Sad : (

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New Recipes

Chocolate-Banana Protein Muffins*

These aren’t super sweet where you can eat a ton of them. But they’re good pre-workout, or for a snack with peanut butter.

1 cup oats, divided
2 scoops vanilla protein powder
2 scoops chocolate protein powder
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 tbsp raw almonds-(I added flax, nuts would have made the muffins more moist, I think)
1/4 cup unsweetened cacao nibs (I didn’t have this-omitted)
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 banana)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp amber agave nectar (I used maple syrup)
Preheat oven to 350˚. Spray 12 cups of a muffin tray with olive oil.

Blend 1/2 cup oats in food processor (I use my Magic Bullet) to make oat flour. Combine oats, oat flour, protein powders, cocoa powder, sea salt, almonds, and cacao nibs in a medium sized bowl.

In the bowl of a food processor (again I use the Magic Bullet) combine mashed banana, applesauce, vanilla, honey, and agave nectar. Process until smooth.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until combined. Distribute mixture evenly into prepared muffin cups.

Bake 13 -15 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool on a wire rack. Store leftovers in the fridge.

Makes 12 muffins.


*From website: http://marialouisepeters.blogspot.com/2009/02/chocolate-banana-protein-muffins.html

Oatmeal pancakes*
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup liquid egg whites,
1 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp vanilla
½ mashed banana
pinch of salt

1) Put all above ingredients in bowl overnight. Make like regular pancakes. Top with peanut butter and maple syrup. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE BANANA-KEY INGREDIENT!
*from: http://eatliverun.com

Peanut Butter & Banana “Soft Serve”
Serves 1
Ingredients:
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 heaping spoonful of peanut butter
• Splash of soy milk-(I used coconut milk-lots of it actually)

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth.

Product Review!

Hi all! I've been meaning to write this last post since Sunday when I went shopping, but, well, it's Wednesday and I really don't have an excuse!

There are few things I love more than finding products that I love that taste great and pack a great nutritional punch. I went shopping at "The Wedge" (co-op) and "Trader Joe's" for the products shown above. Before I get into details about them, here's a key piece of advice about eating healthy and/or attempting to eat organic on a budget. If I hear about a product, I just wait until I can find it on sale. Unfortunately, I don't have a limitless supply of money falling in my hands, so I have to take that into account when I shop. If the product is something non-perishable, and a really good deal, stock up. I wouldn't have boughten half the things shown above if they weren't on sale.

So here's the breakdown:

Trader Joe's Light String Cheese-I am a pretty big fan of light string cheese since it contains the same amt. of protein as reg. string cheese, but less saturated fat.

Trader Joe's raw almond butter-Need I say more?

Trader Joe's Smokey Peach Salsa-This stuff is like crack to me! I can easily go through a jar in 2-3 days. Too bad it's not sodium free!

Fresh mozzarella balls- + tomatoes + balsamic vinegar. Heaven.

"Mary's Gone Crackers" crackers-Gluten free and made with quinoa, brown rice, flax, and sesame. These aren't the *best* crackers I've ever had, but they're a great accompany to cheese and I ate them with homemade salsa the other night. Bonus-they're organic and have a great ingredient list.

"Fat Flush Plan" tortillas-Stats: Organic, lower carb (18g/tortilla), and made with sprouted grains! I'll be honest, it took me a while to get used to the taste of these. But, sprouted grain is easier to digest and I can tell my body prefers this type of grain. The other day I made a "Morningstar Farms" spicy black bean burger on the "George Foreman" grill, and I also toasted the wrap on the grill. Delicious!

"Guitless Gourmet" spicy nacho tortilla chips-These were just okay. I have tried other G.G. products, and I have liked them better. Specifically the spicy black bean flavor. These had way too much sodium to produce such a weak flavor of nacho. They are not going to be "the new 'Doritos'."

And last but NOT AT ALL least-"So Delicious" ice cream sandwiches made with cocount milk-100% Dairy free and 100% fabulous. If you like cocount, that is. Which luckily, I do. These mini sandwiches are only 100 calories (and smaller than a traditional ice cream sandwich,) but they produce such a rich flavor it's worth it! Let's hear it for portition control! I am definitely buying these again! Because I'm sure they'll be gone soon.

Not pictured: Organic dinosaur kale, organic apples, organic cilantro, and tomatoes.

I will be sure to update with product reviews every once in a while. I don't mind "sacrificing myself" to try new products for the good of my blog.

Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Time for a Marathon?

So I ran my first half marathon on Saturday! Okay, actually, it was my first race ever. Go big or go home, I guess. Wow..so much to say about it. Where to begin? Let's just start with the fact that during the race I felt I was being tortured by Chinese water droppings, then 5 min after the race was over, I was thinking about my next race.

A couple things I will do differently next time:

• Wake up early enough. I had to catch the bus to the half at 5:20, so that meant originally waking up at 4 am. Which the night before turned into setting the alarm for 4:30 since I didn't get to bed until 10:30. Hmm..30 min really isn't enough to eat and prep for a race. And it's especially not enough time when you MISPLACE YOUR IPOD. WOW! This coming from the woman who works out sometimes solely to listen to her ipod. So let's just say the morning started out poorly. And I ended up leaving the house at 5:12 still having to drive to catch the bus. 70 mph in a 30 mph is totally safe, no?


• Lift more weights and/or start doing pilates and/or yoga next time before the race. I had a good pace until mile 9 when my heart and lungs were going strong, but my legs felt like Jell-O.


• SLEEP. Between race anxiety and external noises, I probabaly slept about 4 hrs. I am no sleep expert, but something tells me that's just not right!


• Push myself. Running that long is not easy. And part of me wishes I wouldn't have walked so much at the end and just pushed it more. It's so much head games at that point! However, I am happy that I wasn't that sore after the race AT ALL. Until the next day when I was a bit stiff and almost fell out of bed in the morning. No biggie!

Oh, by the way, I did find my ipod. After the race was over. So here is my race day playlist, in memory of not having an ipod during the race:

The Adventure-Angels & Airwaves

Turn Up the Radio-Autograph

Machinehead-Bush

Hustler's Anthem '09 (feat. T-Pain)-Busta Rhymes

Viva la Vida-Coldplay

Love Is Gone (Fred Rister & Joachim Garraud Radio Edit Remix)-David Guetta & Chris Willison

Encore / Curtains Down-Eminem

Calabria 2008 (feat. MIMS & Natasja)-Enur

Eye of the Tiger-Survivor

The Rolling Stones-Give Me Shelter

All my Life-Foo Fighters

Hate it or Love it-The Game

Crazy-Gnarls Barkley

Fool in the Rain-Led Zeppelin

Green Light (feat. André 3000) -John Legend

Flashing Lights-Kanye West

Welcome to the World-Kevin Rudolf & Rick Ross

I Like the Way You Move-Backstage*

*This song is actually WAY better for spinning, but none-the less, just try to not get pumped up from this song!

Love Generation-The Allstars and Bob Sinclair *

*Again, another good spinning song.

Day 'n' Nite (Crookers Remix)-Kid Cudi

Lit Up-Buckcherry

The Resolution-Jack's Mannequin

Poker Face-Lady GaGa

Bia' Bia'-Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz

Mama Said Knock You Out-LL Cool J

All the Above (feat. T-Pain)-Maino

Enter Sandman-Metallica

Electric Feel-MGMT

Dr. Feelgood-Mötley Crüe D

This Town-O.A.R.

The Anthem (feat. Lil Jon)-Pitbull

Patiently Waiting-50 Cent Feat. Eminem

Can't Tell Me Nothing-Kanye West

Swagga Like Us (feat. Kanye West & Lil Wayne)-Jay-Z & T.I.

Beautiful-Akon, Colby O'Donis & Kardinal Offishall

Knock You Down-Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Ne-Yo

Say Hey (I Love You) [feat. Cherine Anderson]-Michael Franti & Spearhead

On that note, I'm going to think of my work-out goals this week. I evaulate this WEEKLY because you never know what is going to happen with your schedule. And it always helps to have something to focus on. If you didn't notice, my workout routine is on the right. --> This week I am focusing on getting 3x of weights in. What's your goal? Small steps=big changes.

Peanut Butter-Everyday Essential? I Think So!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am about to touch on a subject that is very near and dear to my heart. Peanut Butter. 'Cause you know what they say, a day without peanut butter is like a day without sunshine. Or coffee. Or something like that.

First of all, there are so many people I come across that are using the wrong type of peanut butter. By "wrong" I mean they are eating ingredients in their peanut butter besides just peanuts. Who wants to eat trans fat that raises your "bad" cholesterol and lowers your "good" cholesterol? Who wants to eat added sugar? Leave that to a place you know you'll find it..ice cream. At least that's what I tell myself. So why would you want that in your peanut butter? And how do you know if you're eating it? Well, you're eating it if you're using Skippy, Jif, Peter Pan, and other such generic crunchy and creamy peanut butters.

With that being said, is there hope for pb'n'j lovers out there? Of course! That's where I come in to help. You want to look for a peanut butter with very few ingredients. For example: peanuts and perhaps salt. NOT peanuts, salt, sugar, and hydrogenated oils.

One could argue you that if it's a small amt of sugar, who cares? Well I care and so should you. Avoid those items in your condiments and everyday items, and enjoy them more moderately in something you REALLY enjoy. Not just something you spread on whole grain bread.

Some brands that I LOVE which do not "rip your bread" when you spread them:

Parker's peanut butter (Formerly Parker's Farm)-Made in Coon Rapids, MN which is nice, local, and FRESH!

Trader Joe's organic natural peanut butter

Trader Joe's raw almond butter

(I can't leave out the fact that almond butter is equally delicious and that it might taste EVEN BETTER than regular peanut butter on an apple. Plus, it's packed with Vit. E and calcium.)

So there you have it, all you'll ever need to know about peanut butter. Probably more than you ever wanted to know, but I hope it helps. Hope you're having a great week!

Workout Music Part 2

Cardio #1:

Stronger-Kanye West
Gimme More-Britney Spears
Make Me Better (feat. Ne-Yo)-Fabolous
Hey Mama-Black Eyed Peas
8 Mile Road-Eminem
99 Problems-Jay-Z
Rock Your Body-Justin Timberlake
Get Low-Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz
4 My People-Basement Jaxx Rem-Missy Elliott featuring Eve
Move your body (main)-Nina Sky Ft Jabba
Rosa Parks-Outkast
MAN! I FEEL LIKE A WOMAN-Shania Twain
Poker Face-Lady GaGa
A-Punk-Vampire Weekend
The Adventure-Angels & Airwaves
Anonymous-Bobby Valentino
Around the World (Radio Edit) -Daft Punk
B-Boy Stance-K-OS
Beautiful Day-U2
The Beautiful People-Marilyn Manson
Bia' Bia'-Lil Jon & The Eastside Boyz
Black Betty-Ram Jam
Block Rockin' Beats-The Chemical Brothers
Calabria 2008 (feat. MIMS & Natasja)-Enur
Click Click Boom-Saliva
Closer-Ne-Yo Closer
Cry for You (Radio Mix)-September
Dey Know-Shawty Lo
Disturbia-Rihanna
Dr. Feelgood-Mötley Crüe
Electric Feel-MGMT
Elevation-U2
Encore / Curtains Down-Eminem
Enter Sandman-Metallica
Eye of the Tiger-Survivor
Fake It-Seether
Feedback-Janet
Flashing Lights-Kanye West
Forever-Chris Brown
Forever-Papa Roach
Get By-Talib Kweli
Get Up-50 Cent
Go Getta-Young Jeezy featuring R. Kelly
Go Girl (feat. Trina & Young Boss)-Pitbull
Gold Digger (feat. Jamie Foxx)-Kanye West
Good Life-Kanye West
Headsprung-LL Cool J
How Far We've Come-Matchbox Twenty
I Get Money-50 Cent
I Will Follow-U2 Boy Rock
Ignition (Remix)-R. Kelly
Impacto (Remix)-Daddy Yankee Impacto
Killing in the Name-Rage Against the Machine
Kiss Kiss (feat. T-Pain)-Chris Brown
Krazy-(feat. Lil Jon) Pitbull
Le Disko-Shiny Toy Guns
Let's Go -Lil Jon, Trick Daddy & Twista (the song of the Vikings cheerleaders) ; )
Light Your A*s On Fire (Radio Mix 1) -Busta Rhymes, Pharrell Williams & The Neptunes
Lit Up-Buckcherry
Love Is Gone (Fred Rister & Joachim Garraud Radio Edit Remix)-David Guetta & Chris Willis
Mama Said Knock You Out-LL Cool J
Maneater-Nelly Furtado
Mighty "O"-OutKast
Only-Nine Inch Nails
Runnin' with the Devil-Van Halen
Shake It-Metro Station
Metro Station Alternative
'Till I Collapse-Eminem & Nate Dogg
Touch the Sky (Featuring Lupe Fiasco)-Kanye West
Upgrade U-Beyoncé
What You Got (feat. Akon)-Colby O'Donis
4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)-Madonna
Pass That Dutch-Missy Elliott 2

And that's not even all, but I only have so much time right now. I will post the rest another time. Mainly new running mixes and what not. Happy cardio-ing.

Workout Music Part 1

I know some of you have asked about this previously, so now looks like as good of a time as ever to talk about..workout music! What's more motivating than motivating..music? I have a couple collections I will post from my Ipod, since cardio and lifting require different music. At least in my mind. Or maybe that's just an excuse for me to buy more Itunes. Either way, here it is. Note that not all songs are suitable for all audiences. : )

Lifting/Weights:

I Am the Highway-Audioslave
The Kill-30 Seconds to Mars
Down With The Sickness-Disturbed
Got The Life-Korn
Until the End-Breaking Benjamin
Dragula-Rob Zombie
Got You (Where I Want You)-The Flys
Gotta Get Away-The Offspring
Hero of the Day-Metallica
Hey Man Nice Shot-Filter
Lakini's Juice-Live
More Human Than Human-Rob Zombie
Plowed-SPONGE
Save Yourself-Stabbing Westward
Shoulda Known-Atmosphere
The War-Angels & Airwaves
Whiskey In the Jar-Metallica
Comedown-Bush
Little Things-Bush
Annnnd pretty much any AC/DC. I'm pretty sure everybody listened to "Thunderstruck" in high school.