Andes Peppermint Brownies w/ a Twist!

These were.....wait for it...

AMAZING!

Once the fudgy, gooey, minty, bliss enters your mouth you're enjoying a little slice of heaven. 

 After reading that you probably are thinking to yourself, "Man, I can't enjoy those (all though I really really want to) because fudgy, gooey, minty, bliss comes with too much guilt (approx 300 cals worth of guilt) which is not worth an extra half hour-plus at the gym."

 Well my pessimistic friend, 

I have some good news

 EAT AWAY. 

Because these amazing, friends, I mean AMAZING brownies are made with.....

 wait for it.... (Name that show)

 not oil, not butter, not eggs.....

 So what????? 

 BLACK BEANS!

 Gahhhh I know!

 "WHAT" you shout out loud.

 "YES" I say.

 Fibrous, delicious, healthy black beans. 

With the serving size of 10 *see picture below,
These brownies,without mint topping, run ~139 cals per brownie square, and 219 cals with mint topping.

I cut them  even  smaller and got ~20 brownies (108 cals with mint topping!!!!) because I was feeding a large group.

So with all that awesomeness being said: 

 Bake and be amazed.

Ingredients: 

Brownies 
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder 
1/2 cup cocoa powder 
1 cup granulated sugar 
1 can reduced sodium black beans (with liquid) 

Mint topping 
1/2 package of Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips 

Directions:

Preheat  350 F.
Line a 7x11 baking pan with parchment paper with enough parchment hanging over the edges to grab at--helps with removal.

In a food processor, first blend 1 can of beans with liquid, sugar, and cocoa powder until a creamy dark liquid. Then pulse in flour,salt, and baking powder.

Pour batter into lined baking pan and bake for 25 min. or until knife comes out fudgy not runny. (you'll know). 

As soon as the brownies come out of the oven cut them to the size you desire. Then, evenly pour mint chips over hot brownies. As they begin to melt, take a knife or spatula and swirl around to make cool, minty designs. Then run your knife through the pre-cut slices again  to keep the brownies separate as they cool and the chocolate hardens:

Let cool for 10 min before placing in the fridge to harden chocolate more. 

To serve, let sit out for an hour or so to help cut through the harden chocolate layer--no cracks. ( I did think about per-slicing while the chocolate was still hot and that might do the trick to help prevent cracks...try it out and let me know what you think)

ENJOY!!!!

 

Turkey with Zucchini "Pasta"

So, have you seen those "make pasta from your veggies" machines? If not, Google them.

Some look really cool, others look like a gadget thought up on Star Trek.

But hey, neat idea.

For this dish however, I used the good ol' fashioned potato peeler. I didn't get uniform "noodles," but I did get thin cuts of zucchini that I sauteed in the pan to make a delicious base for my ground turkey and my husband's homemade awesome tomato sauce.

This dish can be whipped up in minutes and is super healthy, clean eating, paleo, and ready to be in your tummy.

Ingredients
makes ~2 servings
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 large zucchini
1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce
1-2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions: 
Cook and brown your ground turkey in a skillet. Season with some garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Take your zucchini and hold upright on a cutting board. Using your peeler, stroke from the top of the zucchini to the bottom in a quick motion to produce "strands". They should be thin.
In another skillet, heat a little olive oil on medium heat. Add in created zucchini noodles and saute them for about 2 min--until they are fragrant and beginning to get some brown spots on them. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder as desired.
Heat up you pasta sauce.

Now place your cooked zucchini noodles as the base of your dish, then top with ground turkey and pasta sauce.
Mix it all up, and enjoy!

Feel free to sprinkle some Parmesan cheese, or crumble some croutons on top; No need to worry about calories with this "pasta" dish.

Enjoy!!!!

Protein Pumpkin Muffins

Yes it's the start of fall so of course I am going to post something with pumpkin in it.

However, I've been making these for the past few months and it just dawned on me that I have yet to blog about these amazing muffins that I devour weekly.

Pumpkin has ~Vitamin A 2650 IU that, my friends, is a A LOT of Vitamin A.
Why does this matter?
Well because Vitamin A has a multitude of health benefits for the body including, eye health, skin health, teeth and bone health, and is made from the powerful antioxidant beta-carotene which in current studies has helped fight cancer.

So eat up my friends.

Oh did I mention each muffin is ~64 calories, 8 carbs, 4g protein, and 2g fiber? Yup.


Enjoy.

Makes ~18 muffins
Ingredients
1 15oz can of pumpkin
2 cups oat flour
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
3-4 large egg whites (~9tbs)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

*Optional: a handful chopped walnuts


Directions:
Preheat oven 350 F. 
Mix everything in a large bowl.
Scoop about 1/4 cup into each muffin tin compartment.

Bake for 15-18 min, until toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy!

p.s. Serving size is ~3 muffins.

Eat More to Weigh Less

"Eat More To Weigh Less!"

I wish I could shout this to the world. 

I wish  I had heard those words 4 years ago

 (but then again I may not have understood them as I do now). 

I wish good and sound nutrition was broadcasted to our ears instead of the junk/fake/made-to-fail stuff we keep trying over and over. 

I started my weight loss journey 4 years ago, reached my goal a year and a half ago, and now I'm just trying to live a healthy and positive life.

It's not a cake walk--although I love that game, walk around in a circle and win a cake, GENIUS--however, it is rewarding knowing and feeling literally more alive.

Food wise, my journey began with cutting and counting those calories. I discovered that 1200 calories a day was the lowest limit prescribed to a female, so that is exactly where I set my daily intake goal. For almost 2 years I only ate 1200 calories a day.

Seriously. I worked out like crazy, mainly hours on the elliptical and running outside,

(Hey, I did run a half marathon in under 2 hours!)

 

and still only ate 1200 calories a day. I mean they said burn more than you eat so I tried, and I was starving myself.

Oh I lost weight, in fact it was on that regiment that I reached my weight loss goal (YEAH), but I didn't feel right. Sure, I looked great, but I felt weak, and ALWAYS hungry.

Now, after I reached my goal I didn't know what to do. I was getting married, moving away from my home, and there was no way I could keep this strict diet for the rest of my life; it wasn't normal or natural.

So I let go. 

I quickly gained back 10lbs which was discouraging. But, this time I had a stepping block because I knew I could reach that goal again. I mean I was just there, but I needed to find a better way to get there; a way that I could maintain for the rest of my life (well the part I can control).

So I said to myself, forget the scale. I just want to be healthy and STRONG.

And thus weight lifting came into my life.

I joined the website bodybuilding.com because first of all have you seen the pictures they post of the people that use and promote their site? Pure awesome.

Secondly, I read a lot of articles they've published about nutrition, especially woman's nutrition (Female's Fitness Bible being my favorite) and was hooked.
From there I found Jamie Eason. A world class female fitness model and trainer whose goal in life is to help educate people about nutrition--my kind of gal.

I signed up to do her 12 Week LiveFit Trainer workout and nutrition plan

 

(Click HERE to see my journey)

and in 12 weeks not only was my body changed, but so was my life.

Within the first month I couldn't believe the transformation my body was going through, best of all I was getting abs by eating more!
You know that saying that is going around "abs are made in the kitchen?" Well after my first month I knew it was true and I couldn't have been more excited.

I made it though the 3 month journey,  no easy feat let me tell you, but I learned so much about nutrition and strength training, and how when combined properly they could produce amazing life-maintaining  results.

So what did I eat?

It was hard to get started on the Livefit trainer nutrition plan because the first month called for no calorie counting, just body fueling she called it. (with exercise of course)

So ate I ate everything really, that was whole and natural  (with a few chocolate cakes in between, not going to lie) 6 times a day. 6 full meals. Not 3 meals and 3 snacks--although some meals were bigger than others-- none of them lacked in nutrients.

 Months 2 and 3 calories came back into the picture but at no loss. I would eat high days and low days just to keep my body guessing, but those calorie counts were nowhere near 1200; more like 1450 on low and 1600-1650 on high.

I would say my biggest food/fuel source was protein. I upped my protein intake dramatically, I am talking 6oz of protein 2 times a day plus protein shakes and other rich in protein foods such as greek yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, etc.

*check out my high protein meal ideas*

I did eat carbs such as brown rice, whole wheat bread, pita,and quinoa, but I learned the power of only eating them when I was also eating high amounts of veggies and/or protein. This stopped my glycemic index from spiking and kept my body's metabolism working harder for longer.

Now pair  this new nutrition with heavy weight lifting routines and minimal but high interval cardio sessions, and I got a  transformed body and a fat burning machine--okay, well that's what she said it was.

BUT
I truly felt that way, and by the end of the 12 weeks, I actually gained weight--of pure muscle of course-- and lost 3% of my body fat! Inches gone all around.

I was over the moon. Muscles are more toned than ever, fat is shrinking, and best of all I am NEVER hungry!

The whole plan is a  little more complicated than this, I mean, it's a life changer. But I encourage you to look into the Livefit trainer challenge and see if it's for you.

12 weeks truly isn't that long and it will honestly change your life.

The biggest thing I want you to take from this article is that food is not the enemy (thank God, says the food addict inside of me), and it can actually help you loose weight if you eat it in the right ways (all good ways in my opinion)  and maintain healthy workout regiments that doesn't only include slaving away on the the elliptical or treadmill.

GO LIFT SOME WEIGHTS!

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to ask!

Many blessing on your journey!

LiveFit The FINAL RESULTS(week 9-12 combined)

sorry this is sooo late..... but I'm

Done.

Yup. 12 weeks. Finished.

I am so proud of myself. It was not easy, but it was fun. Honestly, this was such a life changing experience. I worked my butt, arms, and stomach off and I feel fantastic.

I feel smaller all around the numbers show success.

The last three weeks were the hardest mostly because you had to pay the most attention to your diet and push hard every day to ensure results. I had to switch things up a bit because my schedule got very crazy. It turned out that I worked out 3-4x a week (Weds-Sunday) and I managed to get the 7 days worth of exercise in by doubling up on certain days.

I slacked a bit on the cardio, I really tried to do every one, but I seriously only had about an hour a day and the weight lifting itself takes a lot of time if you are going to do it right.

I did however, learn to love HIIT--High Intense Interval Training for the cardio.

Me right after a HIIT workout. 

Sweat and all!

Sprinting 30 sec at a 2.5 incline at an 8.0 speed then 30 sec rest, repeat for 30 min.
I felt like a beast, and doubled my calorie burn in less time. Whoot!

The diet for the final phase changed dramatically. We started carb cycling. I would usually go Sunday-Tuesday low car, High carb wednesday, and the last week high carb Saturday. The interesting part was that you kept the same calorie intake for each high or low day. So I found low carb higher calorie foods for low days: such as nuts, cottage cheese, string cheese etc; and then switched to low calorie high carb foods such as oatmeal, apples, bananas, soup etc. It was fun but repetitive.


The weight lifting also switched gears. Instead of focusing on pushing yourself to high weight you lowered you weights and pushed yourself to more more reps. That was hard. You really had to concentrate on form because even though you were using less weight your were doubling or tripling the amount of time you lifted it. Ouch.

Overall, I am ecstatic with my results. I feel wonderful, my body looks fitter, and best of all I feel stronger!

My Numeric Results:

          Before:                                                       After:

• Weight                 139lbs                                                  140lb
• Body fat:            24%                                                    21%
• Chest:                   34 in                                                    35.5in
• Arms                    11.3 in                                                 12.5in
• Hips                    36.50 in                                               34in
• Waist                  33.50 in                                               31in
• Thighes                 22in                                                     22.4in
• Calves:                 15 in                                                    14.5in
• Forearms:       8 in                                                      9in
• Shoulders:          40.5 in                                                 42.4in

 

          What's next?

More weightlifting and more HIIT!
I think I'll be on the look out for  another program ( I like striving for a goal, keeps me motivated), but until then I might just use the workouts from phase 2 and 3. They are just so great and versatile. I think I'll do carb cycling often but not every week.

I hope that my journey helps you find your way through yours and know that you are not alone. It's never ending but we can all do it together! On to the next thing!

 

Wanna See my whole journey through LiveFit? 

CLICK HERE

and scroll down! 

Avocado Tuna Melt

 

Simply delectable. 

This dish is a clean meal, so easy to prepare, full of protein, fiber, and good fats, and will have your mouth craving it's creaminess when it's gone.

I am not a seafood fan, but tuna? I love the stuff, especially warm and sprinkled with cheese.

Cut open that avo and get started.

Ingredients 
1/2 medium avocado
1 can of tuna, in water
1 cup of lettuce, chop
1/6 tsp garlic powder (optional)
shredded cheese
diced tomatoes
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 
Place a cup of chopped lettuce on a plate and garnish with diced tomatoes.
In a small bowl mix tuna, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. 
Gently peel avocado half.
Gently scoop out a bit of the center of the avo to make a larger hole.
Place mixed tuna inside the avo crater  and sprinkle with cheese.
place in a microwave save dish/bowl with sides to prop up the tuna filled avocado and microwave for 45 sec, or until cheese is melted.
Gently place heated tuna filled avo on top of the prepared lettuce plate.

 

ENJOY!!!!

Cereal Chocolate Muffins

 

It all started with a cereal.

A hot cereal, named Coco Wheats.

Maybe you've heard of it, maybe you've even eaten it.  For me, it was a disaster turned good fortune.

You see, I bought Coco Wheats from Walmart in the uber mark down section. You know, that section where they put a pile of "stuff"" that was either returned and the box is ripped, or the plate has scrape, or maybe, in my case, they just have too much product; Coco Wheats was one of them.

Now I am not the fan of hot cereal. Now don't get me wrong, I do love me some oatmeal, but other than that, I'm an decadent omelet type girl for breakfast. So why did I go for this hot cearl that was on mark down for 2 dollars? We,ll it's becuase I read the label.

Simple, readable incrdients that included chocolate; A health-nut's dream.
Ingredients: What Farnia, Cocoa, calcium Phosphate, artificial flavors, vitamin C, Niacin, iron, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, B6, B2, and B1. Done. 

No enriched flour here.

I was quite hopeful for this cearal and was excited to try it.Unfotrunaltly it didn't turn out so good.
I followed the directions for the most part;
It states 3 tbs of the cereal for 1 serving, plus one cup of milk or water. I choose to do half cup almond milk, half cup water,  and added a scoop of protein powder just for kicks, then microwave for 1 min, stir, and continue microwaving, and stirring until desired thickness (mine was about 4 min).

Maybe it was the protein powder that through this cereal off, but I highly doubt it, but it turned out aweful! Taste, texture, overall look. Gross.

I was quite sad as I dumped the bowl of mush in the trash and starred at the box for fear that it was now going to be that one thing in your pantry you know you should just throw out because no one in your house likes it and it's been there for ages type of thing.

Then a lightbulb hit. On the side of the box was a recipe for chocolate brownies using the coco wheats. And I got to thinking, that hey, I've read that wheat farnia* does well used as a whole wheat type flour subsitute....and I have 2 overripe bannas, and one needs-to-be-used today zucchini in the fridge....so I'll MAKE MUFFINS!!!! (Didn't think that was coming did you?)

And that's exactly what I did. And guess what?
They are wonderful, very filling, chocolate, healthy, muffins! Miracles do happen.

*(Wanna know what the heck Wheat Farnia is? Click HERE)

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cup Coco Wheats (or regular What Farnia)
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 bannanas, very ripe
1 cup shredded zucchini
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbs coconut oil
3 tbs butter
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Chocolate Drizzle (optional)
3tbs chocolate chips
1tsp coconut oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 F. (YOU WILL BE LOWERING THE TEMP)*
Mix the coco wheats, flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl.

Beat together the banans, zucchini, eggs, vanilla, coconut oil, butter, and honey in another bowl.

Add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix very well. The mixture will be thick.

Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and evenly scoop the mixture into the muffin cups. Fill the cups all the way to the top.

Place your filled pan in the oven for 5 min at the preheated temperature and then reduce the heat* to 325 F. and bake for another 10-12 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from pan and let cool for 10 min.

while, cooling, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in the microwave in 30 sec intervals until fully melted.

Drizzle chocolate over the top of the muffins.

*(starting the cooking temp high and then lowering flash cooks the mixture

Enjoy!!!!

The Mex-I-Can Casserole

 

Love Mexican themed food?--MEX 

Believe in yourself?--I  

Have some canned beans and corn? CAN  

(get the title now?)

 THEN MAKE THIS!

I've made this several times for group gatherings because of its simplicity and unbelievably short prep/cooking time.  So far everyone seems to really enjoy it.

10 min prep 15 min bake. Done. 

Feel free to double the batch!

 

(doesn't it look delicious!?!)

Adapted from Panning The Globe

Ingredients: 

12 corn tortillas
1 can of rotel*
1 can of black beans--drained and rinsed (reduced sodium)
1 can of corn (no salt added)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup shredded cheese of choice (I used a mexican blend)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 to 1/2 tsp chili powder (depends on your heat tolerance)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

* any flavor of  or spice preference or rotel--I've made with original, mild, and lime!
* feel free to add in a hot sauce if desired.


Directions: 
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with a non stick spray of choice.
Layer 6 tortillas down in pan--is okay if they overlap and they bend up the side of the pan.
Mix rotel, black beans, corn, onion, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Evenly top the 6 tortillas with half the mixture. Sprinkle 3/4 cup of cheese over the mixture.
Lay out another 6 tortillas on top of that and repeat, ending with sprinkled cheese on top.

Bake for 15 min, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Cut into 15 portions or 9 if you want them bigger. 

Serve with some a side of your favorite salsa and guacamole!

Enjoy!!!!

 

Balsamic Pineapple Chops

Pineapple is a terrific fruit.

 It has a distinct sweet and tangy  flavor that really stands out to my palate.

I admit however, that I usually only bake with fruit, not cook with it. Now, I have make some amazing sweet and sour chicken with pineapple, and that was a huge hit; but to me, thinking about pairing meat and fruit together--no pun intended--just doesn't cross my mind when I think of dinner.

And I know, there are some pretty amazing dishes out there that add fruit to the main course--peaches especially-- so I hope this recipe can be the start of a new way of cooking for me.

To fruit!

Ingredients:
4 center cut pork chops,
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can pineapple, diced

Directions: 
Trim any fat off the pork chops as desired.
Whisk together balsamic vinegar, garlic powder salt pepper, and chopped onion. Place the marinade in Ziploc back along with pork chops. Seal and then shake/mix everything together so that pork chops are well covered.

Let sit in the fridge for 15-30 min (this can marinate overnight, if desired)
Heat a large skillet on medium high heat.
Take out the bag of marinated chops and dump the entire contents of the bag into the skillet.

Sear each side of of the pork chop for 2 minutes so that each side has  a nice browned edge.

Reduce heat to medium low and add the entire can of diced pineapple along with juices over the pork  chops. Cover and let simmer for 15-20 min. (During this time you can make some amazing side  dish!)

Remove the chops from heat and let rest for 3 min.

Plate chops and top with extra juice from the pan and some pineapple .

Enjoy!!!!

Summer Apple Chicken Salad

Have a pita? 

Fill it with this, your taste buds will thank you. 

Something you may not know about me is that one food motto I hold strong too is anything "white" and/or "solid" generally at room temperate I don't allow into my diet. Food items in these categories include: mayonnaise, white bread, ranch dressing, butter (now, I'll bake and/or cook with it every now and then but you wont see me putting it on my daily bread), crisco or any cooking agent that is in that category, velveeta....(I still don't really know what it is, but sorry all you nacho lovers my cheese dip will NOT include that solid in a box "cheese"). 

So with mayo out, let's say hello to plain greek yogurt. The healthy, high protein, extremely versatile yogurt.  I chose to buy plain greek yogurt and then season/sweeten it up myself to keep as many preservatives out of my diet. So far so good! 
Check out this Greek Yogurt Parmesan Chicken: it will rock your world.

Now,
thanks to  The Gracious Pantry  I have been inspired to create yet another wonderful and easy to make work lunch. 

Bonus, it's high in protein, clean eating, and low in fat! Feel free to double, triple, quadruple as needed.

Ingredients: 
4-6 oz chicken breast
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1tsp garlic powder
2 tbs chopped red onion 
1/4 cup granny smith apple, chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp black pepper
pinch of salt 

Optional: add chopped celery, exchange the apple for grapes, and/or add chopped nuts.

 
Directions: 
Shred/chop your chicken as desired. 
Mix everything together and....

Voila! 

Healthy Spring Stir Fry

 

Yes, stir fry can be clean eating and healthy,

and best of all, be DELICIOUS!

I put this simple dish together in the morning for my lunch at work and was so pleased with the outcome. I could easily be doubled or tripled to feed more than one, and feel free to mix up the veggies and meat as desired. 

Recipe adapted from Skinnytaste
Ingredients: 
4-6oz chicken breast, cooked and cubed
1/2 cup brown rice, cooked
3tbs egg whites
1 large carrot, chopped
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
red onion, slivers
1-2 tbs low sodium sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional: I like garlic)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbs olive oil

Directions: 

Mix 1tbs soy sauce,  pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl.
Toss cubed chicken in sauce and set aside.
Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. 
Add onion and cook until partially translucent.
Then add minced garlic, chopped carrots, and snap peas and sir fry until veggies are tender.
Move cooked veggies to one side of the pan and add in the egg whites. 
Stir them until they scramble and then mix in with the veggies.
Mix the veggie-egg mixture with  the cooked rice and sauced chicken. 
Add another 1/2-1tbs soy sauce and toss it all together until well combined.