Apple Tart Smoothie

Ingredients:

3/4 c Plain Greek yogurt (can sub with a banana and 1 scoop protein powder...will be less "tart' though)-which you may like even better!

1 small granny smith apple chopped-skin on

1/2 c almond milk, soy, skim or whatever you like-but keep it on the lite side

3 tsp oats

1 tsp chia seeds

2 tsp flax seeds

throw in a few of each: walnuts and almonds

3 ice cubes

Blend

Enjoy!

xoxoxo-A

Hot Sauce Smoothie!

HOT SAUCE SMOOTHIE

 

Ingredients:

3/4 c plain Greek yogurt-main protein source

1/4 c orange juice

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 celery stick chopped

4 whole "grape" tomatoes

3 tsp oats

2 tsp flaxseeds

2 tsp chia seeds

1 tsp glutamine-to help my muscles recover

2 tsp hot sauce

season with parsley and pepper to your taste

5 ice cubes

Mango + Banana + Chocolate + Coffee smoothie!

[caption id="attachment_444" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Mango-banana-coffee-chocolate protein powder-flax, chia, oats and almond milk.[/caption]

1/2 c chopped fresh mango

1 med banana

1 c unsweetened almond milk

1 packet instant coffee-I use Starbucks

1 tsp chia seeds

2 tsp flaxseeds

3 tsp oats

3 ice cubes

1 scoop AMP Wheyabolic Extreme 60 protein powder-from GNC-this is the kind I use (chocolate)

This is a complete and balanced breakfast 20 + grams of Protein, good carbs, lots of fiber, packed with good fats, omega 3 and 6 from the chia seeds, vitamin C and vitamin B from the banana and vitamin A and C from the mangos plus vitamin D and E from the almond milk, also great source of calcium!!!

What if you started every morning this way? I bet your body would thank you all day!!!

Enjoy!!
xoxoxo-A

Healthy Zucchini Apple and Walnut Muffins

HEALTHY ZUCCHINI, APPLE AND WALNUT  MUFFINS

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 c Bran Muffin Mix

1 c Flaxseed Meal-we love flax!

1/2 c chopped Walnuts

1/2 c chopped peeled Apple

3/4 c chopped peeled Zucchini

1 c water

3 tbsp unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp honey

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ginger

Makes 12 mini muffins and 6 regular muffins

Spray pan with Pam or cooking spray. Oven on 350-minis take about 12 min, regular take about 15 min. 

 Top with tsp of apple butter-extra yummy!!!

Granola: Pumpkin Almond Flax

Good afternoon! It's fall and I have been wanting to make my own granola for a while now so I finally did it and here it is: Pumpkin, almond and flax are the main ingredients! I hope you try it! It is so nutritious and can be made to suit your taste! Add different or multiple types of nuts, different dried fruit or chocolate!

I used:

4 c oats

3/4 c flaxseed

3/4 c crushed almonds

3/4 c sunflower seeds

1/4 c of honey

1/2 c dried cranberries

Ginger, nutmeg, pumpkin and cinnamon spices-about 2  tsp each-4 tsp of the pumpkin

2 small cupfuls of vanilla extract

Cinnamon and sugar grinder  to top it all off-just a dusting

Mix all ingredients except for the dried fruit-add that at the end when you pull it out of the oven to cool.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 min-half way through give it a toss around to be sure you don't burn any of it. Use 2 trays so the granola is thinly and evenly spread...not piled up too much! Let it cool on the pan then seal and store.

Blueberry Banana Coffee Smoothie

1 c BLUEBERRIES,1 med BANANA, 1 STARBUCKS COLUMBIA INSTANT COFFEE PACK, 3 TSP OATS, 1 TSP GLUTAMINE, 1 TSP FLAXSEED MEAL, 4 ICE CUBES, 1 c ALMOND MILK

Strawberry, peach, cranberry, banana smoothie

Strawberry, peach, cranberry, banana smoothie w/ 1 tsp peanut butter, 3 tsp plain natural non-fat yogurt, 1 tsp ea. chia seeds, flaxseed meal, glutamine, 3 tsp oat bran and almond milk! Out of control delicious!!!!!!!!!

Blueberry, banana, apple & spinach smoothie-Great start to the day!

Spinach, blueberries, granny smith apple, banana, glutamine, peanut butter, almond milk, flaxseed meal and oat bran..........Great start!

Super Green Smoothie

SPINACH, KALE, AVOCADO, BANANA, OAT BRAN, CHIA, FLAX AND ALMOND MILK

"Bring a covered dish"

 

Max and I are going to Family Night at our church this evening. They provide the meat you bring a "covered dish". Guess what-mine is going to be healthy and since I am on a budget I used what I had on hand to make a healthy pasta salad that all should enjoy. I put a label on the bowl so everyone would know what they are diving into. There is no pepperoni, no Italian dressing, not sharp cheddar cheese and definitely no white pasta. Make small changes and eventually you will see and feel the change!  I even put a warning on the bottom that says: "HEALTHY"

 

Sharing health is one of my favorite things to do! If people try it they may just like it and that makes me happy! Every little bit helps.

This contains whole grain elbow pasta, tomatoes, red onion, pine nuts, crumbled blue cheese, olive oil and red wine vinegar, chia, flax, (yes, I even snuck them in there too!) blk pepper and basil. That's it. Much healthier version than grandmas unless grandma is a health nut like me!

No, I'm not on crack but I am on flax!

 

Ok, let's talk depression and let's be very honest and real about it. I have never been diagnosed with it but I am almost positive that I was for most of my 20's if not some of my teens and 20's. At one point in my marriage I was told to basically shape up, figure it out or get shipped out, in so many words. Well, we know how that story ended. (I got shipped) So, my point in sharing this is not to blame my ex-husband for not understanding that I most likely needed help (or at least some spinach smoothies with flaxseed) but to get others to understand that there are things you can do when you are faced with non-supportive "shape up or ship out" situations. I am pretty sure that from 2007 to 2010 I had prepartum (no I'm not sure if that is a real thing), partum (this either) and postpartum depression (ha)....it wasn't that I was miserable...its just that I wasn't me, I wasn't the "happy and alive" that I am now. Now, people ask me believe it or not, "why and how are you so happy?" Seems silly right as we should all be striving to be this happy! We should be asking "why are you so miserable and what can I do to help?" Misery really does love company and I will not stand for it or be part of it. I believe in love, helping others and happiness.  I surround myself with others that believe in the same. Surrounding yourself with those that believe in you and your dreams is so important for your happiness! I can literally run people over with my happiness now and its awesome! I want you to feel that way too!

So crack or flax? Its flax......did you know that flax is a natural aid in helping to reverse depression? Read below:

"Flax fights “The Blues” It’s that tired feeling that a good night's rest won’t shake… that listless down in the dumps feeling that you just can’t get rid of. We call it “the blues”, otherwise known as atypical depression, the most common form of depression. Preliminary research suggests that eating a diet rich in flax could slash your risk of ever feeling “down in the dumps”. Follow up studies show that just 2-3 tablespoons of flax daily can help up to 2/3rds of severely depressed women bounce back within eight weeks. Flax, says Udo Erasmus, PhD, has a mood boosting ingredient: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that is essential for the proper function of brain cells, yet up to 85% of women aren’t getting enough of it. Early research conducted by Dr. Martha Clare Morris of Chicago’s Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center notes that a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids is believed to be important for brain development. She stated that some participants in the study saw a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s from eating a diet high in Omega-3 fatty acids(Flax is the richest source of Omega 3’s in the plant kingdom). More research is needed in the area of flax and its relation to depression and brain function, however preliminary research is very promising."

When I started adding flaxseed to my smoothies I was only doing it because I thought maybe I should be "going potty" (as my 3 yr old would say) more. Sorry if that is TMI but its true. It turns out that a little dose of flax in the am was actually setting a happy tone to each of my days, along with many other benefits! I am pretty sure I am addicted to it now because of that. How great is it to be addicted to things that make you feel great and are so good for you, like exercise and eating right! I know some of you have addictions to junk food, to alcohol, cigarettes etc......Why not try eliminating one bad habit this week and try replacing it with a good habit until all of your habits are good and you kicked the bad ones all to the curb. That is how you achieve a healthy lifestyle by forming all the right habits. Then it becomes second nature and no longer seems like a chore or a burden.

I hope this info about flax has helped some or one of you as that is my intention in sharing my stories with you.

Other supplements that I feel help keep me happy are:

• Vitamin D


• DHA


• Caffeine- also a natural fat burner (Bonus!) and yes, some caffeine per day is completely fine!!!

Don't forget to be awesome friends!!!
xoxoxo-A