Quick Breakfast: Berry Cherry Smoothie

There are many mornings that I literally crawl out of bed, get ready in 1o minutes, grab my lunch, and head out the door. However, breakfast is something that takes more time if I have not prepared it the night before. This leaves me with like 3 minutes to prepare something, and what better than to whip up a smoothie?

I have been on a smoothie kick for awhile, not sure why. It's typical for me to go through phases because I'm just like that (besides peanut butter which is just a pure obsession). 

 Here is one of my favorite smoothies, it's a mix of fruit, healthy fats, and protein!

Berry Cherry Smoothie 

1 medium banana (cut into chunks)

1/2 c. Very Cherry Berry Blend (from Trader Joe's)

1-2 Tb. shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2-1 scoop vanilla protein powder (amount depends on you)

dash of cinnamon

4-5 ice cubes

1 c. unsweetened almond milk   

 Directions: Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until a smooth consistency. Pour into 2 glasses or drink the whole thing if you want, it's good so drink it up! ENJOY :)

Have a great rest of your weekend! 

Baked Eggplant Parmesan, Say What?

I made this recipe awhile ago, and meant to share it but forgot. Whoops! So today I am going to go through it, that way you can make it ASAP because I mean your going to. Right?!

I love those comfort meals that you can lighten up and have them still taste heavenly. Believe me, this is one of them...

Baked Eggplant Parmesan

2 large eggplants (peeled & sliced into 1/2 in. slices)

2 eggs or 3 egg whites

1 1/2 c. whole wheat panko bread crumbs

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

EVOO spray

1 jar pasta sauce (whatever kind you want)

1 c. part skim mozzarella cheese 

1 box whole wheat penne pasta

Directions: Preheat the oven for 415 degrees. Peel your eggplants ensuring all the skin is off.

Next, cut your peeled eggplants into about a 1/2 inch slices.

 

Now, make the bread crumb mixture by combining: bread crumbs, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, and crushed red pepper in a medium sized bowl.

 
In another bowl whisk the eggs together. Next, prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with foil and spray with EVOO. It is  now time for your assembly line. First, dredge the eggplant in the egg, then into the bread crumb mixture. Make sure you coat both sides completely! Place onto baking sheet in a single layer. 

Into the oven they go and bake for about 10 minutes. Flip the eggplant and bake on the other side for about 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and place a spoonful of pasta sauce on the tops of the eggplant slices. Add a sprinkle of cheese on the top of that and place back into the oven for 3-5 minutes until melted.

It is now time for the good part! Place a layer of your cooked penne pasta onto a plate, top with a bit of sauce and then top that with a few eggplant slices (and more cheese if you want). ENJOY :)

 

The Perfect Pancake (Wheat free!)

 Oh pancakes, I have a love-hate relationship with you...

I love eating pancakes.  I hate making batches upon batches of them and then only eat half. Therefore, when I want one I just make a single serving version. I am pretty sure I have perfected the wheat free version...you should try it.

The Perfect Pancake

{Single serving & wheat free}

2 egg whites

2-3 Tb. coconut milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 Tb. coconut flour

1 1/2 Tb. almond flour 

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 Tb. chia seeds 

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Optional toppings/additions:  blueberries, cinnamon apples, coconut, bananas, strawberries, almond butter, maple syrup, chia seeds, etc.

Combine all ingredients into a small mixing bowl and stir until combined. Heat a small skillet on medium heat and spray pan with EVOO. Pour batter into pan and cook on one side until bubbles start to form. Flip pancake and finish cooking.  Top with whatever your heart desires.

ENJOY :)

What's Your Motivation?

I get the question all the time..."Why do you think working out is fun?!" To me what they are really asking is... What is your motivation? 

Everyone needs some kind of motivation for everything they do!

**This may get a little wordy but whatever, you decide if you want to read it! 

 My fitness motivation started the day I began to swim in elementary school. Being a competitive person, the sport was perfect for me since we basically got to race people every single day. Swimming kept me going through high school and eventually to college.

College swimming is a whole different atmosphere. I found myself in a different state, with a different team, a new coach,   a new way of training, and a new group of wonderful girl friends. None of this was easy, but I knew without the support of my team I would have never been able to get up for those 5 AM practices.

I will also say that no one is perfect, we all make mistakes. Through my college years and swimming I found myself making some not so great decisions with my studies and training. But isn't that how we all learn??!

While injured my junior year in college, I began to research nutrition, training, and basically how the body works. I also began to ask more questions to my strength coach about our workouts and the reasoning behind the exercises we did. This opened up a whole new world for me. From that moment in my junior/senior year I knew that the body was a special and a wonderful thing we are all blessed with. 

Looking good with the snorkel! HA

This led to graduation and then graduate school where I studied kinesiology. Although at times I got frustrated with classes (I get stressed easily so what else is new?) I knew this was the field I wanted to be in. 

From then to now and being in the BIG WORLD, I have learned so much about myself and the fitness world. I have learned A LOT about people and their mentality towards working out. It's crazy to hear the excuses and I find myself asking WHY? Why are you coming in here everyday making these excuses? What is it you want to achieve? What is holding you back? I constantly come back to my own goals and need to ask myself the same questions, even if I am not training for anything. 

Basically what I am trying to say is FIND YOUR MOTIVATION! Once you find it, you can achieve so many things! I promise :)

Get after it!

Buffalo Feta-Stuffed Meatballs

Happy Friday! Today I have an AWESOMELY delicious recipe. Okay, so it was finally a Pinterest recipe I followed! I ate them for dinner last night even though they are really an appetizer, obviously I do not care. These would be great to bring to a Super Bowl party...so here it is.

Buffalo Feta-Stuffed Meatballs

1 lb. ground chicken

1 egg white

1/4 of a small yellow onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 c. panko or regular plain breadcrumbs

1 Tb. Ranch dip mix

4 oz. feta block, cut into 16 cubes

2 Tb. butter

1 c. Frank's Hot Wing Sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine the egg white, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, and dip mix until mixed together. Add in the ground chicken until it is evenly combined. Split the mixture into 16 portions. Add a cube of feta to each portion and roll into a meatball form. Place on a non-stick baking sheet. *I use foil because I like easy clean up.

Place in the oven and bake for about 18 minutes, or until browned.

On the stove top, melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the hot wing sauce. Once the meatballs are done, transfer them into the sauce mixture and coat completely. Keep covered and heat on low. ENJOY!

They are oh so YUMMY, you need to try this recipe NOW! I promise you will not regret it :) 

Have a superb football filled weekend!

Coffee Cake in a Mug

Here's to another healthy-ish version of a single serving dessert! I know you wanted another one...what's better than a quick and easy dessert??? Right, not much. Here you go...

Coffee Cake for One

Cake:

1 Tb. regular butter or coconut butter

1-1 1/2 Tb. honey

2 Tb. egg (whisk together than measure)

2 Tb. almond milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 c. almond flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:

1 Tb. coconut butter

1 Tb. almond flour

1/2 Tb. honey

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1-2 Tb. walnuts

In a coffee cup, soften the butter in microwave until almost melted. Add the honey, egg, almond milk, and vanilla. Mix until combined. Stir in the remainder of the dry ingredients. In another small bowl add all the topping ingredients and crumble until combined. Add on top of the cake mixture and microwave for 1 minute 20 seconds. Let it cool for a bit and then you can ENJOY!

 YUM-O!

Stay warm this weekend my friends! I hope you all have a delightful one!

Blueberry Snack Cake

Some mornings I get up and can't decide what I want for breakfast. It's a tough life. So I've been trying to make some easy to-go breakfast things to get me through the morning.

Here's a quick recipe for you all. It's gluten free if you have any gluten allergies and delicious! I promise.


Blueberry Snack Cake

 2 eggs

1/2 c. creamy almond butter

2 Tb. honey

1 tsp. vanilla

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 Tb.- 1 Tb. ground cinnamon (1 Tb. if you love cinnamon)

1/4 c.-1/3c. fresh blueberries 


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and 8x8 pan. Combine all ingredients besides the blueberries. Fold in blueberries carefully and pour batter into the pan. Bake for about 15 minutes. It may not seem done when you take it out since it is a very moist (ew do NOT like that word) but it will be A-okay! Cool and cut into squares. Enjoy :) 


**Be careful with the amount of blueberries you add since anymore than 1/3 c. will add too much moisture.**

 Mmm... look at those BLUEBERRIES!