January 28, 2015

Protein Bites- The Best Post Workout Snack Ever!

You may remember my weekly meal list including the yummy balls that I had never tried before from the Fitnessista. Well, last week I was able to to make and try them and let me just say, they are incredible! I first made them the way the usual recipe says to, then decided to mix things up a bit. These protein bites are a bit different but oh so yummy! They are also filled with tons of proteins, good fats, and a small amount of carbohydrates. Because of the types of protein filled ingredients used, they also have the two types of protein that will help muscles recover directly after a workout and build muscle long after the workout is complete.

Soy and whey proteins are two of the biggest protein components for these and each ball boasts about 13 grams of protein! Whaaatt?! So much, I just do not know what to do!!! They are also filled with omega and saturated fats from both the coconut and almond butter. Cinnamon and local honey add to sweeten the pot with plenty of good taste and allergy fighting capabilities. If you have issues with seasonal allergies, get some locally sourced honey and the localized pollination with help fend off those unwanted histamines much like vaccines fend off illness.

As for the cinnamon? Well, cinnamon also helps with clearing up those pesky allergies. It can also help fight off the flu and aid in digestion. Cinnamon is a wonderful sweetener as well! I like putting a bit of cinnamon in my coffee to sweeten it without sugars and to kick my metabolism into gear on those sleepy mornings!

But, something even better than all the healthy effects of these is, possibly, how easy they are to make! I have increased the recipe and make about 15 at a time. Then, I have more than enough for an entire week of post workout eating!

Ingredients

Yields: 15 Protein Bites

5 1/2 Tablespoons Protein Powder. I like this one.
6 Tablespoons almond butter
7 Tablespoons dried coconut flakes
3 Tablespoons honey
1/2 Teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon salt
A pinch of your sweetener of choice (Stevia works well!)
1/8 A cup dark chocolate morsels

Recipe

Combine the protein powder, almond butter, and coconut flakes in a food processor. Pulse until coconut is in pieces and all ingredients are mixed well. It may look a bit crumply at this point, that is totally fine!
Add the honey, cinnamon, salt, and sweetener to food processor. Pulse again until all ingredients are combined.
Add the chocolate morsels and pulse again. The mixture should start to bunch and may even form into a giant ball of it's own!
Roll the mixture into balls about an inch in diameter. Set on a plate and place in the fridge for a few minutes or hours. This will help them keep their consistency and can be moved to a plastic baggie after a few minutes.

These bites should be ready to eat and good luck not eating them all at once! We have put the bites in plastic baggies when out for the day and they have lasted just as good as when they were first made!

January 26, 2015

Weekly Meal Planning

by Jenni in Food

Last week was the first week in a very long time that I have planned any meals and gone grocery shopping for anything. I loved it. I forgot how mice it is to have plenty of food in the house and be able to make whatever, whenever. It also meant that we ate out way less than most any other week in the past year and we spent far less on food. Honestly, I think it also saved us time in the end. We were not having to worry about who was going to go get lunch or what was for dinner and who would get it, we just ate what was on the menu and in the house.

There were, of course, a few things that did not get prepared, so those have been jumped to this week's list. There were also a few things that I loved- these balls being one of them. They were so good and ridiculously easy to make and kept my sweet tooth in check just fine! I did make a few changes to them and will have the recipe up soon!

As for other meals, here is what we will be eating this week!

Monday

Breakfast: Hard Boiled Eggs and Fruit
Tuesday: Spinach and Strawberry Smoothie
Dinner: Creamy Tortellini Soup with Shrimp
Snack: Kale Chips (I did not get to make them last week)

Tuesday

Breakfast: Eggs and Toast
Lunch: Caprese Salad (it was so yummy last week and easy to make!)
Dinner: Blue Apron Meal
Snack: Yogurt

Wednesday

Breakfast: Fruit and Yogurt Parfait
Lunch: Meal Replacement Shake
Dinner: Caesar Salad with Shrimp
Snack: Fruits and Vegetables

Thursday

Breakfast: Meal Replacement Shake
Lunch: Egg Sandwich
Dinner: Kale and Salmon
Snack: apples with almond butter

Friday

Breakfast: Salmon Omelet
Lunch: Eggplant Pizza
Dinner: Big night out!
Snack: Bar

Saturday

Breakfast: Flaxseed Smoothie
Lunch: Meal Replacement Shake
Dinner: Raw Kale Pesto over Linguine
Snack: Small Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

Sunday

Breakfast: Meal Replacement Bar
Lunch: Egg Sandwich
Dinner: Blue Apron
Snack: Bars

January 21, 2015

7 Reasons to Take 10,000 Steps per Day

by Jenni in Fitness

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Movement, of course, is part of a healthy lifestyle. Things like iPhones and pedometers are a great way to gauge your activity level and see how much movement you are getting throughout the day. Health experts recommend that we all walk between 10,000 and 12,000 steps each day! That is a lot of steps and averages between 5-6 miles! Do you walk that much? I must admit that I usually do not. But, the weeks where I am making strides towards this goal, I notice that I am less bloated and have more energy. Why, you may ask. Well, it turns out that walking can to a lot more for our fitness than we may think.

1. Decreases Bloating

As said before, walking helps decrease bloating. Really, any workout will help reduce bloating when done along with proper water intake. Walking is a great way to get ride of that pesky bloat because almost anyone can do it with a reduced risk of injury. The side-to-side movement that walking creates in the torso region will also build up those abdominal muscles and increase your metabolic rate.

Oh, and did I mention that walking 10,000 steps per day will burn at least 750 calories!?!?! That is reason enough.

2. Maintains Healthy Blood Pressure

Walking 30-minutes a day can help lower high blood pressure and the bad cholesterol in the body. These 30-minute walks are a bit different than parking farther away from the store and hiking in because it is a large portion of time and one, concerted effort. Walking 30-minutes every day will, likewise, decrease your risk of heart disease and stroke since both can occur from high LDL (bad cholesterol) levels and high blood pressure.

3. Decreases Arthritis and Osteoparosis

This is music to any forward thinking lady or older woman! Yes, walking 10,000 steps per day will decrease osteoporosis and arthritis. How? Well, the light, weight bearing activity of walking increases bone density over time. Likewise, the movement will lubricate joints and help with healthy joint function.

4. Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a bit like the happiness vitamin since low vitamin D levels have direct links to depression. Unfortunately, 1/4 of our population has vitamin D deficiency. Walking outside 30-minutes per day can help increase vitamin D levels since vitamin D comes from the sun. Of course, your can also take a vitamin supplement for increased levels. I recommend, as always, an organic supplement from a trusted company. Gas station and most drug store brands will not cut it since the vitamins are not well absorbed into the body and have very few checks before leaving the lab where they are synthesized. We pay a lot for our good food, there is no reason to derail all that money and effort with bad vitamins that will do nothing for our health.

There, lecture over. Other positive effects of vitamin D including increased immunity, proper organ function, and calcium absorption since vitamin D is needed in that process.

5. Gain Energy

As odd as it sounds, walking will increase your energy levels. This is because the body takes in more oxygen when we are active. Oxygen helps with mental clarity, physical energy, and proper organ function. A brisk walk will increase oxygen levels without taking away to much energy from a cardio rich workout.

6. Works the Bum and Legs

That's right, working out is a low impact activity that will increase the muscles in the legs and bum. If you are really wanting to increase your leg musculature, try walking at an incline. Inclines are one of those secret weapons for a gravity defying derriere. And to make this even better, the more muscle we gain, the higher our metabolic rate will be. This means that walking 10,000 steps today could get you to those weight loss goals weeks from now!

7. Works the Core and Arms Too!!

Yes, walking is a cross form of motion that will work the abdominal while the arm movement will help increase arm strength. So really, walking can be used a an all over, moderate workout! This is a great way to warm-up before your workout, or, cool down after one!

January 20, 2015

Weekly Planning

by Jenni in Food, Health

As part of my new years goals, I want to eat healthier, eat out less, and have a better schedule of food. That being said, this week was the first week in about a year that I have planned out our meals for this week. I was able to get everything but the seafood for the entire week and am already noticing a difference in this house's food eating.

We are, of course, eating healthier; but I think we are also eating more and with fewer calories! It has also helped our family get on more normal eating schedule. This is a super big deal!

The best part is that the whole meal planning only took about 30-minutes and I was able to get everything for the next week in under 15-minutes from the grocery store. We have also saved time on running out to get food daily and just trying to figure out what to eat.

Since this is new and exciting to me, I thought I might share our meals this week with you. Each day we are eating 5-6 meals, three being larger and two being snacks. Sometimes there is also a dessert involved. For me, that is usually cereal since I could eat cereal for eternity and be happy!

Of course, it is not completely healthy or 100% homemade yet, but that would be a fantastic final goal!