Healthy Snacks That Won't Make You Hate Everything

Being healthy is super good for you; I mean, it's the only way to really ensure you'll be rockin' and rollin' for a long time to come. The problem with being healthy is that with all the terrible stuff out that taste just so damn good, it's really difficult to be good when you're surrounded by demons all the time. I pass every fast food restaurant you could imagine, there are two donut shops close by that DELIVER, there are three ice cream establishments within a lazy walking distance, and Amazon Prime makes it possible for me to have cookies auto-shipped to my house twice a month. It's really easy to get off track, and I have a thousand times. My weak points are when I don't have a snack before lunch and that dangerous time before dinner when I'm as ravenous as a bunch of starved wolves. The key is healthy snacks. Healthy snack can keep a craving from turning into a 4500 calorie, open-gullet,  food dump. I demonzied snacks until I realized that I can't clean the same for room 25 times without replenishing the fuel supply. I have a little arsenal of healthy snack now to keep the fire burning before lunch, before my workout or before dinner!

1. Apple with Peanut Butter

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Any apple, any low-sugar peanut butter. Done. It's great if peanut butter runs through your veins and want something a little healthier than crackers to eat it with. This is great in the fall when apples are in season and super cheap. this can also be made into a sandwich for a hefty-yet-healthy lunch.

2. Rice Cakes (With Toppings!!)

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Rice cakes have gotten a bad wrap as a tasteless cardboard disk, but it's an edible plate full of possibilities! Rice cakes are the vessel upon which healthy dreams can occur! Herer are some of my favorite combos:

Plain rice cake, peanut butter, coconut flakes

White cheddar rice cake, hummus, red pepper strips

Popcorn rice cake, almond butter, blueberries

The possibilities are really endless! Stop throwing rice cakes to the curb and add something to them!

3. Tuna Salad

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Get out of here mayonnaise! You're not invited to this tuna salad partay! Tuna salad is a versitile wonder fish that can go with all sorts of different mix-ins. Here are some good ones:

Greek Yogurt

Avocado

Red Onion

Green Onion

Hot Sauce

Spicy Mustard

Red Cabbage

Dried Cranberries

Diced Tomatoes

I reccommend axing the usual mayo and using Greek yogurt for extra protein and fewer calories. Eat it on some wheat crackers,on a rice cake (!!), or just plain out of your tupperware! Tuna has lots of protein and not a lot of carbs so it's a great snack!

4. Deviled Eggs

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Deviled eggs are not just for cookouts and unwanted office parties. Eggs are eggcellent (hur hur!) sources of protein and keep you full and satisfied! Eggs are good for you, it's been proven over and over again, and these deviled eggs don't need mayo to make them delicious. Good things to mix in with your yolks are as follows:

Guacamole Eggs- egg yolk, mashed avocado, diced red onion, diced tomato, lime juice, cayenne pepper
Classic- egg yolk, spicy mustard, relish,salt, pepper, smoked paprika

Sinus Clearing- egg yolk, horseradish, sea salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese 

One or Two eggs are all you need to pump the energy levels back up and get back to doin' your thang!

All of these snack are easy to make ahead of time, travel well, and taste great. They are full of protein, fiber, and stuff that keeps your body happy and healthy. No celery sticks or baby carrots here, these are great for people who are looking to keep the muscle and hustle! Ok, enough with the stupid rhymes, try bringing these to work and school and see the difference in your energy level and ravenous end-of-the-day hunger! Eat up, everyone!

Breakfast of Champions: Banana Chia Overnight Oats

I have a new favorite breakfast. Now, breakfast for me only really needs three qualities: it's fast, it tastes good, and it's good for me. Overnight oats are not a new thing; bloggers have been throwing around the praises of overnight oats all over the internet, but every recipe I tried just lacked something. I think that something was simplicity; there was just too much crap in them. Canned pumpkin, almond butter, coconut oil, three different kinds of seeds. Enough already! This recipe is simple, delicious, and fast! You may even beat your coffee pot to the finish line!

The Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Old Fashion or Rolled Oats

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk (or whatever milk you use)

1 Tablespoon Raw Chia Seeds

1 Tbsp Shredded Unsweetened Coconut

1 Banana

1 Tsp Honey (or agave if you're vegan)

1/8 Tsp Salt

1 Tsp Vanilla Extract

 Step One: In your bowl, mash your banana well with a fork. Add All the other ingredients to said bowl.

Mix all of your ingredients together, cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap, and stick it in the fridge overnight.

The final step: take it out of the fridge and eat it. It really doesn't get more simple than that! This recipe is loaded with fiber, slow digesting carbs (the good kind), and flavor to keep you from having to choke it down. It's health food you actually want to eat! I pair this with a cup of coffee and a big glass of water, eat it at 6:45 am and I'm good until my snack time at 10. If you're skipping breakfast because you have no time or are just a lazy lump, these overnight oats give you no excuse to  skimp on the most important meal of the day! Eat up, everyone!

PS- A giant, inflatable duck came to my city and I think I'm in love!

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Feed My Face: Açaí Bowls

I'm all about trying new things for breakfast. I get sick of having the same stuff over and over again. Once, when I was probably 9 years old, I got really into Frosted Mini Wheats and ate them every morning and any other chance I got for probably the next two months. It was probably Kellogg's best quarter ever, but after that two months was up I never wanted to eat another Mini Wheat again. The same goes for Texas Toast and Swedish Fish, but that's another story. When the days start to get warmer, I shun my toast and oatmeal for something that is cooling and delicious. I used to just make a lot of smoothies, but I was looking for more. That's when I discovered the Açaí Bowl, or as my coworker and I call it "dessert chili". It was a smoothie, it was granola, it was healthy, all in one bowl. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want to, but the basic concept is all the same. There's no "right" way to make an Açaí bowl, but here's a guideline as to what you can do to make a really good one!

Açaí Base

1 Package Sambazon Açaí unsweetened Smoothie Pack*

1/2 Frozen Banana

1/2 Cup chopped pineapple (pref. frozen)

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

Approx. 1 Cup Coconut Water, milk, orange juice, whatever you desire

Blend together until smooth.

Topping Options

Granola (My favorite is Nature's Path Coconut Chia)

Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Slivered Almonds

Crushed Macadamia nuts

Sliced Strawberries

Blueberries

Sliced Kiwi

Sliced banana

Mango Pieces

Bee Pollen (weird but gives a satisfying crunch)

Raw Honey

Agave (for the vegans)

*Now, if you don't want to shell out the bucks for special Açaí smoothie packs, you can buy the Sambazon Açaí that are almost always on sale at my local grocery store, freeze them in an ice cube tray and use three of those per bowl you're making. Can't find any Açaí where you are? Substitute it for a frozen berry mix. If I can't find frozen Açaí or nothing's on sale, I get a blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, cherry medley and it works really well. Açaí is so popular because of all the antioxidants it packs in; try and get the real stuff if you can, but berry mixes are just as good. Another option if you can't find acai is Pitaya (dragon fruit); it tastes super good, has a fabulous fuschia color, and is really good for you. You can purchase pitaya smoothie packs here!

These bowls are great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every meal in between and if you have everything prepped beforehand they can be made pretty quickly. They have quickly become my favorite way to start the day. Açaí bowls have been popping up in shops all over the place, but get adventurous and make your own at home!

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Ramblin': What's Going On!

I've been very unmotivated lately. I feel as though I have nothing of substance to write about and I blame it on the weather! Gray skies, snow, clouds, wind; it's enough to make me want to pack up and move to Florida even though Florida is a whole new category of crazy complete with alligators (sorry, Florida).  I have this week off since my boss is jetting of to the British Virgin Islands and shutting down the office (WELL GOOOOOD FOR HIM) and I'm trying to do lots of stuff that I can post about. I've got a couple of new products that I'm really liking and I plan on doing some reviews for those, but right now I'm just in the furious brainstorming phase. I apologize for the lack of content, but there's always a sort of lull between seasons when it come to writing inspiration. The spring stuff is just starting to come out in stores now, so I'll have more to write about once I can get my little hands on it! Until then, enjoy this recipe for an awesome "Don't Feel Too Guilty" about it Cookie Dough Dip! It's made with chickpeas and peanut butter and it's friggin' amazing!

Photo: Chocolate Covered Katie

 Check out Chocolate Covered Katie's Cookie Dough Dip recipe. Unlike a tube of Pillsbury, it won't make you feel like you're going to die afterwards! I will be back with more content everyone, but until then stay warm!

Fall Goals!

Fall Goals by elbonner featuring rms beauty

Even though it absolutely destroys my soul that summer is almost over, I am still finding ways to cope with another loss of my favorite season. All the college kids are back and they're ALL at the gym and they're ALL hogging the squat racks (had to get that out of the way) and since I'm going to have to work out before work, I'm going to need to find ways to fill my evenings. I have come up with a small, but reasonable list of goals I want to accomplish/work towards this fall so I don't get SAD and kill myself:

1. Surf More! Cooler weather is no reason to stay out of the water! I have my wetsuit (even though it's 10 years old) and I've washed the spider babies out of it from lack of summer wear and it's ready to go! If I'm really lucky, someone will take pitty on me and bestow upon me a Matuse (pretty please!) or a Nineplus wetsuit to make my fall/winter surfing bearable!

2. Work It Out: Well, I'm trying to, but the bros at the gym are all up in my shit! Oh well, this just means I need to get more creative with my workouts and try some new things. Getting in the pool will help with my surfing for sure and give me some water time when it's a little cold for the beach. Some cute new workout stuff might motivate me to have a bikini body all year-round and help shave off some of the "ThanksChristmas" pounds I always put on!

 

 3. Get Organized!: I have so much shit strewn all over the house it blows my mind. I really do try and go through this stuff as much as I can, but I am a very sentimental person when it comes to my stuff. I get attached to everything. I have decided that if I want to keep things, they need to have a place that is out of sight, or cleverly hidden. Being organized just makes everything flow easier and who doesn't like being able to find things on the regular! So baskets will be purchased and space bags will be used. I'm finally going to get organized!

Photo: Apartment Therapy

4. Get A Hobby!: Nothing makes the hellish winter more standable than an all-engrossing indoor activity that you actually like. I am DYING to learn how to sew and since I'll have cold, rainy, Saturdays with my mom I can get her to show me the ropes! I really want to try my hand at designing my own bathing suits once I get started. I also want to be more crafty when it comes to decorating my apartment. I don't need someone elses art when I can make my own! I've scoured Pinterest and have found so many cool things to do; even paint-dipped sticks seem like a cool idea! I'm willing to try anything to kill the boredom! I've also been formulating and contemplating making my own skincare products with the end result of maybe selling them on Etsy. Once I get my formulas perfect and some more raw materials, I plan on expanding to make all sorts of fun, beachy stuff to sell to the masses! There's so much I want to do and Fall seems like a good time to start!

If you're mega-bummed about the impending death of the years greatest season, don't wallow in your own sadness, get to work on something fun! If you want to be hot by next summer, get to stepping now. Want to perfect your after-sun cream before next years first sun burn? Start experimenting! Want to enter a race in the spring? Run dammit! Happy back to school/relentless cycle of work, everyone!

Let's Have A Protein Party!

No, not the gross kind! The kind that helps build muscle, strengthen your hair and nails amongst other things! If you are a human being, you need protein. You also need a hefty serving of healthy during your day, especially if that weekend may have resulted in a three-burrito-deep food coma with a side of a whole medium pizza. This bar is almost all raw, healthy goodness and it so easy to make and have on hand when the after lunch-before dinner murderous hunger strikes!

Hello, bowl reflection!

The Ingredients:

2 Cups Rolled Oats

2 Scoops protein powder (I used vanilla)

1 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

2 Tbsp. Chia Seeds

2 Tbsp.Ground Flaxseed

1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract

2 Tbsp. Raw Honey* (none of that processed shit!)

1/4 Cup Raw Pumpkin Seeds

1/3 Cup Dried Cranberries

1/3 Cup Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

1 Cup Peanut Butter (Creamy works best)

OPTIONAL: 1/4 Cup Dark Chocolate Chips

*If you are vegan, use maple syrup in place of honey. Agave can be sweet so stick to maple!

1. Place all of your dry ingredients in your mixer or in a bowl if you are mixer-less.

2. Add your wet ingredients to the dry mixture.

 3. Turn on mixer to medium-low and mix ingredients until well-incorporated or until the mixture begins to stick together.

4. Spray a brownie pan (I used a 6 or 7x 12 pan) with cooking spray. Cut a piece of parchment paper to the size of the bottom of the pan. The spray will help the parchment stick and the parchment will make it easier to get the bars out.  Once everything is mixed together, spoon out the mixture into your pan.

5. Press mixture into the pan firmly to make sure everything stick together. The firmer you press the bars, they better they will stay together. Once the mixture can be packed down no further, place the pan in the freezer for an hour.

6. Once the bars have hardened, cut them into 2x2 inch squares, wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store in the freezer! As a precaution, I would have added a bit more peanut butter to my batch because these did come out a bit crumbly. As long as I have a napkin around to catch the debris, I'm not worried about it.

Well, there you have it! These protein bars get their protein goodness from the protein powder, the pumpkin seeds, AND the peanut butter and I have been eating them as a pre-workout snack. Great for snacking when you get home when you feel ravenous. There's enough fibre and protein to keep you full until dinner without resorting to eating all the chocolate within a five mile radius. Enjoy!

Take a Pretty Picture Break

Can you tell I've got one thing on my mind? Enjoy the visual aides, everyone!

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Maypril Favorites!

Maypril Favorites! by elbonner featuring evening makeup

All right x3 like Matthew Mconaughey, it's time for some Maypril favorites! I'm calling it "Maypril" because it's too late for April's and too early for all of May's. Here we go!

Insanity- HOLY SHIT THIS IS HARD. For real, if you're not dying by the end of one of these workouts then you're a ubermensch or you're just watching them on the sofa eating pizza rolls. This is a 60 day program that is full-on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) which is what I love, but have never pushed myself to this level of workout commitment. There's lots of jumping around, so those with joint problems, heart,problems, and any problem that could cause you to die during intense exercise should think long and hard about starting this program. I've started my third week and I've lost 5 lbs. without a huge change in diet. If you want to fit, get this!

Organix Moroccan Surf Paste- Beachy hair is all I've ever wanted and this product does the trick. It has moisturizing argan oil that doesn't make hair dry or brittle when using it. It has a little salt for texture, but is a lot more gentle than some beach sprays.

Veggie Straws-Dump the chips and get some of these! At 130per 37 straws, there's really no reason to even go back to greasy, nasty chips. They're lightly salted, taste like potatoes, and super crunchy. If you've got a chip craving and just can't shake it, get some Veggie Straws.

Under Armour "Amour" Sports Bra- because Insanity requires me to jump around more than I ever have, I needed to replace my crappy, unsupportive sports bras with something that holds shit down. This bra, designed by a bunch of female scientists was heavily tested and made for extreme activity. Great for running too; there is not a lot of bounce and keeps yo' boobies from getting soaked, because no one wants that (perverts)!

Cut-Off Shorts- not just for Never Nudes (May 26th!), it's the summer of cut-offs and I've been hastily making all the shorts I hate, but can't afford to throw out custom cut-offs. DIY post is coming soon!

Suki Exfoliating Cleanser- Smells like Lemon Heads, foams, exfoliates, cleanses; it does the lot. On nights where I just need to scrub I use this super face and earth friendly cleanser and waft in its lemony goodness.

Burts Bees Cocoa and Cupuacu Butter Richly Replenishing Body Moisturizer- Damn, that's one long name! My Aveeno was getting too thick for the warmer weather and picked this up at Target to try. Mostly all-natural ingredients and moisturizes without feeling like you're wearing liquid latex. And most importantly, does not make your butt sweat for half an hour after you put it on!

Fake Bake Flawless Sunless Tanner- My new tanning love; this formula comes with a mitt and nitrile gloves to help evenly distribute the tanner. THE MITT REIGNS SUPREME, even above my own hands in tanner application and this formula makes you dark instantly. It stays on for days and doesn't give me an allergic reaction like Xen-Tan does. And get this, IT'S ONLY $14. Just buy it, stop being dumb and just buy it already!

Lean Cuisine Five-Cheese Rigatoni- So much cheese, so well-portioned and friggin delicious. Any more cheese and it would have been fartmageddon. Viva los Lean Cuisines!

Rainbow Sandals- I wear these pretty much every day that the weather allows. They're supportive, soft, comfortable, and are great for walking in. Rainbows are, by-far, my favorite shoe.

MARGARITAS- They are my favorite drink, I make them all the time, I get them all the time.If I wasn't freaked out by their calories content and had access to them 24/7,  I would be an alcoholic. Don't do that, just appreciate at the right times: out celebrating with friends, relaxing after a long week, or when you hand-squeeze everything and take the effort to make them yourself!

Hope you liked my Maypril favorites. I'm going to do a "misses" post about stuff I hate. Prepare for the bitching! Later Gators!