FF- Week 2

Hello all!  It's Foodie Friday!  Yay!  I didn't take nearly as many photos as I would have liked... I had kind of a boring food week.  Not to mention, I totally grubbed out on pizza from Papa Murphy's on Halloween-- which solidified the fact that we absolutely *cannot* have pizza in the house!  I typically have amazing self control, but you get my around pizza and suddenly I'm SHOVELING it down my throat.

Do you have a food you can't resist?  (Please tell me you do!)

1.  Protein Power Bowl- Eggs, plain Chobani, oats, pumpkin- sweet and warm!

2. Metabolism Boosting Smoothie (recipe below

3. A delicious lunch that Garrett made for me!  Peppered Fish, mixed veggies and beans.

4. Okra- completely disgusting, beans, puled chicken on a homemade wheat bun.

5. Homemade Chicken Wild Rice Soup

6. Egg with spinach and chicken breast, melted Daiya on a homemade whole wheat bun

7.  Pumpkin Protein Coffee

8. My favorite- Grapenuts!  With almonds, raisins, chia seed and almond milk.

9. Chobani pancakes with apple rings- topped with peanut butter and cinnamon with a side of scrambled eggs with sweet potatoes.

Kind of a boring food week-- and super high in carbs!  Sheesh!  I wasn't aware of it until I started writing this post... definitely going to need to cut that carb count down next week!

I wanted to share this smoothie recipe with you because it does an amazing job and speeding up your metabolism-- plus it tastes *amazing*

:Ingredients:

1 banana (preferably frozen) sliced

Handful of Blueberries

1/4 of a Green Apple- diced

1  Tablespoon ginger (I zest it on a micro plane)

1 cup Pineapple Juice (can substitute this for Coconut Water)*

Half of a lemon- squeeze out juice

1 Tablespoon Chia Seed

4 Ice Cubes 

1 1/2 cups Spinach

Blend everything together and enjoy!  

*You may need to add additional juice if it's too thick and not blending properly.

It has an incredibly tart taste that will surely satisfy your sweet tooth!

---

I also wanted to do another plug for Fit Friends!  There are only 2 more days to sign up to be linked up with a partner for November!  

Matcha Heaven

Have you guys heard of Matcha?  Well, if you haven't-- I am here to tell you all about it!  Matcha is a green tea that is grown exclusively in Japan:

Over a thousand years ago, matcha came to Japan as an aid to meditation practice. During long hours of sitting, monks would drink matcha to remain alert yet calm. Modern science has recently confirmed the lessons of centuries of tradition. Matcha is rich in L-Theanine, a rare amino acid that actually promotes a state of relaxation and well-being by acting upon the brains functioning. While stress can induce beta wavesan excited, more agitated stateL-Theanine creates alpha waves, which lead to a state of relaxed alertness. And while L-Theanine is common in all tea, matcha may contain up to five times more of this amino acid than common black and green teas. As an additional benefit, L-Theanine may help memory and learning and ability all the while inhibiting any possible side-effects from caffeine, a natural component of green tea. Therefore, a bowl of matcha promotes concentration and clarity of mind without any of the nervous energy found in coffee. 

It's as amazing as it sounds.  I have been drinking it everyday-- and I am in love with it.  It's one of those things that invigorates your body... I feel my senses heighten when it enters my systema and I feel better when I'm done with it.  Matcha also:

• Is packed with antioxidantsincluding the powerful EGCg
• Boosts metabolism and burns calories
• Detoxifies effectively and naturally
• Calms and relaxes
• Enhances mood and aids in concentration
• Provides vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc and magnesium
• Fights against viruses and bacteria
• Is rich in fiber
• Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar
• Does not raise insulin levels

You can use Matcha powder in many ways-- traditionally the ground powder is whisked into a few ounces of warm water and drank as a warm tea.  I've been drinking the Morning Matcha this way.

You can also use Matcha in cooking, beverages and smoothies.  Today, I wanted to share with you guys a few drinks that I've been using the Gotcha Matcha in-- you will *love* them!

Perfect for a cold day, morning pick me up, or afternoon boost!

:Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Gotcha Matcha

1/4 cup hot water

1 cup steamed almond milk (Or milk of your choice)

:Directions:

Sift 1Tbsp. Gotcha Matcha into a mug filled with 1/4 cup hot water.  Whisk until thoroughly blended.

Add 1 cup steamed almond milk and mix together.  Shake a bit of Gotcha Matcha on top.

Drink up!

---

If you like ice cold, not overly sweetened beverages- this is perfect for you.  This beverage is incredibly refreshing!  A great afternoon-evening pick-me-up.

:Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Gotcha Matcha

1/4 cup hot water

1/2 dropper of NuNaturals Lemon Stevia

6-8 Ice Cubes

Cold Water

:Directions:

Blend Tbsp. of Gotcha Matcha with 1/4 cup of hot water.  Add 1/2 dropper of NuNaturals Lemon Stevia.  Mix well.  Add ice cubes to mixture and then top with cold water, blending well.

---

Similar to the Matcha Latte-- but sweetened and iced!

:Ingredients:

+ 1/4 cup of hot water

+6-8 Ice Cubes

:Directions:

Mix 1 Tbsp. Gotcha Matcha with a 1/4 cup of hot water.  Whisk until blended thoroughly.  Add 1/2 dropper of Vanilla Stevia.  Top with 6-8 ice cubes and add Almond Coconut Milk (or your choice of milk.)

I've found that the vanilla and coconut flavors really compliment the full-bodied, nutty flavor of the Matcha.  This drink is absolutely satisfying!

---

The Matcha Monster Smoothie is a total powerhouse of good, body fueling energy!

:Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. Gotcha Matcha

4 Ice Cubes

1 Frozen Banana- sliced

1 Tbsp. Peanut Butter

1/2 cup Almond Milk

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 cups of Spinach

:Directions:

To a blender, add all ingredients but the spinach.  Top the blender off with spinach so that it's completely full (but not packed down.)  Blend thoroughly and enjoy!

--

Do any of you drink Matcha?  What's your favorite recipe?

Not Your Average Shake

Okay, I don't know about you guys-- but the thought of a meal replacement shake is absolutely *disgusting* to me!  (Can I get a "Hell Yeah" ?  "HELL YEAH!")  But... seriously, if I'm hungry.  I'm hungry.  No liquid diet is going to cure that.

BUT.  (There is alllllways a big fat "but" (or in my case- belly!) right?!) 

What if you could drink something absolutely DELICIOUS that will both fulfill a craving and fill you up?  Well... I'm here to share with you TWO of my absolute FAVORITE drinks with you!  

---

Do you like coffee?  Then you will absolutely *love*love*LOVE* this drink!

-2 Spoonfuls of instant coffee

-1/2 Cup hot water (to dissolve the coffee)

-1 Scoop vanilla protein powder

-1 Cup dark chocolate almond milk

-Top with ice

It tastes just like your favorite iced-coffee drink but you are packing in protein!
*You could also totally blend this together for a Frappe!*

---

One of my favorite treats is a dreamsicle. (You know, Popsicle on the outside and ice cream on the inside.)  Well, this drink tastes just like that!  *Delicious!*

-1/2 Cup orange juice 

-1/2 Cup original almond milk

-1/2 cup water

-1 Scoop vanilla protein powder

-Shake it up and top with ice

(We love Almond Milk in our house- it has completely replaced cow's milk for us-- but if you are a drinker of cows milk, I'm sure you could substitute them in these recipes and get the same scrumptious flavors!)

---

The protein we use in our house is Vanilla Ice cream Syntha-6.  It is by far the *best* protein powder that I've ever used.  It does not taste chalky or leave a bad taste in your mouth.  It is also a whey protein base as opposed to a soy protein- which is huge for us because too much soy in your diet can cause a whole slew of issues.

I've been able to put the protein into other items as well-- including cupcakes!  (Yes, I will share that recipe sometime!)  The results have been fantastic.

Do you guys have a favorite "protein" drink that you make at home?