Healthy Loving Weekend

Boooo, I can’t believe it’s Monday already!?! At least it’s May, right?! Warm weather is here to stay. This weekend was pretty uneventful but I needed it. I have a feeling my life is about to become super hectic so I’m happy with my 80-year-old status weekend.

Friday night I enjoyed dinner with my grandma & aunt at home… We had a SUPER yummy salad that I forgot to take pictures of. It was a “Shrimp Cobb Salad” from the new Cooking Light magazine…. SO amazing.

The dressing was very light and simple to make – You can find the recipe here if you want to have bacon, avocado and shrimp wrapped in one meal. Put any one of those in a recipe and I’m in…all 3? Hellllo perfection. Friday night I was in bed by 10:30, because I’m 80.

Saturday morning I woke up and skipped my normal bodypump/zumba classes because I was extremely sore… Instead I decided to head over to my moms house to use her bike. I rode for a good 45 minutes – It was A LOT  harder than I thought. When I got up I whipped up some healthy muffins. Again, this recipe was adapted from the new Cooking Light magazine. Great investment I’d say.

Whole Wheat Pistachio and Chai Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups of Whole Wheat flour (or all-purpose OR 1/2 AP 1/2 WW)
• 1/2 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 chai blend tea bags, opened
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/4 cup butter, melted (i used brummel and brown – yogurt based)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 1/4 cup egg whites (or 1 whole egg)
• Cooking spray
• 1/3 cup shelled dry-roasted pistachios, chopped

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut open tea bags; add tea to flour mixture, stirring well.

• Make a well in center of mixture. Combine buttermilk, butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and egg whites in a bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Add 1/2 of your pistachio mixture to batter.

• Place 12 muffin-cup liners in muffin cups; coat liners with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

• Sprinkle nuts evenly over batter.

• Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

I decided to top half of mine with PB and I actually preferred it without… Shocker, I know – I didn’t want Peanut Butter on something? Weird.

If you want you could add 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon water & 1/2 teaspoon vanilla to make a glaze as a topping as suggested by Cooking Light.

We replaced our old fridge

With a new fridge

Some organization needs to be done but I’m loving it so far!

We seriously couldn’t ask for better weather on Saturday – I get so much more accomplished when Mr. Sun is showing his face. I’ve been loving my workouts outside so much that I’ve decided instead of using my gym membership I’m going to start sporting these…

MMhmmm. I can already picture myself now.

Ha, I hope I’m kidding.

I enjoyed some more time in the sun while watching my little cousin play lacrosse.

He loves having fans on the sidelines.

The "point" as in I see you

3 goals scored by this little munchkin.

Isn’t he cute?

My grandma, aunt and I enjoyed dinner again out at Woodfire Grill. We all had the Woodfire Salad (Spinach, Strawberries, Blackberries, Sunflower Seeds & Goat Cheese) w/ Grilled Salmon. We are quite the seafood and salad eaters lately.

I went to Tasti D-Lite afterwards by myself (fat kid move) for a little treat.

Caramel with mini chocolate chips and strawberries

Seriously, this is a small. I couldn’t finish it and I think that might be the first time that has EVER happened.

Sunday morning I got up for my spin class and my favorite spin instructor wasn’t teaching. Awesome. Instead I did 35 minutes on the Arc Trainer and did an ab routine. I headed to the mall afterwards and picked up some mothers day gifts! Surprisingly, I only purchased one thing for myself and it was necessary 🙂

Yesterday our farmers market opened! I feel like I’ve been waiting on this for MONTHS.

I picked up plenty of fresh fruit to make my new favorite lunch – Smoothie bowls!

Now I know why Julie loves these so much!

The first Smoothie Bowl is Strawberry Banana – In it goes

• 1/2 banana
• 1cup frozen strawberries
• 1 scoop of vanilla protein
• 1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
• 2 pinches xanthan gum

The second one is a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie bowl

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 scoop of chocolate protein
• 1 tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 pinches of xanthan gum

These are SO huge and SO filling… I’ve been topping them with these gerber graduates cereal puffs.

So basically if you learned anything from this post it is – I’m now an 80-year-old grandma who likes baby food… Interesting.

I’m off for a run before work. Let’s cross our fingers this week goes by FAST!

Oh and one last thing… It feels good to be an American today! I didn’t find out til this morning when I woke up, but it gave me chills 🙂

Thank you to all our soldiers for their dedication and hard work!

QUESTIONS: Have you ever had chai in muffins? What was the best thing you did/ate over the weekend?

3 days in 1 post

Hellllo out there. I have so many great things to tell you guys! Let’s start off with food… I have Thurs, Fri & Sat to catch you up on… I’ve had A LOT of awesome Vegan eats. My meals have are so much easier now, which is great because I would’ve quit by now if it was anything like day 1!

Thursday

Breakfast: Banana Berry Protein Smoothie (1 banana, 1 cup almond milk, frozen berries & Amazing Grass chocolate flavor)

Lunch: Whole Wheat Pasta w/ Crushed Tomatoes and grilled Vegetables

Dinner: Homemade Vegan Chili

Dessert: Vegan Peanut  Butter cups – Chocolate + Better n Peanut Butter  + Cinnamon Graham Crackers = LOVE

I have to share this recipe. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t give you a recipe that included chocolate and peanut butter? Let alone combined…

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups adapted from Alicia Silverstone’s Kind Diet

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp Earth Balance butter
• 1/2 cup Better n Peanut Butter
• 2/3 cup cinnamon graham crackers crushed + more if desired for topping
• 2 tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1/2 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips
• 3 tbsp Unsweetened Almond Milk

Directions

• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and maple sugar and mix well.
• Remove the mixture from the heat. Evenly divide the mixture, approximately 2 tablespoons per cup, among the mold cups.
• Combine the chocolate and milk in another pan. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted.
• Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture.
• Top with more crushed graham crackers
• Place in the refrigerator to set for at least 2 hours before serving.

I’m gonna pull a Rachel Ray and say Yumm-O (even though I make fun of her for saying that). Not only are these healthy, low in calories and easy to make but they are SO SO good. I even tricked one of my cousins into thinking it was a high calorie, unhealthy dessert 🙂

Friday

Breakfast: Van’s Whole Wheat Waffles w/ Protein “Cake Batter”

Protein “Cake Batter”

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 packet of Vega Vanilla Protein Powder

Directions

• Blend together

Dessert for breakfast is becoming way too common… But I don’t mind. It’s healthy 🙂

Lunch: Leftover Vegan Chili

Dinner: Vegan Mushroom Pizza & A vegan chocolate chip cookie

The cookie monster must’ve gotten a hold of this before I could grab the camera 🙂 Btw, soy cheese – um, really? Why does every pizza place not offer this as an option? Try it just once, for me! Pleassseee.

Saturday

Breakfast: Whole Wheat Cinnamon Apple Swirl Pancakes w/ Apple Topping (longest name?)

I wanted to make something that my boyfriend and I could eat together so I had to think of something that looked like a man’s meal! He had seconds so I’m pretty positive I succeeded.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Apple Swirl Pancakes w/ Apple Topping

Ingredients:

Pancake Batter

• 3/4 cup Whole Wheat flour
• 1/2 cup Whole Wheat pastry flour
• 2 tablespoons stevia
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon Ener-G mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Cinnamon-Apple Swirl Batter:

• 2 tablespoons prepared batter (above)
• 2 tablespoons natural apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Apple “Syrup” Topping

 

• 1 chopped granny smith apple
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

• In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

• Add almond (or soy) milk and egg replacer mixture and stir just until flour is moistened. (For thicker pancakes, use only 1 cup milk.) Let the batter rest for 5 minutes while the skillet heats.

• While the batter is resting, combine all of the “swirl” ingredients, using 2 tablespoons of the prepared batter.
• Heat a non-stick griddle or skillet (sprayed lightly with non-stick spray) over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles. Pour batter by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto hot griddle. Immediately drizzle the cinnamon-apple batter over the top of each pancake in a swirl pattern. Cook until tops are bubbly and bubbles burst; edges will look dry. With a pancake turner, turn and cook until undersides are golden. Place on a warm platter; keep warm.

• Repeat until all batter is used, brushing griddle lightly with olive oil, if necessary, to prevent sticking.

• Cook apple topping.

• Melt butter in saucepan.
• Add brown sugar, apples and cinnamon and cook until apples are tender and syrup has formed.
• Pour over pancakes.

These were delightful and kept us full for hours… Well me, longer than him. But I wasn’t hungry until dinner! (I did have a snack at the show – 2 clementines and 100 calorie pack of almonds)

We went out to dinner to celebrate Valentines Day since we wont actually see each other on Monday. My boyfriend IS the best because he was craving lamb chops and we had reservations at Capital Grille but they didn’t have ONE Vegan option so he switched it to an Organic restaurant nearby just for me. Such a good guy 🙂 The restaurant was called Dogwood. If you live in Maryland this is definitely a place to check out. Everything was so fresh, the service was great and the atmosphere was comfy-cozy yet funky. I will 100% be a repeat offender.

FYI – I only had my iPhone for pictures so they didn’t come out that great…

Appetizer: Beet & Carrot Soup w/ a slice of Fresh Bread

Dinner: Forbidden Rice & Roasted Butternut Squash Curry with zucchini and yellow squash, organic black rice, mild curried coconut sauce with Vann’s spices, golden currants and toasted almonds

I am literally speechless over a veggie dish! These flavors were spicy, nutty and flavorful. I would love to make this one night…and eat it for days and days.

Unfortunately they didn’t offer any Vegan desserts 😦 But my trusty iPhone found a place right around the corner that did!

Thank you, Sweet Sin for fulfilling my craving. I ordered a chocolate ganache raspberry cupcake.

I die.

On our way out there was something else staring me in the eye.

I couldn’t eat a cupcake and not a cookie. That’s prejudiced and I wont stand for that. So i ordered one for the car ride home. Hey, it was 40 minutes you never know when a craving will strike! I ate it 5 minutes into the drive. This cookie was so fluffy. I had only planned to eat half…Half turned into 3/4’s which turned into the whole thing. Oh well, life goes on. The cupcake was also lovely. Extremely decadent is how I would describe it.

Are you hungry after reading all of that? Because I am!

Friday night my boyfriend arrived and I FINALLY got to give him his birthday present… 5 days in Key West in less than a month!!! I better get serious about my workouts!

Can.Not.Wait. Sun.Beach.Drinks w/ Umbrellas. Need I say more?

On Saturday he got me tickets to the Disney Princess on Ice show in Baltimore. I LOVE princesses and claim to be am one so I was overly excited. There was a couple in the elevator with us who were probably in their 80’s going to see the show too and that made me think “That will absolutely be us one day”. Once a princess, always a princess.

I was like a little kid in a candy shop…or a little girl at a Disney Princess show. After the show was over we waited in line with the 6 year olds other girls and he bought me a light up tiara.

Really, does it get any better than this? Pancakes for breakfast, Disney on Ice, a Princess tiara, amazing vegan dinner, even better 2 vegan desserts? I think not. If you think of something please, feel free to let me know.

I highly doubt Adam had as much fun as I did but he was a great sport.

Thanks babe 🙂 Love you lots!

We also watched The Social Network & Easy A. Neither were academy award winners but they were both entertaining and I liked learning the background story about how Facebook begun.

On Friday night we also discovered Tasti D-lite was FINALLY open. I have been waiting for this for about a year…No joke. Please tell me you have one of these near you? If not maybe I should do a giveaway with some because I know they ship them ( I may or may not have had some shipped to me from Florida once). I discovered this ice cream with one of my best friends last May. 50 calories, 2 grams of fat, 2 grams of sugar, over 100 flavors and 50 toppings.  You can guarantee I will be there at least 3x next week.

They switch flavors out daily so I have already programmed their number to my speed dial. Even though I couldn’t order anything because of Vegan week I went in and told the owner he’d be seeing a lot more of me and expressed my excitement. I’m not sure if he was flattered or wanted to request a restraining order.

Ah, okay. I’m done obsessing.

Also some other great news is I won the shoes from Shanna’s giveaway!! Charles David wedges are on their way to my house and I am so thankful and happy 🙂 Thanks so much again. I’ll post a picture of me in them when I get them but here is a sneak peek in the meantime.

Sorry I didn’t have time to post on Favorite Friday… I’ll make up for it next week! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. This post was really long so hopefully you didn’t get too bored!

QUESTIONS: Have you ever had a vegan dessert? What are you doing for Valentines Day?

Day 16: Dream house

I dream big… I want a lot of children, a huge kitchen where I have so much room I could ice skate if I wanted to, and someone to clean up after me because I am sort of messy when I cook. I’d also like an amazing view of the water and pottery barn-esque designed rooms. It will be colorful yet classy. Is that too much to ask?

Day 17: Something you’re looking forward to

Key West vacation… I’m so done with the snow, ice and numbing winds. Goodbye winter coat. Hello bikini.

ANOTHER great giveaway by Angie! Go enter 🙂 All of these giveaways are making me want to have another….