Skinny Blackberry Margarita

This is a perfect drink for those warm spring/summer days!!

1 cup fresh blackberries

1 cup water

4 oz. Tequila (silver is my favorite <3)

2 tsp. stevia

juice of 1/2 a lime 

6-8 cubes of Ice

Blend all ingredients together 

New Protein Goodies

So I have been on the hunt for a good, HEALTHY protein bar for some time now. Most of the ones out have lots of sugar,carbs, and junk ingredients. A couple of weeks ago I ran into my local supplement shop to grab some grapeseed oil, and a little display near the checkout caught my eye. It was a whole row of protein bars with so many delicious sounding flavors! Of course the first thing I did was flip one over real quick and look straight at the sugar content, I think it had 2 grams! I was shocked. I skimmed over the label and jumped to the ingredients, I could not believe what I was reading! The bar I had been searching for was right in my face. QuestBar! I am now on the "quest" of finding my favorite flavor (since they have tons) I have already tried the strawberry cheesecake (its pretty good) and the banana nut muffin (I didn't like this one that much) But after I try them all I will share my favorite!!  

NO SUGAR ADDED

NO SUGAR ALCOHOLS

NO JUNK INGREDIENTS

GLUTEN FREE

I also grabbed some whey protein because I ran out. I found this one that sounds like a winner. It has 100% pure whey isolate, this is the first protein powder I have seen with that!! I am super excited to try it out and let you know how it is! 

Pumpkin Spice Waffles

I know that it is not the typical time of year for using pumpkin in recipes, but these should be the exception!! I think that they would make an awesome breakfast this Sunday for Easter! They contain NO FLOUR & NO ADDED SUGAR! It's a waffle revolution! 

Waffle Recipe:

1 1/2 cups Oat Flour

1/2 cup canned Pumpkin

1 1/2 cups unsweetened Almond milk

4 Egg whites

2 tbsp. Stevia

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

2 tbsp. Cinnamon

1 tbsp. Baking Powder

Topping:

2-3 tbsp. Vanilla Greek yogurt (you can add a tsp of stevia for added sweetness)

1 tbsp. chopped Walnuts

drizzle of 100% pure Maple Syrup 

Preheat waffle maker

In large bowl mix oat flour, stevia, nutmeg, cinnamon and baking powder.

In another bowl whisk egg whites and pumpkin together, stir in almond milk.

Add wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 

Stir until combined.

Spray waffle maker with non-stick spray

Pour batter into waffle maker until it reaches edges without overfilling. 

Cook until the waffle is fluffy and slightly brown on top! (around 6 minutes in waffle maker)

Makes around 3 large waffles

You can also use this same recipe for pancakes!!

Pumpkin Pie Protein Shake

This is love in a cup! I think this is probably my favorite drink I have ever created. For starters it contains pumpkin, YUM and....ITS HEALTHY! You cannot feel bad about indulging in this bad boy! This is a great breakfast or recovery after a workout! 

Recipe:

1/4 cup canned Pumpkin

1 cup unsweetened Almond milk

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1/2 tsp. fresh ground Ginger

2 tsp. Stevia

1-2 Scoops Vanilla Protein Powder 

6-8 Ice Cubes

Blend all ingredients together & drink up! 

Aaron's Oatmeal

So this oatmeal recipe is what my boyfriend Aaron eats literally every morning to fuel up for a busy day at work. He absolutely loves this mixture, and I must say it is pretty darn tasty! He even adds cooked eggwhites on top some mornings?!? Don't ask me..but he loves it!

Recipe:

1/4 cup steel cut oats

1/2 cup water (or milk)

1/2 banana (sliced)

1/4 cup blueberries

sprinkle of cinnamon
drizzle of maple syrup

Microwave for 1 minute stir microwave for 1 minute

Apple-Grape Juice

Apple-Grape Juice

Ingredients:

1 large Apple

1 cup seedless Black Grapes

one cluster of Spinach

1/2 large Cucumber

Juice all ingredients in juicer & enjoy! 

I added 1 tbsp. of Chia seeds to my juice for added fiber and omega-3!

Orange Cream Juice

This is a must try. It taste like an orange creamsicle, but packs lots of nutrients from fruits and veggies!!

1 small Sweet Potato 

2 large Carrots

3 Clementines (peeled)

1/2 cup Almond Milk (original or vanilla)

Juice the sweet potato, carrots and clementines in juicer. Stir together the juice and 1/2 cup Almond milk & indulge! 

Tonya's Tuna Salad

This is my absolute favorite tuna salad recipe. It has a little twist, instead of using traditional mayo, I swapped it out for my favorite Honey Dijon Dressing (Ken's Healthy Option)

2 Cans Albacore Tuna (drained)

1 Celery stalk chopped

1 large Apple chopped

1/4 cup chopped Walnuts

1/4 cup Raisins

2 oz. Ken's Light Option Honey Dijon Dressing

Mix all ingredients together & refrigerate! It is best after sitting for a couple of hours!

You can serve on 12 grain bread for a wholesome, healthy meal :]

Kale Salad

5 Kale leaves separated from stem

1 roma tomato diced

1/4 red onion chopped

1/2 avocado

juice of 1/2 a lemon

I use my hands to mix all ingredients together and kind of "smush" the avocado to coat the kale and veggies! The lemon juice in this recipe really helps take out that little bit of natural bitterness of the kale.

I served this salad with baked Salmon and zucchini spears for a healthy balanced meal.

Season Salmon filet with cayenne pepper, old bay seasoning and garlic. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Toss the zucchini spears with coconut oil, nutritional yeast & garlic and bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then broil for 5 minutes

Sweet Peppermint Green Tea

I love sipping on sweet peppermint green tea. It has antioxidants and can make you feel full! Lately I have been drinking a few cups during the day at work to fight off unhealthy snack cravings. 

1 cup hot water 

100% green tea bag

1-2 drops peppermint extract

1 packet stevia 

Thin Mint Smoothie

Taste just like a thin mint girl scout cookie but healthier!!! 

I use this recipe as a recovery shake after a workout

1 cup Almond milk

2 scoops vanilla protein powder

1 tbsp. unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder

1 tsp. stevia

1-2 drops Peppermint extract 

6-8 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy!

White Chocolate Cashew Cookies

I love these cookies! The combination of the white chocolate with the cashews is absolutely perfect, and they are actually pretty healthy! The oat flour contains slow releasing carbs and there is no added sugar! These yummy delights are super simple & quick to make! I like to make a couple of batches on Sunday, and have them to snack on during the week when I want something sweet!
ONLY 5 INGREDIENTS!

1 3/4 cup oat flour

1/2 cup chopped cashews

1/2 cup white chocolate morsels

2 ripe bananas (a little more ripe than the ones pictured would be perfect)

1/4 cup cooking oil of choice 

Mix the dry ingredients together.


Mash the bananas & combine with oil.

Mix dry and wet ingredients together & mold into cookies.

Place on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes

Zucchini Rosa

Pasta made from zucchini BRILLIANT & delicious!

This is a little recipe that my boyfriend and I came up with over the weekend! It is zucchini pasta with sauteed veggies and a rosa sauce. Completely vegetarian (a special request from my sister) 

Things you will need:

3 Zucchini

1 1/2 cups Broccoli florets

1/4 cup chopped Parsley 

1/2 Onion (Sliced)

1 cup chopped baby bella Mushrooms

1 can tomato sauce

2 oz. Cream Cheese

2 oz. Philadelphia cooking cream (Savory Garlic)

2 tbsp. oil 

julienne peeler

1. Use the Julienne peeler to shred the zucchini. 

2. Add the chopped veggies and oil to a large skillet and cook on medium heat.

3. While the veggies are cooking, in another skillet add the cream cheese and the cooking cream. Heat on medium , medium-low heat until slightly melted and bubbly. Stir in the tomato sauce. 

4. Next add the chopped parsley to the sauce.

5. By this time the veggies should be ready, so pop the bowl of zucchini pasta in the microwave covered with a moist paper towel for 2 minutes. 

Add pasta, then veggies, top with sauce and a little sprig of parsley and ENJOY!
Serves 2-4

Eggplant French Toast

Eggplant French Toast:

This stuff is AMAZING, even if you do not like eggplant you will love these! They really do taste like french toast! I especially love this recipe because I am trying to cut down on my intake of carbohydrates from bread & etc.
Recipe:
Coconut oil
1 Eggplant (thinly sliced)
1 egg white blended with about 2 tbsp. almond milk
Syrup of your choice
Stevia & Cinnamon

First melt the Coconut oil in a skillet. Dip the eggplant slices into the egg mixture to coat and sit in skillet. Let the eggplant cook for a couple of minutes on medium heat until brown on both sides. (Pictured below)

Next take about 3 tbsp of syrup and drizzle on the eggplant while it is still in the skillet. It will sizzle up and thicken to coat the eggplant. Flip the eggplant so it is coated on both sides.

Once the eggplant is coated with the syrup, transfer to plate and sprinkle with stevia (for added sweetness if you wish) and cinnamon!

Eggplant with sizzling syrup (right)

Ginger Cleanser Juice

2 Celery Stalks
1 small Apple
1 Kiwi fruit
2 Carrots
a very small nugget of Ginger root (a little goes a long way)
Juice all ingredients, stir in some Chia seeds & Enjoy!

Not your typical Tomato Sandwich

Summer is fast approaching and one of my favorite things about summer is....FRESH VEGGIES from the garden! I especially love tomatoes. Growing up every summer I would go to my grandmothers house and help her pick tomatoes out of her garden, we would eat them like apples! ummmmm yummy! We also LOVED to make a nice, cool, crisp tomato sandwich! Back then we just used bread, tomato, mayo and a little cracked pepper! Over the years I have learned that mayo is not really good for you, so I have added a twist to a childhood favorite. RECIPE: I used 1 fresh roma tomato, 1/4 avocado, 2 spinach leaves, a small handful of cilantro and threw it all on a 100% whole wheat english muffin!

Blackberry Ginger Juice

Blackberry Ginger Juice! 1/2 Cucumber, 1/2 cup fresh Blackberries, 1/2 Mango, a handful of Parsley, a small nugget of Ginger root (a little goes a long way!) and 1 Tangerine (peeled). Juice and Enjoy!!

Lean Muscle Juice

This juice is really tasty! This recipe makes about 2 cups of juice, so it is very filling as well! I used 1 kiwi, 1 apple, 2 Carrots, around 3 celery stalks, one small beet, one bunch of spinach (about a cup). Juice all of these ingredients, stir in 1 tbsp. Chia seeds and 2 tbsp. MCT (medium chain triglyceride) oil. I also took a triple Omega (3,6,9) supplement with mine!