Baked Apple Oatmeal Protein Bombs and GNC PUREDGE Giveaway

Hey guys! It’s Tuesday again!

Which means we’re talking tasty stuff here on this blog.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been indulging in delicious cookies (both at work and at home) lately. With me teaching 2-3 cycling classes a week those are not hard to burn off, but what the what, right? 🙂

So. Since it’s holiday season and treats are mandatory, I’ve decided to make my treats healthy. HUGE thanks to GNC and their PUREDGE line of products for helping me create this recipe for Baked Apple Oatmeal Protein Bombs!Continue Reading

Foods and Moves – Last Week’s Recap

Hello friends! Happy hump day! I hope you’re having a great week so far! And while you are, I thought I’d share my last week’s exercise recap with you with some food highlights here and there to (maybe, just maybe) inspire you 🙂

Here we go!Continue Reading

What’s on My Plate Wednesday – Weekly Eats

Hey guys! It’s hump day! Just 2 full work days left and then it is the weekend! Got anything special going on this weekend?

I will probably sleep a lot – I was not getting enough sleep this week. And when I don’t get enough sleep…well…you know…”don’t get body slammed by a low land gorilla” 🙂

It’s been a while since I shared my eats with you here, so here we go – “What’s on my plate Wednesday” post in store for you today. 🙂

B-1

Egg sandwich on an English muffin, corn muffin (recipe coming soon), oatmeal with cinnamon chips and sliced almonds, buckwheat with honey and butter, oatmeal with cinnamon chips and marshmallows. I’ve generally been pretty good with my breakfast choices as you can see.

L-1

Warm quinoa salad on a bed of spinach, pre-prepped salads, lentil soup (crockpot), salad/sandwich combo, Italian Grinder. Lunch…I am a Queen of Lunch Prep! So pretty good choices here too.

D-1

Pork loin with buckwheat, mushrooms and onions on the side; pork chops with buckwheat; salmon, rice, avocado and spaghetti squash; home made beef enchiladas; chicken roaster with veggies. Except when my hubby is making dinner (yes, enchiladas, I am talking to you), my dinners look pretty healthy. 🙂

S-1

Celery + homemade hummus, snapeas crisps, PB-banana smoothie, raspberry-banana smoothie, cuties. Yeah, this is my weakness. Can’t even begin to describe you what I snack on that doesn’t get to the social media in the form of pictures 🙂 Het, bare with me – I am working on it and it’s a journey!

What fun foods have you eaten lately?

Stay fit, folks!

Lena

 

Tasty Tuesday – Foodie’s Guide to Snacking

Hey, happy Tuesday! Tasty Tuesday! 🙂

Are you a snacker?

I am a “snacker”. Oh, I am such a “snacker”.

I am one of those people who needs to eat every couple hours. WHAT to eat is a big question here as you want to keep your body fueled, not overwhelmed by what you put in your month in between the meals.

I have been on the hunt for perfect snacks and sharing my finds with you today.

{ONE} Homemade Peanut Butter and Banana.

First of all, you can easily use store bought PB if you don’t feel like making your own. If you do feel like making your own, check out this recipe here that I used. I should have processed mine a little longer though – it is a little crumbly.

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{TWO} Smoothie

There is nothing like a good smoothie to keep me going until my next meal!

Usually I put all the ingredients for my morning smoothie in the blender cup the night before and put it in the fridge. Whirl it up in the morning after breakfast and take to work with me. This way I don’t reach for that candy in the break room at work but drink my delicious smoothie that keeps me going until lunch.

The flavor possibilities are endless and you are your own chef!

Smoothies

My “must include” ingredients are frozen fruit and cottage cheese/yogurt – they create the thick and creamy consistency that I like.

{THREE} Homemade Hummus

Love it! Try making it using this recipe and you will never buy hummus again! Have it with veggies or tortilla rounds.

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{FOUR} Fruit

Perfect snack! Sweet, juicy and good for you. Prep some the night before or on the weekend (rinse, peel, cut, pack in zip lock bags) and take to work.

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{FIVE} Nuts

If you love nuts as much as I do, it is probably very difficult for you to avoid buying and eating nut bars. Am I right?

Choose raw nuts over nut bars and spare yourself that extra added sugar. Don’t buy the “super-protein-and-fiber-packed” promises on the labels. Just eat raw nuts instead.

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{SIX} Homemade Granola

Is a super-snack! Make a batch on the weekend, pre-pack in zip lock bags or small plastic containers and enjoy during the week.

Here’s a recipe for you to play with – add/substitute the ingredients depending on what you like and keep it healthy!

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Add fruit and/or cottage cheese/yogurt to it and you got a perfect snack or breakfast!

{SEVEN} Baked Oatmeal

This is not only a GREAT breakfast, but also an awesome snack – one of my all-time favorites. Make a whole batch on the weekend and you have a ready snack/breakfast for the whole week.

One of the base recipes is right here for you – play with it as you like.

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Enjoy with yogurt, fruit and/or cottage cheese on top.

There you have it – 7 snack ideas for 7 days of the week.

To sum it up, here are some general guidelines when it comes to snacking:

  • Prep-prep-prep. Don’t be lazy to do your meal/snack prep on the weekend – you’ll be happy you did. Rinse and pack fruit and veggies, make a batch of baked oatmeal, granola or hummus and pre-pack for the weekdays. Cut up and freeze bananas and other fruit for your smoothies. Put all the ingredients in the blender cup the night before for your morning smoothie. You will thank yourself later.
  • Always carry a healthy snack in your purse. Never leave the house without one. What happens is – you are out and about – > you get hungry – > Les Big Mac. Don’t let it happen and have a healthy snack with you.
  • Make smart choices (choose raw nuts over sugar packed nut bars).
  • Before you buy, ask yourself – can I make it myself? If you can – make it!
  • Let fruit and veggies always be your number one choice when it comes to snacking.

Share: link up your favorite snack recipes below or share in comments: what is your favorite snack?

Stay fit!

Lena

Recipe: Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hey guys! Happy Saturday!

I hope you’re having a wonderful day. While I am at a very exciting event right now, which I will tell you about in the beginning of next week, I have scheduled this post to share a great recipe I have recently discovered.

I was looking for a recipe for oatmeal cookies last week and found this one in my recipe keeper. I honestly don’t know where it came from, but with a few changes to the original recipe, it turned out great and not so damaging 🙂

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

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INGREDIENTS:
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 ripe banana, mashed
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 ½ cup old fashioned oats
  • 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 5 oz dried cranberries
  • 2/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Preheat oven to 375º F
  2. Beat butter, sugar and banana together until light and fluffy
  3. Add eggs, mixing well
  4. Combine oats, flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl
  5. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition
  6. Stir in dried cranberries and chocolate chips
  7. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets
  8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown
  9. Cool on wire rack

Makes 18 cookies @ 173 calories per cookie.

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Have a wonderful weekend, guys! Stay fit and warm.

Lena

Food Highlights: Crockpot the Saviour, Salad-a-Day and more

Hey guys! Happy Hump Day!

It’s downhill from now on – Friday is almost here, so hang in there!

How about I tell you of my food highlights of the past couple week as part of my “What’s on my Plate Wednesday” blog series?

Here’s the deliciousness I’ve had!

Breakfast

I am still a big fan of oatmeal with my 1000 ideas of what to top it with. Remember my post about 15 ways to eat your oats? Well, I keep adding on to those ways pretty much every morning 🙂

Oatmeal with marshmallows, raisins and cinnamon chips

Oatmeal with marshmallows, raisins and cinnamon chips

Been a huge fan of oatmeal + marshmallows combination!

I also enjoyed some savory breakfasts with added protein and fats.

Hardboiled eggs, capers, wheat berries and a cheese cookie

Hardboiled eggs, ranch, capers, wheat berries and a cheese cookie

Egg sandwich with black forest ham and cheese on an English muffin

Egg sandwich with black forest ham and cheese on an English muffin

Lunches

I have committed to eating one salad a day! It is not a streak, or a challenge or any other group activity of any sorts – just my personal commitment 🙂 So I have been pretty much eating salads for lunch in the past couple weeks (with a few exceptions where leftovers from dinner were just too tempting).

Baby spinach, sweet potato, organic chicken breast meat, black beans, leeks, hardboiled eggs, quinoa

Baby spinach, sweet potato, organic chicken breast meat, black beans, leeks, hardboiled eggs, quinoa

Baby spinach, quinoa, sweet potato, avocado, hardboiled eggs

Baby spinach, quinoa, sweet potato, avocado, hardboiled eggs

Baby spinach, canned beets, feta, sliced almonds

Baby spinach, canned beets, feta, sliced almonds

Dinners

It’s been a very busy few weeks – both for me and Mr. H. – at home, at work, in life in general. Trying to eat healthy with a busy schedule can be quite difficult and with the general stress of this kind of schedule the failure to eat healthy is even more upsetting and discouraging.

That is exactly the moment where my crockpot comes into play making healthy and nutritious food while I am at work 🙂

My all-time favorite - crock pot split pea soup with smoked ham

My all-time favorite – crock pot split pea soup with smoked ham

Crockpot chicken with stir-fried veggies

Crockpot chicken with stir-fried veggies

If we have more time in the evening, we might throw something on the grill:

Like these pork chops with kale and quinoa salad on the side

Like these pork chops with kale and quinoa salad on the side

And…then, of course there are times where my best intentions collide with my husband’s appetite 🙂 Like last Friday, I made a wonderfully healthy pizza with whole grain crust, mushrooms, olives, meat and leaks…

Looks great, right?

Looks great, right?

and then Mister Husband made me dump half a bag of mozzarella on top of this goodness and we ended up eating this:

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Oh well, life happens 🙂 I just love my husband and mozzarella too much 🙂

That pretty much sums it up, guys!

What was the best food you ate lately?

Apple-Eggnog Baked Oatmeal

Hi guys! Tasty Tuesday here!

So, you have definitely noticed by now that I am a big fan of oatmeal 🙂 I love it and can think of 15 ways to eat my oats!

But I also keep coming up with new ways for you and me to enjoy oatmeal!

Last weekend I got inspired by the season and came up with a recipe of Apple-Eggnog baked oatmeal. It turned out so well my husband said it was the best yet! Give it a try while we still have fresh apples and eggnog on the store shelves at the same time.

For this recipe I didn’t use fresh apples, though – just because I still had leftover dehydrated apples that Noah sent me as part of the Foodie Penpals box exchange.

Apple-Eggnog Baked Oatmeal

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Yield: 9 servings

Serving Size: 1 serving

Calories per serving: 189

4 g

Apple-Eggnog Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

  • 3 cups dry oats (I used Giant old fashioned oats)
  • 1 cup eggnog
  • 1 very ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cup dehydrated or fresh apples, cubed

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. Mix dry ingredients until well combined.
  3. Combine liquid ingredients in a separate bowl.
  4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry.
  5. Mix well.
  6. Spray a pan with a non-stick spray.
  7. Pour the mix into the pan.
  8. Bake for 45-60 minutes.
  9. Enjoy!
https://leanlena.com/apple-eggnog-baked-oatmeal/

Have a great rest of your week, guys and eat healthy!

 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

Hey, guys! How is your week going?

Mine is hectic and busy, but I live in the hope for Friday, which is right around the corner!

Anyway, just wanted to share a great recipe with you today.

I have found the original recipe over at My Whole Food Life and modified it a little. If you like simple healthy recipes, be sure to check out this blog. Melissa has a ton o those for you!

Now let’s take a look at how to make these super delicious and easy pumpkin muffin!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Muffins

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 9 muffins

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Calories per serving: 125

4.1

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Muffins

Ingredients

  • 2 cups quick oats
  • 1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
  • 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup or raw honey
  • 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ginger
  • 1/4 tsp cloves
  • 2 T apple sauce
  • 4 T almond milk
  • 1 ripe banana, mashed

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl.
  3. Mix wet in another.
  4. Add wet to dry and mix until wel combined.
  5. Spoon batter into lined muffin pan.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes.
  7. Take out of the oven and let cool on a rack.
  8. Enjoy!
https://leanlena.com/pumpkin-pie-oatmeal-muffins-recipe/

Stay fit, friends!

 

 

Tasty Tuesday – 15 Ways to Eat Your Oats

Hey guys! Happy Tasty Tuesday!

Did you have something yummy for breakfast today? I had oatmeal 🙂

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I LOVE oatmeal! I can have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then through some in as a snack, too 🙂

Anyway, I post a lot of pictures of oatmeal in my “What’s on my Plate Wednesday” posts, but I never really share the recipes for my “oatmeal adventures”. A lot of times you can see in the pictures what goes into my oatmeal, but I thought I’d share a more detailed post with you entirely dedicated to my oatmeal obsession 🙂

So, here are my 15 ways to eat my oats!

Bake it!

Baked Oatmeal

This is my all time favorite. Usually every Sunday I make a whole new batch of baked oatmeal, then heat it up in the morning and have it for breakfast with some fruit and yogurt.

Baked oatmeal with bananas, blueberries and yogurt

Baked oatmeal with bananas, blueberries, sliced almonds and yogurt

I also eat it as a snack in the afternoon with some coconut butter on it.

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The beauty of the baked oatmeal recipe is in the fact that you can add whatever you want to it! Swap the dried cranberries for dried apricots, add chocolate chips, nuts or whatever your heart desires.

Check out the recipe here.

Hot Oatmeal with Toppings

cherries, cinnamon and chocolate chips

cherries, cinnamon and chocolate chips

Cinnamon, chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds

Cinnamon, chocolate chips and pumpkin seeds

Banana, blueberries and cinnamon

Banana, blueberries and cinnamon

banana, cinnamon and apple-quinoa crunch

banana, cinnamon and apple-quinoa crunch

pomegranate, chocolate chips and cinnamon

pomegranate, chocolate chips and cinnamon

strawberries, chia seeds and cinnamon

strawberries, chia seeds and cinnamon

chocolate chips, cinnamon and chocolate chips

apple chips, cinnamon and chocolate chips

Overnight Oats

If you know you’re going to have a super busy week when every minute of sleep counts, this is a great way to save time on making breakfast and still eat right and healthy.

On the weekend before a week like that I make my overnight oats for the whole week. Just combine oats and milk (I use almond milk) put into jars and refrigerate. I like adding 1 tsp of chia seed per jar into mine.

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During the week – just heat it up or eat cold – however you like it.

strawberries, chocolate chips, sliced almonds

strawberries, chocolate chips, sliced almonds

dried cranberries, bananas and sliced almonds

dried cranberries, bananas and sliced almonds

Make Granola!

One of the ways to eat your oats is make granola! That is such a great snack or part of your breakfast, too. Here’s the recipe for the homemade granola I use.

mix it with fresh fruit

mix it with fresh fruit

 

add some Greek yogurt

add some Greek yogurt

have it on top of some cottage cheese

have it on top of some cottage cheese

have it on top of chia seed pudding

have it on top of chia seed pudding

And those are my ways of eating oats, friends!

What is your favorite way to eat oats?

Fun Foods Friday: Baked Oatmeal Recipe

Hey, my fit friends! Happy Friday!

Hectic times here! Lots of good news and good things happening in my life, which I can’t wait to share with you later.

I will start with an awesome Baked Oatmeal recipe that one of my co-workers shared with me.

I made it yesterday and it was a BIG hit! So here we go:Continue Reading