Low-Fat Peanut Almond Butter and Peanut Butter Banana "Sushi"

Hey guys! I hope you had a fantastic day. One more day until Friday! I cannot wait until this weekend. My Mom and I are meeting in Lancaster on Saturday to go to the Amish farmer’s market. I have never been there, but apparently it is awesome. I am so excited to see some of the fresh foods they have.  The 8^th will be the end of Josie’s (vmfitness on Instagram) no cheats for two weeks challenge! The last time I cheated was on the 25^th when I went to a friend’s wedding. I cannot believe it has been two weeks already! I honestly rarely feel any desire to cheat. The only time I am looking forward to having a cheat any time soon will be later this next week because the local fair will be in town! You just cannot go to the fair without treating yourself to something sweet (even though my belly will probably regret it)! 

Last night I was browsing Laura’s (Sprint2theTable) blog and came across a recipe for her Low-Fat Peanut Almond Butter. I had all of the ingredients to make it, so I knew I had to try it right away. It is a very simple mixture and it turned out great. I love this recipe because it is low carb, calorie, and fat. Here is what her recipe calls for:

• ¼ cup almond meal/flour
• 3 tablespoons of peanut flour 
• ¼ cup of unsweetened almond milk ( I added an extra tablespoon)
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon 
• 5 drops vanilla liquid stevia ( I used 10 because I have a sweet tooth!)

I will definitely be making this again! It is great for when you are craving some nut butter, but really don’t have a whole lot of flexibility in your macros. I used some this morning on my Peanut Butter Banana “Sushi” that I had for breakfast. Check out Laura’s blog if you haven’t already. She has marvelous recipes. 

Peanut Butter Banana “Sushi” Roll (paired with 4 egg whites and some mild Italian chicken sausage and ground black pepper for breakfast this morning)

This easy little treat is great for breakfast, pre/post workout, or just for a snack! What you’ll need:  

• 1 small low carb high fiber whole wheat tortilla from La Tortilla Factory (I swear by these tortillas, 50 calories a piece with only 3 grams active carbs in each, 2 grams of fat, and 5 grams of protein) 
• About 2 tablespoons of the Low-Fat Peanut Almond Butter
• 1 small banana 
• Ground cinnamon

You can add things to this if you choose! Cottage cheese, greek yogurt, nuts, more fruit, etcetera. 

Spread the peanut almond butter over the tortilla, chop up the banana into pieces and line it up as though you were making a wrap, sprinkle some ground cinnamon over the banana and roll it up! Cut it into 4-5 smaller pieces, or just leave it as a wrap! I would like to try making this and putting it in my George Foreman grill. Warm peanut butter and banana is such a fantastic combination.  

Since changing my lifestyle to eating more clean and healthy, I have become die-hard obsessed with nut butters.  There wasn’t ever a time where I disliked peanut butter or anything, but I would always scoff at my Mom who eats peanut butter by the spoon full. Now, I find myself doing the exact same thing. I have a handful of different nut butters and always like to keep a full stock. I have sunflower seed butter, chocolate hazelnut butter, almond butter, 3 different kinds of Peanut Butter & Co peanut butters (I want to try the other flavors they offer, but they don’t sell them at my grocer :’(), all natural unsalted peanut butter, whipped peanut butter, and I am going to make my own almond butter and cashew butter very soon! I am crazy about nut butters now! It is so funny how much my tastes have changed. I can’t say I am complaining though! I love this lifestyle. What is your favorite kind of nut butter?

After work today I hit the gym for a triceps and shoulder workout. Yesterday I hit legs hard and I burned 500+ calories. I love leg day! I hope I get a good burn in today too with this workout: 

After the gym I had to pick up the boyfriend from work and get Keldeo for my Pokemon game (he works at GameStop, we are a bunch of nerds) and we went to the grocery store. We needed to stock up on a bunch of things and I wanted to pick up a couple new things as well. He is trying to watch what he eats and is getting more interested in going to the gym and living a healthier lifestyle. He isn’t as strict as me with his food intake and working out, but it’s awesome that since he has seen me progress and change, it seems to have motivated him as well. He even got his own gym membership so he didn’t have to come as a guest with me constantly. It just shows that if people see you doing something good for yourself, it may motivate others to do so as well!

Clean Eating Kitchen and Sweet Coconut Flour Green Beans

Hey guys! I hope you are having an awesome day. The other day I had posted a photo on IG of some of the things I keep in my clean eating kitchen.  I was asked if I would go more in depth as to what I keep in my stores, so I decided I would dedicate an entry to it! 

One of the main things you can do in order to stay on track with a clean diet is to make sure you have healthy and clean options around the house. I hear too many people complain that the reason they eat like crap is because other people in the household have unhealthy food. No excuse. Unless you do literally none of your own grocery shopping and/or have no income, then you really have no reason to make such a statement. Get your butt to the store or farmer’s market and get some healthy foods! I used to live in situations where my roommates had really unhealthy foods around and I managed to stick to my guns and eat clean. 

First off and most important are the fresh foods: fruit, veggies, lean meat, eggs, fish. These are all super important in a clean eating diet (if you are like me and not vegan or vegetarian of course). I like to make sure I go to the local farmer’s market at least once a week if I can. Not only am I supporting local farmers, but you get a lot more bang for your buck! If you aren’t sure if your town has a farmer’s market, do some research! I guarantee that there is one somewhere near you. If not, the grocery store obviously has all of these things. I like to try to get 90% of what I am buying from the perimeter of the grocery store.  For the most part, this is where the fresh foods are kept. I also like to make trips to the local health food store in order to get some items that I can’t really seem to find at the regular grocer yet, like hemp hearts, some specialty flours, and flavored natural stevias. I also have been utilizing websites such as Vitacost and iHerb a lot more lately. These sites offer great deals and often have specials where you order a certain amount and they don’t make you pay shipping, which is where the bulk of the added price of online shopping seems to come from.

In the refrigerator I keep some of my nut butters (all natural/organic), opened specialty flours (peanut, almond, and coconut), hummus, my prepped foods, and more. Not all veggies need to be refrigerated to keep fresh, but some do like cucumbers. I also buy unsweetened vanilla and unsweetened original almond milk. I rarely if ever buy regular milk any more. I also always have fat free or 1% fat cottage cheese and plain Greek yogurt, usually Chobani.  I personally do not drink anymore, but my boyfriend has beer in the fridge and a bottle of plain vodka I haven’t touched in months.

In the freezer I usually don’t have much unless I buy fish or chicken in bulk where I will keep it in the freezer until needed. Currently the only thing in my freezer is some tilapia filets, some frozen fruit, a loaf of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread, and some 100 calorie flax and whole wheat sandwich thins.
 

In my cupboards is a lot of goodies! Unopened specialty flours, whole grain rolled oats, oat bran, chia seeds, flax seeds, granola, muesli, sweet potatoes, tea, puffed kamut cereal,  low carbohydrate high fiber tortillas, bananas, unsalted rice cakes, protein bars (usually Quest), cans of low sodium beans, water packed tuna, all natural unopened salsa, my collection of peanut butters (most from Peanut Butter and Co), coconut oil (the only oil I use except non-stick cooking spray), unsweetened apple sauce, low sodium tomato sauce,  my spices (I use a lot of crushed red pepper flakes, ground cinnamon, and Mrs. Dash seasonings), baking supplies, a tub of rainbow sprinkles for when I am feeling fun, a variety of nuts and seeds (unsalted), whole grain pasta, wild rice, and brown rice. 

Finally, there are my protein supplements. I use these all the time in baking and shakes. The casein I eat before bed time because casein is a slow releasing protein that will help rebuild muscles over night while you are sleeping. In contrast is whey protein, which is quick releasing and is used for pre/post working out. I use the whey more for cooking goodies like brownies and pancakes. 

Overall, keeping a well stocked kitchen will do wonders in helping you stay on track. If you have things to reach for that are healthy and still go for the sugar filled pop tarts or candy, then you need to take a second before sticking those things in your mouth, put them back and be creative! Make something! A lot of times I will throw things together and they end up really delicious and I like them so much more than eating something that I know will make me feel sick or guilty later.

Learn to experiment. Do not be afraid of trying new things. If you eat the same things over and over, I guarantee that you will fall off the wagon. I used to have a very limited taste in terms of what I would eat. I was so picky and most of the things I would eat were unhealthy. Your taste buds will evolve through clean eating. I eat things now that I never would have imagined eating 9 months ago. Keep it exciting, keep it clean. 

I really hope this entry sheds some light on clean eating and helps anyone who is struggling trying to figure out what to keep in the kitchen. I want to see what you keep in your kitchen! If you have an instagram, tag your photo with @megameows and #cleaneatingkitchen!

I decided to experiment myself tonight! I had a bunch of fresh local grown green beans that needed to be eaten. I really wanted to try some breaded green beans, but wasn't sure what route to go. I thought to myself, green beans would probably taste really good if they were on the sweet side.  BOOM! Idea: Sweet Coconut Flour Green Beans! These were the perfect side I was looking for!

 What you need:

• fresh green beans (about 2-3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 3 large egg whites
•  a bit of fresh ground black pepper
• 2 packets raw stevia

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees. Prep your green beans by washing them and taking off the end with the stems. If you want, you can take off both ends. Sometimes I do that because the ends are a little tough. Boil the green beans on the stove covered for about 5-8 minutes.They will cook more in the oven so it won't matter that they are still a little firm. Once cooked, drain the beans well. Put the 3 egg whites in a large bowl with some fresh ground black pepper. Pour the beans into the egg and coat them well. Put the beans onto a baking dish (by hand, don't pour them with the excess egg) sprayed with non-stick spray or coconut oil. In a separate bowl mix two tablespoons of coconut flour and a packet of raw stevia. Pour the flour and stevia mixture over the beans, coating them. You can toss them around so that the ones underneath can get coated as well.  Before putting them in the oven, I put another packet of stevia on top. I baked the beans for about 25-30 minutes, taking them out after 10-15 to mix them up to make sure they all cook evenly. This recipe is super simple and you really don't need many ingredients. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. My 12 year old cousin even liked them! I let him try some and he asked for more! Kid approved!

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day my fellow working people! I unfortunately did have to work today, but I am getting paid time and a half for it and I don’t think most people would have a problem getting paid extra for working their normal shift! No one is in the office so it is a really easy day. For breakfast this morning I had two slices of cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread made with egg whites, ground cinnamon, raw stevia, a small banana cut up on top and drizzled with Walden Farms calorie-free pancake syrup. 

 

I am sorry for the lack of recipes and updates. The last few days have been very hectic. I barely had any time to relax all weekend due to moving. I barely ate as well, which I really didn’t like. I lost what I had gained, taking me back down to 120. Gaining lean muscle weight in a healthy way is so hard! But, Overall it went really well and the boy and I’s part of the house we are renting is almost done being set up. I despise moving, but I really enjoy decorating new rooms and making it your own.  I will be so relieved when it is all said and done with. I did not miss one workout due to moving, though! I am super proud of that. No excuses, guys! 

Now that working out daily is a part of my routine, I do not like rest days. I feel like they throw me off my game. I am more of a fan of active rest days where I at least do some light cardio. I always feel great when I work out, so if I miss a day I get the sense that something is missing in my day. I love the high after a workout and feeling accomplished. Tomorrow I am being basically forced to take a rest day because I have to work a 12 hour shift: 0730-1930. I won’t have time to go work out and also get all the things I will need to have done for work on Wednesday. I plan on doing some squats, push-ups, and stair runs at the office once all of the employees are off the property if I am able. That way I won’t feel completely lazy! 

Today at the gym I am going to do a chest and bicep workout with 10 minutes of HIIT (30 sec 3.8, 30 sec 7.8). Here is the routine in case you were interested:

Something I have been mulling over a lot lately is the idea of negativity and how it affects your mind and body. I have adapted the saying “negativity is a sickness”. I really do feel that having a negative outlook on life brings you down. Now, that definitely does not mean I am little miss sunshine 24/7 because that is completely impossible. I actually have been known to have quite a temper (hello, red hair, Irish? :D ). I also have an anxiety and panic disorder, so being calm and rational is not always easy for me. But, I have been really trying to learn to take a step back and evaluate things before I allow myself to fly off the handle or let something (or someone) ruin my day. Being more positive has improved my relationship, my thought process, and my health. Try to wake up in the morning and before you do anything else, even get out of bed, try to make your first thought: I am going to have a good day today. I do this every morning. Think about it: if you woke up and immediately thought to yourself, this day is going to suck so hard I hate life and everything in it; do you think you are going to be in a good mood? Even if I stub my toe or drop a bunch of things and am feeling really off, I keep reiterating to myself: you’re going to be fine; nothing this small and trivial should ruin my day. It works, I promise. At first it may not seem like it does, but I truly believe it does. Other people will catch your positive vibes as well. Lately a lot of people come up to me at work and tell me how nice it is to see me always smiling and in a good mood. Just try it! Positive vibes to you all! 

Wow this entry is getting really long, but I want to try to make a point of writing more so that you guys get to know me better. As you may or may not know, I am very active on Instagram. The IG fitness and health community is fantastic. If it wasn’t for all the support I get on there, I really am not sure that I would be where I am now. I especially wanted to thank everyone who follows me and talks to me. You are all lovely. Some of the people you should follow and look out for are: @beenid, @powerrprincess, @vmfitness, @livefiteatclean, @meghanbarber, @jillhanner, @niesy, @dedicationkristine, @leanandfit, @letsclarafye, @fit4aprincess, @powercakes, @kmaecags, @spoonfuloffit, @getfit_feelsexy, @sprint2thetable, and @kissmybroccoli. All of those people I listed have been a huge part of my journey and I hope they continue to be. They have inspired me though comments, recipes, and photos. I love them all and I am sure you will too.