Monday, 29 July 2013

Chewy Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies (the sneaky healthy way)


These beauties were gobbled up as quickly as they were made! While they still contain the fundamentals of a good cookie, I was able to make a few substitutions to add some protein and omega 3s!

The recipe:

1 c butter softened
1 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c brown rice flour 
2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
1/4 c flax seeds
1/4 c chia seeds
1/2 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp salt
3 c quick cooking oats
1 c mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and continue to mix. In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and then add the chocolate chips.

Using a tablespoon measuring spoon, spoon batter onto a cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes or until bottoms are light brown in color.

Cookies will be extremely soft so be careful when transferring onto a cooling rack!

Enjoy!

Approx calories per cookie: 150 
 

Sunday, 28 July 2013

Super Protein Blueberry Pancakes

You'll have to bear with me folks while my laptop is down *tear* and I type this recipe out on my itty bitty iPhone keypad!

Here goes!

1 c brown rice flour
2 c steel cut oats 
2 tbsp chia seeds 
2 tbsp flax seed 
2 whole eggs
2 scoops vanilla whey protein powder
2 c blueberries
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 cups coconut water
Sprinkle of cinnamon (as you like)

In a food processor blend the steel cut oats, chia seeds and flax until as fine as you can get it. I have a tiny food processor so mine turned out a bit chunkier but I like the texture it gives the pancakes!

Throw all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix until a nice batter forms. I used a 1/3c measuring cup to spoon into a non stick pan and it yielded 11 servings.


Follow me on Instagram @jzzygettinbzzy for more recipes!!

I'd love to hear what you think of them!

Friday, 12 July 2013

cucumber boats



these, my friends will definitely become
a regular staple in my meal planning rotations.

they're pretty versatile which is why i just
titled them "cucumber boats" since
you can pretty much fill them with whatever you want!

these ones in particular have spicy thai tuna
in them and the cucumber does a great job cutting 
the spiciness :)

alternatively, you could make a chicken salad
and what you'll need for that is:

a food processor
cooked chicken breasts
peppers
avocado
salt free seasoning
(if you're a red onion fan, have at 'er too)

using the avocado as the good 'fat',
you will not require any mayonnaise like a 
traditional chicken salad requires.

chop the peppers into large chunks
before putting into the food processor,
as with the avocado and pulse all of the ingredients
together until you've reached the consistency you like.

using 1 whole cucumber, wash
and divide it into 3's then slice them
length-wise to produce 6 pieces.

i used a small measuring spoon to hollow out
the seed portion to create the groove for which i'd put 
my stuffing in.

after testing, i learned this is best prepared and 
served at the last minute as the cucumbers
get quite watery and you get a nice
little puddle in your container. ew.

you might wonder to yourself, 'now
what the heck am i gonna do with all of those
middles of the cucumber?!'

well, grab a pitcher, fill it up with ice cubes and water
and add the cucumber middles to it,
very refreshing!!

here's the nutritional breakdown:

per serving: 6 cucumber halves & 1 can of tuna

calories: 206
protein: 17g
fat: 7g
carbs: 19

enjoy!

Thursday, 11 July 2013

#90days2nudity: what i've learned in 30 days

first of all, let me just say, i can't believe it's already been
30 days past. 

i'm slowly but surely seeing the physical changes of 
all this hard work but more important than that, i'm
seeing the mentality changes in me too.

while it may all sound so monotonous: wake up, eat healthy,
snack healthy, work out, eat healthy, snack healthy, workout again, 
eat healthy, snack healthy and then wish you could eat that bag of cheetos
in your pantry... it now all makes sense to me.

when you start eating healthier, you realize how much
you used to depend on eating as 'something to do'
"oh i'll just hop on the laptop and snack on some
(insert junk food here)" 
"picking up my kids from school, i'll bring some
crackers with me for the road"

oh, this is just me? not you huh.
damn.

well my point is that when you start learning about what
fuels your body and gives it proper energy and what
percentage of those types of food you should be eating, you kinda
start looking at food a totally different way.

yes, the plain and simple, 'oh that stuff has too many calories'
will get you at first, but then you start looking at carbohydrates
and how much of that is actually fibre, not sugar. fats, you'll start
looking at what kind of fat and where its coming from and whether
or not that's a good or bad source. then protein, does it have
too much or too little.

then knowing all of these things makes you want to put together some
awesome meals which i'll share in coming posts.

not only that, i am learning how my body
reacts to certain workouts, where i'm a total bitch (glutes & triceps)
and when i own the gym: (biceps, hamstrings & abs). knowing 
my strengths and weaknesses pushes me to go harder
on my workouts even when i know i'm dreading it.

in the words of bob and jillian (biggest loser) i strive to make
each and every workout a 'last chance workout' and 
make sure that i leave that gym with my heart in my throat
and my body sweaty.

but. if i go back home from that workout
and say to myself "gee you deserve ice cream cuz
you just killed it at the gym" then i'll completely nullify 
everything i worked so hard for at the gym.

while it sounds so tempting to reward all of those
calories burned with something calorie laden, it's
counter productive (duh) and it'll make those pounds even
harder to lose!

60 some odd days left to go..can't wait for the reveal!

Wednesday, 10 July 2013

apologies for the hiatus!

well friends, i have to apologize for being MIA from my blog.
i swear i always have awesome things to share but never the
time to do it. 

now that i have embarked on a 90 day fitness challenge which -by the way-
is totally rocking my socks, my daily routine has become,
 kids, work, gym, eating, sleeping, working, parenting,
gym, you get where i'm going with this.

if only i could dictate my blog entries......

never fear though, in the background i've got
a few posts in draft mode from our fantabulous disneyland trip
and olivia's under the sea adventure party so believe you me,
it'll all blow your mind.

lol.

in the meantime, feel free to follow me on instagram (jzzygettinbzzy),
twitter (jzabelala) and vine (jzabela) to witness my 
super crazy life right now, cuz i seem to be able
to keep all of THAT social media caught up haha.

until next time!!