Sweet Potato Kale Pizza

I was at the gym Thursday night flipping through a mag on the treadmill when I came across this page with a sweet potato kale pizza recipe on it. Well.. I love sweet potatoes..I eat kale at least every other day..I always have feta in the fridge for salad..and I just bought flat/pita bread - I'm SO making this.

I may or may not have ripped the page out of the gym magazine and stuffed it in my bag.

 

It was easy enough, to make- first here are the Ingredients

• 1 Medium sweet potato
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil  
• Crushed red pepper flakes
• Pizza dough (or like me I used a whole pita pocket, can also find flatbread)
• Kale (about a handful)
• Goat Cheese (I used Feta, I'm sure blue cheese would work too)
• Sliced Almonds

The recipe calls for shredded parmesan and crushed walnuts, I skipped the extra parm because I already had a lot of feta- and calories were adding up- but I did use 1 tbsp. of sliced almonds I had in my cupboard I keep for salads

 

I diced up the sweet potatoes as good as I could and boiled them in water until soft enough (I'm sure you can microwave too- then let them cool for about 5 or so minutes- poured potatoes into my blender bullet adding 3/4 tbsp. olive oil with crushed red peppers and a dash of sea salt - and blended until smooth.  I'm sure you really don't need to blend it- if the potatoes are soft enough you'd be able to mash it yourself, I'm sure I'll do that next time to save some cleaning.

 

 

(don't forget to set oven to bake at 425 while doing this)

 

Peeled apart some kale pieces- poured the remaining 1/4 tbsp. of olive oil on them- then added sea salt.

 

Spread the blended potato/oil/pepper mix onto your bread of choice (again, I used a whole pita) ..top with kale, top with feta then sprinkle with almonds.

 

 

And. bake for about 10-15 minutes, I'm always bad at timing things- I just kept an eye on it and took it out when it looked good and the kale was crisp.

 



And there you go! It was really good, I was pleasantly surprised as.. it's sweet potato kale pizza, something I never would have thought twice about wanting to eat a year, or maybe even couple months ago. I will definitely make again. It came to 547 calories, so I had to lighten up my dinner in order to fit this into my daily! The Pita worked well too- I was a little worried it wouldn't bake very good- but it was just dandy! The pita was 200 cals it self, so I may look for a lower cal alternative if I can find something next time!

Protein Pancakes!

Pancakes are Delish! here's how I'm making mine lately;

• 1/4C Steel Cut Oats
• 1/2 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
• 2 Egg Whites
• 1/2 Banana

Topped with...

• 1/4 Cup Sugar Free Syrup (1/4 C was too much)
• 4 Dark Choco Chips

(Blended the Ingredients together in my bullet but only for a sec as I wanted it a little thicker)

 

= 308 Calories

= 24g Protein

  + 32 Calories for 1/2 Cup Raspberries on the side :)



 

 

So they may not be the prettiest looking pancakes..which also might be part my constant fail at making the perfectly un-burnt pancake.

 

And of course a side of my love, Raspberries!

Found on Pinterest_ Recipe inspired by: This!

Thoughts on Thursday

 

 

 

 

 

Had sort of a bad day yesterday, so this seemed fitting :) Happy Thursday

 

Jewel Statement Necklaces

Can I just say that I like Love jewel statement necklaces.

 

 

 

 

 

Aka Pretty much every piece of jewelry from J.Crew

 

You can wear them with solids, stripes, graphic tees, blazers- they are everything.

 

 

Words from Catt

While scrolling through my morning social media, I came across this post from Catt Sadler. It really resonated with me as I'm constantly wishing I could join some sort of fitness group, be a beach body coach, be in some weight loss competition at the gym, etc- but really you're the only one who's gonna make things happen and make the necessary changes to get to your goals.

 

So, thanks Catt.

 

 

Quick & Easy Lunch

 

 

Andrea and I made a trip to Trader Joes the other day, can I just first say how much I love Trader Joes? It's great.

 

 

Picked up some extra lean ground turkey and whipped it up in the frying pan for the week- I was kind of feeling lazy and just wanted to make something, anything quick for lunch so I cooked up heated up some ground turkey, and cooked the bag of corn, red peppers and edamame I got at trader joes- added some seasonings and had lunch! It was a little bland, next time I'll maybe mix some salsa or something in it to add some flavor, but for only 300 calories and a filling- clean healthy lunch it did the trick.

 

Open field!

The last 2 days I've just ran a 5k then did a mile/2 mile extra in on and off jogging- then some of my Jillian DVD- but I kind wanted to do something different today!

I did my Jillian (No more trouble zones) dvd which is always brutal - and I guess I was on a work out high and decided I should go do sprints? My legs were already wobblin- that Jillian makes you do some squats and lunges I tell yah.


Sprinting on a sidewalk on the side of a busy road would just be weird- so I went to our local soccer field!

 

I miss the days I used to play competitively  growing up!

I did springs from one light post to the next diagonally, spring to one, jog to the next, spring to the next- etc.

 

 Who knew jumping could be so exhausting?  Got creative and did squat jumps side to side in box- that almost made me sweat more than sprints did! Then took some jumps to the stairs!

After all said and done, my legs were shaking and I could have crawled back to my car- I didn't burn as much calories as I have been on my 4+ mile jogs but I'm hoping I burned some fat by keeping the heart rate moving with springs and intervals!



...back to the apartment to make my protein smoothie dinner & sit on the couch to watch Extreme Makeover Weightloss & Catfish :)

Veggie Dip!

Trying to eat more veggies.. but I'm not as big on cooked/steamed veggies.. but like them raw but sometimes get a little..blah.

 

 

So of course pinterest led me to a recipe for Greek yogurt veggie dip!

 

• 6oz cup plain non fat Chobani
• 2 Tbsp Italian dressing (you can use whatever kind)
• Then some dashes of seasonings (also use whatever floats your boat)
• Then I cut up a bunch of celery, green peppers, carrots, cauli and broccoli- mixed it all together

 

I used about half the cup of Chobani though- I didn't like it drowning in dip.

 

Perfect snack :) 

 

And so my staycation begins!

I have the Aug 31st-Sept 8th off.. and decided to take a staycation and stay in Milwaukee for some R&R and really focus on doing what I've been increasingly growing a passion for, health & fitness!

So I'm taking the week to work out, and try new healthy recipes :) may not be the most ideal vacation and time off from work, but I'm gonna capitalize on the time off! I've been trying to lose weight since February, and though it's been a long & slow process, I've lost 16 lbs since I started at my highest in Feb by just working out and eating healthy. I'd of course have weeks where I just blow it- but I always got back on track.

 

10 more to go :)

I always just do cardio- maybe throw in 15 squats and lunges each or something and call it a day, but I know strength and circuit training will have the most impact on the bod.

I count cals to keep me on track, and so usually I have the elliptical telling me how much cals I burn, but with strength training I don't have that so I bought a heart rate monitor to tell me what I'm burning while I do my DVDs at home :)

Took the HRM for a spin and went for a run and liked what I saw, I feel like that's a high burn but i'm trusting it's accurate- I mean, I won't complain! It has a chest strap so it's gotta be somewhat accurate?

So here goes a week of health, fitness and wellness :)

...and blogging about it.

Cinnimon Vanilla (Protein) Frappe

I'm in love.

I'll start with saying I've been on a protein smoothie for breakfast kick so am always looking for new smoothie/shake recipes to try to keep my taste buds entertained.

I was browsing Facebook last night and looked on a BeachBody facebook page of a great girl I know, which you can find Here !  Check out and like her Facebook page, she has lots of inspiring posts and if you need any sort of beach body products from work outs to shakeology, she's your girl. She posted about a Cinnamon Vanilla Latte recipe that I had to try. Especially because I already had all the ingredients.


Here is what you need to make this delishhhy bev.

Currently I'm trying a sample packet of Vega One Nutritional Shake (French Vanilla).

 Vega one is a protein shake that has..

15g or protein (same as 2.7 eggs)

1 billion probiotics (same as 1 yogurt cup)

1.5g Omega-3 (same as 2.3 servings of salmon)

6g of fiber (same as 3.2 slices of while grain wheat bread)

3 servings of Greens (same as 3 servings of vegetables)

2.7 cups antioxidants (same as 2.7 cups of blueberries)

 

..can you see why I wanted to sample this shake?

I got my shake sample at a local Health Hut.. otherwise you can order online, or use your own favorite protein, or buy shakeology from Raina

 

Of course I used my new 1500 watt Ninja Complete System Blender.. :)

With the amount of ice I used it was more of a frappe.. hense me naming it a frappe.. but next time I'll try and make it more of a smoothie consistency. It was delicious, because of this recipe I may make the plunge to buy the Vega One French Vanilla tub of protein shake.

 

Om NommMm

Calories: 246
Carbs: 32
Fat: 6
Protein: 16
Sodium: 291
Sugar: 18

Give it a try!!

Baked Poato Chips!

These looked so good on pinterest so we had to make them!

Pretty self explanatory, but slice up your potatos as thin as you can, which can be kind of a pain. Put all the slices in a bowl and add your olive oil and mix around, then add your spices and mix around again.

 

We added parmesan to it to top it off before putting them in to bake :) #cheeseoneverything

 

Bake at 375 until you've reached the crisp of your choice, and Wa-LA! Yummy side dish or something to snack on if your craving potato chips! Next time I'm going to try this with sweet potatoes & brown sugar!!

 

 

 

Pinterest inspiration: Baked Potato Chips

Avocado Smoothie!

more like avocado smoothie...fail.

 

 

I've been trying to get myself to like avocados, buuttt I haven't reached that point yet. I saw a recipe on Pinterest which of course I couldn't find now, to put it in your smoothie. I make a lot of green smoothies so I was curious to try this as well.

 

Avocado, milk (I didn't have almond) Greek yogurt, spinach and honey.

 

Blended them all together with ice and I just didn't love.. very creamy. I could probably edit the recipe, less milk, less yogurt etc. but it certainly wasn't my fav.

 

 

 

 

 

I added some mangos and pineapple to hopefully make it better, helped a little bit but I would still be hesitant to try again. I think it's the avocado, I just don't have the taste for it unfortunately.

 

 

 

Baked Buffalo Cauliflower

 

 

Here goes the first blog post trying out different  Pinterest recipes!

The first one is Baked Buffalo Cauliflower. First I'd like to add that 1. Andrea and I have been in a cauliflower phase where we each eat a head of it on a weekly basis, dipped in buffalo sauce, which we've also been eating a lot of, whether it's celery, cauliflower, you name it, we dip it.

SO Andrea found a recipe on none other than Pinterest to bake cauliflower so we of course had to try it because we've been eating it raw all the time.

 

We use Sweet Baby Rays Buffalo Sauce, or this Buffalo Wing Sauce I got at the Dolla Store, both taste delish, if you're a buffalo fan.

 

Ingredients:

½ c. white rice flour

½ c. water

Salt and pepper to taste

Cauliflower

Buffalo Sauce of your choice

So first we just mixed together the flour, water & a dash of salt into a bowl, as you see Andrea doing :) then we put the cauliflower in the bowl, carefully trying not to add too much batter to each piece so it didn't get mushy when it bakes or anything.

 

Then we spread the Cauliflower out on a pan, and put it in the oven to bake at 450 degrees. After it baked for a while and it started to look a little crunchy, we dumped them into a bowl and poured our buffalo sauce on, mixed it around and put it back in the oven for a while till it got even more crunchy. Don't think we really timed it much, just kind of watched :)

 

 

We ended up dipping them into buffalo sauce, cause as you can see in the very first pic it was light on the sauce, and we love our buffalo, soo. We didn't LOVVEE it, but it wasn't bad, we'll def try making it again to try and perfect it. I think it will take a couple times to perfect the crisp/crunch to the cauliflower and avoid softness.

 

 

I give it.. a 6 out of 10 rating!

 

Original Inspiration found here =)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GREEN Smoothie

hola!

I keep seeing green smoothie recipes all over pinterest and finally decided to make one. And after drinking it,  I conclude I'll be making a lot more going forward! In hopes to lose 25 pounds and not eating enough fruit and veggies this is a great way to get them in, I especially like them post work out.

I used..

(roughly)
3/4 cup frozen pineapple
3/4 cup frozen mango
1 low fat greek yogurt
2 cups baby spinach
5-6 cubes
little bit of water to blend
Total calories: 216
Protein: 17grams

This made about 2 smoothies, it was more than I planned but defs drank it all, which made it really filling. I had this and 5oz of grilled chicken for lunchy!

I'm excited to mix up the ingrediants a bit, swapping for bananas and different fruit :)

 

 

Pinterest Inspiration: http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/green-detox-smoothie/