The Athleisure Obsession is REAL

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The past few weeks I’ve gained a new obsession with workout clothes. Not only to wear during the physical act, but to lounge around in… period! My workout routine has become a serious part of my week (to make up for all the ice cream I’ve eaten as of late… oops) and part of my motivation has come from the clothes that I wear. Not to mention, the comfort that some of these articles of clothing possess is better than any sweatpants/tank top combo I own…

Here are a few of the new pieces I’ve acquired over the past month:

Jules by Julianne Hough

1) Hooded Tank that I can't wait to wear during circuit training outside

2) My new favorite... a bandeau looks so cute peeking through the back!!

3) I wear this EVERYWHERE

LuLu Lemon

1) Great all around workout tank

2) This tank is perfect since I'm newly obsessed with yoga again... 

p.s. all images taken using the StyleBook app! :) (still obsessed with tracking my outfits on it!!)

And here are few that I have my eye on (some would be a splurge!) - 1, 2, 3, 4

Playlist Time - Sweat it Out

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Kayla Itsines… the woman has changed my life. Besides being required to complete specific exercises per day when I was an athlete, her BBG, Beach Body guides, are the only thing that have kept me motivated, inspired and NOT BORED when working out. I’ve been doing her guides for over a year now and see more results in this one year than the four years that I had spent getting back into my fitness prior to. Maybe part of it is growing up, but, for the most part, I owe my new lifestyle to Kayla.

So there ya have it, a little shout out to Kayla and a playlist for your hump day pleasure J

Drinking My Greens

Per my New Year’s resolutions, I’ve been drinking smoothies nearly every day for over a month and the results are amazing. I feel more energized, the drink fills me up every morning and I feel great that I’m kick starting my day with over 2 servings of leafy greens and multiple servings of fruits.

The combination possibilities are endless! I now see everything as a potential addition to my morning smoothie and I can’t stop pinning recipes to try! The one ingredient I never skimp on in a full frozen banana. I learned the hard way that if it’s not frozen, the smoothie is watery, and even if I only use half a frozen banana (what many recipes call for) it’s still not the consistency that I’ve grown accustomed too. I always have two servings of spinach and a full banana and so far my favorite additions are apples and pears. We just happened to have them laying around the house and now I can’t imagine my fridge without them! I also love adding pineapple! I usually just fill the cup with water but love to add almond milk once in a while for an extra creamy morning treat!

I know I know, none of this is new news to anyone, but to me it’s a life change for the better. And I love it!

Future recipes I can’t wait to try include Chocolate Pear, Matcha (the new super food!), and Mocha J

Playing with Food: Pink Crunch Salad

If you admit from the start that you're just "playing with food", and that you don't claim to be a great chef, you open the proverbial playing field right up. You can also call your recipes whatever you want. 

I'm naming this salad Pink Crunch because those are the only parts that need to remain uniform. Any ingredients that bear a pink hue and make noise when you eat them will do. I promise you that the next time I make Pink Crunch, there will be different items in the bowl. But they will be pink and there will be crunch. 

This is a nice snack for after a workout because it's got a nice sugar/fat balance, it's super refreshing and, most importantly, it's got those restorative vitamins and minerals our bodies need after hard work. 

What you'll need...

• 1-2 roma tomatoes
• 1 English cucumber
• 1-2 cups cubed (preferably seedless) watermelon
• 1 handful lemon balm or mint leaves
• black pepper to taste
• Juice of 2 limes or lemons
• 1 handful unsalted peanuts (TIP: pistachios would be a great alternative here...and the light green would be lovely treat to the eye)

I made this pretty little snack recently after an 18-mile bike ride in 90 degree heat. I was able to make it in the same amount of time it would take you to listen to this short, but amazing, playlist from The Civil Wars:

1. Disarm

2. Poison & Wine

3. To Whom it May Concern

Eat well, eat fresh, and have fun doing it, y'all! 

Playing with Food: Homemade Garlic Hummus

I know all of you have been out there holding your breath, waiting to find out what I'd do with my leftover chickpeas after the not-so-successful attempt at homemade veggie burgers.

Did anyone try to guess?
What would YOU do with said staple, just chillin' in your pantry, nothing to do?

Make hummus, of course. [Duh.]

Before I tried to get all gourmet and fancy again, I thought I'd just stick to a simple concoction...ok mostly simple. After a few very short and easy steps, I did decide to give the dish some sass by adding some Indian flavors, compliments of a dear friend...who happens to be from India...and an excellent cook...and who may have recently given me some seasoning that I had not figured out how to use yet.

It worked beautifully.
And--this time--my playful cooking was a success.

This yummy--and strong and spicy--dip has provided a protien-filled buddy to my afternoon veggie snack. I really think adapting this recipe to make a variety of flavors will be quite easy.


PS: The answer to your burning question is: Yes, drinking wine and watching an episode of Lost  is part of this hummus-making process. Don't hate, people. 

What you'll need...

• 1 can chickpeas (drained & rinsed)
• Juice from 2 limes (lemons would probably work as well)
• 1-2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1-2 tsp cayenne pepper (personal pref)
• 1-2 tsp masala powder (personal pref)
• 4 tbsp olive oil (I totally made that measurement up. I have no idea how much I used. Just get those beans nice and wet so they mix up well.)
• Spash (or two) of water, depending on your desired consistency.

Then, follow these steps...
STEP 1. Blend it all together.

You all should give this recipe a try! You'll be an instant hit at a "just-bring-a-side-dish" party. 

Playing with Food: Not-so-ham Burgers!

The inspiration

Normally, if I see a recipe that looks good, I have about a 75% success rate at bringing the dish to life in my own kitchen. 

These veggie burgers, unfortunately, fell in the other 25%. But the process was so much fun, I have no regrets. 

I first heard about these chick pea veggie burgers while on a run with my buddy who is as obsessed with clean eating as I am. "The recipe", she promised, "is Whole Life Challenge-friendly (if you just substitute the oats) and they are sooo delicious. I make them every week!"  

Well, she was right on both counts, however  she left out the part reminding me that, since these aren't made of meat, there may be a consistency issue. 

Here are the ingredients & steps.  As any home cook tends to do out of curiosity or necessity, I strayed from the original recipe, which can be found on a great (prefect-for-me) blog called Running on Real Food.  

INGREDIENTS...

• 1 can chickpeas, drained, well-rinsed,and mashed
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp sea salt
•  2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small zuchinni, grated

·       

     ½ red onion, finely diced 

           *I have a strict no-red-onion rule in my house. I used sweet vidalia instead.

·      

     3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro

            *I used WAY more than this in my dish. Love the freshness of cilantro.  Plus, this herb provides our bodies with antioxidents, minerals such as potassium, calcium, iron and more. There are vitamins such as folic acid and beta cerotene...and 100g grams will serve up 30% of your daily vitamin C needs. So, yea, I was generous here. 

·       

     1 tbsp sriracha sauce

            *I didn't have any of this on hand, plus, there are some no-no ingredients. I used Tobasco instead. 

·       

·       1 cup quick oats (gluten-free if needed)

             *Since WLC does not allow oats, I chose to bake a sweet potato.  This created a nice, sticky paste that I personally thought was brilliant. In theory: yes. In action: sadly, no. 

·       

INSTRUCTIONS...

1. After draining and rinsing the chickpeas, place them in a bowl and mash them with a fork.
2.  Add all the other ingredients to the bowl.
3.  Use your hands to mix very well.
4.  Form into 6-8 patties.
5.  Cook on the BBQ around 400 F for approximately 10 minutes each side. 
6.  You can also fry these in a pan with some oil for 3-5 minutes a side.

Of course there was no reason for me not to follow the steps as recommended. The issue I had was that neither grill nor pan yeilded patties that would stay together like a burger should. What resulted was just a yummy mix that could be eaten like a Sloppy Joe. 

I thought with all of the cilantro and fresh veggies, 

a bit-o-lime would be nice. It was.

It may look like an unapealing slop with an even more unpleasant color...but the original creator was right: you can nibble on the mixture as you work and it tastes so good. 

The model...

Mine. It looks like I was on the right track.

Again, this looks like a well-grilled, crunchy, yummy patty. 

But, you go within 2 inches of this bad boy with a fork, 

and he falls to pieces--literally. 

It looks like I'll need to do more research (or bust out my high school science books) before I attempt home made veggie burgers again. 

So, what am I going to do with all of these extra chick peas???

See y'all soon!