New Books & Bars

This morning my 2 new books came in the mail! I am so excited to read them as soon as school lets out. Thank you to my Uncle for getting them for me.

The first one is Bright Side Up by Amy Spencer. I read reviews about this book in fitness magazines and thought it sounded like a perfect book for me. It gives an inspiring and optimistic perspective while showing you to not take for granted what is right in front of you.

The second book is Main Street Vegan by Victoria Moran. My uncle and I were watching TV and the author was on the show talking about her book. I don't plan on being a full vegan, but I do find it compelling to eat clean and she writes about the practical "baby steps" to becoming a vegan. The author has lost 60 pounds and has been successful in keeping it off. The book also includes 40 vegan recipes! I didn't know this until I got the book, I am very excited to try some more vegan meals.

Yesterday I went to Mother's Market and found some fun bars to try! I had heard a recommendation for the Skout Chocolate & Coconut bar, but when I got to Mother's they had so many choices!

I ended up getting one of the Skout Apple Cinnamon food bar (middle in picture). The ingredients looked promising (which is what I was drawn to at first with the recommendation): Organic Dates, Whole Grain Organic Oats, Organix Dried Apples, Organic Almonds, Organic Apple Juice Concentrate, Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Cinnamon, & Sea Salt. Total 190 calories, good fats (1g poly unsaturated fat, 2g monounsat fat, 0g trans & sat fat), 6g fiber, 4g protein, 0mg Choleserol. 

I also got a Raw Crunch Energy Bar with Blueberries (bottom in picture). It is handmade, uncooked, and unprocessed, which doesn't sound too bad! Now let's look at the ingredients; Organic Sesame Seeds, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Cashews, Organic Blueberries, Organic Flaxseeds, Organic Pecans, Raw Honey, Organic Macadamia Nuts, Celtic Sea Salt. I can not think of one ingredient in this bar that is bad for you! With 150 calories, 10g Fat (1.5g sat, 0g trans), 0g Cholesterol, 10g Carbohydrates (5g sugar, 3g fiber), and 5g Protein. I am excited to try this one!

The top RAW bar pictured, was also blueberry, but unfortunately I ate it after my Coed Rec softball game and forgot to keep the packaging! My bad, I know; it was delicious though so I will just buy it again and update you!

Yes, I did just start in a Coed Rec softball team, with some girls I played with in high school. I played inter-murals in college also, so I have kept some skill. I just need to get use to slow pitch softball, since I played fast pitch for 13 years, I need to be patient (HA!). 

Cinnamon Oats & Garlic Brussels Sprouts!

Prepping for the day!

Breakfast: Cinnamon, Apple, & Walnut Oatmeal with a side of egg whites

Lunch: Garlic Brussels Sprouts & Tomatoes

What is great about both recipes I posted? Both are vegan and vegetarian! If you are vegan and can't have the egg whites, you could make 2 servings of the oatmeal to have a bigger serving, or make a fresh fruit salad.

Cinnamon, Apple, & Walnut Oatmeal:

In a medium size bowl, add
•1/4 cup oats
•1/2 cup water
•1/4 apple, peeled and chopped
Microwave for 2 minutes

Add & Stir in:
•1 tablespoon ground flax
•1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Top with:
•1 tablespoon chopped raw walnuts

This recipe is for 1 serving.

Final Product!

Breakfast served. Pictured with cooked egg whites & red pepper flakes.

Garlic Brussels Sprouts & Tomatoes:

In a small sauté pan drizzle a small amount of coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil (~1/2 teaspoon), set heat at medium to medium low. Add 8 halved Brussels sprouts with the hard woody stem part cut off. Let this sauté for 5 minutes; until they start to brown a bit.

Then add 1/2-1 cup whole cherry tomatoes, 2-3 chopped garlic cloves depending on their size, and salt & pepper (to taste). Turn down heat to low and sauté for 3-4 additional minutes.

Finally, add 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon Italian spices. Cook this on low heat for 2 minutes and then it is ready to be served! I like to cook it until the tomatoes are bursting.

This recipe for 1 serving if a main dish, 2 servings as a side dish.

Final Product:

A great addition would be to top with shredded Parmesan cheese, especially of you are serving this to someone who does not love Brussels sprouts. I was also thinking next time to add some pine nuts as well.

Coconut Oil:

I bought my first jar of unrefined coconut oil from Whole Foods Market yesterday. This was my first time using coconut oil and it turned out really well. I had seen a lot of people using coconut oil, so I thought I could try it out, since I am an olive oil fiend! I used the coconut oil on my egg whites for breakfast and topped them with red pepper flakes.

Have a great day!

Oats & Kiwi with Greek Yogurt

Breakfast was kind of small the other day, but I made sure every nutrient counted!

*Wheat Germ is an excellent source of folic acid, as well as iron and zinc.

*Flax seed is an good source of omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, manganese and magnesium.

*Oats are heart healthy and contains soluble fiber. 

*The non-fat Greek yogurt is a good source of protein.

*Kiwi are a good source of fiber, folic acid, vitamin C and vitamin E.

More about Kiwis: http://www.superkidsnutrition.com/superfoods/sf_kiwi.php

Chia seeds would be a great addition to this as well, but I did not have any on hand. 

Oats & Kiws with Greek Yogurt:

Mix in a cereal size bowl:

1/2 cup old fashioned oats

2 Tbsp Wheat Germ

2 Tbsp Ground Flax Seed

1 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Top with:

1 Kiwi, peeled and chopped

1 container Trader Joe's non-fat Honey Greek Yogurt

Oat & Flax Protein Muffins

I adopted this recipe from Peanut Butter Finger's blog recipe for Chewy Granola Bar Bites!
Link: http://www.pbfingers.com/2011/06/29/chewy-granola-bar-bites/

They turned out great, and were delicious warmed up with some organic strawberry jam, or even by themselves.


Oat & Flax Protein Muffins:
 Mix together:
2 cups oats
2 tbsp cinnamon
4 tbsp ground flaxseed
2 tbsp wheat germ
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tbsp vanilla protein powder
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Mix in separate bowl:
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 egg whites

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring continuously

Spray muffin tins, evenly divide batter into 12 muffin tins

325 degree preheated oven for 12 minutes

They were a little dense, but I still enjoyed them a lot. I stored them in an air tight container and they lasted for quite a few days. I want to try these next time by adding some chopped up apples and apple sauce to add some moisture to them.

Lemon Chicken

On Thursday night, my mom got 4 free tickets to the Angels, A's baseball game! It was so much fun, but unfortunately the Angels lost.

As a pre-game meal, I made baked chicken on a bed of fresh arugula with grilled veggies, asparagus, sweet potato, and onions.

To bake the chicken, I greased a baking sheet and placed 4 thin breasts on it. I brushed each breast with extra virgin olive oil, and topped with sea salt, ground lemon pepper, dried oregano, fresh minced garlic, and two slices of lemon for each piece of chicken. I put the chicken in a preheated 385 degree oven and baked them for 15-20 minutes (mine were really thinly cut so they cooked really quickly).

While the chicken breasts were baking, I used a grill pan, greased it with Olive oil spray and added fresh asparagus, thick white onion slices, and sweet potato slices (had already peeled & boiled these for 6-8 min previously).. Once on the grill, I seasoned lightly with cayenne pepper (or black pepper works also), and garlic powder. Once there were nice grill marks on the sweet potato and onions I flipped each carefully, and turned over the asparagus.

Once the veggies were done grilling, I turned off the heat. The chicken was done by now and I took the baking sheet out of the oven. I played the chicken on top of a bed of fresh angular and served with a side of veggies!

 

Veggies with grill marks:

 

Final Product!

Put Your Lunch Face On

After work yesterday, I made myself an open faced sandwich!

I have never mixed avocado and hummus but I saw a recipe for an appetizer that did it, so I thought why not try it in a sandwich!

1• I began by roasting a thick tomato slice and toasting a piece of whole wheat bread.
2• After my bread was toasted, I added 1/4 mashed avocado in top, and then added 1 tbsp of Trader Joes eggplant hummus.
3• I like mesquite turkey, but any lean meat will work (or no meat at all too!). I used 4 slices of turkey breast, adding some good lean protein.
4• Top the turkey with a small amount of arugula, the roasted tomato slice ad a sprinkle of black pepper.

A fresh tomato will work well also, but roasting it for a couple minutes adds a little sweetness and warmth that I really enjoy on this sandwich.

That's it! How easy was that?

This open faced sandwich has good protein, whole grains, healthy fat, and fiber!

Mmmmm

Italian Inspired Frittata

On Tuesday morning before class, I did an intense an workout I got from April Oxygen Magazine! (I am obviously late posting this one haha)

After an intense ab workout and a 4 mile run, I was hungry!

I made a Tomato, Spinach, Feta Frittata with toast and a glass of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

To make the frittata:

1• Spray Trader Joe's Olive oil spray (or any other cooking spray) in a small sautée pan, add 2 cups fresh spinach, once wilted, transfer to a separate plate
2• Spray a little more cooking spray so eggs don't stick. Then add 1/2 roma tomato, sliced (4 slices), then add the spinach back into pan, and pour 6 tbsp egg whites into pan, add a sprinkle of red pepper flakes
3• Put top on the pan, cook until bottom is cooked (I like mine a little browned) (~4 min over medium heat)
4• Flip over carefully (!!!) and cook another 2 min-3 min over medium heat.
5• Top with 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (can add more if u like it spicer) & 1-2 tbsp nonfat feta, put top on pan to let cheese get warm (~1 min)

****Serve!

For the toast:
• Toast 1 slice whole wheat bread, add 1/4 mashed avocado on top with a sprinkle of black pepper

Nom nom nom! :)

Greek, Chinese, and Dessert!

Yesterday, before work, I had prepared my chicken greek salad for lunch! Work was so slow, so I also finished reading April Oxygen magazine and finally starting doing my math hw! I picked up the may edition of Clean Eating and Oxygen magazine so I will have something to do Friday at work!

Greek salad with grilled chicken:
3 cups fresh spinach
1/2 tomato, chopped
1/4 cucumber, chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup cubed grilled chicken
1-2 tbsp nonfat feta
2 tbsp Trader Joes Nonfat Balsamic Viniagrette

Once I got home from work, I was so hungry! I had left overs from the Sweet & Sour Chicken recipe so I decided to make it into a "fried" quinoa with green beans and broccoli. I was hoping that by mixing the left overs with the quinoa and veggies it would mellow the spice. It worked! It was still spicy, but not nearly as bad.

I mixed the left over chicken & bell pepper and sautéed it with 1/4 cup cooked quinoa and a lot steamed broccoli and green beans! I used Trader Joes Olive Oil Spray which has no calories! So it was a healthy "fried" quinoa.

After dinner, I was craving an apple crisp so I decided to experiment! I was determined to make a "healthy" apple crisp, so I used no butter nor oil, and added ground flaxseed, wheat germ and fresh blueberries!

Before:

After:

Final Product:

Recipe will be up soon! Putting the final touches together :)

Tofu Part 2

I used some more tofu this morning to make my breakfast shake!

1/3 cup firm tofu
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 cup strawberries
1/2 scoop vanilla Pro7 Synthesis Protein Powder
Water & ice

Total calories: ~250 calories, 4g fat (0.5 saturated fat), 25g protein

This tofu shake turned out a lot better then yesterday's and I think it's because of the vanilla protein powder! in my opinion, vanilla protein powder is a lot more versatile then chocolate.

Now I am at work reading April Oxygen Magazine having my healthy and yummy breakfast!