relief, digestion, and helps to prevent osteoporosis. Just to name a few positives.

Reuniting with Creamy Buckwheat Breakfast Bowls

Specifically, grinding up my buckwheat in my coffee grinder before hand (is it weird I have a coffee bean grinder, but no coffee maker?) and creating an oat bran consistency. Then cooking it up the same way I normally do with oat bran. Lovely.

Cut Out Dresses

These may not be fan favourite dress for everyone, but I personally am just loving the cut out style. Definitely not a work dress, but a going out dress. Subtle, yet fierce statement in clothing.

(Source 1, Source 2)

Bright Nails

I just love funky nails. Keeps things sassy. I also like the word sassy now. My love affair with bright polish was re-sparked when an older lady commented saying my nails made her smile.

(Source)

Bachelor Pad

(Source)

Since the Bachelorette has sadly ended. Well, I guess happily for Emily, not so much for my Monday night TV love, I’ve had to rely on Bachelor Pad to keep me entertained. Its a hot mess of a show. I can’t believe some of the things people do on this show. How on earth can they land a job after some of the stuff aired on TV? And did anyone else recognize the twins from Jersey Shore? Oh man.

Honouring My Body

(Source)

This one is probably the most important favourite. When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I really want to do is get my workout on. I love having the option to get my exercise over first thing and having the rest of the day to do as I please.

That being said, with some health issues I’m working on improving, fitness has had to take a back seat. And while I don’t exactly like that I’m moving less, I know its the best for my body right now.

Pilates, yoga, and a weight training has become more of my fitness routine right now. Fitness will always be there for me when I am better and I know that while I’m not doing such high intensity right now, as soon as I’m healthy I can get back on board with those crossfit and high intensity workouts that I crave!

*******

Most Popular Posts

Positive Posts….

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Turning our negative thoughts into positive ones

Food Posts…

Protein Coconut Cream – Coconut and protein, two of my favourite things!

Green Dough + Burgers – Coconut crusted turkey burgers and green “cookie dough”

Fitness Posts…

Crossfit Inspired workout - kick your booty at home

Another at home workout

Off for some rest and rejuvenation!

What were your favourite things about July?

Hope you all have a fantastic day!

{39 Comments }

WIAW #15

July 4, 2012 by

Morning everyone! Happy Independence Day to those of you in the US!

Over here, its just a plain ol’ Wednesday…or not quite so plain. It’s time to celebrate What I Ate Wednesday.

My day started off dark, rainy, and early with a spin class. I got home and was super hungry and needed to get ready fast.

Insert putting my face on, breakfasting, and heading to an appointment.

7:30 – Breakfast:

Breakfast was overnight oat bran topped with cashew butter!

And then as I was leaving my appointment to the car, I fell down the stairs. Fun times!
I swear I just wrote about how I fell down stairs, clearly I have a problem keeping stable on my feet.
Whatever, no one was there to see me lying on the floor. No shame.

Lunch came at a later time than usual, thanks to the appointment running later then expected.

12:30 – Lunch:

Roasted kabocha squash with a shot glass filled with coconut butter and a side of greek yogurt.

Yep, more kabocha. I’m in love. My taste buds were begging for that orange squash. What divas.

Later, when I looked into the fridge for something to tame my sweet tooth, I realized I still had some of Ashley’s coconut muffins leftover. So I grabbed one to snack on.

Delicious.

3 – Snack:

Coconut muffin smeared in protein frosting. With a side of un-pictured berries. Thanks for the recipe Ashley, they’re great!

I tried going for a little stroll outside, but the weather wasn’t having any of that. If I hear one more person mention how ridiculous the heat wave is where they are living, I may punch them through the computer. I’d kill for some sunshine over here;)

5 – Dinner:

socca-and-veggies-1024x553

Socca topped with a little coconut oil and nutritional yeast. With a bowl of roasted zucchini and asparagus, plus a side of avocado mixed with nutritional yeast for dipping.

Scrumptious.


Closeup on the veggies!

Following dinner, I was craving something banana-y. My computer thinks this is a word, cool beans. (Who came up with this saying by the way, it’s just awful).

So I pulled out the big guns…

8 – Snack:

Banana protein muffin with a mix of teff/brown rice flour, banana, stevia, and egg whites. Eaten with peanut flour paste and coconut cream.

I definitely got my eat clean, sweat dirty day in over here. Healthy = happy.

Hope you are all having a great Wednesday!

Enjoy the day!

What’s the best thing you ate today? Any fun fourth of July plans?

{48 Comments }

WIAW #14

June 27, 2012 by

Bonjour, beauties. Happy Wednesday!

Now let’s celebrate with a partyyy. What I Ate Wednesday style.

*P.S. Thanks for all the awesome comments on yesterdays post. You all are the sweetest!

I started the day off with my favourite breakfast. After changing it up, it was back to my old favourite.

8 – Breakfast:

Overnight oat bran with banana and to top it off a few blueberries and almond butter.

Satisfied, I got ready for the day.

After breakfast, I headed to an appointment and to pick up my daily caffeine.

As I was driving, I noticed the gas prices went down a seriously crazy amount! So incredibly happy about that. I had to make a pit stop. I mean, just a month ago it took 60 dollars to fill my tank half way and when I payed 60 today, it was full. I was pretty excited about that; which makes me a huge nerd, that’s fine though.

12 – Lunch:

Lunch was roasted kabocha squash with a side of coconut butter to dip. I can’t have enough kabocha, it’s the best. I basically ate the entire squash.

3 – Snack:

When I was hungry mid day, I mixed up a bowl of yogurt, a little protein powder, strawberries, and blueberries. Simple and tasty. Berries are definitely in season now, they are tasting ultra special.

*recycled picture*

I also brewed up a cup of tea to soothe my throat, I’ve been suffering with a sore throat for about a month now. No fun.

Then, I ventured on a short walk outside. The day started out a little muggy, but turned out to be quite lovely by the time the afternoon hit!

5 – Dinner:

For dinner, I wanted to change up my usual roasted broccoli slaw that was getting near its expiration date, so decided to cook it along with spaghetti squash and tempeh, and doctored it up with a cheesy ball, which turned into a sauce for it once it was heated.

Looks disgusting, tastes delicious.

8 – Snack:

 

Before bed, I whipped up a batch of coconut “cookie dough”. I used pumpkin instead of applesauce, replaced the cashew butter with 1/4 cup more pumpkin puree. After the photo shoot it was topped with protein flour paste. I’m addicted to this dough.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this in the first post, but make sure you refrigerate at least a couple hours in advance, so that the oats get soft and develop a more doughy texture.

I’m now tuning into the Bachelorette from Monday night.

Have a good one loves!!

What’s the best thing you ate today?

xox,
Lisa

{38 Comments }

Fix that sick

June 18, 2012 by

Hello, sweets!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Back to a marvelous Monday over here!

This weekend was filled with not so fabulous things, I ended up working on Friday night, and the next day felt horrible. I’ve mentioned feeling ill a couple times the last few weeks, but brushed it off mostly.

(Source)

On Saturday I finally went to the clinic because I was just exhausted and my head and throat had been killing me for weeks. Turns out I have a sinus infection, with a possible case of tonsilitis, so I came home and slept most of the weekend away. Still not feeling great today, but I’ll be resting the next few days to make sure I recover properly.

Ways to feel marvelous while you are sick…

Fuel yourself with delicious foods

 

When I’m feeling under the weather, I like to start my day with a stick to my ribs breakfast, its no fun feeling sick with that gnawing hunger feeling some colds leave you with. Of course, oat bran does the trick for me, it is full of good nutrients to fight off that sickness.

Get your Tea on

I’ve been enjoying hot beverages like cray since I’ve been sick, once I gave myself permission to be sick I relaxed on the couch and enjoyed endless cups of tea.

Drink water

(Source)

To jazz it up, I usually add cucumber, lemon and mint or frozen strawberries and limes. This is my sickness approved happy hour. And its refreshing too. It is so important to hydrate yourself while feeling sick, you need to flush out the sickness. Things my mom taught me #264.

Vitamins

Not in pill form. I get those vitamins from my bowls of foodie goodness. Snacking it up with nutrient dense foods. This was some of my lovely pumpkin chia pudding. High in calcium, vitamin A + C, and iron. Chia seeds have a ton of benefits, so I’m just assuming they are helping me kick this to the curb ;)

Greens

How I love thee. Go big or go home with the salads, maybe its the placebo effect, but I feel good when I make sure to get those greens in when feeling sick. Sometimes, greens make me gag when I’m ill, so I go with blending in those greens. Smoothie form, muffin form, or adding them any easy way I can.

Honour your hunger

(Source)

I have a hard time understanding my hunger cues, they get much more messed up when I’m feeling under the weather though.

Our bodies don’t require the same calorie needs everyday, and I figure I’m sick my body needs some extra calories to recover. Usually, I just ignore my hunger, occupy myself with other things so I don’t feel it. Uh, no. How about I do the usual thing people do when they’re hungry and eat. Duh.

So why not enjoy that extra piece of dark chocolate. Antioxidants for the win.

Even though that’s not part of “my food plan”, it feels good to deviate from it once in a while.

Trashy TV

(Source)

Nothing makes me feel better more than watching other people embarrass themselves via reality TV. I find it hard to relax when I’m sick, but allowing my body to rest really made me realize how much I needed to slow down and how sick I really did feel. I mean, why should I feel guilty when I am actually sick.

Well, I’m off to get some more rest.

Hope you are having a fun filled, marvelous Monday!

What do you eat when you are sick?

xox,
Lisa

{45 Comments }

Banana muffins

June 14, 2012 by

Good Morning beauties! Happy Thursday!

Hope your enjoying the day so far! We’re almost at the weekend.

Since coming across coconut flour, I can’t get enough of it. The novelty of this versatile flour hasn’t warn off quite yet. I’ve seen it used in various ways and have, myself used it in all types of different meals.

There is nothing more satisfying than eating a warm freshly baked, big ol’ muffin to enjoy for a snack. These aren’t your average muffins from the baker though, because they are 100% healthy.

For the muffins, I knew I wanted something with bananas and yogurt; as I had 2 bananas seriously hanging on their last legs, and had about 1/2 cup left over yogurt, so decided to try to use these ingredients up in a muffin recipe. I also knew I wanted something easy, I didn’t really know how these would turn out since I didn’t follow a specific recipe, but luckily they turned out splendid!

Banana Muffins (makes 5 big muffins) [Gluten And Sugar-Free]

  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup protein powder (I wouldn’t recommend using whey protein powder, it turns baked goods sort of rubbery)
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon stevia + 20 or so drops of vanilla nunaturals stevia drops (adjust to your desired sweetness)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoon egg whites
  • 1 tablespoon almond milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons greek yogurt
  • 1/4 cup pumpkin (you could replace with applesauce, or mashed zucchini, or any veggie/fruit mashed)
  • 1.5 bananas (mashed)

mix dry mix wet the dough

Preheat your oven to 375. Mix together the first 5 ingredients. Mash the bananas and pumpkin together, and combine the rest of the wet ingredients. Then mix the dry ingredients into the wet. Do not over mix. Grab a 1/2 cup measuring cup and spoon 1/2 cup of the mixture into each of the muffin tins. I suggest coating the tins with a light coat of coconut oil (I used about 1/2 teaspoon in total). Bake for approximately 25 minutes.

Alternatively, you can make these into 10 mini muffins instead of 5 big muffins. Just decrease the cooking time a little.

The result? Delicious, BIG muffins, that left me oh so satisfied.

Of course, one had to be sampled right out of the oven to make sure they were blog worthy today. Yum.

I enjoyed these outside, alongside the gorgeous weather we were presented with today.

*******

Rewinding to this morning, I enjoyed some hot almond milk with raw coconut butter as a morning snack.

What’s your favourite type of muffin?

Hope you all enjoy this beautiful day!

xox, Lisa

{25 Comments }

May Favourites

June 1, 2012 by

Hey there Friday, won’t you stay here for a while?! How’s all your day’s going? Good, I am hoping.
It’s that time again it is June 1st! What the…this year is just passing by WAY too quickly, it seems like just yesterday I was ringing in the new year.

Why is it when you get older the years go by faster? And can you believe we are now half way through 2012!! It’s mind boggling to me!
So here we are at the end of May, I thought I’d throw together a post of my favourite May things.

Food

  • coconut anythinggg - butter, oil, and flour are by far my favourites. I eat one of these products at least once a day

Workouts

Workout Song

Fashion

  • colourful dresses and dresses in general, dress addiction does in fact exist.

(Source)

 

Makeup

  • mascara – specifically diorshow mascara, if I could take one makeup product to a deserted island it would have to be mascara; I just can’t live without it

(Source)

TV Show

(Source) 

  • the bachelorette – I actually really like Emily this season, I know lots of people don’t, but she’s really sweet, down to earth, and I think her heart is in the right place. Plus who wouldn’t want to be on the show when your budget on clothing is $350,000? I’d sign up for all that.

That’s it for my May favourites. Hope everyone is enjoying their day and you all have fun plans for this weekend!!

What are you favourites for May?
P.S. Isn’t it weird how in the UK and Canada we have a u in favourite, colour, etc. and in the US you don’t do that?
Okay, random tangent, and no one probably cares…

xox,
Lisa

{39 Comments }

WIAW #10

May 29, 2012 by

Good Morning Lovelies! And a happy Wednesday to you all!

Welcome back to another week of the What I Ate Wednesday fun!

These are all of my eats from Tuesday, as per usual. I’ve been waking up every morning for the past 2-3 weeks with a crazy headache and super sore throat, so I really hope I don’t have strep throat, but I’ve had it like 479 times, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. Anywhoooo…

I woke up this morning and intended on having a rest week from exercise, but that didn’t exactly happen, oopsy-daisy. I ended up wide awake at about 4 AM, and couldn’t get back to sleep so just figured I’d go to spin class, it was a great class but I was exhausted by the end.

8 – Breakfast: Overnight Oat Bran

Oat bran, egg whites, chia seeds, hemp seeds, cinnamon, stevia, pumpkin, with a protein PB ball. Served with a side of coffee.

As usual, you guys have seen this quite a lot, but here it is once again. Hopefully you’re not too bored by seeing this meal.

It’s just oh so refreshing after a hot, sweaty spin class. This time when I made the overnight oat bran I put my protein ball on the bottom of the bowl and then the oat bran overtop to sit overnight. It was fun while eating, because at the end I got a little PB surprise ;) , which I like to save for last anyways.

After breakfast, I caught up on the Bachelorette and read the good ol’ Reality Steve site for some bachelorette gossip. (P.S. Don’t read unless you like spoilers, like I do)

11:30 – Lunch: Roasted Veggies + Socca

Roasted cauliflower and zucchini in this nutty sauce (I halved the recipe and didn’t add garlic or chopped nuts-sooo good!) with a side of socca topped with nutritional yeast and a side of tomato paste mixed with stevia for dipping.

3 – Snack: Protein Goo

I wasn’t super hungry for an afternoon snack, but I figured since I went to spin class earlier, I should definitely eat something. I made Kristin’s Protein Goo recipe, but used a mashed previously frozen banana that I melted, 1.5 tablespoons coconut flour, 1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder, stevia, and the protein powder the recipe calls for. So tasty!

5 – Dinner:

Roasted broccoli slaw, kale, and tempeh roasted in coconut oil, nutritional yeast, and crushed red pepper flakes. Served with a side of homemade marinara sauce. I just love roasted vegetables.

7 – Snack #1: Cashew Butter Milk to have while watching some One Upon A Time episodes. Forgot to picture this one.

8 – Snack #2:

Muffin with a side of protein frosting mixed with 1/2 tablespoon coconut butter

Today was a bit of an off day in terms on hunger, but everything still turned out healthy and delicious as usual. My stomach has been acting up again, as it sometimes does, because of my IBS, so hopefully it will settle down soon. My doctor wants to run some tests, so maybe that will explain some things.

Hope you are all having a fantastic Wednesday!

Enjoy the rest of your day!

What do you usually eat before bed?

xox,
Lisa

{46 Comments }

Italian turkey burgers + hangover toast

May 29, 2012 by

Good Morning beauties and happy Tuesday to everyone!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, and your long weekends for all the American’s out there!

I spent the weekend celebrating a couple of friends’ birthdays, so it was a busier one for me. It was a lot of fun actually, and am so glad I went out to celebrate their special day.

I didn’t get many pictures in because I was having too much fun, but let’s just say it included a few of these.

Yah, not feeling the best the next day, but it was well worth it ;)

And is that not the most fun cup ever? It’s a huge margarita glass with an awesome pink boa wreath around it with a sparkly bottom. Love.

Since I wasn’t feeling the best the next day, baking was about the productive thing I did.

I made some turkey burgers inspired by this recipe from Courtney.

Italian Turkey Burgers (makes 5 burgers)

  • 454 grams extra lean ground turkey breast (1 lb.)
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon italian seasonings
  • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (if you like spice)

Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix until combined. Refrigerate the turkey mixture for about 20 minutes (or longer). Separate into 5 equal sized patties. Cook on a stove or grill about 8 minutes per side (depends on stove). Top with desired toppings and eat! These are really good and perfectly healthy! I cooked these in a little coconut oil, and it gave them a nice crisp side. So scrumptious.

I enjoyed one of these with some spaghetti squash, asparagus, marinara, and goat cheese.

Besides baking and spending time with friends, my Sunday was treated with some hangover toast and a side of starbucks.

I toasted 2 pieces ezekiel bread and topped it with coconut oil, stevia, cinnamon and a little sea salt. It’s a beautiful tasting thing.

Get ready for more of my baking adventures coming up in future posts.

Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the day!

What did you do this weekend?

xox,
Lisa

{26 Comments }
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