Pecan Pie Larabars

Another great recipe from MyWholeFoodLife.  Pecan Pie Larabars.  These taste so delicious, it's hard to believe they are good for you!  With just 3 ingredients, you can't go wrong.  Go ahead, have 2 or 3 or 4...

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup pecans
12 medjool dates (or prunes)

Blend the pecans and the almonds in a food processor until they are fine. Then mix in the dates. The nuts will release their natural oils so there is no need for water. I was a little short on prunes, so I added just a little bit of maple syrup to help bring it together.  Line an 8X8 pan with parchment, leaving enough room for some paper to stick out the sides. Press the dough evenly into the pan. Once it’s spread out, use the extra paper to press the dough down with your palms so it’s packed well. Stick in the fridge to firm up for about 2 hours.  Remove, cut into slices, enjoy!

Day 19 of 30 Days of Cookies - No Bake Macaroons

Love Macaroons?  Try these amazing, guilt free No Bake Macaroons.  Recipe from MyWholeFoodLife (My favoritest blogger ever).

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
• 10 medjool dates pitted (I used 15 prunes)
• 1/2 cup almonds 
• 1 T coconut oil melted
• 1 tsp ground vanilla bean or extract (I used extract)
• 1 T flax meal + 3 T warm water

Directions

• Combine the flax meal and warm water in a bowl. Whisk it and place in the fridge. 
• In a food processor, pulse the coconut and almonds into a fine powder. 
• Add the dates, flax mixture, vanilla and coconut oil. 
• Pulse until the mixture starts to come together. Roll into balls.  
• You can also roll the balls in some coconut.
• Enjoy!  (And remember to share :) )

Strawberry Lime Cilantro Green Smoothie

It's amazing what a little lime and cilantro can do to your typical Green Smoothie.  It has a crisp, refreshing taste.  I also used pineapple coconut water.  Definitely one of my favorite mixes.

Cilantro has many benefits you may not of realized...

• Toxic Metal Cleansing
• Cardiovascular Protection
• Anti-Diabetic Activity
• Antioxidant Activity
• Anti-anxiety Effects
• Improves Sleep Quality
• Blood-sugar Lowering Effects
• Anti-bacterial and Anti-fungal Activity
• Natural Internal Deodorant

Read more here.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Strawberry Green Smoothie

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Strawberry Green Smoothie.  One of my favorite things about Green Smoothies is how simple they are to make.  Just a few good, healthy ingredients and you have an amazing, delicious drink.

For this smoothie, you just need:

• Handful of Spinach
• Frozen Banana
• Frozen Strawberries
• 1 TB PB2
• 1 TB Cacoa Nibs
• Coconut water and/or almond milk

Place ingredients in blender, blend and enjoy!

Pumpkin Pancakes With Just Two Ingredients

That's right, there is just 2 ingredients in these delicious Pumpkin Pancakes.

2 Ingredient Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (or sweet potato or butternut squash)
• 4 eggs
• Coconut oil for cooking

Directions

• Put pumpkin and eggs in blender or food processor and blend until well combined.
• Grease griddle or pan with coconut oil and heat to medium high
• Turn griddle to medium low, pour batter by 1/4 cup onto griddle and cook for 7 minutes, flip over and cook 4 more minutes
• That's it!

Thanks WholeFoodsSimply for the idea!

Healthy Banana Waffles

Looking for a great, healthy breakfast the whole family will love?  These are amazingly delicious, a hit for our whole family.  And if you make a double batch, the leftovers are perfect for making Blueberry French Toast Bake.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or 1 cup all purpose 1/2 whole wheat)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1 egg
• 1 TB maple syrup
• 1 large banana mashed (about 1/2 cup)

Directions

• Mix dry ingredients
• Mix banana, maple syrup, egg, milk and water together and add to dry mixture
• Pour 1/2 cup batter into greased waffle iron and cook for 3-4 minutes (or according to manufacturer directions)

Overnight Blueberry French Toast Bake

We like french toast...  But we LOVE this french toast bake.  It's french toast taken to a whole new level of amazingness, and it's super easy.

Ingredients

• Leftover waffles (like these Healthy Banana Waffles) or pieces of bread (I use 3 waffles or 6-8 pieces of bread)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/12 cup almond milk
• 2 TB sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 6 eggs
• 3oz cream cheese, diced
• cinnamon
• blueberries

Directions

Takes the leftover waffles (or bread), tear into pieces and place into lightly greased 8x8 pan.  I made our new favorite, Healthy Banana Waffles and made a double batch, just so I could make this stuff the next day

Mix flour, milk, sugar, vanilla and eggs.  Add your egg mixture to pan and make sure all waffle pieces are covered.  Sprinkle with cinnamon, blueberries and cream cheese.  Place in refrigerator overnight (for up to 24 hours).  

The next morning, bake in 400 degree oven for 25-35 minutes.

And you're done!

Pumpkin Spice Pancakes w/Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour (I used 1/2 white 1/2 whole wheat)
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2/3 cup pumpkin puree (or other winter squash or sweet potato)
• 2 eggs
• 2 TB coconut oil
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions

• Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and stir until combined
• Pour batter by 1/4 cup onto hot griddle
• When starts to bubble, flip over and cook until done

Syrup Ingredients

• 2 TB brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 TB coconut oil
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Syrup Ingredients

• Mix all ingredients together in small saucepan on low heat until well combined

Pumpkin Pie Chocolate Chip Brownies

Pumpkin and Chocolate and Brownies??  It just doesn't get any better than this.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup flour (I used 1/4 whole wheat and 1/4 oat, but you can use regular white flour too)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (you can also use 2/3 cup granulated sugar)
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (or pureed pumpkin or sweet potato)
• 3 TB oil (I used coconut)
• 2 TB Almond milk (you could use regular milk, too)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

• Mix cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt
• In separate bowl, combine wet ingredients and mix
• Add dry to wet ingredients and mix
• Pour into greased baking dish (I used a 7.6 x 7.6)
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes (Mine took 48 minutes but it will vary depending on the type of baking dish you use, just keep an eye on them)
• Let cool (at least slightly if you can), cut into squares and enjoy!

Adapted from this Chocolate Covered Katie recipe

Homemade Flour Tortillas - Lard free

Burritos are such a great lunch to send with the hubs to work, especially since I can make them ahead of time and freeze them.  It's cheap, it's easy and it's way better than fast food.  I make our own Refried Beans which saves us a fortune.  While tortillas aren't that expensive, since we're trying to stick to a mostly whole foods diet, or at least make food at home from scratch, I began looking around for a good Tortilla recipe.  Unfortunately, most of them contained lard, or bacon grease, or something along those lines.  Nope, definitely not what I was wanting.  It took some more digging but I finally found some Lard Free recipes.  They were all very similar.  Here's what I ended up making...

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup hot water

Directions

• Mix flour, salt and baking powder together
• With hands, mix in oil
• Add hot water and mix until a large ball of dough forms
• Let sit for at least 30 minutes
• Divide into balls (I originally did 12, but after the first couple I realized that was too many and the tortillas were too small.  I recommend about 8 balls of dough)
• Roll out into tortillas and cook on hot griddle (I set mine to 300 degrees)
• Cook 2-3 minutes each side

Divide into balls

Cook on griddle

Done

Add Homemade Refried Beans

 Add to freezer bags and freeze

Or add Homemade Salsa, Greek Yogurt and lettuce

Homemade Refried Beans

Making homemade refried beans couldn't be easier, not to mention way better for you.  Did you know 1 can of bean has anywhere from 400mg to 530mg of sodium?  Maybe even more?  And did  you know, when you make your own beans, that the equivalent of 1 can has about 3mg of sodium?  Yes that's right, 3mg vs 530mg.  I guess that's why canned beans cost so much more.  Normally you can find a can of beans for about $1 at the grocery store, yet it will only cost you about 20 cents to make your own, and that's not buying your beans in bulk. This is why I Soak and Cook Dry Beans.

Buy some Pinto Beans (in bulk or in a prepackaged bag).  If I'm not going to freeze any, I will use 3 cups of dried beans.  If you are wanting to make more and freeze them, I would suggest at least 6 cups of dried beans.

1. Measure 3 cups of dried beans, check for any rocks, etc.  Rinse and put into pot.  Cover with a couple inches of water and let soak, overnight preferably.
2. After the beans have soaked over night, drain water, rinse and add enough fresh water to pot to cover by beans a few inches.
3.  Bring to a boil and cook on medium-low to medium (depending on your stove).  They will cook faster if you cover the pot, but watch out for it to boil over.  You may need a lower heat.
4.  Cook until beans are soft.
5. From here you can mash the beans with a potato masher, but I prefer to put them in my Food Processor in small batches and process with a small amount of liquid from the pot.
6. Once beans are the consistency you desire, add salt to taste and 2-3 tsp of cumin.
7. Stir and you're done!  These freeze well, so from here you can enjoy or freeze and enjoy later.

I like to pair mine with Homemade Salsa.  Also much better for you than that processed garbage.

Berry Chia Jam

This has got to be the best jam, ever.  No sugar added.  You could even skip cooking it and make Raw Jam.

Ingredients

• 1lb Strawberries
• 1/2 pint Blueberries
• 6oz Raspberries
• 2 TB Chia Seeds

Directions

• Mash berries with potato masher
• Pour into pot and simmer until desired consistency
• Add chia seeds and let sit for 10 minutes
• That's it, you're done. Enjoy!

Cheesy Green Beans & Cauliflower

Ok, can you tell what vegetables I bought this week?  Yes, another Green Beans and Cauliflower dish  (Although, I still think the Curried Sweet Potatoes Cauliflower and Green Beans are still my fav this week).

Ingredients

• 2 cups green beans
• 2 cups cauliflower
• EVOO
• 1 TB minced garlic cloves
• 1 onion
• 2 TB flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk (or water)
• 1-2 tsp paprika
• Salt/Pepper to taste
• 1-2 cups cheese (your preference on cheesiness!)
• Optional - I added chicken I had in the freezer, you could go without this for a great Vegetarian dish or add a meat of choice for those of you who are meat lovers!

Directions:

• Boil green and cauliflower until al dente (3-5 minutes), then set aside
• Saute garlic and onion in EVOO
• Add flour, salt, pepper and paprika, stir
• Add milk (or water) and let simmer until thickened
• Add cheese stir until melted
• Add green beans, cauliflower (and cooked meat if you choose)
• Enjoy!

Vegan Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips

Serious, this is by far the best bread recipe I have ever tried.  I found this recipe last year on One Hundred Dollars A Month's blog.  It is near perfection.  I only make changes to the recipe if I don't have something on hand and need to make a substitute.  Like today, I am out of Whole Wheat Flour so I made some Oat Flour from Organic Rolled Oats.

Ingredients

• 6 TB ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups grated zucchini 
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

• Mix together flax seeds and water, let sit for 5 minutes
• Add sugar, vanilla, oil and mix well
• Fold in zucchini
  In separate bowl mix dry ingredients (except chocolate chips)
• Add to wet mixture and stir until combined
• Add chocolate chips
• Pour into 2 lightly greased/floured bread pans
• Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes

Baked Zucchini Chips

Ingredients:

• Zucchini, cut into slices
• EVOO
• Salt/Pepper/Parsley to taste
• Real Parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Toss chips with EVOO and seasonings
• Place on greased baking sheet (or silpat)
• Sprinkle with cheese
• Bake in 450 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, depending on size of chips

Food Diary August 12, 2013

So I'm finally getting around to this Food Diary thing.  I'm hoping I can keep up with it :)  Here it is, for August 12, 2013.

Breakfast.  This is a typical breakfast for me, it only varies a little bit.  I don't usually eat this all in one sitting, I kind of snack on it all morning.

Lunch.

Dinner.  Curried Sweet Potatoes Cauliflower and Green Beans.  So delicious!  I haven't cooked an actual dinner for myself since we moved down here almost 3 weeks ago.

I had a cup of coffee with breakfast and lunch and drank lots of water.

Why It's Been So Quiet Lately And What's Coming Up

Ok, so I know since I lost my last 10lbs and hit the 4 week mark I've been awful quiet.

My husband and I went out for an early anniversary dinner Saturday night to our old favorite burger place.  The last time I ate there, for my birthday and before I started this diet, the burgers were to die for!  I mean, fabulous burgers.  We went there on Saturday and surprisingly, were both pretty disappointed in the food.  I realized why.  Because we had been eating such great, wholesome food at home.  The restaurant food just wasn't as good to us as it used to be.  Don't get me wrong, it was good.  And it was nice to not cook.  But, I knew I could make a better burger at home.  And better fries, too.  The next couple days were extremely hot (85*-90*).  Ok, it's not really THAT hot.  But I live in Washington, in an upstairs apartment.  So I took a couple nights off from cooking and we just kind of snacked on some things and had green smoothies.  On top of that, my husband and son got sick.  Boo.

So anyway, now that we're up to speed...  I am going to continue with my mostly Whole Foods diet (because this isn't a "diet" but rather a lifestyle change, this IS my new lifestyle).  I've got a pretty good handle on it now and am looking forward to finding some new foods and recipes to try out!  I've decided that this month I am going to keep a daily Food Diary and post that at the end of each day so you can see exactly what I eat during the day.

 I've lost 20lbs in 2 months for a total of 60lbs and am hoping to lose another 10lbs this month and reach my goal!  And I'll be honest, I did not exercise like I had planned to last month.  I just couldn't quite make it happen.

Eating Better... Whether It's Whole Foods Or Not

"Eating Better Laughing More Loving Life".

I believe that if you Eat Better, you will feel better.  And feeling better means that you will laugh more and by Laughing More, you will enjoy life more.  If you imagine someone who is Loving Life, what do you see?  Do you see someone who feels good, who is laughing and enjoying life?  That's what I see.  At least among women, I hear so often that they are unhappy with their weight or the way they look because of the weight or how they feel in general.  For us this can be a constant source of unhappiness.  I know many situations are unique and different and may not all have one solution.  But I believe that changing your diet by eating healthier foods can change so much more in your life than just what is on your plate.  Striving to eat healthier and changing your eating habits changes your perspective.  You're not just thinking "What will taste good right now?  What will satisfy my hunger?".  No, now you are thinking "What is good for my body?  What is something that will nourish me?".  That change in thinking, that change in perspective about yourself, creates a new connection to yourself.  Now you're taking care of yourself.  You aren't just trying to make yourself not hungry or indulge in what sounds good.  You are thinking about what is best for you.  What is going to give your body the nourishment and the nutrients it needs?  What is going to make you feel good long term, not just while you are eating it.

For me personally, Eating Better means a more Whole Foods diet.  To me, it makes sense.  And when I say "diet" I do not mean that I am "on a diet".  Diet simply refers to my intake of food, my diet.  Again, I do not believe in "diets".  I don't think they work long term, because a "diet" is something that is meant to end.  Eating a healthy diet and living a healthy lifestyle, is never meant to end.

But, there are other ways to eat better.  Maybe for you eating better means cutting out Fast Food and Restaurants.  Maybe it means eating Vegetarian, or Vegan or Paleo.  Maybe it means cooking your meals from scratch instead of premade.  I of course believe everyone would benefit from a Whole Foods diet, but in no way do I think that's the only way to eat healthier.  It is simple what works for me and I recommend.

Another part of laughing more and loving life, comes saving money.  As much as we may not like it, our world does revolve around money.  And money, or rather lack of money, is generally a huge source of stress.  Not only do I think you need to eat better, but you also need to save money when possible.  And why not?  If you saw two identical cans of beans sitting next to each other and one was $1 and the other was $0.99, which would you pick?  You would probably pick the can that was $0.99.  A single penny doesn't seem like much but we generally like to save every penny we can.  And that is where couponing comes in.  Check out my Facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/learncouponing101 if you are interested in couponing.

Week 4 Done... On to Week 5!

I started the week spending $44.06 on Produce and Chicken.  I of course ended up buying more produce, milk, yogurt, cheese and a bag of organic tortilla chips and a couple other small things for my son.  My total for the week in groceries was $75.15!  Woo hoo!  Shaved $25 off this week.  :)  Though I did have a bit of stuff leftover from the last week.  But I'm going to see if I can keep this up and maybe even get down to $50 a week.

So, to start this week out!  I bought a few things Thursday that obviously will mostly be used this week, so I split the cost up between the two weeks.  I have Potatoes, Milk, Broccoli, Ginger Root, Apples and Onion that added $4.61 to this week.

Today I bought:

15+lbs of Chicken for $14.85

$21.59 on Fresh Produce ($4.22 for Watermelon!)

FREE

$2.93 for Olive Oil

So, to start the week I've spent $43.98!  And that chicken is going to last us a few weeks!  Yipee!  

My poor husband didn't realize that although I've been calling this a "30 Day Challenge" that I was going to KEEP going with this lifestyle after the 30 days.  I think I will reward him by having pizza sometime this week.  He's been such a trooper through all this with me!

Week Four Done! 28 Days of 99% Whole Foods Eating. See How I Did...

Wow, June has gone by so fast!  I can't believe it's almost July.

I gained over 60lbs while I was pregnant with my daughter (and I still had 10lbs of "baby weight" that I had never lost from when my son was born March 2011, I gained 60lbs with him too).  She was born December 24, 2012.  I had 70lbs I needed to lose.  I immediately started eating a low(er) carb diet and by mid February had dropped 30lbs.  I lost another 10lbs from mid February - end of March and then things stalled.  I didn't lose any weight in April and May wasn't looking any better.  I saw this picture of myself and knew I had to change something.  Exercising is rarely an option for me, so the bulk of my weight loss has to come from my eating habits.  I decided to try a Whole Foods diet.  I took the rest of the month of May to start making small changes in my eating habits to prepare for the bigger change come June 1st.  I ended up losing about 10lbs the month of May.

June 1st I began my (mostly) Whole Foods diet.  After 28 days, I can confidently say I ate 99% Whole Foods.  

I am now just 10lbs away from my never had a baby body weight!  Honestly, I'm pretty happy with where I am right now.  But, I am going to keep going for losing another 10lbs.  

It's been easy, it's been tasty, I am rarely hungry, I am eating GOOD food, I feel GREAT, I feel HEALTHY.  It's fabulous.