There’s MUFFIN Better than Mondaysssss.

There is MUFFIN better than a MONDAY. Or that is what we tell ourselves to get through the day. Nothin’ is worse than having a case of the MONDAYSSSS. In other exciting news, I recently got upgraded from a sad Dietetic Intern to now a WORKING GIRL (insert dancing girl emoji). I currently like to consider myself the brunette version of Melanie Griffith from ‘WORKING GIRL’, minus the awesome 80’s fashion and hair styles.

Towards the end of my Dietetic Internship, I was offered a position as a Registered Dietitian/Clinic Supervisor II for Northeast Valley Health Corporation – Woman, Infant, and Children. It was a job offer I never expected. I had created this mindset that after the Internship I would focus solely on creating my own nutrition business along side being in the gym working with clients. But as I have learned in the past year that our direction in life can change. As I worked every Saturday for WIC, I had days where I felt I made a difference through my exceptional motivational-interviewing skills, to inspire a person to eat more fruits and vegetables or be more active. Then I had the days where I walked out and asked myself did I even help one soul?!?!?! From having those days of up and down I had decided AGAINST ever continuing my work with WIC. Wellll, as I mentioned earlier, that the path we are in life can change direction. The only constant thing in life is change, right?!?!?!  A question, I asked myself and others was, “If you were offered a full-time job before you finished an Internship, should you accept it?” Everyone I asked replied with an astounding, “YES!” Seemed like a no-brainer, right?!?! HA, AS IF. I believe that God has asked of me to live a purpose-driven life to help others achieve healthy lifestyle through making better nutrition choices and to be more active. But does that mean accepting a position at WIC?!?! During interviews, ya know the portion at the end where they go, “Do you have any questions for us?” Welll….At my last Consortium, the Dietetic Internship Director for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), gave us some insightful advice when interviewing. She mentioned that the employer already knows our skills and attributes from our resume and our overall goals. But what is overlooked is asking the employer what they can do for us, for our goals, and if it would be a budding relationship. So at the end of the interview that is what I did. I asked, “You know my passion/goal is to teach others about nutrition, make better food choices along with being physical activity, can WIC provide me an avenue for me to live out my purpose-driven life?”

And the rest is history. Granted, the job position is conditional on me taking the Registered Dietitian exam which I am currently studying for during my lunch breaks. When we cross that hump, you shall expect another blog post.  But as the Featured Image displays – HEALTH HAPPENS HERE – and HERE is where I hope to make a difference. I may not create a global change, but if I can spark a light in a Mom or in a child to create a new healthy habit then I am one step closer to my goal in life.

As TESS, said in the 80’s inspiring movie WORKING GIRL, “You want to be taken seriously, you need serious hair.” Unfortunately, I don’t have serious hair, but I have got a SERIOUSLY AWESOME Paleo Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin recipe – that I hope to dazzle my new co-workers with. These Chocolate Chip Banan Muffins are grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free, with the only sugar from the bananas and dark chocolate chips. Basically, these MUFFINS were once cupcakes that just got SMART. Plus, there ain’t MUFFIN better than MONDAYSSSS. And when you ever have overripe bananas, the logical thing to do is make Banana anything and add chocolate. DUH.

Ingredients: Makes 12 Muffins

1/4 cup Almond Flour

1/4 cup Coconut Flour

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 bananas (I weighed them out and came to 150g/each)

3 eggs, whisked

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (74 grams) Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Chips

Directions:

1. Set oven to 375º either grease or cupcake line muffin tray.
2. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Add chocolate chips and mix in.
4. Using an ice-cream scoop, fill in each cupcake liner.
5. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown.
6. Let cool on wire tray.
7. ENJOY you STUD MUFFIN, you.

GANG’s ALL HERE.

BANANA LADY LUMPS.

BANANA – CHOCOLATE LADY LUMPS.

DO YOU EVER JUST WANT TO EAT THE BATTER?!?!?

MUFFIN COMPARES TO YOU.

Nutrition per MUFFIN: 130 cal | 3g Protein | 10 g Fat | 11g Carbohydrates |

2 g Fiber | 5 g Sugars

Nutrition Facts Label: (click link to print label)

NutritionLabel (1)

 

America, I think I like you an WAFFLE lot.

Happy Birthday America! I have to say you lookin’ prett-ay good these days. Ya know aside from that ugly Election thingy, Trump vs. Hilary. Not one of your finer moments. But we all have our moments.

How do we survive July 4th celebrations or any type of celebration and still stay on track?!!?

The big question. Life is about learning to love ourselves, enjoy the good times, be happy, and feel good in our own skin.

1. Balance – Variety – Moderation
You will hear me say it always. It applies to not just nutrition but to LIFE. Enjoy the day, enjoy the food, enjoy your family. Tomorrow is a new day.

2. Start the day off right.
We know eating breakfast helps keep that metabolism running through the day. So if the day gets busy and you have to start cooking or traveling, grab something quick such as a banana with some almond butter/peanut butter and some hardboiled eggs. If you have time cook up some egg white omelette with spinach and top with some pico de gallo and guacamole. Focus on Protein and Fat to keep you full and satisfied.

3. Invited to a PART-AY?? Make/Bring a Dish.
Everyone has their THING. They either like the potato salad, the chips and dip, the dessert, but whatever it may be ask to bring/bake/cook what you know is YOUR THING and make it healthy for you. I’ll tell you right now nobody will know the difference.

4. One Plate Rule
I like the one plate rule. It’s hard I know, but it’s so worth it. We all get in trouble when we start going for seconds and thirds. I get one plate, I put in moderate portions of everything I want. And I don’t mean stake it super high. Take your time eating the meal – Taste the flavors of the food – Engage in small talk. Learn to enjoy the atmosphere and RELAX.

5. Get UP and MOVE
In-between the meal and desert, get up and move! Take the kids to the park, go for a walk around the neighborhood. Remember to be active.

6. Dessert
If you don’t want the healthy desert, then don’t worry about it. Get what you want but make the slice smaller. And remember tomorrow is a whole new day to reach for your goals.

 

Now as we proceed to give you what you need….

WAFFLES

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This waffle recipe taste just like cake – cake – cake. Basic-ally the best way to celebrate any birthday. It’s essential to finish off these Almond Flour Waffles by covering them in a coconut cream glaze and a sprinkle of some ol’ red and blue, strawberries and blueberries.

Recipe:

1/2 cup Almond Flour

1/4 cup Coconut Flour

1/4 cup Arrowroot Flour

1/8 cup Organic Coconut Sugar

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1.2 tsp Baking Soda

1 Egg

Coconut Oil Spray

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and heat up Waffle Maker
2. Spray Waffle Maker and pour batter.
3. Cook until lightly golden
4. EAT em’ ALL.

 

America, I think I like you a WAFFLE lot.

 

 

 

Simple Mills Chocolate Chip Cookies…. oh and PB

What do you do when it’s The First Official Week of Summer and 106 degrees outside?!?! You turn the oven on and bake some chocolate chip cookies. DUH. More importantly you bake the cookies so when you need to make an ice cream cookie sandwich you are already prepared. See always one step ahead of y’all (yeah…not really).

I will be honest and say, that I am not the most savvy in creating recipes. So when I can find a product that I can ‘get down with’ I want to use it, exploit it, devour it. I am a dirrrtyyy girl. Sorry, not sorry. Plus, when I finally have my dream come true to be on a first name basis with Juli Bauer from PaleOMG and she’s like, “Oh yeah, don’t you love this (insert whatever product)?” and I can respond with confidence, “Oh totes girl, I recommend it to all my clients!”

Insert: Simple Mills Products. Simple Mills products are simple, delicious, real food in a baking mix. They classify themselves as gluten-free, grain-free, non-gmo, soy free, and paleo friendly. Their products range from almond flour crackers to frosting, cookies, pizza dough, vanilla cake, and muffins. I first saw them through PaleOMG and was super excited to find them at my local health food store here in Antelope Valley and TARGET (damn, #targetdoesitagain). In a world full of processed foods, it is refreshing to find a company that wants to provide as many natural ingredients in a product.

The chocolate chip cookie mix ingredients include: almond flour, chocolate chips, organic coconut sugar, tapioca, organic coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Simple ingredients. To finish this mathematical baking equation you add:

Milk (dairy or non-dairy) + vanilla + butter or oil (coconut, vegetable, or grapeseed)

For me I used Almond Milk (unsweetened) and coconut oil. Coconut oil is made from the pressing of the white meat inside the shell of the coconut. Coconut oil is one of the most abundant sources of saturated fats. The saturated fat in coconut oil is comprised of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) – basically a chain of fatty acids that are of medium length. MCTs have shown to be broken down differently in the body and not stored in our fat cells, when compared to other saturated fats such as lard. This could create a thermogenic effect, and boost fat burning action in the body. I am an advocate for coconut oil not just for its weight loss effects but that it can reduce inflammation in the body and MCTs are a good fuel source for your brain and body.

FURTHERMORE, I added another experiment to also ‘test’ an additional product. Dun…Dun..Dun..powdered peanut butter. (yes roll your eyes). But I get so many questions on natural peanut butter versus powdered peanut butter. SOOO I decided to buy a container and use it. I used the product Just Great Stuff Powdered Organic Peanut Butter. The ‘benefit’ of the product is it provides that peanut butter flavor for 90% less fat. The ingredients in this powdered peanut butter are: organic peanuts, organic coconut sugar, and sea salt. The nutrition for 2 tbs of powdered PB are: 50 cals, 5g Fat, 1.5g Fat, and 5g Carbs with 3g Sugar.

Without further adieu….

Ingredients:

1 Simple Mills box – Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 tsp. vanilla

3 tbsp. MCT Coconut Oil (I would recommend using 2tbsp. – 3 made it very oily)

3 tbsp. Unsweetened Almond Milk

2 tbsp. Organic Powdered Peanut Butter

GANGs ALLLL HERE.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk almond milk and vanilla.
3. Add Simple Mills Cookie Package ingredients and mix to form. 4. Add coconut oil and mix together. Then add your powdered peanut butter (or NOT).
4. Use 1 tbsp. to form small balls and place on parchment paper. Box says it makes 12 cookies, and I was able to make 16.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
6. Enjoy with ice cream, fat free whip cream, or just by itself!

IIFYM: IF IT FITS YO’ MOUTH.

Macros per cookie: 97 calories, 1.5 g protein, 9.7g carbs, 3.9g sugar, 6.1g fat.

Side Note: Because their products contain no preservatives, you need to store the cookies in the fridge or freezer, for sake keeping!

Tips for ‘MACRO FRIENDLY’ TRAVEL

As the famous Matthew McConaughey said in the brilliant film ‘Dazed and Confused’, “You just gotta keep livin’ man, L-I-V-I-N.”

Life will never be perfect. Yes, this Type A ‘Perfectionist’ will admit to you that life nor I will ever be perfect. There will always be something that will come up that may take you out of your comfort zone. During my Dietetic Internship, a rule of thumb, was learn to be flexible. I attended a conference in San Diego, that was sponsored by General Mills (eye roll). Let’s just say the food choices they offered to me were not ‘macro friendly’ and would have me needing to catch up on my protein macros the rest of the day. Yet they allowed me to come and go during lunch – insert Plan B – a trip to Whole Foods. At Whole Foods, along with my hand dandy food scale, I was able to use the Salad Bar combined with the Hot/Cold Food Bar to create an awesome ‘macro friendly’ lunch. Plus, it allowed me to save some extra carbohydrate macros for going out to dinner at any swanky San Diego restaurant. We won’t always have control over certain situations but we have control over the path we take to reach our goals. Here are a few of my tips for macro tracking (or sticking to a healthy eating plan) when life happens.

1. Travel Food Scale – Even if you don’t macro track, its a good way to keep food in balance and moderation. AWS – 600 Digital Food Scale from Amazon is only $9 – invest in yo’ self.
2. If staying in a hotel, call beforehand to see if there is a fridge or microwave available to you. If so you can pack oatmeal to cook in the microwave, store vegetables and protein such as turkey lunch meat to have a health snack on hand when those SNACCidents happen.
3. Snacks that don’t need a fridge can be – trail mix, Rx Bars, protein bars.
4. Scope out restaurants in the area of where you are staying so you can find look up the menu and find a meal that fits within your goals.
5. Balance, Variety, and Moderation – remember LIFE HAPPENS, learn to enjoy the good times. When we learn to indulge in foods we don’t normally have it allows us to take the power and control back in our hands and not let food be the boss of us.

Life will never be perfect. Your nutrition may never be ‘cookie cutter’ perfect or the best. However, it isn’t about being perfect or the best but being better than you were the day before.

 

Nom, Nom, Nom

Cold Food Bar

Hot Food Bar

Treat YO’ self

The SUBTLE ART of WAFFLES (aka ABS)

“Life is like riding a bicycle,

To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

Albert Einstein

Since completing the Dietetic Internship, I have attempted to check off everything on my year long bucket list I made. Things like Disneyland, Harry Potter World, reading, recipe development, and upgrade/expand my blog and brand. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to attempt all this in a month before starting the Dietitian job I accepted. Especially Disneyland and Harry Potter World……I just want a Butter Beer and to ride “It’s A Small World” but alas God has other plans.

However reading books, recipe development, and upgrading/expanding my blog is something I can do and slowly (at a snails pace) getting them done. I have successfully done two second recipes, whoop whoop. Like I said snail pace. However, I am killin’ the reading game right now. Currently, I am reading ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life’ by Mark Manson. Basically every word, sentence, paragraph and chapter is a TRUTH BOMB. Do yo’ self a favor and get this book NOW!!!!! After venturing through my second ‘100 Happy Day’ Posts for Instagram – I have been determined to keep this Happy Day theme on rolling. Hence the quote from Einstein, to keep the balance in life you must keep moving. And I intend on moving onward and upward in life. Yet, I realize that not everyday is filled with unicorns and rainbows and I know I put so much focus on things that I may not be able to fix or change. This may be detrimental to me in the long run. Hence deciding to read ‘The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck’. The first TRUTH BOMB from the book is: Wanting positive experience is a negative experience; accepting negative experience is a positive experience. As I learned from the book Mindset, when we accept negative experiences or when we fail it opens us up to growth. When we accept a growth mindset it opens numerous doors for success and happiness in our lives. So this is my growth mindset, acknowledging that I fail at blogging or posting recipes on a daily basis but I choose to put my focus on things I can do. Do you boo, boo.

The SUBTLE ART of WAFFLES

Let’s be honest, when you have WAFFLES there isn’t any room for negativity. Plus we all know WAFFLES are just PANCAKES with ABS. And if the saying is true you are what you eat…..then I AM ABS. ANDDD these Double Chocolate Chip Power Waffles are just what I need to help me POWER through the day and keep me fueled for my workout. I’m a big fan of Kodiak Power Cakes mix because of its carb:protein ratio and limited ingredients. The Siggi’s yogurt, is the new kid on the block, and is based on Icelandic yogurt promoting simple ingredients, low sugar with a high protein content. I also decided to add a half scoop of chocolate whey protein to increase the chocolate-y flavor all while making these waffles even more AB-tastic…..
____________

Ingredients:
53 grams Kodiak Cakes Mix
1/2 scoop (15g) Chocolate Whey Protein
1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
150 grams Siggi’s 0% Vanilla Yogurt
1 egg
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
15.0 grams Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels
______________

Directions:

1. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl – Kodiak Cakes, protein powder, cinnamon, and baking soda and mix.
2. Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl – almond milk, yogurt, egg and whisk.

     3. Add dry to wet and mix thoroughly. Then add chocolate chips.

4. Using a waffle maker (or you can make these into pancakes), keep cooking heat on low and cook it long so that the waffles can crisp up and cook all the way through.

 

Optional: Sprinkle extra Chocolate Chips on top because YOLO.

Whole recipe makes 6 waffles (2 Waffles/person).
Per serving:
150 cal | 14.2g Protein | 19g Carbs | 4.5g Fat

ROLLIN’ WITH THE HOMIES

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BALLLSSSSS

#WHATSMYSNACK

These Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls are super easy to make with only a couple of ingredients and less than 20 minutes to make. You can add them to your morning yogurt to have some extra chocolate goodness to start your day or have as a snack during the day with the HANGRY feels hit ya. These balls are nutrient dense packed and macro-friendly.

Gluten-Free Oats – a great source as a complex carbohydrate with fiber to aid in digestion.

Flax Meal – a great source for fiber (GI gut health), essential fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid, a precursur to omega-3 fatty acids), and lignans (phytochemicals that has antioxidant properties).

Protein Powder – added protein to help repair muscle damage from workouts.

Natural Peanut Butter – source of protein and monounsaturated fat, and taste creamy GOOOODDDD.

_______________

1 cup Gluten-Free Oats (Bob’s Red Mill is what I used)

1/2 cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter (you can use any nut butter)

1 tbs. Raw Honey (melted before added to mix)

2 tbs. Cocoa Powder – unsweetened

2 tbs. Flax Meal

2 scoops Chocolate Protein Powder (I used ON brand because I find it to be the best option with less fillers and for a cheap price)

1/4 cup water

_______________

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, and stir. Add water to help mix everything together. If mix is still too dry add more water – 1 tbs. at a time.
2. Place in fridge for 20 minutes to let rolls harden up.
3. Roll in to 14 balls and store in fridge or freezer.
4. ENJOY!

_______________

Per ball: 113 calories | 6.6 grams protein | 8.4 g carbs | 5.5 g fat.

GANG’S ALL HERE. 

Combine all ingredients. 

OOOEYYY GOOEYYY.

ROLLIN’ with the HOMIES.

BALLSSS OUT.

CHECK OUT THOSE PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLS.

I can’t wait to BALL out with these babies.

I WOKE UP LIKE THIS…

 LIFE gives us these reminders or good, swift kicks in the butt to let us know how truly BLESSED we are. Not just for the people in it but for the chance every morning to be grateful and show gratitude towards others. Today, I woke up happy, I woke up feeling grateful and excited for life. Today – I woke up.

I’ve realized I spend too many days not active in my life as I should, a bystander you could say. Today, I decided to document everything, wellllll because – I WOKE UP.

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it”

William Arthur Ward

________________________________________

I am grateful for….

She still thinks I am cool.

My Otter-Half

The BOY who has my whole heart.

 

EASTER PIG.

Ding Dong: The CAKE of Nutrition.

What is Nutrition?

Nutrition

Nu·tri·tion | noun |

: the act or process of nourishing or being nourished; specifically: the sum of the processes by which an animal or plant takes in and utilizes food substances <foods that are necessary for human nutrition>

Do you eat Nutrition? NO.

Do you eat food? YES.  

So…what is Food?

Food

\füd\ | noun |

: material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy; also : such food together with supplementary substances (such as minerals, vitamins, and condiments)

: something that nourishes, sustains, or supplies.

___________________________________________________

I have been asking myself as I come towards the end of my Dietetic Internship, what is it that I want to take away from the whole experience. Obviously a CAREER, duh. But how am I, going to add my expertise and knowledge to the field of Nutrition and Dietetics???? It is a question I keep asking myself, every day. So I decided to use my Blog to help answer that question.

I have learned over these past 8 months that food is a powerful and resonates with each person in a different way. Okay, let’s be honest I didn’t just learn this but I am definitely more aware of what food is capable of. Food can make us feel good, remind us of our favorite childhood memory, the perfect fix for a rainy day (it’s like Sleepless in Seattle in “Sunny” Southern California), bring family and friends together around the table, be romantic when with our loved one, and so many more good things. Yet, for every “ying” there is a “yang” or in the case of food – for every “ding” there is a “dong” (I love Ding Dongs). The food we eat can make us feel worse at times, eating too much sugar and fat can make us feel awful, can complicate diseases we already may have such as diabetes and obesity, and we eat to get rid of the pain or shame we feel. So many complex emotions that can come from eating a freakin’ Ding Dong.

I want to be on the side where I help with those emotions that come up when you want to eat that dang Ding Dong, and you begin to tell yourself lies. I want to remind you that you are more important than that lie you tell yourself that you don’t deserve the life you want or that “eating healthy” (whatever that means) is too much work and too expensive, you don’t want to die in Coconut Oil, and you don’t want to give up the Ding Dong, the soda, the fries, the whatever. What I want to do is help personalize what food means for you. Going back to the definition of food: consists of protein, carbs, and fat to help grow, sustain, and repair. The second definition also defines food as something that nourishes. Think of food as the vessel of nutrition. 

Let’s now create a formula for food:

(Pro * CHO * Fat) + (grow * sustain * repair * nourish) =

Making BETTER FOOD choices that will help you GET FIT and FEEL GOOD.

Not once in that formula does it say do a keto-crash diet for 30 days (eye roll), or a 6 week aggressive tillapia and asparagus diet where your pee smells 24/7 and once you think of smelling bread again you instantly gain 10 pounds (The Transformation Center probably pees gold that smells like asparagus). Now I am not saying I hate the Whole30 or 21 – Day Sugar Detox. Whole30 is very educational and teaches you how to eat food in it’s natural form and to pay attention to how body adapts to what foods we eat. And you don’t need organic to follow Whole30. Plus if you haven’t heard Whole Foods is going out of busnazzz. Hence, nobody eats organic as much as they say they do. And let’s be honest we all need to cut sugar from our diet.

But….what it does say is make BETTER choices of FOODs that will help me GET FIT and FEEL GOOD. I want to eliminate the confusion and complication when people ask well what do I eat. We 1) Pay attention to what foods we are eating and how our body feels 2) We then can make better choices of the foods we eat. As we change the foods we eat so does our taste buds and we begin to grow an aversion to the processed foods 3) We then start to feel better 4) We workout because we want to use our better food choices to GET FIT.

Yes, not everyday is going to be easy. And there will be days that you won’t want to eat that broccoli on your plate. Guess what?!?!? That is OK. Did you workout today? Yeah, awesome then don’t worry about that broccoli, is there another dark green vegetable you like? Would you be willing to eat that grilled chicken with a sweet potato? How about homemade chicken fajitas and use a flour tortilla to have a taco? I just gave you 2 meals – in – 1. You’re Welcome. 

I recently listened to Dr. John Berardi, Founder of Precision Nutrition (don’t knock the program –  it is actually pretty legit and probably does more good than an RD treating a non-compliant diabetic suffering from neuropathy) who was a guest speaker on Brute Strength Podcast. He had a quote that resonated with my current lifestyle.

“When you get in shape by a hard diet and a hard fitness regiment – the problem is it doesn’t translate when life gets hard and you can’t have perfect fitness and diet. You aren’t building the skill of being in shape when life happens – when the family is busy, when you have bills to pay, when your car doesn’t work, when your job requires extra time – when life happens.”

Podcast Link: http://brutestrengthtraining.com/podcast/perfecting-your-diet-ft-dr-john-berardi-of-precision-nutrition

John Berardi Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/john.berardi.page/

Precision Nutrition – www.precisionnutrition.com 

As a Registered Dietitian I want to help build the skill of when life happens and you don’t have a perfect fitness program or a perfect diet, how do you respond. If we use one of the fundamentals of CrossFit, that at the base of any movement is strength then at the base of being in shape is the skill to adapt and change as much as your circumstances do….when life happens. 

Not every individual is the same. No skill will be the same for every individual. Some people may want to always be Paleo or some may not. Some may like Whole30 and then splurge every 30 days. You may have the Vegetarians or the Pescatarians. Some may only want to follow Macros and want to know how to Fit-ness Whole Pizza In My Mouth. I want use Food and Fitness to help YOU PUT YOUR BEST FORK FORWARD and build the skill of being in shape through all aspects of life.

NOW with that being said let’s go eat some freakin’ Ding Dongs.

      ______________________________________________

Put YOUR Best Fork Forward.

In other news, March is National Nutrition Month and to celebrate, I had intended to post a nutrition tip everyday, 31 tips to help Put YOUR Best Fork Forward. Welp. That soon became 20 then 15 and then became 12 super duper nutrition tips. Below is my Facebook link where you can go check out these awesome tips and some much more awesome content. ENJOY!

Facebook Link:

Beyoutifully Bulletproof

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HAPPY GALENTINE’S DAY

Happy ＧＡＬＥＮＴＩＮＥ’Ｓ Day 💗
What’s Galentine’s Day??
Oh, it’s only the best day of the year.

Every February 13th, we need to remember what’s really important….
ＨＯＥＳ before Ｂ ＲＯＳ
•
ＯＶＡＲＩＥＳ before ＢＲＯ ＶＡＲＩＥＳ
•
ＵＴＥＲＵＳＵＳ before ＤＵＤＥＲＵＳＥＳ

Happy Galentine’s Day –
You ＢＥＹＯＵＴＩＦＵＬ ＴＲＯＰＩＣＡＬ ＦＩＳＨ

As the years have passed I have learned that Valentine’s Day isn’t about the flowers, roses, chocolates, and the endless engagement announcements on Facebook (eye roll). Valentine’s Day is a day for us to make that I LOVE YOU extra special.  It is showing that person in your life you care. I have decided to start a new devotional because I feel myself slipping from God. When I feel like I am slipping from God, I tend to lose sight of who I am and who God intends for me to be. The other day, devotional asked how can we develop a friendship with God. We can develop a friendship when we include him in our day. We also build a friendship with God when we care about GOD cares about – others. Friends care about what is important to the other person. When we show care it helps the friendship with God to be stronger yet rooted in love. Love is the Greatest…..

 It may seem silly that we need a specific day to remind us to choose LOVE but we live in a world full of hate and sometimes an extra day is all we need.

Current Devotional: The Purpose Driven Life Journal by Rick Warren

JUST FOR MI LADIES.

COOKIES FUEL MUSCLES. IT’S BROSCIENCE.

SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS GIRL.

UNICORNS #6am

FRANJESSICA.

FLOWER CROWN #BASIC

CUPCAKE GAINSSS.

OH, WINE NOT?!?!

SQUAD GOALS.

MY RIGHT HAND.

“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others”

– Pericles

Greek statesman, orator, and general of Athens

 

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS

WOW. I know it has been a quick minute since I have even written a blog post. Let alone think about writing a blog post. Life has taken many twists and turns since my last post and once I have put all my thoughts and feelings together, I will provide you with an in-depth look at my messy life. Stay tuned friends. (Because I know ya’ll are such avid readers and miss me so and can’t wait to know what I have been up to).

As I have been grooving along this Dietetic Internship, I have no control in where I go, schedule changes, traffic piling up on the 405, not being able to do FITNESS, or most importantly idiotic people. BUTTTTT I can control things such as my attitude towards these things and controlling the food I eat to not let it drive my emotions. Having control over the food I eat and the amount has been my life-saver through this life change. Let’s put it into perspective….How many times have you not packed or brought your own food with you somewhere and before you know it, it has been hours since you’ve last eaten and the hangry sets in. Then you have to apologize for what you said when you were HANGRY.

“Murder is like potato chips; you can’t stop with just one.” – Stephen King  

Don’t eat the ‘potato chips’, once you pop the PRINGLES you don’t stop. Once you get HANGRY it sets the mood for the rest of the day and you have lost complete control over your day. It’s a vicious cycle my friends, vicious. Which is why the good LORD made Sunday to let us rest and to meal prep. I shall be even more cliche and say “Fail to PLAN, PLAN to FAIL.” So here is a small slice of what my Meal Prep Madness is….

Let us begin with the best meal of the day……BREAKFAST

SPINACH PROTEIN WAFFLES

When those days come that you can’t workout and you want to eat the everything and the kitchen sink – protect yourself with waffles. Because waffles are just pancakes with abs, and everyone wants abs. Green will also give you HULK strength, it’s science.

Look at those chiseled abs!

 INGREDIENTS

2 cups Kodiak Cakes Protein Packed FlapJack Mix

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 + 1/3 cup liquid egg whites

2 cups spinach (or kale)

2 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice (IMPORTANT to get rid of the bitter flavor from spinach)

1 tbsp. honey

dash of vanilla extract

(shoutout to Petite Athleat for the recipe)

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine wet ingredients in a blender or VitaMix and blend until a gross green color.
2. Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix together. Add wet to dry ingredients. STIR.
3. Measure out 1/2 cup servings for waffle maker. Makes about 6 full waffles.

Mimosa, anyone??

Hulk

Mud Mask maybe??

Abs on Abs on Abs

MACROS PER WAFFLE

218 calories | 23.2 g protein | 25.5 g carbohydrates | 1.4 g fat | 6 g sugars | 4.3 g fiber 

 And if you’re feeling Hobbit-y, second breakfast is always a good idea.

Egg white cups with kale and BAE-con.

Shut the KALE up.  

1. Cut and cook 12 oz. bacon, then add kale to cook in bacon grease.
2. Divide bacon and kale into a 24 muffin pan.
3. Pour egg whites into each muffin cup.
4. Cook at 35o till egg is set.

Next on the menu……

BISON MEATBALLS

Bison is the new meat on the block (get it…). Bison is lower in fat and cholesterol compared to beef and chicken, loaded with flavor, and still abundant in protein. In addition, is abundant in B vitamins and multiple minerals such as iron and phosphorous, which are important for transporting of red blood cells and keeping strong bones.

Forming meatballs creates versatility for all my meals. I can add meatballs to spaghetti squash to make meatball spaghetti and add broccoli to make it HEALTHY AF or add to a mixture of zucchini and mushrooms. The possibilities are endless.

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground bison

1/2 tbsp sage

1 tbsp chopped parsley (used dried)

1/4 c chopped green onions

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt (FANCY AF)

1/4 tsp black pepper

drizzle of olive oil

(makes about 21 – 1 oz. meatballs)

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix bison and seasonings together.
2. Weigh 1 oz. meatballs and shape and roll. Be careful not to roll too much because bison is a leaner meat.
3. Drizzle olive oil on top.
4. Put on grill for 30 minutes. Flip meatballs at 15 min.
5. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS  – 1 serving = 3 meatballs.

FANCY

ROLL OUT

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS

MACROS PER 1 serving = 3 MEATBALLs

128 cal | 14.7 g protein | 3.4 g carbohydrates | 6.7 g fat

SIDE ORDERS

You always need side orders during the day to go along with the main dishes.

Spaghetti Squash is so versatile as I mentioned above. For 12g of carbohydrates you can have 200 g of spaghetti squash. Add it to the meatballs or already cooked chicken and veggies. My second favorite side dish is Kabocha squash (jolly green giant). Kabocha as a sweet taste that resembles sweet potato or butternut squash. For 30g carbohydrates you can weigh out 200g of Kabocha compared to only 180g of Sweet Potato.

Hi ALEX TREBEK, I’ll take 200g of Kabocha.

Golden Goodness. 

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail. 

And when the sweet tooth hits….

Macr0-Friendly Pumpkin Cookies  

Ingredients

2 cups Kodiak Cakes Protein Packed Mix

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1 tbsp honey

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp of vanilla extract

1/2 c liquid egg whites

yields 28 cookies

Directions

1. Add and mix all ingredients in a bowl.
2. Roll small pieces of dough and place on baking sheet.
3. Bake in oven at 325 for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
4. ENJOY.

Makes it so romantic with the candle. 

MELT ME AWAY. 

My philosophy on nutrition has evolved over these past 6 months is I have realized that no one will eat 100% healthy and some days we may fall off the wagon. But if we can make food taste good, be healthy, and fit within their required macronutrient needs, then that is a #LIFEWIN in my book. Some days may be CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, and I sure hope those meatballs taste damn good!

The Board Game of LIFE: RDN v2.0

Growing up, I LOVED playing the board game “The Game of LIFE”? I know I did. I enjoyed cruising in my little car, top down – wheels spinnin’ with my hot hubby at my side and my adorable kids in the back. Celebrating milestones along the Road of LIFE – go to college, get a job, make some money, retire in Florida –  basically carpe-ing the diem out of this s#$t. #winnerwinnerchickendinner

Wellllllll, “The Game of LIFE” you SUCK and have set me and everyone else up for failure. LIFE is not like the game and is so much more complex than just cruising with the top down, along the yellow brick road.

I recently played The RD Board Game with my fellow Dietetic Interns. I started thinking of the road I have taken to get to this point. (Let’s not talk about how I was unable to answer half of the questions correctly). The road has been smooth at times with many rocks and crevices along the way, stumbled over some douche canoes, all while crying, laughing, and smiling. Yet I wouldn’t change anything about the journey. As I get older, experience more, meet and learn to interact with others – I can’t not think about how amazing and grateful I am for the life I have and the journey I have been on (Let’s be honest not every day is rainbows and unicorns with princess crowns).

YUP, I PICKED THE EGGPLANT. ALWAYS A DIRTY MIND

When the first mention of moving to Antelope Valley came, I was ecstatic, happy, and ready for change. Then when the time came, I became bitter, depressed, and just plain unhappy. I thought this isn’t how my journey is supposed to be. My Game of LIFE did not bring me to the windiest city in SoCal. Eventually these feelings changed, I grew older, and got over my sad self. I found CrossFit, I met people – most importantly I met MY people. (I talk a lot about MY PEOPLE – because they help me every day and they make life that much better). Creating connections with others is something we as humans strive for in life. A movie quote that has always stuck with me:

“‘We need a witness to our lives. There’s a billion people on the planet… I mean, what does anyone life really mean? ……You’re saying ‘Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go un-witnessed because I will be your witness’.”

We wait for the day to say to someone “I like your crazy, and I think you like my crazy, soooo let’s be crazy together”. Yet this crazy witness doesn’t even need to be a significant other. I for one become so caught up in being ‘Single and Sufficient’. I have to constantly remind myself the current space I occupy on my board game of LIFE is ‘Single and Sufficient’. The board game of LIFE allows you to meet some pretty ah-mazing, awesome, crazy people along the way that become friends and eventually become a part of your FAMILY.

I never thought my journey would bring me to this Dietetic Internship. I took it out of my brain, told myself it’s not for me, I am not good enough, smart enough, just not enough. But now that I am in it I realize my whole path has set me up for this moment in LIFE. This Dietetic Internship has become the most intense part of my life, yet it will such a short part of my life. I have been at my Clinical Rotation since September, and I have learned so much about nutrition – calculating proper tube feeding recommendations, disease states, counseling patients, medical terminology/abbreviations – yet I have learned so much about myself. Each day I pick up the game piece of LIFE – I may move one step forward, maybe two. But then there are days that I have to move the piece back one. When I had to move my piece back one space I would think of what a failure I am. Yet I know I am not, it’s only a small bump in this LIFE board game of mine. One small bump teaches me to reassess and regroup, and do what I need to move that one space forward. My otter-half, as I call her, helped put into perspective how amazing this game of LIFE I am on. One morning after a night of crying because I questioned if I could even continue living this crazy hectic life, she told me, “A concert piano has 24 strings – when tightened there is about 40,000 lbs. of pressure. But without that pressure the piano doesn’t play…so remember how beautiful God is making you through the stress and pressure…your life is playing beautifully.” I had to shift my doubts and pick up my game piece and moved one space forward and instantly had a melody play in the background (OKAYYYY not really but ya get my drift).  And when we allow ourselves to move one space forward and play that key on the piano that makes a soulful sound – we grow, learn, and live in that moment of beauty.

We as humans are in a continuous state of learning. We learn day to day how we overcome adversity, deal with stress, talk to others, learn to love others. I am continuing to learn every day. I have learned that the rocky, hard times in my LIFE Board Game have brought me here. Everyone’s board game is different, and unique. Just staring at that – YOU ARE HERE – flashing sign. I know I can’t ignore or hate this space, because I am meant for this point. I want to live in this moment. And I don’t want YOU to waste the time either, I guarantee that – YOU ARE HERE – sign will not go un-witnessed.

Remember, LIFE IS MESSY- a good, hot S’MORE mess that leaves you with marshmallow sticky fingers. And who doesn’t love a S’MORE?!?!?!

YES. ONE SPACE FORWARD.

 

S/P (status post – droppin’ some medical terminology on you)

WISE WORDS from some WISE WOMEN:

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience” – ELEANOR ROOSEVELT

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty” – MAYA ANGELOU

“You’re a warrior, and your warrior name is Beyoncé Pad Thai” – MINDY KALING

 “You are a beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox.” – LESLIE KNOPE

“Don’t let the BITCHES get ya’ down” – CHECKA MAE

Let’s get philoSLOTHical: What’s your ‘FRAN’ time?

Let’s get philoSLOTHical, philoSLOTHical. And yes, I used the word SLOTH – get on my level bro.

The old age question in the CrossFit community: What’s your ‘Fran’ time? The Founder of CrossFit, Greg Glassman, fondly titled the nasty combo of Thrusters and Pull-ups as ‘Fran’.  His reasoning –  because “If a hurricane that wreaks havoc on a whole town can be Fran, so can a workout.” With that being said, I did ‘Fran’ Monday morning and yes I can concur it wreaked havoc on my body and I still have ‘jello’ legs.

Murph the SLOTH is STILL recovering from ‘Fran’.

 

Pukie the Clown.       http://www.crossfit.com

 

Your ‘Fran’ time can say a lot about you as a CrossFit athlete. If you have a ‘Fran’ time of 2-3 minutes, you’re the elite of the elite. The workout is such a short amount of time but yet the level of intensity can knock you to the floor and you may have a case of Pukie the Clown. This short, intense workout makes you feel uncomfortable and leaving you with that burning sensation in throat and chest – aka WOD cough. Yet this short, intense WOD DOES NOT define who you are as a person. Whatever your time may be – a sub 3 or 10 minutes – does not define or take away from the person you are. When we finish the WOD we come out feeling better about ourselves – granted it takes about an hour to recover, or all day like me – but it’s a cathartic experience and through that uncomfortable, pain we emerge like a phoenix from the fire (dramatic flair) as a stronger, fitter, better and even happier version of oneself. And let’s be honest you may sound a bit silly if you walked around all day saying “Yeah Bro, I am a 3:15 Fran.” Well that’s great Bro, you obviously are good at fitness but can I give you a hint, throw you a lifeline Bro – CrossFit doesn’t define who you are it’s just something that you do.

The beauty of CrossFit is it so multifaceted it can be applied to the experiences we have in our daily life. When these intense parts of our life have us feeling knocked down, depressed, tired of ‘adulting’ or just plain down on our luck –  are short just like ‘Fran’ . That one bad day, this one LOOONNGGG week, or that one month where you wish you could have taken off the calendar. These moments of pain, and being uncomfortable are all short when we look at our life as a whole, yet are intense. It is hard to not let these moments bring us down and allow for evil thoughts to start consuming our brain. These bad days DO NOT define who we are. You are more than one bad day or that horrible week. Through the years I have let bad days, terrible weeks, and even CrossFit WODs to define WHO I AM. Our brain is a muscle, and all muscle can get strong in whatever position they are trained in.  And I have trained my brain to work and think in such a negative manner about myself that it would tear me apart from the inside – out. It has taken me awhile to get to this point and each day is a battle of reminding myself to think positive to know that I am a strong, smart, brave, and a beautiful glorious HOT MESS that is capable of amazing things. If you remember from my LIFE IS MESSY POST (because I know ya’ll are such devout readers of my blog) that I am a GOOD HOT MESS – basically a S’MORE. And now I have decided I am adding an à la carte option – PEANUT BUTTER – spread that s#$! on THICK. (Some days peanut butter is the glue that holds my life together) And I am here to remind you that YES you also are a GOOD HOT MESSY S’MORE too with à la carte option. Boo Boo, you are far too special to treat yourself poorly or to think negatively.

Yet I believe it is important to feel every emotion in these moments because when we allow ourselves to feel this intense, uncomfortable pain – the end result is someone who is much stronger than they ever thought they would be. Because when those really awesome good days happen it’s important to allow yourself to feel every good emotion because we remember and know how crappy those bad days were. I hope you realize you are more than the sum of those bad days – that when you wake up each morning you’re able to see the beauty in your life, value the people around you, and enjoy your days in the sun.

With all that said you should still state your ‘Fran’ time with pride because – let’s be honest that s#$! hurts.

“You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

You belong with your love on your arm

You belong somewhere you feel free”

-Tom Petty