Happy Monday

Girl Crush: Christmas Abbott

She's a beast. 
And her name is, Christmas. 

Recipe: Coconut Pancakes

When it comes to a Sunday morning breakfast, I crave pancakes. Now that I am eating Paleo, I needed to find a pancake recipe that wouldn't leave me feeling guilty.

 I found it.

 Coconut Pancakes 

 Ingredients

 4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk (raw cow’s or coconut both work)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey or a pinch of stevia
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Coconut oil or butter for frying

 Directions

 Preheat griddle over medium-low heat.
 In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes.
 Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey or stevia.
 In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together.
 Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
 Grease pan with butter or coconut oil.
 Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake.
 Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon.
 The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick.

Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown.
Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
Serve hot with butter, coconut oil, honey, syrup, or fruit.

Veggie Cooking Tips

Super Suck Sunday

SUCKS

• It sucks that the Bachelorette Finale is on right now, and I haven't been able to keep up with this season… I can't make an educated guess of who she will pick! 
• Getting stuck talking to come weird, creepy dude at a BBQ. 
• Our mid to high 60 degree weather… in JULY…. ugh….
• This: 

SUPER

• "Cheat Days". We've been eating really well lately, and on Saturdays we let ourselves splurge. Froyo is always our vice…topped with peanut butter and chocolate sauce…. 
• We had a laid-back relaxing weekend. We went out to breakfast, went to the Farmer's Market (I got flowers, Noah got kettle corn) and Costco! Fun stuff.
• Oh, we also saw BATMAN!! It was more than super! 
• Growing up as a 90's child. I "pinned" THIS SWEETNESS on Pinterest and it just reminded me of how super growing up in the 90's was!! 

Same Love

When everyone else
Is more comfortable
Remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans
That have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same
But that's not important
No freedom 'til we're equal
Damn right I support it

Recipe: Chocolate Banana Coconut Custard

I have a sweet-tooth, and most evenings I crave a frozen yogurt or a big bowl of ice-cream. A few nights ago I stumbled upon this recipe and it must had been fate….. I had all the ingredients!! Within 30 minutes, I was eating spoonfuls of this delicious, Paleo dessert.

Ingredients

• 1 medium ripe banana
• 2 Tbs almond butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• splash vanilla extract
• 2 Tbs raw cacao powder
• fresh fruit (to top: strawberries, raspberries, blueberries)

Cooking Steps

- Mash banana with fork until creamy.
- Add almond butter, stir until well incorporated.
- Add melted coconut oil and vanilla extract, briskly mix using small wire whisk. (Use your muscles here to really smooth out the mixture with any remaining banana chunks.)
- Add cacao powder, whisk again and until thoroughly mixed.
- Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 mins to allow coconut oil to set and thicken the mixture.
- Add fresh fruit 

ENJOY!!!

Lifestyle Change

Warning: This post is a bit personal.

Over the past few weeks or so I have felt pretty down on myself. With derby season being over (no required work-outs) I've felt like a gross slob. Through some self-refection, I've realized this is a cycle I tend to fall into. I will become really active for awhile, and then eventually an excuse comes up and my health takes a backseat.

I'm fed up with that cycle.

I have an ideal image of what my health should look like. For the first time, I feel really motivated to obtain it. So… with that said….

I have made two new lifestyle changes.

1) I am eating Paleo… with the necessary vegetarian twist. WHAT'S PALEO?

A Paleo diet, also known as paleolithic diet or caveman diet, is all about natural foods. The human body evolved for more than 2 million years with the food found in nature: game meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts. The human race was thriving on this diet high in animal fat and proteins and low in carbohydrates, but things changed when we introduced unnatural foods to our bodies.     (Paleo Diet Lifestyle) 

Because I am vegetarian, I have to make changes to the normal Paleo plan. This just means I still eat beans, quinoa, and lentils. I have also incorporated a few vegetarian-protien supplements (happy, mom?) To help with all of this, I have turned to the No Meat Athlete website. Finally, I found MY people!!

My second change:

2) I've hopped on the Crossfit bandwagon. Noah started it about 7 months back, and I have watched him fall in love with it. I started a week ago. It's grueling, hard, sweaty, and blissfully painful… but at the end of the workout… you feel like a complete badass.

Don't know what crossfit is? Check it out:

So far, I am feeling pretty good. Planning meals is essential, I've never eaten so many eggs in my life….and sometimes I want nothing but a big bagel… but, I'm determined to end this cycle. 

Product Love

Origins GinZing

Ever wake up with bags under your eyes? You look like you haven't slept at all? I swear by this stuff. It's a cup of coffee for your eyes and it works magic. I dab the stuff on right after I put my contacts in… in 30 minutes, I've gone from zombie dead, to awake and refreshed. 

Life Through iPhone Photos

     

Think About It