Post Run Breakfast-Spinach and Eggs

Happy Thursday!! This morning, I set my alarm for 6 am because I needed to get my run done before Ryan left for work and anything longer than 3 miles and Logan will not sit still. I did not feel like running at all when I first got up. I actually pretty much never feel like running, but in my effort to accomplish my goal of a half-marathon, I guess I will have to overcome that, right? Anyway, after I had a half cup of coffee and a small no-bake hemp protein bar, I took on 4.65 miles! I was definitely slower than usual but the fact that I was done with my workout by 7:30 am felt amazing!

Anyway, when I got back to the house I was starving but I didn't want to eat anything cold for breakfast; my usual "go-to" is fat free Greek yogurt topped with homemade granola, but that didn't sound appealing when I was freezing after my run. So, I give you the spinach-egg breakfast bake! This was the most satisfying breakfast I have had in a while and will now probably have a few times a week!

Directions for One:

*Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Ingredients:
1 egg
5 cherry tomatoes cut in half
1 handful of organic spinach, washed
1/4 red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 TB shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 TB coconut oil

-Heat up your oil in a small fry pan on medium heat and add your garlic and onions. Saute until tender and then add your tomatoes and spinach. Cook for a few minutes, until the spinach is wilted and then add your cheese. Given everything a good stir and then remove from heat.
-Next, spray a small ramekin dish with coconut oil or olive oil spray and place the saute mixture inside. Then, make a small hole in the middle of the ramekin and crack your egg and place inside. Season the whole dish with salt and pepper and place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until your desired softness of the egg. Enjoy, I know I did! :)

How to make a healthy tostada!

Happy Friday!I  love Mexican food! Seriously, who doesn't?! I haven't ever met a person who does not enjoy the yumminess of Mexican cuisine. Who wouldn't when you think of all the cheese, oil and fat that is put into dishes like creamy enchiladas, stuffed tamales, and tacos. So, if you are anything like me and you are trying to be somewhat "good" when it comes to eating out then you automatically order a tostada or some sort of salad. Little did you know that a lot of salads end up adding up to way more calories than some of the other dishes you passed up on! This is seriously frustrating and saddening and thus why I hardly ever go out any more and when I do I usually feel somewhat sick later on. Plus, if you have the time you can control where your ingredients are coming from and how much goes in it! This is key for those of us either trying to lose a few pounds or are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

So, enter the homemade healthy tostada! We have started a tradition in our household of Mexican Fridays! Our go to is fish tacos which are incredibly yummy and deserve their own post later on but today I'm going to talk about my favorite Mexican dish, a tostada! First and foremost, you will need to purchase a tostada shaped baking pan. This is very important because it saves you hundreds of calories! I used to purchase pre-made tostada shaped bowls at Safeway until I realized they are almost 400 calories just for the shell!! Seriously, my dinners are usually anywhere from 200-400 depending on the meal. I bought two pans as a set at Bed Bath and Beyond; (for around $10) it is an awesome store but you can purchase these online too as they are one of the "As Seen On TV" products. Anyway, once you purchase the pans you are ready to gather the remaining ingredients for your healthy tostadas!

Ingredients I used:

100 Calorie Whole Wheat Tortillas
Lean or Extra Lean Ground Turkey
Taco Seasoning-either homemade or store bought is fine
Shredded Lettuce
Black beans
Bell peppers-I love the mini peppers and they are easy to saute and cheap at Costco! Cut up into long slices
Red or white onion-I used a combo of both and cut them up in long slices just like the bell peppers
Homemade Salsa or store bought salsa-If you have time homemade is the best!
Avocado slices
1/2TB -1TB coconut oil (This is my "go-to" oil when I'm cooking because it is full of healthy benefits)
Cilantro
Greek yogurt- If you follow my recipes you will notice that I don't use sour cream anymore, or mayonnaise for that matter. Greek yogurt is a healthy alternative full of healthy proteins and 0g fat!! :)
If you have to have cheese, try to buy a healthy low fat cheese-part skim mozzarella is great. I personally don't mind skipping the cheese here but whatever floats your boat!

First, get out three pans; (1) saucepan to heat up your black beans, (2) Saute pan for your bell peppers and onions, (3) large fry pan for your ground turkey. Next, heat up half the oil in your fry pan for the turkey and half the oil in your saute pan for your veggies. When it is hot you can put all your ingredients in the prospective pans. When the ground turkey begins to brown, add some taco seasoning or prepared Mexican seasonings. Feel free to add some to the veggies too although I usually just stick to salt and pepper with those. When those things are getting close to being done, start heating up your black beans and get out your tortillas. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the tortillas into the shaped bowls and press down-no oil is required here! When the oven is hot, put your tortilla pans in and cook for 12-15 minutes (Side note- Sometimes the top edges of the tortilla cook faster and so I suggest covering it with a thin layer of aluminum foil). When your meat is done, your veggies are sauteed and your beans are hot, you can reduce the heat to warm and get your toppings ready!

Next up, filling the tortillas- After your beautiful crispy 100 calorie tostadas come out of the oven, it is time to layer the yummies :) First, layer the tortillas with shredded lettuce-lettuce is a freebie, so give yourself however much you want! Then add your black beans (1/2 cup is 120 calories so as a woman I give myself 1/4 cup and my husband 1/2), then your meat ( again I believe that a healthy meat portion for a woman is anywhere from 2.5-4 ounces and a man 4.5-6 ounces), and then peppers and onions-however much you want! After those are assembled, I like to put a few TB of salsa, with one TB of greek yogurt, and around 3 slices of avocado (20 calories). Garnish it all with cilantro and you are ready to enjoy!
   *If you feel like you need "dressing" there are healthy alternatives out there, but I actually enjoy using greek yogurt mixed with adobo chili paste (I found at whole foods and is much easier and cheaper then buying a can of chipotle chillies in adobo sauce and throwing away most of the can) and apple cider vinegar (I always use this kind of vinegar in recipes because it is so dang healthy) or whatever vinegar you have on hand. I don't think it needs dressing but that's just me :)

And there you have it; a yummy, healthy tostada all for around the same calorie count as the shell of a tostada from the grocery store or restaurant! Boom :)

Green Smoothies!

Last year I was talking with my friend Jess and I was telling her that Logan had become somewhat picky when it came to "all things green." For the first time in Logan's life I felt like all the other parents out their fighting with him to eat his veggies! That's when Jess told me to just stop battling and put it in a smoothie. I wasn't sure how I was going to do this because I knew that the smoothie was going to look weird to Logan if it had veggies in it until I discovered that if I put his green smoothie in a green cup with a lid, he would never know! The basic recipe that Jess gave me and one that she gives to her kids on a daily basis is:

1 cup spinach
1/2 banana fresh or frozen
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
a few drops stevia extract if needed to sweeten
ice as desired

I discovered that if you put the whole banana in there you don't need the stevia. Since then, I have come up with all sorts of variations and have even added extra protein sources in such things as chia seeds, hemp seeds, or powdered peanut butter! If you've read my previous post, you know that me and protein powders don't jive but if you like it, then go ahead! My all time favorite smoothie combo, that I just can't get enough of is this:

1/2 cup spinach
1/2 cup kale
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 banana
1/4 fresh peeled orange
1/2 apple
2 TB powdered peanut butter
1 TB hemp seed
tons of ice
Calories (around 220)

I have talked about the hemp seeds in my previous post; they are a great source of protein, amino acids, and omega 3 and 6. I recently purchased the most amazing powdered peanut butter ever on my trip to LA at a local health food store and I was beyond excited to finally find a powdered peanut butter that had clean ingredients and tastes amazing (Not to mention that 2 TB is only 45 calories)! I will continue to buy this stuff online since I can't find it locally because it is just that good! I love having a smoothie as a post-workout breakfast or a lunch on the go. Logan has one as a snack because he is growing and needs more calories than I do on most days...lucky!!

Logan no longer cares if his smoothie is in a green cup and he is a lot better about eating veggies but he still loves his smoothies! Ryan got us a vitamix a few months a go and that has made smoothie time a great and easy experience!!

Logan is a big boy and mommy is cooking up a storm!

So, the other day I wrote a pretty long post and for some reason I exited the program and lost everything I had written even though I saved it continually. Clearly I don't know how to use this program yet but I will continue on!

Logan has made a HUGE step in becoming a big boy and has finally made me realize that he is no longer a baby! The other day I threw his bottles in the trash! I wasn't really planning on this but I forgot to pack his bottle for Nani's house the other day and he survived without it! Haha. He has still asked me every day this week for it but I have been telling him that we threw them away because he is a big boy and he doesn't need them anymore. I have been amazed at his response to this and have realized that we definitely did the right thing. Yesterday, though when he asked me, he became really sad and cuddled up to me and was whimpering( I melted a little bit but had to stay strong!) Next step, potty training! Oh boy am I dreading that...

Ryan has been very busy with work, trying to do multiple jobs at one time, which has given me a lot more free time to be in the kitchen creating all sorts of messes. Cooking healthy can sometimes be frustrating; baking sometimes can be a frustrating process. I tend to avoid things that call for butter, white sugar, and white flour. A lot of times I even substitute unsweetened applesauce that I now make in my crock pot for some or all of the oil in a recipe. I do love using coconut oil though and it does have a lot of health benefits but since Ryan and I are still trying to loose a few more pounds, I don't like to use too much. Some of the things I have made in the last few weeks are: applesauce (Logan has a bowl for dessert every night so I made enough for a few weeks!), 6 pounds of granola, graham crackers, key lime fruit tarts, mini cheesecakes, protein bars, German chocolate fudge bites, flax crackers, berry muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, and Mexican corn cake. Just writing that out made me exhausted! I'm sure eventually I will be able to write out each recipe that I have had success with and love but for now I will highlight a few. Of course, if there are any requests down the line, I will be happy to write those too.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (my favorite by far): I make 2 batches of mini muffins (easy for little hands) or you can double and use one regular size muffin pan. Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

•  1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1-2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 c spelt flour ( I just started using this flour and I like it! It's very healthy and easier to digest!
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/4 c applesauce ( I make cinnamon applesauce so if you buy regular just add 1/2tsp-1tsp cinnamon)
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar
• 1/2 tsp ginger or nutmeg (optional if this suits your current fancy, sometimes I'm not in the mood)

Preheat oven to 355 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix liquid ingredients (and poppy seeds), then combine and stir until just mixed. Don’t over mix. Pour into mini liners or spray a mini muffin tin with oil, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 cute lil mini muffins.

No bake protein bars: I have made a change in my diet and it has been a long time coming; I am not going to buy protein powder again! I feel like every time I have used the powder I feel sick to my stomach. I do know people who love it but for me I am choosing to use natural proteins to fuel me up. In the last few months I have started running and I even signed up for my first race, a 10k in August. So, I needed something I could grab quickly to boost my energy before my runs; hence my first protein bar. Logan and Ryan also love them too!

Adapted from Nutritionistinthekitch.com

Apricot & Cashew Energy Bars

 

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

1 min

Total time

11 mins

 

Serves: 8

Ingredients

• 1 cup dried Turkish apricots
• ½ cup raw cashews
• ¾ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• ⅓ cup rolled oats
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 2 tablespoons hemp seed hearts ( I found them at Costco!)
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

1. Line and 8 inch baking pan with parchment paper or saran wrap, and set aside.
2. Pulse cashews in food processor until crumbly, place in a separate bowl.
3. Pulse apricots in food processor until finely chopped. Add all other ingredients to the apricot mixture and process until well combined.
4. Add the chopped cashews to the mixture and pulse until combined.
5. Firmly press the apricot mixture into the baking pan, using the flat surface of a measuring cup to create a flat even layer.
6. Place pan in the freezer for one hour, then remove and cut into 8 rectangle bars (or more or less, depending on desired size).
7. Place in an airtight container and store for up to one month in the fridge or freezer ( I love to keep them in the freezer)
8. Enjoy!

Whew, that was a lot for one post and someone is bugging me to take him outside :) I'll leave you with a few pictures I snapped yesterday.  Love to all!

I am finally getting around to starting our family blog! My purpose is to share pictures, recipes, and family updates to our journey in leading healthy, sugar free lives! :)