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Cocoa-Nut Bananas

Team - Here is a new, fun, and healthy way to eat a banana.  It's fun for get-togethers too!

How was your week? I hope it was productive and healthy.  I had five great classes this week, two personal workouts, and two more tomorrow.  Fitness is fun, try it!

All of that exercise will make you hungry, right? Well I needed a snack today and thought I would create some Cocoa-Nut Banana bites. Easy, healthy, and quick...just the way a recipe should be.

1.  Grab your ingrediants

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds

Team - This is roasting pumpkin seeds made easy! I apologize this week has had a limited amount of posts, but my life has been extremely busy. Bad or good, I still find the time to exercise.  A big thanks to Tara, Vicky, and Alyson for giving me some motivation on my Facebook Page. I appreciate your feedback!

Let me begin by saying Happy Halloween. Halloween is the start to a wonderful season.  October starts colder weather, beautiful leaves changing, and the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg all throughout the house.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Team - Happy Happy Happy Friday! I cannot say it enough.  I love the weekend!

Picture this:  You get home from a busy workday, fix dinner, eat it up and sit down to catch up on some television. After a few hours your stomach starts talking. You realize that you're still hungry.  You don't have leftovers and you don't feel like cooking again. 

Solution: I have it! Peanut Butter Banana Bread - It only takes a few ingredients and the peanut butter is extra filling and the perfect snack.

1.  Grab your ingredients:

• Bread
• Peanut Butter
• Banana
• Honey



2.  Slice up the bananas and toast the bread.

3.  Smear the peanut butter on the bread and place the bananas on top of the toast

4.  Drizzle honey on top and enjoy!





Healthy Halloween Treats

Team - Try this Healthy Halloween treat this year for your kids or a Halloween Party with your friends or family.  It's simple and actually looks really cool!

High Protein Salad

Hi Team - Happy Friday! I hope all of you had a healthy week.

Today's recipe is a healthy, easy to make, high protein salad.  This salad is complete in minutes, but don't be mistaken...it's delicious.

Fruit Salad with Honey

Hi Team - Happy Friday! It has been a busy week.  I've been here, there and everywhere. (everywhere was my favorite)

It's finally cooling down here in Cincinnati and I've decided that the weather change means I have to exercise more to stay warm. I know the winter tradition is to pack on the pounds, but today's simple and easy recipe will do everything but that!

1.  Gather your ingredients:

A Banana
Black Raspberries
Raspberries
An Apple
Natural Honey (Thanks Dad!)

But as usual, feel free add or take away your favorite fruits.

2.  Add the black raspberries to your bowl

3.  Slice an apple and put along the sides

4.  Grab the banana and slice it up - place them in the middle

5.  Add the raspberries and get out the honey - the honey gives it a nice sweet touch

6.  Yum! Add 2 tablespoons of honey (or more) and enjoy!

If you're substituting fruits, make sure it's a fruit for a fruit.  I intentionally did not include a dip for this recipe because most of them are unhealthy.  Honey is a natural sweetener, this is a healthy choice substitution in place of any dip that would compliment a bowl of fruit.

It's a journey; it's about taking one step at a time to reach your goals.

Cake Cookies - My Cheat Food

Team - Finally, it's here! My favorite cheat meal.  Not only is this my favorite cheat food, it's the easiest cookie recipe to make.  I talk about fitness and health on an everyday basis, but I'm still very human and sometimes I splurge.  Today's recipe features Lactose Free Cake Cookies.

This recipe is great when you commit to bringing a dessert to a party or work because you only need a few things.  I am lactose intolerant, so much of my recipes will have no dairy in the ingrediants. So let's get started!

1.  Gather your ingrediants:

• A box of Cake Mix - I picked Naturall Nora's Cake Mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup of Oil



2. Put the oil, eggs and cake mix in a mixing bowl

3.  Mix these ingrediants together and preheat the oven to 325 degrees

4.  Seperate the mixture into 1 inch balls and space out on cookie sheet

5. Place in the oven for 10-12 minutes or...

Until Golden Brown and cracking on top



6.  Move the cookes to a cooling rack or a flat surface (before)

7.  If you like, put some icing on them and enjoy!

They're always a crowd favorite! Try them out for yourself. 

What is your favorite cheat food? Comment and Share!



Easy and Healthy Recipe - Eggs Ole

Team - Happy Friday! I'm feeling another late night snack. This is what I chow down on sometimes when I get lazy and do not want to cook something.

1. Gather your ingrediants

• Guacomole (click to find out how I make Guac)
• Salsa
• Pita Chips
• 2 whole eggs

2.  Crack your eggs and put them in a greased skillet





3.  Break up the yolks

4.  Cook on medium high for 90 seconds or until fully cooked.  Transfer to a plate and add guac, salsa, and chips.

I personally think anything with Guac is amazing.  My mother would make this for my brother and I growing up and I recently came across the recipe on one of my favorite fitness sites and I thought I would share with all of you! Enjoy and see ya soon for your weekend workout.





Easy and Healthy Recipe - Vanilla Almond Oatmeal

Team - The USDA recommends eating at least 3 servings of whole grain each day.  A healthy oatmeal breakfast is a great way to start the day.  Oatmeal is a good source of fiber, maintains blood sugar levels and helps to satisfies your appetite.

This oatmeal recipe is a little sweet, but the nutmeg gives it a little bit of spice.  Yum!

1.  Gather your ingredients:

Serving Size: 2

2 cups of Oats
3 1/2 cups of Water
1/2 cup of Raisins
1/2 cup of Almonds
1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup of Milk (Almond if you're Lactose Intolerant)
Nutmeg (to taste)
Brown Sugar (to taste)
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon  

2.  Pour your water (3 1/2 cups) in a medium saucepan and bring to boil

3.  Put your Oats and Raisins in a prep bowl and add to the boiling water

4.  Immediately turn the stovetop to Low and stir occasionally, 5 minutes total.

5.  Add the Ground Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Brown Sugar to your Oatmeal.

6.  Spoon the Oatmeal into the bowl and add Milk (1/4 cup). Stir!

7.  Garnish with almond slices and enjoy!

It's simple, healthy and the right option to start your day. 

Source:  Dietary Guidelines

Quick and Healthy Snacks - Chicken Pretzel Roll Up

Hi Team - This recipe combines some salt and spice together for the perfect snack.  We've all ask ourselves this question a couple hours after lunch or dinner:  "I kind of hungry and need a bite to eat, but I want it to be healthy, what should I fix?" I have the perfect solution for you!

This same scenario happens to me all the time!  My schedule is as follows - breakfast, work, lunch, work out or teach, protein shake, come home, eat dinner - I am usually looking in the refrigerator for a quick snack a few hours after dinner.  Today's recipe usually fills me up and I never feel bad for eating a few of these quick and healthy snacks.

Prep Time: 1 minute
Time to fix: 3 minutes

1.  First, gather your ingredients.

Honey Wheat Pretzel Sticks (low sodium)
Spicy Mustard (if you have sensitive taste buds, use honey mustard)
Chicken Breast (sliced thin, not shredded)

2.  Lay one piece of your Chicken Breast on a plate

  3.  Put honey or spicy mustard in the middle of the Chicken Breast - something like the below picture ; - )

4.  Fold the slice of Chicken Breast over, cut into two pieces (or in half) and place a Honey Wheat Pretzel Stick at each end.

5.  Roll and repeat and repeat (and repeat) until you've reached your desired amount.

Yum! The pretzels have a little salt, the mustard is the spice and the meat helps fill my cravings.  Very quick, easy and healthy. Comment and let me know what else you eat as a snack?

Easy and Healthy Recipe - Chicken Pad Thai Wrap

Team - Diet, exercise and rest are important to your health.  I have a continuous battle with two out of the three.  I have a passion for working out and reaching my fitness goals - that is not a problem.  The problem is not having enough hours in the day.  I always make sure to get at least 6 hours of sleep, but sometimes I need more.  Lastly, my diet is good, but could always improve.  The problem is fast food and "bad" food tasting so very good. A busy schedule also adds to this problem.  This is why I like to find easy ways to live a healthier lifestyle. 

This Chicken Pad Thai Wrap recipe is simple and healthy.  All of my recipes will be made with common ingredients that you can find in your local grocery store or you will already have in the refrigerator. 

Easy and Healthy Chicken Pad Thai Wrap

• Thinly Sliced Chicken Breasts
• 1/2 Cup of Peanut Butter - Crunchy
• 1/2 Cup of Pad Thai Sauce
• Green Onions
• Lettuce
• Tortillas

1. Gather your ingredients

2.  Open your Chicken Breasts and start cooking the chicken - feel free to cut the breasts into thinner pieces for your wraps.

A quick trick:  Grab your head of lettuce and hit the core on a hard surface.

Simply pull out the core to make the chopping process a breeze! Thanks Kelly!

3. Chop up your Green Onions - don't cry!

4. Measure out a half of cup of Crunchy Peanut Butter - remember to check your Chicken Breasts.

5.  Measure out a half of cup of your Pad Thai Sauce.

6.  Mix the Green Onions, Peanut Butter and Pad Thai Sauce in a mixing bowl

7.  Your Chicken Breasts should be about done - make sure you continuously turn them to cook evenly.

8.  Spread your sauce mixture evenly on a Tortilla and microwave for 15-25 seconds.

9.  Put your Chicken Breasts on the tortilla - the microwave helps soften the tortilla and melt the Peanut Butter, you will not believe how good this tastes!

10.  Garnish your wrap with some veggies - I just picked Lettuce

11.  Fold the tortilla over both of the "pointy" sides of the chicken and then roll up.  Put it on a decorative plate, add a side and enjoy this Simple and Healthy Meal.

Can you believe it? It only a few minutes to fix, ,there is usually leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day and is crazy easy to make the best Chicken Pad Thai Wraps.

What did you think? I would love to know - Look for your Weekend Workout soon!

Lactose Free Smoothie - Berry Blast!

Team - It has been a great week! The best way to end a great week is with a fresh fruit, lactose free, smoothie.  Today I canoed for 6 miles in Morrow, Ohio. I love making exercising fun!  It was a perfect day to be outside.  After canoeing, I came back and ran some steps of downtown Cincinnati with a friend.   We decided to stop on the way down and complete a quick TRX workout.  Be sure to check out my TRX 10 Minute Beginner Workout if you're not familiar with Suspension Training.

To sum up my day, I was sweating in the sun all day.  It was a blast, but draining.  I opted out of a protein shake when I got home, but opted in for a Berry Blast (lactose free) smoothie. This total berry combination was the right thing to replenish the nutrients I lost. 

Lactose Free Smoothie - Berry Blast

1. Gather your ingredients:

• Half of a Banana
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Lactose Milk - I chose Almond Breeze (40 calories/serving)
• Apple Juice - I chose Mott's for Kids - (40% less sugar than regular Apple Juice)

You'll also need measuring cup, regular drinking cup and a blender.



 2.  Have your cup and blender close

3.  Pour 1/2 cup of your Apple Juice and Lactose Free Milk into your cup.

4.  Add a handful of all of your berries and 1/2 of a banana. Slice up your banana before adding it and it'll be easier to blend.  Do you like blueberries more than strawberries?  Add more of your favorite berry.

5.  Almost there, looks very patriotic.  Get excited!

6.  Just like Maggie, blend all of the ingredients together.

7.  Lastly, add a strawberry and a straw.  You're ready! Take a sip and enjoy...

If you're having guests over, and have time, premake this drink and place in the refrigerator to chill.

Let me know how you ended your week. Did you end it with a smoothie, dinner with a good friend or some rest?