Pursuit of Paleo - Day #1

Today, two parts of my life changed

1. I completed my Bachelors degree from UW-Madison and have officially moved back home to Illinois. YAY! I could not be more thrilled to continue my education on Digital Marketing & Analytics and see what life has in store next :)

2. My partner and I have decided to take on the challenge of embracing the "caveman's diet" aka. make our greatest attempt to live a paleo lifestyle.

We set the date of May 17th to begin our lifestyle change for a few reasons. If your going to change one thing, might as well change two? Haha jk. But in actuality, being home has much less distractions, temptations, and "but I only have one week left" excuses, than being away at college. Don't get me wrong, i LOVE college, but it is not exactly the easiest place to say no to margaritas and burrito bowls. NOT TO MENTION, WISCONSIN is not the easiest place to say no to CHEESE! 

This also gave us time to perform some research on the Vegan/Vegetarian/Keto/IIFYM vs Paleo, the history and purpose of a paleo lifestyle, and the logistics of what to do and what NOT to do. We also had the pleasure of witnessing incredible transformations and listening to stories about friend's triumphs, tips and tricks. With this knowledge under our belt, we have gained an immense amount of motivation and determination. We don't expect to know every single rule and create a flawless lifestyle. Mess-ups and cheat meals are bound to happen, we are humans, but we are eager to give it our best shot! 

TODAYS MEALS:

Breakfast: eggs, spinach, broccoli // cantaloupe, pineapple, grapes // sausage patty

Lunch: turkey // broccoli, cauliflower, carrots // pineapple, cantaloupe, melon - Tea

Snacks: Brazil nuts & sunflower seeds & pecans

Dinner: (PICTURED) 
Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad
 lettuce, dried cranberries, pecans, and chicken with Balsamic Vinegar

Peanut Butter Protein Snack!

  

I made this recipe to bring to James and I's 

table recruiting for our 

BENCH-A-THON event that we are putting on

 sponsored by BodyBuilding.Com

RECIPE: 

REACTIONS

  

Roomie LOVED it-

Strangers LOVED it-

APPLE PUMPKIN MUFFINS & Baking Substitutes

APPLE PUMPKIN 

MUFFINS

from BodyBuilding.Com

(Not all are shown in this picture! ^^ )

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Canned Pumpkin

1/3C Unsweeted Applesauce

1 diced apple

1/2C Plain yogurt

3 egg whites

1C Oats

3/4C Almond Flour

1/4C Vanilla Protein Powder

1C Splenda

1tsp Baking Sode

1/4 tsp salt

1.5tsp Cinnamon

1/2tsp Pumpkin Spice

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Combine all ingredients into processor 

3. Pour mixture into tins

4. Bake for 15-20 minutes

5. Allow to cool

6. SERVE! 

7. Surprise and IMPRESS your roommates :)

BAKING SUBSTITUTES 

INCLUDED IN THIS RECIPE

I love baking substitutes, cause then

 I don't feel bad about eating 2..or 3

…or the whole batch

Applesauce INSTEAD OF Oil

Almond Flour INSTEAD OF All-Purpose Flour

Splenda INSTEAD OF Sugar

Yogurt INSTEAD OF Oil

FOR MORE PUMPKIN

RECIPES VISIT HERE HERE HERE

Taco Pizza on Cauliflower Crust & Baked Sweet Potato

I have overcome many obstacles with

this so called "cauliflower crust", it sure

has given me a run for my money

BUT i am convinced that BodyBuilding.Com

has helped me perfect this masterpiece : ) 

TACO PIZZA

on BodyBuilding.Com Cauliflower Crust

INGREDIENTS: 

( ^ ^ Chopped up Cauliflower in food processor)

(for directions and full recipe

click here here here ! )

Even put the boyfriend to work!!

(after mixing all ingredients, shape into crust

on baking sheet ^ )

(Bake for 20min, before placing toppings ^ )

Taco Ingredients

- Salsa

-Ground Turkey-

- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese Stick

- Spinach

- Corn

- Avocado

If you're looking for a recipe 

that'll make you lick the plate clean...

(like this guy ^^^  )

Find the FULL RECIPE

 HERE HERE HERE !

FOR THE SIDE

we re-created  

BodyBuilding.Com CINNAMON

and BROWN SUGAR sweet potato chips!!

WHY EAT SWEET POTATOES!?

- BEST GO-TO CARB CHOICE

- Antioxidants

- Vitamin A

- Anti Inflammatory

- Vitamin C

- Blood Sugar Regulation

For MORE unique

ways to use Sweet Potatoes

CLICK HERE!

Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Chips

Were you asked to bring a dish 

to a get together!? 

Think no more,

 BODYBUILDING.COM 

has provided

TONS of healthy and easy 

recipes to take along with you,

like this one…

Fruit Salsa

& Cinnamon Chips

INGREDIENTS

Fruit 

( I used 1 mango, 1 apple,

2 bananas, 1/2c unsweetend strawberries

& 1/2c unsweetend blueberries)

2tbsp Splenda

1tbs Brown Sugar

3tbsp Sugar-Free fruit spread

2tbsp Orange Juice

10 Whole Wheat Tortilla Shells

Cooking Spray

2tbsp Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, mix together fruit

2. Stir together Splenda, Brown sugar, sugar-free fruit spread

and orange juice

3. Pour this over fruit and toss until covered

4. Place in the fridge for at least 15 minutes

DIRECTIONS for CHIPS

1. Coat one side of each tortilla with cooking spray

and use pizza cutter to slice tortilla into strips

2. Lay strips on a baking sheet

3. Sprinkle with cinnamon and spray with  

cooking spray one more time

4. Back for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees F 

(or until brown)

LAST BUT NOT LEAST

sit back and watch friends

devour all of it (:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE CROWD PLEASING RECIPES!!

PB2 COOKIES

PB2 COOKIES

+ an extra clip of my roommates reactions !

 INGREDIENTS

1/2 Cup Oat Flour

1/2 Cup PB2 (or Chocolate PB2)

1/4 Cup Unsweetened Applesauce

1/3 Cup Vanilla Protein Powder

1/2tsp baking soda

non-stick spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. dry ingredients into zee bowl

3. mix egg & applesauce

4. combine dry and wet ingredients

5. spray baking sheet & shape to form cookies

6. Bake for 8-10 minutes

FOR MORE

Delicious & Nutritious Recipes

VISIT:

 www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbmainnut.htm

AND… the moment you've all been waiting for, not only do I

get my roommate's reactions but I also make them guess

what is in them :)

(they know me so well)

                   

Sage Garlic Baked Chicken

So i acquired some Fresh Sage leaves, roasted garlic, and a tub of feta cheese crumbs. So of course I had to think of a way to use all three at once, cause obviously I had a taste for all of them!

Soo…. I had two options stuffed chicken or baked chicken. And might I add, I am not

disappointed with my choice whatsoever, and you won't be either!

This is quite possibly the most delicious chicken I have created so far : )

I am PROUD, to say the least. 

Ingredients

Chicken

Fresh Sage leaves

Roasted Garlic Cloves

Olive Oil

Feta Cheese

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350

2. In a mini food processor, process sage leaves, garlic cloves and olive oil

3. Pound chicken flat with a meat mallet

4. Top chicken with the sage and garlic mixture

5. Sprinkle feta cheese atop 

6. Bake for 30 minutes 

I cooked some asparagus and grilled cauliflower to

have a long side! 

ALSO:

TIP OF THE WEEK

If you have fresh dill, once it goes bad its sort of gross looking BUT...

DONT FRET & DONT THROW IT AWAY

throw that stuff in a dehydrator until its hardened, chop it up

and store it/use it just like any other dried seasoning : )

Black Bean Burger Patty

HAPPY SUMMER TIME : )

I have had the biggest taste for a black bean or falafel patty lately. 

So I finally decided to stop being lazy and create possibly THE most simple and easiest 

black bean burger in the entire world. 

I pretty much just threw stuff together with whatever I had. 

Most people would season with oregano, chili powder, onions, yada yada

but i didn't have any of that so, shout out to substitutions : )

INGREDIENTS:

1 Slice Toast

1can Black Beans

1 Egg White

2tsp Minced Garlic

Seasonings

2tsp Coconut Oil

(told you it was simple)

Directions: 

1. Take your slice of toast and process it

until its in breadcrumb form

2. Process black beans and seasonings

3. Add in breadcrumbs and egg whites

4. Pulse, pulse, pulse that processor

4. Heat coconut oil on skillet

5. Form 4 patties out of black bean mixture

6. Fry baby fry.

I put mine on a bed of lettuce and slice of cheese 

with some ketchup!

We All Eat &

 It Would Be a Sad Waste of

Opportunity to Eat Badly

- Anna Thomas

Breaded Chicken

Alright.. everyone gets cravings for bad fried greasy food

.. am i right? Thought so.

Well, this unbearable craving of greasy fried goodness occurred to me the other night..

AND THEN

 the easiest, lightest, bestest breading was born.

I don't recall ever seeing this done before, but it very well may have been.

Until I see someone else with this idea, I am taking all the credit

for how extremely BRILLLLLLIANT it is :)

INGREDIENTS

1 Rice Cake

Seasoning of your choose

( I used Mrs. Dash Garlic )

Chicken

Egg Whites

Breading Directions:

Place Rice Cake and Seasoning in food processor

Process until finely chopped and mixed!

Directions

1. Dip chicken into egg white

2. Cover with breading

3. Place on skillet with Coconut Oil

4. I placed mine a top some Carba-Nada Egg Fettuccine Noodles

I'm telling you guys, this breading is no joke.

 It's super light, low calorie, and will leave you feeling guilt-free! 

( 1 rice cake is only 35 calories )

( PS. watch the chicken, it tends to burn quickly…clearly :], oops. )

You won't regret it, you're welcome :)

Mexican Spring Roll

 Had a taste for something with salsa and beans…. 

anddd the Mexican Spring Roll was created!

Whatcha need, what whatchaaa need!?

Ingredients:

1.5oz Chicken

1/8c Salsa

1/8c Black beans

1/8c Plain Yogurt (used as sour cream replacement)

1/2 Avocado

1 Spring Roll Wrapper

How to get shredded chicken: 

1. Boil 1 chicken breast

2. Once cooked all the way through, transfer to cutting board

3. Use a fork to shred chicken 

Directions

So there's not much to it.

1. Get the ingredients you'd like to place in your spring roll

2. Drench the spring roll wrapper in water, then transfer wrapper to rolling surface

3. Place ingredients on paper, and roll er' up! 

Disfrutar! 

(aka. Enjoy!)

Apartment Sweet Apartment

WE HAVE INTERNET, freaking finally. 

I have been wanting to blog about the little decorations I put together for the new apartment over summer, but figured i'd wait till they were all finished and put together.

I told you guys earlier that I got a little Goodwill/Garage Sale happy...so here are the final masterpiece how-to's :) 

PICTURE FRAME COLLAGE 

Yes, this is set up on the Goodwill floor. 

Each of these frames cost me $1 and the middle costed $3 .. sooo $12 for 10 frames? 

BARGAIN. 

And yes they're from Goodwill, let the haters hate. Cause once it's all put together

no one would even know.

After I purchased the frames, I went to Walmart and found a teal spray paint and a black chalk spray paint. Using the teal spray paint, I went over all of the frames to get rid of the horrid colors they once were (to later match the color scheme of my new room).

With the spray chalk paint, I made a chalk board using the big frame in the middle

( Spray a piece of ply wood,

 big enough to replace the glass in the frame)

Final Product! 

Here is the finished masterpiece how it is now!

 6 pictures, 3 square mirrors and a chalk board

These are some other decor items I purchased from Goodwill.

The tree statute was featured in a previous post, using little paper flowers

to fix up a plain piece. 

Once we get some flowers (from the many men in our lives...) we will fill

the teal vase (; 

Wine glasses also add a cute touch when turned upside down topped with a tea-lite candle.