Memories, Growth, And A PROTEIN DRANK

Do you ever look back into your life and think how the heck did I do that, why did I do that, or I wish I could relive that again, etc.? I find myself doing this a lot, but lately it's been recognizing the growth of myself and others in the past few years...

Yesterday, my CrossFit box had their annual AM vs. PM Throwdown and while I did not compete I reminisced on the first time I was a part of the throwdown.  I clearly remember one of the workouts containing 95 lb front squats.  Now that may not sound hard to a lot of people but at that time 2 years ago I was unable to power clean the 95 lbs to complete the front squats!! :( Well take a trip into my workout yesterday that contained a total of 50 power cleans at 95lbs...and that wasn't bad ;)

This got me to thinking how much I really have grown & improved over the past 2 years. I tend to get down on myself a lot during workouts not being able to complete certain skills. BUT it is always great to look back at see past performances and the capabilities of the human body with continued training. Progress people.

I also LOVE to see the growth of my box mates! Having the ability to watch them yesterday makes me so proud of their accomplishments and successes in their fitness journeys. So whether I say it to them or not you all are recognized! Great work, keep it up!


Next, I have a really good protein drink! Like one of the best I've ever made.  It contains peanut butter (can't get enough, ever), coffee (some have mixed feelings with coffee post workout, it's a small amount so you decide), coconut milk, cinnamon, and protein powder. YUM!

PB Cafe Protein Drank

1/4 c. coconut milk

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. coffee

1 Tb. peanut butter or other nut butter

Dash of cinnamon

1 scoop protein (I used vanilla SFH)

6 ice cubes

Place all ingredients into a blender and go go go until all combined. Enjoy!

Lastly, on this day last year we were preparing the final details of the day to come, spending time with lots of family, and shedding happy tears of walking down the aisle. Yes, tomorrow is our 1st anniversary of taking the plunge :)  Can not believe it's been a year already but what a big year! Here's to many more!!!!! <3

Because...Peanut Butter! Treat yo self.

Hello!  I hope everyone is soaking up these last days of summer...le'sigh...it's gone by SO fast!  But then again, Fall is a wonderful time of the year. Hello, baking time!! 

Well I've decided to start baking early since I've been slacking this summer and made some noming good cookie bars.  These are gluten free, full of deliciousness, and hard to keep ya hands off ;) Treat yo self!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars!

3/4 c. peanut butter, or nut butter of choice

1/4 c. coconut oil, melted

3 Tb. honey

 1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. almond flour

1/2 c. coconut flakes, unsweetened

1/4 c. coconut flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 c. chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 pan.  Combine all wet ingredients and add all dry ingredients except chocolate chips.  Once combined, fold in chocolate chips.  Place dough into the pan and make sure you pat it down a bit for levelness.  Bake for 15 minutes, and let it cool!  Enjoy :)

 

Where Oh Where Has Time Gone?!

Why yes, it is me...Kayla. Back in action!!!! Where have I been? I don't know...mingling with life and all it's amazing adventures.  Time has come and gone and I am back at this blog writing about wanderings of life and food and fun things anddddd yeah that's about it!  

So what is new?  I just ended my first job working in the corporate fitness industry and hopefully about to enter some fun crazy things that I just would love to be a part of...

But alas, food and fitness are my loves (well besides DB and Reg) but yes... they both are glorious things.  As we grow in life we appreciate the remarkable creations that different ingredients and exercises can make.  I for one am all about creations and that is my challenge to you all.  Go for it, create something you enjoy.  Whether that be a new job, a new recipe, a new workout, etc. Let's be who we want to be, live how we want to live, strive for goals we want to attain. It is a wonderful thing that we continuously change in our lives and find out that some things are not exactly the perfect fit but are these fantastic stepping stones to greater wanderings.

Therefore, as I move onto this next venture in life I am really wanting to get more into the food world as well. Any helpful thoughts or tips would be appreciated.  

I want to help you though in the process as well...What would you like to know more about? Any specific types of meals? Any specific type of ingredient you may want help with in the kitchen?  I am not culinary or nutritionist expert...just a girl who has a passion for food and the trying out new ingredients.  

I lastly want to give you the option to ask me questions about general workout structure...so here is your chance.

Orrrrrrr if you really don't care about any of that and just want to see some gosh darn recipes, I will do that too :) Thanks for sticking with me! Woohooooooo

I will end this post with a simple smoothie recipe that you can have for a possible breakfast or bigger snack!

Cherry Banana PB Smoothie

1 medium banana

1/4 c. frozen cherries

1/2 Tb. peanut butter

dash of cinnamon

1/2 to 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

~1 c. almond milk

Combine all together in blender and enjoy!

 

Snow Day Recipes!

Good afternoon!  Today was a SNOW day!!  I actually do not like snow or cold but I do like getting off work every now and then. Especially around another holiday which meant we had a 4 day weekend ;)  Woohoo!

I do have 2 more random recipes to share today since I am stuck inside and why not write them down since I usually forget.

Last night I made burgers which are so easy to make and super delish.  This picture is actually from a few weeks ago and I added a fried egg on top that just added to the wonderfulness of it...

Easy Peasy Burgers

Ingredients:
1 lb. grassfed ground beef
1 Tb. coconut aminos
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
salt & pepper

Combine ingredients together in a mixing bowl and form into 4 patties.  Or you could make them into sliders if you want!  Place on grill and grill to your liking, or cook on grilling pan on the stove.  Enjoy!

Single Serving Pancake 

 This pancake is perfect for a Sunday morning breakfast, or who am I kidding, anytime.

Ingredients:

1 egg, whisked

4 Tb. coconut milk or milk of choice

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 Tb. coconut flour

1/2 Tb. potato starch

1 tsp. coconut sugar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

dash of salt

Combine wet ingredients together then add dry ingredients.  Mix until combined.  Pour into greased, pre-heated pan and cook until small bubbles form, flip, and cook until fully cooked through.  Top with whatever you want, my favs are almond butter, bananas, chia, and maple syrup :)

 There you have it...eat up!  Stay warm folks.

Well Hello, Random Assortment of Recipes!

Welcome back into my life.  Yes, I've been out of the loop on here for a long time. There have been a few people asking me when I will post recipes again. SO here ya go. Today I am just typing up a random assortment of noms that you may want to try out sometime.

I am warning you though...I am not one for exact recipes as I have always been like that, my goal is to get better at taking notes.  If I try a new recipe from a food blogger I try to stay true to the recipe.  However, I don't have the ingredients sometimes so substitutes are usually in place.  But that's life and whatever, it usually ends up tasting good anyways ;)

The Best Breakfast Sandwich (Gluten Free/Paleo)

This sandwich is great anytime of the day. I mean come on, who doesn't love a bacon, egg, and cheese?

Biscuit:
1 Tb. butter, melted
1 egg
1/4 c. almond meal
1/2-1 Tb. coconut flour
dash of salt & pepper
dash of garlic powder

Toppings:
1 egg
2 slices of bacon
1-2 slices your choice cheese

Mix together all ingredients for the biscuit, place in a ramekin and microwave for 2 minutes. Let cool. 

Cook the egg and bacon to your liking.  Turn ramekin over to get the biscuit out, cut in half.  Top one side of the biscuit with a slice of cheese, then egg, then other slice of cheese, bacon, and finally the top of the biscuit. Option: top with hot sauce because it's amazing. Enjoy!

Breakfast Hash (Gluten Free/Paleo)

This hash is easy and fabulous.  It is a great addition to eggs in the morning!

Ingredients:
4-5 slices of bacon
3-4 parsnips, sliced and diced
3 carrots, sliced and diced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
salt to taste

Cook bacon in the pan until fully cooked (this is probably the only time I cook bacon in the pan).  Baking bacon is SO much better...thanks to a friend who taught me this magical way.  Anyways, once the bacon is cooked add the parsnips, carrots, and onion to the pan as well as the remaining seasonings.  Cook and stir for about 15 minutes, add the bacon at the end before serving. ;)

Cauliflower Pizza Crust (Gluten Free)

This crust is very easy, I promise.  Just a few steps for magical pizza crust.  

Ingredients:
4 cups cauliflower (chopped into florets, steam for 5 minutes, then process in food processor until rice shaped)
1/3-1/2 c. of goat cheese
1 egg, beated
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
dash of salt and pepper

After preparing the cauliflower place in a dish towel and squeeze as much water as possible out as you can! This is very important to do!!!!  Then place riced cauliflower and remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix until all combined. Grease a large baking sheet and place mixture onto sheet. Form into a even level pizza shape.  Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.  Place toppings of your choice onto the crust and bake for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melted! Slice and serve!

Homemade MAYO 

Although it may seem a bit scary I promise it isn't. Mayo is simple. Period. Just do it.

Ingredients:
1 cup avocado oil
1 pasture raised egg, room temperature
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Dash of salt and pepper
Optional: 1 tsp. hot sauce

Place egg and other seasonings besides oil into the food processor and process until combined.  Slowly pour oil through the top opening while the processor is on.  Continue until all oil is used and mayo becomes a creamy consistency.  Place mayo into a mason jar and store in fridge, usually lasts a week. I use this to top burgers or salmon :)

My Favorite Juice Recipe!

Sometimes I just crave juice, so if that happens I make this simple juice.

Ingredients:
1 Gala apple
3 large carrots
3-4 stalks celery
2 BIG handfuls of spinach
1 small piece of ginger

Juice all veggies using your juicer and enjoy.  The worst part is the clean-up, yup...

Power Balls (Gluten Free)

I love having easy snacks available during the day.  Something small and slightly sweet is always a good thing. Yum.

Ingredients:
1/2 c. almond or cashew butter
3-4 Tb. coconut oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. coconut flakes
3/4 c. gluten free oats
2 Tb. xylitol or sweetener of choice 
1/4-1/3 c. chopped chocolate of choice

Place all ingredients together in a bowl and mix until combined.  Spoon into tablespoon sized balls and place on a small cookie sheet.  Place balls into fridge to chill and store.  Enjoy!

I hope you all enjoy some of these and hopefully I'll get on here more often with updates.  Have a lovely rest of your weekend :)

Pumpkin, Pumpkin Everywhere!

Well I'm pretty sure I've eaten pumpkin something at about every meal this week. Almost. And if I didn't I was dreaming about eating it.  So yes, the Pumpkin Spice Latte season is in full force and since it really doesn't have pumpkin in it, we need to eat the real thing (in form of baked goods ;)!

Of course, I have only made treats filled with pumpkin but who am I kidding...things do not change.  So I will show you some pics of the luscious breads and concoctions I've made over the past few weeks.  And don't judge my pictures. All Instagram and I'm bad at taking pictures...

{PaleOMG's Cinnamon Coffee Cake}

{PaleOMG's Cinnamon Chocolate Swirl Bread}

{My own Maple Bacon Pumpkin Oatmeal}

Here are a few new one's I've made up.  The Fallcake is just a single serving protein pancake that is super easy to make. The Pumpkin Balls contain chocolate since I needed chocolate. (NEED).  And those are easy as well. Well okay I pretty much only make easy things...oh and both contain pumpkin.duh.

Fallcake for One!

1/4 c. Egg whites or 1-2 eggs

3 Tb. Milk of your choice (I used almond)

3 Tb. Pumpkin puree

1/2 Scoop of vanilla protein powder (I used SFH)

1/2 tsp. Baking powder

1 Tb. Coconut flour

1/4 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice

Directions:  Blend together eggs, milk, pumpkin puree until combined.  Add dry ingredients until all blended together.  Pour into a well greased pan or griddle and cook until it's burning, I mean until you can tell it has a solid base.  Flip and cook until browned. I topped my Fallcake with some almond buttahh & maple syrup.  Enjoy!

Reggie says hi (MEOW)! Bad picture, sorry.

Chocolate Pumpkin Balls

1/4 c. Melted coconut butter

1/3 c. Creamy almond butter

1/4 c. pumpkin puree

3 Tb. coconut sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

3 Tb. cocoa powder

3 Tb. cashew or almond flour

3 Tb.-1/4 c. coconut flour (depends on mixture absorbency)

Directions:  Mix together all wet ingredients, add dry and stir until all combined.  You should be able to handle the mixture, if not you may need to add a bit more cashew/almond flour.  If too dry, add a splash of milk.  Form into Tablespoon sized balls and refrigerate.  
Great for snacking :)

I think you should try these instead of chugging those Pumpkin Spice Lattes...just saying ;) ENJOY!

Maple Bacon Pumpkin Oatmeal..YUP!

Well I'm back from all the wedding and honeymoon shenanigans and let me tell you...it was fabulous.  I NEEDED a honeymoon!!!!  I'm just not sure how people don't take honeymoons after their wedding, major props to you if you did or plan to do that.  Also, if you are deciding on a place to go, Punta Cana was AWESOME! Specifically the Excellence at Punta Cana...amazing staff, rooms, FOOD, drinks, free things! Pure greatness. 

Anywho, if you follow me on Instagram you would have seen this picture I posted...

So yeah, basically Betty Crocker is going crazy...and I thought how gross. I really wanted to like the whole thing but come on..really??  I decided this would be totally acceptable if I made this from scratch..right?  

This combination got me to thinking on Sunday morning as I was about to make pumpkin oatmeal...wait a minute...
Maple...Bacon...Pumpkin...Oatmeal. Yeah. DONE!  I present  you my recipe for awesomeness. 

Not the most photogenic...but pure delicious.

{Maple Bacon Pumpkin Oatmeal}

1/2 c. organic rolled oats

1/4 c. pumpkin puree

1/4 c. almond milk

1/4 c. water

1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2- 1 Tb. Grade B organic maple syrup

1-2 slices  bacon, cooked & chopped into bits

Optional:  1/2 Tb. almond butter 

(Just because it completes me)

Combine oats, pumpkin puree, almond milk, water, and pumpkin pie spice in microwavable bowl on in a saucepan.  Place in the microwave, covered, and cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes.  Or place in a saucepan on medium heat and cook until thoroughly cooked.  Next, top with chopped bacon bits, maple syrup, and maybe a dash of cinnamon.

OMG.  I've been missing out. You should try it, just do it.  :)