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!

Skinny Banana Crisp with Coconut Cream

Hey all,

Ron and I are going back to California to visit our families and take a break from our busy schedules for an entire month! It’s going to be great food, fun times, and lots of hugs. Of course, that means here in our New England apartment we are trying to eat EVERYTHING in the kitchen, including fruit: clementines, apples, and bananas, to be exact. I saw that my bananas were actually going brown, and I didn’t want to make Banana Bread or Banana “Soft Serve” (you know, frozen bananas that are processed til smooth and look like melted ice cream?). Hmmmm. How about I make a healthy Banana Crisp that includes dried fruit and all the other fruit we have lying around the kitchen? Could a banana crisp be as delicious as an apple crisp? I think the half-empty glass baking pan says it all.

I made this eclectic crisp with some of my favorite ingredients. I used cinnamon, honey, oats, oat flour, coconut oil, stevia, and light butter for the skinny crisp topping……(Mmmmm). For the fruit on the bottom, I used mostly bananas with one small cut up apple, 2 clementines, and dried cranberries. I served the crisp sprinkled with flaked coconut and finished with a dollop of (melted) coconut cream. (Coconut cream is the cream of coconut milk whipped with a little white sugar.) So delicious! Ron and I loved this crisp! And the Coconut cream tastes so decadent. I might like this better than whipped cream made with cow’s milk. I am definitely going to try Whipped Coconut Cream at my next dinner party! Cheers!

Banana Crisp

Fruit on the bottom ingredients:

2 bananas, sliced

1 large apple, washed and chopped

2 clementines, peeled and sectioned

1/8 cup dried cranberries

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp honey

optional: 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice

the Topping:

1/4 cup almond flour

1/3 oat flour

1/2 cup oats

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup stevia and brown sugar (mixed)

3 tbsp coconut oil

3 tbsp light butter

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8×8 cooking dish with coconut oil or Pam. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine fruit, cinnamon, and honey. Spoon into baking pan.

In a second medium bowl, cream the oat flour, oats, almond flour, stevia, salt, and cinnamon with the butter and coconut oil. Sprinkle the oat crumble over the fruit in the baking pan, and bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. While the crisp bakes, make your  coconut cream. I suggest the coconut cream recipe from the lovely vegan blogger Oh She Glows. Let cool and serve with Coconut Cream! Yum!

Kitchen Tip: Use Ramen to make the Poor Pinup’s Vegetarian Satay Stirfry

Kitchen Tip for households that love making Asian-inspired meals on a budget and in a hurry:

Do you love Asian-inspired dinners, but hate buying expensive specialty noodles and multiple sauces and spices? Or, do you simply don’t have the time to make a complicated recipe? Don’t fret! Use Ramen Noodle packs as the basis for soup, stirfry, and satay noodle dinners! I cook the noodles with less of the sodium-rich seasoning, or I simply drain the broth off but keep the noodles! (If you really hate the idea of using any of the spice pack, you could also use the noodles and discard the seasoning pack.) Tonite I made an absolutely delicious Peanut Satay Stirfry using only 4 ingredients: Ramen, soy sauce, peanut butter, and frozen vegetables!

I know, I know….I’ve been eating better-ish (with less processed food), so why go for Ramen right now? Well, sometimes a girl has got to eat Ramen during those low fund times. I am poor! I don’t get paid for a few days, and Ron and I are in a pinch. I also happen to have meetings with professors every day for the next few days, and I defend my Dissertation Prospectus on Wednesday. When the going gets tough, this Pinup eats ramen, tofu, and vegetables!

Off Fanpop.com, “Out of Money”

However, I have to say…..this Vegetarian Satay is a favorite for us right now, and it’s not just because it’s cheap. It’s actually really tasty and filling, especially if you add a ton of vegetables and tofu! Ron and I now consider Ramen packs as a favorite staple for our kitchen. Enjoy!

The Poor Pinup’s Vegetarian Satay

Ingredients:

2 vegetable Ramen packs

2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp peanut butter

frozen vegetables

optional: red chili flakes, tofu, chicken, bean sprouts, kale

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, cook two packs of Ramen according to the package instructions and add your desired amount of frozen vegetables into the broth. When the Ramen and vegetables are done, drain the broth from the pan. Add 1 tbsp peanut butter, two tbsp soy sauce, and red chili flakes to the noodles and vegetables. (We used a peanut butter that had a bit of sweetener in it, which means you may find you want to add a little sugar to sweeten your satay!) Mix together and cook for two minutes more. Then serve!

Baked Apple Smores (my new favorite!)

Hey all,

I am so excited for fall that I’ve begun dreaming of fall foods (as well as fall-themed pinups, of course!)

In the midst of my day-dreaming, I created my new favorite (healthy) everyday fall dessert: Baked Apple Smores. (Okay, I know it’s not fall yet, but I love apples and Smores! Who doesn’t??) And last week I made the mistake of not having any of my usual “healthy” desserts on hand, and after having a vodka soda… or two… with friends, I was a little less careful about my eating when I came home. So less disciplined, in fact, that I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and ate three! Bah!

How about making Smores with apples and adding cinnamon and coconut on top? That’s right–Baked Apple Smores with cinnamon, spice, and everything nice!

I baked open face, cored apples with dark chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, tiny smidgeons of butter and coconut, and cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice for some added sweet and spiciness. These are so fun for the fall! I also love that they’re kid-friendly, healthy, nutritious, and indulgent (without all the guilt!). I am making multiple Baked Apple Smores and storing them in tupperware for dessert at night during the week. Yum!

Skinny Coconut Butter (two ways: vanilla cinnamon and cashew)

Hey all,

I am having a friend over for dinner on Friday who loves coconut, but is trying to stay healthy. She is under stress for prelims (the preliminary exams we have to take to prove we are “experts’ and worthy to write an almost book-long dissertation!), and she keeps having chocolate and tv attacks! I decided to make her something with coconut that’s light and healthy. How about I whip up a skinny Coconut Butter for dessert that we can use as a dip for fruit and angel food cake? Sounds divine, right?

BB loves Gil Elvgren pinups!

My problem, of course, is that I’m a poor graduate student who can’t afford the expensive machines and instruments (like a $400 Vitamix!) necessary to whip up things like coconut or nuts until smooth (to make my own butter). But I bet if I added a liquid to the coconut, it would process a bit better and still resemble a “chunky’ butter!

This divine coconut spread is so delicious! I blended the coconut and almond milk until it became a chunky, but still smooth spread. I love it! Why buy a coconut butter for 10-15 dollars when you can make it at home? I know the texture won’t be as smooth as store bought, but I actually prefer the less smooth texture. (I may or may not have eaten spoonfuls of this with apples for excessive “testing.”)

Of course, I didn’t stop there. I tend to dip my fruit into nut butter, and decided to try and blend the coconut with new favorite nut butter: Cashew!

I loved it! I actually prefer the Coconut Cashew Butter to the plain coconut butter. I simply added cashew butter, cinnamon, and a tiny bit of vanilla extract to the Coconut Butter. Voila! A delicious butter for half the price of a store bought! (And healthier, too.)

Skinny Coconut Butter 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk  (or cow’s milk and soy milk)

optional: add 1 tsp honey for sweetener

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and blend with an immersion blender or in a food processor for several minutes (5 minutes?)  until smooth.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Skinny Variations

Vanilla-Cinnamon Coconut Butter: add 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Coconut Cashew Butter: add 2 1/2 tbsp cashew butter, 1/4 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Cocoa Coconut Butter: add 1 tbsp honey and 1 tbsp cocoa powder

Healthy Carrot Molasses Cookies (with chocolate chips)

Good afternoon, Burlesquers! It’s stormy weather!

Gil Elvgren

Today was a bittersweet day. My roomie, who I love, left this morning for the summer and fall, and I may or may not have cried when she left!! (Ugh, I need to turn off the sentiment sometimes!) However, this meant that Ron and I had the run of the apartment, AND it’s a rainy day! You know how I love rainy days! ………Cookie time! (I also made my Brown Sugar and Honey Scrub before baking for some DIY relaxation.)

from Churchmusictoday blog

A little Brown sugar and Honey scrub for the week!

After our goodbyes, Ron and I jumped into the kitchen to start having some major fun. He made meat, while I made another type of cookie, because my roomie happened to donate her Molasses to the delicious BB cookie fund. (Actually, she couldn’t bring the molasses with her to her summer program, but it’s all the same to me!) I was in the mood for something like a spicy Carrot Cake, and voila! Deep and dark Carrot Molasses cookies (with chocolate chips).

These wheat-based, carrot cake-esque cookies also have the added bonus of molasses and chocolate chips, which gives them a deep, spicy, sweet flavor. These cookies also happen to be extremely healthy–no butter, all wheat flour and oats,  only two teaspoons of oil, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and dates and pineapple to sweeten the batter! I love making cookies with feel-good ingredients that fill you up! If you don’t have dates, just use raisins or even rum-soaked raisins (which are the usual suspects of Carrot Cake, but I happen to be a California Dates kind of girl.) You also could use white flour instead of the wheat, or use no oats and all flour. This is, as always, a versatile recipe! Hope you all have a fun day!

(Healthy) 5 Layer Enchilada Casserole

Today was a fabulous day, Burlesquers!

I caught up with a friend of mine via Gchat who is working internationally at a law firm in Chile. Love this girl–she is another one of my “kick butt” lawyer friends.  We met, actually, after we both graduated college and were working at a local coffee shop. She was my barista trainer, and my store manager prefaced my meeting her by saying, “You’re either going to love each other or hate each other.” Looks like we loved each other, because we’ve been good friends ever since! I’ve also grown to love her parents. They’ve hosted me at Thanksgiving, invited me over for Christmas, and let me eat them out of house and home. “Have another bowl of soup, BB!” Love you!

Anyway, my friend and I today were talking about vanity, self-deprecation, and insecurities. These topics affect everyone–men, women, young, old. I do think, however, women are particularly affected by this, with social pressures mounting for women of all different races, sexualities, and classes to be “every” woman: the working woman, the mom, the emotional caretaker, the model, the vixen. It’s not the same experience for everyone, but it’s alot of pressure in general, right? And it’s particularly bad when we’re younger, isn’t it? I still remember the awful, insecure, denigrating impulses about my mind and my body that I felt sometimes when I was a teen–I’m not smart enough! My hair isn’t straight or blonde like everyone else! My body is curvy and not super skinny! I don’t feel pretty!

I remember a day (years ago) when a man I briefly dated bullied me–praying on my common insecurities of acceptance–by telling me that men will never date me because of my “feminist viewpoints and strong will”. Honestly, I still don’t even know what that means. I’m not “acceptable” as a heterosexual female because I’m strong-willed? Or because I’m a feminist? At the time I was upset, but I was over that nonsense within a week. Such antiquated statements (who says that??). I hope no one ever falls for bullying that sounds that stupid! I hate to be so clichéd, but you’ve got only one chance here, people. Time to love ourselves! And, in the immortal words of Kelly Clarkson, don’t buy into someone telling you about how it’s going to be!

Speaking of loving yourself, I vote you make some healthy and hearty Enchilada casserole tonite! One night this week, I wanted to make Enchiladas, but I didn’t want to hassle with rolling up the enchiladas and making a mess (which I tend to do). How about making an Enchilada casserole and layering the Enchilada ingredients like you would a lasagna? This dinner was alot of fun to make and too delicious not to post!

a little slice of Enchilada heaven!

the pan of enchiladas

I used low carb wheat tortillas, beans, lowfat cheese, enchilada sauce, spices, vegetables and meat to make this delicious, 5 layer filling meal!

Banana Protein Pancakes

Hey Burlesquers! I am refreshed! I am rejuvenated! Maybe it was from all those Cinnamon treats healthy eats and play time this holiday weekend? (In my dreams I’d be having fun on the beach with these fun-looking ladies!)

from “Miss Riot” blog (photographer unknown…I think this was taken at Shelburne, VT state beach?)

But, but seriously, I am feeling better, and I am now fairly certain I became sick after improving my diet, exercising, and losing a few pounds. (That probably seems contradictory, right?) I thought so too, but this ALWAYS happens to me. Every time I’ve made too drastic of lifestyle changes (even if its to a more healthy, limited diet or exercising 5 days a week), I get sick. This makes sense though. Your body is initially thrown off course by any changes (good or bad!), and your immune system lowers…hence, me getting a cold! Sigh. I can never win.

I wanted to start fresh today though, and I made a special healthy breakfast for myself. How about Banana Vanilla Protein Pancakes by PB Fingers (blogger)?

Peanut Butter Finger’s recipe (a very cute, healthy lifestyle blogger, by the way) includes oats, egg, mashed banana, protein powder, vanilla extract, and cottage cheese, which makes for a very healthy pancake! I only made slight changes: I added lots of cinnamon (of course), a smidgeon of honey, greek yogurt instead of cottage cheese, and I used oat flour instead of blended oats (she uses an immersion blender to grind the oats in her recipe).

I really liked this recipe! The “pancake” turned out moist and chewy—different from a regular pancake, but just as good and even MORE filling! Four hours later and I am still not hungry! Kind of amazing, actually. These pancakes would freeze well if you made a large batch, and if you don’t have protein powder, just substitute with an equal amount of oat flour, wheat flour, white flour, or even fiber powder. If you don’t have oat flour but would like some, you can actually make your own by grinding oats in a food processor. (Oat flour has a more mild, sweeter flavor than wheat flour.)

Stir-fry Beef and Tofu (with Sherry and Snow Peas)

Hey Burlesquers,

I don’t know if it’s the change in weather (humidity is now at 95%!), but I’ve become sluggish.  This California girl can never get used to East Coast weather!! I am always the coldest person in the room during winter, and my skin and hair become a hot mess during the East coast summer. Summer humidity on the east coast means my fair skin becomes dewy and more sensitive (it’s always red from being scratched), and my hair becomes a veritable furball. I also seem to become dehydrated more easily. Oh, New England. No offense to all east coast lovers, but I always miss my west coast roots more in the summers. I had lived in California all my life, and I didn’t realize how “west coast” I was until I left. (I’ve mentioned how in the first month of living in new England, multiple waiters and baristas immediately knew I wasn’t from here and would ask me where I was from. Funny, right? They always guessed the South or Midwest.)

From MagnetsForFridge.com

Anyway, in more pleasant news, I received recognition from a sorority on campus for my teaching! So sweet!  I found a fancy note, printed on official Kappa Alpha Theta stationary, in my mailbox yesterday. Inside, there was a message from the sorority recognizing my “hard work” and thanking me for my teaching–in particular, the class I taught this semester–and then it was signed by one of my students and the rest of the sorority! Cute, right? I’ve never been in a sorority, but I thought this was adorable and very sweet. (Although, I still don’t know why it’s from the whole sorority? Any sorority lovers out there who can tell me?) I am assuming people put in the names of their favorite teachers, and then get notes printed for them. Whatever it was, I was excited!

From ChangingLaynes blogspot

Okay, I’ve rambled enough: let’s talk snow peas and beef. Ron introduced me to this Beef with Snow Peas recipe from the Pioneer Woman, and we now both love it! This is a basic stirfry, although the recipes calls for snow peas and sherry, which I’d never bought before. I am so glad I did though! I love the taste of the snow peas (a change from broccoli!) and the sherry really adds alot of flavor to the stirfry.

As always, the changes: we added carrots and substituted the jasmine rice with brown rice and half the beef with tofu (to make it more heart healthy)—and you can’t tell a difference in flavor! The tofu in particular takes on the flavors of the sherry and the beef, and makes the dish more hearty and fibrous. We also use cornstarch at the end to make the sauce a bit more, well, saucy! Anyway, good eats for this yummy dish!

the stirfry

Protein Pumpkin Bars by Jamie Eason

I think we have all gathered by now that I am not a fitness guru or a health nut. I try to live a healthy-ish life, but I do have my vices (sweets being one of them). As of recently though, I’ve started trying to go to the gym. I gained alot of weight and experienced alot of stress during some big exams I took during my PhD program, and now I’d like to get a little more healthy and de-stress. (I’d also like to think of some of this as happy weight gain though, considering I’ve been now dating my current boyfriend for over a year, and we are two peas in a pod (two foodies in the kitchen?) who love good food. Which means we make alot of it. And then I eat alot of it. Groan. (Laughing.))

Anyway, my best friend (who I will talk about in detail at some point.. she is a kick-butt state lawyer) called me to tell me about this “amazing” pumpkin bar recipe I had to try. She was raving about it. She hates “health” food, but she recently lost 35 pounds for health and wellness reasons and is always looking for healthier options. She found a Pumpkin protein recipe by a body builder (Jamie Eason) she wanted me to try. I ignored her accolades about these pumpkin bars for awhile, but then one day I decided to give the bars a try. Why not? I think the best bakers and cooks are actually those that can make yummy food from healthy ingredients (because it’s pretty easy to make something taste great with butter and chocolate, right?). And I want a snack for after the gym that tastes like pumpkin pie! Yum! (My friend also eats this as a dessert and for breakfast! She added chocolate chips to her last batch to make them more dessert like.)

Pumpkin Protein bar with greek yogurt

I made a few changes to the recipe, which are in the recipe below—I used real milk instead of almond milk, I used stevia as my sugar substitute, I added a bit of honey, a touch more cinnamon, and sprinkled the top with pumpkin pie spice, and I used a different type of protein powder that I had on hand (it’s a vanilla protein powder that’s actually unsweetened and not whey).

The results…great! This tastes like a more bready (but still moist) version of the inside of a pumpkin pie! These bars are definitely worth it: low in sugar, high in fiber, high in protein, and vegetarian friendly. These are, overall, a really great healthy snack, breakfast, or even dessert that clocks in at less than 100 calories (around 70 calories).  I might tinker this recipe some more, but this is a definite winner!  I’m eating a bar right now with low fat milk. Mmmmm!