Recipe of the Week - Almond Butter & Blueberry Waffles

This is breakfast fast food at it's best! In a hurry to get out the door? Non issue. This one has you covered.

Almond Butter & Blueberry Waffles
1 Whole Grain Waffle - Toasted (I use flax seed waffles but any whole grain will do!)
1 tbs Raw, Organic Almond Butter
1/4 cup Blueberries or other berry of choice
1 tsp Raw Honey
Sprinkle of Sea Salt

Toast your waffle to crispy goodness then spread with the almond butter. Add berries (you can throw on a banana as well!) and drizzle with honey. Add a sprinkle of sea salt on top and enjoy with your morning coffee or juice. It will be your new favorite, I promise. 

Some Flirty Fashion Inspiration

Loving this look...into my online basket please!

Where has the time gone!?

Between work, travel, family drama and bad weather it has been WAY too long since I posted. The good news? There will be some new and fun material to read on the blog in the coming weeks! Starting in February I am going to do a monthly "shoot" of a signature outfit to chronicle my progress toward my goals. I am finding it super challenging to feel sassy and sexy with a limited wardrobe as I lose weight so I an enlisting some help along the way from some talented friends. I know it's possible to NOT look like a baggy mess along the way and I also know it's possible to NOT drop a ton of cash on clothes as the digits go down on the scale and my measurements along with them. Hopefully these hints and discoveries will be helpful to someone other than little old me.

Add/Drop Installment 3

Add: Almond Milk

Drop: Raw Sugar

In another installment of Add/Drop, I began searching for a good alternative to sweeten my morning coffee. I am a huge fan of raw sugar and only use a small amount, but have been experimenting with almond milk to give my java some extra pizazz. It's pretty darn good! And it gives you some protein and calcium to boot. Ironically, I have been using the unsweetened almond milk. It is delightful and has WAY less sugar than the sweetened version.

Recipe of the Week! - Green Goddess Smoothie

This is a great one for the morning if you're in a hurry or want something to energize you before a work out! There are a ton of recipes out there for green smoothies so I recommend experimenting.

Green Goddess Smoothie

1 cup coconut water

3/4 cup filtered water

1 handful of ice cubes

1 handful spinach

1 banana

½ tbs of Spirulina powder (Find a Whole Foods or Earthfare - one bottle lasts a long time!)

2 tbs Cacao powder (NOT Cocoa powder, this is the raw form before all the sugar is added)

1 heaping tbs of Almond Butter

Pop all the ingredients in a blender and smooth away!

Note: If you prefer a thicker smoothie add more ice and less filtered water. Throw in some blueberries for a nice twist! If you don't care for Spirulina you can omit but add some extra spinach for nutrients.

Happy Yellow Bits

My obsession with the color yellow has been growing for many years. When I look around my apartment it's splashed in a number of places from pillows to vintage pottery. It's such a happy color and, in most shades, lends such a delightful pop of cheer. This weekend, in lieu of sitting on the couch watching TV after hitting the gym, I decided to paint a bench for my porch in a color called "sunshine". The fact that I managed to smack myself in the face and eye with a loaded brush aside (I had fun wiping yellow paint from my eyelashes for about 15 minutes for fear of getting the paint on my actual eyeball) the bench might actually be my new favorite piece. The above collage includes the bench as well some of my other happy yellow bits.

Stress Fest 2013

This has been one of those week's where the universe has unloaded a crushing amount of stress into my life. Family issues galore. My typical reaction to this would be to hit any one of a dozen drive thrus on my way home from work and indulge in some super-sized therapy. HOWEVER! I am holding strong and doing my best to turn to other forms of comfort. Hitting the gym with a new playlist on my iPod then sitting down with some old school jazz, a glass of great red wine and a pile of January magazine issues is on deck for this evening. I might even throw in a bubble bath. Confession...I might fantasize about that double cheeseburger as well but hey, the not eating it part is progress so I am cutting myself some slack.

Recipe of the Week - Green Power Salad!

I thought it would be fun to share a new, healthy recipe each week and this one is my official favorite lunch (or dinner) salad. It's SUPER healthy and SUPER delicious. I literally eat this 3-4 times a week and have yet to tire of it.

Green Power Salad 

• Mix of kale, red lettuce, baby romaine, field greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens or spinach. Pick 3 each day to keep it lively!
• Scrunch the greens together and cut them narrow then pop it all in a bowl large enough to mix in.
• Chop and add yellow, orange or red peppers, carrots, tomatoes, sprouts (the crunchy sprout mix available in the produce section at Harris Teeter or Whole Foods), broccoli, and ½ green apple.
• Take 1 tablespoon organic, cold pressed olive oil, 1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (the latter is available at Earthfare or Healthy Home Market), mix together and pour over salad.
• Mix is all together with tongs so every bite tastes great, then add a 1/3 of an avocado to finish it off.  If you're taking this to work add everything to glass dish or Tupperware container and add the dressing when you're ready. Put the lid on, shake it up and BOOM.
• You can also add 3-4 ounces of chicken, fish or black/garbanzo beans for extra nutrients. Enjoy the deliciousness!

Add / Drop Installments 1 & 2

Installment 1
Add: Seltzer
Drop: Soda

I have a soda problem. The problem is that a) I love it and b) I'm addicted to the sugar. I also LOVE the carbonation. The silver lining here is that I also love seltzer so I will be dropping the soda and adding the seltzer in the new year. My favorite is Polar Raspberry/Lime Seltzer. No calories, hint of flavor, soda problem solved.

Installment 2
Add: Gym
Drop: Excess Couching

Among the many thousands of New Year's Resolute, I joined a gym this week and made my first venture yesterday afternoon. A little under 2 miles on the treadmill later I felt a hell of a lot better about myself than sitting on the couch all afternoon. So! I will be adding some activity and dropping excess couching. Bonus, it makes relaxing now and then with a glass of wine and an old movie all the sweeter when I know I've earned it.

I Love Botanicals!

I realize this is an overly enthusiastic title, but it's true. I love botanical shots, flowers, gardens you name it. Something about the simplicity of it all is gorgeous. My sister in law, a wonderful photographer, gave me some lessons this summer and I have been practicing at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens here in the Charlotte area. This little collage is a collection of some of my favorites -they make me feel like it's spring on this incredibly chilly winter day. I will now close out this overripe post and spare you from further flower poetry.

Colorful Bliss

My bedroom re-do. Ahhh...Colorful Bliss in 2013.

Post Holiday Cooking

As much cooking as I do during the Holiday's, rarely is any of it healthy. And you know what? THAT'S FINE. Thanksgiving and Christmas require butter in my opinion, and they only come once a year. Having said that, while I'm on vacation this week I will be engaging in some healthier, but equally delicious fare. A few winter soups, a fabulous Pesto Halibut recipe as well as some smoothies to try out my Christmas present to myself - a Vitamix! (Thank you, QVC Easy Pay.) I am also one of those weird people that love kale so there will definitely be some homemade sea salt and cayenne kale chips on the menu. Everything has a cleansing theme to it but nothing over the top (I am way too chicken to try one of the major juice cleanses). I am exploring a new goal this week - to eat seasonally and locally. We will see how it goes! It might be something to add to the list for 2013.