Sprint 2 the Table

Appetites and Adventures

Weekend Update + WIAW

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I get behind in my over-sharing.

Thank god for Instagram!

There has been a lot going on lately that I’ve just run out of time to blog about!  Hump Day seems the perfect time for a download.

I’ve been getting some good runs in (between all the summer storms).  This is taken on the GA Tech campus.  Saturday marked 5 years since my dad died.  Without intention, I found myself heading to his alma mater for a run.

It was nice to run by all the places we used to walk past on game days and relive some of my own memories from grad school.  The rain didn’t hold off for long – about 5 mins after I took this pic the sky turned black and it started pouring.

GA Tech

Sunday I met some of my favorite Atlanta bloggers for lunch at Dough Bakery, my favorite local vegan spot.  That’s (very pregnant) Alayna, Tina, Lee, me, and Heather.  Heather is former Atlanta blogger… she left us for Colorado. 😛

I always have so much fun with these ladies.  We talked and ate for a long time before I had to run back home to get ready for dinner.  That’s right  – I said run.  I ran a total of 6.65 miles there and back thanks to Atlanta’s new Beltline trail!  I’m lucky my friends would be seen with me sweaty and dressed like a bum.

Atlanta Bloggers

The dinner I was running home to was at one of Atlanta’s best new restaurants: King + Duke.  I’m too lazy to write  full review, but let me just say… if you are in ATL or are coming to visit make a reservation.  So.  Good.

Their wine program is excellent, which you know makes me happy, and the food is even better.  Don’t skip the roasted beet and carrots with feta and harissa, the roasted bone marrow with smoked mushrooms, blackberries, and short rib marmalade, and the “Dates & Ale” (a fantastic sticky toffee pudding with Sweetwater IPA cream).

Marrow at King + Duke ATL

Meat butter

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This WIAW was less indulgent than this weekend.  Thank god.  I love going out to eat, but whoa.  I was dragging on Monday after eating half my meals out over the weekend.  I jumped back on the healthy eating train with reckless abandon.

WIAWbutton

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s delicious days.

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Breakfast:

My morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) was of course the start to my day.

If you follow me on Instagram you saw that I have a mini crisis: my air conditioning quit working.  I live in the South.  It is HOT.  I was really glad I thought ahead and made a nice, cool breakfast: overnight oats!

This bowl is a little different because I combined a few protein sources.  The oats, cottage cheese, and protein powder made for the most deliciously creamy bowl of cheesecake-like oats I’ve ever had!

Blueberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats

Blueberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats

  • 1/4 C oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill GF)
  • 1/4 C cottage cheese
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder
  • 1 T peanut flour
  • 1 tsp chia seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Blueberries
  • Stevia, to taste
  • 1/2 C almond milk (or other liquid)

Combine everything in a bowl, cover, and place in fridge overnight.

Remove from fridge in morning.  You may need to add additional liquid, especially if you choose to heat it.

Top as desired and enjoy!

Note: I order my peanut flour from iHerb – I like it better than PB2 because it is less processed and doesn’t have the added sugar and sodium.  Use my discount code – USO924 – for $5-10 off your order!

Mid-Morning Snack:

I love making random mixes with no salt deli turkey.  Often I do fruit, but today I had some celery to use up.  I broke up the turkey and mixed it with nutritional yeast, cayenne, pepper, herbs de provence, and apple cider vinegar.  Then I chopped up my celery (and some of the celery leaves) and stirred that in.

Deli turkey salad

Lunch:

I’m getting low on groceries, so I had to bust out the emergency veggie burger.  If you’re going to eat frozen food, the Lightlife burgers are pretty tasty.

Eaten with spinach salad, celery, kabocha, and a quick dressing made from spinach hummus, apple cider vinegar, cumin, and red pepper flakes.  Yes, I spent time “plating” this at work.  People stared.

Lightlife veggie burger salad

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

This was fancy-looking, but I’d made it the day before.  Baked swordfish in a foil pocket with veggies and Indian spices.  It was fast and the clean up was easy – just throw away the foil!

I posted the recipe here on Facebook if you’re interested.

Indian Baked Swordfish

Dinner:

Did I mention my A/C is broken?  It was 85 degrees and humid in my condo.  I couldn’t think of a single thing to eat for dinner because I was SO hot.  So I got creative.

Egg pizza.  The idea was to cook the egg in a big pan so it would be thin like a pizza crust, then top it and finish in the oven under the broiler.  It would have been perfect had a greased the middle of the pan a little better.  It stuck.  No worries… I just ate it out of the pan.  Less dishes to wash!

egg pizza

My toppings: broccolini, edamame, tomato, spinach, and ricotta salata.  It was really good!  Will try it again, this time properly greased to get onto a plate.

Midnight Snack:

I ate some snacks at my mom’s… she made a quiche and had these yummy chocolate-salted nut things from Trader Joes… but it was just bites and when I got home I still needed a little something.

Despite the heat, I wanted cake (when do I NOT want cake?).  I made my favorite 150 Calorie Chocolate Microwave Cake, topped it with a peanut flour “icing,” and served it with a side of cookies and cream Arctic Zero.  And a little Stevia-sweetened Smuckers strawberry jam… it went really well with the peanut butter icing!

150 calorie chocolate cake

***

In less than I week I turn 30.  And I identify with just about all of these 30 Signs You’re Almost 30.  My mom likes to remind me of #19.

What do you eat when it’s too hot to eat?

Do you make and effort to have your food look pretty at work?  It’s so much nicer than eating out of tupperware!  This should probably be added to the signs you’re almost 30…

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (Lightened Up)

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Treat ‘yo self.

That is my favorite saying from my friend Sarena.

This weekend I (rice crispy) treated my self and my friends!  My best friend’s favorite treat is the crispy variety.  In honor of the holiday weekend, I decided to make her a batch.  Of course, I couldn’t just follow a recipe… regular ‘ol rice crispy treats have been done before!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

What I came up with was a chocolate and peanut butter crispy treat.  While these will never be a health food, they are slightly cleaner than the treats of your youth (recipe at the bottom).  Here are a few of the cuts/subs I made:

  • Cut the amount of marshmallows and butter in half by using natural peanut butter
  • Replaced the bit of butter with coconut butter
  • Used brown rice crispy cereal rather than the usual snap, crackle, pop brand

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

One of my favorite things about these bars is that they aren’t as sticky-sweet as the traditional treats.  Cutting back on the marshmallows really helps!

Before taking them to my friend’s house, I had to share then with a couple of my favorite people: Lee and Carol!  We ran the Peachtree Road Race (the world’s largest 10K) together on July 4th.  Clearly that deserved treats!

2013 PRR

Lee and Carol both gave me the thumbs up, so I bought the concoction to the bestie’s house for dinner that evening.  They received a stamp of approval there too – from 4 adults, a 2-year-old, and a couple of crumb-eating dogs.

Bonus: they paired really well with a certain impulse buy (thank you, Whole Foods):

Rogue Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Beer

Chocolate, Peanut Butter Banana Beer from Rogue.  I figured it would be really good or repulsive.  The taste was quite layered – chocolate up front, then a hint of peanut butter, and finally the banana came on the end.  Surprisingly it wasn’t too sweet, but there is no way I could have drunk a bottle.  We split tastes between 4 people – it was just the right “side” with the chocolate peanut butter rice crispy treats.

As you might imagine, it was a pretty marvelous 4th of July.  Head over to Katie’s link up to see what everyone else is smiling about today!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treats (Lightened Up)

  • 4 C marshmallows
  • 2 T coconut butter
  • 1/2 C crunchy peanut butter
  • 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp vanilla 
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 C brown rice crispies

Place marshmallows, coconut butter, peanut butter, and chocolate chips in a non-stick pan and melt over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning.  Add cinnamon and vanilla, stirring to combine.  (Note: if it is too thick, stir in almond milk 1T at a time.)

Quickly add rice crispies and stir to combine.  Press mixture into an 11 x 13 pan.  

Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at  least 2 hours to set.

Remove from fridge and cut into squares to serve.

***

After a holiday weekend of eating out, I’m looking forward to more home cooked meals this week!

Did you run any races this weekend?

Are you a rice crispy treat fan?  What fun flavor would you like to try?

Back to the Gym + WIAW

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Patience is a virtue.  

 

That’s what I keep trying to tell myself.

Monday I was cleared by my surgeon to begin light exercise.  Good thing because I had already scheduled an appointment with my trainer for that night.  😉

Going back to working out after surgery (or any long break) is humbling.  I started with a leg extension weight 100 lbs lighter than I did 3 weeks ago.

first workout

 

We did a lot of lower body – mostly body weight stuff – and then 2 isolated bicep and 2 isolated tricep exercises.  It was really light, but I realized I’d have to go slow… especially when the twins got hot and swelled up.  It was crazy!

I’m going to do something similar on my own today.  Being careful.  It’s really hard knowing what I could do before, and seeing how much I lost in my arms in such a short time.  BUT it’s not forever.  I got there before, and I can do it again.  *deep breaths*

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This WIAW was fun for me because I was actually hungry from working out!  It’s a totally different feeling than regular hunger, one I didn’t fully appreciate before!

wiaw sensible snacking button

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s delicious days.

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Breakfast:

My morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) was of course the start to my day.

For my meal I wanted something sweet… but I also wanted a runny egg.  Remembering my favorite Waffle House meal, I decided to try something similar (but much healthier) at home – french toast topped with a runny egg!  I also added some warmed blueberries and toasted coconut.

Who needs syrup when you have #yolkporn?

French toast with runny egg syrup

 

Mid-Morning Snack:

No Salt deli turkey and an orange.  I ate these with my fingers while I bottled my latest batch of kombucha.  I was trying to get out the door for my first run post-surgery… ain’t nobody got time for silverware!

The curry leaves in the background went into a kombucha bottle with some of the orange.

 

I was running to get my race number for Thursday’s Peachtree Road Race.  It’s the world’s largest 10K and I was cleared by the doctor to run/walk it since it’s actually going to be cool outside thanks to the deluge of rain we’re getting.  The expo is only 2.5 miles from my place, so it was an easy jog, followed by a long break to browse the expo and buy new shoes before 2.5 miles back (shoes in hand).

Newton running shoes

New Newtons!

 

Lunch:

It was NOT cool yesterday.  Boob sweat is a whole new thing… whoa.

By the time I got back all I wanted for lunch was a smoothie bowl.  Big, green, and topped with muesli, this hit the spot while I sat on the couch icing the twins.  Almost remembered the pic too late!

Banana-Butterscotch Green Protein Smoothie Bowl

In my bowl:

  • Protein powder
  • Spinach
  • Zucchini
  • Butterscotch extract
  • Banana extract
  • Stevia
  • Ice + Water

 

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

Does anyone else have to think before they type kabocha vs. kombucha?  Kabocha is what I had for snack.  I have pre-roasted it in cubes, but I like to do a second roast to re-heat and crisp it up.  Before the 2nd roast I tossed it in cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne (my favorite flavor combo).

cocoa-cinnamon roasted kabocha with peanut sauce

 

The sauce is my go-to: peanut flour, unsweetened almond milk, cinnamon, a couple drops of vanilla liquid stevia, and a splash of almond extract.

Note: I order my peanut flour from iHerb – I like it better than PB2 because it is less processed and doesn’t have the added sugar and sodium.  Use my discount code – USO924 – for $5-10 off your order!

 

Dinner:

This is what happens when I get bored.  I made a dinner requiring more thought than usual.  People comment that sometimes my meals seem elaborate or strange… but they typically don’t take very long and I prepare certain foods similarly.  Last night I tried something new-ish and inspired by a treat in the mail from Skinny Noodles (soy-free shirataki):

Skinny Noodle

 

The item I couldn’t wait to try was the rice.  I dislike rice… but non-rice?  That I can get on board with!  I never said I was normal.  The “rice” is really more like Israeli couscous… but that’s a plus in my book.

Tip when using shirataki: make sure you rinse it really, really well and follow the instructions to heat it in the microwave to get rid of the funk (it smells fishy when you open the package).

What I came up with was a herbed rice with veggies, which I topped with salmon.  It was really, really good.  One of those meals you make for yourself and then get a little sad there’s no one else there to taste it!

Salmon and rosemary shirataki noodles

There’s not real recipe – I didn’t measure anything – but here are the ingredients:

Cardamom Salmon

  • Salmon
  • Cardamom (just a little)
  • Cayenne
  • Black pepper
  • Lemon
  • Rice Vinegar
  • Red onion
  • Garlic
  • 1 drop orange liquid stevia
  • Fresh rosemary
  • Baked at 450 for 12 mins
  • Fresh curry leaves

 

Shirataki Rice

  • Red onion
  • Garlic
  • Fresh rosemary
  • Lemon juice
  • Red pepper
  • Zucchini
  • Cayenne
  • Ground ginger
  • Black pepper
  • Ginger
  • 1 serving “rice” (added after veggies sautéed)
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast (added at end to thicken)

 

Dessert:

This is one of my all-time favorites to end the day – Carrot Cake Protein Batter.  I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve had one of these.  After surgery I couldn’t use the grater for the carrots, so making my favorite batter wasn’t possible!

Carrot Cake Batter with muesli

I was starving so I loaded up on the toppings: muesli, walnuts, and cacao nibs.  There was also a unpictured scoop of PB. 😉

***

Thank you all so much for the supportive comments on my Instagram and Facebook posts about being able to get back in the gym.  The encouragement means a lot as I (patiently) work my way back.

Don’t forget – one more day to enter the Designer Whey Sustained Energy giveaway!

Have you ever made something so good you were sad not to share it?  What was it?

Are you a victim of the kabocha craze? I propose we rename it Crack Squash.

 

Red Velvet Chia Cheesecake + WIAW

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Summer is here in earnest.

Convenient since I’m not supposed to get hot.

I am a sun baby, so not being able to be outside playing makes me sad.  The follow-up with the surgeon is July 1st… I have a leg day scheduled with my trainer that night.  If the Dr. doesn’t clear me to do it, I may cry.  Restlessness is in FULL force.  I do take walks, but have to be careful to keep them to the early morning or late evening when it’s (supposedly) cooler.

On my walks I have learned it’s impossible to “act natural” while taking pics of yourself along a busy street.

A few (more) fun post-augmentation updates:

  1. Shaving your armpits is really, really hard when the girls are in the way.  Hopefully this will get easier as they drop… there was a forest growing there until yesterday morning.  Gross, I know.
  2. I can now drive a car comfortably – at first I knew that if I had to make a fast maneuver I was a goner.  I was very, very careful.
  3. A lady at the mall looked right at the twins.  Their first stare.  Awwww!
  4. Getting dressed is interesting.  At time its frustrating because don’t look right while I’m still “settling,” but this weekend I was really excited to be able to wear 3 tops I (stupidly) bought and never wore because I lacked the chest to keep the tops from sliding down and showing my bra.
  5. Insomnia has returned.  I had it bad in my younger days, but once I started working out that changed.  I guess I wore myself out!  Now that I’m “resting” I’m just NOT sleepy.  Also, I can no longer sleep on my stomach which makes it harder to fall asleep.

This WIAW marks my first day back in the office post-surgery.  I actually was working last Monday, but there was NO was I could get dressed and be in an office all day.  Thankfully, being a consultant means it’s really easy to do your job from anywhere – including the couch.

wiaw sensible snacking button

Read on for my post-surgery eats, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s snack-y ideas.

 

Breakfast:

My morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos) remains a staple.  I’ve taken to adding a shake of cayenne too.  Because I’m hard-core.

I took my walk in the early morning coolness.  Walking should be relaxing, but really all I could think about was breakfast.  Inspired by Kammie’s guest post last week, I decided to turn Red Velvet Cake into a breakfast item.  In the form of a cheesecake bowl.

Red Velvet Chia Cheesecake bowl

I found beet powder at Whole Foods which gave this its red tint.  If you can’t find that, you can use beet puree or simply omit it (Red Velvet cake is just cocoa cake with red food coloring anyway).

This high-protein, low carb, sugar-free bowl of cheesy cake is guaranteed to put a smile on your face to start the day.  I’ve had it 2 days in a row.  I used cottage cheese to cream it up, but Greek yogurt would work too.  Make it vegan by using almond or coconut yogurt!

Mid-Morning Snack:

I love my seafood and fruit combos.  This was salmon baked with lemon juice and fresh rosemary, then mixed with blueberries and red pepper flakes.  Sweet with a little heat and hint of citrus.

Salmon and blueberries

Lunch:

Meal prep Sundays make it possible to bring food that my coworkers openly stare at.  I was asked to explain what everything on my plate was, and then was told I bring “elaborate” foods.  I was flattered.

Doesn’t everyone eat spinach shirataki noodles topped with ground turkey, broccoli slaw, and a sauce of nutritional yeast, spices, and apple cider vinegar?  No?

Shirataki, turkey, and broccoli slaw

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

I ordered these Keto Slim bars from iHerb.com after reading the good reviews they received.  I’m pretty pleased!  the sodium is a bit high (200mg), but the sugar is low (2g) and it contains 21g of protein!

It does have sugar alcohols.  I don’t watch that too closely (it’s pretty rare I eat processed foods), but if you have problems with them you won’t want this bar.  It also has fun stuff like almonds, spirulina, kelp, and beets greens!

KETOSlim

Note: iHerb is also where I get my peanut flour and a lot of fun extracts/vitamins/random other things.  Use my discount code – USO924 – for $5-10 off your order!

Dinner:

It was a long day at work.  I struggle with one co-worker in particular and it was a major source of stress today.  I wanted a drink.  To sooth my nerves, I made pizza and took a twilight walk. 

Crab Cauliflower Crust Pizza

The pizza crust was my cheese-less cauliflower recipe.  For a sauce I mixed together beer mustard, nutritional yeast, cayenne, and liquid smoke.

To top it, I sautéed onion and garlic, and wilted some arugula briefly at the end.  I put than on the crust with crab and my sauce.  Back in the oven to warm before adding cilantro and a drizzle of fig balsamic glaze to finish it.

Gluten free cheeseless cauliflower pizza crust

You can pick it up and eat it by the slice!

It looks like a lot of effort, but I had dinner on the table in under 30 mins.  AND I made a second crust to keep in the freezer.  Who needs store-bought frozen pizza?!

Dessert:

Still wanting to treat my nerves, I broke out my Quest bar stash!  I cut half a Chocolate Brownie bar into squares and baked it on a piece of parchment paper at 350 for 12 mins.  I added a schmear of peanut butter to each bite before adding them to part 2 of my dessert.

Part 2 was a bowl of cinnamon–raspberry cottage cheese.  I mixed no salt cottage cheese, cinnamon, almond extract, vanilla Stevia, and mashed raspberries together in a bowl.  Then I microwaved it for ~15 seconds to warm it a bit.

cinnamon-raspberry cottage cheese bowl with baked quest bar

Yes, I’m on a cottage cheese bender.

Red Velvet Chia Cheesecake

Red Velvet Chia Cheesecake

  • 1/2 C no salt cottage cheese
  • 1/4 C almond milk
  • 1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
  • 1 T chia seeds
  • 1 T cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp beet powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 8-10 drops vanilla stevia

In a small bowl, mix all ingredients together.  Cover and place in the fridge overnight (or at least an hour).

In the morning, remove from fridge and stir again.  If too thick, you may add more milk.

Enjoy!

***

Don’t forget! Click here to enter the giveaway for a FRS Healthy Energy trial kit.  Winner announced tomorrow. 🙂

Do you have to wear yourself out in order to go to sleep?

What is your favorite protein bar?  Did you try Kammie’s Red Velvet Bars from last week?

Homemade Red Velvet Protein Bars

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Cake is my favorite.

It’s my Achilles heel.  And wine.

I can pass on candies all day long.  I don’t like process packaged “treats.”  I’m not crazy for chocolates (though those are tasty).  Baked goods – homemade cakes and cookies – get me every time.

My favorite cake is Carrot Cake – which is why I had to make a healthy protein microwave version.  I did the same for my beloved Chocolate Cake.  That chocolate cake was the last meal I ate before the pre-surgery fast:

150 cal choc cake

With melted cherries, peanut butter, and cacao nibs

The last on my list of cake “favorites” to re-create would be red velvet.  Kammie must have been in my head, because her guest post today does just that!

I’m really excited Kammie volunterred to post.  Every time I read her blog I am inspired.  I don’t know how she comes up with post after post of healthy food porn!  Read on for Kammie’s latest tasty, protein-rich cake creation.

Homemade Red Velvet Protein Bars

Hey Everyone!  I am so glad to be here posting for the lovely Laura!  I’ve been following Laura’s blog ever since I started my own so this is a huge honor.  Thank you, Laura!  Hope you are feeling better!

Let me introduce myself – my name is Kammie and I am the blogger behind Sensual Appeal.  I have gone through many ups and downs in my life and finally I have adapted the Intuitive Eating approach in the last couple of months. It has allowed me to finally begin accepting myself for who I am and learning to trust and love my body.  I gave up on dieting in March and I haven’t looked back since.  My blog and life mantra ever since has been that everything in life should be: Delicious, Mindful, and Happy!

kammie

If you do know me as a blogger, you know I’ve always had a slight infatuation with using protein powder in my recipes.  I had a phase where I used protein powder ALL the darn time.

I don’t use it as much anymore but it does find its way into my meals here and there.  For example, my guilt-free Pumpkin Carob Chip Donuts, Strawberry Cheesecake Protein Shake, Chocolate Chip Protein Cookie Pancakes, or my favorite Double Chocolate Microwave Mug Cake!

protein collage

If you are confused by all of the varieties of protein powders that are out there – check out this handy guide I created Protein Powders 101: Which is the best Protein Powder for you?

Anyway, I knew right away that a protein-rich recipe would be perfect for Laura and Laura’s readers!  So a protein-rich recipe it is!

Red Velvet Protein Bars by sensualappealblog.com

I realized I haven’t ever actually made protein bars but I do eat them frequently. So I bring you this easy, no-bake, VEGAN and full of protein snack.

The reason why this is red (and called Red Velvet) is because I used Cocoa Cardio instead of cocoa powder – it’s basically cocoa powder with dehydrated beet juice for extra nutrients.  You can use regular cocoa powder to make this a regular chocolate protein bar instead.  I am not affiliated with Cocoa Cardio, btw.  It’s just a cool product I found recently.

Red Velvet Protein Bars by sensualappealblog.com

Homemade Red Velvet Protein Bars, ladies and gentlemen. Enjoy!

Red Velvet Protein Bars

Homemade Red Velvet Protein Bars

  • ¼ C vanilla protein powder
  • 2 T + 2 T coconut flour, separated
  • 2 T almond flour
  • 2 T Cocoa Cardio* (or cocoa powder)
  • ½ C almond milk
  • ¼ tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ C dark chocolate chips

 Add the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix. Add almond milk by 1/4 cupful and mix. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla in the bowl and mix still. If the batter is still too liquid-y add the other Tbsp of coconut flour. The batter is supposed to be thick enough to mold into shapes.

Take a little bit of the thick batter and shape into balls. Once you’ve formed them into balls, press and mold them into the shape of bars and put on parchment paper. Put the bars in the fridge for a couple of minutes to harden.  

Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave or on the stove and once it’s melted dip the bars into the chocolate to coat.  

Scoop the rest of the melted chocolate onto the bars with a spoon.  Put in the fridge for at least an hour.

Remove from fridge and enjoy!

*I order my Cocoa Cardio from iHerb.com.  Use my discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order!

So what do you think? Easy enough?

If you enjoyed this recipe, I’d love for you to check out my blog for more recipes, healthy living musings and other posts over at Sensual Appeal Blog. Show me some love by liking my Facebook page and subscribing to my YouTube channel!

xo, Kammie

***

I read this post when Kammie sent it and almost begged her to deliver.  

Do you like candies or baked goods better?  What can’t you turn down?

What is your favorite health-ified treat?

Post-Surgery Surprises + WIAW

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I’m baaaack!

You missed me, right?!

Just over a week after surgery, I’m feeling more “normal” (in my own, #strangebutgood way) and the swelling is starting to go down.  They say some people freak out at first, but – thanks to many of you and some good friends – I had a good idea of what to expect post-surgery.

That’s not to say there weren’t some surprises…

5 Post-Surgery Surprises

1. All modesty will go out the window.  You will not care that you are naked in the shower at your mom’s house and she is (gently) scrubbing the surgeon’s pen marks off of your chest.

Proof that mamma doesn’t mind – she gifted me with a little boobie prize. 🙂

Victoria's Secret

2. Using a knife is impossible.  I can cut most* things now, but at first I couldn’t apply enough pressure to cut a pear.

*I still cannot cut the kabocha squash taunting me on the counter

3. Surgery and/or anesthesia does a number on your digestive system.  My muscles were so tight it took an effort to pee.  And let’s not even talk about the issues with going #2.

stopped up

4. Not being able to stretch your arms is torture, particularly after being propped up on a couch for days.

5.  The boobs will not be a normal shape.  I knew this and didn’t really freak out (thanks in part to the pain meds).  They have to settle.  No matter who warns you of this, it’s still bizarre the first time you see them.

This snack-themed WIAW is dedicated to post-surgery eats.  Another observation to add would be my appetite.  I have NEVER experienced a loss of interest in food.  When I’m happy, I eat.  When I’m depressed, I eat.  When I’m bored, I eat.  When I have surgery… I don’t care to eat.  Instead, I snacked.

wiaw sensible snacking button

Read on for my post-surgery eats, and then check out Jenn’s link up for everyone else’s snack-y ideas.

Morning Snacks:

This was eaten just because I had to take my medicine.  Bribe me with pain pills the day after surgery and I’ll find something to eat!  I mixed almond milk with half a scoop of vanilla protein powder and cinnamon, added multi-grain Cheerios, and topped with sliced peach.

protein cereal

Greek yogurt did taste good to me.  I finished off a container of Fage mixed with cinnamon and vanilla liquid stevia.  Topped with delicious spring blueberries and cereal crumbles.

Fage greek yogurt bowl

When you are stir crazy and just can’t get excited for breakfast, a good alternative is to walk to your local coffee shop (relax Mom, it was only 2 blocks) for an Americano and some light-hearted Wall Street Journal reading.

Coffee and newspaper

Later in the Day Snacks:

Greens are good for you.  I tried to get my fill of the fresh stuff, and add protein where I could!

This salad was baby kale topped with no-salt deli turkey and nutritional yeast.  Side of heirloom tomato and basil, shredded butternut squash salad (thank you, Whole Paycheck), and blackberries.

fresh veggies

More salad with kale, turkey, butternut, and tomato.  This time I added avocado and pineapple (good for inflammation!).

I also sprinkled lemon juice, pepper, red pepper flakes, and cumin on top for flavor.

salad with pineapple

That thing about not wanting food?  I take that back.  I always want #yolkporn.

On my first day home I grabbed a Tempeh Mole Muffin from the freezer and topped it with a delicious local egg.  Eaten with a side if cucumber slices.

Tempeh Mole Muffin and egg yolk porn

The nice people The Good Bean at sent me some roasted chickpeas to try out.  I sampled them all… most were a bit salty  (I prefer to make my own roasted chickpeas), but I really liked the cinnamon flavor!  They also sent a few of their fruit and no-nut bars, of which I loved the chocolate (surprise, surprise).

The Good Bean

Actual Meals:

I was really proud of myself on Sunday night – I cooked dinner for Mom and me all by myself!  I started rattling off my meal idea to Mom and her reaction was “Have you ever made that before?”  I said no… but doesn’t it sound GOOD?  #strangebutgood

What resulted was a sort of fried rice.  Except I used spaghetti squash instead of the rice, and topped the whole thing with sea bass (that wasn’t exactly cooked by me… it was leftovers).  I started by sautéing some pre-cut veggies – red pepper, leeks, asparagus, and zucchini.  Then I added the spaghetti squash, and then the eggs.  Mix it together, plate, and top with sea bass!  Easy. 🙂

Fried spaghetti squash

The other “real” meal I ate was on my first night home.  Kat (who blogs here every other Thursday), came over and made me a delicious meal!  She made perfect shrimp and served it over a fresh salad of mache lettuce, avocado, raw corn, and cherry tomatoes.

It was all great, but The real star was her baked goat cheese balls (balls!).  She simply formed a ball of soft goat cheese, rolled it in a mix of hazelnut flour and curry spice, and baked it.  I don’t know if she’ll post her exact recipe next week (Kat???), but I’m going to have her write it out for me at least!

shrimp salad

We also enjoyed it with a shared bottle of rosè.  My first wine in over a week.  Sweet nectar of the gods.

A Treat:

Mom surprised me with fro-yo!  Chocolate and strawberry topped with coconut shreds… we added the blueberries and cacao nibs at home.  Holla at being cheap saving money!

Pinkberry yogurt

***

I seriously considered posting a pic that shows how swollen and high the twins were… everything was covered… but that mayyyy be too far even for me.  More appropriate pics will come when things calm down.  😉

Have you ever lost interest in food?

Do you ever bring your fro-yo home to add toppings yourself?  I thought this was a brilliant move by my mom!

Rocky Road Berry Coconut Bites

By

It’s no secret that I like balls.

“Girls have got balls. They’re just a little higher up that’s all.” ~Joan Jett

I’ve made several balls in the past.  Vegan “Meat” Balls, Champagne Cake Balls, Biscoff Dough Balls… ball jokes… I’m a 12-year-old boy at heart.   

But the BEST balls ever are made by my kindred-blogger spirit, Lindsay.  She is more mature than I am, so she gracefully calls them Bites.

Heather, Me, and Lindsay

Heather, Me, and Lindsay

In case you haven’t figured it out, today’s guest post is from this lovely lady… and she’s sharing her balls bites with all of you!!!

Thank you, Lindsay, for sharing your Rocky Road Balls Healthy Bites and making everyone’s Monday more Marvelous!  Read on for the recipe, and check out Katie’s link up to see what else is marvelous on this Monday!

Marvelous Monday

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Hi there friends. My name is Lindsay Cotter and I blog over at Cotter Crunch.

I’m a pro triathlete’s wife, nutrition manager/fitness consultant, kombucha lover & wanna-be wino who has a joyous passion for GLUTEN FREE cooking!   

It’s funny, this is my blog title and sub-title and yes, it really does describe my life.  No lie.  I also make a lot of Strange but Good Cotter Creations, which is why Laura and I get along so well.  Plus she is my brother from another mother.  Am I right Laura?  (Editor’s note: Ummm… YES!)

OK OK, enough of my rambling intro. Let’s get this post started, shall we?

So, the main reason I blog is support my husband. We’ve created this dream together.  A dream to pursue HIS professional triathlon career and I get to play wing man woman, or is it wing wife?  Either way, I’m by his side.

ironman NZthumbs up

I’d say my best support comes through food and fueling.  I’m good at feeding that man, or so I like to think. 🙂

In an effort to help James (aka the hubs) fuel properly for pre and post workout, I started making him healthy bites. What are Healthy Bites? Glad you asked.

Healthy Bites are my take on functional gluten-free bite sized “ball” snacks.  Each bite is made with natural, gluten-free, and mostly organic ingredients.

bites in bag

What started off as a little healthy snack option for me and my husband has now turned into my own little business.

I am passionate about it and want to share these bites with others…kids, athletes, on the go mom’s, food allergy folks, and more!  

o-matic11

My mission is to make gluten-free and process free food that actually tastes really good.

Sheesh, do I sound like an infomercial or what?  Haha.  (Editor’s note: But they really are that good!!!)

sample bites

Anyway, today I wanted to share with you one of my STRANGE but GOOD Healthy Bites recipes.  It might not be strange to some of you, but it is a rather ODD mix of ingredients. 

 __________________________________________________________________________

rocky road bites

Rocky Road Berry Coconut Bites

  • 1 heaping cup of Vegan Marshmallows (I use the ones at Whole Foods chicago Vegan Foods Brand)
  • 2 tbsp. 100% cocoa
  • 2 heaping tbsp peanut flour (can also use coconut flour, ground up peanuts, etc.)
  • 1 serving Berry Protein (Vega Smoothie blend is good here)
  • 2 tbsp. Food for Life Vegan Chocolate chip Minis (Can also use carob chips or 100% dark chocolate chips)
  • 1-2 tbsp. unsweetened coconut (shredded)
  • 3-4 tbsp. of preferred nut butter
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 2-4 tbsp crushed nuts (optional)
  • Optional: cocoa or coconut extract

Grind up your marshmallows in a blender or food processor first.  If you have large chocolate chips, go ahead and blend them up with the marshmallows as well.  If you are using minis, there is no need, just mix in.  Make sure you grind up the rest of your dry ingredients as well.  

Transfer into a large bowl and add in nut butter, flours, protein, coconut, and agave.  Mix well, and then roll into balls/bites.

Makes around 10-12 bites.  

I then like to roll each of them in some extra coconut and/or cocoa.  Freeze right away then store in fridge or freezer to maintain freshness.  Store for up to 6 weeks.  YUM!!

 

Well folks, that’s all I got for now. I hope you get to make these. If so, please let me know how they turn out.

You can see more recipes in my BOOK of BITES eBook, which is on the side bar of my site. Or if just feel like spending $, cause let’s face it, we all like to at times, feel free to order some yourself from me. I ship!

Pretty BALLER, eh? (pun intended)

Cheers,

LC

***

If I felt better I’d make inapporpriate jokes about my “procedure” and balls.

If you could have any flavor Healthy Bite, what would it be?  Lindsay custom made me Reese’s balls!

What is making your Monday marvelous?

Hotel Food + WIAW

By

This community blows me away.

That tickles my ta-tas.

All joking aside, I am so, so appreciative of everyone who stopped by and left supportive comments about yesterday’s announcement.  I was fully expecting to get slammed by at least a few people, but I didn’t get the first negative comment!  It is a personal choice and everyone seemed to acknowledge it.

My mom was surprised I posted about it, but I’m not going to act like I magically grew boobs overnight (wouldn’t it be cool if there was a boob fairy?) and randomly decided to take a break from working out.  Keeping it real, y’all.

Honesty

On top of all that, no one asked awkward questions!  I guess you guys are more polite than I am.  😀

What I did love were comment from those of you who’ve had it done.  I am really nervous about the recovery and you made me feel a LOT better.

__________________________________________________________________________________

This day of WIAW is actually a day and a half-ish.  I was traveling for work, and due to storms on the East coast I ended up spending 8.5 hours in the Atlanta airport.  Preparation saved me.

WIAWbutton

Check out my travel eats below, and then click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see what everyone else is enjoying!

_________________________________________________________________________________

Airport Snack 1:

I knew I’d need to eat one meal in the airport, so I’d come prepared with a crab salad.  This was just crab, red bell pepper, raw zucchini, nutritional yeast, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and black pepper.

The best part is the utensil I found at a fast food place to eat it with: a spork!!!

Crab salad with a spork

Airport Dinner:

Having to eat this meal in the airport was a surprise.  Delta delayed my flight over and over before they finally cancelled it.  In total, I spent 8.5 hours in the Atlanta airport.  I (finally) made it out, but on another airline.

I always travel with emergency tuna packets and random spices in my bag.  The little Ms. Dash was obtained from a cafeteria on a previous work trip.  The salad was purchased from Quizno’s in the airport.

Tuna in the airport

Hotel Surprise:

That night when I (finally) arrived in the hotel I had a surprise waiting for me:

Hotel Zaza ric krispy treat

Hotel Zasa‘s turn-down service includes a rice krispy treat!!!  It was delish, but I managed to stop at half and eat an apple taken from their gym.

Pro Tip: Hotel gyms almost always have a fruit bowl.  Perfect place to grab a free snack.

Pre-Workout:

Normally I eat before liftingin the morning, but I’d gotten in and had my snack so late I wasn’t starving.  I DID have my morning cocktail (apple cider vinegar, water, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos).  It turns out that you can get through security with a small container of apple cider vinegar.

Totally patted myself on the back for this one.

Morning apple cider cocktail

Despite the late night I was motivated to go after seeing it the night before.  There were chandeliers in the workout room!!!  I’m also motivated by the fast that today is my last workout before surgery.  I’m trying to enjoy it while I can!

Side note: The women in the background was with my client.  We hadn’t met in person before, so I didn’t realize it until the meeting started a few hours later.

Hotel Zaza gym

Breakfast:

Our meeting began early in the morning, so breakfast was supplied in part by the hotel.  I got berries, eggs with some onions and red pepper, and a strip of bacon.  The eggs weren’t good (hotel eggs never are), so I mainly ate bacon and fruit.  And my own little #strangebutgood creation: chocolate protein powder mixed with coffee.  Mocha protein pudding!fruit and mocha protein pudding

Mid-Morning Snack:

We had a working snack time.  The hotel brough in mixed nuts and fruit.  These nut mixes are salty and have those totally unhealthy little crackers in them.  I enjoyed every bite.

Hotel snacks

I stole the mint garnish for the pic. #sorryimnotsorry

Lunch:

More hotel meeting food.  I took the meat out of some dried out tortillas and ate it with the pico and guac.  Only ate a few bits of the dry rice.  Have I mentioned I dislike meeting-food?

Hotel lunch

Afternoon Snacks:

I would normally have eaten the tuna here, but Friday’s delay threw me off.  I did have this mini Recharge bar leftover from Blend schwag bags.  It was pretty good!

There were also the obligatory pretzels on the (delayed) fight while I worked away.  I got over the Biscoff addiction, but can never say no to pretzels.

Recharge protein bar

Delta pretzels

Dinner:

I was desperation hungry by the time I finally got home.  I did have some veggies on hand, so I thawed a veggie burger and used collard greens to make a “taco.”  The stuff on top was parsnip rice mixed with diced cucumber, basil, nutritional yeast, cayenne, cumin, turmeric, and pepper.

Collard wraps

Dessert:

Since I’m having surgery on Thursday, I can’t eat after midnight Wednesday.  And my surgery isn’t until 1p!!!  Obviously, I am already worried about being hungry.  Despite a late dinner, I had a double size Carrot Cake Protein Batter… after eating a lot of unpictured Muesli Fusion (also from Blend) straight out the bag.  Bam.

It topped with with cacao nibs and peanut flour fluff (I do random peanut flour mixes – this one was with almond milk, flax, cinnamon, and chocolate stevia).

Carrot Cake Protein Batter

***

While I’m recovering I have a few guest posts lined up… I know people sometimes ignore skim those, but as I got through them I’m really hoping you will take a sec to read.  They are awesome!  I even have a guest #strangebutgood for Friday. 🙂

Have you ever used a spork?

Honesty.  Always the best policy?  I sometimes wish I had a 5 second delay on my mouth…

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