Monday 27 May 2013

oats

Oatmeal

Seriously, give me oatmeal anyway and I will eat it. I may even eat your bowl too if it is in sight. It was one of the first foods I started eating when I began my weight loss journey, and I can't think of my day without it! A lot of people, surprisingly, hate oatmeal. I think there is that image about it being soggy, plain and bad-tasting. However, I bet I can change anyone's opinion by giving them a bowl of my oatmeal. Take a look at some of my favourite ways to make this amazing food!

Protein Oats (Hot)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scoop favourite protein powder
1/4 cup vanilla coconut yogurt (any preferred one will do)
1/3 cup almond milk/soy milk/etc
1 mashed banana

In a small pot on the stove, throw all of your dry ingredients in first and mix well. *Do not turn heat on yet! lol* Next, add your wet ingredients except the banana, and stir well. Now you can turn your heat up to med-high and bring to a boil. Your heat can now be turned down to medium low and let cook for about 5-8 minutes. You want your oats to become super soft and you may want to add a tiny bit of water :) Make sure you stir CONSISTENTLY!!! Before removing from heat, add your mashed banana in and stir. Remove from heat and enjoy!! I top mine with sunbutter and raisins.

Protein Oats (Cold)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scoop favourite protein powder
1/4 cup vanilla coconut yogurt (any preferred one will do)
1/3 cup almond milk/soy milk/etc
1 mashed banana

In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients and then add your wet to them. Stir very well and cover with saran wrap. Place in fridge overnight or for minimum of 1 hour. In the morning, top with desired toppings!!! :)



Double Chocolate Oatmeal
Ingredients:
1/3 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder/cacao powder
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup almond/soy/reg milk
1 mashed banana
2 Tablespoons carob/chocolate chips

Add everything to a small pot, stir very well, and put on medium-high heat (you want to bring it to a boil for about 1 minute)... Stir constantly so mixture doesn't stick to bottom of pot! You can reduce heat to medium-low and after 8-10 minutes, remove from stove and top with desired toppings! Enjoy.





Apple Carrot Overnight Oats

Ingredients:
1/3 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 small apple, grated
1 small carrot, peeled and grated
1/3 cup almond milk
1/4 vanilla yogurt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl/mason jar. Once everything is incorporated, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 1 hour. Top with nut butter, coconut, etc in the morning!!


Coconut Overnight Oats

Ingredients:
1/3 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1/3 cup vanilla *coconut* yogurt (still tastes great with reg yogurt but this will give it a coconut taste!)
1/3 cup almond/soy/reg milk
2 Tablespoons coconut flakes/shreds

Mix everything in a bowl well and place in fridge overnight or minimum 1 hour. In the morning, top with more coconut flakes/shreds and nut butter! Or a sliced banana even! :) Can you say tropical?



Cherry Breakfast Bowl

Ingredients:

1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen mango
4-5 strawberries
1/2 cup frozen cherries
1/2 cup coconut water
1/2 cup almond milk
**Granola for topping**

Blend all the ingredients above, minus granola, and put into your favourite breakfast bowl! Top with granola :) I also love blending in nut butter with it too... it makes for great protein! You can also throw a scoop of protein powder in as well.


Chocolate Ice Cream Oats

1/3 cup rolled oats
2 Tablespoons chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup almond/soy/reg milk

Mix the above ingredients and place in fridge overnight or for at least 1 hour :) Then, you want to blend in a food processor or high-speed blender, 1 frozen banana, 1 Tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 Tablespoon peanut/almond/sunbutter and a splash of milk or water. This will yield a delicious ice cream that you can now pour over your oats and stir! It is freakin delicious!!!!

Cheers to Monday

Hi everyone! <3

Today, in celebration of hating Mondays lol, I decided to make myself a delicious drink :) Now, because summer is coming up soon I won't allow myself to make an alcoholic drink on weekdays!! And besides that, I'm one of those girls who doesn't need it to have fun :P This one was far better and made a great detox for my liver.

 I will post the recipe down below and eventually add it into my recipe tab...if I ever get it done! :(

Raspberry Beauty Lemonade
1 cup filtered water
1/2 lemon, squeezed
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Handful of raspberries OR 3 Tablespoons pure apple or orange juice (If you are not a huge sour drink fan, please add the juice. This drink causes some serious pucker ;) )

Drink up!! <3 Your liver will thank you. Especially if you got your weekend drank on. Apple Cider Vinegar is an amazing ingredient. It can cure acne, wrinkles, prevent infections/colds, and is a wonderful detox for your body. 

I also enjoyed one of these DELICIOUS hemp bars I made over the weekend, as part of my lunch.

These bars contain wholesome, clean ingredients and are packed full of essential fatty acids. Mmmmm <3 

It's surprising how much better my body feels when I feed it natural food! I can't believe how it kept running on junk food before :O I hope everyone made smart food choices today and for the rest of the week and beyond! :) If not, tomorrow is always another day. Share with me some of your healthy eats today!!! :D Talk to you soon.

-Healthy Rach

Friday 24 May 2013

A Toast To Good Eats :)

Hi everyone!! :) TGIF! What are your plans for Friday? Any FIT plans??

I love Fridays. I know that I have two days of complete relaxation and low-key exercise. Since getting into an accident a few months ago, I have had to literally put my exercise on halt! :( It's been tough. I rely on my exercise to keep my mind clear and to feel good! I have found some great recovery movements and "exercises". It's all about taking it slow... I got this! ;)

Anyways! I digress... One of my favourite things about weekend mornings is waking up and eating a delicious breakfast. Today, I started my Friday off with a beautiful jar of oats!!

Helllllloooo extra Sunbutter stuck on the sides! Is that anyone else's favourite part? D: Lol <3

And for dinner I had a delicious healthy stir-fry! I used to be a huge lover of Chinese food but once I found out I was allergic to MSG (and not mention it contained HUGE amounts of sodium and fat), I developed this amazingly clean and delish recipe!! I will post below and also in recipes :)


Coconut Cashew Veggie Stir-Fry

Ingredients:
1 package Annie Chun Angel Hair Brown Rice Noodles (can sub for rice)
2 Tablespoons coconut oil *for frying*
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 large carrots, sliced lengthways/spiralized
2 cups broccoli florets
1 cup bean sprouts (mung beans)
1 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup cashews

Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 cup Tamari sauce
3 Tablespoons vegetable broth
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 Tablespoons Sunbutter (you can sub Peanut/Almond butter)

Fry up all your vegetables in coconut oil, leaving out cashews and noodles for now, on medium-high heat. The coconut oil gives them an incredible flavour!! You want your vegetables to be tender crisp and this could take anywhere from 15-25 minutes. While they are frying, cook your noodles and make your sauce. Once everything is complete, add your sauce to your veggies, stir well and drain your noodles. Toss everything together and garnish with cashews! Enjoy! :D

What is your favourite Asian dish? Do you prefer Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, etc? I'm a huge sushi fan so I gotta choose Japanese!! And as they would say in Japanese... ITADAKIMASU! (Let's eat).

Have a great night friends! <3 

-Healthy Rach

Thursday 23 May 2013

Thirsty Thursday Challenge!

Hey everyone! <3 How is your day going?

I started mine off with this tasty bowl of oatmeal...

This was heaven on a spoon........... <3

Here is the recipe if you would like to try! I will also be putting it under my "breakfast tab" so you can find it easier later on!

In a small pot, combine your dry ingredients first:

1/3 cup rolled oats (I have not tried quick cooking, so I don't recommend) 
1 scoop protein powder (I used Raw Protein *plain*)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix this well and then add in 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk/fave milk
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (you can sub more milk for this if you like)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
*1 mashed banana.... see instructions below!

Mix everything well and bring to a boil. Reduce to low-medium and stir frequently. You can even add some water if you would like *no more than 1/4 cup*. Once mixture is coming together, mash 1 banana and add in. Stir together. Remove from heat after 8 minutes & serve with desired toppings!! 

I also wanted to bring to your attention about a new challenge I would like to start! It isn't a huge deal but it should be! Haha. It has to do with your daily dose of H20!!! Do you know how important it is to consume enough water during the day? Your hair, skin, nails and brain (random I know lol) depend on water to replenish and thrive. So I am aiming at 2 litres a day!!! Who else will join me? There are lots of ways to track your water intake... various phone apps, marking on your water bottle/empty milk jug, or just writing it down! 

One other important piece of information is to not consume very cold water before eating! This interferes with digestion and could leave you feeling bloated and uncomfortable. Instead, opt for room temperate water with some lemon squeezed in it & drink to your heart's content! Save that cold water for early in the morning way before eating! :) Or maybe during a workout?

Hope you are all having a fantabulous day! :) Lemme know your feedback on water & how much you consume during a day! What situations do you find it hard to keep your intake up?

-Rach xo

Wednesday 15 May 2013

A Dog's Gotta Eat Too...

Hello friends! <3

It has been awhile since I've last posted...life sure has been crazy! But I am back at it with another post! I wanted to talk a little about what we feed our pets...

When I first brought Gracie home, her breeder told me that she had started them on IAMS. Immediately, I knew that I did not want to feed her a commercial brand like that (no offence to any IAMS users! Maybe I can change your mind by the end of this ;)...

I felt very overwhelmed when trying to pick the perfect brand of dog food for my little girl. I contemplated making her a Vegan dog lol but she grew so bored of her Vegan kibbles. So instead of throwing the expensive bag out which she hardly made a dent in, I made the decision to add chicken, turkey and salmon as the only meat to feed her. I still use her Vegan kibble but always throw in fresh vegetables (Spinach lover!!) and her meat. I know Gracie enjoys her food and I want her to be able to feel satisfied after eating. I would hate it if I had to eat the same boring food everyday, and I want her to be happy when she's eating. If salmon or turkey does the trick, then so be it!

One day while out buying her usual food, I stumbled upon a Pet Store that sold RAW meat... apparently it is the new thing to feed your pets! :O I was told that raw meat is the way to go and the animals that eat it, don't experience chronic diseases/allergies like the ones who eat regular cooked food. However, being a Vegan, I know I couldn't stand seeing a huge raw piece of beef/pork/chicken in my fridge!! I've decided that I am going to stick with the food I chose to feed Gracie, since I know she loves it! I would rather feed my dog fresh vegetables and a little cooked meat, then throw her only a hunk of raw meat. Just my opinion! Let me know your input on this topic. It can be a very heated one that is for sure. As long as you are feeding your dog quality ingredients with NO BYPRODUCTS, they will be healthy! 

Here are some great healthy dog food brands:

Halo
Pinnacle Holistic
Solid Gold
Blue Buffalo
Karma Organic
And making your own! lol :) There are lots of great recipes online that your dog/cat will love! 

See ya later! Happy fit day <3  

-Rach

Friday 19 April 2013

Friday is My Day

Hello everyone! :) 

Happy Friday!!! This is my first blog post & probably won't be my best one either! Lol. I thought I would start off by telling you why I love getting up on Saturday...and Sunday for that matter!

I get to dig into this sweet mother of all breakfasts...

And I also have none of this on the weekend.......
Haha the weekends are thankfully my rest days, so I get to curl up on the couch or relax eating my delicious bowl of oatmeal :) 

Do you have any Friday routines? Weekend plans? Friday is definitely a "me" day! I spoil myself after work with a nice dinner and yummy dessert! Followed by a walk with my favourite girl ;) 

Well, I hope you all have a fabulous, fit, and fun weekend! Talk to ya soon! :)

-Rach xo