Last year on Easter’s Eve I slipped bunny tracks under Corrine’s door, they led to the living room table where her basket was waiting filled with her favorite things. To say I’m dramatic about holidays is an understatement! I still do these fun, cheesy things for her and she’s NINETEEN! lol
It’s Easter weekend in a few days so I wanted to share one of the yummiest and EASIEST Easter treats with you! It’s a fun DIY activity you can do with the kiddos and only takes 10-15 minutes to complete!
How stinkin’ cute are these fruity pebble treats! We hand formed them into nest shapes and filled them with chocolate eggs topped with Peeps! Sugar overload but soooo worth it, I swear I just wanna make rice crispy treats with every cereal out there!
You’ll simply make the traditional “rice crispy treat” recipe and instead of the original rice crispy cereal, you’ll swap it out for any cereal you like. In this case we used Fruity Pebbles because the color combination was so pretty and festive, not to mention it tastes tangy, sweet, and all things delicious.
Top your ‘nests’ with the chocolate eggs of your choice and pop a lil Peep bunny on there to complete this yummy and easy Easter treat!
What’s your favorite Easter dessert or recipe? I personally cannot wait until we get to tye dye eggs with Corrine! Even though she doesn’t seem as excited as we are, I know she loves that I’ve continued the tradition with her.
Six months and counting babes! I have just under six months to prepare for our wedding in July, plan a honeymoon, AND gear up for the 4 other weddings also happening this year. Talk about a whirl wind next few months full of travel and partying!
So to keep myself in check, balance out stress, and get shredded for our wedding, I’m participating in my gym’s 28 day challenge! For the next month I’ll be fully immersing myself in meal prepping and HIIT workouts and I want to share with you our week one! I’d like for this to become a lifestyle and not just a quick fix 28 day trial, but a real thing! So do it with me OR you can hold me accountable for when the snack monster gets the best of me at midnight 😀
Here is your week one and how to prep for the next seven days. You can either take it in bite sized amounts of time like I do, or prep for the full week, whichever coordinates with your lifestyle best.
On Sunday:
I say Sunday because Mondays are usually really busy for me. I like to only prep meals for 1-3 days in advance, partially because I get bored easily and because after 3 days in the fridge/freezer I get grossed out.
So on whichever day you plan on taking an hour or two to prep, separate into freezer bags (or tupperware) your smoothie ingredients, salad mix, and grab-n-go snacks. My go to snacks are fruit with almond butter, trail mix, or veggies with hummus. In a bowl mix together ground chicken or turkey for meatballs, great for wraps, salads, and sammies. They’ll cook quickly in the oven! On a baking sheet I arranged my fish with a variety of vegetables so it was a one stop ‘set it and forget it’ and cooked at the same time the meatballs did.
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Monday through Wednesday is a variation of protein shakes, grab-n-go snacks, salads, and wraps. Protein, coconut/almond milk, spinach, and pineapple slices make up my favorite post workout smoothie. If you top it with chia seeds or coconut flakes it’s like ice cream! I mean, it DOES help if you pour it into a milkshake cup like I did 😀 Olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice make THE perfect salad dressing IMO, and hummus or tzatziki sauce are a wonderful addition to any wrap or snack. I’m all about those additions!
WEDNESDAY NIGHT PREP:
For Thursday through Sunday you can vary your meals if you get bored by adding in a chicken or tuna salad wrap. TIP: lemon juice and tzatziki sauce taste better than mayo 😀 I get really bored really easily and the thought of bland dry chicken with bland dry brocolli sounds BLAND and DRY. Luckily, our LBD meal plan is neither. So portion out your smoothies and salads, prep your overnight oats or protein pancake mix, and get cookin’ good lookin’!
In the oven will go your frittatas, kale chippies, and whatever fish or protein you choose. I’ve been leaning towards salmon and red snapper this week. Hard boil some eggs, make more trail mix or go-to snacks if you need to, and whip together some yummy dinners! I made a ground chicken chili with black beans, vegetable stock, veggies, and cumin.
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Tadaaa! That’s your week one at a glance! Though I didn’t take a photo of everything … like Sunday’s cheat meal – pizza and champagne. Yaaaas do itttt!!! No regrets, just don’t let your cheat meal turn into a cheat month *raises hand*.
I hope this inspires you to get familiar with meal preparation, it really does take the guess work out of it and when the snack monster attacks . . . you’ll be ready!
Do you meal prep now? Are you a daily or a one-time a week kind of cook? Share some recipes with me and good luck, we totally got this!
If you’ve been following me for a while than you know that my days are full of mom duties, and my nights with all the entrepreneur duties! So making time for myself yet alone a workout or a sit-down meal has been impossible lately. Our recent travels have thrown our ‘gung-ho-work-out-eat-right’ mentality right on out the window along with time to make logical food choices. But you know what they say … “we make time for the things that we want to make time for“. Ughhh who started that anyway … it’s a crazy, logical, guilt ridden statement.
BUT, I made time yayyy! *Please do this with me so we can all whine through it together!* Let me start by saying that ever since I took my first class at Fuel Rx in April, I’ve been slightly a lot addicted to seeing the changes in my body and energy levels. I’ve grown to LOVE working out in a class environment. It’s really motivating not to have to do it all alone! But I also REALLY LOVE food. Wanna hear the kicker?! Our results, our energy, and maintaining our kick ass bodies after all that hard work is 80% dependent upon what we eat. Let me let that settle … 80% is meals, ahhhh!!!!!
So I really wanted to share with you what I did this week to prep! I only had an hour and a half today to prep for lunch and dinner for the next few days. Tomorrow I will prep breakfasts and snacks. Hey, do what you have time for and what you have time for is enough! Some days you’ll cook 3 meals and 3 snacks for the week in advance, and some days you’ll only have time to prep for the next day. But do it and you’ll find that it takes less time than we think!
Side note- my daughter is a gluten-free vegetarian so the chicken protein is for me, and her meals will be substituted with shrimp and tofu. My fiancé eats everything so I will be doubling everything.
CAULIFLOWER FRIED RICE
I love a good fried rice recipe! Today I opted for a bag of cauliflower rice instead and tossed it around in 2 tablespoons coconut oil, crushed garlic,Flavor God’s garlic everything powder, green onion, and cilantro. I cooked it all over medium heat until it reached my desired crispness and then devoured.
CINNAMON SWEET POTATOES
Tastes like the holidays minus the family drama and being isolated to the kiddy table.
I popped a package of Trader Joe’s ready to eat sweet potatoes (baked and no seasonings added, hallelu for open and eat!) into a pan with a light spritz of coconut oil, some cracked black pepper, and topped them with a dash of cinnamon. So so so good!
THE WORLD’S BEST CITRUS SUMMER SALAD
I mean that with every inch of my dying love for gross BORING salads! If you like citrusy, peppery salads then this is for you! I mixed some kale with a spring mix, squeezed an entire lemon over top the leaves, drizzled on some extra virgin olive oil, and gave that a nice toss (coating them in this base will make them less dry and more appealing). Then I cracked some black pepper in there along with a turn of my Himalayan pink salt shaker, and then added in finely chopped red onion, tomatoes, parsley, and cucumber! THE BEST! So refreshing and so NOT boring!
CUMIN SPICED BRUSSEL SPROUTS AND TOASTED PINE NUTS
Probably one of my favorite ways to prepare brussel sprouts because, that ‘feet’ smell they give off. In a pan I took Trader Joe’s ready to eat brussels (again hallelu for open and eat, again no seasonings added), tossed them in a spritz of coconut oil, added in some toasted pine nuts, cumin, and red pepper flakes! Walaaa! I love this nutty combo and the cumin and red pepper flakes give it a nice lil kick! Hiiiyahhh!
CURRIED COCONUT CHICKEN
Ugh coconut milk dishes are LIFE! I browned some crushed garlic and yellow onion in a tablespoon of coconut oil and then added in 3 cubed chicken breasts. Then I tossed in some diced bell pepper, cracked black pepper, turmeric, and a can of coconut milk. I let that simmer up and then really TRIED to remember portion control. This can be added over a bed of brown rice (or white rice depending on your palette) or even that cauliflower fried rice we made earlier! This is equally as delicious with shrimp, tofu, or potatoes!
HOMEMADE KALE CHIPS
For this grab-and-go snack I simply stemmed a bag of kale, spread them evenly across a cookie sheet, gave them a light spray of coconut oil, and then lightly dusted them with Himalayan pink salt and cracked black pepper. I baked them at 350 degrees for about ten minutes, but you’ll want to keep checking on them to bake them for a shorter or longer period of time depending on your oven. Trust me, they get crispy quick!
Well I hope you try out these dishes and put your own spin on them! They really are easy to throw together- the most time-consuming task is chopping things up and then waiting for them to be cooked!
If you’re wincing from the amount of seasonings or coconut oil that I’m using, don’t fret, these are healthy fats, and I season in moderation. Salt is both necessary and beneficial to your results if you take into consideration timing (it’s a science I tell ya) and consumption (use a light hand). Also, each meal should consist of a healthy fat, a protein, and a complex carb (fiber), and don’t forget to EAT every 2 1/2- 3 hours! Your body will not be able to survive the workouts or push to your full potential if you aren’t fueling it properly. Eat eat eat <333
Next up this week is my meal prep for breakfast ideas and snacks! They’re kid friendly and fiancé approved! I also have a piece coming up all about what to eat BEFORE and AFTER a workout thanks to Patrick’s meal planning … and speaking of, I’ll be playing around with our custom challenge meal plan to bring you some modifications and thoughts! Stay tuned!
What’s your favorite or least favorite thing about meal prepping?
After coming off of vacation the last few weeks; from Vegas to Catalina to Florida … I was in need of a good ol’ cleanse.
I’d been working out pretty hard and eating pretty clean and then BAM, vacation came around and I FULLY indulged, no regrets! But now it’s time to get back to fueling my body with the good stuffs and so I decided for the next 30 days I will drink more water, eat more frequently, and keep it clean!
Okay, when I say ‘cleanse’, I really mean reset. I don’t mean juicing everything in site and having to run to the toilet because you don’t know if you have to toot or poop (hey I’m just being real here). We’re going to be consuming whole fruits and vegetables in a shake- dessert style, and eating real food! Yes eating! Wholesome, protein packed meals and never ever forgetting the good carbs! So here’s a sample day of my reset, and this was all of yesterday’s goodness in real life!
8 a.m.- BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE: Tastes like a chai blended ice cream!
You’ll blend together half of a frozen nana, a teaspoon cinnamon, four dates, and half a cup of almond milk with ice! Yummmerssss! I also added half a scoop of vanilla protein powder, because every meal I try to always have a protein, a healthy fat, and a fiber <333 THIS Tone It Up Perfect Fit protein is my current obsession!
11 a.m. – a Minty Pineapple Protein smoothie for my morning snackie! Tastes like a tropical dessert sans the sand!
Blend together a hand full of spinach, some mint leaves, frozen pineapple bits, coconut milk, and a scoop of protein powder. When it’s all blended pour it into a pretty wine glass (for me this just makes it taste better!) and then top with a tablespoon of chia seeds and sip away baby!
2 p.m.- Lunch time: Vegetarian Sushi! Tastes just like sushi thanks to the seaweed and quinoa … my go-to rice replacement!
In a seaweed wrap line up some avocado slices, quinoa (I made mine with coconut milk, corn, and black beans!), 2 egg whites, and all the sriracha your heart can handle! Roll it up, devour it, repeat! By this time of day I’m starving and this kind of meal is hearty, filling, and super nutrient dense! Win wine … I mean win!
5 p.m.- Dinner! Pizzaaaa! Tastes … just like pizza, but guilt-free and all the flavor you’re craving!
On a Ezekiel sprouted whole grain tortilla spread some sugar free spaghetti or tomato sauce and top it with whatever vegetables you have! I used grape tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, spinach, olives, green peppers, mushrooms, and fat free shredded cheese! I topped it with more sriracha and even more cheese and I wasn’t even mad about it.
This pizza will satisfy your craving for pizza, for carbs, for whatever it is that you think you can’t have. You can!
This ‘cleanse’ for me is really just about swapping out my bad decisions for home-made better ones! The fruitier/vegetable-ier (that’s a word) options! And of course, it’s not a day to enjoy if you can’t ENJOY dessert!
8:30 p.m.- Dessert time BABY! Home-made coconut chia seed pudding with frozen raspberries and coconut flakes! Tastes like heaven, feels like you’re on a tropical island!
Thanks to my babe Miya, you can make this beautiful delectable dessert right at home, and enjoy every.bit.of.it!
In a jar or bowl mix together 1/2 cup chia seeds with 2 cans of coconut milk (I used a can of full fat coconut milk and a can of coconut creme from Trader Joe’s), and add in cinnamon, some agave or pure maple syrup, some frozen raspberries, and SHAKE!
Pop that baby into the refrigerator and shake it again after about an hour or so. In the morning when you’re ready to eat it … or after only a few hours because you’re like me and you need a dessert, spoon it into a bowl and top it with more frozen raspberries and some unsweetened coconut flakes! Friends, this is the best thing ever!!!
Yayyy we did it! A whole day of eating nutrient dense foods, feeling full, having a ton of energy, and just enjoying the fact that we’re making better choices for a healthier us! Good job us! I really hope this post inspires you to try a few of these recipes, I promise you won’t be disappointed and it won’t even feel like a ‘cleanse’ at all, this is more of a reset!
Am I the only one who cringes when I hear the word diet or cleanse?! Lets just refrain from using those words here 😉
This my love, is not cringe worthy, give it a try and TAG me when you do <3
Ever since I started bootcamp last week all I’ve been craving is sweet rice, fried rice, loaves of bread, slices of bread … ya know, carbs. All the carbs!
So what better way to indulge in all of my favorite comfort foods than to make them from scratch, at home, as a healthier alternative! Today we’re making guilt free Spanish rice and to say it’s fulfilling is an understatement.
“I just want all the carbs!”
What you’ll need:
2 cups brown rice
cumin
black pepper
chunky sugar free salsa
vegetable broth
Flavor God’s Everything Garlic
green onion
red onion
coconut oil
garlic
Method:
In a small sauce pan sauté red onion, green onion, and garlic in coconut oil. Add 3 cups water and 4 cups vegetable broth and 2 cups brown rice. We are almost doubling the usual amount of liquids it would take to make rice because, brown rice. For me it just wasn’t fluffy enough and if you’d like it fluffier than just add in more liquid.
Then toss in 1 Tbl spoon cumin, black pepper to your taste, dump in the salsa, and season to your liking. Bring all of that to a rolling boil, stir once, cover, and lower the heat. I allow the lid to sit just slightly ajar so that some steam can escape. It takes about 20-30 minutes depending on how fluffy you like your rice.
Enjoy!
I topped this with some sriracha and avocado, whipped up a mix of shrimp, garlic, grape tomatoes, green onion, lemon juice, and vegan butter and TADAAA! The world’s yummiest dinner! And it’s so satisfying and healthy! You’ve got your protein, your healthy fat, and your good carb! Do it!
My next recipe will be a pizza you won’t be able to resist, so let me know if you try this! Is there an indulgent recipe you’d like me to try and make a healthy version of?
I’m that girl! Any time anyone talks about avocado and its many uses, I go, “oh I put it on everything!” But I really do! My hair, my skin, my food, I just put it on anything I can.
I love that avocado is not only delicious but it also has beauty benefits when applied topically. So today I’m going to share with you my top 3 favorite things to do with avocado!
Just like with most of my meals, we’ll just start with dessert first! So this is a healthy version of pudding, a cocoa avocado pudding! Now this doesn’t taste exactly like the pudding you get in the lil plastic cups at the grocery store! But it IS just as creamy and for me, when I’m craving something chocolatey and indulgent, this does the trick!
You’ll need:
– 2 large avocados
– 6-8 Tbsp agave or honey
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 cup cocoa powder
– coconut flakes for garnish
– 1/4 skim milk
– coarse salt to taste
Method:
Into your food processor, toss in the peeled and pitted avocados along with the rest of the ingredients. Blend until smooth, chill for an hour and ENJOY! Garnish each bowl with coconut flakes and some salt, you’re in for a treat! Joe says he’d rather not mix chocolate with a vegetable, but I say … don’t knock it ’til you try it!
Next up, a hydrating mask that will leave you feeling moisturized, refreshed, and smooth! The natural oils in avocado mixed with a few ingredients you can find in your pantry make a wonderfully whipped up cocktail for your hair and skin!
For this you can use any variation you fancy, but I like to keep it simple, just avocado and honey! I put all of it into a bowl and smash it up! Then I apply it to my face for ten minutes and my hair for 30 minutes. Rinse and relish in the softness!
You can add in coarse sugar for a nice face scrub! Then when you rinse it off your skin, massage gently, and you’ll exfoliate and hydrate all at the same time!
Oh the yummiest thing to do ever! Take a ripe avocado, plop it onto your favorite toast, spread it around, crack some black pepper and Himalayan pink salt on top. Eat. Repeat until all the foods are gone! This is the best thing to do before a work out for me, it’s super filled and fuels me for my weight training!
Give these a try and let me know what you think! What is your favorite thing to do with avocados? I’ll try them all!
Today’s the day of green pancakes, green beer, pinching, and Irish kisses! In honor of my partial heritage … I’m half Irish ya know … I decided I’d make some shortbread yumminess with a twist of holiday, and a festive mason jar that you can give away or keep for yourself!
If ever you needed a reason to drench everything in whiskey, here’s your chance.
Notice the bottle of Jameson, it’s drunk and should go home, but before I get into the debauchery of our dessert dish, I’ll share with your my St. Patrick’s day munchie filled mason jar! I got this festive jar at Target for $0.99, yes under a dollar for this cuteness and I filled it with the world’s softest and most sugary sprinkled cookies I could find because, time saver.
Keep it for yourself or take it in to work or school and give it to someone as a gift, a sort of Valentine’s Day-esque kind of exchange and it’ll be sure to make them smile … I mean, it’s a sugar cookie! 😀
Moving on to the drunken story part of it all, these are Drunken Leprechaun Balls, I got the recipe from Pinterest and it’s rich like a fudge and creamy … like a shortbread dipped in powdered sugar and drenched in whiskey would be. Side note, these cookies are not minor friendly, you don’t cook the alcohol out at all, in fact you can really taste the whiskey in them which is awesome for adult whiskey lovers, not so awesome for 21<ers.
The taste of these reminded me of Italian wedding cookies except less crunchy and more tipsy! I’m sure you can make these without the alcohol, perhaps a sugary substitute or milk would work? Turn to Google if you want to recreate these for your family or the work place and let me know how they turn out! P.S. yes that would be a light up four leaf clover necklace, because why be at a bar if you can’t glow in the dark.
To see me make these live and in action, here is the video on my YouTube channel! Please Subscribe if you haven’t, more recipes to come on our Pinterest DIY-not series 😀
I hope you have a happy and safe holiday, as a mom it’s my duty to tell you not to drink and drive and to not let your friends do it either, so I’ll step off my soap box now and give you a half Irish green hug. Green like the color not green like the clean.
What are you doing today or this weekend to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Do you have a tradition like green pancakes or green beer? Let me know xx
Office holiday parties, gingerbread house making parties, ugly sweater parties … you’re being invited to SO MANY parties! You’re going to want to bring something to contribute to each of these gatherings and I have you covered! I learned this practice from my mom who would always say that when you go to someone’s home you bring something to gift the host with. Here are two things you can bring to your next holiday get together that is sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Sweet potatoes au gratin with a spicy chile twist! This is a wonderful side dish to bring if you like the idea of combining the richness of comfort foods with the sweetness of the season. Think sweet potato pie minus the whipped cream BUT marshmallows included! Ummm yumm!! Thank you Bobby Flay! I’ve taken his original recipe and put my own little twist on it!
What you’ll need:
3-4 large sweet potatoes
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon chipotle puree
Fresh ground black pepper
Pink Himalayan sea salt
mini marshmallows
square glass pan or ramekin cups
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate the chipotle peppers from the oil and place in blender and slowly add in the oil until you blend it to the consistency you like. Add the puree to a bowl and whisk in the heavy whipping cream, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into thin rounds and begin layering them into your ramekin cups or glass dish. In between the layers spread an even layer of your chipotle cream mixture, sprinkle a few marshmallows on top, and continue this layering step until all of your potato wedges are gone. Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the cream is absorbed by the potatoes. ENJOY!!! *note, do not cover this as I learned it will spill over and cause smoke alarms to go off. OR if you do cover it, simply place a cookie sheet beneath your glassware or ramekin cups*
It’s decadent, rich, and comforting! This sweet potato au gratin recipe is perfectly savory!
Next up, we’re putting a spin on the traditional hot cocoa drink, I present to you, the world’s BEST adult version, the “spiked hot cocoa latte”! That’s what I’m calling it any way because it has coffee, liquor, AND cocoa! So you’ll all be super keyed up on caffeine, and able to enjoy a night of dancing under the mistletoe! You’ll need to borrow your host’s stove top for this one, but trust me, you’ll be everyone’s favorite by the end of the night! Ha!
What you’ll need:
1 package hot cocoa mix of your choice (1 per cup)
1 tsp Cacao liqueur
Peppermint schnapps
Coffee of your choice
White chocolate chips
Mint chocolate chips
1 cup milk of your choice
Peppermint candy for garnish
Whipped cream
Method:
Make your coffee how you usually do and set it aside (I used my french press). In a small sauce pan add the hot cocoa mix, the milk, and a hand full of both the mint chocolate chips and the white chocolate chips. Warm over low heat and stir until melted and combined. Fill your mug halfway full with your coffee, then add in the hot cocoa mixture until almost full, leaving enough room to add in the liquors. Add in the cacao liqueur and enough peppermint schnapps to almost completely fill the cup. Mix together and top off with whipped cream until your heart is content. Garnish with a candy cane and ENJOY!!!! *if you aren’t of drinking age, please enjoy this drink just the same sans the alcohol!*
I hope you give these recipes a try, they are so yummy, so decadent, and so festive! Give them a go at your next party and TAG me in your squad photo!
What is your go-to potluck dish? Pigs in a blanket? Chips and dip? Tell me!
See you later this week with a ‘how to pack when you’re headed home for the holidays’ post!
Just in time for the weekend, you know what that means…Cocktails, the ones with fruit! I am so excited to have my partner in crime and Hapa sister, Miya, guest blog for us this week! She is my other Hapa half from our channel Hapa Hour, and today she shares with us her refreshing and healthy twist to the every day cocktail. ————-
I’m hosting a girl’s afternoon this weekend! It’s supposed to be another hot week so I wanted to create a refreshing and more ‘healthy’ version of the cocktail. Since I’m not a fan of really sweet drinks made with artificial flavors, I chose to use real fruit and fresh ingredients to blend together.
I’m picky with my alcohol choices and usually get the best quality possible, to avoid those much anticipated morning headaches we all love. Even just one drink from cheap alcohol and I wake up feeling like, I ran a marathon – in the sun – all day – all while drinking a dozen mixed drinks! No bueno.
I’m not particularly a vodka drinker but I recently found one that is actually mush tastier than your traditional vodka AND it’s the healthier choice! VEEV, an acai liqueur, hand crafted from acai-berries and other natural ingredients. It is the key ingredient in today’s mixer. So here’s what I made for the girls, it was a hit!
Combine the fresh strawberries, pineapple juice, lime juice, and ice – and blend together in a blender or ninja for just a few seconds.
Add in the 1 fluid ounce of VEEV
Keep the cups in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving. Can be garnished with mint or a lime wedge, and VOILA!
This drink is so easy to make and your guests will love it, I promise. Whenever I make this drink I feel instantly glamorous and grown up … like I’m in an episode of Sex In The City or something. Well you know what I mean!
Enjoy and please remember to drink responsibly and be a good friend, don’t let anyone drink and drive 😉
