February Foodie Pen Pal Reveal Day

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Hey Guys, guess what today is? Foodie Pen Pal reveal day! I haven’t posted one of these in a while because I have been traveling and finishing school and what not.

The FPP program is hosted by Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean. Here are the deets:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.

-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!

-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!

-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)

-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.

-Foodie Penplas is open to US, Canadian & European residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for November, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by March 4th as pairings will be emailed on March 5th

*If you’re from Europe, please CLICK HERE to signup.

For February, Erin sent me an awesome package.

It was very Valentine’s Day themed (AWESOME) and she even had some goodies in there for Layla! The package included home “Love Clusters” which Erin said were made with sunflower seed butter, rolled oats, agave, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin spices and maca root. There was also a Hummingbird Chocolate bar (made in Ottawa!), stir fry sauce (which I still haven’t tasted since we haven’t had stir fry for dinner yet) sour cherry candies (yum yum yum), individually wrapped chocolates, and dog treats.

The package was wonderfully themed for February and I could definitely tell that Erin put a lot of thought and effort into the entire package. Thank you Erin!!!!!!

PROTEIN!

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Protein. I can’t seem to get enough of it lately. So what are my favorite ways to get it? I’ll tell you.

ALMOND BUTTER

Ok, any nut butter really, but I just so happened to buy a ton of almonds the other day, so this is what I currently have on stash.

The flavor is great and can be enjoyed on it’s own or mixed in baked goods and smoothies.

GREEK YOGURT

I used to be OBSESSED with Chobani when I was living in Boston- I would have it everyday either in smoothies or mixed with fruits/grains/etc. But sadly, Chobani isn’t available here so I have resorted to Oikos.

Source

It doesn’t disappoint. I use it in baking recipes, dips, as a topping, etc. I used it for my Dill Dip the other day, and almost every recipe for pancakes.

Raspberry Mocha Pancakes (with almond butter and coconut butter topping)

Berry Infused Pancakes

EGGS

Fried or Hard Boiled are my choices. With sriracha. MMMMMmmmmmm.

PROTEIN BARS

Just recently, I was able to FINALLY get my hands on a box of Quest Bars. If you’re a blog reader, you might have seen these a lot lately- they have great stats (In my opinion)

Tons of fiber, tons of protein, no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, gluten free…

Yeah, I highly recommend trying these puppies (check out their website linked above to see the variety of flavors they offer)

In fact, I just had one…and it curbed my craving for sweets! SHOCKING.

MEAT

Chicken, turkey, beef, pork…all protein (obviously I wouldn’t rely on bacon being a source of protein, but ya know..) I have loved being able to incorporate lean meats in our weekly meals. They are filling AND I have found they give me the oomph I need to get to my nighttime cardio sessions (Is it weird that I get the best cardio workouts late at night?!)

PROTEIN POWDERS

Here are the protein powders I have been using as of late:

Click (the coffee lovers protein powder)

(Source)

Sunwarrior Warrior Blend (BOOOO I cannot seem to get this in Canada!!!!)

(Source)

100% Whey Gold Standard

(Source)

What’s your favorite way to get protein?

Blackberry Vanilla Oatcakes…etc.

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Happy Monday, folks. I have been running around like cray-cray today in an attempt to run errands, clean, cook, and be awesome.

Good thing I started the day with a POT of coffee and these babies:

Honestly, just go make these right now. Even if it’s for dinner. I made these with a sample packet of Sunwarrior Vanilla Protein Powder that I got in my Bulu Box awhile back.

I’m not sure why I never used it sooner, because it had a fantastic flavor that really oomph-ed these cakes. (Oh, and I just looked online, and it’s REALLY expensive to have some of the stuff shipped to Canada. So, if you know of any secret place/way I can get it on the cheap, I’M ALL EARS)

Blackberry Vanilla Oatcakes

1 cup oat flour (I put oats in the food processor for this)
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 egg whites
Sunwarrior protein powder (or a scoop of protein powder of your choice)
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp nonfat plain greek yogurt

Mix everything together, pour on hot griddle (with cooking spray), top with sliced blackberries, flip, eat. These came out SUPER fluffy and they were nice and filling. I topped the stack with a mixture of greek yogurt, almond milk, cinnamon and agave. Oh, and chia seeds.

I must be on a greek yogurt kick, because it was included in lunch as well. I knew I wanted a ton of veggies, but I wanted something to give a plate of plain, raw veggies a little bit of a kick.

Insert: Dill Dip

Yet another ‘recipe’ that I just threw together, and didn’t really measure the ingredients. But, it included:

Greek yogurt
Dill
Parsley
Garlic Salt
Lemon Juice

It went really well with my lunch plate!

For the record- lentil chips are the bomb dot com.

Onto random ramblings!

I FINALLY got a call from Tiffany&Co saying my earrings were in. To quickly recap: I brought them in in December when a screw back fell off one of the posts. I was told they no longer make those and my earrings would have to sent out for repair (approx. 1 month waiting time). I then called them to tell them I would be out of the country and to call Tyler because I wouldn’t have a phone. Obviously they didn’t do that, so we were never notified my earrings were in. I went to the store at the end of January and found that they set my diamonds in completely different settings without my consent. Never mind the fact that the ‘replacement’ backings were defective as well! So, they were sent back out to have set in the original settings. I was told a week, and it took 3. I went in to the store this morning and found that the 2nd replacement/repair was STILL defective. I took them anyways because I was sick of dealing with their crap. RESULT: WE WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH THEM AGAIN.
I am going to Seattle in 17 days!!!!!! I can’t wait to see my best friend. Nevermind the fact that I’ll be there for St. Patty’s day AND her birthday! 😉 😉
I made fudge a couple weeks ago and over-boiled the evaporate milk concoction. The batch was super dry and yuck. So, I was overly cautious when making some rocky road fudge last night. Apparently I was TOO cautious. It didn’t set. BUT THE GOOD NEWS YOU GUYS is that if you throw it in the freezer, it’s edible! If that didn’t work, I was going to resort to nuking it in the microwave for an ice cream topper in the future.
Here’s a list of AWKWARD SITUATIONS. The best part, I personally find them all hilarious. Like, I would WANT to be in those situations so that I could try to make other people uncomfortable. Ok, maybe not #3.
Not that I’m trying to get serious or anything, but this article on 10 Reasons Why Women Don’t Say “I’m Pretty” I thought I’d include this because I am totally guilty of just about all of them.
Way to go, Alberta.
Check out this playlist I put together for today’s run:

I had to put this thing together all by myself. With no help. Why? Look:

64 of you saw this update/request I posted on my Facebook page yesterday, but NONE of you provided suggestions. Do you not listen to music? I kid, I kid, I know you were all probably too busy with Oscar/Walking Dead/Amazing Race watching. In case you were NOT one of the 64 people who saw this, I urge you to go LIKE MY PAGE. Maybe *you* will be helpful to my future requests.

Question: what’s your favorite way to use protein powder? Got something random to share?

“I’m Going to Montana” doesn’t have the same ring to it as Will Smith’s song.

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

I have had a serious sweet tooth lately.

Unfortunately, this has coincided with my lack of willingness to workout.

Honestly, I think my body just needed a few days of rest. That said, I am more than excited to bust out a long run at the gym later today.

But let’s get back to those sweets. I mean, they’re not BAD for you by any means. They’re just no broccoli or brussel sprouts.

First, the grain free chocolate mug cake.

Super easy to make. You’ll need:

3 T almond meal
3 T cocoa powder
2 T agave
1 t vanilla
1 egg
A dash of cinnamon

Mix everything up nice and good in a mug, microwave it for 2 minutes, and BOOM, you’ve got yourself a single serving cake. It was super filling and hit the spot.

Another ‘sweet’ I made were protein balls. I made a small batch really quick yesterday before we hopped in the car for a ‘quick’ trip to Montana.

I never really measure out the proportions of ingredients when I make these, but it included:

Oats
Protein powder
Sunflower seed butter
Almond milk
Agave

Again, super tasty and really filling.

Montana was fun. I was there for approximately 2.5 minutes before turning around to visit the nice immigration officer on the Canadian side. He took out all my visitor visas from my passport, stapled in my confirmation of permanent residency, and said the card would be in the mail in 90 days.

7 hours of driving for a quick conversation and a signature. A waste of time, but well worth it. The views were pretty awesome.

..the views of nothing that is.

I celebrated with a little bubbly when I got home, and today I am already on the job hunt.

Seriously, if you know of any full-time jobs in Calgary, please let me know.

Seriously.

Tacos and Pancakes

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Jen @nutcaseinpoint

Ok, my recipe last night worked, so I can share it with you. IT IS SO GOOD.

Cilantro-Lime Pulled Pork Tacos

Here’s what you need:

Pork tenderloin
Jar of salsa verde
Lime juice
Onion
Cilantro
Roma Tomatoes
Tortillas
Other fun stuff

Here’s what you do:

Put the tenderloin in the crock pot. Cover it with the salsa verde and about 3 good squirts of lime juice. Low for 6-8 hours or High for 3-4 hours.
Chop up a yellow onion and a bunch of cilantro. Put it in the fridge.
An hour prior to eating, shred the pork (keep it in the crock pot), and add about 1/3 of the onion/cilantro mix.
Assemble your tacos. I used corn tortillas, the pulled pork, extra onions/cilantro, diced tomatoes, mango, black beans, and guac.

I could probably eat this everyday and be happy.

I could also eat these chocolate oat pancakes everyday, too:

Chocolate Oat Pancakes

Here’s what you need:

1 c oats
2 egg whites
1/4 c unsweetened almond milk
1 t baking powder
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
3 T plain greek yogurt

Here’s what you do:

Beat all the ingredients together. The key is to BEAT them. Beat them REAL GOOD. (there’s egg whites in there, y’all)
Spray a griddle and divide batter into 4 pancakes. The end.

I topped mine with sunflower seed frosting (a mixture of my homemade sunflower seed butter and almond milk, heated in the microwave and stirred well) and some chia seeds. With a side of blueberries.

Yesterday’s workout was 40 minutes of spin. The gym was PACKED but I managed to snag a bike. A crappy bike. The seat collapsed halfway through the ride. At least I was in 2nd position when it happened, or that could have been AWKWARD (or a reat awk spot story for Athena’s blog)

Today’s workout was Workout B from BBB and it was killer- a real upper body blaster! I was super pumped throughout the workout though because I wore my brand new Lululemon top! Oh, and 30 minutes of speed work on the treadmill. Not too shabby.