PROTEIN ENERGY BALLS!

PROTEIN ENERGY BALLS! 

I am in LOVE with this healthy energy snack! It tastes like dessert, but with health benefits. I take a couple with me to work to snack on throughout the day or before/after a workout since it's packed with fiber and protein.

Make a batch before you start your week. You will be so excited to grab one of these on your way out the door in the morning....and afternoon and night :)

Makes - a couple dozen balls (depending on how big you make them)

Time - not long

Ingredients:

- 2 cups old-fashioned oats

- 1 generous cup peanut butter (or any nut butter)

- 1/2 cup ground flax seed

- 1/4 cup chia seeds (they get super in your teeth, but are so so good for your tummy)

- 1/2 heaping cup of chocolate chips (I prefer mini chocolate chips)

- 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 1/2 cup honey

- 1/2 overflowing cup of toasted shredded coconut (I speed coconut on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for 7ish minutes, make sure to toss around so the edges don't burn)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients really good in a large bowl with a spatula or with your hands. Refrigerate for about 20 or so minutes before rolling into balls. I put all the balls in a tightly sealed tupperware and store in either the fridge or freezer, whatever you prefer.

THEN......EAT!  :)

Banana Almond Oatmeal Cups

BANANA ALMOND BAKED OATMEAL CUPS

Sadly, I can’t take credit for the delectable muffin images on my post, BUT I have an excuse I promise! My muffins were eaten before I could take a picture!!! They were oh-so-tasty and oh-so-HEALTHY! Obviously I’m pretty excited about them. :) 

I made these for a family brunch and they were great on their own or with a dollop of honey greek yogurt on top with berries. YUM. Feel free to add some nuts or chocolate chips or whatever you think sounds fun to this recipe. 

Recipe inspiration/muffin image from: 

http://www.coffeeandquinoa.com

Total Time: 35 mins

Yields: 24 muffin-sized cups

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup peanut butter (You could use any nut butter)

4 mashed ripe bananas + 1 extra banana, sliced

3 cups old-fashioned oats

1 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%, but any milk works!)

1/4 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 spoonfuls of chia seeds

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup raw sliced almonds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease a muffin tin with   baking spray.

2. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly combined. Spoon about 3/4 full into muffin cups. Top with a slice of banana in the middle.

3. Place on rack in the center of the oven and bake until oatmeal cups are firm to the touch, about 20-25 minutes.

4. Wait several minutes for oatmeal cups to cool before running a knife around the edges and removing them from the tin. Serve hot or let cool on wire rack.

Enjoy for breakfast or a snack!

Layered Vegetable Dish (Vegetable Tian)

Layered Vegetable Dish

(Aka Vegetable Tian)

Get ready for a delicious, healthy, garlicky, veggie dish that would be a perfect entrée or side dish to roasted chicken or chicken sausage. This also makes a ton, it fed my husband and I for about 6 meals. I put some leftovers on a bed of spinach for lunch, so you got some options!

Feel free to add any herbs or spices that fit your fancy, however, if I do say so myself, the garlic and thyme make a pretty good match.

Recipe inspiration from good ole' Pinterest: Vegetable Tian 

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium yellow onion (finely diced)

1 tsp minced garlic (minced)

2 medium zucchinis

2 medium yellow squash

2 medium potatoes

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 medium tomato

1 tsp dried thyme

Salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup parmesan or romano cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Add olive oil to your skillet. Once hot, add diced onion and minced garlic. Sauté until softened (about five minutes).
2. Meanwhile, start thinly slicing the rest of the vegetables (zucchini, squash, potatoes and tomato)
3. Spray the inside of a 9x12in baking dish with non-stick spray. Spread the softened onion and garlic in the bottom of the dish. Place the thinly sliced vegetables in the baking dish vertically, in an alternating pattern. Sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, and thyme.
4. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, top with both cheeses and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.

YUM! Enjoy!

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

White Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

These are the perfect treat to get you in the mood for the holidays! They look festive, too! I would also suggest dipping them in chocolate halfway for a little extra sweetness. 

HAPPY BAKING AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2 cups all-purpose Gold Medal flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup white chocolate chips

2/3 cup crushed candy canes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray cookie sheet with olive or coconut oil spray.

2. Combine flours, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Cream butter, coconut oil and sugars together until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Stir in the white chocolate chips and candy canes.

4. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough on prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool completely.

ENJOY!

Full Body Interval Workout

30 Second Interval Full Body Workout

Quick, easy, AWESOME.

RAWR, just kidding, this isn’t scary! I call it the 30 second Interval Full Body workout (Super original huh! Haha). Now, don't get too excited because that doesn't mean the workout is 30 seconds, BUT, you'll watch the clock and do each exercise for 30 seconds without a break in between. Then get a quick sip of water and do it again.....and then one more time for a total of 3 sets!

I love fast workouts because not everyone has a lot of time in the day to fit it in, BUT it is the best thing we can do for our bodies, in addition to eating healthy. Let's take care of ourselves, especially during the holiday season when we inevitably will be baking, cooking and eating more than normal.....which is so fun, but with a healthy balance.

You'll need:
Yoga Mat
Bench or chair
Exercise Ball

Ready Set GO!

Quick warm-up:
30 jumping jacks
30 high knees
30 butt kickers
30 opposite elbow to opposite knee

WORKOUT: 30 seconds each - no rest!

1.     Fast Squats

2.     Hip Raises (feet on chair or bench)

3.     Tricep Dips (on bench or chair)

4.     Curtsy lunges (or regular lunges - in place alternating legs)

5.     On all fours - right leg pulse towards ceiling

6.     Left leg pulses towards ceiling

7.     Plank

8.     Crunches with opposite leg pull

9.     Fast Russian Twist (legs off the ground)

Total time including warm-up and short break in between sets (~18 minutes). 

YOU CAN DO IT! 

Apple Pumpkin Bread

Apple Pumpkin Bread

I was SO happy with how this turned out! This bread is full of healthy ingredients making this a great option to make for breakfast or as a snack/dessert since there are chocolate chips in the recipe! You might have already noticed, but I believe all of my baking recipes have chocolate in them, it's a must! 

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup  brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned or fresh)
• 1/4 cup  vegetable oil, canola oil, or melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup walnuts or pecans

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamonuts pumpkin pie spice and salt together until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, applesauce, yogurt, vanilla, and brown sugar together until combined. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, and apple cider. Pour these wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently mix together using a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. There will be a few lumps. Do not overmix. Gently fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 60 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be done before or after 60 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes at the 50 minute mark or so.

Allow the bread to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing and slicing. The bread will stay fresh in an airtight container.

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

TO DO: Make these this week!

Zucchini Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These might look a little scary with the green poking out of the cookies, BUT no joke, you get the taste of a normal yummy oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, BUT with the nutrition of delicious zucchini! These were such a wonderful surprise with how good they turned out :)

Inspiration from: cookingclassy.com

HAPPY BAKING!

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (softened)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 medium zucchinis (shredded) 
• 1 cup quick oats
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl whisk together flours, cinnamon, baking soda and salt, set aside.
• In the bowl, whip together (with an electric mixer)  coconut oil, granulated sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Mix in egg and vanilla extract, then fold in shredded zucchini. 
• With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in flour mixture. Stir in oats, walnuts and chocolate chips with a spatula.
• Shape dough into balls, 2 Tbsp each, then transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet (I rubbed a tiny bit of coconut oil on them), spacing cookies 2-inches apart. Bake in preheated oven for about 12 minutes, or until edges are lightly golden. Cool on baking sheet 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

THEN, eat up! :)