My new favorite ingredient...pumpkin!

Happy Fall everyone! What an appropriate subject to be posting about today...pumpkin! Pumpkin is incredibly rich in vital anti-oxidants and vitamins. Luckily, it is very low in calories and a good source of vitamin A, flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants like leutin, xanthins and carotenes. I have been making a lot of pumpkin mash (warm up 1/2 cup organic pumpkin, 1/2 tbsp coconut oil, then sprinkle with coconut and almond slivers). This is a delicious and healthy side dish or main meal. This morning I had left-over coffee smoothie and wanted to use it post-workout. I combined that with 1/3 cup pumpkin, 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, cinnamon to taste, and 1/2 + 1 tbsp vanilla soy milk.  I blended it with some ice cubes and had a protein-packed snack! I didn't get to take a picture because I gobbled it up before I thought of it! Can't wait to make it again. 

Mmmm cinnamon and apples

Kasey over at Powercakes inspires me and many others to eat healthy each week. I have learned a lot about eating clean and fueling up from her recipes and through others on Pinterest. I actually got my husband to share the dark chocolate powercake with me and he goes "is this one of those powercake thingies?" I have slowly, but surely, pulled him over to the healthy side. He even said that he could go "raw", but I'm not going that far. I think vegetarian is a far as I would take it. Any way, I am also looking for and trying out healthy desserts. Tonight, I was really craving apples and cinnamon, so I came up with: Warm apples and Yogurt. I clearly did not invent this, but it's so delicious I have to share it.

I heated up a small skillet on low-medium with 1 tsp coconut oil and cinnamon and threw in chopped up apples. I sprinkled cinnamon on top and pushed them around until they were warm and I couldn't take it anymore! I took about 1/3 cup plain Greek Yogurt and mixed it with the apples. So YUM even the cat wanted some! Go make it for an easy and healthy snack or dessert!

Love me some powerfood!

In the words of Cuba Gooding, Jr. in Jerry Maguire "show me the mother-f*ing money." We are pretty much broke right now due to it being the end of the summer and I haven't had a pay check since June. 6 days and counting until my account is full again. I am thankful for the time off, but the money goes quickly during those 3 months off. Because of that, I cooked with what we had on hand. We had brown rice, eggs, cheese and that's pretty much it. I did buy some large bell peppers and an onion and so I decided to make Brown Rice and egg stuffed peppers. It was my first time making S.P. and it was a valiant effort (could have been cooked longer, but tasted great.) I then realized that tomorrow was Powermealaweek at Powercakes day, so I quickly showed the world my creation. I hope you all are proud and maybe make this healthy dish for your family.

Here it goes:

1 cup brown rice
4 large bell peppers
1 egg for each serving
half an onion
1 small-ish diced red/green/yellow (mixed) pepper
chili powder, to taste
garlic
S/P

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cook the rice according to the directions. Add the diced veggies, chili powder, garlic, and S/P to rice and mix together once off the stove. I evened out the bottoms of the peppers so they would stand without falling. Place in an oven safe square dish. Stuff the peppers with the rice mix. Dig out a little hole in the top to crack the yoke in. Carefully place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Once it beeps, add cheese to the top and cook for another 10-15 minutes or until egg is cooked thoroughly.

I served it with pumpkin mash. Warm the pumpkin on the stove and add 1 tbsp coconut oil, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and honey. Stir until hot. Sprinkle coconut on top. It pretty much looks like (and tastes like)  baby food, so not everybody will be a fan. I just love how good pumpkin is for you and it's a potato-type side. Obviously, you can serve with anything you want on the side.  Leave me your comments! Enjoy!

Hello Powermealaweekers! Here is my "Naner Vanilla and PB Fluff Chia Pudding".  Please do not judge based on what this looks like...haha. It's as easy as it sounds to make. I first took 1 tbsp of chia and mixed it with 1/4 cup almond milk and sugar free vanilla pudding mix (1/2 tbsp). Mix and let it sit for about 30 mins so the chia can absorb the milk. After the longest half hour ever, I cut half a banana and top it off with some PB Fluff (2 tbsp PB2 and 1/4 cup water). This tasted like heaven in my mouth. I wish I had made more, but I ran out of bananas. This was for dessert the other night. My dog was on my lap trying to eat it because PB and banana is his favorite!  Go make this now for a healthy and delicious snack/dessert/justbecause. 

Good Morning Spoonable Smoothie

So this morning I had a hankering for a smoothie that I could eat with a spoon. I found this yummy looking recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it a little for my needs.  I included half a banana, half cup frozen mixed berries, half cup of almond milk, and a half cup of Greek yogurt.  The recipe also called for 1 heaping tbsp of PB, but I decided not to include that this morning. If it was  post work-out smoothie, you could include protein powder and more fruit if you want. I blended away and topped it with homemade granola and fresh strawberries. However, I was super excited to eat it, that I forgot to take a picture, so I am including a picture from the website I found it at: Sweet Verbena. What are some of your favorite spoonable smoothie recipes?

Sunday Power meal a week

I am new to following Powercakes, but I love everything I have tried so far. I like the idea of challenging ourselves to eat better, and have others out there doing the same thing. It's easy to get recipe ideas from others (especially when you get bored with your lunches). For post workout breakfast, I made Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes. They were tasty(cakes)! 

Here is the recipe:

• 1/4 cup coconut flour (ground up coconut)
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup fresh pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs (I used 1 whole egg and 2 flax eggs)
• 1 tablespoon coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil (I used 1/2 tbsp and 1 tbsp applesauce)
• 1/4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1. Mix together coconut flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a whisk.
2. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, coconut oil, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, and pumpkin puree.
3. Gradually add the coconut flour mixture to the egg mixture as you whisk the ingredients together until well combined.
4. Heat coconut oil or butter over medium-low heat until melted.
5. Spoon the batter into the pan in whatever size you prefer. The batter is thick, so you can shape them with the spoon. They do not bubble like regular pancakes, so keep an eye on them to make sure they’re done on one side, then flip. They should need several minutes for each side.
6. Check the edges to see if they’re done. No raw batter should show.
7. Serve with maple syrup, fruit, butter, or plain. (I did 1 tbsp sugar free maple syrup and 1/2 tbsp coconut oil heated in microwave together.Yum!)

TLC: The Losing Channel

As a society, us Americans LOVE to watch drama. We have sitcoms, soap operas, prime time, and...... TLC? Last time I checked TLC stood for :The Learning Channel. In college, I used to watch A Baby Story and What Not to Wear on a daily basis. Nowadays I hardly ever watch the station. And there's a reason. Toddlers & Tiaras. Since when is this a learning show? I mean, parents can learn what NOT to do, but this does not fit in with the station's tender loving shows they once relied on. My thinking is that they are trying to keep up with the rest of the stations (Jersey Shore, Real Housewives, etc) but this show really gets to me, especially as someone who works with children everyday. There is something wrong with a 5 year old girl with a face full of make-up, high heels, and looking like she belongs on a stripper pole rather than a stage. Why are these women allowed to procreate? They care more about THE PAGEANT than their own child. These moms take their sweet daughters and turn them into spoiled brats in one brush stroke of eye shadow. Who takes 2 packets of sugar and pours it down their daughter's throat? These moms were pageant girls who never made it.

I could go on and on about this show. But I went end with 2 words of advise: Let your daughter go out and roll around in the mud. Take off the make-up Mom and stop living vicariously through your daughter!

Shame on you TLC for giving in to society's demands. Find something to spotlight other than washed up Moms and their bratty daughters .