Quinoa and your thoughts...

Today I entered the world of quinoa. What are your thoughts about it?

Sweet Potato Fries

Tonight i made my own sweet potato fries. This is probably not new to many people, but they are SO good and easy. I cut mine like a fry shape and put coconut oil with sea salt and cinnamon (only on half). Then i baked them at 400 degrees until they looked done (15-20 min). YUM If you do not have coconut oil try olive oil. (The coconut oil comes in a solid form so i melted it and brushed it on the fries). Good stuff!

Exercise

Try exercising in the AM. It gets your metabolism going for the day. If you cant in the AM, just try to work out when ya can. I know this time of the year is hard to stay motivated, but we CAN do it! No excuses (is what i tell myself!).

So, i went to a kick boxing class this AM. HIGHLY recommend it. Hard, but it pushes you! Then, i started the day with a salad topped with scrambled eggs. The eggs gave protein, with my veggies, all was good! Then i closed the meal with a piece of chocolate. :) Cant beat that!

Every step you take in the right direction, is a step closer to your goal.

Trekking on..

Gluten Free Brownies

So, I bought gluten free flour a few weeks ago thinking i would try making bread with it. Well i tried it, and it was nasty! It tasted like cardboard.

Well, I have yet to experiement more with GF bread, but i tried GF brownies. VERY GOOD! I made dark chocolate ones, but here is the recipe i got offline:

Clare's Gluten-Free Brownies

This is the original brownie recipe from Clare, featuring cocoa powder.

3/4 cup gluten free flour (almond and sweet rice flour combo)

1 cup sugar (brown or white)

5 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shortening (butter, or GF margarine etc.), softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract*

To make it easy, Clare melts the shortening in a glass bowl using a microwave, then adds the rest of the ingredients.

Add 1/2 cup of nuts, etc., if desired.

Spread in an 8x8-inch baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cool. Cut. Wrap and freeze.

*Note:

To make these brownies minty, add 2 teaspoons peppermint extract to the batter.

Read more: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/01/dark-chocolate-brownies.html#ixzz1CjaSjJZO

Try it and let me know if you do!

Andrea

My New Thing

Coconut oil is good for eating, skin, hair, and just about anything. I use it for frying. I know you can also use it instead of butter, but i have yet to try that. Coconut oil looks like lard, but melts down. If you wanted to use it for your skin or hair you would need to melt it then apply.

It ranges from 7.50-11 dollars. Kinda expensive, but its worth a healthy start. It lasts awhile.

And i want to note that it does not taste like coconut believe it or not. I am not a fan of coconut and i like this!

This is a great start to a healthy life. Go get some!
Andrea

Lactose Intolerant?

I am not lactose intolerant but i do know people who are. I was thinking about about options for people who do not eat dairy or who chose not to. Some options are tofu, which they have different kinds of and to be honest it is not that bad if you cook it with veggies, which is the perfect combination! Tempeh which i am not very familiar with, but is a lot like tofu. click here to learn more http://www.fitsugar.com/Difference-Between-Tofu-Tempeh-1034188.

Also, I LOVE WHOLE FOODS! It is a market of fresh and mostly organic food. A lot like trader joes which is another favorite store of mine! Well, i joined whole foods on facebook and low and behold they had a Vegan recipe! So those who cannot eat dairy, dont fret cuz here is a recipe for you to try (just click it):
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2851
Any recipes I post feel free to make them your own. Like for this one, you do not have to use tempeh, but try tofu or if you dont do any of those use chicken.

Hope its good!

Menu for tonight

Ok i have to share this recipe with you:

Baked Chicken Breast
4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
8 oz catalina dressing
8 oz jar apricot preserves
1 pkg dry onion soup

I twike the recipe by not adding so much dressing or preserves. I also do not have dry onion soup so i left it out and it tastes wonderful. So to make this meal 'healthy' i am making sweet potatoes. They are better for you and this is a carb.

So enjoy! I am gonna go eat!