Fall Fever

Wow! I can't believe my last post was almost 7 months ago! After trying a few new recipes, I was inspired to come on here and share them with you. 

But first.... FALL <3 <3 <3... I am in love with fall right now! I have had beautiful runs in the under vibrant colored trees. Running in crisp air over crisp leaves with geese flying over! Well! That just makes me all warm and fuzzy thinking about it. I have really appreciated that in every season, there is something to be thankful for and to enjoy! I got exctied putting back on my boots, leggings and fall coat!

Training to run a 5K to support my collegue Lisa who is battling with Breast Cancer. 

Fall sunsets <3

My fondest memory of fall ... geese. <3

My touch of fall in my humble abode.

Onto the recipes:

1) Pumpkin Spiced Muffins- I have an amazing cook friend Serena who is always posting amazing recipes onto her blog. So this one came from her and was a big success this weekend! Thanks Serena if you are reading this! 

Before!

PUMPKIN SPICE MUFFINS

Muffin Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups of Flour

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1 Cup Pumpkin Puree

3/4 Teaspoon Pumpkin Spice Mix

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

2 Large Eggs

1 1/4 Cups Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

(I use Himalayan Crystal Salt) 

Icing Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla

2-3 Tablespoons Milk

(Depending on the consistency you want)

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees.

In one bowl, mix pumpkin puree, coconut oil, pumpkin spice mix, 

eggs, sugar, baking soda, and salt together.

In another bowl, mix the flour and baking powder. 

Combine the two bowls. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Yields 12 Muffins.

For the icing, mix the 3 ingredients together.

Drizzle icing over muffins.

After!

2) Chipotle Chicken Corn Chowder (Crockpot)- Soo delish! Sorry no pics!

INGREDIENTS:

1 can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (Remove most of the seeds)
1 anaheim pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2 cups chicken stock
6 small red potatoes, peeled and diced small (I would cook a little prior)2 cups Cheddar cheese, shredded 
2 chicken breasts
1 (30-ounce) can sweet corn, drained
1 (15-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 cup crushed tortilla chips

Delisciousness!

I know I haven't been on here for quite some time! I have been trying some scrumptilicious foods thanks to Pinterest that I could't help but share! I highly suggest you try!

Tonight's supper was a MUST DO AGAIN SOON type! It's called Parmesan Garlic Chicken!

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp of olive oil- in cookie sheet
Potato wedges (I did chunks)
Carrots
2 Chicken Breasts

Paste: (Mix together and spread over chicken)

1Tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of Paremsan Cheese
2 cloves of garlic

Bake at 400

It honestly was sooooo mouth watering, it was easy and it was quick and it's pretty healthy!

Breakfasts:

Favorite breakfast #1- Overnight Oatmeal

3/4 cup of oats
3/4 cup of milk
berries of your choice
a splash of maple syrup for sweetening


Favorite breakfast #2- Banana Pancakes (FLOURLESS)

1 banana
1 egg
1Tbsp of nut butter (Haven't tried this yet)

All you do is beat these together and fry them! Looks just like pancakes and tastes like banana pancakes! Most delicious!

Another great crockpot meal: Slow Cooker Jambalaya

1 chicken breast cut into cubes

1 lb of spicy italian sausage cut up

1 (28oz) of diced tomatoes, juice included

3 Tbsp dried minced onion flakes

1 can of chicken broth

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp parsley

2 tsp garlic

2 tsp cajun seasoning

1 tsp cayenne

1/2 dried thyme

1 package of rice (Uncle Ben's of your choice)

Cook on Low for 7-8 hrs or 3-4 on high. Put in rice only for the last 15 mins!

Love your Canadian Girl Next Top Chef

Eating Clean 12/12/12

12/12/12 meant nothing really to me until I saw someone mentioning this is the last time we will have this type of day! Ah ha moment for me! We can't have 13/13/13 ever! 

Well here are the last few days:

Tuesday:

Bfast- Cooked oatmeal with mixed berries and a tsp of honey to sweeten

Am snack- Pomegranate seeds

Lunch- My favorite salad: Diced peppers, cucumber, celery, carrots and feta (usually I have chicken in it as well). I used Greek and feta dressing to top it off and make it oober delicious! 

PM snack- Celery and hummus

Supper- My favorite thing seems (Scrambled eggs with peppers, spinach and feta)

Can you tell I like feta? I just like how it feels a lot lighter in my stomach. I know it's high in sodium..but still!

Wednesday: 

Bfast- Fiber one bar

Am snack - Edamame beans and pear

Lunch- Same salad as yesterday

PM snack- Celery and hummus, Fiber 1 bar

Supper- Salmon burger - I bought these salmon patties at Superstore and thought I would try them. You can bbq them or fry them so today I fried them. I used my ancient grains toast instead of a bun and stuck some lettuce and cheese on it. Quite delish! 

Until tomorrow! xxx

Eggaliscious

So after being away this weekend I will not be tracking all my meals and snacks but tell you some highlights.

Friday morning was the best of all breakfasts! I got inspiration off of Lauren Conrad's website and turned it into my own thing. Do try it sometime!!

Ingredients: One egg, red pepper, spinach, avocado and feta. The feta I use after the scrambled eggs are done. There is definitely more veggies than eggs, but it just tastes soo wonderful!

Other foods worth mentioning:

I was away all weekend and trying to keep the eat clean type of food going..while watching UFC Saturday night I came across a wonderful healthy option on the menu. Thin crust peperoni and feta with multigrain crust! Yes it's not the perfect meal, but it feels way less greasy with the feta cheese and just tastes scrumptious!

Grapefruit- I used to eat this fruit alot as a kid, but haven't much in past years. How delicious this food is and very healthy for you!

Something I would like to try. I found this on a girl's Instagram. It is Greek yogurt  almonds, all bran  googiberries, but I am sure you could vary this mix and it still taste delish! I will let you know once I try it!

Fitness- If you are away and can't get to the gym there are still ways to get exercise in. Try this: hiking 15 mins in powder that sometimes you sink down up to your knees. No need to do the leg press when you have this workout!! Snowboarding is like my drug...it gives me such a high. I just wish I could get the high every weekend! 

Until next time! 

xxx

Day 4

You know you are exhausted when....you think you're making coffee in your Keurig in the morning and when you add the milk after all you have is milk, sugar and water!! Can you tell I am not a morning person? Maybe this is why I love my smoothies. I can literally grab and go!

Bfast- Smoothie with even more spinach in it!

Morning snack- Edamame beans..I don't know why, but I love these! And they are filling!!

Lunch- Chicken filet with mixed veggies

Afternoon snack- Pear and carrots and humus

Supper- Smoothie: oats, spinach, mango, berries, lactaid milk, greek yoghurt and 2 scoops of protein powder.

Tonight I needed to workout, but knew I needed some energy in me, so with advice from a friend decided to go the smoothie route. I realized I was out of banana though and sure did miss the taste in my smoothie. I can't get over the fact of how filling smoothies are!

Workout- I have got myself up to 35 mins cardio in my workout. Mostly always run, as I want to keep my endurance up for another run this spring/summer. In hopes to not plateau I ran with varying inclines today...boy did that push me! I am starting to see results and can't wait to see more.


Well off to get some much needed sleep.

Much love,

Your exhausted Canadian Girl

Eat Clean Style Day 2 & 3

I swear my job just wants to suck everything out of me...but I'm fighting hard because I am bound and determined to make the progress I want!

Day 2

Bfast-  Smoothie a little more banana and a little more delish! And of course coffee

Morning snack- Pommogranate seeds (Spelling?) and celery with red pepper hummus

Lunch- Greek quinoa salad minus the dressing ...thanks Pinterest! See below for recipe

Afternoon snack- 1 egg and 1 banana

Supper- Chicken filet, basmati rice and mixed veggies

Day 3- 

Bfast- Smoothie- milk, greek yoghurt, banana, berries, spinach, protein powder. I tried spinach and it was a success!

Morning snack- Banana

Lunch- Quinoa salad with chicken, read peppers and cucumber

Afternoon snack- 1 egg and apple

Supper- Taco salad minus sour cream (Not the most eat clean but it was made for me so can't complain!)

GREEK QUINOA AND AVACADOS SALAD

1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup water
2 Roma tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 shredded spinach
1/3 finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 avocados sliced
1/3 feta cheese crumble

Nutrition facts: 322 calories, 7g protein, 27 g carohydrate, 24g fat, 8 g fiber

Fitness wise I am pushing myself with cardio and starting to make a more precise plan for my workouts. Ia any of you reading this have any wisdom in the workout world, please share your wisdom! I'm open to all the help I can get! With that I am off for an at home workout and then some much needed sleep!

Luv,

Your Canadian Eat Clean Girl

Countdown to Christmas- EatClean Style

DAY 1

Welcome to my EatClean Style post...yes this is even more epic than Gangnam Style stuff!

Instead of getting fatter by all the Christmas goodies I am bound and determined to get leaner and just eat more healthy! Thanks to my dearest blogger friend Serena, I am bound and determine to keep a daily log of my meals and snacks. More for me to keep at it than for you, but feel free to follow the posts!

Where did it all began? Well for me I discovered eating clean last spring when I was training for a half marathon. I've always eaten healthy and grew up eating SUPER healthy, but teaching I don't often take care of myself. When training for my first ever and huge feat run I wanted to be in the best shape possible. I love how I felt when I Eat Cleaned before so I am on a mission to get that feeling back!

Here is a pic to show some snacks I prepared last night!

I have all sorts of veggies bagged in little proportions with hummus ready. Some bags of pomegranate seeds. Om nom nom!! Sadly I remembered today that my school is nut free so all my little nut bags I will have to save for weekends. My latest and greatest purchase!! The Magic Bullet for smoothie making!!

So Lloyd is such an up and coming place (SARCASM!!!) that no one at Sobey's had any idea about Chia seeds, Enamame beans or Quinoa! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope to have better luck at Safeway tonight!

Today's menu:

Bfast- Smoothie: half banana, berries, greek yoghurt, lactaid milk and 2 scoops of protein powder...FIRST TIME USING MY MAGIC BULLET!! Thanks sissy!!

Morning snack- Apple (no almonds :( )

Lunch- Wrap with chicken strips, feta cheese, peppers and  cucumber

Mid-afternoon snack- Banana and 2 hard boiled eggs

Supper- Pork chop with peas and zucchini slices 

To top it all off...lots and lots of water!!

Tomorrow I am playing with quinoa! Hopefully it tastes as good as I am expecting it too!!