>Well I’m officially under the weather. Who doesn’t get a cold all winter then manages to get one in May? This girl!
In an effort to kick it in the butt asap, I’ve been drinking tons of water and eating very nutrient dense foods. Here’s a recent bfast that’s both healthy and delicious.
I loved this combo! Recipe here, just substitute chocolate protein instead of vanilla and omit the vanilla extract.
On the hydration front, I’ve consumed about 10L (in the last 2 days, not kidding) of this stuff. It seems to work for Jennifer Aniston….
I kid, I kid. But I do like the stuff.
I haven’t had my beastly appetite lately, so in order to get enough protein, I’ve made a few of these babies..
Chocolate protein cupcakes
Combine, mix and microwave for 1 min, 30 seconds
1.5 scoops chocolate (SunWarrior) protein
1 T egg whites
pinch baking powder
stevia, 1 serving
sea salt, teeeny pinch
water, to moisten. <–If your cake is too dry, add more h20!
1 T *almond butter (topping)
*Since I broke up with Mr. Cow, I’ve replaced my cupcake toppings with nut butters or coconut milk yogurt. Deeeeelish.
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I think Seth felt a little bad for me and took charge of dinner tonight and he came up with quite the amazing stir-fry combo!
Chicken, quinoa & veggie stir-fry
Serves 5: Cook 1 c Quinoa in low-sodium chicken broth and set aside when done. Chop 3 peppers, 1 medium yellow onion, mushrooms, garlic and cook over medium heat until onions start to brown. Next, add diced chicken breast and 3 eggs and cook thoroughly. Finally, mix all ingredients and added Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce), sea salt, and black pepper, to taste. <–So good! Thanks Setho ❤
And sweet potato fries, because they go with anything. Recipe here.
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Do you suffer from food allergies? If so, what’s the hardest thing you’ve had to give up? (Greek yogurt for me!)
Are you a stir-fry person? I’m usually not but I LOVED the version Seth made!
>I am like a kid in a candy store in Whole Foods. I swear I can walk around bright-eyed for hours in that place. This morning I woke in the mood for chocolate! And so I choc-ed it up, protein-cupcake style.
Chocolate – covered Strawberry PC
Timberrrr!
Ingdedients:
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use SunWarrior brand, it’s da bestttt)
5 thawed frozen strawberries, mashed
1 T egg whites
1 t chia seeds (optional, good source of omega’s)
pinch baking powder
stevia (1 serving)
h20 to moisten (~2T)
Directions:
Mix with fork until brownie-like consistency
Spray coffee mug with cooking spray
Microwave ~1 min 30 secs
Top with sweetened low-fat Greek yogurt
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Post-digestion, I hit up ‘bucks for the usual “Venti Pike’s Place coffee with 1 inch steamed soy”. Tip: If you think Starbucks is a little too strong for your taste buds, ask for Pike’s Place. It’s their lighter blend. Deeeeeeeeeelish.
Now back to Whole Foods. Not kidding, I think I spent 1.5 hours there. And I didn’t even eat, ha! I did score some major goods however. Some notable mentions..
(click to zooom)
– Flax seed meal (ground flax seeds; can’t wait to use in pizza crust)
– Almond meal (ground almonds; gonna make homemade protein muffins and cookies)
– Coconut butter (heat a little in microwave the drizzle over oatmeal, toast, etc. Great source of healthy fats)
– Black Cherry Berry tea (just tried and ahhhmazing)
– Nutritional yeast (we all know how much I use this stuff)
– Organic Lite Honey Mustard dressing (planning a salmon dish with this one)
– Raw bee polin (a prebiotic and a natural sweetener)
– Spirulina (probiotic; add to smoothies)
– Pesto paste (all organic ingredients. Just add EVOO. And sans parmesan so allergy-friendly)
– Maca powder (good source of vitamin C and known for crazy energy boost. Add to smoothies. Love the stuff)
After cleaning the kitchen and re-organizing (stay tuned for a “what’s in my kitchen” post coming soon), I made hands down the best salad I’ve had in a looooong time. Sorry to toot my own horn, but toot toot 😉 First I cut up lot of veggies..
Spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, broccoli, carrots and avocado
Then added diced Tempeh
(And garbanzo beans (chickpeas), sunflower seeds, sea salt, and black pepper)
Next I made the dressing. I used my favorite hummus in the whole wide world, Jalapeno and Cilantro (Trader Joe’s). If you don’t have a TJ’s near you, you can add some fresh cilantro to traditional hummus (and a teeeeny bit of diced jalapenos if like a kick).
Sweet n’ Spicy dressing (1-2 servings)
4 T hummus
2 T nutritional yeast
1/2 – 1 t honey
water, to thin out consistency
(Dressing was so good that I forgot to snap a pic until after I inhaled it)
Add dressing and mix.
The spice of the cilantro was perfectly complemented by the honey. The hummus and avocado added nice texture while the sunflower seeds added the perfect amount of crunch. I not kidding when I tell you this is the best salad I’ve had in long time. Get on it 😉
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If you’ve been following my workout schedule, you can see that I’ve clearly been slacking on the weights and yoga – two very important components of running. I blame it on vacation and catching the spring running bug. I took a BodyPump class yesterday and it felt great to be back. Tomorrow I willlll do yoga. Hold me to it 😉
Have a great night everyone! I’m heading to the gym then it’s a girls night out 🙂 What are your plans???
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And the winner for the Wildtree.com giveaway package is…
True Random Number Generator42Powered by RANDOM.ORG
Beth Skendrovic!!! Beth, e-mail me at Biochemista@gmail.com and send me your shipping address 🙂
>Happy Tuesday! Yesterday I had the day off and it was glorious. I woke to yet another bowl of Blueberry Muffin Oats (I can’t get enough! Side note: 1/4 cup Greek yogurt stirred into oatmeal is fantastic).
I caught up on the news with a good friend..
Sir Keurig. How I love you ❤
Oh, andI have another love around me. My sister (his primary owner, even though I like to claim he’s all mine) is in NYC for a few days so I have this little man all to myself:
Michael gazing at the TV
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It’s been a while (err 2.5 weeks) since I took a BodyPump class and so I finally returned and it felt good! After class I had time to kill and some more energy so I decided to take a 45 min cardio kickbox class.
However, something happened that had never happened before: The class was terrible and I left 10 mins. The instructor had no microphone, terrible/scratchy music, and a horribly choreographed routine. I’m not one to complain about classes, but this one was just terrible. So during a water break I inconspicuously slipped out the door and spent my time in the steam room/sauna instead 🙂
*Have you ever walked out of a class???*
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For lunch I made a fall favorite…
Boiled then broiled sweet potato topped with 1/2 cup Trader Joe’s Turkey chili (I mixed in black beans, salsa, chili powder, and cumin) plus a dollop of Greek yogurt
And in a few hours followed up with a Chocolate Protein Cupcake inspired by Julie’s recipe:
In a bowl, whisk:
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (In my opinion, SunWarrior is by far the best)
1 T egg whites
1/4 t baking powder
stevia, 1-2 servings
1 T Greek yogurt
*Optional: nuts, dark choc chips
Directions:
Spoon into a microwave-safe mug sprayed with cooking spray
Microwave ~ 1 min 20 seconds
In a separate bowl, whisk:
2 T Greek Yogurt
stevia, 1 serving
1 T peanut flour (or 1 T PB/almond butter)
Top with raw cacao nibs
*Note: SunWarrior is the BEST protein I’ve ever tried. It’s absolutely 100% worth the investment. I believe it runs for $46 for 47 servings (<$1/serving isn't bad!). Chocolate and vanilla are my favorite flavors.
~30 mins, mixing 1-2 times throughout until veggies are roasted
And viola!
I also roasted some additional veggies for tomorrow’s dinner since I’m working 3-11pm.
Steamed, sliced Brussel sprouts then broiled for ~5 mins. Seasoned with EVOO spray, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder, drizzle balsamic vinegar.
And more veggies for later!
Roasted acorn squash, brussel sprouts, cherry tomatoes, and tofu (not pictured) seasoned with organic maple syrup (squash) and EVOO, sea salt, pepper, garlic powder (brussels, tomatoes, tofu)
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Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!
Fitness tip of the day: Next time you’re lifting weights, focus 100% of your mental energy solely on that muscle group. Picture that muscle, and only that muscle feeling “the burn”. This great tip can increase your productivity/results drastically considering muscle wear/tear yeilds increased muscle tone. Give it a try!
Don’t forget to enter my Whole Foods $30 Gift Certificate Giveaway! If you can’t think of a name, just link the giveaway to tomorrow’s blog post/tweet/Facebook post (let me know you did) and each will count as a separate entry! You have until Tuesday (16th) evening!
How was your week? Did you check out Bo’s Letter? It’s incredible. My week was great on the work front. I am learning so much! Running on the other hand, not so much. More on that in a sec…
This morning I woke craving chocolate but wanted something substantial. Clearly, I went for a Chocolate Protein Cupcake!
In a bowl, combine:
1.5 scoops Chocolate protein powder (I love SunWarrior)
1 egg white
1/4 t baking powder
1 T Greek Yogurt
2 T peanut flour
pinch sea salt
stevia
H20 to moisten
Directions:
Spray mug with cooking spray
Spoon in mixture
Microwave ~1.5 mins
Top with almond/peanut butter
After digesting and caffeinating, I attempted a 6 mile run to assess whether I am able to run the Richmond Marathon next weekend. If your new to the blog you can read about my recent injury here. In a nut shell, my hip hurt the entire run and I have come to the heartbreaking decision that I won’t be running the marathon. I have been holding back tears all day… 😦
In happier news, the Manfriend 1) Has a new baby nephew, Tanner Patrick! He’s such a cutie. I can’t wait to meet the lil guy. He looks just like his big sis, Portia. And 2) He brought home my favorite kind of wine, Petite Syrah:
Oh, and he nicely had the bottle autographed by the maker!
It was pretty delish!
Well I’m off to bed. Tomorrow I’m off to San Francisco for the Foodbuzz Food Blogger Festival! Don’t worry, I plan to take tons of pictures 🙂
Biochemista 