Vanilla Creamer for coffee (sweetened with stevia)

Good morning everyone!

I will be traveling soon, and of course I was up til 2 am last night packing and organizing my things! Why does packing take so long?! No matter how much in advance I know I’m going to travel, I always underestimate how long it will take to pack. Maybe it’s because I like to play beauty parlor before I go, and wash my hair, shave, do my nails, etc? You know what I am talking about, right? I like being organized and ready to take on the world when meeting new people and going to new places! And that usually means getting decent rest,  bringing all the toiletries I need, and painting my nails.

One thing I do loathe about traveling is not having a gym. I’m traveling to California, which means no gym or weight machines in my foreseeable future.

I also don’t have all of my fave homemade goodies, like this homemade vanilla creamer.

 

I love the idea of having a creamer around that is as sweet as Coffeemate, but without the sugar! I also love using stevia because of its purported health benefits (lowering blood sugar). Cheers!

Vanilla Creamer

• 2 cups half and half (or full fat coconut milk, if going dairy-free)
• 5 tbsp stevia
• 3 tbsp vanilla extract
• Nutmeg and cinnamon, to taste (1/8 tsp, maybe?)

In a small sauce pan, heat the half and half on low heat. As the half and half warms up, add the stevia and spices and whisk til mixed. Take the half and half off the burner, and store in an airtight jar in the fridge.

Flourless Fudge Cookies (50 calories, dairy-free, gluten-free)

Hey all,

Ron and I were snowed in!!! Hurricane Nemo brought a foot and a half of snow…. and about 2 hours of shoveling.

While we were bundled up, I tried to find more fitness and health tips on Pinterest. I found  a cookie recipe and an in-home workout—How about Jillian Michaels 30 day shred? So fun!

I had a blast doing this video! It was a short 20 minute workout that really gave me a solid, quick workout. I also really liked Michaels energy. She is tough, informative, and fun. What an inspiration! Considering we were in the middle of a blizzard (and I had just finished a writing assignment), this was a healthy, fun distraction.

After my workout, I decided to make cookies. I found a Flourless Fudge Cookie recipe that consisted of only cocoa powder, egg whites, and confectioners sugar. The end result is a fudgey, rich cookie without the flour or fat. To lower the calories even more, I substituted half of the sugar for stevia, making the cookies 50 calories each and lower in sugar!  I also added cinnamon and a touch more instant espresso. The only cocoa powder I had on hand was Dark Chocolate, so they would have to be deep and dark in color and flavor. But could they be good? Let’s see….

Oh, yes. I am a big fan of these uber chocolatey cookies! They come out slightly crisp on the edges with a soft, fudgey middle. And my additions didn’t change the taste. I have a feeling we will be seeing alot more cookies in this household!

Flourless Fudge Cookies

• 1 and 1/8 cup stevia
• 1 and 1/8 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 cup dark cocoa powder, dutch process
• 2 tbsp instant coffee
• 3 large egg whites
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease one cookie sheet.  Blend all ingredients together in a bowl until smooth. Use a heaping tbsp for each cookie. Bake for 8 minutes, until tops of cookies are firm.

New Year, New You!

Hey all,

I know I am a little late on the New Year’s bandwagon, but I’ve been really excited about making recent changes to my lifestyle.  I have some new updates and fun tips for anyone trying to stay healthy on a budget! For this new year, I wanted to incorporate more wholesome food and exercise into my daily routine, and try to make my life more organized. Here are my 5 helpful gadgets and recipes that I’ve been using to help make me so excited about this new year!

1) Greens and Fruit Smoothies every morning. 

You read that correctly, folks. I now eat smoothies composed of only greens and fruit every single morning. Honestly, I am not a “let’s eat salad every day” sort of gal. These Green smoothies allow me to have greens and fruit in an easy, more palatable, on-the-go form. My smoothie usually contains lettuce, celery, frozen kale, pineapple, half a banana, avocado, and a squeeze of lemon juice. I was inspired by Kimberly Snyder’s Glowing Green Smoothie recipe!

2) Sunny Folding Climbing Stepper

I don’t know about all of you, but I am not a naturally active person. When left to my own devices, I will cuddle on the couch with a good book or a movie. I also live 15 minutes away from my gym and in a neighborhood that isn’t very walkable. Overall, my lifestyle is just not conducive to outdoor exercise or hitting the gym often. To remedy this, I decided to invest in a $100 piece of gym equipment that I could have in my apartment. Why not, right? If I hated it, I could always return it.

Well, say hello to my new favorite toy: the Sunny Folding Climbing Stepper. For 100 bucks, I received a solid stepper that gives me almost the same results as the stair climber in the gym! I was even a little hesitant to how sturdy this equipment would be, but it works just fine. I watch my favorite shows at home while on my stepper–often including hand weights—and I can see and feel the results. Unlike a stationary bike, this stepper makes you stand and use your core. I love it!

3) MyFitnessPal

Yes, I have yet another free online calorie/exercise journal to tell you about. My mom recommended that I try MyFitnessPal because she read about it in a women’s magazine. I decided to give the site a go….and I love it! While I like WebMD’s food/exercise journal, MyFitnessPal functions as both a food/exercise journal and community. You can join groups, have “friends”, and you can message with other people. Fun, right?

4) Eat the same thing every day.

One thing I’ve noticed is that all the healthy people I know–including my parents–eat the same things on the same days every week. My mom, for example, always eats some kind of fruit in the morning, a salad and wheat bread at lunch, and a sensible protein-rich dinner. On the weekends, she will splurge with pizza and blended drinks. Sometimes she changes what’s in her salad, or the fruit in the morning, but she always eats some form of fruit and salad. Another health-conscious friend of mine, too, eats a whole grain waffle with fruit every morning and a salad at lunch. The person varies what’s in and on top of their waffle and salad, but it’s always the same kind of meals every day.

I decided to take a tip from the people I know and love, and eat relatively the same thing every day. I now have some variation of my fruits and greens smoothie for breakfast along with coffee. At lunch, I’ve been having a vegetable soup with wheat bread or an egg and toast. And then I end the day with a sensible dinner! I’ve realized my friends and family knew what they were doing. I now never worry about getting enough greens in my day because I always have a smoothie in the morning. I also never worry about having too much or too little food because I know soup and bread and a sensible dinner is the right amount. There’s something so comforting and easy about consistency! Try it, and I bet you will agree.

5) Always include a healthy dessert! (Oatmeal Cookies and warmed milk)

I am a sugaraholic. Sugar, I just can’t quit you! However, I’ve noticed that I’ve gained alot of weight in grad school due to my sugar binges–alcohol and cooking-baking and cupcake-buying nights, to be exact. I decided I needed to cut these things out of my diet temporarily because it is damn near IMPOSSIBLE for me to say no to them. I don’t want to feel deprived, though. This Sweets-lover needs something sugary at the end of her day! I decided to make Oatmeal cookies that are chock full of fiber to keep me full. They are made from oat flour, white flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and oat bran. I also included half brown sugar, half stevia and a whole chopped apple into the recipe to keep things sweet but healthy. The results? The best cookie ever! (I will post them later.) I now eat one of these low sugar cookies every night with almond milk that I’ve warmed with vanilla, and I feel so satisfied!

Free Online Food Journaling at WebMD

Hey all,

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I have a number of things to report! First, I made treat bags for all of my friends in my department! The treat bags included these bad boys:

I made these delicious chocolate chip cookies last night. This recipe is my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. The cookies come out soft in the middle and crunchy, sweet on the outside.  Mmmmm!

I also am happy to report, everyone, that I am down 6 pounds since I started to journal my food online! Kind of great, right? It’s amazing how many calories we can absentmindedly consume! I started journaling and exercising more because I was/am still feeling symptoms of a sluggish thyroid. (I hope losing weight will alleviate some of my symptoms, maybe?) I decided journaling my food would hold me accountable and keep me on track.

Because of my mini success, I highly recommend trying out the online food  journal provided by WebMD. (Just search for “food planner” on the site and you will find it.) They offer a food and exercise journal for free!  What’s great, too, is that they provide a searchable, easy to use database that helps you find the food you ate (like an egg) or even the exercise you did (running for 20 minutes) and log it with calories, fat, etc. already pre-calculated.  They also calculate how many calories you need per day based on the profile you give them (age, sex, etc.), and they prompt you to record your weight once a week. If you search the site more, you’ll also find they have a lot of healthy, yummy-looking recipes. WebMD is a really helpful site for the average person with little money trying to have a healthy lifestyle! And it’s a nice alternative to a paid journaling service, like Weight Watchers.

A Few of My Favorite Things (and happy holidays!)

Hey all,

Happy holidays! Tis the season for decorations galore and chilly, rainy mornings here in New England.

I’ve been on a long hiatus from bloggin, y’all, but it’s because I was just too dang busy! Ron’s best friends came into town, and then my best friend (of 14 years!) came to stay with us for a week! (In fact, my best friend came for Thanksgiving, and we made a feast fit for Queens!) You can imagine my exhaustion. I am just now finally getting back into my daily routine.

Fave thing #1: Protein Powder

Speaking of my daily routine, as you all know, I am trying to experiment to see which foods make me feel “good” and which foods make me feel “bad.” This usually includes a lot of Paleo-friendly food. However, my latest discovery is that half of, or a full, protein shake the day I work out works WONDERS on my body. (Protein powder is processed, and therefore, not Paleo). I’ve been regularly sore since I’ve been working out, but it doesn’t feel like the type of soreness I used to feel. My soreness feels more severe and long-lasting. One day, out of the blue, I decided to have a protein powder shake after working out. I’ve had protein powder before (clearly, because I own this), but it’s been awhile.

Whooooa, everyone. My body felt ALOT better. I’ve noticed that, overall, the days I have a protein shake are the days my body feels better. Even if I eat a regular, protein-filled meal after a workout, I still don’t feel quite as great as after having a protein shake. (To put this in better context for you, too, I take a multi-vitamin for women every day and eat lean meat at almost every meal. I also have some minor auto-immune issues. My body is always attacking itself (my thyroid) and repairing itself, which means I need extra everything for maintenance!

I suspect my body is loving a little protein powder because my particular brand of gluten-free, low-sugar, Designer Whey Protein Powder contains L-Glutamine, which is an essential amino acid that plays a role in protein synthesis. Some studies show that more anxious people–like myself!—don’t produce enough of L Glutamine, which then affects your overall wellness. Also, I’ve begun doing some resistance-training at the gym, and L Glutamine helps in muscle tissue repair.  Either way, folks, I’ve decided to try and incorporate a little protein powder on days I hit the gym. I usually make shakes with only half the amount of powder, a tsp of sunbutter, and a banana.

Fave Thing #2: Almond, Cashew, Hazelnut Blend Milk

If you’re a smoothie or coffee person looking for a non-dairy, or even a lower calorie option than cow’s milk like myself, I really recommend trying my new favorite milk: Dream Blends Almond, Cashew, and Hazelnut Milk.

I used to be an unsweetened Almond Milk kind of gal, but this milk takes the cake! At just 50 calories, less than a gram of sugar, and 3 grams of fiber per cup, this milk is a sure-fire winner in the kitchen. It has a thicker consistency than the more watery almond milk, and I like that it has fiber to fill you up. I grabbed this fave thing at Whole Foods!

Fave Thing #3: Cinnamon Tempest Tea and Pumpkin Rooibos Tea 

It’s winter time here, and who doesn’t love a piping hot cup of tea in the afternoon or evening? I’ve always been a fan of Trader Joe’s, and during a recent trip there I found two of my favorite new teas!

Both of these teas are holiday-friendly hot drinks. The caffeinated, Cinnamon Tempest tea–while sounding strong–is a delightful sweet black tea with a hint of cinnamon. The Pumpkin Spice Rooibos is caffeine-free, which makes this a perfect after dinner tea. I don’t know about you all, but I tend to want snacks galore at night. Keeping myself satiated (and busy) with a hot cup of tea and milk does the trick.

No-Knead Oatmeal Bread (non-Paleo bread for Ron)

Hey all,

I did it. I made gluten-filled bread. You’re probably thinking, “Colleen, why feature non-gf bread on a Gluten-free/Paleo blog?” Well, simply put, my adorable partner Ron is most definitely still a bread and gluten lover. In fact, it’s better for him to eat lots of fiber and less meat because of his blood pressure. His health seems perfect now that he has lowered his meat intake, and he isn’t a Paleo follower–so why deny him his Oatmeal bread? Different strokes for different folks, right? I’m certainly not forcing him to eat or not eat anything! And while I’m not eating bread or pasta, really, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think a taste now and then is okay! (Because I do… unless you have a serious allergy.) I also made this bread because I’ve never made true bread (made with yeast) before, and I’ve been so curious as to the results. Could a girl with no bread maker make a decent loaf of bread at home?! I’ve tried my hand at a no-yeast Quick Bread–Honey Oat Quick Bread– and while I liked it, I didn’t LOVE it. You can tell it’s missing something—that something being yeast. There’s a certain tang or taste that just wasn’t there for me.

So, when I saw the Alexandra’s Kitchen recipe for No-Knead Oatmeal Bread, I knew I had to try it out. A bread made with yeast but no kneading? I’m a girl on a budget and cannot afford a bread-maker or standing mixer. This recipe is perfect for me! Because I am a novice bread-maker with little to no experience, I decided to follow her recipe exactly. Yeast is a whole new ball game, and I’m not sure what the rules of the game are for that sensitive of an ingredient!

Anyway, folks, I’m not the spiritual type, but hallelujah, Alexandra. This bread is DELICIOUS!

Okay, I have to admit something: I may or may not have forgotten to let the bread do a full second rise. (Really, BB?) So, even with a slightly more dense loaf, the results of this recipe are GREAT. This bread tastes just like regular, sweet homemade white-wheat bread!, and it’s made up of oats, white flour and wheat flour. Ron went back for thirds and kept saying, “I could eat this every day!” Honestly, I am now considering making this every week for him instead of buying bread. Why buy bread if you can make a homemade loaf that’s a cinch to bake?! I’ve copied her recipe verbatim, and I am again linking you to the recipe! To my non-Paleo followers…try this! You won’t be disappointed.

A Taste of Fall: Balsamic-Glazed Pork Loin (with Apple and Sage)

Hey all,

Currently I am lounging in bed with Ron on a cold November day in New England!

Right now we’re loving wearing hoodies (hooded sweatshirts) around the house. It’s getting to be in the 30s during the day, and Ron and I, as sunny Californians, will never get used to this cold weather here on the East Coast. I swear I put on Puffer coats before it even enters winter. In fact, here is me wearing my favorite Puffer coat! (Note that I am inside my graduate department, studying, and yet, I still insist on wearing a coat!!)

Cute, right? I bought this coat on sale last year for $30 at New York and Company! They usually have GREAT sales.

Anyway, as you can tell, we are in full winter-mode. We’ve already made a roast chicken with stuffing, I stocked the fridge with Honey and Cinnamon Cream Cheese, and we may or may not be eating Pumpkin Cheesecake cookies from Whole Foods.  I, of course, can’t have alot of this stuff, but a little sugar won’t be the undoing of me!

This week, though, our favorite winter eats is our (cheap) Fall pork tenderloin meal. I improvised with what ingredients that I had around the house to make something special (almost like Thanksgiving!), and honestly, Ron and I think this was the best pork loin we’ve ever made!

Our delicious pork loin with mashed sweet potatoes and squash. Mmmm!

The key ingredients of this Thanksgiving-theme Balsamic-Glazed Pork Loin are balsamic vinegar, apples, onions, garlic, and sage. I reduced down butter, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, apples, onion, sage, and other spices in a sauce pan, while Ron stuffed garlic cloves and a tad bit of butter into 9-10 slits that we cut into the pork loin. On the bottom of the pan, we added baby bella mushrooms, onions, and apples for roasting. (They were tossed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and spices.) The result was a moist, spiced, sweet yet savory pork loin that’s perfect for fall. Trust me, you will love this recipe! Cheers!

Ghosts, goblins, and ghouls! Oh my!

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the cauldron boil and bake….

Happy Halloween, everyone! Hope you have a bewitching day!

A spooked Betty Grable!

The Mini-Workout

I’ve been busy becoming thoroughly spooked because of Halloween, y’all. No, really. I’ve been glued to the television, watching my favorite spooky procedurals: Grimm, Elementary, and Castle. I also cannot stop reading the feminist blog Jezebel’s annual Halloween Fright Night short stories. Every year, readers write in their favorite ghost stories. Some of these stories are so intense, everyone! Read if you’re a fan of ghost stories, or if you want to have trouble sleeping at night….

A spooked Lillian Wells!

I also am happy to report I’ve been busy stretching and biking my cute little butt off at home. Ron and I bought a stationary bike on Amazon for 129 bucks, and I bought a sky blue Cynthia Rowley yoga mat at Homegoods for 15 dollars!! Happy early Christmas to us!!

Our new exercise corner! Our little apartment has become so cute, right?

Believe it or not, Ron and I use this bike almost every day. We love it! We carry/use weights while we’re cycling, which makes this an even more difficult workout. And who doesn’t love exercising while watching tv? I also do various stretches, situps, and plank exercises on my yoga mat. In fact, I am right now loving this “The Mini-Workout” I spotted on Pinterest. The workout set was featured on the cute blog Tales of a Domestic Mama, and it’s a quick, killer of a workout. I never thought an indoor, resistance-training workout (that requires no equipment) could get my heart rate going and get my body pumping….But I was definitely wrong. This kicked my butt! Try this at home, y’all. You will be sweating and panting, I promise!

Apple Fritter Rings (a non-Paleo treat!)

Hey all,

To celebrate losing my first few pounds, I decided to treat myself with a light, fun, and seasonal snack: Apple Fritter Rings. Ron and I made these Sunday afternoon for a snack after shopping, and wooo, these Fritter Rings are so yummy! You get all the delicious flavors of a fritter (sweet, cinnamon, and spice) in the healthy ring of an apple.

I have to admit, the Rings shown are not gluten-free (I ran out of gluten-free flour!) and they are fried. But I am sure this fun snack or dessert could be made with any standard gluten-free all purpose flour, and the rings themselves are so light that even a little coconut or vegetable oil will keep these treats within a healthy range. They taste wonderful drizzled with a little maple syrup or sprinkled with powdered sugar. Happy Fall, everyone!