Apple Pie Protein Smoothie

Hi! Happy “Thanksgiving Eve!” What are your plans for the big day tomorrow? We are going to drive back to Portland and celebrate with Blake’s family. Today I baked a gluten-free, pumpkin apple pie streusel cake to bring. It was a mixture of three different recipes and I had to try a bite of it to make sure that it tasted good enough to bring to share with everyone. It passed the test :)

Lately I haven’t been able to get apple pie filling out of my mind. After discovering my love for this tasty, cinnamon and sugar treat at our local frozen yogurt shop, I have been craving it like mad. I limit myself to one frozen yogurt outing a week, so I got creative and whipped up this smoothie-in-a-bowl after my workout the other morning. It doesn’t look as pretty as a homemade pie or even pie filling with frozen yogurt on top, but it hits the spot!

Apple Pie Protein Smoothie

1  Honey Crisp apple, chopped (I also tried Granny Smith, but it didn’t taste as good)

1/2 frozen banana, broken into pieces

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1/2 – 3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used a mixture of almond milk & coconut milk)

1/2 Tablespoon ground flaxseed

1/2 Tablespoon cashew butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

handful of ice

1/4 cup cereal of choice (Enjoy Life’s Perky’s Crunchy Flax is my fave)

Place all of the ingredients besides the cereal in the blender and blend on high for 30-60 seconds. Pour into a bowl and sprinkle cereal on top. Dig in with a spoon and enjoy!

I’m off to watch a new show that we discovered on iTunes: Discovery Channel’s “Curiosity.” We’re starting with the first episode, “Did God Create the Universe?” I felt like my IQ was going to drop to an insanely low number if I watched another Jersey Shore episode!

I was going to do a post on “how to make Thanksgiving healthier,” but thought about it and remembered that it’s only one out of the nearly 1,095 meals that you eat each year. When you put Thanksgiving dinner into that perspective, it’s really not a big deal. I’d rather focus my energy on creating healthy recipes for the remaining 1,094 meals of my year. Enjoy yourself, appreciate your company and go for a walk. Don’t stress about what you eat, because goes against what this holiday is really about.

Have a great night and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

*** Don’t forget – Friday is the last day to order the 2011 Healthy Holidays Diet Plan. This guide has EVERYTHING you need to survive the holidays without gaining a pound, or hopefully even lose a few! Email me at wholenutritionpdx (at) gmail.com for details. The guides are being sent out on Saturday.***

Do you want to lose weight and look great by New Year’s?

Let me start by saying that if you are reading this, we must kindred spirits. You are clearly the person searching, as I once was, for a way to lose weight, enjoy your favorite foods and stay healthy throughout the holiday season.  If you are stressing about all those wonderful holiday meals tempting you to gain weight this season, STOP!  There is a way to enjoy the best holiday foods with your family and friends while losing weight and improving your health.  That is…. If you know the secret….

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You might ask, “how do I know the secret?” Well, I have always been the girl who loves food, especially holiday foods. Like anyone else, I don’t like the idea of putting on extra weight because I’m enjoying my favorite holiday foods. I have truly been in your shoes before and have attempted every technique under the sun to maintain my weight over the holidays.  There are all sorts of diet plans, so called “meal replacements” and ways to ruin your holiday meals that wind up doing just the opposite of what they advertise.  I have tried all of these gimmicky diet plans, even a few that I am embarrassed to admit. I left no stone unturned. After searching out and exhausting every technique I could find for years, I always ended up in worse shape by the New Year… until now.

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I have discovered the secret.  I now know the way to make it through the five weeks between Thanksgiving and New Years by not only maintaining my weight, but to kick off the year slimmer than before with a glowing, healthy look. This simple secret allows you to enjoy REAL foods with the people you love. No meal replacements, no cutting out entire food groups, no giving up social settings all season long. I guarantee you will spend less time stressing and actually enjoy losing weight this year.

The secret is simple and very powerful. The secret is….. To have a plan.  A step-by step guide to take you from Thanksgiving to New Year’s with every single meal and snack already planned out, just for you. The Healthy Holiday Diet Plan is your secret to losing weight without stress and restrictive eating.

This plan is literally a diet road map to getting through the holidays while looking and feeling your best. As a certified nutritional consultant and a fellow food lover, I guarantee this plan is tailored for you to not only by lose weight, but by doing it in a healthy and enjoyable way.

This plan includes:

• Weekly shopping lists
• Day by day instructions and meal plans
• Quick, easy and healthy recipes
• Adjustable food substitutions to meet your individual needs
• Sweet treats that will satisfy your cravings without damaging your diet
• Guide to “healthifying” your favorite family holiday recipes
• ***BONUS – Healthy Holiday Dessert Recipes to share with friends and family***

If you are ready to begin shedding weight and enjoying your holidays at the same time, please email me at wholenutritionpdx (at) gmail.com for your copy of the simple and very powerful Healthy Holiday Diet Plan. Here’s to your healthiest, stress-free holiday season and your hottest New Year’s body!

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Best wishes,

Kilee

Chocolate Coconut Cherry Protein Smoothie

Hi! Hope you are having a relaxing Sunday so far. I have been a home body all weekend. I love staying inside with the fire on and playing Pandora while I cook. Yesterday I took advantage of my new phone’s video recorder and made a little video for you.

Here’s the smoothie recipe that I used:

Chocolate Coconut Cherry Protein Smoothie

Serves 1 post-workout athlete

1 scoop of your favorite protein powder

1 Tbls raw cacao powder

1/2 cup frozen cherries

1/2 of a frozen banana

1 cup vanilla coconut milk

A handful of ice

Stevia (or your favorite sweetener) to taste

Blend until well combined. You may need to add more coconut milk or ice depending on what smoothie consistency you like.

Today I’m going to make a pumpkin chocolate chip protein pancake for breakfast, clean up the house, put the finishing touches on the “2011 Healthy Holidays Diet Plan” and hopefully go get some frozen yogurt with Blake and Layla. We try to save her a bite if one of us gets vanilla flavored yogurt. We’ll see if I can refrain myself from eating every last drop of Blake’s and my fro-yo tonight! Last week, the shop that we went to had warm apple-pie filling to use as a topping. I was in heaven!

What are your favorite frozen yogurt toppings? I love fresh strawberries, blueberries, coconut and hot fudge sauce. Have a relaxing Sunday!

***Don’t forget to email me if you want to sign up for the “2011 Healthy Holidays Diet Plan.” It includes EVERYTHING you need to maintain or even lose weight between Thanksgiving and New Years. Shopping lists, portion sizes, recipes and more! Email wholenutritionpdx (at) gmail.com for instructions on how to purchase the diet plan***

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2011 Healthy Holidays Diet Plan

I’m so excited to unvail something that I have spent the past few weeks working on: 2011 Healthy Holidays Diet Plan. I know how hard it can be to eat healthy and keep your weight in check during this time of the year. That is why I created this 5-week program for you. It leads you step by step, day by day from the week after Thanksgiving all the way up until New Year’s Eve. Don’t stress about not being about to fit into your fabulous New Year’s dress. I promise that this guide will help you to look and feel your best all season long.

The 2011 Healthy Holidays Diet Plan includes:

• 5 weeks worth of detailed meal plans (breakfast, lunch, dinner and two daily snacks)
• 5 shopping lists to help you know exactly what to buy on your weekly grocery shopping trip
• Easy and quick recipes that save you time in the kitchen
• Substitutions guide for making changes to the plan if necessary
• Sweet treats that will satisfy your cravings without damaging your diet
• ***BONUS – Healthy Holiday Dessert Recipes to share at parties***

With all of the extra holiday prepping, socializing and shopping that happens throughout December, most of us don’t have the time or energy to prepare healthy meals for ourselves. This guide solves that problem and helps you to look your best throughout the entire holiday season.

By following the 2011 Healthy Holiday Diet Plan you will:

• Eat smalls meals throughout the entire day, so your stomach will always be satisfied
• Not cut out any major food groups – lean protein, complex carbs and healthy fats are all included
• Get to indulge with weekly “treat meals” so you won’t feel deprived of your favorite foods
• Have enough energy to exercise, work and finish your holiday to-do list
• Have the will-power to not eat every holiday treat that is set in front of you. (There’s room for a few, just not every single one)

The 2011 Healthy Holiday Diet Plan details:

Cost: Regularly $30 or the reduced price of $20 if you “like” Whole Nutrition on Facebook

Includes: PDF guide of the Healthy Holiday Diet Plan

Over 30 pages of daily meal plans, weekly shopping lists, recipes, substitution guide and reduced-guilt holiday dessert recipes.

How to purchase the plan: Email me at wholenutritionpdx (at) gmail.com by Friday, November 25th. I will email you instructions and the guide will be sent to your email once payment is received. The first day of the diet plan is Monday, November 28th.

If you have any questions about the 2011 Healthy Holiday Diet Plan, please feel free to comment below or send me an email. I plan on following the plan throughout the holiday season. It’s amazing what five weeks of healthy eating will do to your body and spirit. With this plan, you’ll go into the new year feeling your best and looking amazing!

I’m so excited to get started on the plan! It will feel so good to have all my healthy meals prepped and ready to go by Monday the 28th, that I will enjoy a gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner without the slightest bit of guilt. Life’s about moderation and the 2011 Healthy Eating Diet Plan exemplifies that. Make this holiday season your best one yet!

What I woke up to this morning. I love the snow!

All Moved In

Hi! Sorry that I haven’t posted in over a week. I have spent the majority of the past week unpacking and trying to overcome a little cold. My sister came to visit us and helped me organize my closet and bathroom. She was blessed with all of the organizing genetics between the two of us. I’m working on it though! I spent almost a whole day unpacking and organizing the kitchen so that it would be just right. An unorganized kitchen takes some of the fun out of cooking and baking.

I got one of the new iPhone’s for my birthday, so someone has been playing around with Instagram a little too much. Here are some of my favorite things from this past week:

Our first homemade dinner in our new house.

Layla all comfy cozy on the couch.

My sister, Blake and I went out for coffee Sunday morning at Sister's Coffee Company. Americano and espresso beans for the house.

I asked Blake what he wanted for his birthday dessert. He wanted chocolate chip cookies. No surprise there!

Driving into town to run some errands. Layla had to help drive - like always!

My at-home gym. "Newlyweds" is on the TV and I am so happy with this little set-up.

Zevia Root Beef Float that satisfied my sweet tooth.

I’ll try to take some photos of the beautiful scenery to share. It looks a lot different from where I grew up on the Oregon coast or even the Portland area. It’s more “high dessert” like over here. There isn’t as much greenery as the western part of the state, but it rains a lot less. I love it over here and already feel so at home.

Since I had a lot of free time while up in Alaska this past month, I thought about how I should structure this blog. When I started blogging (about two years ago) I just wanted to share my recipes, fitness and health ideas. Blogging eventually lead me back to school to study nutrition. I became so busy between work and studying, that I chose to take some time away from the blog. When I started blogging again, I felt an obligation to write a new post each day. Sometimes, this isn’t possible and I start to feel bad because I want to provide you with fresh, daily content.

When I gave myself permission to take a step back and not worry about posting new content, I felt a bit of relief. I also started to wonder if it was worth continuing the blog? When you write a blog and post your photos online, you are putting yourself out there. You are giving others a chance to judge or mock you. You are sharing parts of yourself or life that you could chose to hide away and protect from other people’s view. Parts of who you are become exposed for anyone to view. But, on the flip side, you can learn and share helpful information that could be useful to others. You might inspire someone to try something new or possibly bring a little joy and positivity to someone else’s day. If you stay true to who you are and post about what you love, I believe that the good will outweigh any possible negativity.

Since I have decided to continue blogging and sharing parts of my life with you, I am struggling with exactly what parts to share. I tend to be inspired and excited by many different things:

• Cooking and baking
• Exercise
• Healthy lifestyle choices
• Positive personal development
• Spirituality
• Graphic design and crafts
• and so much more!

It’s hard to decide exactly what to focus on writing about, when I have so many interests. Should I focus on one genre or should I write about whatever comes to mind that day?

If you enjoy reading my blog and want to see more than just random, rambling posts like todays, please let me know what you enjoy reading about the most. I know that this is my blog and I can write about anything I want, but it’s helpful to know what you want to read about. Please leave a comment below of what you would like to see more of on the blog. Thank you!

I’m off to finish a very special project that I have been working on. I’ll be back tomorrow to share it with you. Hint: it involves the holidays and will help keep you away from the loads of cookies and candies that magically appear this time of the year.

Much love,

Kilee