National Peanut Butter Lover's Day

Hello friends!  I hope you’re as excited as I am about today.  It’s National Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day!  It’s like the creators of this day had me in mind.  It’s so difficult to name your favorite food because I’m not sure we all have just one, but if you were to ask me, I’d still probably say peanut butter/almond butter.  I eat it on everything.  I eat it any time of the day and I eat it on toast, muffins, protein pancakes, in shakes (like this one), in desserts (see below), oatmeal...everything!  And by itself :)

Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe!

No more going to Starbucks.  No more overspending for coffee.  No more having to wait until October to drink this wonderful treat. You can make pumpkin spice lattes at home now.  (Go ahead and re-read that last sentence....this is a big deal).  If you continue reading past THIS sentence, then I know you're as big of a pumpkin fan as I am.  So, without further ado, I give you the pumpkin spice latte recipe!

1. Make coffee of your choice.  I suggest pumpkin coffee, like Dunkin' Donuts ground pumpkin coffee.

2. Make the latte portion
    *You can do this with any kind of milk, but I will be using almond milk.  To continue making it dairy-free, you can also use rice milk or soy milk*
   
   -  1 c milk

  -   1/4 c pumpkin puree

  -   2 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend

   - 1 tsp cinnamon

   - 1 tsp vanilla extract

   - Sweetness of choice. (Measurements vary depending on what you want to use.  If using Stevia, only use a pinch.  If using sugar, brown sugar, agave nectar, honey, syrup use about 2 tbsp)

    I also like to add a little bit of nutmeg.

    Mix step 2 and microwave it for 1 minute if you'd like, or just pour it in to the coffee.  This brings us to step 3....


3. Pour 1/2 of the milk mixture into the coffee and save the rest for later!  (OR for a refill :D)  I saved the    other half and surprised my friend with a birthday latte.

This recipe is both gluten free and vegan.

Optional:  add whipped cream on top, TruWhip, Cool Whip, or Rice Whip, and then garnish with more cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice :).  There's room for experimentation in this recipe.  If you aren't crazy about overloading your latte with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice like I am, then don't!  If you want to make it with regular milk, go for it!  This recipe is yours to perfect so that you can have your pumpkin spice latte all. year. round.

Enjoy! 

Winning the Food Storage Container Jackpot

I pack my lunches and snacks a LOT.  Packing your food has many benefits.  It’s a great way to make sure you’re eating healthy and it helps you stay focused in class or at work instead of being distracted by hunger pangs. I take small containers of food with me everywhere I go.  They're helpful while traveling or even in your purse while you're out and about. It saves money, too!

I was at Old Navy for some of their great workout clothes when I found all this food storage in the kids’ section.  My initial thought was, “Old Navy sells Tupperware?”  This was quickly followed by intrigue as I inspected each kind of Tupperware they sold.  It’s probably lame that I felt like I was winning the jackpot while looking at all of these containers, but maybe you’ll see what I was getting at when you look at the pictures.  

 Here's an overview:  On the left is a sandwich container and the one on the far right is just another little container for any kind of snack.  The middle three are a bit more impressive, so I explain them in the picture below:

On the left is a container with a removable section that is a little less than 1/3 of the whole container.  Attached to the bottom of the removable part is a spoon that you make by sticking two pieces together.  This type of container would be perfect for something like yogurt and granola.  Put the yogurt in the bottom, the granola in the removable section, and there's already a spoon!  Another good combo for it would be vegetables and hummus.  

The container at the bottom of the picture is a whole set of eating utensils just like the one I described!  BUT, instead of just making a spoon, you can make a spoon, knife, fork, and even chopsticks!  To make the spoon, fork, or knife, you put one of the blue sticks with one of the green pieces.  To make the chopsticks, you just put all of the blue pieces together.  It's great!  I also just used this in my carry on while traveling.  It worked out so well.  I removed the knife part, though.  I wasn't sure what TSA would do so I left that part behind.  

The container on the left is a lunch cube.  It opens up to two sections: one large section where you could put a sandwich or maybe greens for a salad, and another section that splits in to two more sections (if you made a salad with this, you could put vegetables and chicken in the other sections, or put other foods you'd want with a sandwich in it).

I went grocery shopping the other day and found that this same brand of food storage (Sistema) was at my local store.  So, I picked up a slightly different lunch cube that would has a place for smaller foods and even a little cup for dressing or hummus (whatever you'd like).  

And, no judgement on this last one.  But heck, most of this stuff was from the kids' section...

Let me know in the comments if you pack your food, too!  Or what you use to pack it.  Have a great week, everybody!

Quinoa Wraps

I watched Tone it Up's video with Tenley Molzahn where they made quinoa wraps with collard greens as the wraps!  Here is the video that has their (great) recipe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jji4r7I2WSY

I, however, was hungry and did not have collard greens, avocado, or tempeh.  What I DID have was quinoa, romaine lettuce, swiss chard, lime juice, tuna, water chestnuts, cilantro, and parsley!

How to recreate this yummy meal:

1. Cook quinoa.
2. Lay out romaine lettuce (or collard greens or any other kind of green for a wrap) and place some swiss chard on top (optional).
3. Mix the tuna, water chestnuts, cilantro, and parsley with lime juice, sea salt, ground pepper, Jack Daniel's mustard, and red cayenne pepper in a bowl.
4. Place cooked quinoa on wraps and cover with the mixture from the bowl! :)

This was great and it makes amazing left overs!

What I'm Loving Right Now

I think I'm going to do a bunch of these "What I'm Loving Right Now" segments throughout this blog.  A lot of them will be about nutrition, healthy snack and meal ideas, and tips.  That will be what this one's about, anyway!

Loving: Nutrition

I've always loved nutrition.  I was never a picky eater and was also a gymnast, diver, dancer, and still am a runner so I knew if I put garbage into my body, I'd do pretty darn poorly in competitions. Anyway, for years I also wanted to be a nutritionist.  I still haven't fully ruled that out yet, but even if I don't become one, I will still use whatever knowledge I have from learning about it to my life.

Mini-Babybel Light: They're these cute little cheeses that you can pick up at any grocery store.  They're very good, especially when paired with mustard (I prefer Jack Daniel's mustard---and no, there is no alcohol in it, for those who are wondering.  It's just the brand.) Here's a picture of the cheese!  Plus they're wrapped in this wax that you easily can take off...and then play with.  Or, at least that's what I do.

Laughing Cow Cheese:

I've been eating these for years, and now there are new flavors that I need to try (tomato basil, etc)!  I use the plain swiss flavor on wraps or by themselves.  I've also recently (I'm talkin' last night) found out that, if paired with fruit or nuts, they make a really tasty dessert!  Last night I ate a piece with some blueberries and it was really good. :)

Almond Milk: Don't raise your eyebrows.  It's good!  I snack on almonds all the time, so I really like this.  It's unsweetened and I don't think it has calcium benefits or anything, but it's just sort of refreshing to have a gulp of it.  You can also use it in your smoothies, coffee, tea, cereal, etc.  Sometimes I pour it over raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries and it's really good.  It's low in calories, carbs, and sugar.

Almond Butter/Peanut Butter: At my grocery store, there are these machines that have peanuts and almonds in them (respectively).  You flip a switch and the nuts are ground down to butter right in front of you, so they're fresh with no added ingredients.  They taste better than any peanut butter I've ever tried.  EVER!  And I might even like the almond butter more.  I flip flop all the time about which is my favorite.

Cinnamon Tea: First off, I love anything with cinnamon.  Seriously.  And I learned from Katrina from Tone it Up that it can also be a good dessert with some almond milk in it.  

Pistachios: If you get the kind that you have to peel open, it's sort of a pain, but it also helps with portion control since you have to work to get the nut out of its shell.  I like to get both my jars of pistachios and almonds from Target.  They are Target brand (specifically called "Market Pantry") and come in jars that get you a good amount of food for the price you pay.

Green Tea: I've tried tons of different kinds, and recently just bought Lipton brand and it's fabulous (not to mention cheaper than other options).  I've tried crosses between green tea and acai (pronounced "ahs-sye-eeee.  Sye rhymes with dye) berry tea and green tea mixed with black tea, but even though both are yummy in their own regard, this time I just wanted plain.  No fancy-shmancy stuff.  Just plain green tea.

That's another thing, I read the ingredient labels a lot.  The last time I went back home for a visit, my parents were (and are) going on this major health kick.  Honestly, the unhealthiest thing in my house was JIF peanut butter.  I've always been one for healthy foods and exercise, so I thought that was pretty cool.  And while I was there, I learned a trick that has now changed my approach to eating:  READ THE 1ST FOUR INGREDIENTS ON FOODS before you buy/eat them.  IF YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE THEM, then don't eat it.  When you actually do this on your main, staple foods, you'll be surprised that things you eat normally, like bread, have unrecognizable ingredients.  Even foods that are "healthy", such as low carb, low calorie foods, have alien nutrients in their first four ingredients.  The reason you read the first four is because ingredients are listed in order of prominence.  In other words, they are arranged from most to least.  Although, aim for foods that are free of ingredients you don't recognize.  Another way of looking at it is to ask yourself, "would I cook with this?" or "would I want someone to give me food that they cooked with this??" If the answer is no, try to find an alternative.

While you're at it, don't get or consume anything with high fructose corn syrup.  I'm convinced it's what has lead our country to become so obese.  I am by no means a doctor or expert, but doctors and experts do say that (I don't have a link with me or anything, but you can research it if you'd like).  And again, watch out for "healthy" foods.  Even they'll have that corn syrup hiding in there sometimes.  And in my opinion, you don't even really need to eat corn that much considering most meats now are fed corn.  Even fish!  Yes, fish.  When's the last time you saw a salmon swimming around and fighting other salmon for corn in the wild?  You haven't.  Seriously.  Neither has anyone.  Basically, all these animals are eating things that they would not eat in their natural habitat and so when we eat cow or salmon and drink cow's milk, then those nutrients they get come into us.  So as a word of caution, do your homework about the source of your dinner before you sit down to eat it.  It's not as hard as it sounds, and you'll benefit from it.

Gosh that was long.  That's it for now!

-Sarah