Chocolate No Bake Energy Bites

I cannot believe I haven't posted a blog in over a month!!! Forgive me followers, for I have sinned! However I am updating with such a yummy post...and so easy to make that your three year old can dig in & help out!

I am a huge fan of healthy snacks, particularly in the trail mix/granola region. I've done granola before, but this one was just too easy not to make...took about 5 mins for the mix. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup nut butter (I used all natural peanut butter)
1/2 cup honey (local honey, duh!)
2 tbsp dark cocoa powder (I'll tell you a trick down below about dark chocolate!)
1 cup rolled oats 
1/4 cup almond meal (left over from my homemade almond milk)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup hemp seed
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup of WHATEVER!!!! I used raisins, but be creative & toss in whatever "mix in" is in your kitchen

Heat the nut butter & honey over low/medium heat until it liquefies a bit. Once that's done, remove from heat & mix everything in until it is well coated with the nut butter & honey. This took some man power, considering using my Ninja (oh, I forgot to mention I got one for my birthday! lol) next time.

If it's too hot, let the mixture sit in the fridge for a little bit. Or you can be like me; took off my rings & started to roll! lol. I made about 24 balls. Casey loved them & started sneaking some from the kitchen way before I was done rolling the mixture.

This recipe came out to approx 100 calories a ball.

Now, about dark chocolate. Here is what I have discovered...this may not be a giant "secret" but I sure learned the hard way. 99% of the time, I will substitute any chocolate a recipe calls for for dark chocolate (bc it is better for you!!!!). However, my very first attempt was to make some brownies & used dark chocolate (which, I was not a huge fan of in the beginning) & the taste of the chocolate was toooo over powering for the recipe. What did I do? Well, now I just use 1/2 of what the recipe calls for in dark chocolate. So if a recipe calls for 1 cup of chocolate, I use 1/2 dark chocolate, still get the dark chocolate benefits without the dark chocolate mouth attack. AND in the end, the container will last longer, saving you some cha-ching!

Delicious!!! Comment wit your favorite "mix in"

Enjoy!

xo,

Nancy

First 5K

Holy moly! I just realized it had been over a month since my last update. Well, life simply got busy when working 3 part time jobs plus fitting in my workouts. I am pulling close to 50 hours a week now & need to schedule in my "relaxation" days! lol. 

Well, between blogs, March 2 I ran/walked/almost crawled on my hands and knees my first 5K! I completed it in 48:30 (my goal was under 45 mins) so I did have mixed feelings when I managed to cross the finish line. I knew I was going to finish the 5K (hello, it was only 3 miles) however it was 53 degrees (in Florida in MARCH! I know!!!), so I basically burned my throat because of all the air I sucked in, my legs were total mush having worked 2 11 hr days 2 days prior, plus taking a Bikram yoga class at 8am the day of the 5K.

By the 2nd mile, I always felt like I was either going to pass out and/or puke...I pushed through that feeling & continue to walk/jog. At one point, I honestly considered just tossing myself in someone's front lawn & having my friend (whom got me to do the 5K with her) to come get me later...however, despite everything, I FINISHED!!!!

I had anticipated the sore legs, achy back, etc, however I felt fine!!! What got to me was my wheezing later on that night from all the freezing air I sucked in, and such a terrible tummy ache that developed from all the running (later on, discovered that sometimes that happens due to lack of electrolytes.) The pain was torturous & I ended up sleeping 13 hours that night, only to wake up at 1030 to get ready for my 12-7 shift! 

Below are a few of the pictures. You can do anything you put your mind to. Right now, I am at 110 lbs GONE!!!!

Cheesing in front of the camera before the race.

Rocking # 119 & my DIY tshirt!

Almost there!

Crossing the finish line like a boss!

And we're off (the chica in the blue pants is my running buddy!)

Let's do this!

xo,

Nancy

Pineapple-aid or Chica de Piña

Yes, chica is a very bad word where I come from, however the country I got this recipe from, chica means drink....so I am attempting to get away with it! lol I actually got this recipe from my stepmom (who is from Panama, therefore it is chica lol) and is made with the skin & core of the pineapple. You hate tossing out food? Me too! 

Ingredients:

Leftover skin & core from the pineapple

8 cups of water

brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup, however give or take with your desired sweetness)

Dash of sugar & cloves 

Put all the ingredients in a pot & bring to a boil for 15 minutes (at this point, YES it is going to smell like Virginia Ham! lol) After that, remove from heat, cover & let sit overnight. Then just strain or pick out the skin & core & you've got your chica!!!! Just refrigerate & you practically got free juice. 

Once it got cold & I tasted it, I decided to add about 2 tbsp of honey to my cup. It's pretty good...I have one more quart left!

Enjoy & bon appetite!

xo,

Nancy

Garbanzo Bean Salad

I have been using dried beans for quite a while already; not only are they a lot cheaper, but they aren't loaded with a ton of sodium. All you have to do is soak overnight (or all day) and viola! You got "canned" type beans for a lot less money & sodium!

You can serve this salad at room temperature or warm. What I did, after soaking the beans overnight, I boiled them (in the same water) for a few minutes & then let them cool. Below are the ingredients; this recipe makes approx 5 cups & nutritional information is based off of 1 cup of yumminess!

Ingredients:


2 cups garbanzo beans (2 cans or 1 cup of dried beans soaked in water)- Bought in January
1 carrot
1 cup cabbage - Bought in January
1/2 cup tomato - Bought in January
1 garlic clove - Bought in January
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil - Bought in January

*****Why am I marking when I bought what? Because I am doing a $200 a month grocery challenge!!! Read about it here!!!!***** 


After you boil the beans for a few minutes (if you're using the dried version), but up the tomato, carrot & cabbage & toss in with the beans. Press the garlic glove, add that, along with the olive oil & mix until everything is coated. Easy peasy!

Calories: 311
Total fat 5.8g
Saturated fat .6g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 31mg
Total carbs 51.3g
Dietary Fiber 14.8g
Sugars 10g
Protein 15.9g

Good points

Low in saturated fat
No cholesterol 
Very low in sodium
High in dietary fiber
High in manganese
High in vitamin A

NO BAD POINTS! And was given an "A" over at Calorie Count!!!

Enjoy & bon appetite!

xo,
Nancy

Loaded Baked Sweet Potato - Grocery Challenge

Yes, the font is orange because of this awesome dish!!! lol

Although I cannot take all the credit for this recipe; I saw it on The Biggest Loser last week & never would have thought of turning a baked potato into a baked sweet potato. Well, it came out fantabulous! I, of course, took some liberties in turning it into my own creation. And instead of sour cream, you use plain Greek yogurt!!! I have always heard of such substitution being made; however never tried it until yesterday. Let me tell you, you cannot taste the difference!!!

I will be making posts more often as I attempt to create recipes using our grocery budget of just $200 a month! This is going to be super fun!

I know, it looks super yummy! Below are the ingredients I used with the nutritional information...however, be creative in the kitchen & use what you have!

1 medium sweet potato (I baked it at 350 for an hr)

1/4 cup veggie crumbles (bought in January)
1.5 oz Natural Choice Ham
2 oz Chobani Organic Greek Yogurt 
2 tbsp mushrooms
1 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese (50% reduced fat)
1 tbsp salsa (Newman's Own Mango Salsa)

After the sweet potato had finished baking, I pulled it out of the oven, immediately split it & tossed the cheese in the middle. I then added the rest of the toppings. It was suuuuuper yummy!

Nutritional Facts on 1 Loaded Baked Sweet Potato!!!!

Calories: 310
Total fat 8.6g
Sat fat 3.9g (makes a huge difference when you use the yogurt instead of the sour cream & in cals also!)
Cholesterol 45mg
Sodium 860mg
Total carbs 31.8g
Dietary Fiber 5.3g
Sugars 12.7g
Protein 28.9g

Good points:

High in calcium
Very high in vitamin A
High in vitamin B6
High in vitamin B12
High in vitamin C

Bad points:

High in sodium

However it was rated an A- from Calorie Count!!!

Enjoy & bon appetite!

xo,
Nancy

$25/Week/Person Grocery Challenge

You heard right! I am always up for a good challenge, just to prove everybody wrong! lol. There are only 2 adults in my house; myself & my very skeptical (and in fear of starvation) husband, Casey. I am not a huge fan of people underestimating my abilities to win any challenge, so he's ON!

I had wanted to do this for a while, especially considering before my healthy transformation about 2 years ago (the timeline is a bit off, but we have been eating a lot healthier for a while, however that was only our grocery shopping...we would still eat out constantly), we would spend about $200, but that was on the cheap, convenience, processed junk that is out there that resembles "food". 

And I declared 2013 as the year that we finally put a dent in our debt with a little plan I devised. So far, we have managed to pay off the remaining balance of our scooter & only about 5 credit cards to go, student loans & our cars...we also have a handful of medical bills due to Casey's back surgery last year. The end of the day, we refuse to do any type of filing of any kind & live off the principal that we got ourselves into this "mess" & we're the only ones who an get us out of it.

And to be honest, I am extremely tired of hearing people making up excuses that eating healthy is too expensive, that it can't be done if you're on welfare, blah blah blibbity blah! The only one you're hurting with those excuses are yourself & those around you.

So, this is what I did. Oddly enough, last month, the put a ton of the good frozen stuff on sale, like Life Light, veggie souffles, Gardein. I also had a ton of coupons, so lets just say we had a field day. We also bought some all natural chicken breasts & other frozen goodies from various grocery stores. But, coming off of the holiday, we were still in the "eating out" mode & hardly used any of it.

The bottom line is, that when we started in Feb, we still had a ton of protein, frozen veggies & good carbs in our kitchen. I refuse to be one of those blogs who has attempted this challenge to toss everything out of their kitchen & start fresh, because no matter what budget you're on, you are still going to have some sort of food surplus at the end of the month to carry you onto the following month. 

And on top of that all, I juice regularly; 1-2 times a day. My husband, not so much. So this budget has to encompass all of that. I do enjoy to cook & bake, so at least I have that on my side. 

Yesterday we finally went grocery shopping to pick up a few items. We (or I) decided to withdraw our budget in cash (to easily keep track of what we have left) and do it in $100 for the first 2 weeks & $100 the last 2 weeks.

Below is what we bought. We spent $59.07 yesterday - $24.98 of it went to my 10 lbs of apples & 25 lbs of carrots.

We bought:

5 gallons of spring water (yup, we don't drink tap because of the fluoride & other chemicals)
1 lb of freshly picked kale from our local U pick farm
10 lbs of apples
25 lbs of organic caarrots
7 beets (local veggie stand)
4 avocados (local veggie stand)
1 Chobani plain Greek yogurt
1 bag of rice crackers (Casey's!)
1 jar of Newman's own salsa
4 sweet potatoes (local veggie stand)
2 kiwis (local veggie stand)
bunch of bananas (local veggie stand)
50% reduced fat cheddar cheese (the 75% reduced fat cheese wasn't on sale)
4 heads of broccoli (local veggie stand)
mushrooms (local veggie stand)
4 green bell peppers (local veggie stand)
Organic blue corn tortilla chips
Box of WhoNu? "oreo" cookies

So, this will def be interesting! Think I can do it? Have any suggestions? Let me know!!!!

Vegan No Bake - Carrot Cake Cookies

Yes, it's a mouthful, but so are the cookies!!! I had wanted to experiment in making my own "no bake" type cookies (bonus, you can never burn them!) & this is the first one I came up with! It was certainly different, but it was still yummy (and super good for you!)

Ingredients:

1/2 c ground flax seed
1/4 c wheat germ
1/2 c grated carrots (I used the pulp from my juicer)
1/2 c raisins
3 tbsp agave (although for the nutritional info, I had to use "honey" in the calculator because it wouldn't recognize agave)
2 tbsp nut butter (I used crunchy coconut peanut butter)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
ginger & cinnamon to taste

Put all the ingredients in a bowl (no particular order) & mix until there is  a smooth consistency. Then pinch off a piece of the "dough" & roll into a ball. You can keep it as a ball, or flatten it like a cookie!

This recipe made 12 for me & the nutritional information below is based off of 1 cookie.

Calories 92
Total fat 3.6g
Saturated fat .5g
Cholesterol 0mg
Sodium 18mg
Total carbs 11.3g
Dietary Fiber 3.4g
Sugars 8.6g
Protein 3.5g

Good points

No cholesterol
Low in sodium
High in dietary fiber
Very high in manganese
High in magnesium
High in Vitamin A

Bad points

Contains alcohol (darn you vanilla!)
Very high in sugar

Enjoy & bon appetite!

xo,
Nancy