Deadlifts and Diamonds

I'm on a superfood kick right now and I'm eating and researching all sorts of yummy super foods to fuel my workouts and long bike rides. Hey, there's other things one can do with their time, but I prefer to geek out on nutrition.  My latest mixture is a thick superfood smoothie. Yes, it was supposed to be a gel, but it became a smoothie instead. I drank this mixture half way through my 40 mile ride along with plenty of water and 1 honey stinger gu. I survived with plenty of energy left to burn. Check out the ingredients listed below to make your own superfood smoothie mix. I gathered them all  for a group photo. Say "superfood!" Maca Powder - also known as Peruvian Ginseng, maca is a powerful adaptogen and assists the body balance hormones and increase stamina, immunity, and energy. The powder comes from the maca root grown high in the Andes and is well known for its ability to increase libido in men and fertility in women. It mixes well with c...

Its blazing hot in Texas right now, and we're just getting started. Soon, we'll be into 100 degree heat, dripping sweat in areas we didn't know could sweat. To cool off from the 3rd planet heat, I absolutely love chowin' down on some frozen yogurt with all the fixings. Its so yummy and a ton of fun to make your own froyo bowl. I always get a rich creamy flavor and top it off with granola and loads of fruit. Some of my local favorites are: Red Mango, Menchi's, Tutti Frutti, & Orange Leaf. The Red Velvet Cake is my fav flavor. After a few rounds of by the pound froyo, these little bowls add up, so I opted to make my own homemade, sugar free frozen yogurt. Checkout the blueberry recipe below. After mixing up a batch, I ate the 1st serving right out of the bowl without freezing and the mix turned out a bit sweet. After freezing, overnight (and thawing for an hour before eating) the yogurt was much more tart. So keep in mind, if you're going to make this...

So tonight's meatballs quickly became a turkey meatloaf due to time. Rather than my usual mushrooms and parsley I used zucchini and green onions.                                                      Next time around, I'll chop up the zucchini a bit smaller, and cook them up first with oils and herbs so they don't take center stage in the meatloaf.  Not too shabby! I'm definitely making turkey meatloaf again. Its so quick and easy and makes a ton of leftovers. :)

Its Sunday Funday yall and it looks like today's hike and bike excursion has been cancelled due to rain. I'm a bit bummed, but no one wants to ride in pouring rain when they were expecting a beautiful sunshiny Sunday. I do love a good rain day to sit by the porch, sip coffee, chat with friends, and plan a few meals for my week. Here's a few things I threw together yesterday. Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownie Squares--yeah, I know rite??!!! Peanut Butter Protein Bars, click here for the recipe Harvest Tuna Salad and Lettuce Wraps -- recipe below Cranberry Cinnamon Overnite Oats, click here for the recipe These are so easy to make and so delicious I don't know why I didn't make these sooner. Fudge Brownies are the one cheat meal I literally dream of eating--yes, I have dreams of devouring plates of brownies while I'm sleeping to curb my urge for chocolate. So, for my cravings, I decided to whip up a batch of Raw, No Bake Brownies and yes, from here on,...

Its full speed ahead today with another 2 hours of weight training and staying on track with a clean eating meal plan. No added sugar, juices, or butter here, just plain and delicious clean food. Here's a list of what I had today. Breakfast: 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats cooked with almond milk with a chopped banana and cinnamon Snack: Protein Shake 2 scoops with chocolate almond milk Lunch: Fajitas without tortillas Snack: Apple Dinner: Big Serving of Fajitas wrapped in lettuce with brown rice and black beans Snack: planning on having cottage cheese with salsa, a homemade protein bar, or a Fage Yogurt For tomorrow's breakfast, I prepped 2 containers of Cranberry Cinnamon Overnight Oats. They are soooo yummy and super easy to make. Check out the recipe below. Here's what you'll need: Equal Parts (I use about 1/2 cup each) Rolled Oats Almond Milk Fage Yogurt (or any greek yogurt, it is not processed and flavored like other commercial yogurts AND its loaded...

Peanut Butter has been my downfall since I've been eating clean. I used to make trips to the nearest Whole Foods (40 minutes away at that time) just to pickup a container of their peanut butter. True story.  My go-to snack is peanut butter with bananas, which may sound healthy, but peanut butter is loaded with fat. 2 Tablespoons has 16 grams of fat--yeah, i know. If I ever want to get my 6 pack (or abs of any kind at this point I'll take anything) something has to give, so I gave up peanut butter and switched to PB2's powdered peanut butter and it totally delivered.  PB2 has only 1.5 grams of fat in 2 Tablespoons! Score.  I picked up my jar at HEB and rushed home to make my own PB2 Protein Bars. They're easy, and my friends had no idea they were healthy! Here's how I made them:                                         PB2 Protein Bars     ...

Here's my equivalent of a Sad Desk lunch post (check out the site  here ), but I spruced it up with bright photos to make it look yummy. Here's my meal plan for the day: Breakfast Oatmeal (rolled oats, not instant) with honey, blackberries and almond milk Snack Banana with chocolate peanut butter (trying to get some calories in!!) Lunch Sweet Potatoes with Chicken and a bit of Brisket and zucchini Pre/ post workout snack Banana, Protein Shake Dinner Chicken with beans, sweet potatoes and salad Snack Protein Shake

A tube of raw cookie dough rarely stood a chance against me, I would never bake the cookies, I'd just go ham on the raw dough of course, but since I've started eating clean I've switched to this paleo recipe and its oh so yummy. These cookie dough bars are loaded with healthy fats and flavor and are so easy to make! Honestly, too easy. Here's the recipe I used, feel free to taste as you go and add honey, vanilla or the sweetener of your choice. Without the sweeteners, the recipe is a bit bland, so feel free to add. I'm so excited for you to try it! Enjoy :)  Here's what you'll need:  1/2 cup Shredded Coconut 2 TBSP Coconut Oil  2 caps or 1 tsp of Vanilla Extract 2 TBSP Honey (Raw) handful of Chocolate chips 1 Cup Almonds  Place all ingredients in the blender, and mix well. Taste and add more vanilla or honey if you'd like. Careful not to add more coconut oil since it melts at room temp, with too much oil, the bars won't be po...

I dropped the ball on doing an all week meal prep this Sunday so I ran to HEB at 10 at nite to stock up on the usual:  bananas, 2 cartons of organic eggs, cottage cheese, frozen and fresh veggies, peanut butter, and almond milk, tuna, and of course, sweet potatoes! :)  I always keep these dry ingredients stocked: couscous, quinoa, brown rice, beans, and oats. Shopping late at nite is the way to go. Yes, you might have to dodge late nite re stalkers and their towers of  food pallets rolling down the ailes, but that's why we use the nimble half size carts rite? After a full day, I cooked up some quinoa, homemade protien bars, and spaghetti squash to hold me over until the weekend. We know abs are made in the kitchen so stick to making meals and snacks ahead of time to avoid reaching for a McDonalds biscuit (God forbid you even think of doing that) or a donut at the office. Here's a montage/ collage of yesterday's eats:  Breakfast Ezekiel English Muffin wit...

I absolutely love eating eggs, its just an added bonus that they are loaded with protien and I can cook them up with just about anything. This post is typical of what I eat any given day after I've tired of eating of sweet potatoes, chicken, and quinoa which I eat a lot of. Here it is: chicken sausage or turkey sausage as lean as you can get it, alfalfa sprouts and eggs. Top it off with some fage yogurt and I'm set! 

Healthy Pancakes?! Yes, healthy pancakes and no you can't tell the difference between these and regular SAD (standard american diet) pancakes. I make a stack of these during meal prep so I can munch on these for breakfast as I'm running out the door, or dip 'em in peanut butter for a pre-workout snack...mmmm, peanut butter, the stuff dreams are made of. There are so many ways to make these pancakes absolutely rock! Here's the simple recipe I use.