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,

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!!

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!!

My New Favorite Homemade Energy Bars!!!

I'm back!!

I took a week off from blogging because I was spending so much time on my computer for school work that I didn't want to be on it even more to blog. Also, I had nothing exciting to post about because my week was so boring and filled with a lot of tiresome things that just needed to get done.

But now I have a really great post.

I am super excited about this recipe. I posted it a couple months ago, but I had made a couple changes from the original recipe, that I got from this blog. This time I stayed true to the recipe, but added one magic ingredient :)

Oh goodness, I wish I hadn't given these bars away as a gift because just looking at this picture is making me wish I had one to eat right now!!


Here is the recipe:


2 Cups Pitted Dates
2 Cups Salted Cashew Nuts
½ Cup Almonds (I used slivered almonds without the skins)
¾ Cup Cocoa Powder
½ Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
2.5 Tbsp Espresso!! (Or Coffee)


First I put the dates, cashews, almonds, and cocoa powder in a food processor, then I added the coconut and vanilla extract. Once it reached a coarse consistency, I added the espresso. Make sure to add only a 1/2 tablespoon at a time until it reaches a dough-like consistency. Depending on the moisture of the dates, you will need more or less liquid. Finally, I took the "dough" and pressed it into a pan lined with wax paper.

They can be eaten right away, but I prefer to refrigerate them for about an hour before cutting them into bars. I also like to individually wrap them in plastic wrap and then I just grab one out of the fridge for a quick on-the-go snack.

Okay, I need to go have dinner. I seriously am starving after looking at these pictures. Make these bars. They are delicious!


WOD: Upper Body
Bench Press 4x5
Wide Grip Pullup Machine 3x10
Bicep Hammer Curls 3x8/arm
Arnold Shoulder Press 3x8/arm
Tricep Dips 3x10
Ab Leg Lower Hip Lift 3x10
Decline Russian Twists 3x20/side


2 minute incline walk, 2 minute hard run, 1 minute recovery (x3)


Dinner Time :)

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.

Mother's Day Meal

Happy Mother's Day!! My mom is my absolute best friend in the whole world. I don't know what I would do without her in my life.

Today my mom and I travelled to visit my grandmother. She fixed us a delicious meal and we spent a relaxing afternoon at my grandparent's house.

Aren't my grandmother and mom the most adorable people?!

When we got home, I got together with my best friend Meagan and we went to Whole Foods to pick up all the ingredients we needed to make dinner for our moms. (Oh, and we stopped by another store to get pink balloons and pink poster board!) 

Our moms had such a wonderful time, but most importantly the food was DELICIOUS. Seriously, everyone and their mother needs to make this chicken recipe. I really want to make it like once a week now. It's that good.

I got both the recipe's from my favorite clean eating blog: The Gracious Pantry. The chicken was her Grilled Chicken Souvlaki recipe and the pasta was from her Penne in Lemon Basil Sauce recipe. The only changes I made was using 100% whole wheat spaghetti instead of penne, and then we didn't add the chicken from the lemon basil recipe since we were using the chicken souvlaki instead.

The chicken was so tender and marinated perfectly... I want more now.

Mother's Day flowers in the background, courtesy of my father :)

Dinner is served.

Tomorrow I officially begin clean eating (aka: The Death of my Sugar Addiction). I have been eating clean for the past couple days and it has been going really well. Hopefully as I get better I can start creating recipes of my own and stop taking every single one from The Gracious Pantry!!

Oh yeah, and we also made these Clean Eating Peanut Butter Cookies for dessert. Best meal ever. Although I must admit, we added regular chocolate chips, not grain-sweetened, so they technically weren't 100% clean... but oh well :)