WANTED: Interview Advice!

Hey guys! I’ve been getting down on myself because I haven’t posted in so long, but I’m trying to tell myself that I don’t need to blog everyday, or even once a week. Stressing out about it starts to take the fun out of blogging, so I’m putting an end to that!

I’m back at home, relaxing and going on a job interview this week! This isn’t just any job. I’m interviewing at this beautiful building:

No, it’s not on the ice, but on Wednesday afternoon I’ll be going to First Niagara Center because the BUFFALO SABRES are looking for a Social Media Coordinator. Oh. My. God. If I haven’t said it before, I am a die hard Sabres fan. I’ve been going to games all my life and I’d be lying if I said there have never been tears shed over losses and trades. It’s safe to say I love this team and although it’s always been a dream of mine to work for them, I never saw myself in this position, about to interview with them only a couple weeks after graduation. My stomach has been in knots since I got asked to come interview, so I have a question for everyone.Your input would mean the world to me!! I’ll be back later with a food post!!

What’s your best tip for going on a job interview?

Guess Who’s Back, Back Again..

Welllll HELLO THERE, world!

After a long break from blogging, I’m ready to get back at it. The past month has been extremely overwhelming and stressful. I graduated from college this past Saturday (WOOHOO!) with a degree in Public Relations. I moved back into my dad’s house, picked up a couple job applications and I’m finally getting to relax a little.

I didn’t line up a job for after graduation because honestly, I’m not exactly sure what I want to do. I picked my major before I became really passionate about healthy eating, so now I have to figure out how to combine my education with my new interests and values and turn it into a career. Sounds easy, right? 😉

No pictures today, just letting everyone know that my whirlwind of a life has come to a stop and I finally have time to start blogging again. This a huge transition for me and I hope that everyone will follow along and provide me with support during this exciting time in my life!!

Chocolate Brownie Pancakes

I had brownies for breakfast…

Ok, so maybe it wasn’t exactly a brownie, but it tasted just like one.

So that counts.. right?

Chocolate Brownie Pancakes.. healthy style!!

• 3 egg whites
• 1/8 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/8 cup oat flour
• 1/8 cup TVP (or omit and use 1/4 cup oat flour)
• 1 T coconut flour
• 1 T cocoa powder
• .25 t baking powder
• 5-8 drops of liquid stevia

I know it seems like a lot- I just threw some random things in a bowl and something magical happened!!

Heat a skillet on medium heat and coat with cooking spray.

Whisk egg whites well- about 30 seconds. Add pumpkin and yogurt and stir until combined. Next, add in the dry ingredients + stevia and stir well. I think I may have added a little almond milk, so if the batter seems suuuuper thick, you can add a couple tablespoons.

I made 5 mini pancakes, but you can make as many big or small ones as you want. Cook for about 5 minutes one side, flip to the other!

They started off innocent.. (as innocent as a stack of chocolate pancakes can be)

Then I layered peanut flour + water + stevia in between

And microwaved some frozen berries and poured them on top. (I don’t know why the berries look neon…)

With some pure maple syrup on top, these were amaaaaazing.

Gobbled them up until the last bite 😦 so sad

Chocolate + peanut butter + berries in pancake form = best. breakfast. ever.

Pumpkin Chia Pudding Parfait

Seeee I told you I’d be back!! I’ve seen so many people talk about chia pudding but I’ve never made it before. Last week I decided to make a pumpkin pie- inspired parfait layered with peanut butter greek yogurt. This was perfect for breakfast on the go and was easy and quick to prepare.

Pumpkin Chia Pudding Parfait

• 2 T chia seeds (I used Bob’s Red Mill)
• .25 c canned pumpkin puree
• .25 c unsweetened almond milk
• .5 t vanilla extract
• .5 each of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice
• .75 c plain greek yogurt
• 1 T peanut flour
• Toppings of choice (I used pure maple syrup and unsweetened coconut)

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Stir well and place in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt and peanut flour- you could use any yogurt you’d like, I just love this combo with everything!

The chia pudding should begin to gel up and thicken. In a mason jar or other tall, portable container, start layering the two mixtures one at a time. Make the layers are big or as small as you want!

Top with fruit, syrup, coconut, granola or anything else you’d like. Cover and place in the refrigerator over night.

In the morning, all you have to do is dig in!

So easy, and so pretty 🙂

What’s your favorite grab and go breakfast?

What I’ve Been Doing..

Okay, I admit it.. I’m bad at this. Blogging has taken a trunk backseat lately to all my school work. With only a few weeks left in the semester, final papers and projects are rolling in and I feel like I have no time to relax, or blog. I’ve even been in a bit of a work-out rut lately.

So, what have I been up to?

Forgetting to take pictures before I take a bite of my food…And obsessing over Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper seasoning- pictured on roasted cauliflower and chicken breast- and also loving pickled beets. When I’m not eating the beets, I like to sauté my vegetables in the pickled beet juice.. SO GOOD.

Food prepping, which I keep meaning to blog about and then end up forgetting. Every week. On Monday, I roasted broccoli and sweet potato slices, chopped up lettuce for salads, carrots and cauliflower, made half a bag of dried chick peas and prepared some quinoa and frozen edamame for the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made this for breakfast the other day and it was incredible. Pumpkin chia pudding and greek yogurt parfait that I PROMISE I will post the recipe for tomorrow.

The sky was doing some crazy things the other night. Pinks and purples and a RAINBOW after the rain!

As for today….

I got out of class really early so I sat outside with an iced green tea and enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine.

I’m sure my life has been more eventful than that and I just didn’t take pictures.. I’m sure of it…

Well, I’m making a vow to get back into the swing of things and start posting regularly again. Come back soon!!

🙂 🙂

Spring Fever Salad with Plum Dijon Dressing

Oh, hello there! I’ve been pretty MIA lately. I had tons of school work for the past week and it really consumed my life. The other day, it was absolutely beautiful out. Some of the first signs of Spring were in full force and it had be feelin prettyyy froggy 🙂

The sunshine put me in the mood for a nice, crisp, GIANT salad.

I piled on the veggies, whipped up my own dressing and devoured it in no more than 5 seconds.

Spring Fever Salad with Plum Dijon Dressing

Serves 1 large salad

For the salad:

• ~3 c of your choice of greens (I used romaine, baby spinach and kale!)
• 1/3- 1/2 c black beans
• 1/2 c chopped bell peppers
• 1 T sun dried tomatoes
• 3 brussels sprouts, shredded
• 1/3 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 T crumbled feta

For the dressing:

• 1.5 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp plum sauce
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. If using kale as a salad base, use half the dressing and massage into the leaves.

Heat a pan to medium-low heat and coat with cooking spray. Add peppers, beans and sun dried tomatoes and cook until peppers begin to soften.

Shred brussels sprouts or chop very finely and add them to the pan. When cooked, about 5 minutes, add quinoa and stir in until combined.

Add other greens of choice to a bowl (combine with marinated kale if using) and toss with dressing. Pour vegetable- quinoa mixture over the greens and top with feta to go from this…

To this…

Mmmmm

I also drizzled a bit of tahini on top afterwards because I’m addicted to the stuff. You can eat it like this or stir it all together..

Dig in and enjoy! It’s light, colorful, refreshing and delicious! The bright colors definitely reflected the good mood I was in 🙂

I love close up shots 🙂

Listening to Your Body

I can’t stress enough how important it is to listen to what your body is telling you. It’s talking, you just need to listen!

Last night, I went out with my closest friends. I’m hesitant to drink on the weekends because I know that it’s terrible for me. But everyone deserves to go out and let loose and have fun, so I went. Well, let me tell you- it was worth it. It’s really all about balance. You can’t expect to see the results you want if you’re going out 3 times a week and drinking your weight in alcohol, but I love having a couple drinks and going crazy every once in awhile. My legs are killing me after all the dancing we did. So much fun!

Its nights like this that make me feel some anxiety about graduation. I may want the exams to be over and to be back in my own house with my family, but I don’t want to leave the good times and all the amazing people I’ve met. It’s definitely bittersweet.

WELL, I don’t know if it’s because I had a few drinks last night, but when I woke up this morning I had some weirdddd cravings.

I opened my refrigerator and a million things seemed to call to me. So, what did I do?

I listened.

1 egg + 2 egg whites, whole wheat toast with sunflower seed butter, sweet potato mashed with tahini (and a little drizzled on the eggs) and a dollop of pineapple salsa. Definitely a sweet and savory combo that I loved

I ended up making mini sandwiches by smashing the potato onto the bread, putting a piece of egg on top and then adding a little salsa. It satisfied my cravings and even though it was small, it didn’t leaving me going back to the kitchen because its what I wanted!

Sorry for the pictures by the way- a growling stomach + bad early morning lighting= crappy iPhone pictures taken .2 seconds before devouring.

My Perfect Pancake

I feel like everyone has that one pancake recipe that they know that they can always count on. For awhile now, I’ve been trying to find the right combination of ingredients that made a perfect, thick, moist and delicious pancake.

Well, yesterday I finally did it!

Topped with coconut oil-fried bananas, a peanut flour cocoa sauce and unsweetened coconut. (Excuse the Instagram photo!)

And then I made them again this morning and topped them with strawberries, maple syrup and coconut with peanut flour between each layer. Droool.

I really wanted them again for lunch, but I felt like that would’ve been a bit overboard…

My Perfect Pancake

• 4 egg whites
• 1/3 cup TVP
• 1/3 cup unsweetened almond- coconut milk (or other milk, but I think this gave it a delicious flavor)
• 1 T Coconut Flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (or pumpkin puree)
• 1 t cinnamon
• .5 t pure vanilla extract
• .25 t baking powder
• .25 t xanthan gum

In a small bowl, combine TVP and almond milk and set aside. Let soak for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed into the TVP.

Heat a coated skillet or griddle to medium heat.

Whisk egg whites well, about 30 seconds. When they foam at the top, add in applesauce and coconut flour.

Add TVP mixture along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. I found that it thickened with time, so I let it sit for a minute or 2.

Pour batter into 4 pancakes and let cook for 5 minutes. When outsides seem firm and the spatula easily slides underneath, flip!

Cook for additional 5ish minutes.

Top with everything you can get your hands on- because like I always say, toppings make the meal! 🙂

Annnd ready, set.. DIG IN!

 

 

What are your favorite pancake toppings? Do you go crazy like I do, or keep it simple?

Curried Pumpkin Spice White Bean Hummus

Well, isn’t that a mouthful. I’ve been on a roll this week with coming up with recipes. You could call it productive… if it weren’t because I was avoiding doing the school work I have to get done. Whoops.

I’ve had some white beans (I think they were Great Northerns?) in the freezer for awhile now. I cooked a bag of dried ones, and froze the ones I didn’t think I’d use right away. The food processor was already out so I figured, what the heck?

It started off innocent. Just some plain ol’ beans in a food processor. But then I spotted some pumpkin puree I had in the refrigerator, so I dumped that in.

THEN I went to the cupboard and found the tahini. And the curry powder. Then I thought hmmm.. pumpkin… pumpkin pie? pumpkin pie spice?

So yes, I came back to the food processor and dumped all this in and away they went.

A little strange, but maybe, possibly, strange but good?

Sweet and savory for the win!

Curried Pumpkin Pie Hummus

• 2 cups white beans
• 1/4 cup pumpkin
• 2 T tahini
• .5 t minced garlic
• 1 t curry powder
• 1 t pumpkin pie spice

In the food processor it all goes! Blend until smooth

Garnish with more pumpkin pie spice if you do so desire

Eat with carrots, pretzels, pitas, dare I say apples?

Also, go follow me on Instagram! I’m starting to post obnoxious amounts of food pictures that my friends will probably hate, but you can see all my clean eats, not just the ones on the blog!

Easy-Peasy-Cheezey Kale Chips

Last week, I made kale chips for the second time ever. Now I’m wondering why I haven’t been making them on a regular basis. They’re. so. ADDICTING!

Sittin’ pretty in last weeks dinner.

Yesterday, as part of my Sunday Food Prep I made another big batch. Well now it’s Monday and I’m already kale chip-less 😦 They’re super easy and delicious and way healthier than any potato chip!

Cheezey Garlic Kale Chips

Ingredients:

• 100 1 bunch Kale
• 2 T Nutritional Yeast + about 2 T water
• Garlic powder (I just used a couple shakes, but add more if you want them extra garlicky)
• Cooking Spray

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Wash and DRY kale leaves before beginning. Cut kale around the thick stems down the middle, then into about 2″ pieces.

In a large-sized bowl whisk together nutritional yeast, water and garlic powder until no clumps remain. You may need to play with the measurements a little. The mixture should be a sauce, but not too watery. Add more yeast or water until the consistency is right.

Place kale leaves into the bowl and toss. Now, this is a dirty job. Get your hands right in there and toss them around until they are all coated.

When all the kale is covered, place in a single layer on a sprayed baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, checking frequently. When they’re crisp and brown around the edges, they’re done! Some will cook faster than others, so I just remove the cooked ones and set them aside.

Just look at them.. They’re practically calling to be eaten all in one sitting!