Food

May222014

Healthy Black Bean Brownies

The first time I heard about black bean brownies, I turned my nose up. First of all, brownies aren’t my go-to dessert (although they can be delicious, see: Judith’s brownies) and second of all, BEANS?! IN BROWNIES?! Now you’re talking crazy. However, here at Hungry and Fit we’re always looking at ways to healthify things we love so we have no limits. One day, one of my trainers brought in black bean brownies and they were darn good. Black bean brownies are a sure lesson of not judging a book by its cover, because they are gooo–oood! This recipe is a sure way to eating brownies guilt-free!

Healthy Black Bean Brownies

2014-05-21 22:25:01

Yields 12

A brownie that your taste buds AND waist line will enjoy

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

18 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

18 min

Ingredients

1 15oz can black beans
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup oil (I used olive oil)
1/3 cup of honey
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup quick-cook oats
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a square tin
Rinse out your beans
Put all ingredients into a blender or food processor
Mix it up real, real well--make it smooth!
Mix in the chocolate chips
Pour into tin
Garnish the top with chocolate chips

Notes

The more you blend it, the less grittier it will be!

By Hungry and Fit

Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

These are healthy and delectable. I usually don’t tell people they have beans in them until they try it (unless they are on a health journey). This recipe promises not to disappoint taste buds or waist lines. I am very happy for this recipe to satisfy any chocolate craving! Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!

BONUS PUPPY PIC

Poor puppy has been sick with giardia

May142014

Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

I would say one of the most popular desserts of all time are chocolate chip cookies. I’ve rarely seen people deny them out of distaste, maybe just out of nutritional reasons. Chris is always wanting some fresh-baked cookies, and I decided to be nice (rare moments, I kn0w). However, they wouldn’t be completely without a twist of health. These chocolate chip cookies have whole-wheat flour in them instead of regular, which adds more fiber into our diet! Who needs apples when you could have these cookies? Just kidding, kids… But truth be told, these are full of fiber, and not overdone with sugar and butter. These are perfect for summer days and sure to win you friends!

Gotta love these ingredients

Best part to eat

Boooom!

Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

2014-05-13 21:52:18

Yields 18

A healthy spin on chocolate chip cookies

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

16 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

16 min

Ingredients

1.5 cups whole-wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup g. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 bag chocolate chips

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a baking sheet
Combine dry ingredients in a smaller bowl
Beat sugar and butter together until smooth
Add in egg and vanilla
Slowly mix the dry into the wet mixture, but don't beat it too much
Fold the chocolate chips in
Roll up some dough and plop it in separate ball-type formations onto the baking sheet
Bake for 16-20 minutes

By Hungry and Fit

Adapted from Food 52

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

These are really darn good. Hungry has been eating them for every meal I kid you not. I tried to stop him…but there’s no stopping him with a handful of chocolate chip cookies and a gallon of milk. This recipe is so easy and these cookies are really good! Try them out and let me know what you think!

*Question of the Day: What’s your favorite kind of cookie?

BONUS KITTY PIC

Sajah being cute

May052014

Healthy Frozen Treats

If every day was like yesterday, then I’m going to need constant refreshing things to put down my gullet. Unfortunately, that may lead to unhealthier things like overdoses of ice cream and other sweet treats that don’t exactly lead to the bathing suit body we want to present in the upcoming season.

Well, ladies and gents, we have come up with a solution: SILK. No, not the nice pajamas. Silk Milk, the kind that makes you feel great and keeps you kickin‘. We have come up with a few ridiculously easy and healthy frozen treat recipes. We love that Silk appreciates keeping the calorie count low while giving us tons of flavor and goodness. No GMOs and tons of calcium. That’s what Hungry and I need. Silk keeps us healthy and strong while appeasing our taste buds.

These sweet treats will keep your frozen sweet tooth satisfied without added sugars and heavy fat. We used various kinds of Silk milk (from plain Almondmilk to Soymilk) and mixed it up with frozen and fresh fruit. These sweet treats are on a stick, so all you need are freeze pop molds!

The three Silk products we used

From top to bottom: Tropical Freeze, Dreamsicle, and Chocolate Strawberry Pop

Ready to freeze!

Ready to eat!

Healthy Frozen Treats

2014-05-04 20:38:03

Serves 6

Three delicious, healthy freeze pop recipes that will take under 10 minutes

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Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Prep Time

5 min

Cook Time

4 hr

Tropical Freeze

1/4 cup Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blend of tropical fruits (pineapple, mango, etc.)

Dreamsicle

1/4 cup Silk Original Soymilk
1/4 cup orange juice of your choice

Chocolate Strawberry Surprise

1/4 cup Silk Dark Chocolate Almondmilk
1 strawberry

Tropical Freeze

Put the Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk with the tropical fruit into a blender
Blend until mostly smooth
Pour into mold
Freeze for 4-6 hours (all freeze pop molds are different though)

Dreamsicle

Pour Silk Original Soymilk into molds along with the orange juice
Freeze for 4-6 hours

Chocolate Strawberry Surprise

Pour Silk Dark Chocolate Almondmilk into the freeze pop mold (only 2/3 of the way to the top)
Chop up the strawberry and put it in (make sure you don't let it overflow!)

Notes

Every freeze pop mold is different so your freeze pops may take shorter or longer to freeze
Going along with that, you may need to alter the amount of ingredients as it could be too much or too little

By Hungry and Fit

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

These freeze pops are light, refreshing, and delicious. They are sure to cool off any hot day and keep those around you smiling. What’s spring and summer about if it isn’t happiness? We use Silk in recipes like this so we can feel like we are indulging ourselves while staying healthy. Sign up for the Silk newsletter to get free coupons and chances of winning Silk products! I always try to stay current with the Silk Facebook page as I am always finding new recipes and tips for using Silk. Use Silk in your recipes to stay hungry and fit!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

May032014

Fancy Up Your Popcorn

I am popcorn-obsessed. I blame it on my family who always has it for any tv/movie event. Like about every night. So what do I do? Any excuse there is…there will be popcorn involved. Castle tonight? Popcorn, obviously. Recorded show on Food Network? Popcorn. Show at the Cinemas? Popcorn…that I sneak in (don’t tell!). I really like popcorn. But Hungry doesn’t really like popcorn (I know, it’s almost a deal-breaker). He’ll eat it if I start giving him some, but he would never start the pop himself. So as he was leaving to walk Noke one night before we were gonna watch a new show on Food Network, he asked me to “fancy up” the popcorn. Quest accepted.

Now I’m not talking about regular fancy. I came up with Toblerone-fancy. Yes, that Swiss deliciousness was taking a visit to our bowl of popcorn. It’s incredibly easy. I learned how to make “homemade” chocolate sauces from watching my mum as she would often like to drizzle it on our homemade ice cream sundaes at home.

I totally snuck one before I melted them down

Chocolate-Drizzled Popcorn

2014-05-02 18:24:55

Serves 1

An easy way to spruce up your usual popcorn

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Cook Time

5 min

Cook Time

5 min

Ingredients

1 bag of popcorn
1/2 chocolate bar (Toblerone for best results)
1/3 cup milk (can be any kind you like--we used whole)

Instructions

Pop the popcorn
Put chocolate and milk into a saucepan
Turn on medium to low heat
Stir fairly frequently at first and then let the chocolate settle into a sauce
Once a smooth texture, drizzle over the popcorn

Notes

You may have to play around with the amount of milk to chocolate ratio. You may have to add more milk or even tip some out. No worries, it will still be chocolate sauce no matter what!

By Hungry and Fit

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

There you have it. Simple, easy, and delicious. It was so good we started to eat it with a spoon! Yeah, we apparently don’t mess around. I’m looking forward to more ways to play around with our popcorn. Cinnamon and sugar sound like a good next step. Have fun when making this! And don’t forget to share! As always…stay hungry and fit!

BONUS PUPPY PIC

Apr292014

Make One Healthy Decision Every Day

There is a very simple rule Hungry and I try to adhere to: make one healthy decision every day. It can make the difference in your mood, your body, your spirit, your day–you name it! Everyone has a different something, but it’s great that it is an actual something. The way to achieving great health is through baby steps. Nobody ever took a big leap to their ideal body or lifestyle…it takes progress. And that’s a good thing. If we never take little steps towards our goals, it will never stick. It will never become a true part of our life.

The one healthy decision I make is choosing Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk. When I’m craving something to drink other than water, I know I can pull out the carton of the Silk Almondmilk and take a glug. It prevents me from getting into other stuff like soda or fruit juices that I avoid. It’s something that helps fit into my macros and my journey to good health. It is non-GMO verified, plant-based, heart-healthy, and has 50% more calcium than dairy milk. It’s my little step each day. And it’s one I take every day (multiple times).

I believe it’s important for everyone to take this little step. It could be taking the stairs, taking a walk during lunch, avoiding the bag of chips, or taking a few minutes for a meditation. People think getting fit is always a dramatic change. Well, it shouldn’t be. It should be little steps each day which eventually turn into habits which eventually turns into a permanent lifestyle. Pick a healthy choice every day and you will see that eventual, permanent change.

For me, Silk has lots of these healthy choices. From Almondmilk to their Soy Milk, I always keep the fridge stocked so that I continue to make these healthy decisions each day. This helps me create a better, happier me. You already know that Silk helps us bloom. Try it out for yourself! Sign up for the Silk.com newsletter and receive free coupons, sweepstakes, and monthly chances to win a YEAR’S supply of Silk products. If it works for me, it will work for you. Also, check out Silk’s Facebook Page. I literally JUST found an oatmeal recipe that I’m dying (and drooling) to try! Like their page and you’ll be in for good tips, recipes, and general happiness-helpers. I wouldn’t lie! Make a healthy decision every day to stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Day: What healthy decisions do YOU try to make every day?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Apr262014

Vega Bars Review

As a Sweat Pink Ambassador, I was chosen to sample and review new Vega Bars of all assortments. Lucky me! Before this, I had never tried Vega Bars. Sometimes, I’m wary about nutrition bars. Some have a plethora of unnatural ingredients, but not so for Vega Bars. Despite a few differences, I would definitely pick up a Vega Bar in the store.

IT’S LIKE CHRISTMAS

There are a few reasons Vega Bars rise above other energy/protein/nutrition bars:

1. They don’t leave your stomach feeling iffy. I’m an active girl. I’m a personal trainer by profession and I work myself hard after-hours as well. I frequently use bars to fuel my day. However, some bars under certain brands make me feel blah. My stomach gets bubbly and my desire for activity plummets. With Vega Bars, after I eat any kind of them, I feel good. There’s no bad after-effect, just natural energy. I appreciate that.

2. They have simple, natural ingredients. Some other bars have ingredient lists longer than I care to read. Vega Bars‘ are short and simple. They are all organic, natural ingredients. It’s good to know what you’re putting in your body to fuel isn’t crap. Vega is in support of this notion.

3. They actually taste good! Taking the above point into consideration, it does happen where the taste buds aren’t exactly jumping for joy. Not with these bars. With the Vega Bars, you enjoy every chomp, almost feeling like you are indulging yourself. They are delicious and nutritious! Not a bad combo, there.

4. They have probiotics. I was especially excited about this once I read one of the bar’s packaging. I’m always trying to have enough probiotics in my system to have a healthy gut. I had never heard about a bar having a considerable amount of probiotics! Usually I would run into drinks or pills. I love this little aspect about it.

Bad photo as I obviously already tore into the bar

I’ll keep the bullet points short, but you can see that they’re an all-around solid company making delicious nutritious bars. My only qualms would be to add more protein, but it’s tough with natural ingredients like this. Getting 15g from a healthy bar is fine by me. Vega has several different types of bars, setting each one apart for different purposes. Let’s check them out:

Vega One Bar. This is their meal replacement bar. It’s useful for those time you’re scrambling out the door to work when you realize you haven’t eaten yet. Pop one of those in your mouth and you’re set. Calorically-sufficient, this bar will hold you over until morning tea time. It keeps your tummy AND taste buds happy!

Breakfast on the go

Vega Snack Bar. I could munch on these all day. I am always hungry mid-morning and afternoon, and those who know me, know that I’m not pleasant when I’m hangry. These have peaceful ingredients while not being too high on the caloric scale. It’s the right combination to keep you energized until your next meal.

up close and personal with a snack bar

Vega Sport Energy Bar. Now I especially love these. I always struggle with eating the right thing right before or during a workout. I either eat too much and feel awful or eat too little and I feel distracted by hunger. Popping one of these delicious bad boys into my mouth kept me going during even the most grueling workouts (i.e.: hill sprints). And yet again–no negative feelings from the tummy!

As I went for a trail run

Vega Sport Protein Bar. When I feel like I felt yesterday after my longer run, I need to be replenished. That’s what this bar does. It replenishes you with natural carbohydrates and protein, to get your body back up and running again. No post-heartburn or stomach ache. Just pure recovery. I can dig it.

Grateful for replenishment and recovery

Vega Bars get a thumbs up from Hungry and Fit. Natural ingredients with good macros paired with great taste is a win win for us. If you happen to see one at a store, just try it out. Certainly a product we can get behind. Eat Vega Bars to stay hungry and fit!

Apr252014

If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM)

For the past few weeks or so, I’ve been trying this fitness philosophy called “If It Fits Your Macros” (IIFYM). It’s a slightly controversial idea. People in the fitness industry love to argue and contest each other’s philosophies. I’m fairly open-minded and like to try new things. I did the whole strict clean-eating thing, did protein-shake only, fruit-only cleanses, and so forth. Strict bodybuilder clean-eaters don’t care for IIFYM. However, plenty of people adhere to IIFYM.

So, what is IIFYM? In this philosophy, you have a set number of calories you can intake based on if you want to cut (lose fat), maintain, or bulk (gain mass). From those total calories, your macros are split up. Macros (aka macronutrients) are your proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. You get a certain number of each (this site has a great calculator for it). For example, I have around 1930 calories per day, my designated protein intake is around 130g, fat is like 55g, and carbs hover around 230g.

In many fitness regimens, you are supposed to eat clean (no crap). However, in IIFYM, you can eat dirty IF it fits your macros. So if I eat cleanly and focus on high protein and medium fat/carbs, I can have a big ol’ bowl of ice cream later. Your diet revolves around “hitting your macros” in any way YOU choose. For some people, it’s great because it allows them to be flexible. For others, they can’t handle all the temptation. Some people don’t even believe it works because there’s “dirty” eating involved.

You can treat yourself every day if you budget for it!

For me, it has gone fairly well. I don’t always hit my macros, sometimes because I don’t get all my suggested calories and sometimes because I go over a few. So far, I’m kind of liking it. It allows me treats but also sets a limit. Gives me some moderation. I’m not sure how long I will keep doing this, but I will stick with it for a bit longer. Tracking your nutrients is vital, I use MyFitnessPal (add me! “nanathetiger“). We may go back to strict clean-eating soon. Who knows!

Gotta love brussel sprouts 🙂

It’s good to know all the fitness philosophies out there. Some (MANY) are fads, but it’s worth investigating to find out what works for YOU. There is no one-fits-all fitness regimen. Something could work perfectly for you, but completely fail for me. It’s important to try stuff out and see what your body and mind likes best. As always…stay hungry and fit!

BONUS PUPPY PIC

I wonder if it’s tough being so cute all the time

Apr232014

Our “Staycation” in Pictures

You may have noticed that we have lapsed in our posting the past week. This is because my parents came in for an Easter visit! It’s been tons of fun. We did loads of stuff and there are tons of pictures that I still need to steal from other family members. Here’s a short snippet. But no worries, we are back in the saddle here at Hungry and Fit!

Spring has sprung!

We went to Estes Park…mum is modeling…

Mum made tons of lovely breakfasts

Noke got to enjoy the sun as the whole family gardened

EASTER!!

Noke cuddling

Rainbow!!

Some darn good food…

Good view of Boulder

Mum made scones

Mum being ridiculous

Eldorado

Poor Noke

She gets revenge

Good Indian food

Good Korean food

Fit’s parents…miss them already

Apr162014

Glazed Cinnamon Scones

You know what day it is–Wednesday! The day I bring some form of treat to my co-workers. It was a toss-up today between glazed cinnamon scones and another healthy version of brownies. This won out this week! It looked slightly intimidating, but it was fine once I got rolling. Similar process in making the scones as in my mum’s. I substituted a few things like put less sugar and added in whole-wheat flour to make it a little more healthy. These are delicious. They simply crumble into your mouth as you bite into it. The cinnamon settles nicely with the texture–it’s a keeper. Let’s try it out!

Crumble it up!

Knead it out!

Pie?

Love this mixture…

Glazed Cinnamon Scones

2014-04-15 22:51:42

Serves 8

A fiber-rich delicious glazed cinnamon scone

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Prep Time

17 min

Cook Time

11 min

Prep Time

17 min

Cook Time

11 min

Scone Ingredients

2 cups flour (1 whole-wheat, 1 regular)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 egg
1/2 cup butter
3 tbsp granulated sugar

Dust Ingredients

1 tbsp sugar
1/2 heaping tsp cinnamon

Glaze Ingredients

3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 tsp milk
1/2 tsp maple syrup

Instructions

Let's first start with the scones. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F and grease up a baking sheet.
Get out a big bowl and put your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in there. Cut the butter into the dry mixture until it gets crumb-y.
Separate the egg and put the egg YOLK in a separate bowl along with the sugar, milk, and lemon juice. Mix that up.
Add this to the dry ingredients and mix it until it combines (don't overdo it)
Flour up a surface (I use a cutting board) and put the dough you've made into a ball on the surface
Knead it into around 1/2 inch thickness and then cut into eight pieces
Place the eight pieces on the baking sheet
Take out the egg white and whisk it until frothy. Brush it onto the scone pieces
Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the egg-whited scones
Put in oven for 10-11 minutes
While it bakes, let's make the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar, milk and maple syrup until it forms up properly into a glaze
When the scones are done, let them cool a bit and then drizzle the glaze over

By Hungry and Fit

Adapted from Money Saving Mom

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

Once you get rolling, you won’t stop! There may be one or two less scones going to work tomorrow because they perhaps made a way into my stomach. Oops? I hope you enjoy this recipe and use it to spread happiness all around! Keep baking to stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY PIC

Sleepies

Apr132014

The Clean-Eater’s Breakfast

I was going to title this “The Bodybuilder’s Breakfast,” but I was worried that would scare too many people off. As in they would see my head on Arnold’s body. Bodybuilding is just creating a toned and muscular body! But that aside…if you want to do some clean eating, here’s an easy way to start your day. I have this most days out of the week. It keeps me full for a long period of time and it satisfies my taste buds. Oatmeal and hard-boiled egg whites. Pretty common ingredients. Simple, nutritious, delicious.

I always put hot sauce on my eggs…you could call me obsessed

Oatmeal is such a foundation for creativity!

Clean-Eater's Breakfast

2014-04-12 11:24:45

Serves 1

A great way to start the day, full of nutrition and satisfaction

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Cook Time

5 min

Cook Time

5 min

Ingredients

1 cup water
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats (however you can use any kind, it will just take longer)
raisins
1/2 tsp cinnamon
anything else you want to add- bananas, nuts, other dried fruit, maple syrup, etc
3 hard-boiled eggs

Instructions

Bring 1 cup of water to a boil
Take your hard boiled eggs and delicately peel the white off and drop in a bowl
Add any hot sauce you want to the eggs and cut them up with your fork
Once the water for the oatmeal boils, stir in the oats
Soon after, put in the cinnamon, raisins, and any other additions you would like

Notes

Hard-boil the eggs beforehand to make it a super quick breakfast

By Hungry and Fit

hungry and fit https://hungryandfit.com/

You can spiff up the oatmeal all you want. While I was in contest prep, I just had cinnamon in it to limit my sugars, but you can go wild with it! In college, we used to put the weirdest things in. Hey, it’s fun! This breakfast is sure to provide long-lasting satisfaction with no guilt involved. Eat clean to stay hungry and fit!

BONUS PUPPY PIC