Oh No She Di'in't!!!

Eat a burger for breakfast.....

• 1 extra lean ground beef patty
• 2 slices expensive as shit spelt bread
• tomato
• spinach
• avocado
• ketchup
• broccoli

Mmhmm, Oh yes I did!!

As most of you know I am not practicing raw/food combining anymore. A lot of you wondered what my reasoning was and I though about dedicating a whole long post to it but really the reasons are pretty clear cut and simple so I wont go on and on.

1. It was becoming entirely to restrictive which led me to want/crave the "forbidden". Which then led to me eating those things and other things I wouldn't even normally eat.
2. Ever since starting I have been on a constant up hill slide of weight gain.
3. I feel my ideal body is something more in this area...

and I just don't feel that raw/food combining is going to help me get there any time soon :).

I am sure I could think of more reasons but I don't feel like it. The process wasn't all bad because I did cut out oats because of it and almost all the tummy troubles I have had for the last 3 years have virtually disappeared. Yes, I know oats!! I still don't know if it just the oats of maybe a gluten thing?? So sorry no yummy delicious bowls around here anymore :( but that doesn't mean I still cant enjoy grains in a jar...
Quinoa blended dry and then cooked with water, cinnamon, vanilla, stevia and banana. Mango and more banana added after cooking.

Right now I am just trying to stay away from oats and most things that contain gluten but I am enjoying all other things with no limitation on things like carbs, fats, protein etc... I am just rolling with the flow and eating what I want, like...
This is a bowl of puffins with coconut milk, blueberries, cinnamon and peanut butter. Can you believe this is my first bowl of cereal in about 2 years!!!?

A yummy smoothie made with Grape Kombucha, frozen cherries, mango and lime sparkling water...
Kombucha is my new favorite smoothie ingredient!

Over priced purple sweet potato with peanut butter...
With a salad...
While chillin at the pool with these crazies...


I also made some yummy fish tacos...
Before I go some of you asked me why I made a Raw Brownie Pie and not a real one in my last post. Honestly, it is just that damn good!! And who says I cant enjoy raw treats still? I have always eaten lots of raw food in my life and just because I am not doing raw/food combining doesn't mean I still cant enjoy all the raw yummy treats and meals. Plus this is a heath blog isn't it? I much prefer the raw pie anyway :).

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I have a really nasty bad habit of not washing my fruits and veggies before eating them. Yes, I am that lazy!! haha If I am feeding guests I almost always wash the goods but when it comes to myself it always goes straight to my mouth :o!!!

Did Someone Say Lake? And Chocolate?

....Yes, please. So I had a little hiatus. Unplanned but none the less it was a hiatus. There was some shopping, some lakin', some birthday fun and some recovering (we wont get to much into that :) part). I will recap the best I can without getting to lengthy.

Friday, I got and got ready for some tax free shopping with my momma. No gym because I knew I would get in lots of retail cardio. I did do about 30 min. of the P90X yoga though (tough stuff!!). The little one and I did each others hair before heading out...

There was about 13 clips in all. I pumped gas at a full station like that. Now that's love!!!

My mom and I serenaded our shopping trip by first making a stop for lunch at Whole Foods...

Pure Deliciousness
The best flavor of Kombucha eva!!!
My momma
My leftovers

For dinner I made the man and the little one some White Enchiladas, thanks to the Fitnessista :)

They loved them

Saturday I hit the gym early and then got ready for a long day on the lake with some friends....

Yes, the mug is filled with liquor :)

Do I have to tell you we had a good time???

Sunday was my dads birthday. We brought over the watermelon and ate and watched football with the fam. My mom made No Pudge Fudge Brownies as the cake. I tried hard not to eat any because I was in detox mode. I had a bite and it did me in!! Ugh, I ate way to much after that :(.

The birthday boy....
A Sunday snack and my new purse....

Was not a fan of the nut butter :(

I had a fun weekend and hope you all did as well. I will now leave you with my super simple recipe for an Inside Out Reece's Cup

• dates
• chocolate or carob chips
• natural peanut butter

*fill the date with chips of choice (I use organic dark)....
*cover in peanut butter and refrigerate, freeze or if you are impatient like me enjoy immediately...

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: Sometimes I do a load of wash and forget about it in the washing machine and its dries all smelly and moldy. Oops.

Brownies Baby!!!

Hello loves! Its almost time for the recipe you all have been waiting for. But first, some notable eats of the past few days.
This ^ is Natalia Rose's Raw "Peanut" Sauce. I have been seeing it everywhere and knew I needed to try it for myself. I of course had to make a few changes because I did not have all the ingredients on hand. You can Google it and find the recipe in several places like here. The first adjustment I made was scaling it down to one serving just in case I didn't like it (even thought there is not much I don't like), also I didn't want to sacrifice a whole cup of almond butter :). I nixed the water, the oil and the Nama Shoyu (whatever that is?) and instead of lemon juice I used lime and instead of a jalapeno I used red pepper flakes. The result? A beautifully creamy, tangy but slightly spicy dressing. I loved it and served it over this salad for lunch at my moms...

• leftover broccoli slaw
• zucchini
• carrot
• tomato
• raw corn
• cucumber
  
• sea salt

My mom tasted it and loved it so much she made her own salad and dumped the leftover juice from mine onto hers :) I also had some Ezek smeared with some of the dressing..
For dinner I was craving me some salmon. I marinated and then cooked in the oven and topped with BBQ sauce...
It was a 6 oz fillet and this was half. I went back for the other half :).

Now for the recipe you have all been waiting for.... SWEET POTATO AND CINNAMON BROWNIES
I adapted it from this months Clean Eating Magazine. It says that it serves 16 but I beg to differ!!

• 1 cup ww flour
• 1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder (I prefer Hershey's Dark)
• 1 tbsp cinnamon, ground
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup cooked sweet potato
• 1/4 cup agave
  
• 1/4 cup NuNaturals More Fiber Stevia Baking Blend (recipe calls for 1/2 cup agave)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (recipe calls for olive oil), peanut butter would be great as well
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• egg substitute equal to 6 egg white (recipe calls for 6 egg whites)
• cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. In a processor combine sweet potato with rest of wet ingredients and puree until smooth.
   
3. Gradually incorporate wet into dry, until just combined. Do not over mix
4. In a separate dry bowl, whisk egg whites until fluffy. Then fold into batter gently, using rubber spatula.
5. Spray the sides of a 9x9x2 baking dish. Pour into pan and place batter into oven. Bake 16 to 18 min. Remove and allow to cool for 30 min.
   

The Frosting is as follows (I recommend just straight up peanut butter)

• 1/2 low fat plain cream cheese
• 3 tbsp agave
• 1 tbsp unsweet cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp water (optional)

Mix all together and spread on cooled brownies. Don't make the mistake I did and not let the cream cheese soften if you buy the brick. That's why mine looks lumpy. There is only so much I can remember with 2 sweets crazed kids in the house at 10 o'clock at night.

Nutrition for original recipe: 140 cals, 5 grams fat, 21 carbs, 12 sugars, 4 grams protein

The man didn't even know there was sweet potato in them but if you look close enough you can see it...

....It sure dint deter the little one!! The brownies were polished off in less than 24 hours. They were so thick and fudgy and I absolutely loved them.

Ok, now for the 10 things honest things about me for the Scrap Award I received from dear sweet Linda (this is doubling as my CONFESSION OF THE DAY)

1. I have a brother that's 38
2. I have an older sister that died last September
3. I played volleyball, basketball and softball in my freshman year of HS (I later just stuck with softball)
4. Scary movies make me cry
5. I met, got pregnant and married my husband with in 5 months (yes, in that order)
6. I was the school bus bully in elementary school (that's what happens when you are at least a foot taller than everyone else)
7. I never finished college
8. My littlest kitten is named "Puffin" after the cereal Peanut Butter Puffins
9. I am looking for job (anybody wanna hook me up?)
10. I went to 5 different high schools

Whose excited that's its almost Friday?? Any plans? The lake is calling this mamas name!!!!!

To come....
Tex Mex Sloppy Joe's
Inside Out Reece's Cups

Burning Questions Answered

...Maybe not but that just sounded good.

Whats up? I am so happy right now to be typing on the lap top. It has been out of order for a few months now and the man finally fixed it (thanks babe, its about time). So the plan is to go over a few of my eats and activities from today and then answer a few questions that I have been getting from you lovely ladies. Capesh?

After hittin up my man "Gym" this morning I was really missin an old fav so I brought back the blended grains spinach style...
...and topped with pb of course :).

Snack was a shake and then it was off to story time at the local Barnes and Noble so the little one could be entertained while I suck in as much information from all the books I have been wanting to read but am to cheap to buy.

After story time we headed to the fountains for some fun....
We went with a friend I made through my blog :) and her two little angels. I feel very lucky and fortunate to have made friends through my bloggie!! I would have to say that is my favorite part of having a blog.

We came home and had lunch. I made what I was hankering for....
Spicy butternut squash fries. I also made a quick stir-fry served over spinach...

• chicken
• onion
• broccoli
• yellow pepper
• fresh ginger
• soy sauce
  
• tomatoes for color :)

Before karate I had the left over spicy butternut fries dipped in pb...
Carrot sticks and apples with two jars for dipping...
Came home and made spaghetti and garlic bread for the gang. I served mine over zucchini noodles with a side salad...
Now on to a few questions I have received lately. A lot of you have been wondering how I make my Dark Chocolate Oat Bran...
Nothing better than dessert for breakfast without having to feel guilty right? Here's the breakdown..

• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1 heaping spoonful of Hershey's dark chocolate cocoa powder

Mix together until evenly dispersed and most lumps are gone. I then add water and I always eyeball it. Nuke for 2 minutes. Add 30 sec. if its too watery. Next, I add several drops of Dark Chocolate Now Stevia. I also usually add a small hunk of banana before cooking and sometimes I add chia seeds. The possibilities are really endless.

Another question I have been getting is how I cook my butternut squash fries so they are crispy and not soggy. I always start by trying to...

1. Cut them all about the same size that way they all cook in the same amount of time
2. I then place them on a plate and season them to my liking. I do many combos of the following

• chili powder
• salt
  
• pepper
• cinnamon
• paprika

3. I then find a pan at least an inch deep and place a wire oven safe rack on top as seen here.
4. This is an important step: Make sure to space out the fries with at least an inch apart. If you place them to close together it will cause the squash to hold in the moisture.
5. Finally I bake it on the center rack at 425 for about 25 minutes

The result is perfect crispy fries :).

I am signing off and will be back tomorrow to answer more questions. Keep em coming :)

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: I love shopping at used designer clothing stores. I recently found a new one here in Nashville and picked up a pair of Habitual Jeans that go for $220 for a measly 20 bucks!!! What a deal, huh?

A Cold Winter In July

Man, its just been one of those weekends. A little picture taking here and there, shopping, lake, family and lots of baking today (we'll get to that later). I' start with some of eats in no particular order. Smoothie in a bowl...
Dark chocolate oat bran with mashed banana and almond butter...
Butternut squash fries baked to perfection...
I love it when they are crispy and not soggy...
Served with a salad that's topped with broken up pieces of a Black Bean Turkey Burger
Cuddly kittens...
Oh, sorry I didn't eat that :)

On to some eats I made for other peeps. Chocolate Chip Cheesecake for my brothers 39th birthday...
and a peanut butter cake with chocolate peanut butter frosting for my nieces 15th birthday because her dad didn't get her one or sing her happy birthday. Whats up with that???...
Wish that my brother and his family of 35 don't come over and eat it all...
and last but certainly not least, cherry yogurt popsicles for the little one...
I also managed to freeze my ass of in the middle July out on the lake....
The 8 beers I drink helped keep me from hypothermia. Ok, I am lying they didn't help. Whats up with that anyway. It was the coldest day in July in like 28 years and it happened to be the day we planned 2 months ago to go out with friends.

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I really need to get to the gym in the morning. I didn't eat any of the desserts I made but I did do a little bowl lickin while making them. Opps.

Tonight the little one gave us an at home concert at my parents house. I thought I'd let you lucky gals be graced with a little bit of her presence. Here's a peek...

Now I know shes good but don't go calling agents and crap. Actually, she is probably a little hard to hear in this video but don't worry your ears are thanking you. I am thinkin maybe the next Janice Joplin. I don't know though shes scarily comfortable with that pole in a bikini. She might have a future in Vegas.

CONFESSION OF THE DAY: Is it bad that I completely avoid all products with fake sweeteners like sucralose and aspartame but still give them to my man and little one? Its just hard for me to ween them off of sugar free syrup :(