WIAW #2 - Comfort food

Happy hump day folks! I must say this week is flying by for me, which means its almost the weekend. I try to not wish the weeks away but the weather is so gloomy lately which totally puts a quite literal damper on everything. One thing that pairs well with gloomy weather? "Healthy" comfort food. Check out a full day of my eats with several meals that just scream "comfort!"

For those of you who don't know what it is, it is a post concept developed by the wonderful Peas And Crayons blog in which you simply post what you ate in any given day (not necessarily that Wednesday).
Enjoy :)

Breakfast

{ Oat bran + rolled oats cooked with unsweetened vanilla almond milk, sea salt, stevia, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, tsp coconut oil. Mango + banana mixed in. Topped with maple sunflower seed butter + peanut butter }

SIDE NOTE

Ultimate comfort food! Excuse the unattractive photo :) Nothing like super creamy, warm oats topped with melty nut butter to start off a chilly morning. This vegan breakfast option fills me up comfortably, gives me energy, and satisfies my sweet cravings. Never gets old! 

Lunch

{ Herb crusted baked salmon with lemon. Spring mix salad with tomatoes, cucumber, goats cheese + italian good seasons dressing added later }

Dinner

{post-workout}

{ Delallo organic whole wheat shells with homemade pasta sauce + parmesan cheese. Organic whole wheat & sourdough bread with olive oil butter. Pinot grigio }

SIDE NOTE

Comfort food to the max! Growing up an italian, nothing screams home to me more than a big bowl of comforting pasta. This was even my mom's amazing homemade sauce that I had frozen. SO GOOD. Gotta have some doughy bread to soak up the extra sauce of course, and what is pasta if there isn't wine involved? This meal made my belly + soul happy.

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Well there you have it! Another WIAW post in the books.

YOUR TURN
What is your ultimate "healthy" comfort food?

Recipe « Chili Lime Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Hey guys! I hop everyone had a great weekend. Mine was very relaxed. Got a lot of quality sleep, did some fall clothes shopping (finally..cozy sweaters!), and watched a lot of netflix :) Also got a great sweat sesh in Saturday morning (HIIT sprints + abs)

I have an amazing recipe for you guys today! The original is from the wonderful Half Baked Harvest, but I made a ton of modifications with ingredients + instructions so I will post my version below! 

These are so healthy. High in lean protein, healthy fiber-rich carbs from the sweet potato, nutrients + antioxidants from the spinach & sweet potato. Perfect paired with a nice green salad!

You will need:

8 small sweet potatoes or 4 large potatoes

1 package ground chicken (or ground turkey)
1/4c olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1tbsp minced garlic

2 minced jalepino peppers

1tsp dried oregano

1tsp cumin

1tsp chili powder

salt & pepper

1 container spinach

sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry your sweet potatoes, place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes or until fork tender. Let the potatoes cool for 5 minutes before cutting in half. Let them cool for another 10 minutes.

In a bowl combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, jalepinos, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Wilt the spinach. This can be done many ways. I microwaved it in a large microwave safe bowl for a minute. You can also steam it, or wilt it on the stove! Once wilted (not soggy), set aside.

To prepare the ground chicken, simply heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan on medium heat & cook the chicken, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go. I seasoned  the chicken at this point with salt, pepper, cumin, chili, & oregano. This amount of spice is extra and I did not include in the ingredients. You can omit.

Turn the oven up to 400 degrees. Using a spoon, scrape 1/2 the potato out of the peel and put filling in a bowl. Once all potatoes are scooped, place them all back on the foil lined baking sheet. Brush the skins with with a little of the chili lime sauce and bake for about 10 minutes or until slightly crisp.

Meanwhile, mix the wilted spinach, cooked ground chicken, remaining chipotle sauce, and leftover sweet potato filling that you had set aside. (I combined all in the same skillet I cooked the chicken in, with heat turned off).

Remove potatoes from the oven and stuff with the filling mixture. Grate & sprinkle cheese on top of each, and place back in oven. Bake for about 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly & skins are hot + crisp. 

Wine is optional ;)

Remove, let cool, devour.

These potatoes were so good and made for tons of leftovers. I have been eating them for lunch or dinner every day since I made them. They are good cold, or heated up! I love chopping them up on my salad, as well as picking one up like a taco and eating it with my hands (classy I know).

Friday Favorites #1

Woohoo TGIF we made it to the weekend! No big plans over here, but looking forward to relaxing, watching football, maybe some shopping, and a little fall baking :) Today is also my first Friday Favorites post! Basically a list of random things I am just lovin' this week, weather that be food, fitness, beauty, movies, links, you name it.

1. Sweet n' Salty Butternut Squash

I bought a butternut squash weeks ago and finally got around to using it last night.

Let me tell you - these things are a pain in the you know what to prepare but the end result is so worth it! (note to self - buy pre-cut squash next time)

Anyways, once I had some help from the boyfriend and got it chopped into cubes, I tossed it in extra virgin olive oil, this pure maple syrup, sea salt + pepper and roasted them at 400F for about 30 minutes. I forgot how much I loved this squash. The combination of salty + sweet was to die for & the texture was right on point. They top sweet potatoes in my book!

2. Arm Workouts

I go through phases with which body area is my favorite to work out. Sometimes it's legs/glutes, sometimes it's abs, but lately it's been arms! I often get inspiration off Instagram or other blogs for new arm exercises, and I perform 2-3 intense rounds until fatigued! I use anything from 8lbs - 14lbs depending on the exercise, and I have recently been incorporating my boyfriends iron gym too (great for pull-ups!)

Here are a couple of my favorite effective exercises I've always incorporated into my arm routine:

(Source)

3. Wild Friends Maple Sunflower Butter

I had my eye on this product for quite some time since it is two of my favorite things (maple + sunflower seed butter) and I finally splurged when I bought it. I bought it at a local Wegmans, you can find it here. Verdict? Amazing. Although I usually stick to good old fashioned peanut butter, this sweet + salty spread is a tasty change. Imagine this on my roasted maple butternut squash?! Swoon. Taking note of that...

4. Love Language Quiz

This Love Language Quiz is an awesome relationship tool for everyone that my sister showed me (click here for the link!)

"The 5 Love Languages profile will give you a thorough analysis of your emotional communication preference. It will single out your primary love language, what it means, and how you can use it to connect with your loved one with intimacy and fulfillment."

You can take the quiz if your single, or in a relationship, and have your partner/family member take it too! I have always felt that every person has a different way of showing + perceiving love and this explained that a lot. There are essentially 5 types of love which are listed below, and the quiz sends you an email with your results at the end, with a ranking of each type of love. It is a great tool to improve relationships in your life once you both have an understanding of what kind of love each person needs!

5. Modern Family

Woop woop, Modern Family is back! I don't have cable, so when I do watch TV it is always Netflix or Hulu. However, I am pumped Modern Family is back weekly, every wednesday at 9pm on abc. I began watching this show last year and it is hilarious. The only down fall is that the episodes are only 30 minutes long, once a week :( Give me more!

(source)

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Well that's a wrap guys! I hope everyone has an awesome weekend :)

YOUR TURN!
What fall food are you currently obsessing over?
What are your plans this weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) #1

Happy Wednesday guys! I hope everyone is having a great first half of their week. I am super excited about this post because it is my first ever WIAW post! For those of you who don't know what it is, it is a post concept developed by the wonderful Peas And Crayons blog in which you simply post what you ate in any given day (not necessarily that Wednesday). I have always loved reading other blogs WIAW posts, so I am excited to finally do some of my own :) Here we go!

Breakfast
at about 7:30am

{ Smoothie made with 1/2 scoop Vega All-in-one chocolate shake + 1/2c Unsweetened almond milk + Frozen banana + Frozen berries & cinnamon & 1/2 an Ezekiel english muffin with organic PB + Coconut oil }


Lunch
at about 12:30pm

Yikes! The busy day caught up with me & I ate before snapping a pic :(
{ Sautéed kale + swiss chard (in coconut oil) + Grilled italian chicken + Avocado + Leftover broccoli }


Snack
mid-afternoon

{ Apple cinnamon oatmeal Detour Smart Bar + 1c Organic carrot juice }

SIDE NOTE
I have started drinking 1c organic pure carrot juice the past week after doing some research on the AMAZING benefits thanks to the idea from my friend Jess... Expect a blog post on this soon!)
+ First time trying these bars, pretty tasty! Only 4g sugar and 10g Protein is what I like to see in a bar.


Dinner
post-workout

{ Salad of mixed spring greens + Cucumbers + Tomatoes + Leftover garlic roasted cauliflower + Goat cheese + Leftover balsamic salmon + italian good seasons dressing }

Dessert
post-dinner

{ A few chunks of 85% + 72% dark chocolate --> Trader Joe's & Green and Black's }

SIDE NOTE
Sometimes I like a little something sweet after dinner or a while later, and nothing quiets my sweet tooth like super dark chocolate! Quality over quantity as rich cacao is filled with antioxidants, fiber, and very little sugar. I used to only have a taste for 72% but I worked my way up to 85% & 90% and it actually tastes amazing to me now!


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Well there you have it! My first WIAW post in the books. I promise to work on remembering to take more pictures of my food in the future ;)

YOUR TURN
What was the best thing you've ate this week?
Have you ever tried carrot juice?

Healthy Fats for Healthy Hormones

Fats are no doubt my favorite macronutrient. Thankfully the fat banning phase where people thought “fat makes you fat” is long behind us (so I hope!) as we embrace healthy fats with open arms and open mouths ;)

It’s no secret healthy fats host tons of health benefits and are essential to feeling good & looking good. Our brains function off healthy fats, they provide us lasting energy & satisfaction, and they are even essential for hormone health.

Why is this important?

Hormones are everything. From your mood to your skin, hair, weight, sexual function, reproduction, and metabolism. Balanced hormones are the goal here, and sometimes they get out of wack due to a long list of reasons. When your hormones are unbalanced, it can lead to irritability, mood swings, fatigue, breakouts, weight gain, insomnia, low libido, hair loss, poor digestion, and more. That’s where the fats come in. Eating healthy fats high in short, medium & long chain fatty acids is a crucial component to healthy hormones. They are the building blocks to hormone production and also boost your metabolism & brain function.

Reference: 10 Ways To Balance Hormones Naturally - DrAxe.com. (2014, April 7).

My experience

One thing I’ve learned throughout my healthy living journey, is that my body thrives off healthy fats. Everyone is different, and you may find you thrive off a smaller or higher amount of fats, therefore trial & error is crucial. I personally cannot go a day without eating them. They keep me full, energized, alert, happy, and fit. I totally notice the difference if I skip out on them in my breakfast, and find it often leads to more cravings later in the day because I was lacking these nutrients. I also notice my hair, skin & nails seem healthier + softer & more moisturized when I am keeping my healthy fat intake high! After all, you are what you eat ;)

Sources of healthy fats:

• coconut oil

• nuts

• salmon

• chia seeds

• egg yolks

• flax seeds

• extra virgin olive oi

• avocado

• full fat organic cheese/milk/yogurt

+ more!

 In addition to my food, I take a high quality omega 3 fish oil supplement that you can see here.

I find it super easy to include healthy fats into my diet because I love the taste of them. I almost always add a scoop of nut butter or coconut oil to my oatmeal, toast, or smoothie. I always use my favorite home made extra virgin olive oil dressing on my salads, and love to add mashed avocado or sunflower seeds in there too. I always cook + sauté with coconut oil or olive oil, and I love snacking on roasted unsalted nuts.

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How about you, what are your favorite ways to enjoy healthy fats?

Allow me to introduce myself

Hey guys! Welcome to my blog, and thank you for stopping by :)

I have wanted to start up my blog for a very very long time. Over 5 years ago I first started reading "healthy living" blogs, which is also when I started getting hooked on this lifestyle and found my true passion. If you haven't checked out my "About me" section, you can view it here. But to sum it up, I am a I am a twenty-something year old graphic designer living in upstate NY with a huge passion for living a balanced, healthy life. Balance means something different for everyone.

To me, this is what balance means:

• Eating healthy most of the time but eating food that makes your soul happy, too.

• Working out regularly & exercising because of how good it makes me feel & doing workouts I enjoy.

• Taking rest days & listening to my body when it needs rest.

• Spending time with people who make my soul happy, such as family, friends, boyfriend & dog :)

• Constantly working on self-improvement, and adapting a optimistic + positive attitude towards life and all the obstacles it may through at me. (Less stress --> More living)

Although I am not a registered dietician or personal trainer, I love educating & motivated others, and connecting with others who have the same interest. I can't wait to share my favorite tips, recipes, experiences and everything in-between. This blog will be a little bit of everything, I am excited to see where it goes, and to connect with you guys! Therefore please don't be shy & feel free to introduce yourself below :)

Hope everyone has a great start to the week!