Apple Cinnamon Oaties

Happy Friday! Today’s recipe is adapted from one of my all-time favorite blog recipes, Heather Eats Almond Butter Oaties.

I made a batch of these to share with my coworkers along with a batch of regular oatmeal raisin cookies. I was pleasantly surprised when the staff raved about BOTH of them.

Apple Cinnamon Oaties

Adapted from HEAB’s Oaties

1 cup toasted oats (spread on a baking pan and bake at 350°f for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally)

1/2 cup almond butter (I like Trader Joe’s raw variety)

1/3 cup agave (or honey or maple syrup)

1/4 cup Sunwarrior vanilla protein powder

1/4 cup almond flour

1 medium apple, finely chopped (roughly 3/4 cup)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or nut of choice)

1/4 cup raisins (optional)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon anise extract (optional, but adds wonderful flavor)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325ºf.

In a large bowl, stir the almond butter and agave together until completely combined. Add the vanilla extract and anise extract and stir. Add in all of the remaining ingredients and stir until just combined.

On a silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheet, drop by tablespoons. I like to have them look like little round golfballs. Bake for 14-15 minutes and allow to cool on the baking sheet.

They are perfect to enjoy with a cup of coffee in the morning!

I wanted to let you know that I’ll be taking a break from blogging. I’m not sure how long. It might be a few weeks, it might be for the summer and it might be indefinitely. I always listen to me heart and lately it’s been telling me that I need a break from blogging and social media. I love sharing my healthy tidbits of information with you, but right now, I want to focus my time and energy on other things. Preferably, getting outside and enjoying the beautiful place that I live. I hope you can understand.

Enjoy your weekend and I’ll try to pop in on twitter and Facebook occasionally.

Love,

Kilee

Cranberry Almond Quinoa Salad

Good morning! I wanted to share my new favorite recipe with you. I made this salad to have on hand for lunches and snacks. I adapted one of the salad recipes from my cookbook by adding some quinoa and toasted almonds to it.

Cranberry Almond Quinoa Salad

Serves 4-8 as side salad

2 cups cooked quinoa

2 cups spinach leaves, sliced into 1/3″ strips

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1 1/2 Tablespoons applc cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon agave

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine the quinoa, spinach, dried cranberries and almonds in a large bowl. Mix together all of the dressing ingredients and pour over the salad. Toss the salad until the dressing is evenly distributed and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Refrigerate at least two hours before serving. Will keep in the refrigerator about four days.

Challenge Day 33

Click Here for Yesterday’s Friday the 13th Video Check-In

Good morning! I am so energized this morning. I went to bed early, as in 9:30pm, and slept until 7:00am. I love getting long nights of rest! Layla and I already did our morning meditation, went for a coffee walk (the only way I will walk first thing in the morning is with a coffee in hand) and made a chocolate protein waffle for breakfast. It’s not even 9:00am yet! This energizer bunny has a lot to get done today. Word on the street is that Blake *might* be able to catch a redeye flight out of Anchorage late tonight. We don’t hold our breath though, because we might pass out!

I somehow survived Friday the 13th without any accidents. I’m kinda superstitious and always worry about my clumsiness being exaggerated on Friday the 13ths. It feels like yesterday was the beginning of a very exciting time around here. You know how you sometimes go through periods of boringness and then a lot of fun things are all lined up for a few weeks? That’s what it’s like for me right now. Blake is coming home for a little bit before heading up to Alaska for the Summer, the weather is starting to get warmer, I’m bumping my bikini body Challenge into overdrive because we’re going to Mexico in a few weeks and we should have some friends coming to visit too. Exciting times!

Challenge Day 33 Eats & Exercise

Breakfast: Coffee & Pineapple Lilikoi Parfait

Lunch: Curry Tempeh Wrap w/ peanut sauce

Pre-workout snack: 2 Banana Almond Coconut bites (recipe below)

Workout: 3 Tone It Up workouts from the new Beach Babe DVD

Post-workout: 8 ounces Zico Chocolate water w/ 1 scoop Vi-Shape mix

Dinner: salmon with roasted broccoli and 1/2 a sweet potato

Dessert: One funfetti mug cake w/out frosting (I reduced the egg whites to 1 1/2 Tbls & made it in a bowl)

I went to bed early and read bits and pieces from Jackie Warner’s book, “This is Why You’re Fat” & Gabrielle Bernstein’s “Add More ~ing to Your Life.” What I was reminded of last night is, I am addicted to sugar. Not just refined sugar, but the sugar that’s naturally occurring in foods like maple syrup, honey and agave. A year or so ago I drastically cut back my sugar intake, but it seems to have creeped back into my diet through cravings and my morning coffee creamer habit. I was shocked when I read that my non-dairy creamer had 6 grams of sugar per tablespoon. Jackie advises having no more than 5 grams of sugar per MEAL! I have reduced my creamer to one tablespoon per morning cup, but am starting to  reevaluate even adding it to my coffee at all. I might start steaming my unsweetened vanilla almond milk and adding a quarter cup of that to my coffee instead. I’m all about balance, but think I need to jump off of the sugar train ASAP.

Gabby (Gabrielle) reminded me about the power of manifestation and envisioning myself as already feeling like I have achieved my goals. Guess what I did for five minutes before I got out of bed this morning? Envisioned myself looking fabulous in my new green bikini on the beaches of Mexico. The sun was shining on my tanned skin. My muscles were lean and I felt amazing after my morning workout session. Sound silly? Maybe, but I’m incorporating my 5-minute morning and evening manifestations into my 2-week bikini shape-up.

Even though, I am on a 90-Day Challenge, I’m using the next two weeks before Mexico to step it up a notch and show myself how powerful I really am. I have been in “Healthy Kilee” planning mode by:

1. writing out my workokuts for the next two weeks (a mix of Insanity DVDs, Tone It Up workouts, hot yoga sessions and lots of walks with Layla.)
2. drinking tons of water and adding fresh lemon juice to some glasses.
3. prepping healthy foods like fresh cut fruits, vegetables, chicken, tempeh, quinoa, organic eggs and fish.
4. manifesting myself as already being bikini ready for Mexico.
5. telling myself positive affirmations, “you are a beach babe, you feel amazing in your bikini, you are healthy and glow from the inside out, etc.”
6. and most importantly, being grateful for all of the wonderful, inspiring people and things I already have in my life.

These steps might not be right up your ally, but they help me focus on my goals and allow me to stay in a positive mindset. Let’s just see how I look and feel in two weeks. Then we can find out if these healthy steps do help my turbo-charged 2-week bikini shape-up.

And, I’ll share my new favorite snack recipe with you. I wanted to bake some protein cookies after seeing some on Kris’ blog, but realized I didn’t have any eggs and didn’t want to go to the store, So, what’s a girl to do? I compromised and made some dehydrated bites. These babies have no refined sugar, no grains, no gluten, no eggs, no non-health food! They do have bananas, almond meal, Vi-Shape mix, coconut and vanilla stevia.

Banana Almond Coconut Bites

Makes 1 dozen bites

2 ripe medium-sized bananas, cut into chunks

1 cup almond meal (I used Trader Joe’s brand)

1/2 cup Vi-Shape mix, sweet cream flavor

1/2 cup shredded dried coconut (I used unsweetened, reduced-fat)

1 dropper full of vanilla stevia

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

In a food processor, chop the bananas. Add in the almond flour, protein powder, coconut, stevia and cinnamon. Mix until well compbined. Roll into 12 balls and place on a dehyfrator sheet. Dehydrate at 105 for 16-24 hours. I liked them at about 20 hours. They had just a little bit of gooeyness on the inside and were crisp on the outside. Try eating one or two of these about an hour before your workout. They will help you stay strong throughout your entire sweat-sesh!

Well, I’m off to clean the house, finish laundry, do an Insanity DVD, prep some healthy meals for the week and cross my fingers that Blake makes a flight back home to Oregon this weekend. Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll be back on Monday. This girl needs a morning off from blogging tomorrow.

I love you all,

Kilee

Challenge Weekend: Days 27 & 28

Hello! I’m feeling totally rested from a nice, productive, but relaxing weekend at home. I have been day dreaming of vacations because Blake and I decided that we are going to take a long weekend trip to Mexico once he’s home. I’ve never been to Mexico before and he only went once during college. Let’s just say that he doesn’t recall much of that trip and we’ll pretend that this is his first time vacationing in Mexico when the two of us go.

As wonderful as a trip across the border sounds right now, there are some red flags that have come up:

1. We don’t know when he’s coming home, so I can’t book anything until he’s physically here.

2. We can only take a 3-4 night trip because of work commitments.

3. Mexico has been all over the news for horrific violence and I’m “careful, cautious Kilee” and want to stay somewhere safe.

4. We don’t know whether to stay at an all-inclusive resort, adult-only resort or just plain hotel on the beach?

5. I keep getting different recommendations from people as to which area to travel to.

So, my questions for you are:

1. Have you been to Mexico and where did you stay?

2. What area of the country do you recommend we visit?

3. Should we do an all-inclusive or adults only resort?

We are not planning on venturing off of the resort grounds because it’s such a short trip and we really need quality, relaxation time. We’ll go for a week+ and go exploring on another trip in the future.

Onto my eats and adventures this weekend. I have a had habit of not really recording everything that I eat on the weekends. I’m more relaxed about it and didn’t take the time to write everything down this weekend. I’ll change that next weekend, I promise! Looking back over my photos, a more than one sweet treat fit it’s way into my weekend. I might be in need of a little sugar detox. For weekend treats I had, frozen yogurt Saturday afternoon, healthy sangria Saturday night, oatmeal breakfast cookies (they didn’t turn out good enough to share the recipe with you) and peanut butter M&M cookies on Easter Sunday. Wow! That’s a few more treats that I should be having on my Bikini Body Challenge. My Day 30 Check-In is coming up, so we’ll see how those treats contributed to my results :)

I also ate healthy foods like Trader Joe’s Citrus Chicken Salad, protein smoothies, turkey burger salad, ahi avocado salad and roasted asparagus with organic chicken thigh and gluten-free, dairy-free pasta. I guess it all evened out ;)

Saturday night dinner was good enough to share, but sadly was only enjoyed by  moi. First, I made red wine sangria with passion fruit coconut water, BOTA box cabernet sauvignon, frozen pineapple, mango, strawberries, fresh lime and tangerine Talking Rain sparkling water. Then, I blackened a steak of ahi and served it a top a spinach salad with avocado and ginger miso dressing with scallions on top. I outdid myself! It tasted amazing! It was a good reminder that I don’t need company to cook a fantastic meal.

For weekend workouts I did an Insanity DVD on Saturday and took Layla for a long walk in the morning. Sunday afternoon Layla and I went for a nice little hike and enjoyed the views. I spotted my dream house up on the hill. It has a gorgeous view and looks over the whole mountain range behind us.

I did a lot of healthy meal prepping on Sunday. I made kale salad and quinoa salad and packed up my meals into individual containers. I made sure I had lots of fresh produce and healthy drinks ready for the coming week. Now that I know I’ll actually be in a bikini in a few weeks (hopefully) I better step up my game!

Have a great Monday and I’ll be back tomorrow for more fun!

Take care,

Kilee

Challenge Day 23

Hi! I hope you are having a good morning so far! I got up a little earlier than normal and took Layla for her morning walk. It feels good to start the day with a walk through nature and to think about what I’m grateful for and what I’d like to accomplish for the day. It’s funny because I always read my daily horoscope right when I wake up in the morning, and then have to read it again later in the day because I’m too tired first thing in the morning to retain the information.

When we get back from our walk, I make my coffee and breakfast. A very unusual thing happened over here yesterday morning… I took my coffee black. 99% of the time I’ll add stevia and non-dairy creamer to is. I know, I know, the non-dairy creamer is unhealthy, but I’ve tried all sorts of other options and never enjoy them as much. Therefore I have it in my one cup of coffee in the morning and enjoy every last drop!

Day 23 Eats & Exercise

AM Exercise: 30 minute walk with Layla

Breakfast: Blueberry Protein Pancake

Lunch: Salad with New Thai turkey burger – recipe here

Snack: Sliced apple

Workout: 30 Min HIIT treadmill session (5 min @ 6.0 speed, 21 minutes of 1 min @ 8.0 speed followed by 2 min @ 6.0 speed & a 4 minute walking cool down) + TUI “Itty Bitty Bikini” AB workout

Post-Workout Smoothie: 2 scoops Vi-Shape mix, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 2 teaspoons peanut butter, 1/4 frozen banana, 5 ice cubes, 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Dinner: 4 ounces Marinated Mahi Mahi with asparagus grilled in 2 teaspoons extra virgin coconut oil, dried onions and garlic salt – perfection!

I saw this article in the new InStyle Hair Issue and it made me so pleased because I eat all of the foods listed on a regular basis (besides lentils.) I read that they’re not good for by O blood type. The article featured reasons why these foods are beneficial for healthy hair and how much to eat each week for optimum nutrition.

I was feeling the love and support yesterday so I shot a new vlog to share with you. It’s about listening to and trusting your inner voice. Enjoy!

I’m off to get ready for work, pack my healthy meals and squeeze in a long workout this afternoon. Have a great day!

Readers: what’s your favorite healthy “beauty” food?

Mine is extra virgin coconut oil because it’s delicious, good for your skin and can be used topically for beauty.

Have a great day,

Kilee

Thai Turkey Burgers

I was feeling inspired and whipped up a batch of huge Thai Turkey Burgers. These are filled with tons of veggies, lean turkey and Thai-inspired flavors. Enjoy!

Thai Turkey Burgers

Serves 4

20 ounces ground turkey breast

2 large organic eggs, beaten

1 cup spinach, finely chopped

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup white mushrooms, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons shredded carrots, finely chopped

2 Tablespoons green onions, finely chopped

1 Tablespoon Thai Sweet Chili sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce (or Whorstechire sauce if you don’t have it)

1 teaspoon gluten-free tamari sauce (or Bragg’s sauce)

Dash of salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 375ºf. Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. With clean hands mix everything together really well, until it’s uniform in texture and all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Line a rimmed baking sheet with tin foil. Spray with olive oil and form your turkey mixture into four patties. Place the patties on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Carefully flip the burgers over and cook another 9-11 minutes. Allow to cool and server however you’d like: on top of a salad, on a hamburger bun, wrapped in rice paper, etc. They pair well with rice vinegar based dressings, Thai Sweet Chili sauce, peanut sauce and Sriracha sauce.

Challenge Day 18

Hi! Did you like my beauty feature yesterday with the sugar scrub? What about those valuable life lessons I wrote about?

Well, I’m back at it again this morning. I will *hopefully* be in an amazing hot yoga class when you read this. I set my post to auto-post so I could rush out the door at 5:30 am to try out a new yoga class. The only other class they have on Fridays is during my work hours, so I am crossing my fingers that I muster up the stregnth to get out of bed and start my Friday out as a yogi. I could try practicing it at home, but I prefer the structure and discipline of being in class and someone making sure that I do the entire workout. Who knows all the things that could distract me at home?

Onto my Day 18 eats & exercise. I really enjoyed my meals yesterday. They tasted delicious, kept me full and satisfied and stopped me from indulging in any gluten-free chocolate chip cookies that I baked for my co-workers.

Challenge Day 18

Breakfast: 2 cups of coffee & a Mango Coconut Water Smoothie: 2 scoops Vi-Shape mix, 1 cup coconut water, 1/2 cup frozen mango chunks, 4 ice-cubes, dash of almond milk and vanilla stevia.

Lunch: Mixed greens salad with 1/4 avocado and 1 veggie patty with ketchup

Pre-run fuel: 1 Nuero energy drink with 16 ounces water

Workout: 30 minute run/walk with Layla

Post-workout smoothie: 1/2 cup pumpkin, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 4 ice cubes, 1 Tablespoon greek yogurt, dash of nutmeg & cinnamon and vanilla stevia.

Dinner: Gluten-free Pizza Salad: 1 brown rice tortilla topped with pizza sauce, tomatoes, grilled chicken, onions, 4 kalamata olives, 1/4 cup Daya non-dairy cheese baked at 450 for 11 minutes and topped with salad greens, red pepper flakes and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Yum! I wish that all my meals tasted this good! I’m going to be out working all day. Have a very happy Friday everyone!

Peace & love,

Kilee

Lemon Tempeh Kale Salad

Lemon Tempeh Kale Salad

Serves 2-4

Salad:

1 bunch of kale, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup carrots, shredded

1/4 cup leeks, sliced

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

1/4 cup fresh basil, sliced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Dressing:

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon stone ground mustard

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 packet stevia (more or less to taste)

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Tempeh:

1 block of tempeh, cut into 1″ squares

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

To prepare the salad: Remove the tough stalks from the kale and cut into thin strips with kitchen shears. Add the kale to a large salad bowl. Gently massage the kale with your hands for a minute or two. I have found that if I do it in a loving fashion and try to project some positive energy into the kale, the salad tastes better. Silly, but it works! Add the remaining salad ingredients to the bowl. In a small bowl, mix together all of the salad dressing ingredients besides the olive oil. Once mixed together, slowly pour the olive oil into the dressing while whisking it. Once your salad dressing is done, pour it over the salad and toss. Cover and place the salad in the refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours.

About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve your meal, mix all of the tempeh marinade ingredients together in a small bowl. Place the squares of tempeh into a Zip-lock bag and pour the marinade over the tempeh. Allow it to marinade in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Heat a medium sized pan over medium-high heat. Once it’s heated, add the tempeh and marinade and saute for 6-8 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Make sure that the tempeh cooks evenly on all sides and is golden brown when cooked. Remove from heat.

You can toss the tempeh with the salad or serve it on the side. I like to dish the salad and serve the tempeh on top of it. Enjoy! This is the perfect Spring or Summer dinner and left-overs make a fabulous lunch the next day.

In healthy & happiness ~ Kilee

Challenge Day 15

Good morning! How are you doing on this beautiful Tuesday morning? I’m good. I’ve been enjoying my coffee and catching up on reading some blog posts. I try my hardest to re-cap each of my days over here on the blog, but more times than not, I’ll have a million things I want to share with you and then end up only getting to two or three of them. Today I’ll try to tie up some loose ends over here.

I am an avid Target shopper. I try to avoid going there because I always end up with a hand basket filled to the brim of things I don’t necessarily *need* but end up buying because they’re cute and I get 5% off with my Target card. This past weekend I went to get some of my beauty products at Target and was pleasantly surprized when a saleswoman gave my a sample and coupon bag. I was so excited over my new samples that I forgot what I even went into Target for in the first place. I did remember to pick up the new Self Magazine with the “Drop 10″ Challenge detailed inside. I took a photo with it after my workout yesterday to send to Karena & Katrina. They’re putting together a gallery with everyone’s photos.

Challenge Day 15

Breakfast: Strawberry Banana Smoothie: 1 1/2 Tablespoons egg whites, 2 scoops Vi-Shape mix, 1/2 banana, 7 frozen strawberries, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, handful of ice, 4 drops vanilla stevia.

Snack: Chocolate Peanut Butter Builder’s bar

2nd Snack: String cheese and handful of pistachios

Workout: 30 min walk with Layla & Insanity Fit Test DVD

Dinner: Edamame Bowl (recipe below)

Un-pictured: Frozen Yogurt Fruit pop

Night-time: cup of peppermint tea

Chicken Edamame Bowl

Serves 1

1/3 cup prepared cauliflower “rice” I used Detoxinista’s method

1/4 cup frozen shelled edamame

3/4 cup frozen stir-fry vegetable blend

2 ounces grilled chicken, cut into bite sized pieces

1 teaspoon extra-virgin coconut oil

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon dried ginger

6 mini-sheets of dried nori (Trader Joe’s Seaweed snacks)

1/2 Tablespoon Bragg’s Aminos

1/2 Tablespoon carrot ginger salad dressing (I used Whole Food’s brand)

Place the cauliflower “rice” and chicken in microwaveable bowl. In a medium size skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable, edamame, garlic and ginger. Cook for 2-4 minutes, until completely heated. Heat the bowl of chicken and rice in the microwave for 1 minute or add to the skillet and cook until warm. Add the cooked vegetables to your bowl and crumble the nori on top. Pour the Bragg’s aminos and carrot ginger dressing on top. Mix everything up and enjoy!

I’m going to go do a weight lifting workout and try to do some updates to the blog. If it looks a little wonky over the next 24 hours, that’s why. Have a great day!

~ Kilee

Challenge Days 13/14

I already wrote this post once and accidentally deleted it. Plus, I forgot to photograph and record most of my eats this weekend. Just for the record, I’ll share my photographs and let you know that I did the Tone It Up Drop 10 Toning workout Saturday and a 90 minute hot yoga class on Sunday.

Ok, I’m pooped and going to bed. I’ll be back tomorrow with a fun beauty post. Good night!

Grain-Free Protein-Packed Cranberry Ginger Cookies

Boy, do I have a delicious, grain-free, gluten-free, protein-packed, low sugar, “can’t believe that these are healthy” cookie recipe to share with you today. I was in a video-taping mood, so I made a video too. I am getting way to good at this whole, blog everything that goes on in my life thing! No I’m joking, but I was impressed that I somehow managed to bake cookies while video taping myself and didn’t burn my hands in the process.

These cookies turned out amazing, and I strongly encourage you to try them out yourself!

Grain-Free Protein-Packed Cranberry Ginger Cookies

Makes 16-20 cookies

*make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature*

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup canned pumpkin

3/4 cup NuNaturals More Fiber Stevia Baking Mix

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup Vi-Shake Mix, sweet cream flavor

1/2 cup Trader Joe’s almond meal

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed

2 Tablespoons dried cranberries

2 Tablespoons candied ginger, minced

2 Tablespoons pecans, finely chopped

(or 6 tablespoons of your favorite mix-ins)

In a large bowl, cream together the coconut oil and pumpkin. Add the stevia, blend, then add the eggs and vanilla. Blend until completely combined. In a medium bowl stir the Vi-Shape mix, almond meal, sea salt, baking soda, cinnamon and ground flaxseed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined. Fold in the cranberries, ginger and pecans.

Preheat the oven to 375ºf. While the oven heats up, put the cookie dough in the refrigerator. Take out a large baking sheet and line it with a Silpat or parchment paper. When the oven has reached 375ºf, drop heaping tablespoons of the cookie dough onto the baking pan. Place them in the oven and set your timer for 8 minutes. Check your cookies after 8 minutes of baking, they might need to bake another minute or two.

When they’re done baking, let them cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack. Enjoy your grain-free, protein-packed cookies!

Frozen Yogurt Fruit Pops

I was at Costco yesterday and sampled some new Yasso berry Greek yogurt popsicles. They were delicious, but the budget shopper in me decided that I could save $9.99 by making my own with ingredients I already had on hand at home. I’m glad that I did because these turned out delicious. So delicious that I decided to blend up some more mix to enjoy on it’s own after I scraped every last bit of the popsicle mixture out of the blender.

Frozen Yogurt Fruit Pops

Makes 4 popsicles

1 cup plain yogurt (I used Trader Joe’s Goat’s Milk, but you can use whatever kind you fancy)

3/4 cup frozen mixed berries (or your favorite frozen fruit)

1/4 cup agave (or honey or a bit of stevia if you’re trying to avoid sugar)

1/2 teaspoon xantham gum (found in the baking section of natural food stores)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Place all of your ingredients into a high-speed blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes. You want the mixture to be light and airy. Pour your popsicle mix into a popsicle mold and freeze for at least four hours.

These make the perfect snack or healthy, after-dinner treat.

Challenge Day 10

Good morning! Look what I woke up to yesterday. I was really surprised to see that much snow on the ground.

First off, I want to announce the Gluten-Free Gratitude Giveaway winner from last night’s Facebook drawing:

Congrats to Lacy who is thankful for her daughter! Message me your shipping info and favorite type of cookie and I’ll get your giveaway package sent over to you girl. I love giveaways! I think it’s just as fun to host them as it is to win one, so I’ll try to do another one in a few weeks.

I have lots of photos to share with you from yesterday. For anyone who follows me on Instagram, I’m sorry for the constant blog post picture updates, but I have this whole system down for how I prepare my iPhone photos for the blog and they all get posted on Instagram. I find that attaching photos is the most time consuming part of blogging and have recently streamlined my process:

1. Take photos with iPhone

2. Use the Diptik app to collage the photos into layouts (saves lots of time instead of individual photo uploads)

3. Load the Diptik photo into Instagram (it gets emailed to me)

4. Save the emailed photo

5. Insert it into the blog post

Does anyone else know a faster and easier way to get photos onto my blog? Sometimes I feel like I’m two steps behind other bloggers on how to do things.

Onto yesterday’s exercise. I was planning on doing an Insanity DVD, but by the time I got home, I wasn’t feelin’ it. So, I propped up my iPad on the coffee table and did the Nike Training Club App 30 minute Razor Sharp workout. Whew! That thing kicked my butt! The app gives you rewards once you complete a certain number of minutes doing the exercise. Yesterday’s reward was a collection of smoothie recipes. Right up my alley! I might be trying some out in the next few days. I also had some much needed music motivation to complete my workout. My favorite Pandora station to listen to while I work out is “Back That Azz Up.” Keeping it classy over here in my short shorts and huge workout T with gangsta hip-hop! Luckily it’s just Layla and I at home for these workout sessions. After my workout, I turned on the movie, Pearl Harbor. I must have been in a nostalgic mood. First music from my high school years, next a movie with my high school movie star crush, Josh Hartnett. What happened to him anyway? I haven’t seen him in any movies lately.

Challenge Day 10

Breakfast: coffee & chocolate coconut protein smoothie: 8 ounces unsweetened coconut milk, 2 scoops Vi-Shape mix, 1 Tablespoon reduced fat coconut flakes, 1 teaspoon raw cacao powder, 1/2 frozen banana, 4 ice cubes

Snack: Vega protein bar and handful of pistachios

Post-workout smoothie: Handful of spinach, 1/4 cup frozen mango, 4 ice cubes, 2 scoops Vi-Shape mix, 1/4 cup cucumber, 8 ounces coconut water

Afternoon snack: 100-calorie bag of popcorn

Dinner: left-over Southwestern Beef & Vegetable soup with diced avocado, tomatoes and a smidgen of sour cream

Dessert: Amazing chocolate protein-packed mug cake (recipe below)

I take absolutely no credit for this ingenous recipe. I used Deb’s microwavable fudge muffin recipe and made just a few tweaks to it.

Gluten-free & Grain-free Chocolate Mug Cake

Serves 1 chocolate-deprived girl

1/3 cup egg whites

1/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 Tablespoon protein powder (I used vanilla SunWarrior)

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 packet of stevia

1 heaping Tablespoon of chocolate chips (you can omit these, by why?)

Spray a large microwavable mug with non-stick cooking spray. Add all of your ingredients to the mug and stir with a fork until completely mixed together. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes depending on your microwave. Allow to cool for five minutes and then dig in. I was a very, very happy girl with my mug cake last night. Now if only I had a big scoop of coconut milk ice cream to go on top of it. Maybe that will be next weekend’s treat?

Readers: if you could make a low-calorie version of any dessert in the world, what would it be?

Mine would have to be D’Laura Ter Har’s coconut cake with caramel sauce and whipped cream. I could eat tons of that cake before wanting to retire my fork.

Have a great day and I’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Much love,

Kilee

(Source: I saw this on one of my Facebook friend’s walls and saved it onto my computer.)

Challenge Day 9

Hi! I’ve been running around town, working and working out today. Now is my first chance to sit down and recap yesterday’s eats and exercise. We’ll keep it short, sweet and delicious!

Challenge Day 9

Breakfast: Coffee & Sticky Bun Protein Shake – recipe here

Workout: Self & TIU’s Drop 10 8 Easy Toning Moves workout & TIU summer arms workout

Post-Workout Snack: Pineapple Lilikoi Parfait – recipe below

Afternoon Snack – salad with tuna, egg, veggies & TJ’s parmesan ranch dressing

Afternoon walk in the sunshine with Layla

Dinner – my last slice of  left-over meatloaf with green beans - recipe here

Layla had a very active day. She did my workouts with me on the couch and walked around the neighborhood in the sunshine. Her favorite part was chasing after two ducks that were next to the walking path.

The best thing I ate yesterday was a protein-filled yogurt parfait that I had waiting the fridge for me once I finished my workout. It was bite after bite of tropical paradise. I am dreaming of my upcoming trip to Hawaii this fall. Until then, I’ll rely on my tropical fruit smoothies and snacks to transport me back to the islands. I added chia seeds for extra hydration, fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. Look for chia seeds in the natural foods section of your grocery store. They are starting to pop up in more and more stores.

Pineapple Lilikoi Parfait

serves 1

1 (6 ounce) container Chobani Passionfruit flavored Green yogurt

1 scoop Vi-Shape protein powder

1 teaspoon chia seeds

2 Tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk or coconut water

1/4 cup pineapple chunks (can be frozen or unfrozen)

1/4 teaspoon coconut extract (optional – I always like tons of coconut flavor)

In a small bowl, combine the chia seeds and coconut milk or water. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a serving bowl, combine the yogurt, protein powder and extract. Stir until well combined. Add the pineapple and stir. Once the chia seeds have plumped up, add them to the parfait and mix everything together. You can eat it right away or store in the refrigerator once you’re ready for a protein & tropical fruit filled snack.

Everything is good over here. I’m still feeling amazing on the challenge. My workouts have been fun, my shakes and food have kept my tummy full and I’m having a lot of fun sharing the Challenge with my friends. If you want to learn more about the Challenge, send me an email at wholenutritionpdx @ gmail.com and I’ll send you some more info about it.

Have a great night and I’ll be back tomorrow with all the usual updates :)

Don’t forget that the Gluten-Free Giveaway ends tonight at 9pm Pacific. Enter here.

Good night,

Kilee

Sticky Bun Protein Shake Recipe

This magazine came in the mail the other day and had me craving sticky buns. However, I’m afraid to attempt making gluten-free sticky buns for a few reason. The first being that there is usually yeast in sticky bun recipes and I never bake with yeast. Second, who knows if I can even get a gluten-free flour blend to make sticky buns that actually taste like sticky buns. And thirdly, what if I make them and they’re good? Like really, really, “oops, I just ate half a pan for breakfast” good!

So, I did what I almost always do… made it into a protein smoothie – ha! This smoothie has a similar flavor to a sticky bun without all the refined sugar, gluten, fat and unnecessary guilt that might come along with regular pastries. I had one for breakfast yesterday and it kept me full all morning and I powered through my workout. Plus, there was no sugar high and low that is typically experienced from eating sugary pastries for breakfast. Wiin, win & win!

Sticky Bun Protein Shake

Serves 1

1/2 banana, frozen & cut into 1″ chunks

2 scoops Vi-Shape Mix, sweet cream flavor

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

8 raw pecan halves

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon butter extract

1/4 teaspoon butterscotch extract

1/4 teaspoon maple extract

4-6 drops liquid vanilla stevia (I used NuNaturals brand)

Place all of your ingredients in a high speed blender and blend on high for one minute. Serve in a mug (to get more of that Sunday morning pastries with coffee feel) and enjoy!

I’ll be back later today to recap my ninth day on the Challenge. Have a great day!

~ Kilee

Challenge Day 8

Hi! Sorry I’m a little late posting today. I have had some other household chores and work items to wrap up before I do my *fun* stuff like writing this blog post. I’ll keep yesterday’s recap short & sweet!

Challenge Day 8

Breakfast: Coffee & Vanilla Cinnamon Shake – 8 ounces So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk, couple dashes cinnamon, 4 ice cubes, 1/2 frozen banana & vanilla stevia

Snack: *NEW* Caramel Fudge Think Thin Bar – loved this flavor!

Workout: 30 mins on treadmill: 5 min warm-up jog, 12 minutes of (1 min sprint/1 min jog) 8 min of (1 min 15% incline/1 min 10% incline walk) 5 min walking cooldown + Tone It Up Lean Abs pyrimid

Post-Workout Smoothie: Strawberry Banana Orange Julius (still perfecting the recipe before I share it)

Pre-Dinner Snack – small bowl of broccoli slaw – recipe here

Dinner – left-over meatloaf with grilled lemon pepper asparagus – recipe here

Dessert – Pumpkin Protein Mousse – recipe here

I was so proud of myself last night for two reasons: A) I found Vanilla Kahlua coffee grinds that were hiding in my freezer behind all of the bags of frozen fruit & B) I figured out how to set the timer on our coffee pot. Guess who woke up to the aroma of fresh coffee this morning? This girl! Layla and I relaxed in bed for a half an hour reading The Daily Love and looking at blog posts. It was perfect!

Another fun thing happened yesterday. Self.com and Karena & Katrina launched their new Self Challenge: Drop 10. This is the perfect addition to my 90-Day Bikini Body Challenge! I have already checked out the workouts and will be incorporating them into my plan.

Don’t forget about the fabulous Gluten-Free Gratitude Giveaway that I’m hosting on my Facebook Page. Leave a comment on the giveaway post to be entered into the contest. A randomly selected winner will be chosen at 9pm Pacific time tomorrow (March 21st.) Enter now to win a gift basket of my favorite gluten-free goodies and a batch of gluten-free cookies baked by moi.

Okay, I need to go get my sweat on, finish up some work projects and get the house ready for some house guests. Blake’s little sister and her boyfriend are coming to stay with me – yah!

Have a fabulous day and remember to practice gratitude throughout the day. It makes life much more enjoyable.

Love,

Kilee

(source)

Pumpkin Protein Mousse

Here’s the fabulous, healthy recipe that I whipped up last night when I was wanting a little sweet sumthin’, sumthin’.

This mousse is high in protein, cow dairy-free and low in sugar. Right up my bikini-body alley!

Pumpkin Protein Mousse

Serves 2

1/2 cup unsweetened goat yogurt (or Greek yogurt)

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons canned pumpkin

1/4 cup Vi-Shape mix in Vanilla Cream

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon all spice (or use pumpkin pie seasoning)

12 drops vanilla stevia (I used NuNaturals brand)

squeeze of lemon (probably 1/8-1/4 teaspoon)

dash of sea salt

In a medium size bowl, wish all of the ingredients together. Pour into two serving dishes and top with a dash of cinnamon. Refrigerate at least an hour or overnight. Enjoy!

This makes the perfect snack or after-dinner dessert.

Challenge: Week 1 Recap

Hey hey! How’s your Monday going so far? I cannot believe that it’s been a week since I first started my Challenge. It honestly felt effortless. You know I love my normal style of healthy eating when I’m at home. After being on the road with Blake for three weeks, it felt so good to get back into a healthy diet and exercise routine.

When I first posted that I would be starting my new health Challenge and sticking to my Body by Vi program, I wrote out my diet and exercise details. Here’s my plan & what I actually did this past week:

EXERCISE

Monday: 30 min HIIT cardio – run, stair stepper, stationary bike or Nike Training Club workout I went for a 30 minute run outdoors

Tuesday: Total body weight workout – Tone It Up, Nike Training Club or One Fit Foodie weights 30 min workout I did 30 minutes of upper body stegnth training with the Nike Training Club App

Wednesday: Insanity DVD – I know that no matter which of these workouts I choose, it will bust my booty to work up a sweat through high intensity cardio I did an Insanity workout DVD

Thusday: Lighter workout: yoga, pilates, or stretching class or DVD I did a 30 minute HIIT run/walk on the treadmill

Friday: 30 min HIIT cardio - run, stair stepper, stationary bike or Nike Training Club workout I did the TIU lean legs pyramid and Beach Booty workouts

Saturday: Total body weight workout – Tone It Up, Nike Training Club or One Fit Foodie weights 30 min workout I did a TIU weight lifting circuit DVD

Sunday: Rest day. Relax and take Layla for a walk. We took the dogs for a walk

EATS:

Breakfast: Protein Shake with fruit, vegetables and coconut water. I had either a protein smoothie or a protein pancake for breakfast each day. This shamrock shake made a lot of appearances around here.

Post Workout Snack: Protein Shake with fruit and unsweetened almond milk. I always had a protein smoothie after my workouts.

Lunch: Salad with chicken and eggs or a sweet potato with tuna or a gluten-free turkey and veggie sandwich. Basically, whatever we have on hand around the house. I want for lean protein and vegetables to be the focus of this meal Most days I had a solid lunch, so some days I just had two snacks instead.

Possible Afternoon Snack if I’m hungry: handful of almonds, half an avocado with salsa, celery with nut butter, fresh veggies with hummus. Basically, a 100-200 calorie snack with some healthy fats. Protein bars were handy for times when I needed a snack, but was out of the house. Like I said, some days I had some snacks and other days I wasn’t hungry for one.

Dinner: 4-6 ounces chicken, fish, tempeh, steak or lamb with lots of vegetables. I usually make a big salad or stir fry with these ingredients and add about a tablespoon of healthy fat like olive or extra virgin coconut oil. I was really good about making sure to have protein and vegetables for dinner. I had a treat night Saturday night and felt good the next day.

Dessert: I have a sweet tooth and some nights I NEED dessert. I’m trying to keep my sugar intake low, so I’ll have a cup of stevia-sweetened hot cocoa, a sugar-free fudge pop or some goat yogurt with cinnamon andstevia. I also like having a cup of herbal tea before bed. On Day 1 I made some chocolate goat yogurt for dessert, but most nights tea was fine. And I had frozen yogurt for dessert on my Saturday treat night.

As you can see, I fit in my six workouts and felt really good with that program. For my eats, I differed slightly from my plan, but that’s to be expected. The most important goals I had in regards to food were to have a protein shake each morning and after I worked out, keep it lean and green at dinner time and cut out the high-fat, high-sugar snacks that I was eating while on the road.

I think that by making sure I get one rest day (Sunday) and one treat night (weekend night) a week, I will continue to easily stick to my Challenge program. Again, I’m not saying that this specific Challenge program will work for everyone, but it works for me.

Now onto the stats! I am not posting my weight and measurements for the world to see because they are private to me and shouldn’t matter to anyone else. However, I will share the difference in pounds and inches throughout this 90-Day Challenge.

Week 1 Results

Weight: – 4 lbs

Chest: – 1/2″

Waist: – 1″

Hips: – 1/2″

Overall personal opinion: I feel like I’m gradually getting back into shape. I lost a lot of muscle tone and gained some extra fat while sitting on my rear for three weeks in South Dakota. The great thing about this program is that I’m eating real, high quality food, working out a reasonable amount and gradually losing weight and toning up.

If you have any questions, please ask. I’m an open book! Ok, I’m off to shower and heat up something lean & green for dinner. I still have tons of healthy groceries and foods left from last week, so continuing my eating plan should be a piece of healthy cake.

Exciting News! We hit over 100 “likes” on the Kilee Johnson – Whole Nutrition Face Book Page. This means that I’m hosting a gluten-free giveaway over on Facebook. To enter to win the gluten-free gift basket and cookies, leave a comment on the Facebook Giveaway Post stating what you’re grateful for.

Have a great night~ Kilee

Challenge Day 7

Hi! Happy Monday! I can’t believe that my first week on the Challenge flew by. I’m going to share  yesterday’s eat with you and then I’ll be back later today with a review of how my first week went. I’ve had quite a few emails asking me about what I think of the Body by Vi Challenge, and I want to share my honest opinions with you all.

The weather was really weird over here yesterday. It snowed on and off and then ended up being super sunny by late afternoon. My sister and I wanted Dutch Bros drive-thru coffee this morning. You can see a little snow in the photo. Layla loves going through drive-thrus because she knows that most of them will give her a doggie treat. I got my standard Americano with cream and stevia. I almost got a special mocha or latte, but remembered all of the treats that I had the night before.

Challenge Day 7

Breakfast: 2x coffee and another Shamrock Shake

Light Exercise: Morning walk with the dogs

Snack #1: 1/2 a KIND bar and “Cutie”orange & un-pictured pumpkin seeds

Snack #2: veggies, hard boiled egg and Trader Joe’s Queso dip and salsa

Dinner: Sample of Southwest Vegetable Beef Soup, Broccoli Slaw (recipe below) and Sweet Potato Fries

I didn’t end up having a second protein shake because today was my “off” day from exercising. I didn’t feel like I needed it because I wasn’t that hungry anyways. I tried to have lots of gluten-free food options available for my mom this weekend. I had gluten-free spaghetti, meatloaf, Southwest vegetable beef soup and broccoli slaw for her to choose from. We were joking at dinner because the bowl and spoon that I was using to sample the soup were tiny and it looked like that was all I was eating. They know me better than that; I had a full serving of dinner waiting for me once I finished my sample.

My new brocolli slaw recipe is perfect for Spring and Summer time. I based it off of a salad that I used to love at Sweet Tomatoes. I tried to make this one a little healthier by using yogurt instead of mayo, stevia instead of sugar and I added a little turkey breast to pump up the protein content. It’s sweet, salty and crunchy -yum!

Broccoli Slaw

Serves 4

1 (12 ounce) bag of broccoli slaw (I bought mine at Trader Joe’s)

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped pecans (or nut of choice)

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup finely chopped red onions

4 ounces sliced turkey breast, cut into bite sized slices

1 cup plain yogurt (I used goat milk, but regular or Greek will work too)

1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons mayonnaise (optional)

1 packet of stevia or 1 Tablespoon honey

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise and stevia or honey. Mix until well combined. Make sure you do a taste test and make adjustments if needed. Some people prefer a sweeter or tangier tasting dressing. Place the broccoli slaw, celery, pecans, raisins, red onion and turkey breast in a large bowl. Add the dressing and mix until everything is coated with the dressing. Cover and place in the refrigerator at least four hours or overnight. Store for up to four days in the refrigerator.

Well, I’m going to go get ready for my day and I’ll be back later with a recap of my first week on the Challenge. Have a great day!

Readers: what Spring & Summer recipes are you most looking forward to? I love fresh corn on the cob, red potato salad and huge fresh produce salads.

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Challenge Day 4

Hi! I’m going to make this post quick, because I have lots of work to get done today, plus fit in my workout and make my nummy smoothies. Sounds like the perfect Friday to me!

Yesterday’s eats:

Breakfast: Coffee with Kris’ Shamrock Shake

Workout: 30 minutes on treadmill – 5 min jog, 10 min of 1 min sprint/1min jog, 10 minutes of 1 min 15% incline walking/1 min 10% incline walking, 5 min cool down – whew, was I sweaty!

Post-workout: Almond Joy Mocha Smoothie – 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, 1/4 frozen banana, 2 scoops Vi-Shake mix, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract, pinch of espresso powder

Snack #1: celery with Trader Joe’s Queso dip with Chipoltle Cholula sauce – heavenly and surprisingly super low calorie

Snack #2: sample plate with baby carrots, cucumber, 1/4 ripe avocado & few slices of turkey breast

Dinner: gluten-free meatloaf (recipe below) & broccoli

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Meatloaf

Adapted from this recipe

Serves 4-5 hungry adults

Ingredients

2 lb ground meat of choice (I happened to have 1 lb bison, 1/2 lb beef & 1/2 lamb on hand)

1 ½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 eggs

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1/4  cup carrot, finely chopped

1/4 cup celery, finely chopped

1 cup white button mushrooms, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or similar seasoning of choice)

½ cup ketchup

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil or butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

2. Put a medium-sized skillet on a medium heat, add the olive oil or butter, add the shallot, carrot, celery and mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes or until they are soft. Add a little salt and pepper if you wish.

3. In a large bowl combine the meat, eggs, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and chili pepper. Use your hands to really mix and combine everything thoroughly. Now add the cooked vegetable mixture to the bowl.  It is very important that you distribute the vegetables evenly as this helps hold the meatloaf together.

4. Lightly grease your loaf pan with cooking spray and fill it with your mixture. Place it in the oven and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

5. While you’re meatloaf is cooking in the oven, get a small bowl and combine ketchup, honey and Worcestershire sauce to make the sauce that you are going to spread on top of your meatloaf.

6. After cooking for around 15 minutes you need to gently spread your sauce over the top of your meatloaf.

7. Continue cooking for around another 40 minutes and serve with a a green vegetable for a well rounded meal.

After I was stuffed from dinner, I went upstairs and started working on a new inspiration board. You may remember my past inspiration boards. Well, it’s time for a new one.

Layla snoozed while I clipped out photos and pasted them to the board.

We’re excited because my mom and sister are coming to visit for the weekend. My mom wants to try eating gluten-free all weekend. We’ll see how this goes ;)

Check out my good friend, McKenzie’s blog for fun gluten-free recipe ideas. She just posted a mexican corn cake recipe that looks devine!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Take care,

Kilee

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Challenge Day 3

Good morning! How is everyone feeling this morning? I’m a little groggy from staying up too late. I don’t know why I do, but I get sucked into a book or magazine and force my eyes to stay open past my bedtime. I have this habit of downloading tons of samples on my Kindle and will literally spend hours reading samples without being able to decide which book to read next.

Some of my recent reads include:

Gabrielle Bernstein “Add More ~Ing to Your Life” - has lots of tips and exercises to help you create your best life.

Gary Zukav “Seat of the Soul” - helped open my eyes to a greater understanding of my soul.

Jack Canfield “The Success Factor” – great advice on becoming successful at whatever you choose to do.

I really like reading books, but most of the time end up reading magazines. I think it’s because I have a short attention span and like the satisfaction of finishing an article and admiring the photos. However, I don’t like the advertisements and wish that magazines didn’t have them.

I discovered that you can download magazines onto iPads. I purchased “Clean Eating” magazine on my iPad. It was on sale for $5/year plus I used my Paypal account which was advertising a $5 refund for any purchase made. This means I got a year of “Clean Eating” for free! I’ll post any recipes that I end up making from the magazine. A lot of the time, I just like to look at the photos and get inspired to make my own recipes. I really miss Gourmet magazine for all of the gorgeous photos and articles. Bon Appetite is a good replacement, but Gourmet seemed more elegant.

My third day on the Challenge went really well! Here is yesterday’s meal and exercise schedule:

Breakfast: Coffee with a blueberry protein pancake made with the Vi-Shape mix

Workout: Insanity Power Resistance and Cardio DVD

Post-Workout: Pineapple Coconut Smoothie (recipe below)

Lunch: Turkey Salad with Parmesan Ranch Dressing

30 Min Evening Walk with Layla

Dinner: Trader Joe’s Buffalo Chicken Meatballs with Broccoli and Hot Wing & Ranch Sauce

Beverage: 1/2 Glass Red Wine with 1/2 Glass Lime Sparkling Water

Whew! That workout DVD was tough! I discontinued my daily Insanity workouts once I got back from Nevada. My suitcase got left behind (it’s safe in Colorado right now) and I packed 5-6 of my Insanity DVDs to do on the trip. Now that I’m back from three weeks of very limited workouts on the road, I am easing back into my workout routine. I bet that my quads and hamstrings will be sore today!

My favorite part of the day was walking Layla. We really missed our beautiful walks while we were in South Dakota. Although, she really prefers the excitement of being on the road compared to the boring days at home with me. We had super boring errands to run this afternoon: pick up shipping supplies, go to the post office, do some banking, buy printer cartridges. Sounds riveting doesn’t it? Our excitement for the afternoon was when I locked my keys in the car. Luckily, my insurance company sent a locksmith out to unlock the car. Poor Layla was stuck inside and was so confused why I wasn’t getting back in the car.

Pineapple Coconut Smoothie

Serves 1

Handful of spinach

2 scoops Vi-Shape mix

1/2 frozen pineapple

1/4-1/2 cup ice cubes

11.5 ounce container of Zico coconut water

2-3 drops coconut extract (optional)

Blend together all of the ingredients in a blender for one minute. Taste your smoothie and make adjustments as needed. Enjoy!

Well, that’s all that I have to report for today. Things are nice and quiet around here – just the way I like it! Blake should get to come home for three weeks in April and I can’t wait to spend some quality time together. He’s out on the road most of the time, so when we get to relax at home and just be ourselves, it feels so nice. Have a great day today!

Readers: Have you ever locked yourself out of your car? Do you prefer quiet times at home or exciting times out of the house? Do you actually make the recipes you read in food magazines or just enjoy looking at them?

Challenge Day 2

Good morning! I’m happy to report that it was another glorious day on the Challenge. I was a busy beaver around the house cleaning, paying bills, catching up on emails and dancing to Journey on Pandora. Here’s a recap of my eats and exercise for the day:

Breakfast: coffee & vanilla goats milk yogurt smoothie

Workout: 30-min Arms & Shoulder Nike Training Club App workout

Post-Workout: strawberry banana smoothie (video & recipe below)

Lunch: can of tuna, small sweet potato & green beans

Snack: 1/2 a Mocha VEGA Endurance bar

Dinner: Left-over BBQ Tofu salad with Trader Joe’s Parmesan Ranch dressing

Everything tasted good and I was satisfied all day. I did crave a treat during the afternoon, but the VEGA bar helped tame the craving. So far, I’m feeling energized, happy and excited to continue my challenge. The workout was tough! I was in pretty good shape before I left for South Dakota. Three weeks of sitting on my rear while driving and not working out resulted in my body getting mushy and out of shape.

Because I spend the majority of my time working out and eating healthy, it feels weird to be out of breath during a workout that would have barely brought me to a sweat in the past. This is where a positive mindset and keeping my goals in mind are so important. Instead of feeling bad about myself and where my body (not me as a human being and soul, but my physical body) is at right now, I’m feeling proud of my work on my Challenge. I know that I’ll get much better bikini body results if I focus on the positives in my life instead of the negatives. Trust me – I’ve tried both paths!

Here’s the video and recipe for yesterday’s smoothie:

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

serves 1

2 scoops Vi Shake protein powder

1/2 frozen banana, cut into chunks

4-5 frozen strawberries

3 ice cubes

3/4 – 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

Blend up all of the ingredients listed above. Taste test the smoothie and feel free to add more almond milk or ice if needed.

Do you have a favorite flavor of smoothie? I have too many to count! I still want to try to make a copy-cat healthier version of an Orange Julius Strawberry Banana smoothie. I heard that egg whites will help. Has anyone used egg whites in a smoothie? Sounds scary to me!

I have to run to the post office, make some conference calls and squeeze in a workout this morning.  Have a great day!

***If you haven’t already, check out my Life Lessons post on Relationships. I accidentally scheduled it for 3 am this morning instead of 3 pm this afternoon. I need to get better at auto-schedule on WordPress***

Love,

Kilee

Challenge Day 1

Good morning! Look what I woke up to this morning:

I savored my coffee while snuggled up with Layla in bed. We turned the fireplace on and opened the blinds so we could enjoy the warmth of the fire and the beautiful snow outside.

Little miss Layla had her first grooming appointment in ages yesterday. I’m happy because they didn’t shave her and kept her hair long. She doesn’t feel as good about herself when they shave her hair too short. I’m serious! She gets depressed for a few days and mopes around the house when that happens.

While Layla was at the Petsmart grooming salon, I was in office supply heaven – the new Martha Stewart Home Office Collection at Staples. I love, love, love anything Martha does, so when her team created a home office supply line, I was drooling. I even clipped a 40% off coupon from a magazine a few weeks ago.

After much debate, I chose a robin’s egg blue leather journal. I think it will be the perfect new journal for me. I have a regular notebook for my daily to-do lists and notes and then I have a journal for writing more personal entries. Does anyone else keep two notebooks around for these purposes?

I also went to Trader Joe’s and stocked up on groceries while she was at her grooming appointment. I had made a quick stop by the store when I drove into town on Sunday for basic necessities: eggs, almond milk, coffee creamer, bananas. However, our fridge was pretty bare after being gone for the past three weeks. Here’s a video that I recorded of my purchases:

So, onto telling you about my first day on the Body for Vi Challenge. I felt amazing! After being on the road for three weeks and eating less healthy foods and majorly lacking on the exercise, it felt so good to be back to a normal routine. I woke up and had my coffee. Then I made my first shake. I was craving something minty, so I made up a minty Shamrock Shake - recipe here. Then I went for a half hour run while it was snowing outside. My first smoothie tasted so good, that I ended up making the exact same one for my post workout smoothie. Then I rushed around the house trying to get ready in time for Layla’s appointment. I dropped her off, ran errands and then after a few hours, I was starving and realized that I had neglected to pack a snack. I should know better! Luckily, I was in Trader Joe’s, so I just opened up some of the pea snaps that I talked about in the grocery video. I snacked on a few handfuls of those and they held me out until dinner time.

For last night’s dinner I made BBQ tofu with green beans. Here’s the super simple recipe that I used to prepare it:

BBQ Tofu

Serves 2

1 block of super firm tofu

1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I used Pendleton brand)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Slice your tofu into 1″ blocks. Line up the blocks of tofu on about 3-4 paper towels and continue to roll the blocks in the paper towels until the paper towel is completely rolled up. Place in the fridge. Let the paper towels absorb the moisture from the tofu for at least 20-30 minutes. You might need to replace the paper towels once the first batch is completely soaked through.

Once you are ready to make your tofu, preheat your oven to 375ºf. Slice your tofu into 1″ squares. In a small bowl, mix the BBQ sauce and olive oil. Spray a large baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Dip each tofu square into the sauce and place on the baking sheet. Once you have coated each square in the sauce, bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Halfway through your baking time, carefully take your pan out and flip over each of the tofu squares. If you prefer your tofu a little crispier, turn on your oven broiler for 2 minutes once the 30 minute cooking time is complete. Carefully remove the pan from the oven, flip the tofu squares and broil another 1-2 minutes.

Once done cooking, allow the tofu to cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes. Serve with extra BBQ sauce for dipping.

I watched The Bachelor: Women Tell All on my computer while eating my dinner and was shocked at their behavior. I actually stopped watching this season because I felt so stressed out after watching that I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes I feel like I take on other’s emotions. I need to work on stopping myself from absorbing other’s stresses and emotions. There’s always room for growth and personal development and this tendency needs some improvement right now.

While watching the show, I decided that I *needed* something for dessert. Goat yogurt to the rescue! I mixed up 1/3 cup goat yogurt with 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, 1 packet of stevia and 2 teaspoons of my Vi Shape mix. Yum! It was the perfect low-sugar, protein-rich treat that I needed last night.

Day 1 of my Challenge was a success! I’m already enjoying my Day 2. I’m sipping my peach smoothie as I type up this post and I’m going to go hit the weights after I click “Publish.”

What are your plans for the day? Do you have anything fun going on? I’m still catching up on chores around the house and have a few nutrition plans to work on for clients. Have a great day and I’ll let you know how Day 2 goes tomorrow.

Much love,

Kilee

Shamrock Shake Recipe

Here’s my first Body by Vi shake recipe that I made yesterday. I even recorded a video of me making it, but had technical difficulties and accidentally deleted the video. That’s okay, I’ll film another video shortly!

Shamrock Shake

Serves 1

Handful of spinach

2 scoops Vi-Shape protein powder

1/2 a frozen banana, cut into 1″ chunks

4-5 icecubes

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

2-3 drops peppermint extract

1/4 dropper full of vanilla stevia

Place all of your ingredients into the blender in the order listed above. Blend on high for one minute. Check to consistency. You might need to add more ice, almond milk or stevia. Blend for another 30 seconds. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Pics From South Dakota

Hi! Sorry that it has taken me so long to get back to you. I have been away from my computer and Internet access from early in the morning until late at night for the past week. Today marks three weeks since I flew to visit Blake in Rapid City, South Dakota. It has been an unforgettable three weeks. Blood, sweat and tears were experienced during this trip. Don’t worry, everything was fine! Being out of my comfort zone, driving the fuel truck in snowy conditions and working with Blake in stressful situations toughened me up. Let’s just say that I am ready for girl nights, bubble baths and some home cooked meals.

Being away from home and living in a hotel for three weeks helped me to realize that I can survive without my beloved, healthy routine. But, it’s exactly what I’m looking forward to once I get home. I’m currently sitting at the Pierre, South Dakota airport waiting for my flight. Blake is continuing onto Clark, South Dakota, then Minnesota, Canada and up to Alaska. Layla and I had the option of continuing onward with him, but we chose to go back home.

I took quite a few photos on my trip and wanted to share some of them with you.

This is part of what Blake does when he’s working for the state fish and wildlife department. He flys around looking for a specific type of animal (mountain sheep in these photos) and once he finds one, his net gunner shoots a net onto the animal. If they have successfully caught the animal, the net gunner jumps out of the helicopter and hobbles the animal. He puts a blindfold over it’s eyes (this helps it to stay more calm and relaxed) and ties it in a bag that is slung beneath the helicopter. From there, Blake flies the animal to a team of biologists who run tests and place a tracking device on it. This helps the biologists keep track of the animal and study anything that may be going on with it.

Once the biologists are done with the sheep, they let it go and it runs back into the wild.

Here are some photos from one of Blake’s and my sunset flights back to the airport. We spotted some elk. There were about four or five that were hanging out together in the hills.

On another one of our sunset flights, we flew by Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Harney’s peak. When I was learning about these national monuments in school, I would have never imagined that I’d be flying by them one day!

We saw so many animals while in South Dakota. The buffalo were my favorite. There was a heard that grazed right by the airport where we based the helicopter out of part of the time. The antelope were so tame that they had no problem just standing in the middle of the road and watching cars drive by. I was driving to a job site one day when I passed that sign that said “Welcome to Wyoming.” I had no clue that our job site was in Wyoming and got a little scared that I had drove too far west.

On our flight back to the airport yesterday Blake spotted three mountain goats. They love sitting at the tops of rocky peaks. We flew by to get a closer look. Those things are so, so cute!

Layla has been the best little roadie girl! Check out the cute snow jacket I got for her at Pet Co. It was on sale for $9. I couldn’t help myself! When Blake saw it he rolled his eyes and said, “Couldn’t you have gotten any other color besides pink?” Us girlie girls need every piece of pink clothing that we can get out here surrounded by all these manly guys. One day, while we were waiting for the helicopter to land, Layla met a new friend named Charlie. They ran around and played in the snow for a good half hour. Most of the time she just slept in the passenger seat of the truck while I drove.

Since we didn’t have a refrigerator in our room, most of our food was bought at the truck stop in the morning or at a restaurant in the evening. Every once in a while I’d be able to run into a grocery store to buy some lunch supplies and snacks. I was so excited when I spotted the new Chobani Lilikoi Greek yogurt. Lilikoi (passion fruit) is my favorite fruit ever and of course, I loved this new flavor. Right while I was eating my yogurt, I spotted this blurb in Fitness magazine sharing it’s fat-burning power. I also found a pre made cranberry & mixed greens salad to have for lunch that day. Side note: I rarely buy salad dressings and when I do, they are made with natural ingredients. This salad came with non-fat raspberry vinegarette. The first ingredient was high fructose corn syrup – yuk! It tasted like a syrup that you’d pour on pancakes. Please don’t buy salad dressings made with that stuff. If you want a fat-free dressing, try vinegar or lemon juice.

I also found this new-to-me drink called Neuro Bliss. It supposedly has calming effects. Trust me when I say that I needed anything “calming” throughout this work trip! I have not researched the ingredients to see if I’d consider it healthy or not, but it tastes good and I was in a good mood after I drank it. That was even after getting the fuel truck stuck in the snow for the 100th time :)

Most nights we would swing by a restaurant on our way home from the job site. Other nights, when we were too tired to even sit in a restaurant booth for an hour, we would order in. One night, we even picked up a bottle of cab and used our plastic hotel cups as wine glasses. Keeping it classy over here! I tired to keep my meals as healthy as possible, but some nights, I just wanted something that was gluten free and tasted good. I got tortilla soup and salad from Qdoba, a chicken spinach salad and a veggie pizza from Boston’s. I was in gluten free pizza heaven!

Well, Layla and I are just waiting for our flight out of Pierre for the next few hours. She’s laying in one of the seats next to me and I am going to be catching up on everything that I missed over the pat few weeks. I learned that I could survive without Internet and cell service, but it wasn’t fun! Take care and I’ll check back in with you once I’m home safe. Have a great weekend!

Chocolate Nut Butter Crunch Bars

Happy Friday! I am rushing around the house getting ready to take off again. I’ll be flying out of Portland early tomorrow morning and will hopefully be back with Blake by tomorrow evening. My fingers are crossed that it actually works out this time!

In preparation for my trip, I wanted to make some new snacks to take with. Because I don’t know how long I’ll be gone for, I tried to use up any perishable items that we had in the fridge and pantry. I was inspired to make a treat based of my childhood favorite, scotch-a-roo bars. I don’t even know if that’s the proper name? They are basically a peanut butter rice crispy treat with a chocolate butterscotch topping. My version omits the corn syrup, chocolate and butterscotch chips and replaces them with cocoa butter, raw cacoa powder, stevia and butterscotch extract. I should also add that this recipe makes a small serving size, so you can make up a batch and not have a huge tray sitting around on the counter.

Chocolate Nut Butter Crunch Bars

Makes 4 squares

3/4 cup gluten-free Rice Crispies cereal

2 Tablespoons nut butter (I used sunflower butter)

2 Tablespoons cocoa butter

1 Tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil

1 Tablespoon raw cacao powder

3 packets of stevia

1/4 teaspoon butterscotch extract

tiny pinch of salt

Heat the cocoa butter in a double boiler or in the microwave until melted. Stir in the nut butter until it is well combined. Then, stir in the coconut oil, cacao powder, stevia and butterscotch extract. Add the Rice Crispies and salt. Press into a small glass dish and place in the refrigerator. After about an hour remove the dish and slice into small squares.

I also made some homemade snack bars that Blake can take in the helicopter when he’s flying all day. One is cranberry goji berry, another is coconut macaroon and the last is chocolate cherry. I think that my homemade bars are better than any store bought brands, but let’s be honest – most of the time I just stock up on bars at Trader Joe’s.

My goal for today and tomorrow is to stay calm, relaxed and worry-free. Yesterday’s “Melt the Stress Away” post was a good reminder for me. I forgot to post a photo of my new favorite product: CALM. It’s a powdered magnesium that when mixed with water creates a bubbly concoction that is supposed to help you feel calm and sleepy. I like to take it about an hour before bedtime. You can serve it hot or cold and it comes in different flavors. I bought the Raspberry-Lemon and like the taste of it.

Am I the only person who didn’t realize the Trader Joe’s Black Bean and Veggie Enchiladas are actually Amy’s Brand of the same variety? I always waited for Amy’s frozen entrees to go on sale before buying them. Now, I don’t have to because Trader Joe’s sells them for $1.99. Thank you Mr. Joe! I had an enchilada with crumbled goat cheese over some romaine lettuce that somehow didn’t wilt in our fridge over the past week.

Look how cute my cupcake liners look stored in this Mason jar. I’d love to get a big glass jar to store my cupcake liners in. I’ll have to wait on that for now.

Blake and I don’t have cable, so I watched a ton of TV at his mom’s house (like all day last Saturaday!) Here are some of my thoughts on TV shows and current entertainment news:

“The Bachelor” stresses me out. Seriously! I always feel like I’m a girl on the show and he isn’t giving me enough attention. I actually had a hard time sleeping after watching a ridiculous episode.

It’s really sad that Whitney Houston passed away. I wasn’t too surprised when I heard the news, but it’s still very heartbreaking.

“Revenge” is one of the best ABC shows to come along in awhile.

“The Housewives of Beverly Hills” sometimes look pretty and sometimes look abnormal. I think all the “work” they’ve had done looks weird, but their hair, makeup and clothes look really good!

“Law & Order SVU” is still one of my favorite shows.

I was very surprised to find out that I love Coco (and Ice-T.) They are so cute together. I feel like my personality is very similar to Coco’s.

Watching television for a day straight is a nice luxury, but I think I’d rather read books and magazines with my free time. Oh, and commercials are really, really bad nowadays.

Wow! I feel so up-with-the-times now that I’ve had cable for the past week.

OK, I’m going to get a weights and cardio workout in, take Layla for a walk, load up my car and hit the road. Have a great day!!!

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Melt the Stress Away

Hi! Sorry that I didn’t check in with you yesterday. I was driving back home to Redmond because I needed to pick up some items before taking off to visit Blake in South Dakota. I have to admit that lately I’ve been feeling a little stressed about this trip. Over the years I have gotten so much better about relaxing and going with the flow, but the anxiety still creeps up now and again.

When I drove two and a half hours to Portland last Thursday, I honestly thought that I would be flying out to see Blake by the end of the weekend. I had made Layla her vet appointment and packed my bags for the trip. Well, it ended up that I needed to drive back to Redmond to pick up my passport, an extra suitcase of gear and some of Blake’s belongings. I’m here at home and it feels really nice to be back. It’s so nice and comforting that I’m starting to think about staying home and enjoying my nice, quiet little life that I have over here. However, I really, really want to see Blake. I think I’ll end up flying out this Friday, but I know not to hold my breath!

I stumbled across this video that I had filmed when I was in Nevada a few weeks ago. I thought that it was appropriate to share with you (and myself) today to remind us that we can become less stressed and more easy going with a little work on our part. Let me know if you have any suggestions for handling stress with ease.

To decompress and relax last night, I did a new Tone It Up workout. It’s the new Valentine’s Day one. I like how I can follow along with Karena and Katrina throughout the entire workout.

Then I took a bath and did some laundry. Notice the calm and serene candles that I lit!

My dinner was a random pizza made from items in the fridge: gluten-free brown rice tortilla, pizza sauce, Daya chese, 1 egg, scallion, minced garlic, shredded lettuce and Siratcha sauce. It tasted amazing after a long drive home.

I went to bed early because the night before, I was up past midnight! I had a really fun time going out for dinner and a movie with my friends and sister. I highly recommend “The Vow” to all of my girlie friends. It was a really good Valentine’s Day. I’m happy to report that everyone loved the gluten-free red velvet cupcakes that I made. Layla was my valentine and she was a really good one. She gave me lots of kisses, appreciated the Valentine’s treats I gave her and kept me company all day long.

I’m off to do my weights workout, write out a few new client nutrition plans and pack another suitcase for my (hopeful) trip to South Dakota. Have a great day!

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Sunday Favorites

Hi! I’m in Portland right now. It’s actually nice enough to sit outside as I type this at Starbucks.

I wanted to share a few of my new favorites with you. I’m warning you that they have two things in common: almonds and sugar. Since it’s Sunday and my favorite day of the week to treat myself to something special, I thought I’d share with you two “new-to-me gluten-free and dairy-free” treats.

Almond Dream Ice Cream

This tastes better than I imagined it would. Since almond milk is my go-to non-dairy milk and I saw this new ice cream on sale at Fred Meyers, I picked up a pint of the vanilla flavor. It’s delicious! It tastes sweet, rich and almost like regular ice cream. I highly suggest picking up a pint if you see one at the store.

Amaretti Italian Crunchy Almond Cookies

I saw these in the gluten-free bakery section at Whole Foods. They kinda reminded me of almond biscotti. Oh, how I miss my biscotti! I have to say that these cookies made out of almond paste, sugar and egg whites are like little, crunchy bites of heaven. Expect a recipe from me once I’m back in the kitchen!

As for my plans, I don’t have any definite travel dates set yet. It sounds like I’ll be gone a little longer than last time, so I’m glad that Layla will be with us. I’m all packed up and ready to take off when I get the call from Blake. He said it’s super cold where we’re heading, so I picked up a few more wool socks and and undershirts for the trip.

I’ll leave you with a new cooking video that I filmed. One of my goals is to start making more YouTube cooking videos. This was my first attempt. I know rice is easy to cook and that’s why I chose to do a video on black rice. Apparently black rice is being toted as a new “antioxidant” super-food. I’ve always liked ordering it at Thai restaurants because it’s fun to have different colored rice!

FitSugar posted this about black rice:

“Black rice, like brown rice, retains the bran cover that is removed to make white rice. That means the grain is packed with nutritional benefits, including being rich in iron and fiber. Want to know more about this “forbidden” rice, including how it stacks up against brown rice and other cancer-fighting foods? Read more after the break.

Like many other dark red, purple, or blue foods, black rice contains great levels of the antioxidant anthocyanin, which in addition to being a stand up cancer-fighter also plays a role in preventing heart disease and improving memory.

A study earlier this year found that a spoonful of black rice bran contains more anthorcyanin than blueberries but less sugar. In fact, this noir-colored food has a higher concentration of anthocyanins than any other food! In addition, the anthocyanin’s water-solubility means that antioxidants can reach more places in the body than the oil-soluble antioxidants in other foods like brown rice.” – FitSugar

I have a few spots left this month for the Valentine’s Day Special Coaching with Kilee. Feel free to email me to set up your sessions.

I’m meeting my parents for dinner tonight. Have a great night!

Evening Chat Session

Oops! I thought I had this post set to publish last night. Obviously, it didn’t get posted. We’ll just make it a Friday evening chat session :)

Hi! I thought that I’d start something new around here. I try to check in with everyone  in the morning, but realized that it might be fun to have evening chat sessions from my couch. I filmed this video last night. Let me know what you think!

Here’s my dinner perfection from last night:

Tortilla Pizza

Trader Joe’s Brown Rice Tortilla

Trader Joe’s Pizza sauce

Daya mozzerella cheese

Sliced portabello mushroom

Sliced spinach

clove of garlic, minced

Pecricano Ramona cheese

Preheat oven to 450ºf. Bake for 10 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil.

I was in heaven! I usually try to have a lean protein and veggie for dinner most nights, but a pizza was needed last night.

I also wanted to share a photo of my favorite candle with you guys. My mom makes homemade soy wax candles with vintage glasses. I love this one that I keep next to my kitchen sink. The great thing about these candles, is that they are refillable. How green!

Good night! I’ll see you tomorrow. I *might* just be leaving on a trip in the next few days. I’ll keep you posted.

- Kilee

***Don’t forget to sign up for my Valentine’s Day Coaching Special! Email me kilee (at) kileejohnson.com for setting up your sessions***

Grain-Free Pumpkin Brownies

Well hello! Are you excited about this grain-free dessert that I promised you. I almost wish I hadn’t  made a full batch of these brownies because every time I went into the kitchen yesterday, I had to sample a bite or two. I have been baking gluten-free desserts for four years now, but haven’t experimented much with grain-free baking. After seeing all of the delicious grain-free recipes over on Detoxinista’s and iheartwellness’ blogs, I was inspired to get started.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Brownies

Makes 16 brownies

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 eggs

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tablespoon vanilla

10 drops liquid vanilla stevia

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºf.

Place all of the wet ingredients in a blender and blend on medium speed. Once the wet ingredients are completely blended, add all of the dry ingredients besides the chocolate chips and walnuts. Blend on low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and incorporate them into the batter with a spatula.

Spray an 8″x 8″ or 9″x 9″ metal baking pan with non-stick cooking spray (make sure it does not contain flour.) Pour and spread your batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean. Once the brownies are baked, allow them to cool for about two hours before slicing and removing them from the pan. I found them a little hard to get out of the pan I used, but I think if you slice them with a sharp knife and then use a spatula to remove them from the pan, they should stay together better than mine did.

Do not try to bake them in a special triangle pan like I did, because they will be a royal pain to get out!

I was curious to see the nutrition stats on this new brownie recipe, so I calculated it out online:

Not too bad for a brownie, right? However, don’t get carried away “testing” these brownies, because half the tray will be gone by the time you know it!

Look at the beautiful sunrise I woke up to this morning:

It snowed a little bit here last night. I was really surprised to see snow when I took Layla potty outside last night. That little sleepyhead is snoring on the couch as I type this. She usually likes to sleep until around 9 or 10 and then get up to start her day. Haha!

I’m going to go doing my treadmill workout at the gym, run some errands in town that I forgot to do yesterday (sometimes I get flustered and sidetracked when I’m running errands only to end  back up at the house with only half of my items completed!) and work on some client nutrition plans at Starbucks.

Have a great day today!!!

Much love,

Kilee

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Protein Shake & Gluten-Free Cookie Review

Hi! How is everyone’s weekend going? Mine has been wonderful. I got a lot done around the house and blog yesterday. I added a new “Newsletter Sign-Up” over to the right in the side bar. You can also sign-up to receive my weekly newsletter *here*. It will be filled with gluten-free recipes, healthy lifestyle tips and ways to feel your best. Be sure to sign up and I’ll keep you up to date with my weekly tips and recipes.

Today is a treat type of day. It’s Sunday, the day that I’m most likely to bake some gluten-free cookies or make an elaborate dinner. However, today’s recipe and cookie review require almost no time in the kitchen. That’s right! You don’t have to bake your own gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. You can just pop into your local Trader Joe’s for a batch of their New Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies or you can blend up your own chocolate chip protein shake at home in your blender.

Chocolate Chip Protein Shake

Serves 1 girl (or guy) who’s craving a chocolate chip cookie, but needs to drink a protein shake

1 scoop vanilla protein powder (whey or brown rice)

1 heaping tablespoon oats (rolled or quick-cook)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon butter extract

1/2 – 1 frozen banana cut into chunks

3-4 ice cubes

3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

pinch of sea salt

pinch of baking soda (optional, but it creates more of a cookie dough flavor)

1 tablespoon milk, semi or dark chocolate chips

Place all of the ingredients besides that chocolate chips in the blender and blend on high for one minute. Once the shake is well blended, add the chocolate chips and blend for about 15-20 seconds on medium speed. Enjoy your shake!

Product Review: Trader Joe’s Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have to start out this review by sharing that the cashier at Trader Joe’s informed me that these cookies are better than the regular flour chocolate chip cookies they sell. This made me happy to hear. I was also happy to read on the nutrition label that there are no weird ingredients: semi-sweet chocolate chips, rice flour, butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, xantham gum & water. Those are the exact ingredients that I use in my chocolate chip cookie recipe! Now I can have the convenience of a gluten-free chocolate chip cookie without having to go in the kitchen and bake up a batch myself.

Because these have regular sugar and chocolate chips, I consider these more of a special treat than an everyday type of snack. The calorie content is pretty low: 70 calories per cookie. Seeing that I eat at least a cookie’s worth of batter plus a few baked cookies when I bake them, the 70 calories for one cookie is a bargain compared to the amount of calories consumed when baking cookies.

The cookies taste amazing! They are crispy and have the perfect amount of sweetness, saltiness and crunch. I usually prefer soft and cake-like cookies, but these are right up there with the Nestle Tollhouse gluten-free version I bake at home. The only downside to these cookies is that they are addicting (is that a downside?) and you might be inclined to go back for seconds or thirds. One thing that I like about the packaging is that there are two plastic trays with seven cookies each sealed in plastic wrap. This means that if you open one bag, the other bag of cookies stays sealed and fresh.

I highly recommend these gluten-free cookies from Trader Joes to anyone – gluten-free or not.

Has anyone tried these cookies? What do you think?

Don’t forget that I’m hosting a giveaway contest once my Facebook & Twitter accounts hit 100 followers each. If you follow me on either social media sites, leave a comment *here* and you’ll be entered to win a batch of gluten-free cookies, NuNaturals Stevia & Artisana Nut Butter, plus an assortment of my favorite gluten-free protein bars.

Have fun today whether you’re watching the Super Bowl or just hanging out!

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Gluten-Free Superfood No-Bake Cookies + Giveaway Announcement

Welcome to Superbowl Weekend! Since I am not one bit interested in the Superbowl, I will be doing what a lot girls like to do when football games are on TV – reading magazines! I have never been a big sports fan and eating a bunch of chips and dip does not set well with my stomach anyway. So, I’ll be laying low, indulging in some girlie magazines and maybe cooking something in the kitchen. Speaking of cooking, I finally went to the grocery store today and stocked up on some much needed fresh produce. I feel like the only vegetables I ate over the past two weeks were either iceberg lettuce or steamed vegetables with dinner. I’m envisioning lots of green smoothies and salads in my future :)

I was excited to get back in the kitchen and whip up a healthy treat to share with you. Has anyone tried those Brookside dark chocolate pomegranate candies that they sell at Costco? I think I’ve seen them at Trader Joe’s too? Anyways, I wanted to combine them with some gluten-free Rice Crispies that I picked up at the store today. Here is your super-easy, quick gluten-free treat recipe:

Gluten-Free Superfood No-Bake Cookies

Makes 8 cookies

1 cup gluten-free Rice Crispies cereal

2 Tablespoons chopped dried cherries

2 Tablespoons sliced almonds

2 Tablespoons brown rice syrup

1 Tablespoon honey (or brown rice syrup. I just like the flavor and the health benefits of honey)

1/4 cup almond butter (or your favorite nut butter)

2 Tablespoons organic brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 Brookside dark chocolate pomegranate or acai candies or Trader Joe’s Superfruit candies

Pinch of sea salt

In a medium size bowl, mix the Rice Crispies, dried cherries and sliced almonds.

I am the only one who thought Rice Crispies were already gluten-free? I guess there is malt extract in the regular variety? These new ones are made with brown rice too!

In a small saucepan or microwave-safe dish, combine the brown rice syrup, honey and almond butter. Heat over medium heat until it starts to bubble or microwave on high for roughly 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar, vanilla and salt and stir until smooth. Pour the mixture over the contents of the bowl and use a spatula or your hands to combine. Roll into 8 small balls and set on a piece of parchment paper. Push a chocolate covered candy into the center of each cookie. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to a week, but they might harden over time.

Okay, well I’m off to take Layla for her walk and get together with one of my friends here in Redmond. Have a great day and let me know if you try the new cookie recipe. It’s super easy and takes maybe 5-10 minutes!

*** Giveaway Alert ***

As you may know, I have Facebook and Twitter accounts set up for the blog. Once each account hits 100 followers, I will draw a number and send a gluten-free gift pack to the winner. It will include a batch of gluten-free cookies, NuNaturals Stevia, Artisiana nut butter and an assortment of my favorite gluten-free protein bars. I’ll even throw Layla in there too! Haha – that would never happen!!! All you have to do is *like* my Facebook and/or Twitter accounts and leave a comment below stating that you did so. Feel free to leave two comments if you follow both accounts. I’ll announce the winner here on the blog, Twitter and Facebook once the drawing takes place. Any questions, just ask!

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Blueberry Crisp Protein Smoothie

Hi from Reno, Nevada! I’m typing this post as we lay in bed with news about the presidential candidates on the television. I am not political at all, but am making an effort to learn about the current candidates and their views. I’ve been taking a few photos with my iPhone since I flew in here and will post some of the fun ones once I’m home in a few days. For now, I’ll leave you with a delicious post-workout smoothie that I made a few days ago.

Blueberry Crisp Protein Smoothie

Serves 1 post-workout woman (or man)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries (try to find organic ones if possible)

1/2 frozen banana, broken into pieces

2 ice cubes

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed

1 Tablespoon oats (rolled or quick cook)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon maple extract

pinch of stevia

1 cup non-dairy milk (I used a unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

Place all of the ingredients in the blender and blend for about a minute. Enjoy!

I’ve been having fun making all different types of dessert smoothies lately. I might not be baking much, but I’m sure enjoying my “dessert flavored” protein smoothies.

Have a great day,

Kilee

Cleanse-Friendly Cookies

Hi! How is week 3 of the cleanse going for you? I hope that you are feeling energized and healthy. Today I wanted to share a new cleanse-friendly cookie recipe with you. I know that there are times when you just need a cookie or two. I came up with this recipe to satisfy your (and my) sweet tooth while still cutting out refined sugar, gluten and dairy products. The banana and maple syrup sweeten the cookies while the protein powder helps to keep your blood sugar levels from spiking. The only questionable ingredient in this recipe is the chocolate chips. Feel free to chop up an unsweetened chocolate baking bar or try out some of the “healthy” chocolate chips on the market by:

Enjoy Life Foods mini chocolate chips – dairy, gluten, nut & soy free

Dagoba Chocodrops – Fair trade organic chocolate

Chocolate Dream chocolate chips – dairy & gluten free

Some purists might argue that there is no room for a little chocolate on a cleanse. I disagree. This is a month long program and there is a tiny bit of room for a chocolate chip or too. Just keep your hand out of the bag while you’re adding the chocolate chips into the batter.

Cleanse-Friendly Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

Makes 12-16 cookies

1/2 cup gluten-free flour (I used Pamela’s brand)

1/2 cup vanilla brown rice protein powder (I used Sun Warrior brand)

1/2 cup gluten-free oats

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 Tablespoon ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mashed banana

1/4 cup creamy almond butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 375ºF. In a large mixing bowl stir the ground flaxseed, mashed banana, almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla together until completely mixed. In a medium mixing bowl stir the flour, protein powder, oats, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt until well combined. Gently add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and add the chocolate chips. Stir until just combined.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a parchment paper lined baking sheets. Push down with a spatula to lightly flatten each cookie. Bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes on the pan and then transfer to a wire baking rack.

Enjoy with glass of unsweetened almond or coconut milk. I will make these cookies even when I’m not on a cleanse!

Take care,

Kilee

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Orange Mango Green Smoothie

Hi! I just wanted to quickly share my new favorite post-workout green smoothie recipe with you.

Orange Mango Green Smoothie

Serves 1

1/2 scoop Sun Warrior Warrior Protein Powder

1/4 cup orange juice

1 large handful of spinach

1/2 a lemon or lime, peeled or unpeeled

1/2 green apple, diced

1/2 cup frozen mango chunks (I buy these at Trader Joe’s)

2-4 ice cubes

1/4 cup (give or take) filtered water

Place all of your ingredients in the blender in the order shown and blend on high for about a minute.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Smoothie

Happy New Year’s Eve! What are your plans for tonight? I can’t believe it, but we are actually going out down town Portland tonight. I’m more of a stay-at-home and make a bunch of good food on New Year’s Eve type of girl. However, Blake doesn’t get to see his friends from high school very much and a bunch of them are getting together in Portland tonight. It will be fun to go out and we’re going to go watch a girl from our high school’s band preform down town. I already picked out my sequin minidress to wear. I call it my “New Year’s” dress because it’s the only night of the year that I’d actually wear it.

I wanted to share my new favorite breakfast smoothie recipe with you. I swear it tastes exactly like a oatmeal raisin cookie is a smoothie form!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Smoothie

Serves 1

1 scoop vanilla protein powder of choice

1 frozen banana

few dashes of cinnamon

2 Tablespoons oats (quick cook or whole, it doesn’t matter)

1 Tablespoon raisins

1/2 – 1 Tablespoon nut butter (I used Artisiana Cashew Butter)

4 drops vanilla stevia (I used NuNaturals brand)

1-2 ice cubes

6-8 ounces unsweetened vanilla almond milk

drop or two of butter extract (optional)

Place all of the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend for about a minute.

I really liked Mastin’s post today on thedailylove.com. As much as I think it’s important to plan ahead and envision an amazing year full of goals and achievements, I think it’s equally important to reflect back on how much you’ve grown and learned this past year. Please take a moment to read his post and think about how far you’ve come this year.

I recognize that this year I have become little more understanding and forgiving of myself and others. I began to accept my weaknesses. I have shifted from a more fearful mindset into a more loving way of looking at my life. I have learned to have faith and trust that everything WILL work out the way that it’s supposed to, even if it seems scary. I am grateful for my health, my relationships with others and my opportunity to connect with others in person and through this blog.

This blog has been a space for me to preform some personal growth and hopefully offer inspiration and support to others trying to lead a healthy lifestyle. There is no ONE perfect way to live a healthy, balanced life, but rather a journey of learning what works and doesn’t work for each one of us. I’m thankful that I have had the opportunity to write out my thoughts, goals and passions here on this blog. I’m thankful to each reader who has taken the time to read what I write or to try out one of my recipes.

I believe that 2012 will be a year of huge personal and societal growth. Let’s reflect back on 2011 and think about how to make 2012 an even better, more exciting year filled with love.

Have fun tonight and please remember to be safe. Do not get behind the wheel if you have been drinking or get in a vehicle with a driver who has been drinking. Let’s celebrate responsibly.

If you are joining me in the January Cleanse/Weight Loss program, don’t forget to check out tomorrow’s guidelines here.

Cheers to a New Year,

Kilee

Workout Lesson Learned

Happy Friday! Anyone have any fun plans for the last full weekend before Christmas? I know what I will not be doing – shopping. I really dislike the crowds. I’m finishing up my Christmas shopping in my workout clothes in front of the computer. I try to make most of my Christmas gifts each year, but my crafty gifts don’t fit all the people on my list (like my Dad.)

Today I wanted to share a little bit about a recent experience I had regarding my workout routine. Because I’m still on my YouTube video kick, I sat down before this mornings workout to share a recent lesson I learned:

And, since I am continuing the theme of listing to my body and doing what it wants, I listened to my craving for funfetti cake (no, I’m not going to have the actual cake because of the gluten) and made myself a Funfetti Protein Shake to enjoy after my workout.

Funfetti Protein Shake

Serves 1 sweaty girl

1 frozen banana cut into 4-5 peices

2-3 ice cubes

3/4 – 1 cup non dairy milk (I used a mix of unsweetened almond & coconut milk)

1 scoop protein powder of chioce (I used vanilla whey)

tiny bit of almond extract

tiny bit of butter extract

pinch of salt

4-5 drops of stevia

1 teaspoon rainbow sprinkles

Place all of the ingredients in the blender except the sprinkles. Blend until well combined. Once it’s completely blended, add the sprinkles for fun and pour into a big glass. Enjoy!

I hope that this video resonated with you if you are in a position where you’re not enjoying your workouts. My challenge for you is to switch up your routine and start doing workouts that are fun for you!

Have a great day and please share if you’ve had a similar experience in the comments below.

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Peppermint Bark

Hi! After seeing Katie’s recipe for peppermint bark this morning, I ran to my kitchen to make my own. I made a few changes to her recipe and came up with this:

Peppermint Bark

Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

1/2 cup coconut butter (I used Artisiana brand)

1/4 cup cacao butter chips (I used Mountain Rose Herbs)

2 Tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil (I used Artisiana brand)

2 Tablespoons agave

1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

Toppings: I used crushed mint M&M’s and sprinkles

Line a baking dish with tin foil (any size will do.) In a double broiler or microwave safe bowl, gently heat the coconut butter, cacao butter and coconut oil until melted. Stir in the agave and peppermint extract. Spread the mixture in your baking dish with a spatula. Sprinkle with toppings of your choice. Place in the freezer and allow to harden for approximately two hours. Break into smaller pieces and store in the refrigerator or freezer.

These are perfect to share with family and friends. They don’t even have to know that they’re healthy! They taste good enough to be consitered “normal” holiday treats.

I’m off to work on some projects. Have a great day,

Kilee

Green Smoothie Recipe

Hi! How is your weekend going so far? Mine has been wonderful. I had a friend over for dinner last night and we had lots of fun catching up. This morning has been nice and relaxing so far. Layla’s asleep on the couch and I have been playing Celine Dion’s Christmas album and sitting by the tree.

Today I wanted to share with you my guidelines for making a green smoothie. There are endless variations of how to make a green smoothie. I started making these green drinks a few years back after seeing them on blogs. I was reintroduced to them by Robyn Openshaw (the Green Smoothie Girl) at one of her workshops and when I read Kimberly Snyder’s book, The Beauty Detox Solution. Each of these women have a plethera of green smoothie information and recipes.

Onto my green smoothies. The basis of green smoothies is that you take a bunch of leafy greens, vegetables, a little fruit, some ice and water and blend it all together. You can mix and match difference vegetables and fruits depending on your taste buds and what you have on hand. There is no “one” recipe. Each day’s smoothie will and should be a little different. Yesterday I used spinach, cucumber, cilantro, lime and apple and today I used spinach, kale, cilantro, grapefruit, lime and banana. It’s important to vary and rotate the types of greens, vegetable and fruits that you use so your body has a chance to absorb different nutrients each day. If you continue to eat the exact same type of food day in and day out, your body is more likely to develop a sensitivity to it over time. Remember to use a wide variety of vegetables and fruits and to try out new combinations daily.

It is advised to drink at least one green smoothie a day. I go through periods of time where I have a large green smoothie each day, and they I’ll go a few weeks without having one. This past week I started to crave my green smoothies again, so they are back into my daily routine. One big thing that I notice when I drink them regularly, is that my skin looks more vibrant and has less acne. I also feel like I have more energy and my digestion feels better. Wait, why did I stop drinking these? Anyway, please play around with different recipes and find a green smoothie that rocks your world. You can start off with more fruit and taper down on the fruit as your taste buds adapt to the bitter greens.

This is just a guideline. I never use a “set” recipe and will often test the smoothie and then add more of whatever ingredient it may need.

Green Smoothie Recipe

Serves 1

2 handfuls spinach – or leafy green of choice

1-2 kale leaves

1/2 lime (peeled or with peel) – or lemon

1/4 cup cilantro – or fresh herb of choice

1/2 a peeled grapefruit – of 1/2 cup fruit of choice

1/4 frozen banana – this helps with the creaminess and sweetness

handful of ice

4-6 oz filtered water

few drops of stevia – if you need it sweeter

sprinkle of cinnamon (helps to slow the absorption of sugar)

Place all of your ingredients besides the ice in a blender. Blend until the vegetables and fruit are “juice-like.” Add the ice and any additional ingredients and blend.

While drinking the smoothie, try to let each sip sit in your mouth and “chew” it a bit.

“Chewing actually starts the digestive process using enzymes in the mouth.  Chewing also triggers the stomach to recognize that food is coming and to start preparing the acids and enzymes it needs for digestion. Breaking the veggies down also allows for the release of many of the phytonutrients and antioxidants they contain without the digestive system having to work so hard.  With these nutrients more easily available, the body can start its rebuilding and repair projects quicker and easier.” — from “Green Smoothies: Pros & Cons.

What are your favorite green smoothie combinations? I love green apple, lime, cucumber and basil. I’m going to go take Layla for her walk and have a relaxing afternoon.

Have a great day!

Kilee

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Funfetti Protein Mug Cake

Things just got a little more exciting around here! I’m not sure about you, but gluten-free, low-sugar, high-protein microwaved mug cakes get me pretty excited. Lately, I have been lifting heavier weights and trying to build lean muscles. This means upping my protein intake and decreasing my sugary, gluten-free baked goods. Well, I was getting bored. I can only go so many days without “treating” myself, so I made up a new recipe to share with you. Of course, I really had your best interest in mind while creating this little gem. I wasn’t dying to make something healthy that tasted like a funfetti cupcake or anything like that. Haha! You know me too well ;)

If you only want to eat a 100-calorie treat, just make the cake and forgo the frosting. If you need a serious sweet-tooth kicking dessert, I highly recommend the frosting. Just be careful, if you frost the cake before it cools, you are going to have melted frosting. Without further ado, here’s the recipe that made my night:

Funfetti Protein Mug Cake

Based off of this recipe on Run. Eat. Repeat.

Serves 1

1 scoop vanilla Sun Warrior brown rice protein powder

2 Tablespoons egg whites

2 Tablespoons pumpkin

1 Tablespoon unsweetened almond milk

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 packet stevia

dash of salt, baking powder, baking soda

1 teaspoon sprinkles

Spray the inside of a mug with non-stick cooking spray. Mix all of your ingredients in the mug with a fork until well combined. Microwave on high for 1:30-2:00 minutes or until fully cooked. Run a knife around the edge of the mug and invert onto a plate or paper towel. Allow to cool. Frost with protein frosting, if desired.

Frosting:

1 Tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon cashew butter (optional)

2-3 teaspoons vanilla Sun Warrior brown rice protein powder

dash of salt

In a separate bowl, combine the frosting ingredients until they resemble frosting. Once the cake has cooled, top with the frosting. This makes the perfect high-protein, low-sugar treat!

Let me know if you try it. I am trying to resist the urge to make one right this very second. Have a great day!

Much love,

Kilee

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Tasty Tuesday: Single Serving Pumpkin Pudding

Hi! How are you doing this morning? I’m happy and healthy up here in Fairbanks. I managed to run around the lake without falling on the ice yesterday. Layla ran with me the whole way. She loves going on runs, but only if I stop a million times for her to sniff random leaves.

I ventured out to Freddies last night because the roads were safe enough for me to drive on and I had a craving for something sweet. I purposefully did not buy any candy corn or sweets when I stocked up on groceries last time. My justification for indulging last night’s craving was that you needed a new low-calorie dessert recipe here on the blog. I stuck with the pumpkin theme that pops up everywhere this time of the year. Here is your single-serving (so you don’t over-indulge) pumpkin pudding.

Single Serving Pumpkin Pudding

serves 1 sweet tooth

1/4 cup vanilla goat yogurt (or whatever type of yogurt you prefer)

1/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/2 Tablespoon instant vanilla pudding mix (you can use the FF/SF, but it won’t taste as good)

1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 Tablespoons Truwhip + more for garnish

Mix the yogurt, pumpkin and instant pudding together with a fork in a small dish or mug. Stir in the pumpkin pie spice. Gently fold in the Truwhip and add a drop on top for garnish. Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon and you have a 130 calorie treat for the night!

I couldn’t help but share this pic of Layla in her jammies. It’s too cold to leave her in the car for long, so I put these on before we left for the store.

Have a great day!

Kilee

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“Tasty” Tuesday

Good morning! How is your week going so far? Mine has been nice and relaxing. Layla and I went for our walk, I worked on my lap top most of the day, did my workout and cooked dinner. My time spent up here in Alaska has been the perfect opportunity to work on my personal growth and focus on how I can create my best life. Helping others learn to feel good about themselves and inspiring them to live their best life are two aspects of my consulting business that I make me proud of the work that I do.

From now on, Tuesday’s posts will feature all sorts of info related to healthy foods, recipes and nutrition. Since I’ve been having a serious baking withdrawal l want to share my super-healthy, gluten-free, no-sugar-added cookies that I made a few weeks back.

Quinoa Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

1/2 cup Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes

1 scoop Sun Warrior vanilla brown rice protein powder

1 Tablespoon ground flax seed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 packets of stevia (I use Trader Joe’s brand)

pinch of sea salt

1/4 cup cage-free egg whites

1 Tablespoon almond butter (I used raw, unsalted creamy)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 square of Baker’s chocolate ( I used the semi-sweet, but use whatever kind you prefer)

2 Tablespoons dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites, almond butter and vanilla. Set aside. In a medium bowl, stir the quinoa flakes, protein powder, ground flax seed, cinnamon, stevia and sea salt until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until the liquid is absorbed. The dough will be slightly crumbly. Chop the chocolate square and dried cranberries. Add them to the cookie dough. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet before eating.

* I calculated the calorie count for these cookies and it came to roughly 50 cal/cookie!*

I’m warning you though; if you are craving a Nestle Tollhouse cookie, these are not going to satisfy your craving. However, if you are following a reduced calorie diet and need a sweet, healthy treat, these should fill the void.

My mom’s friend shared an innovative recipe blog with me that has me drooling at my computer screen. Check out http://gojee.com. They have a cool feature where you type an ingredient that you have on hand and they’ll show you multiple recipes that call for that ingredient. I haven’t tried any of their recipes yet, but they all look amazing!

Let me know if you try out these low-calorie cookies or visit the gojee.com website. Have a great day!

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Cilantro Lime Chicken Wrap

Hi! I’m sharing a recipe that I frequently make for lunch or a filling afternoon snack. It’s naturally gluten-free and tastes refreshing thanks to the lime juice.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Wrap

2 whole collard green leaves with the tough part of the stems removed

3 1/2 ounces grilled chicken breast (I like to season mine with Caribbean Mrs. Dash seasoning)

1/4 cup shredded carrots

6 grape tomatoes, sliced in half

1/4 avocado, sliced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

2 fresh lime wedges

pinch of sea salt, optional

Divide all of your wrap fillings between the two collard green leaves. Squeeze the limes over the fillings. Sprinkle with sea salt if desired. Wrap up like a burrito and dig in!

This is a quick and simple recipe once you have prepped all of your ingredients. You can even double the recipe when prepping your ingredients and leave them in the refrigerator for a super-quick lunch the following day.

What are some of your favorite lunchtime wrap combinations? I love turkey breast with chevre & cranberry sauce as well as hummus with shredded carrots and Sriracha sauce.

Have a great day!

Baked Gluten-Free Falafel Wrap

Hi! I hope that you are having a lovely day so far :) I was able to sneak in a long walk with Layla this morning and one of my favorite workout DVDs, Tone It Up’s Tone & Sculpt. I blended up a cherry lime whey protein smoothie afterwards. It was super refreshing!

I wanted to share one of my favorite lunch recipes with you today. I like to bake a batch of the falafels on Sunday and use them throughout the week.

Baked Gluten-Free Falafel Wrap

Baked Falafels

Gluten-Free Vegan Cheesey Kale Salad

Hi everyone! I’m happy to report that after a day home from work and spent in bed with Layla, I’m back to feeling good. Sometimes I think that exercise can pull you out of feeling sick. (Not always. Listen to your body. My body said “no exercise” the past two days, so I didn’t, but today was another story.) This morning Layla and I went on our morning walk and then after work I took her on a 25-minute run and then I did a 20-minute yoga podcast off of iTunes. She did not participate in the yoga session because she’d rather fling her bones around and run up and down the stairs.

I finished my yoga with a chakra-meditation and I have to say that I am feeling quite energized. I’ve read a bit about balancing one’s chakras, but have never fully practiced it until now. Don’t worry; I’m not going to get too “woo-woo” as Blake would say. I’m just working on my meditation and spiritulaity practices.

Onto my recipe of the day. I created this salad because I love kale salads and wanted to make one with a cheesey flavor. Nutritional yeast is great for vegans or people like me who mostly avoid dairy products. Make sure that you actually massage the kale or it won’t taste as good!

Gluten-Free Vegan Cheesey Kale Salad

Serves 2-4

1 bunch kale (I don’t know the exact variety I used, but it was green and firm)

1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half

Dressing:

1/4 cup Veganaise (or organic mayo if you choose)

3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 Tablespoon filtered water

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (I always use Braggs brand)

1/4 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Chipolte blend

1/4 teaspoon coarse red sea salt

1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika

Wash and dry the kale leaves. Remove the tough stems from the kale. Slice the kale leaves into 1/4″ slices. Place them in a salad bowl.

To make the salad dressing: place all of your ingredients in your Magic Bullet, blender or food processor. Blend until well combined. Pour the salad dressing over the kale. Now, it’s time to roll up your sleves and get a little messy. Begin to massage the kale until it starts to lose some of it’s firmness (about a minute or two.) Add the shredded carrots and sliced tomatoes and toss. Refridgerate until ready to serve. This salad makes about two meal-sized salads or four side salads.

I have copied many of New Season’s Market’s salad recipes. Let’s see if I can get them to copy this one of mine ;)  And, I will end this post by showing that even healthy chefs like myself, will sometimes randomly throw items together and call it dinner. Tonight I enjoyed my cheesey kale salad with a brown rice tortilla filled with sliced turkey, Trader Joe’s masala lentil dip and whole seed mustard. Random, but tasty. Tip: I always heat my brown rice tortillas in a skillet before eating them because it gives them a softer texture than straight out of the bag.

Let me know if you try the salad out. I promise that it’s a keeper. Have a great day today!

Take care,

Kilee

Gluten-Free Vegan Mocha Ice Cream

Hey hey! How are you doing? I’m feeling just a little under the weather tonight, so I’m going to lay low the rest of the evening. Before heading to bed to read, I decided that I needed a sweet treat that was cold and did not involve driving to the nearest fro-yo shop. (We have 3 within a 1-mile radius.) My mind wandered back to last summer, when I made banana soft-serve just about every night. My banana soft serve is loosely based off of Averie’s. She always comes up with such good flavor combos!

Gluten-Free Vegan Mocha Ice Cream

Serves 1-2

1 cup cut-up frozen bananas

1/3 cup vanilla coconut milk (The kind sold in the refrigerated section nowadays. You might need more or less depending on the consistency that you desire)

2 Tablespoons raw cacao powder

1/2 of a Starbucks Via Decaf Italian Roast packet

Stevia to taste or your favorite sweetener

Put all of your ingredients into a high-powered blender. Slowly turn it to high speed for roughly 30 seconds. You may need to stop the blender and use a spoon to stir the bananas or use your tamper while blending. After the “ice cream” has fully blended, transfer it into a serving dish or two and place in the freezer for 5-10 minutes until it is the consistency that you prefer. You can pretend that you are at your favorite fro-yo shop and top it with fun toppings. I topped mine with some sweetened raw cacao nibs. Delish!

So, I’m going to call it a night. My friend lent me Mona Lisa Schultz’s, “The New Feminine Brain” and I can’t wait to start reading it.

Readers: Have you tried banana soft-serve before? What’s your favorite flavor?

Trader Joe’s Loot

Hi! I hope that you are thoroughly enjoying your week this week. I have to admit that I’ve been feeling pretty sleepy after last weekend. This afternoon at work I started to think about things that I really enjoy doing and make me feel like “me.” Cooking dinner came to mind. I’m not sure about your summer cooking regime, but mine includes throwing a salad together or heating up random ingredients in a skillet. Tonight was going to be different. I decided to find a recipe that looked tasty, go grocery shopping for the ingredients, put my comfy clothes on, pour a glass of red wine and cook a real meal.

Luckily, Megan at Healthy Hoggin posted a delicious sounding broccoli soup recipe here. I headed to Trader Joe’s with my shopping list in hand and loaded up the basket. I tend to always grab the little hand basket and about half-way through my shopping trip wish that I had taken a shopping cart instead! Here were all of my ingredients and impulse purchases:

Zico Chololate Coconut Water (my friend, Gina, raved about this and I have yet to try it,) Charles Shaw Cabernet Savonion, Organic Broccoli Slaw, Organic Broccoli Florets, Crunchy Curls Lentil & Potato Chips, Graprefruit, Lemon, Lime, Bananas, Orgainic Eggs, Cafe-free Egg Whites, Mix of Chopped Onion, Carrots & Celery, Hummus Dressing, Mandala Lentil Dip, Organic Blueberries, Organic Grape Tomatoes, Oragnic Greek Yogurt, Raw Goat’s Milk Cheddar, Nitrate-free Turkey Breast, Brown Rice Wraps (refridgerate these – mine started to mold when left out on the counter,) Greek Salad & most importantly, Layla’s bones.

Isn’t it fun to see what other people buy at the grocery store? My sister rolled her eyes as I took the photo of my Trader Joe’s loot. Okay, back to dinner. I followed Megan’s recipe as closely as I can follow a recipe (I like the bend the rules, alot) and it still turned out delicious.

My mug of soup was topped with a little freshly group white pepper, a pinch of Hawaiian Red Sea Salt and a drizzle of Organic Garlic Olive Oil. I added a side salad with my new hummus dressing. I urge you to try this healthy, brocolli soup recipe when you have about an hour’s time to cook dinnner.

Let’s take a little T.V. break. I DVR most of the shows that I watch, so I’m probably not caught up with you. But, here are the shows I’m loving this summer: The Voice (I’m not done, so don’t spoil who wins,) The Bachelorette (Ben’s my favorite) & The Kardashians (classic.) What are you favorite shows this summer?

Edited to show Layla’s contribution to dinner clean-up:

Healthy No-Bake Cookies

Happy “almost the weekend” day! I had a jam-packed day yesterday. Layla and I were up and on our run by 6:30 am. Then I worked all day, used a groupon to for a mani-pedi, stopped at Target for my last minute weekend trip necessities, made some dinner, packed my bags and made up a new recipe.

Sometimes I get asked how I come up with new recipes. There are three ways that I usually develop new recipes:

a. I obsessively search google images for the type of recipe that I want to make. I then choose the three recipes that look the best and morph them into my own new recipe.

b. A lot of the time I get inspired by a fellow blogger’s recipe, or one out of Bon Appetite or the Oregonian FoodDay section. Because I have a really hard time following a recipe, I usually make changes to it as I prepare the dish.

c. I get an urge to bake something sweet, look in the pantry at what I have on hand, mix something up and cross my fingers that it turns out.

They all sound so sophisticated and scientific, right? Not so much. Sometimes the recipes turn out, sometimes they go in the garbage. I have fun in the kitchen and that’s all that really counts. Which leads me to today’s kitchen experiment, No-Bake Cookies.

I needed to make some “easy to pack” cookies that did not involve the oven because it’s hot (85 degrees) in Portland today. For today’s new recipe I used all three methods mentioned above. First I googled “healthy no bake cookies” and came across Angela’s recipe. From there, I opened up my cupboard to see what I had to work with. This girl does not like driving to the store for baking ingredients, so I try to keep a well-stocked pantry. I’m pleased with how they turned out, but they aren’t perfect. Give me two more attempts and they will be. Third times a charm when it comes to my recipes.

Healthy No-Bake Cookies

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Makes 2 dozen cookies

1 cup gluten-free rolled oats

1 cup Enjoy Life Perkey’s Flax Crunch Cereal

1 cup trail mix

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Your choice: 2 Tablespoons chia seeds, 2 Tablespoons buckwheat, 2 Tablespoons raw sunflower seeds, 2 Tablespoons goji berries, etc.

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup almond butter

1 large banana, mashed

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch of espresso powder

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

In a medium saucepan, over low heat, melt the chocolate chips with almond butter, stirring occasionally.

Once the chocolate has melted, add the mashed banana, vanilla and espresso powder.

Pour the chocolate mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Drop by tablespoons onto the cookie sheet.

Place the cookies in the freezer for an hour or two. Enjoy them straight from the freezer or let them thaw for 20 minutes first.

Let me know if you try them. I want to play around with this recipe a little more.

I’ll be MIA this weekend. I’m headed to Black Butte to celebrate my friend’s bachelorette weekend. I’m super excited to go and spend time with my girl friends. I hope that you have a great weekend and don’t forget to enter my Purebar Giveaway!!!

Purebar Giveaway

Hi everyone! How was your 4th of July weekend? I hope that you had a fun and safe 4th and used some of my tips for staying healthy over the holiday weekend. I was a party-pooper this weekend. I worked Saturday and Sunday and by the time that I got home Sunday afternoon, I knew that I would be better off staying home and relaxing than battling the traffic to rush to the coast and then rush home for work Tuesday morning. So, I took a whole 24 hours to hang out with Layla.

There were lots of walks:

Hours spent on the couch watching the Cooking Channel, E! & Bravo:

And a little time spent doing chores around the house:

I did however, show my patriotism through my snacks yesterday:

I was chuckling to myself as I made my deviled eggs the other night because I was using Veganaise to make them. Has anyone seen the Eggies infomercial? It instantly made me crave deviled eggs!

With the 3 day weekend wrapping up and having to head back to work today, I thought that this would be the perfect day for a giveaway. A lovely friend of mine, who works with Purebar, was kind enough to send me a whole box of Purebars and Promax bars. I love how natural the ingredient list is:

All of the bars are gluten-free & vegan and half of them are certified organic. The two chocolate flavors are my favorite (surprize) and are such a welcomed treat for snacktime. She also sent two samples of the stevia-sweetenend Promax bar. I wish I could say that I was a fan of these bars, but they had a funny texture and taste. Have any of you tried them? What did you think?

That brings us to the giveaway. One lucky reader will receive this box of Purebars and Promax bars and a batch of healthy cookies baked by moi. All that you have to do is leave a comment in the comment box below and tell me what your favorite type of “bar” is. I will randomly select a winner on Sunday, July 10th at 9 p.m. Pacific time. Everyone may leave one comment entry below unless you want a bonus entry. You may submit bonus entries by:

(a) posting a link to the giveaway on your Facebook wall

(b) tweeting about the giveaway on your Twitter or

(c) sending out an email about the giveaway to at least 5 of your friends.

You may add one bonus entry per method mentioned above.

For those who have Twitter, I have recently joined. You can follow me here.

Have a great day and don’t forget to enter the Purebar giveaway!!!

4th of July Menu

Happy 4th of July Weekend! I hope that you are having a fabulous weekend so far. I started off my Friday with a 6 mile run after work and then headed to my friend, McKenzie’s house for a delicious gluten-free dinner. She made gluten-free pasta with grape tomatoes, broccoli and chicken sausage and served it with a spinach salad and some yummy wine. To top it all off, she baked strawberry shortcake with Pamela’s baking mix, fresh strawberries from the farm near her house and homemade whipped cream. It was an amazing, relaxing, fun and much-needed girlie evening. Love you Kenze!

This 4th of July, I will not be cooking or baking anything, but I have a little menu planned for what I would have made if I were to be hosting a party. Here’s what my party menu would include:

Spinach and Strawberry Salad by Whole Foods

Caramelized Onion Stuffed Turkey Burger with Guacamole, Fresh Spinach & Feta by Broke & Healthy

My Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Vegetarian Maple Baked Beans by GF-zing

Summer Berry Trifle by Unconventional Kitchen

Don’t all of these recipes sound delicious? I have a nice, fun-filled weekend planned. After I finish up with work tomorrow, I’m dropping Layla off at the doggie hotel and headed home to Gearhart, OR for the 4th. I’ll be following some of my tips while celebrating this patriotic holiday. I hope that you have a happy & safe 4th of July.

Reader: What are your plans for the weekend?

Summer Quinoa Salad

Hi! How is your week going so far? I have been happy knowing that at the end of this week, we get to celebrate the 4th of July with a 3-day weekend. Layla will be staying at a doggie hotel for two whole nights while I get a little break back at the coast.

(source: Portland Ground: Pictures of Portland Oregon)

I started getting back into running recently and have been having a blast running with my friend, Tonya. We started tonight’s trail run at Sellwood park. It got a little dangerous when we took a closed-off hazardous trail that included a dirt cliff and us hopping a fence and crossing some train tracks. We survived – haha!

I wanted to share a new salad recipe with you today. I will forever credit Jennie Brouse for introducing me to her quinoa salads. There were a a few quinoa salads that I had tried in the past, but nothing like hers. Today’s recipe is an adaptation of her classic quinoa salad.

Summer Quinoa Salad

I cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups water

1 cooked beet, chopped

1 cup raw zucchini, chopped

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup cooked corn kernals

1 cup fresh asparagus, cut into 1/2″ peices

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup fresh basil, sliced

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1. Soak the quinoa is hot water for 10 minutes. Drain in fine mesh sieve. Add the quinoa to two cups of boiling water in a medium size sauce pan. Cover and cook at a medium simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest with the cover for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let cool to room temperature.

2. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with the vinegar and olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for up to 5 days.

I love to pack this as a quick lunch or snack on a smaller portion of it. You can also substitute any of the ingredients with other types of vegetables. For example, I don’t really care for beets, but I try to make myself eat them because they are so healthy. If I’m really not feeling like beets, I would just use more zuchini in place of the beets. Or, if you prefer feta to goat cheese, go for it. The mixing and matching of ingredients is a fun way to make their salad your own!

My salads all packed up for the week.

I then pre-pack my salads for the week and I am ready to easily grab one from the fridge and take with to work each day. See how time-efficient you can be by doing your grocery shopping and meal prep on the weekends? I’m off to go play with Layla. She has been begging to play and chew on her bones.

Carrot Poppy Seed Salad

Hi! How is everything going today? We are just breezing through the week already. I had such a good time after work today. I met up with an old friend (who happens to be dating my cousin) and went for trail run over in SW Portland. If any of you are runners out there, you know how good an early summer run around 6pm feels. There were lots of hills and the scenery was straight out of the movie Twilight. For all you Twilight fans out there, Blake’s sister got married at The View Point Inn last summer. This was where Bella & Edward’s prom was filmed. Her wedding was absolutely beautiful!

Anyway, back to the kitchen! This past Sunday I prepped all of my salads and snacks for the week. It was so much fun to take all my fresh produce and create enough salads to last me through the work week. I even packaged them in individual container so that they would easy to grab on my way out the door in the morning.

Here’s the first one based off of a salad from the New Season’s deli case.

Carrot Poppy Seed Salad

2 cups shredded carrots (you can buy the bags of pre-shredded one or shred the carrots yourself)

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1/2 Tablespoon poppy seeds

Dressing:

3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice (or substitute lemon juice)

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon Penzey’s Sate seasoning (or 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt with a pinch of garlic powder)

1/2 teaspoon Mountain Rose Herb’s West Indes Rub (or 1/4 teaspoon powdered garlic, teaspoon black pepper, with a pinch of powdered ginger)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

In a small bowl or magic bullet, combine the lime juice, olive oil, spices and salt. Place the carrots, garbanzo beans and cilantro in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Sprinkle with the poppy seeds. You can store this is the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

I’m off to read the newest issue of “Whole Living” magazine. Does anyone else get that one? Have a great day!

Raw French Macarons

Hi! How did eveyone’s weekend go? Mine has been wonderful. I got to see most of my family Saturday afternoon for my cousin’s college graduation party. Congrats Alee!!! The party was hosted at Bluehour in the pearl district. Appetizers and drinks were served. I wasn’t very hungry, but my cousin said that the food was good.

I made Alee some raw french macarons as a present. I had some Living Intentions Raw Superflour blend to use up and I’ve had french macarons on my mind ever since my friend, Laura’s bridal shower. (More on that to come later this week.)

The "Real McCoy" French Macarons

So, I played around in the kitchen Friday afternoon. Here’s what I came up with:

Raw French Macarons

Makes about 18 macarons

2 1/2 cups unsweetened, dried coconut  (or) 1 cup jarred coconut butter

1 cup unsweetened, dried coconut

1 1/4 cups Living Intentions Sprouted Super Flour

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon coconut extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Filling:

1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil

3 Tablespoons agave nectar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch of sea salt

To make the cookies:

In a high powered blender, blend the 2 1/2 cups shredded coconut on low to medium speed until the consistency is that of coconut butter. Or, place your cup of jarred coconut butter in the blender. Add all of the remaining ingredients besides the filling to the blender. Blend on low to medium speed until all of the ingredients are well combined.

Roll the dough with a rolling pin until it is 3/8″ thick. Use a circular cookie cutter the size of a quarter to cut out the cookies. I used the cap to a vitamin jar and it worked perfectly. Transfer the cookies to your mesh-lined dehydrator tray. Dehydrate for about 18 hours; until the edges of the cookies are crisp.

To make the filling:

Using an electric blender and a chilled bowl, blend all of the filling ingredients at medium to high speed. Once the filling is fluffy, put it in a pastry bag or zip-lock bag. Chill in the refrigerator overnight.

To assemble the macarons:

Remove the filling from the refrigerator about two hours before you want to use it and allow it to come to room temperature. If you are somewhere very warm, you might want check the filling every half hour to make sure that it isn’t melting. If using a zip-lock bag, cut the tip off a bottom corner of the bag. Pipe about a teaspoon worth of filling onto a cookie. Top it with another cookie and gently press them together. Once you have filled the macarons, place them back in the refrigerator to set. Serve at room temperature. These should last for about a week in the fridge, but I honestly doubt that someone could just let them sit in there that long ;)

I tried one of these and it was delish! My sister and her friend both agreed, so I thought that I’d share them with you. I recommend using a Vita-mix blender and an Excalibur dehydrator for this recipe.

Gluten-Free Pizza Guide

Hi! Are you all feeling inspired after my inspiration board post? Today I wanted to share some of my favorite ways to satisfy a pizza craving while still avoiding gluten. As you might already know, pizza crust is made with wheat flour, which contains gluten. Sometimes I miss eating regular pizza, but like every other type of glutinous food craving that I get, I find a way to fulfill it.

Frozen Pizza

(source)

Luckily, we have many gluten-free pizza options. If I need a frozen pizza, Amy’s gluten-free pizzas have a rice flour crust and come in both dairy cheese and dairy-free cheese varieties. I especially like the spinach & tomato one.

I’m kind of ashamed to say that it’s the only brand of frozen pizza that I have tried, but most gluten-free pizzas are expensive and if I already know that I like Amy’s, why should I risk it?

Homemade Pizza

(source: glutenfreemommy.com)

Now, if you are feeling a little more gourmet and in the mood to make your own gluten-free pizza dough from scratch, Gluten-Free Mommy has a good recipe posted here.

(source: glutenhatesme.com)

Or, if you want to make a super-quick pizza, take a brown rice tortilla, spread some pizza sauce, sprinkle your favorite cheese (low-moisture mozzarella or mozzarella Daiya non-dairy cheese work well,) and load up on lots of vegetables (mushrooms, spinach, onion, olives, sweet potato slices, broccoli, etc.) Bake at 400º for 10-12 minutes or until the edges start to brown. Simple and satisfying!

(source)

Or, if you want to go completely vegetable crazy, remove the stems from whole portobello mushrooms. Coat the mushroom caps with a little olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme and balsamic vinegar. Pre-heat the oven to 350º. Place the mushroom caps with the gills-side down on a lightly oiled pan and bake for 15 minutes.Remove from the oven and turn the caps over and top with pizza sauce, veggies and cheese and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Eating Out

(source)

Sometimes you just want to go out for a slice of (or whole) pizza! If that’s the case, and you don’t know where to go, then google it. I usually just type in, “gluten-free pizza” plus whatever town I’m in. Up pops a list of pizzerias serving gluten-free pizza. If you happen to live in the Portland area, Bellagio’s has my favorite personal size gluten-free pizzas. Or, check out glutenfreeportland.org’s list of pizza spots around Portland.

More and more national pizza chains are starting to offer gluten-free crust. I know that Garlic Jim’s gluten-free pizzas are really popular.

If you are trying to watch your waistline while enjoying some pizza, here are three tips to slash some calories:

1. Avoid fattening meat toppings. Pepperoni, sausage and meatballs are loaded with extra fat and sodium.

2. Ask for half the cheese. Trust me, you will not even miss it. Then next time you order pizza, try it without any cheese and see how you like it. Well, this may be taking a little too much of the fun out of pizza, but it’s a great option for vegans and people with a dairy-intollerance.

3. Have 1 slice of pizza along with a large green salad. This way, you get to enjoy some pizza and fill up your stomach with lots of fresh vegetables. Just be sure not to drown your salad in creamy dressing. Try to add a little vinaigrette instead.

If none of there pizza options are available to you, here is another pizza-flavored meal that I love, pizza salad. I made this the other night when I went to grab a brown rice tortilla and it was moldy – eww!

Pizza Salad

2 cups mixed greens

1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato

5 Kalamata olives, sliced

1/4 cup sliced mushrooms (baby bellas work great)

2 tablespoons grated cheese (parmesan, pecorino romano, mozzarella, etc.)

1/4 cup pizza sauce

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 fresh basil leaves, sliced

sea salt and pepper to taste

Combine all of the ingredients in a large salad bowl. Toss and serve. This seriously satisfied my pizza craving the other night!

I hope that these gluten-free pizza tips with help you find a new way to indulge your pizza cravings. Does anyone have any amazing gluten-free pizza suggestions? I’m all ears :)

Wednesday Meals

Hi! How is your day going so far? Mine has been wonderful; partly because I realized we were already half way through the week. Gotta love Monday holidays! I thought that it might be fun to show you my meals today because I just happen to have my camera sitting on the kitchen table all day. These are all one-dish meals that I threw together in 15 minutes or less.

Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito Scramble

I cooked organic scrambled eggs, cut-up brown rice tortilla, veggies with Mexican blend Mrs. Dash and topped it with some pico de gallo. A very healthy and filling way to start my day!

Lunch: Salad

Arugula and mixed greens with chickpeas and my new tahini-lemon dressing recipe.

Dinner: Orange Chicken Stir-Fry

Organic chicken breast with veggies and a little oriental orange sauce that I mixed up.

I spent a total of less than an hour in the kitchen today and enjoyed three homemade meals. As you can see, eating healthy, gluten-free meals can be easy, quick and oh so good!

Tonight I want to feature some of my favorite websites that inspire me to be my best each day. I think that I’ve mentioned some of these in the past, but they are each so fabulous, that I want to remind everyone to check them out!

The Daily Love

I subscribe to their daily newsletter and it truly is one of the best parts of my day. Mastin Kipp writes amazing and inspirational advice and I love the quotes section of the newsletter. This is one to check out a.s.a.p. and sign up for the daily newseltter. I promise that it will add joy and happiness to your day!

Tone It Up

These are my favorite celebrity trainers! I wish that I could work out with them everyday. Karena and Katrina are so positive and fun to listen to. They have awesome workout videos that are set on the California beach. One day, I’m going to go visit their studio and work out with the ToneItUp team!

I Heart Wellness

Kris Britton has a lovely blog dedicated to allergy-free recipes and inspiration to follow your passion. She is always coming up with new yummy, allergy-free recipes. She also offers a lot of advice for following your passion and living your dream. And, she sells her gluten-free cookies on Etsy. She is one busy girl!

What are some of your favorite websites? I’d love to hear what ones you check out regularly. I’m off to clean up the house for a little get-together that we’re hosting tomorrow night. Have a great evening!

How to Make a Recipe Gluten-Free

Layla joined me on a fun little nature hike this weekend

It was so "Twilight-esque"

Hi! I hope that you had a chance to relax and kick back a little this past weekend. Having one extra day to finish up the weekend to-do list, lounge around and get out and enjoy the semi-nice weather was great! More importantly, I want to give thanks to the veterans, soldiers and their amazing families. I am humbly grateful for your service and sacrifice.

As you know, I love to cook and am constantly browsing through cookbooks, Bon Appetite and food blogs looking for new recipes to try. Often times, a recipe that looks delicious contains gluten. There are a few quick and easy ingredient swaps that I use the first time that I try a new recipe. Sometimes the recipe turns out fantastic, other times it needs a little more work. Here are some of my go-to ways to turn a glutinous recipe into a gluten-free one.

How to Make a Recipe Gluten-Free

1. Flour - If a sauce or soup call for a little flour, I’ll substitute half the amount called for with corn starch. If it’s a major ingredient in the recipe (muffin or cookie) I’ll use my favorite brand of gluten-free flour, Better Batter. Another blend that I mix myself is:  1 ¼ cup brown rice flour, 1 ¼ cup white rice flour, 1 cup sweet rice flour, 1 cup tapioca flour, 2 teaspoon xantham gum.

2. Pasta – This is an easy one! Tinkyada brand brown rice pasta comes a variety of pasta shapes. The brown rice pasta from Trader Joe’s is excellent too. I have a feeling that it’s actually the Tinkyada one repackaged ;) Play around with the cooking times because I find that gluten-free pasta takes a little longer to cook than regular pasta.

3. Bread Crumbs – There are gluten-free bread crumbs available for purchase, but I have never bought them before. I like to crush either corn flakes or gluten-free crackers in a zip-loc bag with a rolling pin.

4. Soy Sauce – Regular soy sauce contains wheat. My favorite substitute is wheat-free tamari. Tamari is also made from fermented soybeans and tastes very similar to soy sauce. Always start with less tamari than the amount of soy sauce that is called for. You can always add more if you need to.

These are some of my regular ingredient swaps. Sometimes I have to get a little more creative than others, but it’s always fun to try new recipes out! Let me know some of your favorite ways to make a recipe gluten-free?

Go Gluten-Free Guide

Happy Memorial Day! I am very pleased to announce my new gluten-free program that I am offering my readers:

Go Gluten-Free Guide

After spending the last three and a half years trying out gluten-free foods, creating delicious gluten-free recipes and learning all about hidden sources of gluten, I have prepared a full guide completely devoted to transitioning into a gluten-free lifestyle. This program gives you the tools that you need to painlessly and deliciously eat gluten-free without missing all of the foods that you used to eat.

I have prepared a list of foods that are naturally gluten-free and a list of foods to avoid at all costs. I typed up a gluten-free grocery shopping list, meal ideas and included some of my favorite gluten-free recipes. Because I want to personally help you make this transition as easy as possible, the program includes a (50-min) phone consultation to address your gluten-free needs and email correspondence for questions that arise on your program. As a bonus, I am including a complimentary restaurant ordering guide that will help you avoid gluten while you are eating out.

Please feel free to check out the program details here and ask any questions using the comment box.

Have a great weekend and I’ll be back with more gluten-free posts later tomorrow.

Take care, Kilee