New Grain In Town
I tried a new grain for breakfast today! Nowhere on the front does it say “farina”, but that’s what it is!
I loved it! The texture was that of oat bran and it got so thick!
I’m lazy, so yes, I did cook it in the microwave. After it was cooked nice and thick I stirred in a ton of frozen blueberries, (which cooled it off nicely!) and topped it with a few roasted almonds. Tasted like a Blueberry Muffin!
I forgot who it was, but someone left a comment a while ago saying I could use my waffle maker as a panini press!
Brilliant idea right thurr.
Isn’t it the cutest little sandwich you ever did see?
But what really counts is in the inside.
Peanut butter, banana and, I was feeling crazy, so some unsweetened carob chips!
Need I say more?
My Steps To Clear Skin!
I just looked at myself in the mirror and my face is SO CLEAR!
I have battled red blemishes, blotches, pink scarring and an oily/greasy face ever since I was 12. I always wear makeup in public to cover up the hideousness. Many tears have been shed over my skin. Many jealousy thoughts have entered my head because I feel like I’m ugly because of my acne.
Ever since I was 12, I’ve never had clear, blemish free skin. Never.
My mom also has acne problems and we have tried EVERYTHING.
We did Pro-Activ for the LONGEST time. It did help at first, but it mostly dried me out!
We visited a Dermatologist and he gave me a pill and some special face washing stuff, but it always COMPLETELY dried me out and it HURT really bad and didn’t help me in the long term!
We also paid ridiculous amounts of money for this special face washing kit called CleanStart at a fancy beauty store. It seemed to help at first, but again it DRIED ME OUT and didn’t help in the long run! And was too expensive to keep buying!
This was also back when I was eating white flour quesadillas with MOUNDS of cheese, Ramen noodles and frozen pizza on a daily basis!
Come on, you have to admit, Ramen noodles are delicious! I grew up on them! I was addicted and would eat 2-3 packages in one sitting! 😦 Yikes!
So let’s see, my face today is looking GREAT! The redness has decreased, the greasiness has DEFINITELY decreased and I look like I’m glowing!
So this is probably WHY:
The last few days I’ve been really focusing on EATING INTUITIVELY. And NOT BINGING.
I’m done counting calories. That was short lived.
I eat when I’m hungry. And I’m hungry a lot.
It’s not easy to teach myself to listen to my body’s hunger cues since I have been ignoring them for the last year, BUT I feel so much better when I’m giving it what it wants instead of depriving all the time!
I’ve also been eating almost NO dairy! Sometimes I’ll sprinkle a little feta on my eggs or on salad and I put 1/2 cup of fat free milk in my smoothies, but other than that I’ve been DAIRY-FREE! Oh wait, the protein powder I use is Whey, but I only use it like, once a day. I never meant to start eating less dairy, with my dad losing his job we just can’t afford extras like Greek yogurt and cottage cheese (my favorite dairy products!).
I’ve also been drinking LOTS of water! I feel like I’m ALWAYS in the bathroom now, (TMI?) but that’s a good thing! If your pee is yellow and you’re not peeing every few hours (TMI again? Sorry!)…you’re not staying hydrated!
Also, I’ve been eating almost no sugar. My only source of sugar lately has been agave nectar in baked goods or on French toast. And I use it sparingly!
I also have STOPPED worrying about FAT. Thanks to Carrie’s post, especially! That post really hit home with me. I used to DEPRIVE myself, and put limits on how much fat I could eat. Then I would always end up having a BINGE FEST with the peanut butter jar, anyway! So, that definitely wasn’t working! Now I eat fat at every meal in some shape or form! It helps keep you full and satisfied and is also DELICIOUS!
On top of all this, I eat WHOLE, REAL, NON PROCESSED foods. No crazy additives, no super scary ingredients. I eat whole grains, vegetables, fruit and I’ve been trying to eat less meat and more plant based proteins!
So….yeah! I bet my clear skin is a combination of all those things! I definitely hope this clear skin sticks around! I wish my Dermatologist that we paid SO MUCH MONEY for had told me to eat a REAL FOOD DIET! That would have been helpful!
Pass A Spoon
Alternate post title: Must-Try Blogger Recipes
Ohhh, don’t mind me…
I’m just currently SALIVATING over…
Tara’s Oatmeal Raisin Cashew Butter
I would swim in this. Please pass a spoon.
I cannot get over how delicious Katie’s Protein Milkshakes are!
I made her favorite, the Peanut Butter Butterscotch one! Made with cottage cheese AND protein powder, it was packed with protein! And the addition of maple extract? To. Die. For.
Please. If you have not made Mama Pea’s Mmmm Sauce, do yourself a favor and make it! It tastes like a cheesy Alfredo sauce, like from Olive Garden. I do not lie.
It’s dangerously good smothered on whole wheat pasta with broccoli. I haven’t had pasta for so long, it was pure heaven digging into this. Pasta is my #1 favorite food of all time, my family just always buys white pasta, so I never eat it. Welcome back to my life, whole wheat pasta.
Kathleen, your Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes are melting my heart. They look delicious!
That’s all I have for now! I hope you enjoyed this post, now you have lots of recipes to try!
Oatmeal Wheat Carrot Raisin Muffins
Remember I said I’d eat no sugar this month?
That idea is… down the drain. Yeah.
I think it lasted 2 days. At most.
Instead of never eating sugar again, I am just going to practice moderation.
I like using as less sweetener as possible, while still having a baked good that tastes delicious.
We had a big bag of carrots in the fridge and raisins in the pantry. I knew what needed to be done.
In the muffin world, carrots and raisins just belong together. It’s common sense. And there are lots of carrot raisin muffin recipes out there…but you need to make this one.
This is what I look for in muffins. The benefits of whole grain goodness, yet a soft, moist taste. A dense, yet fluffy texture. Chunky raisins and carrots throughout. The sweet smell of cinnamon.
Yep, these are it.
I was hesitant to use oat flour, thinking they wouldn’t rise as well, but the result was PERFECT!
Oatmeal Wheat Carrot Raisin Muffins
3 eggs
3/4 cup skim milk
3/4 cup agave nectar
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oat flour
2 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 cups grated/shredded carrots, packed (I used my Vitamix to shred the carrots)
1 cup raisins
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners and spray them with nonstick spray. You need to spray them really well or they will stick! (Trust me, I know.)
Whisk together eggss, milk and agave in mixing bowl. In another mixing bowl combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add the dry ingredients gradually to the wet, stirring gently, careful not to over mix.
Fold in shredded carrots and raisins. Don’t over mix, or muffins will be dry and stiff! Stir just until moistened.
Spoon batter into the 12 well-greased muffin paper liners.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out with no wet batter clinging. Let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to wire cooling rack. Serve warm.
My family gobbled these right up! And I practiced moderation! I only ate one muffin (plus licking the bowl, but that don’t count). *so proud*
I thought we’d at least have some leftovers, so I could have one for breakfast, but they were all gone by night time! That’s how you know they’re delicious.
I’m trying to dilute my sweet tooth, so I only used 3/4 cup of agave nectar to sweeten these. Feel free to use more!
The raisins throughout bring a nice tart, sweetness.
You will love these. For breakfast with eggs. Or gobbled up straight from the oven.
Love you Momma!
So I’m a day late, but Happy Mother’s Day!
No matter how many times I roll my eyes or pretend I’m not listening to her, I love my mom!
She is the best mom in the world. Always putting others before herself. Always serving. Always smiling. She has such a happy attitude. I love her.
I also love you guys. You have no idea how much love and support I felt as I read through all your comments on my last post. This really is an incredibly hard time for us. Especially my poor dad who feels like a total failure for being unemployed right now. But I love him so much, I know we will get through this. He’s been looking everywhere for a job and I know he’ll find a good one soon! We still don’t know if we’ll stay here in our house, or if we’ll move! It’s really quite a scary thought to know that we don’t have a clue what’s going to happen to us in the next few months!
Yummiest Lentils Ever
I made lentils! They’ve been sitting in the cupboard for days months. I remembered reading somewhere that lentils soak up any flavors that you cook them in, so I picked some of my favorite spices and flavors and went with it!
Tomato, Garlic & Herb Lentils
vegan, sugar-free
Ingredients (serves 3-4)
1 cup uncooked lentils
1 15 oz. can of natural tomato sauce (Hunt’s)
2 cups of water
garlic and herb seasoning, to taste
Mrs. Dash Salt-Free Original Blend, to taste
Instructions
Add lentils, tomato sauce and water to a pot over medium-high heat, covered. When it comes to a boil add seasonings. Don’t skimp on the seasonings, do a lot!
Decrease heat to a low setting and let simmer, stirring occasionally, for 33 minutes or until tender.
Lentils are an amazing source of fiber and protein.
The lentils were my favorite part of lunch today! I had a big ole salad with:
romaine
tomato
sauteed mushroom + onion
a little feta
roasted Brussels sprouts
The Brussels were delicious! I cut them in half, rinsed them, tossed them olive oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and sea salt. I spread them on a foil lined baking sheet (easier clean up!) and roasted them at 425ºF for 25 minutes. I roasted them too long, they were kind of burned, but I liked them that way! Crunchy!
Today I woke up bright and early at 6:25am (it’s early for me, OKAY?) and did Couch To 5k. Today’s run was 25 minutes of jogging with no resting walking breaks. It was hard. Running is hard. It hurts sometimes. But I love the feeling I get after. My stamina and strength are improving immensely.
Here’s some tough news. I didn’t want to tell you guys, but I just want to be open about it. Here it goes:
My dad is the best dad ever. Ever since I can remember he has been a hard worker, always going to work, liked by his employers. He is a very smart man.
On Wednesday night my dad came home with terrible news. He sat the whole family down and told us that his boss brought him into his office and told him his job was being eliminated. My dad didn’t do anything wrong, they just don’t need him, can’t afford him anymore.
My heart sunk. Tears came. I cried. My mom cried. Even my tough brothers cried.
My dad is unemployed.
Even he cried. I have never, in all my 15 years, seen my dad look so heart broken, so ashamed, so sad.
The last two days he’s been at home with me. Searching online, emailing, looking for a job.
I know he will find one. He has a Master’s and he is really smart. But it will probably be a major pay cut. His new job. Will it be in a different state? Will it be here? Will we be able to afford our house payments? Will we have to move to a smaller house?
So, things are pretty tight and stiff. We don’t know what the future holds for us in the next few months and coming year. My dad might have to take on two more jobs, to make what he was making at his old job. We just don’t know. Please pray for us. We are praying. We know that this is just one of those trials that God gives his people to test them, to see if they stay true to the faith.
Thank you.
Muffins, Monsters and Dates
This evening I went to the baseball park to watch my brother’s baseball game.
What was more interesting than the game, was the conversation my parents were having with some other parents on the bleachers about Osama Bin Laden’s death. Ha!
Lunch:
Egg white + veggie scramble. With mushroom, onion, brussels and topped with a little feta and a tomato slice. And the last oat flour muffin on the side.
The oat flour muffin was 3 days old now, and was pretty dry. Next time I make the muffins, I might add more liquid + less flour, or add an extra egg.
Snack:
Usually I make my green monsters with 1 cup of milk, but this time I omitted it and had an extremely creamy and thick texture! Plus it was more sweet and flavorful, since the milk didn’t take away from the flavor!
New favorite recipe: 1 sliced frozen banana, enough spinach to feed a small country (you think I’m kidding), 1 scoop whey chocolate protein powder and a handful of ice
Yes, I admit it. The whey chocolate protein powder DOES have fructose in it, but it’s the very last ingredient on the list, so it really has almost NO sugar in it! So technically my sugar free month is really just 99% sugar free month!
More snackage:
A stuffed date , devoured right before we left for the ball fields. I warmed the date up in the microwave for a few seconds before adding the peanut butter and carob chips, so it was all warm and gooey. Me likey.
I have a 2.5 mile run tomorrow for Couch To 5k. Identical to the one I did on Monday. That was the hardest run I’ve ever done and I have to admit I’m a little scared about doing it again tomorrow. I’m going to try and wake up pretty early to do it, while it’s still cool and dark out. That’s always a fun time to run, I want to see the sunrise!
My mom has a gym membership and she can bring 1-2 friends (me) every time she goes. But we don’t go to the gym, so I have just been running outside around our neighborhood. I like treadmills though, but I think running outside is good when you’re preparing for an outdoor race, like I am!
I still haven’t actually found or picked a 5k to run when I am ready, I need to get on that!
Do you prefer:
Treadmill or outside running? -Depends for me. Treadmills are excellent when doing HITT.
Almond or peanut butter? -Peanut all the way, for me!
Just Do It
I don’t know what was wrong with me today. But I did NOT want to do strength training. I haven’t done it for a few days, it’s hard to get back into it!
So I procrastinated all morning. Went on a walk with Chipper. Made Branden toast. Ate 1/2 a banana. Read my scriptures. Read some blogs.
Finally I decided I needed to JUST DO IT.
Every single rep, every set seemed like such a chore. Time went by so slow.
But I felt amazing when I was done. And that’s what matters. Plus, I’m starting to see definition in my arms, nothing excites me more! I used to have stupid little chicken arms.
Last night I cooked up some millet. I bought the millet a long time ago, on my Whole Foods trip. I decided to pull it out of the cupboard and cook it up, no time like the present right?
I cooked the millet in water with cinnamon and nutmeg. It really was a pain to cook, I had to keep adding more water and I was never sure if it was done. I kept tasting it, and it kept tasting worse and worse. I wasn’t a fan of the texture either.
Well, this morning I warmed it back up in the microwave and topped it with frozen blueberries and peanut butter for a nice little breakfast.
While I don’t love the taste or texture of millet, the blueberries and peanut butter made up for it. I don’t think I’ll ever buy millet again, oatmeal is just so much tastier and easier, but it was fun trying out a new grain!
I won a giveaway on The Healthy Apron blog for a Camelbak Groove water bottle. I got it yesterday and I LOVE it.
At first I thought a filtered watter bottle was unnecessary, but the water does taste so much better with the filter!
And even though the filter is a nice touch to this water bottle, my favorite feature is the bite valve.
Water only comes out when you are biting on the valve. When you bite on it…
It opens up. Haha, I feel like a little kid again drinking from a bottle! Makes drinking water much more fun!
Yesterday I stayed hydrated because of this miraculous water bottle. Trips to the bathroom were more frequent than usual, but that’s how it should be! This water bottle is helping me drink more water!
Have you ever cooked with “new” grains? – Barley and now millet.
How do you find motivation to work out when you really don’t want to? – I just remind myself how great I will feel after and I JUST DO IT.
How do you stay hydrated? -I am loving the Camelbak Groove water bottle!
Nature’s Candy
I’ve still been trucking along on the Couch To 5k Plan! I can’t believe I’m on week 7 already!
Today’s run jog was 2.5 miles in 25 minutes, no walking breaks. I wish I could say other wise, but it was hard.
I wasn’t even going to do it today, because I was having hip pain, but decided to just try it out. Once I warmed up with some walking though, it started feeling better and didn’t hurt while I ran. That was good.
I ran around my neighborhood and brought my phone’s timer so I could track how long I’d been going. The first 12 minutes I was going really fast and strong but the last half I was so dead. I kept jogging though. When I had only 3 minutes left I started sprinting. I always get a burst of energy at the end of my runs!
I actually counted every single calorie that I ate today. I haven’t done that in a long time. I always eat so much better when I count calories.
I hate it when people say to not count calories. I can see how it can become an obsession and unhealthy, but I think it is really helpful for some people. When I used to count calories, my goal was to eat as less as possible. Bad, bad, bad. I was obsessed and starved myself.
But today when I was counting, my goal was to listen to my body and eat intuitively.
Breakfast:
1/2 cup oats cooked in water with 1 cup frozen strawberries whisked in. Soak overnight then in morning stir in 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder and a few dashes of unsweetened cocoa powder.
Lunch:
Roasted brussels sprouts (chopped in half, tossed in olive oil + salt/pepper; 400ºF – 15 minutes) and a oat flour muffin with hummus-tuna and tomato.
I have an obsession with oat flour. If you haven’t noticed.
When I visited Whole Foods for the first time, I saw a loaf of bread made with only oat flour, water and leavening agents. I didn’t end up buying it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I’m going sugar free for the month, and needed some bread without added sugar!
I wanted to try making a completely oat flour bread. I found a recipe online, tweaked it a bit and the muffins came out wonderful! I decided muffins are more fun than bread, anyway!
I was actually really really worried about how these would turn out. The batter was such a thick and weird consistency, but they baked beautifully! The muffins have a wonderful texture and crumb, I omitted the added sugar yet they taste delicious!
Oat Flour Muffins
adapted from this recipe
sugar-free!
Ingredients (makes 9 muffins)
- 2 1/2 cups oat flour (grind rolled oats in Vitamix until fine)
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 Tbsp. melted butter
- small dash of cinnamon
Instructions
- Pre heat oven to 350ºF and grease 9 muffin tins.
- Mix dry ingredients. Add milk, beaten egg and butter. Mix just until moistened, careful not to overmix.
- Spoon thick batter into muffin tins. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- The muffins are delicious warm, but I found them even tastier after being cooled the next day!
Winners and Randomness!
Before I get into anything, I just want to say THANK YOU for all your entries into the giveaway! I can tell you all share my excitement over Rocco Dispirito and his new cookbook!
I’m happy to announce the TWO lovely winners!
First is….
The BEAUTIFUL and ever so creative Jenny from Peanut Butter And Jenny!!! Yeah, girl!! You are going to LOVE the recipe ideas in here, they are amazing!
And our second winner is….*drumroll*
The sweet and amazing Mandi from Eat Me Healthy! I haven’t made the PBJ cookies yet, but they’re on my list!!
Congratulations ladies! Check your inboxes for an email from me!
***
Well, it’s 11pm…time for this chick to get to bed, need to be awake for church tomorrow! First of all though, I just want to say I am so excited for the month of MAY! WHOO HOO!
I am going to go the whole month eating sugar-free! Yes, remember when I used to do Sugar Free Weeks, well I need to get back on that and sugar is so bad for me and I really need to break my habit of eating it, so I figure a month without it will help me realize that I really CAN survive without it! (wow, super long run on sentence…)
Janetha has been going sugar-free the last few days and she said something that really stuck out to me. She mentioned that on any given day, we should only be eating 50 or less grams of sugar, and she counted and on a day that she went sugar-free she ate like 17 grams (or something like that…), so I can only imagine how many grams of sugar I eat on a day where I DON’T go sugar-free! Of course, the 17 grams were all from natural sources, but still, sugar is sugar, and I want to make sure I’m only eating natural sugars from fruit!
May is a special month for my Mom. It’s her birthday AND Mother’s Day in May, so I need to think of something SUPER special to do for my AMAZING momma.
One more thing before I go (promise!):
Allie is going to work for Matt and Kath in their Great Harvest Bakery in Charlottesville, VA!!!
So exciting, right?! How fun would it be to work in a bakery, I would be in PURE BLISS! I love Allie and Kath, and love reading their blogs, so I am so excited for the bakery and all the new opportunities it will bring them and wish them the best!
Okay, I’m super tired, sorry for the lame post lacking in food, but I really wanted to share the WINNERS! See y’all later!
Have you ever wanted to work in a bakery?
How concerned are you about your sugar intake?
Just out of curiosity (thinking about doing a post about it) how important is eating organic to you? Do you eat 50% organic? Less, more? Are there certain foods you buy organic? Why?
Little Miss Healthify 