Tag Archive | healthy

Liebster Award!

As a new comer to the blog community, I had no idea that I would encounter so many awesome folks willing to support and grow together. One of those awesome folks is Jessica over at Semi-Sweet Tooth (what a fun name, right?!), who has nominated me for a Liebster Award. The Liebster Award is a neat way for newer blogs to give nods to other blogs that they enjoy. If you are here reading my post, I definitely suggest you also hop over to Semi-Sweet Tooth which is all about fitness and food as well! Thanks again, Jessica! Along with myself being nominated, I get to nominate my favorite new blogs, so be sure to get to the end of this post and check out some other fun blogs with content I think you will enjoy.

As part of the nomination, I get to share a few fun facts about myself:

What encouraged you to start a blog?
- We are so lucky to live in a time where people who are like us are so accessible! I genuinely enjoy following the blogs of others and getting to know people through what they are sharing with the world online. After a chat with my own fitness coach, she encouraged me to share all that I do in a lifestyle blog and I thought it sounded fun. It is!
What is your favorite part about blogging?
- Connecting with people who I would have never crossed paths with otherwise is hands down my favorite part of blogging. I love getting messages from new friends!
What is the meaning behind your blog name?
- Life is rarely what we anticipate, or sometimes even hope it will be, but the path to my own happiness has involved creating my own joy. By not relying on the world to supply my happiness, I have been able to create my joy by finding happiness in all types of things in my life & I want to encourage others to do the same.
What is one thing you miss from your childhood?
- My little red Volkswagen Cabriolet. *Sigh*
Do you prefer coffee or tea?
- Coffee with my husband is one of my greatest joys. I love chatting with him over a hot cup of coffee, but let’s be real…it doesn’t have much to do with the coffee!
What is something that is an important part of your morning routine?
- Each and every morning starts with a cup of hot lemon water! It is said to kick start your digestion, clear your skin, flush out excess water, and pad your bank account. Ok, that last part is maybe not so true but you’d be surprised what people claim the lemon water can do, haha! I drink it for clear skin and to avoid carrying excess water weight. I am a believer!
What is your favorite clothing item?
- Um, regrettably, leggings. Judge not.
What is your favorite season?
- Just like most of the East Coast USA, SUMMER of course! I love trips down the shore, long nights by the campfire, and all the goodness that comes from our garden. I have a mega crush on summer.
If you could take a weekend trip somewhere, where would it be?
- A weekend isn’t much time to get a good trip in, but after this endless winter, I wouldn’t say no to a quick flight to the Bahamas!
Must have beauty product?
- African Black Soap. The grossest looking soap for the most beautiful skin. For real.

Now to some interesting up and coming blogs that I would love to nominate:

Luckbao

Accountability

Simple Food Life

insidethemindofafatgirl

Should you choose to accept, then please answer the questions and nominate some of your other favorite blogs to share the love!

Cheers!

Friday Favorites – March 27, 2015

Mar27

Another week of productive web cruising under my belt. Here’s some stuff I loved!

Favorite Crafty Find:

Tissue paper is one of my favorite low cost go-to material for decorating for parties. I had giant paper poms at my wedding, made some pretty great tassel garlands for my sister’s baby shower, and adorned branches with delicate blossoms made from tissue paper for a friend’s bridal shower. I am definitely going to tackle these cuties for the next center piece I need. The instructions even say that old wrinkled paper is the best for this project. Recycling to boot!

Favorite Food Find:

This recipe has all the makings of being a favorite in my house. We love to make soft pretzels when we have guests, and our favorite veggie of all time is the almighty BEET. We even grow them in our garden over the summer. And pistachio pesto? Yes, please. The colors of this snack are so beautiful! check out the recipe here at Club Narwhal. (How about that site name, amazing.)

Favorite Fitness Find:

Fitness is a huge industry right now and I personally love it. I love having inspiration at every corner, and being able to learn so much online. However, it is really easy to fall into the comparison trap where you are constantly looking at amazing photos and cutting yourself down for not being as perfect as you think everyone else looks. This post is a great reminder that we are seeing the best of folks online, and that they really are normal too. I found this a refreshing and brave post to make.

Favorite Lifestyle Find:

I am new to the essential oil lifestyle, but have been really enjoying learning and experimenting with different oils. I like the earthy oils the best; cedar, amber, Frankincense. This site has lots of good information on leading a natural lifestyle, and I found this info on Frankincense especially interesting! If anyone has info on essential oils to share, send it my way! I love learning about this!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, no matter what you get into! Thanks for swinging by!

Cheers!

Tastes Like Grilling Season! {Add Flavor without Fat with Rubs}

Mar18

This lucky lady right here got a most awesome package from my friends last week. Jars and jars of homemade spice rubs. They are so beautiful, and not to mention delicious!

Look at these flavors! One to go with any type of dish you are creating. If you can’t tell, I was instantly in love and spent the better half of my morning unscrewing and inhaling (ok, be real, just smelling) these creations!

My friends make these rubs with local ingredients (they even grow some of the peppers themselves!) and have really mastered the mix, if you ask me. The household favorite at my home is the Schweet Hot, which really takes it’s time in developing from a nice warm sweet into a kick at the end. It kicks up everything from steak, to fish to vegetables! Yes, spice up your veggies, you will be happy!

I love using these rubs to add flavor without fat to my cooking. “But the sugar!” you may ask? (Or maybe you are too busy drooling, which I totally get.) Yes, there is a tad of added sugar but 1) you just need a bit of these rubs to pack a punch and 2) let’s not get into a lifestyle where a bit of added sugar is enough to send you over the edge. Keep it real, ya’ll.

Here is my most delicious salmon dinner that I created using the Citrus Rub. (Yes, I’m a grown woman and I have sweet potato tots with my dinner. It was Saturday. Judge silently.) It was DIVINE.

Rubs and spices in general are a great way to add a ton of flavor to your healthy meals. If you are focused on eating healthy, variety can be challenging. Lots of folks tell me they fall off the wagon because they are bored of eating the same meals, or don’t know how to be creative with the few recipes they have mastered. Try adding a different flavor profile to your proteins! Even eating chicken two nights in a row with a different seasoning (perhaps Cajun one night and Citrus the next?) will keep you interested and on track.

If you’re convinced you need to try some of these tasty rubs, you’re in luck! They are available for purchase & can be shipped to you for this BBQ season! Impress your friends and excite your mouth. Check out the order form here:

2015 Schmokin Info and Prices

Thanks for stopping by! Have a flavorful day!

Don’t Cheat – Treat! My Favorite Chia Pudding Dessert Recipes

Mar12

There are so many super foods being hyped these days. Chia seeds are often on that list, and deservedly so. I am not one to quickly hop on a bandwagon for ingredients we MUST be using, but if I’m honest, chia seeds are so tasty, we are just lucky they are also super good for you. Chia seeds offer a ton of nutrients, just have a look:

A 1 ounce (28 grams) serving of chia seeds contains:

Fiber: 11 grams
Protein: 4 grams
Fat: 9 grams (5 of which are Omega-3s, yay!)
Calcium: 18% of the RDA.
They also contain a decent amount of Zinc, Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Potassium, Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) and Vitamin B2

If you haven’t tried them yet, they also offer an interesting texture to whatever you mix them with. When soaked in liquid, they create a gel texture that is smooth and creamy (think tapioca pudding). Magic & tasty!

I have a major sweet tooth and I like to chow some protein right before bed so my body has some food while I’m sleeping. These chia pudding recipes are perfect for my late night snack, but would also be a great breakfast or anytime snack! I like to sneak some protein powder into my recipe, which pumps the protein up even higher (chia seed, Greek yogurt AND protein powder….look out muscles!) Here is my recipe for high protein chia pudding, which is more of a method than a specific recipe. Try out your favorite flavors and add ins to come up with your favorite recipe!

High Protein Chia Seed Pudding

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

½ cup plain nonfat Greek Yogurt
½ cup milk (dairy, almond, coconut…whichever you prefer)
1 scoop protein powder (I love the taste of Lean Body for her, but use your favorite!)
2 tablespoons chia seeds

Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!

I tested this recipe with a few flavors that I thought were awesome, try adding:

With chocolate protein, add coconut extract (just a drop!) and toasted unsweetened coconut for a tropical treat.
With vanilla protein, add fresh blueberries (or any fruit!) This one tastes just like tapioca pudding!
With chocolate protein, add PB2 (or a spoon of regular peanut butter will work). Chocolate + Peanut butter = heaven.

I can’t wait until summer to get my hands on some fresh peaches and strawberries! Let me know if you try these and come up with a great version. Enjoy!

Hey, who put Protein in my Pancakes?

Mar8

I recently made the innocent mistake of going shopping in my local natural food/beauty store right after work, when I happened to be more ready for dinner than soap shopping. I was headed to the beauty department to snag my soap and hit the road, when I heard this protein pancake mix whisper my name. Who, me? Pancakes? Oh, ok, YES. Needless to say they came home with me.

If you’re anything like me and you follow a few fitness sites on social media, you’ve probably seen ads for protein pancake mixes promising you abs and dreams to come true. I’m mostly a whole food kinda gal, I am into finding ways to sneak more protein into my diet, and I mean…pancakes. So, rest easy, I’m not sponsored by P28 or going to tell you what kind of body you will certainly attain by eating these pancakes. I just wanted to tell you that they are tasty and a good option, especially for my vegetarian pals, to up their protein game while enjoying a breakfast treat.

The ingredients are relatively clean, which is half the reason I allowed the splurge in the first place. This little canister ran me about $10 and looks like it will make about 10 pancakes. All you need to do is combine the mi with water, but be warned, the “recipe” calls for 2/3 cup mix, which is really two servings. Unless you have a friend to share with, don’t trust yourself around two of these pancakes unless you plan on being ok with eating them both. They are decent sized pancakes; one was plenty for my breakfast! Eating just one pancake clocks you in at 7g of protein though, which by pancake standards is high, but not high by breakfast standards (about the same as just one egg).

I stirred up the mix & sprayed my ceramic pan with a bit of coconut oil. (Side note, I’m new to the ceramic pan craze, but if you are still without one, finish reading this post then get yourself over to Amazon and snag one. So. Great.) They cooked up nice and evenly and were surprisingly fluffy for a pancake mix!

These silly protein pancakes won me over by the time it was all said and done. The texture was light, fluffy with just enough chew. The real winner though is the taste. These buttermilk buckwheat pancakes have a toasty wheat flavor with just a hint of pancake sweetness, but most importantly they tasted homemade and clean. No crazy protein taste at all. I added blueberries to mine, but they would also be great with some simple maple syrup or honey.

Slightly gimmicky and perhaps not the best bang for your buck nutritionally, I still give these pancakes a thumbs up. They were a nice treat while still sneaking in some of my daily nutrition. If you want to try them, you can likely find them locally at your Vitamin Shoppe or on the website. Cheers!

Friday Favorites – March 6, 2015

Mar6

Well ya’ll, we made it to March. That means SPRING is inevitably just around the corner! However, we got slammed with a foot of snow yesterday, just to remind us that we can have hope, but we ain’t outta the woods yet. Pretty? Yes. Timely? Hardly. (Sorry anyone from the northeast US, I know I should just hush up now.)

Although, cold and snowy weather means plenty of time to find these pretties online to share with you guys. Here are some of my favorite and useful stops online this week:

Favorite Crafty Find:

These bright hydrangea blooms from A Piece of Rainbow caught my eye and made me smile. They are beautiful, but if you read the directions, I bet the process of making them would make quite a few kiddos happy as well. Bring on spring!

Favorite Food Find:

A little different path on the food find this week, but had to share these images from Emily Blincoe with you guys. She is a photographer that has a wide portfolio, but her neat food layouts sucked me and made me sigh. Just perfect. Wait til you see the French fries!

Favorite Fitness Find:

You guys know I swear by Beachbody programs. They are my go to workouts and I literally have a LIBRARY of DVDs collected in my “gym” (let’s be real, it’s a basement.) Well this week, Beachbody changed the game and it is nothing short of EPIC.

Beachbody On Demand is now available for a weekly fee of $2.99. THREE DOLLARS A WEEK. I spent more than that on a daily coffee. My mind is blown. Ok, so what does that even mean? Your club membership of $2.99 a week gives you streaming access to programs like P90X, P90X3, TurboFire, Brazil Butt Lift, INSANITY, and more. Did ya’ll see that? P90X?! Insanity?! These are the godfathers of Beachbody programs, selling at over $100 each for $2.99, AND you can access them ANYWHERE?? I’m dead.

And since this is just the beginning, the streaming access will also have taste tester workouts from Beachbody’s newest programs including 21 Day Fix Extreme, INSANITY Max 30, and PiYo. I’m telling you guys, if you ever thought about doing any of these programs, this is the time. If you don’t think your health is worth $2.99 a week, you better email me because we have some talking to do.

You can sign up for access here (click Join and make sure you pick Club membership) or if you have any questions just shoot me a message or ask below. If you can’t tell, I’m a little excited about this so I’m MORE than happy to chat with you about it!

Now excuse me while I stream every. workout. ever.

Favorite Lifestyle Find:

All this snow is giving me the heebie jeebies so I just had to get a spring break trip booked stat. Yes, 30 year old married people can take spring break trips, back up.

With the help of my friend Lindsay over at Travelfied, I nailed down Charleston, SC as the destination. We will be headed down in April and she gave me tons of tips on what to do, what’s nearby and what to eat. Check out Travelfied for lots of good travel tips from booking hotels to watching for deals!

This one is gonna be a road trip folks, so get ready for a fun recap when we get back! Here’s to not wearing a coat!

Wishing you a fantastic weekend full of things that make you smile!

Cheers!

Clean Eating Cookie Dough Recipe

Mar5

If I were on death row there would most definitely be chocolate included in my last meal. And a lot of it. It is THE craving I can’t seem to shake. But it is okay, because I’ve got this clean eating cookie dough recipe that I’m not even kidding you guys…it is as good as a REAL dessert. This is my go to ‘cheat’ snack, and you can actually feel good about it. Protein packed, healthy fats, and even some antioxidants from the chocolate chips (that IS why we eat chocolate, right?). Grab the few goodies you need, a spoon, and get ready to breathe easy. Cooke dough to the rescue!

Ingredients (1 serving)

½ cup plain Greek Yogurt (Fage 0% is my favorite)
1 Tablespoon nut butter (I use natural peanut butter usually, but almond is delish too!)
DASH almond extract (You can use vanilla, but almond is totally key to a sweet nutty flavor)
Chocolate chips (I usually use about 10 dark chips, but I’m going to leave the amount of chips up to you, like a good friend would do…)

Just stir all of the ingredients together until the nut butter is blended throughout. Dig in & enjoy!

Note: I prefer my Greek yogurt unsweetened, but if you like a little more sweetness, add a squeeze of honey or agave, or a splash of maple syrup!

Do you have any ‘taste so good I can’t believe it’s healthy” desserts? Please share!

Friday Favorites – February 20, 2015

Feb20

Another work week in the books! Hope you all had a good one, and managed to stay warm! I know Pennsylvania isn’t the only place in this situation, but um…it’s colder than Antarctica today. Wowzers, guys. Hang in there!

Here’s the goodies that caught my eye enough to hang on to them to share on Friday. Enjoy!

Favorite Crafty Find:

I kept this project open in my browser all week. I keep glancing at it and trying to figure out what I love the most about it. The amazing wrapping paper she used as a background? The soft but bright color palette? The milk glass birdies? THAT IT COST $12? Oh, let me quit while I’m ahead. Either way, swing by Remodelaholic and check out her DIY drawer shelves, they are totally worth Pinning and pretending you’ll make them someday….

Favorite Food Find:

As I mentioned last week, I took a quick trip to NYC this past weekend. I think you already know how it was. COLD. But we managed to have a good time anyway. Made some visits, saw some sights, sipped some suds and DEVOURED THESE BAGELS. I heard about Black Seed Bagels on an episode of Food Networks short lived “Best Ever.” (I know, how original, on the Food Network….) But seriously, Alex Guarnaschelli described these bagels in her typical “doesn’t leave the kitchen enough to realize she’s a nutcase” style and she had me drooling during the whole segment. We’re talking Montreal bagel and New York bagel had a crazy affair and this is the outcome. Boiled THEN baked in a wood fired oven, with the most divine ingredients for the best bagel sammie you ever put in your mouth. Ok, I’m done talking about it. If you are ever in NYC, make the trip and wait in line, you will not be sorry.

Favorite Fitness Find:

“You can’t be satisfied today with what worked yesterday.”

~ Autumn Calabrese

Now that my over indulgence of drinks and food in NYC is over, I’ve started the 21 Day Fix Extreme this week with my online fitness team. I love the original 21 Day Fix program because it teaches so much about nutrition, but I will be honest, some of the workouts were not as difficult as I would have liked. Back up to last night’s Pilates workout. I’m in love. Was I sweating in a pile on the floor? Nah. Did I work muscles I usually don’t? YES! This workout includes a resistance band and it might have changed my life (definitely my butt, but maybe my life too). I’m almost done my first week of this program and can definitely give you advice if you are thinking about trying it…just ask!

Favorite Lifestyle Find:

BREAKING NEWS (at least to me!): Submerge a cut avocado in water to keep from browning.

I can’t remember where I originally read this, but I saw online that if you want to keep your guacamole from browning, you should pour a bit of water on top to create a barrier to the air. This seemed brilliant to me. Yesterday, I had half an avocado on my sandwich and when I was done, I plopped that puppy in some water. I think the results speak for themselves. If I’m late to this train, just let me have my glory because I’M SO HAPPY. Now, the only problem is I can’t have avocado for two more days because I’m following the 21 Day Fix Countdown to Competition guide. Let’s see if this little fellow can last that long?

One last random tidbit, my Facebook page has finally caught up with the blog, so please join me over there at Create Your Joy on Facebook for daily goodies.

Have a safe and happy weekend! Be kind to those around you. ❤

Cheers!

Friday Favorites – February 13, 2015

Feb13

Oh, is it Friday already? Said no one, EVER. Finally, the best day of the week is here! My husband and I are headed to New York City for a little getaway this weekend & although the weather is going to be pretty much arctic, I’m still looking forward to going. We love the city and always eat too much, walk too much and get into as much as we can when we are there.

To all the lovers (& even the haters) out there…have a wonderful and happy Valentine’s day. Remember to celebrate your partner, your family, your friends and yourself every day. You can never have too much love ❤

Favorite Crafty Find:

Help me. Please. I keep finding new hobbies that I want (no, NEED) to be amazing at. There’s not enough time in the day or muscles in my fingers to keep up with my brain. But be serious, hand embroidery is MAGIC. I stumbled upon the Needle n Thread website this week and I’ve been back each.and.every.day. For real, I’m obsessed. This site is a treasure trove of information and tutorials. It is really well done and I can’t wait to devour it all. If I weren’t feverishly knitting a scarf out of blanket yarn (you heard it, don’t judge) right now, you better believe I’d be tackling some way over my head embroidery project RIGHT NOW. Which, based on this HISTORICAL piece here….I’ve got a lot of room to improve 😉

*Circa way too long ago*

Favorite Food Find:

Hummus will either make you fast friends or make the person sitting next to you on the train disgusted for the duration of your snack (not that I have any experience with that). Either way, it is delicious. I am in love with the Tribe brand of hummus and lo, they have just released another scratch batch with IT flavor of the moment…SRIRACHA! Spicy hummus on a cool crisp green pepper…just give me a minute. But really, all of the Tribe flavors are really great (Lemon Rosemary Focaccia, get it together). Their website has a store locator, find some near you!

Favorite Fitness Find:

“You’re not technically “healthy” unless you are also “happy.” Keep that in mind when considering dessert!”

~ Chef Robert Irvine

This is an interesting post regarding “cheat meals” and the impact of eating a little crazy sometimes on the body and the brain. I was recently reading a post of a super fit mama who mentioned she ‘went off track’ and indulged on some whole wheat crackers and blue cheese and her abs paid the price the next day. (Her abs are amazing.) As someone who loves food as much as they love fitness, my ‘off track’ days involve oh, just a TAD more than cheese and crackers, but it is so important to remember that pleasing your mind, your palette, your WHOLE self is just as important as being fit and healthy.

Favorite Lifestyle Find:

You may have seen this video already, as it appeared on almost every social media outlet I’m on during the week, but it is worth sharing just in case you didn’t see it. I eat hard boiled eggs every stinking (literally) week. They are a quick and easy way to snack protein, so I make a bunch at once. This hack for peeling eggs looked way too good to be true, but I tried it anyway. It worked and I was giddy. It’s the simple things, people. (Also, add just a smidge of baking soda to your boiling water and it takes this to another level. Look out your eggs don’t hop out of the shells on their own. Creepy.)

Have a safe and happy weekend! Take care of your people and your pets! ❤

Cheers!

Friday Favorites – February 6, 2015

Feb6

I love a good online roundup. Lots of things I’m interested in all wrapped up in one single click? Yes, please…count me in. Now that I’m posting here, I figured what better way to tie up all that “lifestyle research” (that sounds way better than mindless surfing) I’ve been doing all week than to post my own list. So, ***drum roll please*** I welcome you to the inaugural Friday Favorite list, where each week I’ll be sharing my favorite finds from all the places I follow, or topical information in my favorite areas: Crafts, Food, Fitness/Wellness and Lifestyle. Enjoy and TGIF!

Favorite Crafty Find:

I just love this post on sprucing up your stuff with spray paint. Admittedly, I have work to do on my spray paint skills, but some of these ideas are so clever for making your “affordable” things look fancy.

Favorite Food Find:

Was anyone else’s social media exploding with World Nutella day posts this week? Everything looked so delicious, it was almost NSFW. As usual though, I was looking to enjoy without also consuming an entire stick of butter or no less than 3 cups of sugar. So I turned to Skinnytaste, of course! (Most healthy eating folks are familiar with this site already, but if you aren’t…go. Now.) Loved her simple and just the right amount of treat Nutella Cookies.

Favorite Fitness Find:

Have you heard of the 21 Day Fix from Beachbody? It is so ridiculous. And now there is another one, 21 Day Fix extreme. The first one was SO ridiculous because, now stay with me, it combined daily workouts with spot on nutrition and DELIVERED RESULTS. It seemed like an embarrassingly simple concept but dang if it didn’t work. I was already eating clean, but it taught me so much about portions and the balance of nutrients that I needed throughout the day. I lost 4 lbs and my abs were the best I’d ever seen them. I loved my results so much so that I ordered the latest edition, 21 Day Fix Extreme on the day it was released and will be starting it on 2/16. I will definitely be doing a review and posting my results when done. If you want to join me, send me a message, we can keep in touch for 21 days and do it together!

~SUMMER BODIES ARE MADE IN THE WINTER~

Favorite Lifestyle Find:

My husband and I generally take a trip around his birthday, April 1. It gives us something to look forward to so we don’t go crazy during winter in Pennsylvania. This year we were thinking about going to Texas and then I saw this roundup of all things Texas. Ok, I’m sold. We will probably hit up Austin as our home base. Anyone have their own personal Austin favorites to share? (PS, sorry for TWO Buzzfeed lists, it was just that kind of week!)

Happy weekend everyone, thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!