Five February Favorites

1. NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia -- stevia is an all natural, zero-calorie sweetener, and this is by far my favorite brand. I add a couple drops to my coffee, tea, plain yogurt, homemade desserts, etc.

2. Chocolate PB2 -- I really like the original PB2, but this one has cocoa powder added and tastes magical blended up with flavorless protein powder, a frozen banana, and a cup of unsweet almond milk! My perfect post workout snack.

3. Quest Bars -- 20 grams of protein, ~1 gram of sugar, all natural... enough said.

4. Almond Milk Lattes -- more specifically, almond milk lattes from Bean Traders. I could have one every single day, and I pretty much do.

5. Organic Darkest Cacao Truffles by LivingRaw -- AMAZING. (and expensive...) You can find them at WholeFoods, which is much cheaper than ordering them online. www.livingrawtreats.com

Reese's Protein Drink

So I know I have raved about PB2 before, but I have recently found another delicious use for it. After my workout this morning I put a scoop of Cytosport Whey Protein Isolate Chocolate in my shaker bottle, along with a tablespoon of PB2. Then I just added about 8oz of water and shook the bottle to mix. It was so amazing! I seriously felt like I was drinking a Reese's peanut butter cup! It is definitely worth a try. Not to mention I just realized that WholeFoods now carries PB2, although it is MUCH cheaper if you buy it online in a larger quantity. (You can buy it here.)

The drink has 115 calories and 22 grams of protein.

Today's workout (Shoulders, Bi's, and Tri's):

Seated DB Bicep Curl 3x10/arm

Arnold Press 3x10

Bodyweight Dips 3x8

Barbell Bicep Curl 3x10

Overhead Cable Shoulder Press 3x10

Tricep Rope Extension 3x10

Rope Bicep Curl 3x10

DB Shoulder Press 3x10

Overhead DB Tricep Extension 3x10

100 Reps of Abs

The Great Greek Yogurt Comparison

Greek yogurt has been one of the many foods I would consider a part of the "healthy fad," along with pomegranate juice, acai berries, Kombucha, etc. Sometimes it's fun to roam around Whole Foods and try weird stuff and feel like it's magically making me "healthy." And sometimes, I just have to be honest, it tastes amazing. Like I don't care what Kombucha does for my body, it's delicious. (As of today, my new favorite is Buchi's Water flavor. It is so worth it.) 

But when it is all said and done, no Incan berry that has been growing in South America for thousands of years is going to make my body "healthier" than just a bowl of fresh spinach. Not to mention it can be hard to cough up $16 to try some mysterious food when you know your body will benefit just as much from a $0.10 banana and some carrot sticks. 

All this to say, I do like greek yogurt. I think it is a food worth eating, unlike regular yogurt, which seems to be primarily sugar. That being said, I have compared my three favorite brands and picked the one that I think best suites my life.

They are all plain flavor, and 0% fat.

Trader Joe's: 90 cal, 15g protein, 5g sugar (150g container)

Fage Total: 100 cal, 18g protein, 7g sugar (170g container)

365 (Whole Foods Brand): 120 cal, 18g protein, 2g sugar (170g container)

As you can see, Trader Joe's has the least amount of calories, but it also has 20g less of yogurt per container, so it really contains the same amount of calories as the Fage, about 0.6 cal/g.

BUT, I honestly don't about calories. I care primarily about the protein and sugar content. So, out of these three I choose the 365 brand because not only does it tie for highest protein, but it has the lowest sugar content. Win Win.

I usually add about 4 drops of NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia drops and a dash of cinnamon. A perfect way to add flavor without the calories!

Hope this was somewhat informative.

OH, and I almost forgot, my favorite greek yogurt to eat as a treat is Chobani's Blood Orange. Amazing... but it definitely has its fair share of sugar :)

Have a wonderful weekend,

Dash to Downdog

On Saturday, Stephanie and I went to Lululemon's Dash to Downdog. It was such a fun event!! It started with a 2.5 mile run followed up by an hour of yoga on the Durham Athletic Field. 

The weather was absolutely perfect! I definitely think yoga is more enjoyable outside versus in a studio. The event was a great way to connect with local fitness enthusiasts, and an enjoyable, sweaty Saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon I went home where I had access to a kitchen and so I had to cook. I feel like I haven't cooked in forever!! I made a recipe from my favorite clean eating blog: Turkey, Spinach, and Feta Muffins.

I used the same recipe as posted here, but I changed the proportions a little. They turned out so good!!! I want to make them every weekend and store them in my fridge as a quick grab-and-go protein source.

Ingredients:

1.3 lbs 99% Fat Free Ground Turkey

4 oz. Feta Cheese Crumbles

2 Blocks Frozen Spinach, Thawed

1 Tbsp Greek Seasoning

1 Tbsp Garlic Powder

3 Egg Whites

I put all the ingredients in my KitchenAid and blended until well combined. Then I sectioned them out into individually-lined muffin tins, baking at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. It made 20 total muffins, around 65 calories each. Once they were completely cooled, I placed them in a container and stored them in the fridge.

They tasted WAY better than they look. Promise.

In celebration that my cousin is moving to North Carolina on Friday, I am posting two pictures of Burdick's goodies :)

Chocolate Mousse Tart

Almond Milk Latte 

Uhh... I want them NOW.

Walpole Farmer's Market

Yesterday Sarah and I took a quick visit to the Walpole Farmer's Market. It is so fun to buy vegetables straight from the farmers and not imported into some grocery store. Sarah had to basically drag me away from all the homemade cinnamon rolls, pizzas, doughnuts, and let's not forget the fresh cannoli stand.

I still have absolutely no idea how I resisted these... It took some crazy will power...

We ended up leaving with two huge bundles of golden beets, two bundles of kale, 3 small japanese marinated chicken breasts, and a jar of pickles.

For dinner I prepared the kale following this recipe, and we had it along with some raw carrots and seasoned ground turkey. Quite delish!

I was able to make it on a 3 mile run yesterday, but I literally was having the most unenjoyable time because of ALL the hills here. My poor calves are going to burst. Hopefully when I get home running will seem like a piece of cake. I guess we shall see...

New Hampshire

I finally made it to the part of summer I have been waiting for: my 3 week trip to New Hampshire!! I love New Hampshire so much because I get to see all my cousins and eat tons of fresh veggies from all the local farm stands. Not to mention the weather is much cooler, so I can finally begin training for the Ramblin' Rose Half Marathon, which is speedily approaching. I took this past month off from jogging because it was getting really boring for me and starting to feel like a chore, so instead I did HIIT training on the treadmill to stay in shape.

It is really interesting how you can feel "in shape" in some areas, but completely "out of shape" in other areas. For example, I can probably chest press, bicep curl, or squat the same weight that I could when I was training for volleyball back in high school, and I can do 20 minutes of interval sprints without dying. I guess I would consider that "in shape," but now that I am trying to start training for another half marathon it is so weird because I feel "out of shape" for long distance running. I also have NEVER felt comfortable doing workout routines that do light weights and tons of repetitions. I feel the burn, but I would much rather fail with heavy weights after 10 reps then do like 123984123 reps until I pass out. Not fun at all... I'd rather be "strong" then "toned."

Moving on...

After my cousin Sarah and I ran a few errands we stopped at Harlow Farmstand to pick up a few vegetables. We got fresh beets, beet greens, zucchini, and a box of raspberries. 

This picture was originally posted on my Instagram account. You can follow me at lalalaurenhub :)

For dinner last night I diced up the zucchini and we made Clean Eating Lemon Zucchini Chicken. We had this along with our beets and beet greens. I absolutely adore fresh vegetables. 

I recently saw this recipe on Pinterest for Protein Pancakes, so I made them for Sarah and I to have for lunch yesterday. They are loaded with protein and taste very delicious. We topped them with 2 tablespoons peanut butter.

By the way, I am obsessed with Pinterest. So please follow me here!!

Directions:

Just dump all the ingredients in a blender and blend until it starts to look like regular pancake batter. Then spray some cooking spray on a pan and cook over medium high heat, flipping when bubbles appear. Makes 2 six inch pancakes.

We finished the night off with a relaxing 2 mile walk...

I saw this little chipmunk on the way :)

Have a great Tuesday and Happy Fourth of July Eve!!

Lunch At Seasons 52

Wow! It's like I have totally forgotten about my blog. I finished summer school! Thank goodness!! Now I am in Tampa visiting my brother and his girlfriend.

My brother passed the test to receive his pilot's license so in order to celebrate we went to a Tampa restaurant called Seasons 52. The idea is that the chef changes the specials every week (52 times per year) in order to match what is currently in season. All the items on the menu are organic, healthy, and a maximum of 475 calories. Cool huh?

Aww Robert and Maggie are precious.

 Wow, Robert and I look so weird. I think it's the sun making our eyes squinty. Oh, and Robert's stupid facial expression.

Maggie got the vegetarian sampler. Starting at the sautéed tofu and then going clockwise: stuffed pepper, stuffed tomato, grilled broccoli with homemade caesar, quinoa and bean mixture, crispy taco, and tomatillo salsa.

Our waiter explained to us how the quinoa, brown rice, and bean mixture was apparently what provided the Incas with enough sustenance to survive. He was saying how you could eat this for every meal and your body would be in peak health... I am not sure how much I believe him. What about moderation? and some veggies? Not to mention the fact that I would be bored out of my mind just eating that for the rest of my life. 

Here is my ahi tuna salad. So good.

And Robert being weird again. He got ahi tuna and avocado sushi rolls. I had one and they were pretty delicious.


Alright that's it.

Melty, Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies (that are healthy)

I have been eyeballing a recipe that I found on Pinterest for some time now. It is a healthy chocolate chip cookie recipe, similar to my favorite Brownie Batter recipe in that is uses chickpeas, but this one is sweetened with honey instead of dates. Also, it is cooked so they are actually cookies and not just the dough.

When I got to my first period class this morning I couldn't figure out why one other girl and I were the only two people there. We soon realized, thanks to the technology of an iPhone, that class had been cancelled. In celebration I decided to make this cookie recipe!

They were/are AMAZING. They didn't taste like "healthy" chocolate chip cookies at all. I got them from Texanerin Baking from this post here.

MMM... I want to go in the kitchen and grab one more right now :)

The Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 c. Canned, Drained Chickpeas
2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1/2 c. and 2 tbsp. Peanut Butter
1/4 c. Honey
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 c. Chocolate Chips (if they are grain-sweetened, then this recipe is "clean")

I put all the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) in my food processor and processed till very smooth. Then I mixed in the chocolate chips and spooned them on to a non-stick baking pan. I cooked them for 10 minutes and then ate one fresh from the oven!

In order for them not to break, you'll need to let them cool before taking them off the tray.

The original creator of this recipe said that she didn't like them cold, but honestly I thought they were just as good cold. Maybe it is because I am used to "healthy" desserts, but my roommates agreed with me as well.

Melty, chocolately, gooey cookies. I think I succeeded in canceling out any cardio that I did this morning...

... But it was so worth it. :)

This morning's workout:

Incline Chest Press x12, 10, 8

Narrow Grip Bench Press 3x8

Barbell Shoulder Split Press 3x12

Dumbbell Row 3x8/arm

Reverse Pushup 3x10

Bicep Curl 3x10

Ab Leg Raises 3x20

2 minute incline walking, 2 minute hard run, 1 minute recovery (repeated 3 times total)

That's all for today. I look forward to going to dinner with my friend Kate :) Have a good Thursday!!

Whole Foods Has Arrived

Wilmington has been waiting for this day for quite sometime. The arrival of their very first Whole Foods Market. Although I have only lived here for about 10 days, I was already beginning to miss the deliciousness that Whole Foods has to offer.

They even had policemen stationed outside... I am not sure if this was entirely necessary. Are people going to be stealing handfuls of kale because they are so happy about the grand opening? Doubt it.

When I was checking out they asked if I wanted to pay a few cents to get a reusable bag. I don't usually do stuff like this, but after they told me I will save 10 cents every time I use it and I saw how cute the bag was I decided it was worth my money.

I bought several things such as kale, spinach, honey, yogurt, but I bought three things that were particularly notable. 

First up, is this new chocolate spin on the original Lara Bar. I am a fan of these bars because they are completely clean, sweetened only by dates and not by refined sugar. I think I am going to have to try to make my own homemade version of these soon.

It came in four flavors: Chocolate, Chocolate Hazelnut, Chocolate Mint, and Chocolate Coffee. My bet is that I will like the Chocolate Coffee the best. I have had the Chocolate Mint before and it was very good, and today I bought the Hazelnut and Coffee one.

Next up is this hotdog looking product. Its greatest feature is the short ingredients list. It consists solely of these natural ingredients: skinless chicken, spinach, water, garlic, sea salt, fennel seed, and black pepper. Not to mention it is only 80 calories per link and only 0.5 grams of saturated fat.

They would probably be best chopped up and put in a bowl of cooked or raw greens, such as spinach or kale, with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice on top. I think I'll have that for dinner...

Last, but certainly not least, a soup that I love very much: Amy's Organic Split Pea Soup. It is so yummy and makes an easy quick meal that contains 0 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein. I challenge you to find another soup that can beat that! ;)

Alright, now that my fun trip to Whole Foods is over it looks like I am going to actually have to do homework. I am also going to attempt to go on a 5 mile run this evening. We'll see how that pans out.