Autumnal Fresh Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Another sweet recipe!
Have you ever found yourself tasting a new recipe and realizing to your disappointment that it didn't live up to what you expected it to taste like? It wasn't necessarily BAD, but it wasn't anything to jump over either. Well last year I found a recipe for Fresh Apple Cinnamon Muffins and got SUPER EXCITED because they literally looked like what I hoped autumn would TASTE like, but to my dismay they tasted rather bland.

However, I played with the recipe a bunch, and am proud to present my redefined recipe for Fresh Apple Cinnamon Muffins that I actually DO really love eating.

These babies make your house smell AMAZING and they taste like fall food to me, and I absolutely adore making them. I made a batch for my boyfriend last week as a surprise breakfast and he loved them!

I included the original ingredient below just to show you the changes I made.

The ORIGINAL RECIPE CALLED FOR:

(I underlined everything I changed)

1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1 apple, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) melted butter

1/3 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

As you can see from my underlining everywhere I changed the original recipe quite a bit, and I even added some vanilla for some extra flavor. 

Alright so for MY recipe you're going to need:

• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar (you could also try brown sugar. I haven't tried that yet but I've been considering it. Let me know how it turns out)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup half and half or whole milk (I used half and half)
• 1 and 1/2 medium to large apples (the recipe tastes weird if you don't have enough apple), chopped into small CHUNKS (the previous recipe called for finely chopped)
• 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) melted butter
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (this measurement is rough. Kinda like when you measure out chocolate chips for cookie dough. You're going to want a fair amount of nuts stirred into your batter, and then you're going to need about 1/4 cup extra to go on top of the muffins in the end, so just have a bag of nuts on hand to experiment with until you find what you like)
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Makes: roughly 17 (used to make 12 but when I changed ingredients it screwed up the yield)

Cook time: 15-20 min (for me it only takes 15-16 minutes to bake these because I use a convection oven)

• Preheat oven to 375
• Line 1 and 1/2 cupcake/muffin tins with paper liners
• Peel and chop apples (this time I used 1 large apple and 1 small apple instead of 1/5 large)
• In a small bowl combine brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 cup chopped pecans. Adjust pecan amount to desire
• In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, salt, and APPROXIMATELY 1/2 cup pecans
• Whisk with a fork and add more pecans if necessary
• In a medium bowl, beat together the egg and half and half (or whole milk. I like to whip this until it's frothy but not thick
• Stir in chopped apple, and melted butter
• Add dry ingredients all at once (the original recipe calls for you to add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients but that took too much work and didn't taste any different)
• Stir until just mixed
• Scoop into muffin tins filling each cup about 2/3 full, and use a spoon to top off each muffin with a sprinkle of the cinnamon-brown-sugar-pecan topping
• Bake and enjoy :)

Let me know in the comments if you tried and enjoyed this recipe! Happy autumn to you all :)

Whipped Vanilla Cream Cake Frosting

This is a recipe that's been in my family for generations and generations. It's not in the least healthy, and it's also not an easy recipe to make so to all you baking wizards- this one's for you.

I decided to post it on my blog because Saturday was my mom's birthday and as a treat I made her cupcakes with this frosting, just like her mom used to make for her. I had to go dig out the recipe from her box on the top shelf of the pantry (we RARELY use paper-copy recipes anymore) and wowza was the handwriting tough to read.

It's unbelievably inconvenient to have such an important recipe exist on paper, in one person's house, in one recipe book. It's easy to lose, and the handwriting is a lot tougher to read than digital print. So better now than never- I bring you the family famous whipped vanilla cream cake frosting.

It doesn't actually have a name, but I don't know how else to describe it to you. It's soft and buttery and creamy and SO UNBELIEVABLY LIGHT. I've made it for friends before and asked them to describe it and they couldn't. Some people said it tasted creamy like milk, but had a hint of vanilla. Others just didn't have an answer. It's like whipped cream, except not at all. I don't know. You have to try it.

For my family this frosting ALWAYS goes on red velvet cake, but you can put it wherever you want. I know that the trend these days is to use cream cheese frosting on red velvet and if you try something else you're crazy, but I can honestly say that I like this frosting BETTER.

Awhile ago they did a cream cheese vs whipped vanilla frosting on red velvet cake bake-off on Food Network. That's how close a call these two recipes come.

What you're going to need:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup white flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup crisco
• 1 stick margarine (the recipe WILL NOT taste right if you don't use Blue Bonnet margarine. I don't know why, but my entire family swears by it for this recipe and this recipe only.)
• 2 tbsp vanilla (but be prepared to add more)

This is what the original recipe looks like, but the instructions weren't as explicit as I would have liked so I played around a bit with the recipe, and found my interpretation of it. Hopefully my instructions are much easier to interpret.

Makes: enough to frost one round cake or approximately 24 cupcakes

Cook time: Approximately 60 minutes (varies depending on how fast the frosting sauce cools)

• In a saucepan, combine the flour, milk, pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of the margarine listed in the ingredients. 
• Starting on low heat, stir sauce constantly (I used a whisk) as ingredients combine and melt together, and gradually increase heat to a maximum of medium (my max heat ended up being level 4). Stir heated sauce until thickened. It will be obvious when the sauce gets thick
• Turn off the stove and stick the saucepan containing the thickened white sauce in the fridge to cool. You need room temperature sauce for the next step. The sauce should take approximately 30 minutes to cool, and you should stir it approximately every 5-10 minutes to speed up the process.
• While the sauce is cooling, cream the crisco, the remaining margarine, sugar, and the vanilla in a mixer.
• When sauce is room temperature pour it into the creamed sugar mixture, and beat on high until fluffy. This will take longer than you expect. (It will take no time at all to turn into a fluffy-ish mixture but don't be fooled. If you end the process there your frosting will turn limp and runny when you go to frost the cake. I don't know for SURE but I don't think it's even POSSIBLE to over beat this frosting. Just whip it for like 3-5 minutes minimum).
• As you whip the frosting, be sure to pause every now and then to check the mixture to see if it's reached desired consistency. When you do this, also taste test it to see if it has enough vanilla flavoring. Liberally add more vanilla when needed. I've ended up doubling the vanilla before, but I didn't make that official in the recipe because it's all about the individual batch.
• When the frosting reaches the desired fluffiness you may spread it onto your cake/cupcakes or scoop it into a bag to pipe it onto your cake/cupcakes.
• Enjoy!

The frosting is usually fluffiest the day you make it. Each day following it loses its special lightness just a bit more. 

My family uses this recipe for EVERYTHING. Red velvet cake and this frosting are our birthday cakes, and our annual Christmas cake. If you ever muster up the courage to tackle this frosting project let me know how it tastes! It's literally my favorite. It will never get old.

When I make cupcakes with this recipe I put frosting on top AND in the middle as a creamy filling.

Grey and White Nails

I thought it was about time I did another nail art tutorial especially since the nail art I decided to do today was pretty simple.

I went with grey and white for simple elegance, and that modern playful look.

I took pics right after doing my nails, so if there's any paint on the edges of my fingers it's because I hadn't bothered to wash it off first.

For this design you're going to need:

• Clean nails
• White nail polish
• Grey nail polish
• Opaque tape
• Scissors
• A tooth pick, or dot applicator
• A piece of nonabsorbent material (I like to use a small ziplock bag because plastic works the best and it's cheap and disposable)
• Optional Q-Tip and nail polish remover to clean up the edges of your fingers and finish it off with a clean, professional look (showering will also take off excess nail polish- on your skin- after your nails have dried. That's a trick I use all the time)

The colors I used today:

• Snow me white by Sinful Colors 
• A whitened grey by Covergirl (couldn't find it online so I can't link it- I bought it back when having grey nails was in style)

Yes there is a finger print of grey on the top of my bottle. I use my nail polishes frequently so unfortunately most of them aren't very pretty looking as I work with messy hands quite often. Sorry it wasn't prepped and photo-ready.

1. Paint all of your nails except for your ring fingers white
2. Paint your ring fingers grey
3. Allow polish to dry COMPLETELY (I actually waited an entire day, and just enjoyed plain nails yesterday before coming back to decorate them today)
4. Cut the opaque tape into small slivers and place on grey ring finger nails forming arrows that look like they're point upward. If you're confused there's a picture below. Make sure to press the tape into the creases of the side of your nails so your top coat of polish won't get under the tape
5. Gently dab (dot) white nail polish into the non-tape-covered areas on your ring fingers. I find that if you paint over the nail like normal it tends to morph the shape too much when I remove the tape, and I like cleaner lines.
6. Gently peel the tape off while polish is still wet. Move slowly, and from the outside of your nail (on your skin) to the inside, pulling upward and away from the start. Try to maintain the shape that the tape should've created.
7. When all tape is removed, allow those nails to dry
8. Place a small dot of the grey nail polish on your plastic bag or nonabsorbent material of choice
9. Dip your toothpick or nail dot creator utensil into the grey polish dot, gathering enough polish on the tip so that you won't have to touch the toothpick to your nail to create a dot. (if your toothpick touches your nail it will create a less desirable dot. I find that it's best to get a ball of paint on your toothpick and lightly touch it to the nail so that the pointy part of the toothpick doesn't end up in contact with your nail. This will give you a more professional and clean look)
10. Place dots evenly throughout nail, in an every-other-place staggered fashion (see picture if you're confused). This will give your polka dots consistency and the appearance of a professional manicure or even stick-on manicure. Basically it just makes you look like you know what you're doing if your dots are perfectly spaced rather than randomly done.
11. Allow to dry completely. Optional top coat (I didn't use a base or top coat today)

Plain nail polish

This is how your tape should look

Carefully dot the white onto the visible grey parts, doing your best to avoid the tape

This is the dot applicator I use. I have like 4 or 5, and each one has 2 different sized ends, so I have 8 or 10 different sizes of applicators. I do my nails A LOT. You can use a toothpick and it'll look the same. I did nails with no fancy tools for YEARS (until 7 months ago), so I don't want people to think that they need fancy nail polish or fancy nail brushes/dot tools to have perfect nails.

And this is the finished product!

Paleo Waffle Recipe

Even if you've chosen to eat healthy clean and paleo, you can still have fun with sweets and treats every once in awhile. "Clean cheating" is PERFECT because even though you shouldn't eat like this all the time, you don't have to feel guilty when you do. I know I personally miss waffles a lot, so I decided to experiment with some paleo waffles for those mornings when you need a little something extra to brighten your day.

Alright so these kind-of have the appearance of whole grain waffles, or something gross like that but they're actually CHOCOLATE waffles because I found some 62% dark chocolate (dairy free and organic) in my pantry and decided to give it a whirl. In all honesty they LOOKED plenty chocolaty when I made them, but didn't taste very chocolatey at all so if you want to be healthier you can skip that step entirely. OR if you want to be unhealthier you can add MORE chocolate than I did (I only used 2 squares of the bar). OR if you're feeling crafty you can try throwing some chocolate protein powder into the blender. If you do, let me know how it turns out. I think I'll be trying that next time.

For this recipe you're going to need:

• 8 eggs
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla
• optional dark chocolate (I grated mine with a cheese grater to mix it in to the batter, but it was a lot of work, and didn't taste very strong so I think I'll stick to protein powder in future trials) or chocolate protein powder
• Coconut oil to cook with

You could also use vanilla protein powder and drop blueberries into the waffle iron before baking. Ooooooooh :)

You also need a blender.

Prep time: 5min

Bake time: Varies depending on size of waffle iron. My waffles took approximately 5min each.

Makes: Approximately 6, but you can make 8 if you have a smaller waffle iron

• Preheat your waffle iron
• Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth and somewhat frothy (this only takes a minute or two max)
• Coat the iron lightly with coconut oil. I like to spoon some out of the jar, and drop it onto the hot iron while it's a solid, because it's easier for me to spread around when it's not pre-melted. Just personal preference
• Pour waffle batter into iron, adjusting amount for desired thickness. I liked my waffles pretty thin because they took less time to cook, and were chewy instead of soggy
• Cook until done. It's kind of hard to tell when they're golden brown, so I poke my waffles with my finger when I check them to see if they're soft and spongy, or if they need to cook longer. I don't know if that's smart or not, but I work in fine dining so I'm used to touching hot things. Make good choices :)

 This is the finished product for me. I tried some plain, and they taste very good. Vaguely of banana. Great results for such a simple recipe- will definitely be doing this again!

As I said above I tried to make mine chocolate, but it didn't taste like anything so I ended up spreading mine with a no-sugar-added (and chemical/sugar supplement free) dark cherry spread. That was DELICIOUS. My younger sister is a rather picky eater, but even she enjoyed these.

Nutrition Facts:
Calories: 150
Fat (g): 8.3
Carbs (g): 12.3
Protein (g): 7.9
*Protein (g) 25.9

*Protein if you added 1 scoop of either chocolate or vanilla protein powder

The fat is from the eggs, the carbs are from the bananas. If you're looking for a more protein-dense breakfast I recommend adding a scoop of either vanilla or chocolate protein powder to the waffles for sure. If you do that you will consume approximately 18g protein more per waffle, which makes this a PERFECT breakfast for athletes and bodybuilders. Great source of carbs and protein. Not bad for a clean cheat :)

Compare to nutrition facts in a Bisquick Belgian Waffle:
Calories: 360
Fat (g): 18
Carbs (g): 39
Protein (g): 9

STEP BY STEP PALEO For A Week

I knew throwing out the paleo challenge idea wouldn't be too popular if I didn't provide you with a way to ease into it. Throwing away your pasta, ice cream, and oreos isn't going to be easy, but having a step by step plan for your first seven days (the hardest part) will help a lot. If your excuse before was: "I don't want to plan out meals!" you're stuck now.

If you're beginning the 30 day paleo challenge I highly recommend following my carefully laid out plan for your fist seven days. After that, you will hopefully have a feel for what you should and should not be putting into your body. If you STILL don't have the hang of things after these seven days, you can always repeat this for one more week or until you get the swing of things.

Your Grocery List:
(Overshoot slightly on each grocery item just in case I accidentally left something out. I double-checked, but I'm human, and humans make mistakes. I'm sorry in advance if I did screw up)

(Also: most things below are listed in the measurements one would use in a recipe, not in packaging sizes. Do your best to eyeball confusing amounts when purchasing your groceries. Nobody is perfect.)

Produce:

• 14 eggs (buy 1 and 1/4 dozen if possible. if not, buy 1 and 1/2)

Meat and fish:

• 14 pieces turkey sausage (check the ingredients list. if there are ANY words you can't pronounce, or obvious chemicals/preservatives/unnecessary seasonings you CANNOT consume it. try again.)
• 2 frozen tuna steaks
• 1 single serving frozen salmon
• 3 skinless boneless frozen chicken breasts
• 2 pork chops
• 1 small package hamburger meat

Fruit:

• 7 medium apples
• 3 or 4 lemons
• 5 or 6 cups blueberries
• 7 cups blackberries
• 5 cups raspberries
• 4 medium bananas
• 1 lime
• 1 orange

Vegetables:

• 42 carrot sticks (ballpark it when buying packages. always try and buy organic carrots. non-organic are soaked in chemicals for their bright orange color)
• 4 cups raw broccoli
• 28 4" celery sticks
• 10 cups spinach
• 5 cups cherry tomatoes
• 1 avocado
• 2 garlic bulbs
• 2 onions
• OPTIONAL: 2 medium gold potatoes (see day 7's lunch for "optional" explanation. if you choose not to consume the potatoes, you will need 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock instead)

Frozen:

• 12 cups frozen broccoli (4 bags of 4 cups each) 
• 4 cups frozen mango chunks (if you don't like mangoes, you can sub with frozen sliced peaches)

Nuts:

• 1 cup roasted (and unsalted) almonds

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DAY 1:

Wake up: Drink 8oz water right away! I do this before my feet even hit the floor. It's a nice way to gradually wake yourself up, and get ready for the day.

Tiny workout: 20 calf raises. This will get your blood pumping! I do this while I brush my teeth.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey sausage, 1 medium apple, 6 carrot sticks

Drink: 16oz water

Lunch: 1 tuna steak (thaw it, squeeze lemon juice on it, salt it lightly, and bake it in the oven), 2 cups steamed broccoli (the only NON frozen broccoli you will be consuming this week is day 7's lunch, so be prepared to make a lot of steamed broccoli), 1 cup blueberries

Drink: 16oz water

Snack: 1 cup blackberries, 4 4" celery sticks

Dinner: 1 chicken breast grilled or cooked in no oils/butter, 2 cups spinach, 1 cup cherry tomatoes (eat it like a salad! If you need a dressing add a small drizzle of olive oil, but keep it SMALL). 1 cup raspberries, and 1 medium banana

Drink: 8oz water

WORKOUT OF THE DAY: Abs and cardio
It's tough but you can do it! I have faith in you!

Before bed: Drink 1 glass of warm water with lemon. This is a colon cleanser!

Congrats! You survived day one!

Now onto...

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DAY 2:

Wake up: Drink 8oz water right away! I do this before my feet even hit the floor. It's a nice way to gradually wake yourself up, and get ready for the day.

Tiny workout: 20 calf raises. This will get your blood pumping! I do this while I brush my teeth.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey sausage, 1 medium apple, 6 carrot sticks

Drink: 16oz water -this is flushing your system!

Lunch: Chicken spinach avocado salad (getting used to eating weird things yet?). Grill up 1 frozen chicken breast, season with lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Cube, and toss with 2 cups spinach, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, and 1/2 mashed avocado seasoned lightly with lime juice.

Drink: 16oz water

Snack: 1 cup blackberries, 4 4" celery sticks

Dinner: 1 grilled pork chop (without fat), seasoned LIGHTLY with salt, pepper, and garlic, 2 cups steamed broccoli, and 1 cup blueberries

Drink: 8oz water

WORKOUT OF THE DAY: Upper body, and yoga
The upper body workout is great, but the quality of the video isn't prime so I recommend blasting some upbeat motivational workout music while you do it. The narrator is kind of monotonous, and the last thing you want is a lame workout. PUSH THROUGH!

Before bed: Drink 1 glass of warm water with lemon. This is a colon cleanser!

Congrats on surviving day 2! At this point you're probably noticing that you have to pee- A LOT. That's good. We're pushing all of the toxins out of your body. By the end of your 30 day challenge you will feel clean, healthy, and refreshed. Your body will be more toned than you expected, and you'll be sleeping better. You should start to see results at the end of day 7! If you're bloating a lot don't worry, BLOATING IS NORMAL. It will take a few weeks for your body to get used to your diet change. Do not give up.
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DAY 3:

Wake up: Drink 8oz water right away! I do this before my feet even hit the floor. It's a nice way to gradually wake yourself up, and get ready for the day.

Tiny workout: 20 calf raises. This will get your blood pumping! I do this while I brush my teeth.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey sausage, 1 medium apple, 6 carrot sticks

Drink: 16oz water -this is flushing your system!

Lunch: 1 tuna steak (thaw it, squeeze lemon juice on it, salt it lightly, and bake it in the oven), 2 cups steamed broccoli, 1 cup blueberries

Drink: 16oz water

Snack: 1 cup blackberries, 4 4" celery sticks

Dinner: 1 grilled or baked chicken breast, chopped, and tossed with 2 cups spinach, and 1 cup raspberries

Drink: 8oz water

WORKOUT OF THE DAY: Legs and butt

If you lack motivation in your workout today just remember that 1. you're building a better booty, and 2. gaining muscle in your legs will help you burn fat in your tummy. You're welcome. Go all out for leg day! 

Before bed: Drink 1 glass of warm water with lemon. This is a colon cleanser!

Keep going. You're doing great. There's no turning back now.

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DAY 4:

Wake up: Drink 8oz water right away! I do this before my feet even hit the floor. It's a nice way to gradually wake yourself up, and get ready for the day.

Tiny workout: 20 calf raises. This will get your blood pumping! I do this while I brush my teeth.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey sausage, 1 medium apple, 6 carrot sticks

Drink: 16oz water -this is flushing your system!

Lunch: Chicken spinach avocado salad (getting used to eating weird things yet?). Grill up 1 frozen chicken breast, season with lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Cube, and toss with 2 cups spinach, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, and 1/2 mashed avocado seasoned lightly with lime juice.

Drink: 16oz water

Snack: 1 cup blackberries, 4 4" celery sticks

Dinner: It's burger night!!! Take your packaged hamburger meat, combine it in a bowl with minced garlic and onions to taste, and roll into little sliders. Grill and eat with 2 cups of broccoli. You may add lettuce and tomato to the top of your little sliders if you need to spice them up, but you may NOT consume them with a bun, or with condiments such as ketchup, mustard, or mayo. I didn't include additional lettuce and tomato in the grocery list above because I don't want people to waste money on products they won't use, so keep that in mind when preparing your dinner.

Dessert: 2 cups frozen mango chunks! (if you eat them frozen they kinda taste like popsicles)

Drink: 8oz water

WORKOUT OF THE DAY: Abs and cardio (yes, I know, I'm sorry. power through it though.)

You should be sore from your leg workout. If you're not, then you didn't work hard enough. Be sure to push yourself EVERY SINGLE workout because eating clean OR working out won't cut it. You have to do BOTH. It takes a lot of strength, and a lot of willpower, but the results are priceless. Go back to my original paleo blog post and stare at the picture of Robin for a moment. You want her abs? That's what I thought. PUSH PUSH PUSH!

Before bed: Drink 1 glass of warm water with lemon. This is a colon cleanser!

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DAY 5:

Wake up: Drink 8oz water right away! I do this before my feet even hit the floor. It's a nice way to gradually wake yourself up, and get ready for the day.

Tiny workout: 20 calf raises. This will get your blood pumping! I do this while I brush my teeth.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey sausage, 1 medium apple, 6 carrot sticks

Drink: 16oz water -this is flushing your system!

Lunch: Fruit salad! Yummm. Toss 1 cup blueberries, 1 sliced banana, 1 cup raspberries, 1 cup blackberries, and 1 orange (peeled and sliced) in a bowl.

Drink: 16oz water

Snack: 1 cup roasted almonds, 4 4" celery sticks

Dinner: 1 grilled pork chop (without fat), seasoned LIGHTLY with salt, pepper, and garlic, and 2 cups steamed broccoli

Drink: 8oz water

WORKOUT OF THE DAY: Upper body, and yoga

"Mediocre isn't good enough."

Before bed: Drink 1 glass of warm water with lemon. This is a colon cleanser!

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DAY 6:

Wake up: Drink 8oz water right away! I do this before my feet even hit the floor. It's a nice way to gradually wake yourself up, and get ready for the day.

Tiny workout: 20 calf raises. This will get your blood pumping! I do this while I brush my teeth.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey sausage, 1 medium apple, 6 carrot sticks

Drink: 16oz water -this is flushing your system!

Lunch: 1 grilled or baked chicken breast, chopped, and tossed with 2 cups spinach, and 1 cup raspberries

Drink: 16oz water

Snack: 1 cup blackberries, 4 4" celery sticks

Dinner: Salmon (thaw it, squeeze lemon juice on it, salt it lightly, and bake it in the oven or grill it), 2 cups steamed broccoli, 1 cup blueberries, 1 banana

Drink: 8oz water

WORKOUT OF THE DAY: Legs and butt

Tone that booty!!! Work those legs!!! "PAIN is WEAKNESS leaving the body."

Before bed: Drink 1 glass of warm water with lemon. This is a colon cleanser!

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DAY 7:

THE END OF THE WEEK IS IN SIGHT!

Wake up: Drink 8oz water right away! I do this before my feet even hit the floor. It's a nice way to gradually wake yourself up, and get ready for the day.

Tiny workout: 20 calf raises. This will get your blood pumping! I do this while I brush my teeth.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, 2 pieces of turkey sausage, 1 medium apple, 6 carrot sticks

Drink: 16oz water -this is flushing your system!

Lunch: Cream of broccoli soup (we saved the best for last...) OKAY SO THIS RECIPE CONTAINS GOLD POTATOES. In a lot of people's book potatoes aren't paleo due to their starch content. I personally only eat sweet potatoes, and even so only in moderation. I will let you decide if you want to consume the gold potatoes or not. If you don't I have an alternate recipe. 

Even though the first recipe is labeled vegan and the second is labeled paleo I thought I'd list the first recipe first. Yes, it has potatoes in it, but potatoes are borderline paleo. After today you're going to be kicked out of the nest and thrown into the world of on-your-own paleo, and you need to decide for yourself where your boundaries lay. If you have no idea, I recommend researching why some paleo-eaters refuse potatoes ALWAYS, and why some are okay with an occasional potato. Giving you the potato or no potato choice will let you get a feel for what it's going to be like tomorrow when you don't have a step by step meal plan. Now is a good time to decide how strict you want to be about your paleo eating. 

Drink: 16oz water

Snack: 1 cup blackberries, 4 4" celery sticks

Dinner: 1 chicken breast grilled or cooked in no oils/butter, 2 cups spinach, 1 cup cherry tomatoes (eat it like a salad! If you need a dressing add a small drizzle of olive oil, but keep it SMALL). 1 cup raspberries, and 1 medium banana

Dessert: 2 cups frozen mango chunks! (if you eat them frozen they kinda taste like popsicles)

Drink: 8oz water

WORKOUT OF THE DAY: Abs and cardio
It's the last workout of the week so MAKE IT COUNT!

Before bed: Drink 1 glass of warm water with lemon. This is a colon cleanser!

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That's it! That's one week paleo done! If you're doing the challenge you only have 3.2 weeks to go!

SUMMARY OF THE WEEK:

-This last week you drank: 56 ounces of water per day, 392 ounces total

-Your workout split was: Abs and cardio, upper body, lower body, and you used at-home-friendly workouts to accomplish your athletic goals

-You have completely detoxed your body, leaving it clean of the chemicals found in processed foods and sodas

-You have survived a week of clean, paleo eating!

Take progress pics, weigh in, and continue the challenge!

Comment with any questions or concerns.

Inspired by Robin's Sweet Confessions.

Tropical Fruit Smoothie

For some reason today I was feeling very summery, and I wanted to create a fruit smoothie whose flavor could be described as "summer" or "vacation" or "tropical". Personally when I think tropical, what comes to mind is coconut, pineapple, mango- the works. On top of all that I've been really into incorporating a little extra protein in everything I eat... and here the challenge was born. Create a delicious, protein-rich fruit smoothie that TASTES LIKE AN ISLAND VACATION. Did I succeed? Let me know.

I also posted the nutrition facts below, just in case you're curious.

If you're interested in watching me make this smoothie, the link to my YouTube video is here.

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This is what you're going to need.

• 2/3 cup Naked protein mango juice
• 1/2 ripe banana
• 3/4 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 heaping serving of powdered fiber (okay holdup that ingredient is COMPLETELY optional. I unfortunately happen to have an extreme difficulty getting enough fiber even when I eat a diet bursting with fiber rich foods so I add fiber powder to my smoothies and juices all the time just to keep my digestion working. Yes, it makes me feel like a 90-year-old man. This step is completely optional, I actually DO NOT recommend following suit here because I have a fiber deficiency and you probably don't. I recommend skipping this step entirely- the only reason I included it in the recipe is 1. maybe you like very high fiber diets too and 2. it affects the nutrition facts I posted below. If you don't include the extra fiber here, subtract approximately 15 calories and 6 grams of fiber from your total nutrition facts. Okay continue.)
• 1/4 cup of water to dissolve the powdered fiber in BEFORE adding to your smoothie mix
• 1/2 cup cubed pineapple
• 1/2 cup frozen mango cubes
• 1 cup frozen peach slices

Prep time: 10-15min

Serves: 2

Basically what I do is I combine all of the non-frozen ingredients in the blender first, and then follow with the frozen ingredients to achieve a smooth, thick, creamy smoothie.

• Pour Naked protein mango juice, protein powder, and optional fiber dissolved in 1/4 cup water to blender
• Blend briefly to stir everything up. This will maintain the smooth texture of your smoothie
• Add the banana and pineapple chunks to the blender
• Blend briefly to combine
• Finally add in frozen mango and peach chunks and blend until all chunks are gone. Your smoothie should have a relatively thick, creamy consistency. If it is too thin for your liking, add a few more frozen peach or mango chunks. If it is too thick to pour you can either lightly tap the side of your blender as you pour it into a glass, or blend in a little bit of water to change the consistency.

When I've made it, no thickness adjustments were necessary.

Voila! You now have a very tropical, summery, island-tasting smoothie that is fantastically creamy and lovely for a hot summer day.

PRO TIP: If you want an island-tasting Popsicle (who doesn't?!) feel free to pour this recipe into Popsicle molds and freeze overnight. Tropical Popsicles would be a great treat for a hot summer night, or to bring to a pool party. Enjoy :)

I entered the ingredients into My Fitness Pal, and app that I've been using to keep track of my calories, macros, and nutrients. Below is a screenshot of the nutrition facts for this smoothie. Remember to subtract 15 calories and 6g of fiber if you did not include the additional fiber above. If you can't read the text in the picture because it is too small, I will type the highlights below.

Calories: 344

Fat (g): 0.7

Carbs (g): 69.8

Protein (g): 20

Potassium (mg): 478

Fiber (g): 10.8

Sugars (g): 41.8

Vitamin A (%): 47

Vitamin C (%): 313

Calcium (%): 9.2

Iron (%): 5.5

Now before you freak out about the sugar content in this smoothie, remember that the recipe makes approximately two full glasses. If you want to make one serving, you either need to cut the recipe in half, give one glass to a friend, or freeze the remaining in Popsicle form. I usually drink both glasses myself because I need the protein and fiber, and I am also NOT AFRAID OF SUGAR. All of the sugar in this smoothie comes from fruit, which means it is natural as opposed to process. Health nuts tend to stray from diets heavy in fruit because of their sugar content but that is simply not necessary. Is sugar in large quantities bad for you? Yes. Will eating a bunch of fruit kill you? No. Studies have actually shown that diets high in fruit are actually better for you.

I usually eat a high protein low carb diet, but you need carbs for energy and often don't get enough if you are an athlete. This smoothie is fantastic if you're eating too much protein and fat, because it will help you balance out your diet and keep your macros in line.

This smoothie is NOT PALEO, but if you substitute 2 tablespoons of unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of the vanilla protein powder you can make this smoothie paleo-friendly.

This is a great breakfast on the go, and a fantastic summer treat. Be sure to let me know if you like it in the comments below. 

Ombré Nails

Okay so today I decided to take pictures of my nails as I did them so y'all can follow along if you're interested. I'm a bit of a nail polish freak. I paint my nails at least every two weeks just to keep it spicy. Different people have different hobbies, and painting my nails relaxes me so I love finding ways to work it into my schedule.

Today I will be sharing how I do Ombré Nails, which is a design I love doing because it's super easy.

For this design you're going to need:

• Cotton balls (if you currently have nail polish on that you will need to remove)
• Nail polish remover
• Q-Tips (these aren't in the picture below but you WILL need them. If you don't have any you'll just have to do your best with cotton balls)
• White nail polish
• 2 or 3 other colors (similar colors in different shades look best)
• Base coat
• Top coat
• 1 makeup sponge
• Optional fine detail paint brush

I don't really buy nail polish for the brand, usually all I care about is the color, but if you have a brand preference that is totally okay. As you can see I didn't even buy consistent base and top coat brands. To me it doesn't matter at all.

The colors I used today:

• Snow me white by Sinful Colors 
• Bikini so teeny by Essie (this is actually my favorite nail polish brand, but I think it's just because I love the look of the bottles. The nail polish itself I find to be a little too thin for my liking.)
• Pacific Blue by Sally Hansen I tried to do my best to find this color online but I believe Sally Hansen may have changed up their pigments a little because it took forever to find this online. Wasn't aware the color would be so rare... I believe this link will take you to the right one, but I'm judging by the online photograph so I don't know 100%
• My base and top coats are by Revlon and OPI

Alrighty. Let's dig in.

1. Remove any nail polish you had on prior so that your nails are clean. I always like to wash my hands with warm water and soap after using nail polish remover (and I use non acetone) 
2. Paint all of your nails white
3. Let the white dry completely before you continue (check Instagram, listen to a song, cry, whatever floats your boat)
4. Now take your makeup sponge and unscrew the caps of the nail polishes you intend on using after shaking them to stir up the color. Keeping the caps unscrewed as you work allows you to work more quickly
5. Paint a line across the bottom of your makeup sponge with your darkest color
6. Paint a line across the middle of your makeup sponge with your middle color. I tend to make this line thicker (about twice the width)
7. Paint a line across the top of your makeup sponge (or wherever you are on your makeup sponge as long as the lines overlap slightly. You probably won't reach the TOP) with your lightest color. Don't worry there are pictures below
8. Dab the sponge lightly on your nail with the darkest part at the bottom of your nail and the lightest part at the top. If you just press and release you will get more definite lines and it won't look faded. If you dab ever so slightly you can blur the lines between the various colors. If you need to adjust a color (the bottom isn't dark enough or the top isn't light enough) just add more of that color to part of your sponge and dab carefully with just that section of the sponge. Repeat this step with all of your nails, reapplying color to the sponge after each one.

Okay I promised pictures.

Now you're probably thinking "Ew this looks so messy. What'd I do wrong?" Yes it looks messy, but you've done everything right if your nails look like mine. This is where the nail polish remover and Q-Tips come into play. 

9. Dip your Q-Tip in some nail polish remover (I like to pour a little into the cap, and dip my Q-Tips in the cap) and use it to wipe off the nail polish on your skin
10. If you don't want to do any patterns or polka dots or anything extra then add a top coat and you're done! Congratulations on your beautiful nails :)

Personally I felt like taking it a little bit father, because I love my accent nails. On my ring finger only I used a fine detailed paint brush to paint white zig-zag lines horizontally across my nail. There's not much I can say to help you as fine detail nail work comes with practice. I have no special talent or skill (I swear- my artistic capabilities are so depressing) but I've been painting my nails like this for over 2 years. Patience, and you'll catch on. 

So this is my finished product. I absolutely love the way that it looks because it reminds me of the ocean, and water, and beaches, and SUMMER. Happy summer everyone! Comment if you're interested in more nail tutorials.

Jeanne's Bars

Just in case any of you were actually successful with your healthy eating lately I'm gonna go ahead and throw a wrench in it. I've had this recipe for FOREVER, and I used to make these (and eat them) all the time back when I cared less about what I'm putting in my body. That being said, cheat days happen, and it's summer so we should be allowed to have a little fun with what we eat.

Technically these are PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS but I call them Jeanne's Bars because my best friend's step mom is famous for making them and this is her recipe. I have made a few changes, but I'll let you know what they are in case you don't want to make them. 

This is what you're about to get yourself into. I'm sorry for the crappy photography, and also for the lack of pictures on this post- this is the only one. It's actually just a snapchat that I sent to my boyfriend before I brought him a pan of these as a surprise dessert. I didn't plan ahead, and didn't realize I'd feel like blogging tonight. Oops. Maybe I'll update this in the future so I can include more pictures. You'll just have to trust that these are AMAZING.

You're going to need:

• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup softened butter
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (CHANGE: I use 1 heaping teaspoon of Mexican vanilla)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp flake salt
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup optional chocolate chips for topping
• CHANGE: 1/3 cup extra peanut butter (that would mean you need 5/6 cups peanut butter total- it's just easier to measure it separately, and you will need it separate for the recipe anyways)
• CHANGE: approximately 2 tablespoons extra packed brown sugar 

Prep time: 15 min

Baking time: 25-35 min

Serves: 16

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x9 pan (8x8 works too), and set aside.

• In a medium bowl cream together the peanut butter and butter. 
• Gradually blend in the white sugar, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla.
• Mix together until light and fluffy
• In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Stir into the peanut butter mix.
• Fold in the chocolate chips until they are spread throughout
• MY CHANGE (optional step): In a mixer combine extra peanut butter and extra brown sugar and beat until well mixed (it will look like gooey frosting). Fold in loosely with the remaining dough so that clumps of extra peanut butter remain (don't mix in very well). The reason for this extra step is to create bites of melted peanut butter along with the bites of melted chocolate chips. The bars are honestly amazing either way.
• Spread into pan and bake for approximately 25-35 min (I always slightly under-bake because they get harder as they cool).
• Remove bars from oven, sprinkle optional chocolate chips on top (I never actually do that step or include that ingredient), and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares.

Voila! These bars are heavenly. You'll both thank me and hate me after you try them. Paleo sabotage! AAH. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do, and let me know in the comments if you'd like more fun (and unhealthy hehe) dessert recipes in the future.

Açai Bowls

So this dish has been a trend that's popping up EVERYWHERE lately. I originally found out about it in Australia, but açai berries are showing up on the shelves of my local supermarkets making it super easy to get my hands on the ingredients in America!

Some background: Açai berries (pronounced ah-sah-EE) are the fruit of the açai palm tree indigenous to the Amazon of Brazil. The dark purple berries are rich with antioxidants, and fall under the category of superfoods, which is why they are such a health trend these days! I'm absolutely in love with them because they taste delicious and are very easy to make.

Recipes for this vary greatly so I'm just going to share mine. You can always try this, and make adjustments in the future to add your own spin on the dish.

What you're going to need:

• 1 ripe banana (or half a banana if you don't want to use banana as a topping)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 packet of frozen açai berry juice (thawed in warm water) (I couldn't find the Simply Balanced brand when looking online so I could link "açai berry juice" but I found another that will work just as well. I'm pretty sure I just picked mine up from Target)
• 1/2 serving of vanilla protein powder OR 1/2 teaspoon organic honey (to taste)
• 2 (or more) cups ice
• Additional toppings (other sliced fruit, nuts, ect)

• Throw half your banana in the blender, along with the coconut milk (honestly you're supposed to use anywhere between half a cup and a cup so I just play around with measurements), the thawed juice puree, the protein powder or honey (keep in mind that protein powder is NOT PALEO so when I'm feeling strict I'll sub with honey. If I don't it doesn't taste sweet enough to me), and the ice. 
• Blend until the mixture is a very very thick smoothie, one that you wouldn't want to try and suck down with a straw. You may need to stop blending once and awhile to stir the ice around if it's not getting completely mixed in, and you may also need to add more ice to reach the appropriate consistency. 
• After you finish that, pour your thick purple smoothie into a bowl and cut up the remaining banana and your other fruits and place it on top of the açai smoothie in the bowl. I used pecans and bananas the last time I made the recipe but I've done other fruit and nut combinations before. Try not to overdo it on nuts because that will add more fat to your healthy meal.

Açai bowls are perfect for breakfast, and I sometimes even eat them as an after-workout treat (like dessert!). I used My Fitness Pal to calculate the nutrition facts for an açai bowl with 1 banana, 3 tablespoons of pecans, and protein powder instead of honey as an example to provide below.

Example Nutrition Facts (with my toppings of choice):

Calories: 639

Fat (g): 35.1

Carbs (g): 55

Sugars (g): 24

Protein (g): 32.5

Vitamin A: 10.5%

Vitamin C: 30%

Calcium: 23%

Iron: 3%

The reason sugar looks so high is you have to keep in mind that this is a FRUIT. I personally don't care when I get calories and sugars from fruit, but that's just me. My biggest requirement was that it had good macros, and I was satisfied with the protein to fat ratio, and it helped me hit my daily carb goal. All in all I absolutely LOVE this recipe. Comment down below if you give it a try! :)

The Paleo Challenge

Okay it's about time. You had this coming.

So I know the word "paleo" is popping up everywhere in the world of fad diets lately but I want you to understand that this is no empty promise to make you drop fat like so many others. There is science to back it up. 

For those of you who have never even HEARD the word before, the paleo diet, sometimes referred to as "the caveman diet", tries to take us back to simpler times when our foods weren't chalk-full of chemicals. It's a high protein, low carb diet, which means it is ideal for athletes. Gluten, and any bread-based foods are eliminated entirely, forcing paleo-eaters to meet their carbohydrate goals by consuming more vegetables. A common misconception is that paleo is all meat. It is not. The human body can only metabolize 30 grams of protein per meal, so it would be pointless to eat pure meat. Paleo focuses on natural, easy-to-digest, fiber rich, resourceful foods to reset your digestive system, and naturally improve your sleep, energy levels, and mood.

As someone who has played around a lot with other types of dieting, including a month of being vegetarian, and a month of being vegan, those who knew me were really confused when I completely flipped sides and took the paleo challenge. I switched from avoiding meat entirely to eating it in almost every meal, and even though I had previously sworn that being vegan would make you feel "clean" I can now say that going paleo has made me feel "cleaner".

My inspiration was the 30 Paleo Challenge on this lovely blog. It goes by the name of "Robin's Sweet Confessions" and I stumbled upon it while on Pinterest and was absolutely thrilled to find that not only did Robin lay out everything we should eat for the first few weeks, but she supplied grocery lists, and recommended workouts. It was too easy. Everything was there. I had to do it.

(This picture and this picture alone inspired me to begin my paleo journey so I need to give another MASSIVE thank you to Robin.)

That being said paleo is A LOT of work to maintain. But if it wasn't worth it, my 30 day challenge would not have turned into a lifestyle that I cannot live without. I have gone back to regular eating for a few weeks here and there, just to see if I would prefer to go back... and I don't. As much as I think I miss Chipotle, pasta (used to be my favorite food!), Dairy Queen, and ice cream in general, paleo has always been worth it to me. If you're STILL not convinced that this is crazy awesome, you need to check out the Paleo Recipes on Pinterest page. Yum.

Now I am no Robin, but I am going to create a paleo challenge blog entry similar in the sense that it will help you kick start your paleo journey because I CHALLENGE YOU TO A 30 DAY PALEO CHALLENGE. It would be cruel of me to do that, and then provide no help. :)

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


First and foremost there are rules to paleo:

1. You have to accept the challenge. Remember that if it gets "too hard" and you quit then you'll only know what quitting feels like, and the point is to find out what succeeding feels like. You must give it your all. It will not be easy, hence the word challenge, but it is only for 30 days and you will thank me on day 31. I promise.
2. You have to work out daily. Even if some days all you do is yoga. Or go on long walks. Do not cheat yourself. Trust me on this one.
3. You must take before and after pictures. I didn't even realize how important this was until I looked at my before and after pictures. All in all it is discouraging if you feel like you're not making progress, and if you have pictures then you can SEE the progress you're making. You don't have to share these pictures, but you do need to take them. One set (take a picture head on, and then one of you turned to the side. focus on your stomach and thighs, or wherever you feel like your body personally stores fat) before you even start, and one set on day 7 of each week. Don't forget the final picture on day 30 because that is the second most important one! (arguably your "before" picture is the most important). 
4. Avoid the scale. Numbers are discouraging as well. Weigh yourself before the challenge and then after the challenge is over. If you really want to you can weigh yourself when you take pictures (at the end of every week) but I would be careful. When I first started paleo I GAINED 10lbs in the first two weeks, and later found out it was because I gained a ton of muscle. However by the end of my challenge I was 10 pounds lighter than my original weight, and I've never been a heavy person so it looked like a lot. Every body works differently, and in the end it's how you look and feel that matters the most, not your proportion to gravity.
5. Push Yourself! This diet is hard but fun. It's something new, and it's a crazy new adventure for you to try. You could hate every second of it or you could positively love it. Keep a positive mental attitude and comment here if you have questions or concerns or if you are feeling weak.

LUCKY FOR YOU I HAVE YOUR FIRST SEVEN DAYS PLANNED OUT
Meal plans, grocery list, workouts, EVERYTHING. Check out my blog post to find out what you should eat for the first 7 days to kick start a perfect paleo challenge.

Additional Tips:

In my paleo experience this is what I have discovered:

• If you are craving something that is NOT paleo, write it down. Tell yourself you can have it again when the 30 days are up. It helps you get through weak times, and at the end of the challenge you won't even want it anymore so you can throw the list of cravings you've accumulated away.
• Cook most of your meals. I know that this is not ideal, but neither is eating out while trying to eat paleo. If you do eat out, you should try to find healthier restaurants that are more likely to offer something you can eat.
• Eat a lot of vegetables. Paleo is often thought of as a meat diet, but in all reality there are a lot of veggies at work behind the scenes. You CAN overdose on protein, but you CANNOT overdose on vegetables. My current fave is broccoli.
• Break your meals up, and always stay full. Instead of eating 3 big meals I eat 5 smaller meals. This is not only way better for you in terms of digestion, AND fat-loss, but it keeps you full and IF YOU ARE FULL YOU WILL NOT CRAVE BAD THINGS. 
• If you absolutely must must must must must have a dessert because you just NEED one on a particular day, make a paleo dessert. There are plenty of options. 
• BE CAREFUL WITH NUTS. Keep your nut intake slim to none if you want the leanest results. Nuts ARE paleo but they also stunt your weight loss. That being said, don't be afraid of nuts. A handful a day will not hurt you. I promise. Just don't go nuts. Hehe.

When it comes to what you eat...

If I were you I would follow Robin's food entries as closely as possible. That's what I did until I got the swing of things. I was planning on writing my own food entries for y'all, but then decided I could not beat hers. Sorry.

Just to give you an example of what I eat on a daily basis (keeping in mind I'm not doing a paleo challenge, I'm just eating paleo daily because I enjoy it), I typically consume:

Breakfast: 

Tea

1 full glass of water before I even start eating

2 eggs

2 pieces of bacon

Lunch:

1 full glass of water before I even start eating

Some kind of fish (usually salmon or tuna steaks, but I've branched out to tilapia even though some may disagree with that choice), and 2 cups of broccoli

Snack:

An apple, or a bowl of blueberries

Dinner:

1 full glass of water before I even start eating

Chicken or other meat, vegetable of my choice, fruit

Dessert (I have it maybe once a week... Maybe twice if I hit the gym hard that day):

Banana ice cream (teehee)

As you can see I consume a lot of fruit, which isn't typical to the paleo diet (usually it's heavily focused on veggies and meat), but I do this because I work out daily and I've figured out how many grams of carbs I need in order to survive working out, and because I eat paleo I need fruit to reach my carb goals.

You too can tamper with your paleo balance once those 30 days are up if you decide to continue paleoing (casually invents a word) for longer.

Ummmmm that might be it! Sorry this was such a long blog post. If you're taking the challenge but you encounter a weak day and you want to quit, comment about it for support. I really hope you enjoy this challenge as much as I did. Good luck, may the odds be ever in your favor, and GO PALEO!

June Favorites

Wow long time no post! I know I completely skipped May there but I've been busy... It happens to the best of us. Well here are some of my favorite things from the lovely month of June :)

Food Favorites:

• Frozen Fruit- Literally cannot get enough. I know that paleo is supposed to be low carb but hey this isn't processed, and it tastes like a freaking fruit Popsicle. I literally just buy bags of frozen fruit from the store (like the kind you're supposed to use for smoothies and stuff), put it in a bowl when I'm hungry, and eat it with a fork. It's perfect because it's too cold to eat fast so that controls your portion size, AND it gives you something to much on if you're always hungry (like me haha) and still trying to slim down.
• Kale Chips- If you want the recipe comment below. Basically the same thing as carrot fries but made with kale. (Pro tip: you can also throw raw kale into your fruit smoothies. You won't taste it (unless you put in more than like two cups of the stuff...), and it will make your smoothie a gross color but HEY if you can't taste the vegetables you're drinking, AND you're drinking a vegetable... Why not? If it bugs you just buy colorful opaque smoothie cups. Try this recipe.)
• Broccoli- Alright, if you were reading this list expecting to see something along the lines of "cake, ice cream, cookie dough, and chocolate" you've come to the wrong blog :) Maybe it's weird to some people but personally I'm really enjoying the taste of broccoli lately. I'll throw it in with just about anything I'm eating to meet my carbs goal of the day.
• Tea- I am now a lover of tea. Never thought it would happen because the taste used to repulse me, and I'm a coffee gal ALL THE WAY, but paleo means no coffee- at least in my book. I've been using tea for all sorts of things from detoxing to helping me sleep and I'm learning to love the taste. My current favorite would have to be Twinnings Wild Berry tea.
• Banana Ice Cream- Here we go: something desserty (finally). HOLY CRAP you guys this stuff sounds weird but tastes AMAZING I swear. I encountered it on Pinterest and this might just be my next recipe post because wowza it is a lifechanger. All you need are bananas, a food processor, and ice cream toppings so it's healthy AND easy AND delicious. If you don't like the taste of bananas you can add essential oils to make mint chocolate chip ice cream, etc. It's so good. So. Good.
• Quest Bars- Okay so these aren't paleo. Kill me. Because I work out frequently I've run into a few roadblocks with paleo and have adapted my diet in the last month or so to include processed food and weigh ONLY when necessary and ONLY in the form of quest bars and protein powder. May the paleo gods hate me for eternity. But after doing clean, normal, 100% paleo paleo for a few months it was clear that I could bend the boundaries of my diet a little to include protein powder and these bars (no other granola bars or protein bars fit my needs) because they've helped me so much in the gym... But most importantly they. taste. fantastic. They come in dessert flavors like cookies and cream, and chocolate chip cookie dough (my two favorites at the moment), and I'm just in love. They're a bit pricey but they have 20g of protein and only 2g of sugar PER BAR. LIKE. WHAT. I'll link them here so you can die in paleo hell with me.

Cosmetic Favorites:

It's summer so I'm still wearing as little makeup as I can get away with so literally the only things I have to recommend are for washing yourself...

• Shower Jelly- This is a LUSH product that I happened to pick up about a month ago and just not use because I couldn't figure out HOW to use it. It's a pot of jelly. I was so confused. But I figured out that if you scoop out a little bit and mash it up with your loofah it gets all bubbly and has made my skin SO SOFT. It's LUSH so it's organic and vegan and made fresh right in the store. It's also been a really handy shampoo for the days when I don't feel like torturing my hair with regular shampoo (something you should know about me is I have very dry, very curly hair, and very pale very dry skin). I enjoy the cherry-coconut scented shower jelly.
•  CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser- Basically just what I've been using to wash my face twice a day. So far I have less acne, and no awkward dry patches so this is a success in the world of super sensitive dry skin and I thought I'd post about it in case anyone shares my fate. Nothing fancy- picked mine up from Target, but the link I have is from Ulta.

Other Favorites:

• Black Bikinis- Don't ask why, I don't know, but swimsuits (I live in bikinis) in black are appealing to me all of a sudden so I've bought like six. I also really like anything with lots of straps, and or designs created with the straps. If you're interested I can provide pictures. 
• Champion Leggings- I've been at the gym literally everyday this last month, so my legging purchase has increased significantly. I like the look of Lululemon a lot, but I can't afford to invest in such expensive clothing if I intend to sweat in it so I've stuck to champion. If you have suggestions as to where I can find cheap Lulu knockoffs I am always all ears :)

The songs I've listened to the most this month:

• American Kids- Kenny Chesney
• Wonderland- Taylor swift (no link because it's not on YouTube)
• Girl Crush- Little Big Town
• Fight Song- Rachel Platten (fun fact: I knew this song before it was cool mwahaha)

Banana Nut Muffins

Another recipe for you.

The only thing I hated about going paleo (besides giving up pasta) was the fact that I wouldn't be able to bake anymore. Baking is one of my passions, and I just assumed that when I threw sugar out the window I would have to get rid of baking too, but fortunately this is NOT true. There are plenty of paleo recipes out there, even for MUFFINS of all things. So in my excitement I headed out to the grocery store and picked up some paleo-friendly flours so I could give these recipes a whirl. One of my favorites by far is the Banana Nut Muffin recipe I found here. They're originally meant for macadamia nuts, but those are rather fatty and weren't in stock at my go-to grocery store when I was craving muffins so I had to get crafty and throw in walnuts instead. I stayed mostly true to the original recipe, but I strayed a little due to lack of correct ingredients.

So the original recipe calls for:

• 2/3 cup macadamia nuts of choice, chopped
• 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1 cup blanched almond flour
• ¼ cup organic coconut flour - source
• 3 ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup raw creamy honey
• 1/3 cup organic coconut oil, melted and cooled
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp unrefined sea salt
• 1 tsp coconut water vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

I underlined the things I made slight adjustments to. Feel free to use the original recipe if you want, or follow my changes. Whatever is easiest for you.

First off, I didn't have macadamia nuts on hand so I used finely chopped walnuts, but I kept the measurement the same.

Secondly I didn't have the right number of ripe bananas on hand. Oops. I can't be alone here, please tell me this happens to other people too. The best bananas for baking are a darker yellow with some brown spots on them because they're the sweetest, and the mushiest, and the point of using bananas in paleo recipes is for the sugar. Duh. So the fact that I had 2 out of 3 bananas in the correct "state" was unfortunate because I really needed that last banana to be much more ripe. It was freshly bought, and completely yellow (I dont't think green would work...), so it clearly wasn't going to be mushy or sweet enough.

BUT DO I HAVE A TRICK FOR YOU.

The next time you're one ripe banana short you can fake the last banana's sweet taste and consistency. 

What I do is peel the yellow banana and put it in a separate bowl from my ripe bananas, and try to mash it with a fork the best I can, and then I add cocoanut milk, and a little bit of honey to the mashed banana bowl. This makes the banana SO much easier to continue mashing and stirring. Plus the honey will make it sweet enough to use in substitute for a ripe banana.

You're welcome.

I don't know if I would use that trick with ALL unripe bananas, because sometimes unripe bananas can irritate your mouth and tongue, and unfortunately that trait will be present in the muffin (irritating muffins are no fun) but if it doesn't bother you then go ahead and give it a try. 

I underlined the "cocoanut water vinegar" because I don't even know WHAT that is, and I didn't have any on me so I used pure unsweetened lemon juice instead. It worked just as well, and you can't taste the difference as far as I'm concerned.

Lastly I underlined vanilla because I am a total sucker for sweets, and 1 tsp did not look like enough vanilla to me so I may have used 2 generous teaspoons. You shouldn't do this if you want to minimize the sugar and fat content in your muffins, but it felt like a necessary change for me. In my defense I have this fantastic vanilla from Mexico (and I feel fancy because I didn't order it online, I literally went to Mexico and bought it, and then took it back in my suitcase), and it's to die for so I overuse it in everything.


I followed the baking instructions pretty closely, so I'll just copy-paste them below, and underline the replacements I made.


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees convection (I didn't even remember to turn on convection when I made these... oops).
Take out 2 muffin tins and place muffin liners inside.

• In a large bowl, add nuts, coconut, flours, baking soda, salt; mix to combine.
• To the same bowl, add eggs, bananas, honey, coconut oil, vinegar, vanilla; mix again to combine.
• Drop by tablespoons into the muffin tins. Fill 14 muffins full. *This will make 14 full sized muffins as long as there is no batter eaten in the process. (I made big muffins so I could make it 12. Too much work to use another pan for just 2 muffins you know?)
• Bake for about 30-35 minutes, rotating the pans at 20 minutes for best results. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes. Then move muffins to a cooling rack, which helps to firm up their bottoms. Enjoy!