Tasty Tuesday 12/2

(SKINNY!) OATMEAL COOKIE SMOOTHIE

YIELD: ABOUT 2 CUPS

PREP: 5 MINS

TOTAL: 5 MINS 

INGREDIENTS: 

1/4 cup old-fashioned oats 

1 frozen (peeled) banana 

1 cup unsweetened almond milk 

1-2 Tbsp. honey (to taste) 

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon 

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 

1/4 tsp. ground ginger 

pinch of nutmeg 

pinch of salt 

(optional: 1/4 cup raisins)

DIRECTIONS:
Add oats to blender, and pulse until finely ground. 

Add remaining ingredients and pulse until blended and smooth. 

Serve immediately.

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/skinny-oatmeal-cookie-smoothie/#_a5y_p=2162043

              Spicy Blackened Chickpea Scramble Sandwich                                              

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

Blackening spice mix for 1 can of chickpeas: or use blackening or make your own:

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp cumin powder 

1/4 tsp onion powder 

1/2 tsp garlic powder 

1/4 tsp cayenne or to taste 

a very generous dash of black pepper

1/2 tsp thyme 

1/2 tsp paprika

Scramble: 

1 15 oz can chickpeas cooked Chickpeas 

1/2 red bell pepper 

1/4 cup red onions chopped or thinly sliced 

1/3-1/2 tsp salt (depends on if the chickpeas are already salted or not) 

blackening spice from above

hummus for serving

Directions:

Drain the chickpeas. 

Toss the chickpeas in the blackening spice and let sit while you cook the peppers and onions.

In a pan, add a tsp of high smoke point oil and heat on highest heat possible. 

Add red bell pepper and onions and cook until brown on the edges. 

Add the chickpeas and all the spice and salt. 

Use a Tbsp or so water to get the spice from the bowl and add to pan. 

Cook on high heat for 4-5 minutes. 

Stir and mash frequently to avoid burning and stir until you can smell the spices smoking. 

Remove from heat. 

Add a Tbsp of water

Tbsp or more of hummus to the scramble to add some moisture. 

Serve up in a sandwich. 

Layer hummus then greens and scramble.

Variations: Use other beans like white beans or black beans in the scramble. Use tofu or tempeh. Add roasted veggies to the sandwich or avocado.



Crock Pot Honey Ginger Chicken 

Servings: 4

Serving Size: Roughly 1 cup

Calories: 315 

Fat: 3.8 g 

Carb: 39.2 g 

Fiber: 0.6 g 

Protein: 33.2 g 

Sugar: 36.2 g 

Sodium: 493.9 mg

Ingredients: 

4 Chicken Breasts (About 4.5 Oz. Each), Cut into bite size pieces! 

1/2 C. Honey 

3 Tbsp. Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce 

1 Inch Fresh Ginger Root Grated 

2 Tbsp. Lime Juice 

2 Tsp. Sesame Oil 

1 Tsp. Rice Wine Vinegar 

4 Garlic Cloves Smashed 

1 Medium Yellow Onion Diced 

Salt & Pepper to Taste 

1 Tbsp. Cornstarch 

1 Tbsp. Water 

Optional Toppings: Sesame Seeds, Green Onions, Sriracha.

http://www.theskinnyfork.com/blog/crock-pot-honey-ginger-chicken

Musical Monday 12/1

Happy Monday! Happy December - I am a Christmas baby so I love winter/December it's my thing. I am pretty excited for December 2015 because if I keep at the pace I am going I'll be graduating. That would mean graduation, my birthday and christmas all within one week. How awesome would that be?

Anyway - I was hoping to find some Christmas music to list for today but you'd be surprised how few Christmas songs are upbeat enough to put you in the mood to workout. Unless you count this one....

But since you probably DON'T want to listen to Spongebob....here are a few songs I found. Some were held #1 spots on the billboard charts and others I just looked around for most played songs and came up with this. Hope you like

11.)      Rude Boy by Rihanna 2010

22.)      Tik Tok by Ke$ha 2010

33.)      Like a G6 by Far East Movement 2010

44.)      Firework by Katy Perry 2010

55.)      Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO 2011

66.)      Wild Ones by Flo Rida 2012

77.)      Locked out of Heaven by Bruno Mars 2012

88.)      Royals by Lorde 2013

99.)      Monster by Eminem ft. Rihanna 2013

110)   Thrift Shop by Macklemore 2013

111)   Roar by Katy Perry 2013

112)   Happy by Pharrell 2014

113)   Timber by Pitbull ft. Ke$ha 2013

114)   Fancy by Iggy Azalea 2014

115)   Rude by Magic! 2014

116)   One for the Money by Escape the Fate 2013

117)   Classic by MTKO 2014

118)   Really don’t care by Demi Lovato 2013

119)   Loud by T.Mills 2013

220)   Centuries by Fall Out Boy 2014

221)   Love never felt so good by Michael Jackson & Justin Timberlake 2014

222)   Live while we’re young by One Direction 2012

223)   Break the Rules by Charli XCX 2014

224)   She looks so perfect by 5sos 2014

225)   Break Free by Ariana Grande 2014

Sweat Fest Sunday 11/30

Happy Sweat Fest Sunday...........how many of you need this after Thanksgiving? Did you eat a lot of great food? I made mashed potatoes, stuffing and tofurkey - complete carb overload.

I should warn you all, I am a Christmas fanatic. I absolutely love it. Starting tomorrow I will probably pull out every Christmas movie I own and start a marathon as soon as school lets out.

The reason I am telling you this is because one of the videos I am going to post is a HIIT Santa workout....you'll see below. The other is a dance video - not sure how many of you would actually be interested in learning it but I promise if you want to look at good at the choreographers then you're going to have to do the tutorial again and again and again. It will definitely be a workout.

This is the finished product - Tutorial is posted below

Step by Step Tutorial

This video here is called the Santa Claus workout and I won't lie I mainly posted it because it is Christmas related. For people new to working out it isn't all that realistic as it calls for some equipment. Mainly dumbells, rope, a duffle bag and 50lbs of sand. If you have all that go at it, or if you're like me you can improvise and  just put your pudgy cats in a bag and drag them around (not really - I don't advocate animal abuse)

Sleepy Saturday 11/29

 Wow, I just wrote a long ass post about perfectionism and the pros and cons of it etc. and then deleted it all. I want to write something happy. Something that doesn't revolve around expectations and disappointments. Something that doesn't revolve around good grades or the perfect weight. Today I want to talk about your bucket list. Yeah, I know bucket list is a list you come up with of things you want to do before you kick the bucket. A bit morbid but realistically it's just a list of things you want to do during your life. Now this isn't a 'goals' list - no dream jobs, or places you want to move or how much money you want to make. This list is simple of THINGS you want to do and PLACES you want to see. Comment below and tell me some things on your list and I will share mine.

I love to travel. It could be a Sagittarius thing, or maybe because I moved around a bit as a child. When I was 3yrs old my mother packed us up and drove from New York to Arizona. I don't remember a single bit of it, except the story I was told again and again about when we stopped in PA I beeped the horn while climbing out the truck and scared out cat and she nearly ran away.

When I was 7yrs old my mother and I took a bus from Arizona to New York for me to see my father. I spent the summer there and flew back on my own.

When I was 8yrs old my mother packed us up again and drove from Arizona to North Carolina. I don't remember much of that trip either.

I've been to Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico and back and forth to Arizona countless times to visit family. While I have never been out of the country I do like to travel.

So I don't have an actual bucket list written down - these are just places I want to see and things i want to do that have been stuck in my head for a long time.

Sierra's Bucket List

Carmen Del Playa, Mexico

Greece

Niagara Falls

Antelope Canyon/Lake Powell

Disney World

Hawaii

Skydive and/or Bungee Jump

Pole Dancing Class

So that was a pretty long list, the last one probably threw a few of you for a loop. What are some things you would include on your list?

Fitness Foodie Facts Friday 11/28

I found this article awhile back and I am not sure why I haven't used it yet but I think it is a perfect fit for Foodie Facts, I guarantee out of the 10 myths listed there will be at least one you thought to be true.

1.) Kale is our healthiest green FALSE

A 2014 study at William Patterson University ranked fruits and vegetables by their nutrient density, based on their levels of 17 different nutrients that have been linked to improved cardiovascular health. Not surprisingly, the top 16 were all leafy greens, which pack the most nutrition per calorie. (Coming in at #17 was red bell peppers.) But kale didn’t even make the top 10. In fact, simple spinach and even Romaine lettuce beat the alleged supergreen, as did parsley and chives. Even stuff you normally throw away—the greens atop beets—pack more nutrition.

2.) High Fructose Corn Syrup is worse than table sugar. FALSE

Here’s what you need to know: In a 2014 review of five studies comparing the effects of sugar and HFCS, there was no difference found in changes in blood glucose levels, lipid levels, or appetite between table sugar consumption and HFCS consumption. In other words, your body can’t tell one from the other—they’re both just sugar. 

3.) Diet sodas help keep you slim. FALSE

One Purdue study discovered that rats took in more calories if they’d been fed artificial sweeteners prior to mealtime, and a University of Texas study found that people who consume just three diet sodas per week were more than 40 percent more likely to be obese. 

4.) Yogurt is good for the bacteria in your belly. FALSE

Lactobacillus acidophilus is the bacteria you want to look for, with yogurts that say “live active cultures.” But most yogurts are so high in sugar that they do more to promote unhealthy gut bacteria than anything else. (Unhealthy bacteria feed on sugar in your belly the same way they do around your teeth.)

5.) Foods labeled “natural” are healthier. FALSE

The FDA makes no serious effort to control the use of the word “natural” on nutrition labels. Case in point: 7UP boasts that it’s made with “100% Natural Flavors” when, in fact, the soda is sweetened with a decidedly un-natural dose of high fructose corn syrup. “Corn” is natural, but “high fructose corn syrup” is produced using a centrifuge and a series of chemical reactions. Other “natural” abusers include Natural Cheetos, which are made with maltodextrin and disodium phosphate, and “natural advantage” Post Raisin Bran, which bathes its raisins in both sugar and corn syrup. The worst part is, you’re likely paying a premium price for common junk food.

6.) Dark Chocolate is good for you. FALSE

Plenty of studies have shown that polyphenols—nutrients found in darkly colored plant foods like chocolate—can do everything from lowering blood pressure to raising our ability to burn fat. A 2013 study in the journal Diabetic Medicine even found that eating dark chocolate lessened the effects of high blood sugar in diabetic patients. Unfortunately, the more chocolate is processed, the more of the polyphenols are lost. Creating “Dutch” chocolate, in which an alkalizing agent is added to the cocoa to reduce acidity, destroys up to 77 percent of the nutrients in the cocoa. To get the health benefits that have been touted since the time of Montezeuma, look for a dark chocolate that says 70% cacao (or higher) on the label. The rest? It’s just candy.

7.) Comfort food chases away the blues. FALSE

In a 2014 study in the journal Health Psychology, aptly titled “The Myth of Comfort Food,” researchers showed participants depressing films to “induce a negative effect.” Then they gave them either comfort food, foods that weren’t considered comfort foods, or no food at all. Result: The subjects got over their bad moods in equal time, regardless of whether or not they ate. 

8.) Peanut butter is a health food. FALSE

In its best form, peanut butter actually is a health food. That’s because peanuts are packed with monounsaturated fats, the heart-healthy fat that actually helps you lose weight. Here’s what the ingredients of a healthy jar of peanut butter should read:

Peanuts.

But most peanut butter doesn’t look like that. Here’s what the label of Jif Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread reads like:

Peanuts, corn syrup solids, sugar, pea protein, salt, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils, mono and diglycerides, molasses, magnesium oxide, niacinamide, ferric orthophosphate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, folic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride.

9.) “Multi-grain” and “wheat” breads are better than white bread. FALSE

“Wheat bread” is generally white bread with caramel or molasses added to make it look dark and healthy. “Multi-grain” just means that different kinds of junky refined grains may have been used. Always look for the words “100% whole wheat” or “100% whole grain” on the package.

10.) Nutrition bars are actually nutritious. FALSE

In a world where we really called it as it is, nutrition bars would be known by another name: calorie bars. Most of them are so polluted with additives that their ingredients list looks like Charlie Sheen’s blood test results. For example, PowerBar Vanilla Crisp touts itself as “fuel for optimum performance,” but unless you’re talking about a performance by The Chemical Brothers, we’re not sure exactly what they mean. With four different types of sugar, it packs more of the white stuff than an adult woman should eat in an entire day. If you like the idea of a snackable bar that packs in the nutrition, read the ingredients carefully: Brands like KIND, Larabar, and Clif have plenty of smart offerings. But most of what’s out there is just candy.



You can find the entire article here

Thirsty (thanksgiving) thursday 11/27

Happy Thanksgiving all! I hope you had a great day with your families and ate a lot of good food.  I attempted a homemade tofurkey which, for my very first try, didn't come out so bad. I think I just need to work on the spices a bit but overall it was good. I also made a vegan mushroom gravy that came out perfect - I am so proud lol. I love to cook and do it often but normally I make a vegetable lasagna or something so this was new and I'd say successful.

But onto the whole point of today's blog. I promised myself I would post every day and that means even on holidays.

The two drinks I am going to post for you today is a hot toddy also known as hot totty/tottie and a traditional Puerto Rican drink called coquito which is kind of like an alcohol version of eggnog.

Hot Toddy

Prep Time: 5 Minutes
Cook Time: 30 Minutes
Servings: 13 (4oz cups)

Ingredients:

1 lemon, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

1/2 cup Demerara sugar

1 quart water

2 1/2 cups Scotch whiskey

Freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Combine the lemon, sugar, and water in a small, 2 to 3-quart slow cooker set to high. Cover and heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves completely, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the Scotch whiskey and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to low and serve warm with lemon slices and freshly grated nutmeg.

Coquito

There are actually a few different ways to make coquito and it really is just up to the person and their desired tastes. People use flavored rum or spiced rum, coconut cream, lemon zest, ice cream, ginger, ground nut horchata, vanilla, chocolate and evaporated milk just as different ways to change it up or add sweetness to it. However if you are looking to go the traditional route the recipe is below

Ingredients:

28 oz Coconut milk

2 cups Rum

14 ounces Condensed milk

2 egg yolks

vanilla, to taste

Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Directions:
Place ingredients into blender, blend until well mixed. Pour into a bottle and refrigerate until cold. Serve in small glasses and sprinkle top lightly with nutmeg and cinnamon.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

Wardrobe Wednesday 11/26

Do any of you workout with your dogs? Go jogging or running with them? Let them pull you when you rollerblade or skateboard? My cousin has a Belgian Shepherd, Jade, and she is roughly 85lbs. Jade goes running with the cousin and runs/walks along side my cousin's husband when he rides his bike.

My puppy can't do that, he's not technically a puppy but he has the body of one. My guy is around 8lbs full grown and anything below 80 degrees and he is freezing.....say hi to Tyson.

That made me think about how to keep our fur babies warm when we workout with them or just take them for a walk. My post last week was about layering for your body but what about theirs? So wardrobe wednesday isn't for the humans today but for our best friends/fur babies.

First on the list is a sweater or coat - I'm not talking about dressing them up like people do on halloween, this is solely to keep them warm. Tyson HATES his sweater and coats but it really is a necessity with a puppy as small as he is.

Almost everything humans have to keep warm, dogs have to:

 Scarfs 

Hats

Boots

Coats

All of the pictures and products above are from Petco and depending on the size of your pup, prices range from $7.99-$40.00. Not saying to overheat your dog or make him into a little human just keep them warm and protected - personally Tyson would bite me if I tried to put half of this on him but he always goes out in his sweater whether he likes it or not.

So there you have it - Wardrobe Wednesday for your fur baby