Friday lunch at Oskar Blues…
Friday dinner at Oskar Blues….
Chris’ plate
Lots of drinks!
Huge brownie sundae
Morning walk
Green Smoothie Breakfast
Our favorite local donut shop (really healthy here)
Video games with Nymeria of course
Sunday morning banana pancakes
Frisbee golf! beautiful day
happy for warm weather
cutie girl
Every single day we are growing. Growing into the people we want to be, growing into an ideal, or simply just growing. Sometimes people grow in an opposite direction of what they intended. And what’s relevant to me in this story is fitness. Some people grow into bodies that don’t feel like theirs. They are unhealthy, sluggish, and ultimately unhappy. This is quite the opposite of blooming into the person you want to be. It’s not always easy to bloom by yourself, so it’s nice to have tools and products that help you do so.
People are shocked when they hear that Hungry and I can get into slumps, especially around fitness and eating. People see us as fit people. And we are…but it’s hard to stay on track 24/7. I’ve always been into athletics and fitness, but it hasn’t always been my central passion. In the first two years of college, you’re surrounded by food you usually aren’t. My family meals at home usually consisted of a protein, a carb, and lots of greens. We were always healthy. But at the college cafeteria, you could get pizza, french fries, french toast sticks, and the list goes on. So of course, (as my roommate and I cringe at this memory), we shovel all that stuff down. Now, of course, it wasn’t like that every day, and we did still eat relatively healthy and workout, but it was getting to me. Not necessarily just in weight or anything, but also the way I felt. I felt sluggish and blah and it certainly didn’t help my mood.
At the beginning of junior year in college, I decided to go vegetarian (or weird-a-tarian, I’ll only eat hunted or wild caught meat/fish) and take back my fitness. Sure, in the first two years I still did workouts and intramural sports, but I never dedicated enough time to it. It was time to take my life back to a healthy place and bloom! It’s funny because I specifically remember starting to use Silk milk in my morning cold and hot cereal. I would always go for the “blue” (as we would call it, it’s actually called Silk Vanilla Soymilk) Silk soymilk and it would leave me feeling good and refreshed. It wasn’t too thick so I didn’t feel tied down. From that point on, I have been in control of my fitness, my body, and my mind (because a healthy body is important for a healthy mind). Quite simply, Silk has helped me bloom into my role of “Fit.”
Mixing Silk Vanilla Unsweetened Almondmilk is way too delicious with cereal
Continually working on my pull-ups
Nowadays, I like to stick to the Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk. I love the taste of it, the amount of calories, grams of sugar, and the silky lightness to it. I used to drink regular dairy milk, but now there is always a Silk Almondmilk in our fridge because that’s my go-to. Don’t tell Hungry, but sometimes I will drink it out of the carton (naughty girl! I can hear my mum saying)! It has become a staple in my recipes and in my life and I appreciate it every day I can glug down a glass or two without any guilt. Look below for some killer recipes that use Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk.
Recipes using Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk
Those recipes are delicious and with using that Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almondmilk, they are nutritious too. Phew, I love not having to worry about that. Using Silk products like this really helps me bloom into the person I am today. I can still eat and drink what I want while keeping a Spartan-like physique (just kidding, but that’s my eventual goal). I am thankful Silk has played a positive role in my life. Now it’s YOUR turn.
Sign-up for Silk’s newsletter and you can get a $0.75 coupon on your next Silk half-gallon product. On registering, you have monthly chances of winning a year’s supply of Silk milk, Silk sweepstakes and promotions, and more. Just sign up here. Share your thoughts below! And share your Silk story with us! Use Silk to help you bloom into a hungry and fit beast!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine. Comments submitted may be displayed on other websites owned by the sponsoring brand.
Dressed up for once to go out to Dagabi Cucina!
Pharrell’s “Happy” is what goes on in my head
Oh so good. We were STUFFED
Nymeria passed out
Video game Saturday
Getting Noke some new stuff
Korea House Saturday night…
Happy girl
And of course…the Oscars where Ellen ROCKED IT (Source)
Just because it’s fun to share. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are rocking the March Madness for Health! Enjoy your weekends to stay hungry and fit!
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of P.F. Chang’s. All opinions are 100% mine.
For this Winter Seasonal Menu, P.F. Chang’s is serving up a light and scrumptious menu. Most places put heavy items on their menu during the winter menu. I have beef with that because I don’t need more of a reason not move! I know you guys feel me there. So I was glad to find a restaurant that really suited my needs in the Winter time. Here are some new items on their menu:
The restaurant is also introducing two new desserts and beverages (two categories I can’t get enough of):
I am thrilled with this new menu. P.F. Chang’s always reminds me of getting together with other families when I was younger and sharing all the dishes. It was so fun for me as a child (and now an adult!) to try all these new foods. Gotta love family style. With this new Winter menu, if you want to stay on the lighter side, there are plenty of options. For me, the two highlights of this menu has to be the Orange Ginger Beet Salad and the Shanghai Waldorf Salad. I know, I know, they are both salads, but just listen to what’s in them! Beets mixed with goat cheese?! That combination can never fail. And I simply will always love Waldorf salads (Fawlty Towers, anyone?) and the miso dressing is going to be mouth-watering.
At P.F. Chang’s, they enjoy toasting to the New Year. I think there is always something to celebrate. Our toast is to health and happiness (and puppies)! May 2014 be the year we all achieve our goals!
So get your tushie over to P.F. Chang’s today and enjoy their light menu for this Winter season before it ends! Also, for a limited time, visit pfchangs.com/winter to receive an offer of $10 off a $40 purchase. Gotta love them discounts. Enjoy P.F. Chang’s new menu to stay hungry and fit! Follow @pfchangs and Follow P.F. Chang’s on Pinterest.
*Question of the Day: Which new dish are you most excited to try?
Guest post from Peter Wise
We all know how difficult it can be to stay healthy when you’re on holiday, surrounded by exotic cuisine and relying on fast food to keep you going. Just because Las Vegas is synonymous with long buffet lines of overweight Americans and hideous burger joints doesn’t mean you can’t find a sumptuous and healthy spread.
Spago – 3500 S. Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Wolfgang Puck’s “Seasonal American” restaurant was at the forefront of cuisine in Las Vegas, and has been a success since its opening in 1992. The Californian cuisine style menu boasts organic produce with daily changes to the offerings, depending on current organic produce. In terms of health food, the Spago has a vegetarian tasting menu and many seafood options for a healthier alternative to a high-class meal, easily located outside of the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.
(http://www.bestofvegas.com/Restaurants/Canyon-Ranch-Cafe-Venetian-Las-Vegas-SpaClub/)
Canyon Ranch Cafe – 3355 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Between 7am and 6pm daily, the cafe in the Canyon Ranch Spa serves a host of healthy foods at comparatively moderate prices, for the Strip. They have smoothies, healthy teas, organic produce and healthy alternatives to main meals like turkey meatloaf, although they do have some awfully tempting-looking Mexican food, wraps and burgers. It’s an excellent opportunity to get away from the neon lights and crowds for a little while.
Go Raw Cafe – 2381 East Windmill Lane #18, Las Vegas, NV 89123 or 2910 Lake East Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89117
If only vegetarian and vegan will do, try out one of the locations of Go Raw, either on the East of the city at the Smiths Shopping Centre, or out West at the Lakes Centre, where the cafe overlooks Lake Sahara. The salad bar looks incredible and they always have fresh and organic fruit; the main downside is that it’s a little further out of the Strip, so it might be an idea to visit an online casino on your phone while out there soaking up some sunlight and sipping tasty veggie juices and healthy smoothies.
(http://raw-radiance.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/go-raw-cafe-las-vegas.html)
Cypress Street Marketplace – Caesars Palace Dr, Las Vegas, NV 89109
A remarkable adaptation of a food court, casual dining takes place here underneath the cypress trees inside Caesars Palace, and is based on the theme of a “picnic in the park”. As you might expect there is a huge range of speciality food cuisines, all of which are value-oriented, but the most healthy options include the much loved Romaine Course which allows you to build your own vegetarian garden salad and Ah So, which sells healthy noodle soups, sushi and wok dishes.
(http://www.caesarspalace.com/restaurants/cypress-street-market-place.html#.UwNbQ4XKg7A)
B&B Ristorante – 3355 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
An authentic experience, the B&B Ristorante is owned by the renowned celebrity chef Mario Batalio and imports its organic items from Italy – whether that’s a good or a bad thing is up to you. There are plenty of healthy meat and seafood dishes on the menu, as well as a few options for a salad if you treated yourself to a fast food burger earlier on.
It’s very rare nowadays to find a restaurant that doesn’t at least have a vegetarian option, which is always a handy fail-safe if you want to eat healthily. But the next time you’re in Las Vegas, try out one of these options for a guaranteed delicious experience that won’t send you to the gym out of guilt.
I’ve been aware of the unique flavors that New Zealand candy brings to the table since I’ve been getting them from my Kiwi relatives since I was little. Many of them you will find in the UK as New Zealand is still part of the Commonwealth, but all the same, it’s just darn tasty. If you ever get the chance to try Kiwi candy, don’t pass it up! And if you’re worried about calories, it’s all in kilojewels, so it doesn’t count right?! (Wrong…but we don’t have to think about that) Let’s list some favorites.
“Perky Nana”…one I haven’t tried before but it’s my nickname!
Chokito
This is Chris’ personal favorite along with one of my aunts, Raewyn’s. I must admit that it’s pretty delicious. I only discovered them during this trip and I’m glad I did! It’s like a softer chewier 100 Grand bar…yeah it’s that good. Chocolate-y goodness!
(Image source)
Pineapple Lumps
Now these are my favorite, perhaps of all Kiwi candy. It’s pineapple-flavored chewy piece covered in chocolate. I will literally eat an entire bag and look for another. I think this one is a love or hate type of deal. They make me happy
Crunchie Bar
Now this goes across all the Commonwealth, but for me, it’s a Kiwi candy. Oh, the crunchie bar. Growing up, this was probably my favorite candy from NZ. It’s basically like honeycomb covered in chocolate. This one is really hard to hate. Delicious crunch followed by that sweet chocolate melting in your mouth…well now I’m drooling.
Moro
Ooh, another favorite of mine. This is kind of like a crunchier milky way bar. You get that decadence of the chocolate and caramel on the inside but also a little crunch of the bits. We bought a huge mini bag of these for our drive from Auckland to Wellington and they didn’t last long.
Licorice Allsorts
Ohhhh, allsorts. They have gotten so much worse over the years, but we still know where to find them. Of course, licorice allsorts aren’t exclusively Kiwi, but they are for me! If you don’t like black licorice, it’d be a good thing to stay away from them. But since I’m a weird American with a Kiwi mother, I love them! It’s basically black licorice compiled with different flavors like chocolate, fruity, and vanilla. They are divine. Especially beside a glass of milk.
Jaffas
These are basically thumb-nail sized chocolate balls covered in an orange coating. These are so so good. Perfect alongside a cup of tea. If you serve them to others, they won’t last long. It has that wonderful crunch of the coating and then the creaminess of the milk chocolate inside.
Minties
These are what they sound like…mint-flavored chewies. Kind of like a minty taffy. Lovely to chew on and enjoy, especially after a meal or after other sweets!
Milkybar
I nearly forgot this one because I didn’t eat it on our last trip there. It’s basically just delicious white chocolate. I know some people aren’t white chocolate fans, but my mum and I sure am. We love this bar. Wishing I had one next to me right now!
Flake
I usually get these in the form of minis, but you can get them in chocolate-bar-size as well too. They are basically little bits of chocolate stuck together, creating a “flake”-like texture once you bite into it. It all falls apart in your mouth. It’s super good chocolate because it’s Cadbury and we all know they make the best. Great to crumble over ice cream!
I obviously can go on and on, but I will stop. I found a great website that lists all the NZ candy (or lollies, I should have been saying this whole time) here. Check it out if you want to find out more about Kiwi candy. It really is the best! Make sure you pick up and try each one of these when you visit New Zealand! Any of my Kiwi relatives can totally send me some right now!! And as always…stay hungry and fit!
If you’re looking for a super simple, delicious recipe, then you’ve come to the right place! This post directly follows yesterday’s post as the two go together perfectly! This maple orange butter goes great on tons of things: muffins, pancakes, toast, waffles, scones–you name it! I took this right out of the Cuisinart mixer cookbook and it was so good, I wanted to share. Easy as 1-2-3!
Ingredients
Directions
1. Beat the butter in a bowl until nice and light
2. Grate the orange into zest and mix that in along with the maple syrup
3. Refrigerate until ready to serve
Yeah, I was serious…1-2-3! Whip this up in five minutes to make another baked product have some shazaam! It’s easy, it’s delicious, it’s butter! Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!
BONUS KITTY PIC
A muffin we don’t have to regret eating! Hurray! Ever since I got my new hand mixer (thanks, mum), I’ve been wanting to try out the recipes that came with it in a little booklet. This muffin recipe is from that booklet (Cuisinart), but I changed it to what I wanted it to be. These muffins are perfect to me because it’s a good ball of energy when I don’t have a lot of time to eat (mostly between clients). They are tasty, without being overly sweet, and leave you feeling great (rather than the sugar-coated, fat-loaded ones you will find elsewhere). I also made a maple orange butter to go along with it, but let’s save that for another post. This recipe is super easy too! I always value that.
Yum yum yum
Ingredients
Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 F. Grease up your muffin tin. I made 12 muffins, but you can make 24 mini muffins and it will take less time to bake
2. Put the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder into a big bowl and mix
3. Put the eggs in a smaller bowl and beat them until they become foamy.
4. Add the evaporated milk and butter into the egg mixture
5. Pour the small bowl of wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Mix everything together
6. Fold in your raisins, can be any type, I chose golden raisins
7. Spread your mixture evenly into the muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes for 12 muffins, 14-16 minutes for 24 mini muffins.
And that’s it! Really simple, huh? My favorite pair is simple and healthy. It can’t get much better than that, at least in my opinion. Use this recipe to stay hungry and fit!
Sajah loves the sheepskin from New Zealand!
This past week, I bought way too much kale. Chris was so nice, he didn’t say anything, but seriously–there’s only two of us! The Super Bowl was nearing and you’ve got to have dips while watching football, can’t get much more American. I do love spinach artichoke dip, but neither were in my fridge and I believe in using what you’ve got! So I grab my enormous bag of kale and set to work on a dip! It was adapted from this recipe. This dip recipe is simple and, more importantly, delicious! It tastes like spinach and artichoke dip, but with more of a sharp flavor mixed in with that garlic creaminess. Oh, did I mention that it’s healthy too?! Read on.
Ingredients
Directions
Beat it! (Thanks, mum, for the hand mixer!)
‘
I would serve warm or luke warm, although you can refrigerate for a few days if you aren’t going to be using it right away. I liked this dish so much I made two batches! The garlic creaminess mixed with the sharp flavor of the kale is a winner in my book. And unlike with other dips, there’s no sense feeling guilty about it because it has all great ingredients! This one will come up again, I can assure you. Try this recipe out to stay hungry and fit!
*Question of the Day: What’s your favorite dip?
Seriously. We all want to get our yummy cookie fix but without all the grams of fat and sugar that weigh us down, especially around the Super Bowl where we are already going to be stuffing our face! I felt super experiment-y in the kitchen today between playing bouts of video games. This recipe is based off one of my previous ones, but it’s more healthified (yes, that’s a word) and still tasty!
It’s as good as it looks
Ingredients
Directions
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease up a baking sheet
2. Mix together the avocado, applesauce, sugar and egg
I know it doesn’t look appetizing… but it turns out great
3. Literally just mix the rest of the ingredients of the above list
Before I added the raisins…can’t say that I didn’t eat some of the dough
4. Scoop them out with a spoon and place them apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes
No sense feeling bad about eating these..
And that’s it. Yeah–four steps. Four steps of guilt-free cookie munching. Yes, please! Perfect for last minute party ideas, whip them up in under twenty minutes and wow your friends with how yummy they taste and how guilt-free they are! Try this recipe out to stay hungry and fit!
BONUS KITTY PIC
^.^
