Tag Archives: recipe

Oreo Truffles!

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Another boring recap post. 

Foods:

Chicken Fajitas for dinner on Tuesday. Mine with corn tortillas and Tyler’s with flour. Topped with TONS of sriracha.

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Starbucks (totally a treat for me)

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More coconut flour pancakes. This time I put the fruit IN the batter so everything was nice and warm. Way better that way. And I topped the stack with a combo of Click espresso protein powder and greek yogurt. That breakfast keeps me full for forever.

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I hit the Calgary Farmer’s Market yesterday and got great produce (for cheap) and a treat!

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Buffalo mozzarella, an eggplant, mangoes, green beens and pomegranates ($1 each!)

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A maple bacon donut and a s’mores donut from Jelly Modern Donuts. Tyler and I have been meaning to get to their actual store for quite some time now, but they’re in a completely different part of Calgary that it never made sense to make the trek on a weekend morning. I saw their kiosk at the farmer’s market, and the purchase was totally on impulse. I cut them up and we tested them after our dinner last night. The verdict: turns out maple and bacon is not our preferred salty/sweet combo, but the s’mores was pretty tasty. 

Speaking of Valentine’s dinner, I hit up Safeway yesterday early morning (I thought everyone would be flocking to the butcher counter for steaks, and I wanted to make sure I got two good ones for us). We had steak, asparagus and baked potatoes. One of the best-and most basic- meals ever. Honest to God, Alberta beef is out of this world dynamite. I hardly had to cut it and we only seasoned with a pinch of salt. Melt in your mouth deliciousness. 

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It took almost all my willpower to not inhale that steak.

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I also managed to slap on an apron at some point in the day and make a special valentine’s treat for Tyler.

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Oreo Truffles!

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Super easy to make: Throw 36 Oreos (almost TWO packages…I swear they’re getting smaller and smaller) in the food processor until crumbled. Throw in a package of cream cheese (8 oz) and pulse until incorporated. Empty contents into a bowl and ensure the mixture is thoroughly mixed. On a double boiler, add 2 8 oz. packages of Baker’s white chocolate. Make sure to constantly stir. Roll the Oreo mixture into tablespoon sized balls, drop in the white chocolate, and fully coat. Use a fork to retrieve out of the chocolate and let cool on waxed paper. Refrigerate.

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They’re not the most glamourous looking truffles, but they show the homemadeness which makes them all that much better (and WAY more thoughtful!)

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I topped this batch with some rainbow sprinkles for a little decoration. You could use extra Oreo crumbles or graham crackers or nuts or….whatever!

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Mmmmmmm.

Layla got a few Valentine treats herself! I call them Refrigerator Cookies, because she prefers the yogurt coating to be cold. (Don’t know how that was discovered, but she is a pretty spoiled dog). First, her daily morning RC stick in PINK, then a Valentine’s heart that was bigger than my hand.

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Workouts:

Tuesday: 50 minutes of crazy intense spinning!

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Wednesday: My tummy was a little agitated after dinner, so I opted out of the planned BBB workout and chose to go through 5 superset tabatas for my upper body. Apparently the pumping adrenaline helped, because I was able to round out the workout with 50 burpees!

Thursday: I did 4 miles of intervals on the treadmill. 

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Random Things:

Finally got new sunglasses. They look identical to my old ones. (I would use the saying If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it but in this particular case, I suppose that doesn’t fit)

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I went to pick up some stuff that Tyler found on Kijiji. This woman was giving away TONS of wine and beer making equipment for free! I barely fit it all in my car.

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And that’s all I have. For now.

Chia Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Aaaand I totally thought it was Tuesday. But it’s not. 

Moving on!

Happy Monday, folks. What oh what do I have to share with you today? Well, there’s a recipe. That’s about it. 

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These cookies are seriously delicious. I was searching around the internets to find inspiration and after about 2 hours of wandering, I found it. These are chia chocolate chip cookies that I modified to accommodate what I had in the house and what I actually would want to eat.

Chia Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 1 1/2 c quick oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/3 c flour
  • 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I used Click, an espresso protein powder-my FAVORITE-, which gave it an awesome coffee kick!)
  • 2 tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/4 c butter
  •  1/2 c brown sugar
  • 3/4 c peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 c dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie pans with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, mix oats, baking powder, flour, protein powder, and chia seeds. 

3. In another bowl (or mixer),  beat eggs and butter until smooth. Add peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. Slowly add oat mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.

4. Take tbsp amounts of dough, form into balls using your palms and place on cookies sheets. Bake 13 minutes and allow to cool.

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I think it’s safe to say these are some of my favorite cookies ever. They have protein. And peanut butter. And chocolate. The chia seeds give it a great twist, too!

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They keep their shape in small, roundish balls. Cue me eating more than intended. And they have a super yummy middle.

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Ok, ok, I’m going to stop describing them. Mmmm….so good.

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I managed to get in the cardio portion of Workout A from Best Body Bootcamp already. I ran about 40 minutes of intervals on the treadmill. It felt SO GOOD to get back on those nice treadmills and really push myself.

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I’ll be getting the strength portion done while I watch Biggest Loser tonight. AND, as an added bonus, I’ve decided to do 10 burpees for every set of commercials (doesn’t hurt that the show is 2 hours!)

And last, but certainly not least, today is the first day of the Healthy sELF challenge.

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The challenge was designed as a way for people to connect through social media as a means of motivating each other to choose healthy options in life. Healthy through food, fitness, love, etc. Today’s challenge was go to meatless. That’s kind of hard when you’re coming off a Super Bowl high and live with a guy who loves meat. But, I managed to come up with an interesting concoction. Insert: tofu tacos with slaw, tangy sauce and warmed grapefruit.

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They had a lot of different flavors and textures, but it just didn’t feel like a cohesive dish. Nonetheless, I got in my protein, kept it meatless, and filled my tummy with an assortment of goodness.

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Question: Do you have a favorite meatless meal?

Forgotten Cookies and a Circuit Workout (because cookies and workouts go together)

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You’d think with all this free time I have that I’d be able to keep up with blogging everyday. You’d think.

Yesterday afternoon, Layla started drooling like CRA-ZAY. Tyler thinks her drooling is linked to her butt issue (oh, you don’t know about the butt issue? She starts yelping and getting in downward dog position. Apparently her anal glands fill with fluid, so she has to have them expressed at the vet) so of course, I was on edge all last night about it.

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The drooling from yesterday made it inevitable that she would start yelping today, but so far so good (knock on wood).

In light of some butt-talk, I have a cool recipe for ya: Forgotten cookies!

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I don’t think you could mess these up if you tried. They’re called forgotten cookies because you can mix the ingredients together, put them in the oven and forget about them!

Ingredients

  • 2 egg whites
  • pinch of salt
  • 2/3 sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

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Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites and salt until they get foamy. Slowly add the sugar (still beating), and continue until the mixture form stiff peaks.
  3. Fold in the vanilla, chocolate chips, and nuts. Spoon onto baking sheets.
  4. Place the cookies in the oven. As soon as your shut the oven door, turn the oven off and leave the cookies in there overnight (or 5-6 hours).

Yum.

Yesterday, I also got my Glymm Box in the mail.

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A couple of goodies: lip gloss, fake eyelashes, $10 gift card, nail polish remover, and $20 off a panty of the month club (umm, no thanks).

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Tyler and I are having a date night on Friday, so I’m thinking of slapping those lashes on the ol’ eye curtains. I predict I’ll either look like a drag queen or….a drag queen.

For your entertainment:

The 12 Daze of Christmas (performed by Fay McKay) If you’ve never heard it, you’ll get a chuckle. *and a tree….and a tree…and a treeeeee innn the meaaaadowwwwww*

(Not gonna lie, I’m sitting here staring at my computer trying to think of what to write next. I have nothing else to do except an at home workout that I have yet to write)

Ok, perhaps we should do that! (Give me 5 minutes so I can write it on paper first, then I’ll type it.)

….5 minutes later…

GOT IT. Here’s my workout for the evening that I choose to share with you:

Warm up tabata: alternating between skiiers and jump squats

5 minute AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of:

  • 10 bicep curls
  • 20 reverse lunges
  • 10 crunches
  • 20 donkey kicks

Cardio tabata: alternatig between jumping jacks and side to side lunges

5 minute AMRAP of:

  • 10 deadlifts
  • 20 overhead press crunch
  • 10 sit-n-stands
  • 20 prone ball glute press

Cardio tabata: alternating between mountain climbers and jump rope

Polish it off with the following at your own pace:

  • 50 single leg stability ball squat (each side)
  • 50 pushups
  • 50 leg lifts

What’s your favorite holiday song? What’s your favorite go-to exercise at home?

1-10 Friday

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Happy Friday!

I have no cohesive post to write, so this random blurb of words is about to happen. Sit down, grab a drink and enjoy.

1. Yesterday I worked out. Hahahah DUH! I always work out. I went to the gym before noon (which hasn’t happened in a long time) and I ran on the treadmill for 40 minutes, then 10 minutes on the row machine. I counted the row machine as a strength workout because it kills the core, arms and legs. I intended on staying on the treadmill for an hour, but my legs were feeling heavy from the lower body workout the night before. 

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I even tried foam rolling for about 30 minutes prior to working out, but it didn’t seem to help that much. Ah well.

2. I can’t believe I am about to type this, but I think I like having brown(er) hair. Perhaps that’s just winter talking. But I am actually getting ahead of myself and thinking that it would go best with my wedding dress. Ew, I’m thinking about that kinda stuff? Yuck. But seriously, I think it will.

3. Last night’s dinner was YUMMO. I made a lightened up version of chicken broccoli alfredo. Real quick, here’s what I did. 

  • Sliced 2 chicken breasts, cooked fully, set aside
  • Oil, garlic and crown of broccoli florets, sauteed and covered to steam until cooked to desire.
  • No Yoke pasta noodles, cooked according to directions.

That’s the easy part, now here’s the sauce.

1. In a saucepan, add 1 tbsp oil and 3 cloves minced garlic.

2. Add 1 cup low fat milk and 1/2 cup vegetable broth.

3. Slowly add 1 tbsp of flour to mixture at a time, stirring constantly to ensure there are no clumps. You should add about 5 tbsp of flour total. (Start using a whisk, damnit!)

4. Add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tbsp pesto paste, and 1/4 cut grated parmesan cheese.

5. Keep stirring, lower heat.

6. Add chicken, broccoli and noodles. Stir. Eat.

7. I topped mine with sirarcha and loved it.

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4. We are on to phase 2 of our beer making. I’m getting more excited for it.

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5. I was watching Jersey Shore this morning and thought to myself about how sucky it would be if I were at one of those clubs when the cast was there and they referred to me as a grenade. Because honestly, a lot of those ‘grenades’ aren’t ugly, they’re just not guidettes or whatever. 

6. My recent downloads. Very alternative. And I actually listened to it while working out yesterday- and didn’t get bored! I suggest you try it.

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7. This article hits home a bit. Part of the tragedy of moving so much.

8. I think cleaning the kitchen has finally surpassed making the bed as my least favorite household chore. 

9. I have realized that we almost NEVER get mail on Thursdays or Fridays. Super disheartening. That said, feel free to mail me letters, gifts, postcards, etc. 

10. Ok this post is stupid. SO, I am going to stop here, press Publish for some stupid reason, and go work out or something.

Thursday Things

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Hey there.

I don’t have much to share today. I have been feeling like crap, so a lot of moping and napping and complaining to the dog.

I DO have a recipe to share, though. Yesterday, I made crock pot turkey pumpkin chili. It was pretty good, but maybe a little on the bland side. I’ll share the recipe anyways.

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

What you’ll need:

  • 1 lb ground turkey
  • 1/2 diced red pepper
  • 1/2 diced green pepper
  • 1/2 diced onion
  • 2 cups pumpkin puree
  • 1 can (16 oz or so) beans- I used a 6 bean blend, but you can choose black, kidney, navy, etc….
  • 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes with chilis
  • 1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
  • 2 tsp cayenne
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 cup stock (I had chicken on hand. I used this because it was a little thick)
  • salt
  • pepper

What to do:

1. Brown the ground turkey in a skillet.

2. Throw everything in the crock pot.

3. Eat.

Honest to God, I don’t think it could get any easier. I topped my bowl with a bit of shredded cheddar- it was a nice compliment once it was stirred into the chili.

 

Since I was feeling super crappy, I decided not to head to the gym. But, being the fitness junkie that I am, I couldn’t NOT do anything (especially since it wasn’t my designated day off- I know, I know “listen to your body” and all that crap, but I wasn’t dying, I just wasn’t feeling like the normal stellar Jen.) I decided to get in some strength at home. In my pajamas. This is what I managed to get done:

  • 2 sets of 12 squat presses
  • 100 pushups
  • 50 leg lifts
  • 3 rounds of an arm series (12 reps of each move: bicep curl, hammer curl, overhead press)
  • 3 rounds of gliding lunge series (10 reverse lunges and 10 side lunges- each side)
  • 3 sets of 10 overhead reach presses on each side (holding weight in right hand , right foot crossed over left, perform an overhead press, reaching the weight directly up and over your head to the left. You’ll feel this in your obliques)
  • 3 sets of 10 deadlifts on each leg
  • 3 mile walk with the dog
  • 100 stability ball sit ups
  • 100 crunches

I actually broke a sweat getting this done because I limited my rest periods (felt that was necessary since I was not doing any cardio)

Ramblings:

-I reintroduced carrots back into my life. Totally forgot about those suckers. They’re pretty good.

-I thought people in the states were rude, but boy, the people here are way worse (at least the ones I have come across). I have been shoved out of the way. People have cut me in line. They do not say ‘excuse me’ to anything. Ever. It sound like an irrational complaint, but dude.

– Except for the cashier at Wal-Mart yesterday (of all places). He was super nice.

– I saw another celebrity look-a-like at the gym Tuesday. This time it was Guiliana Rancic. I have also seen every Canadian twin of my Boston gym friends at the gym here. I think I am just having withdrawals. Haha ok, so my Boston gym friends will get a kick out of this: You know how I don’t go to group ex classes here? Well, a prime example: I walked past the studio on my way to the equipment the other day, and the girl was leading them in heel taps on the 4-count. It was NOT a senior class. Ugh, so sad.

-The lock on your garage door is backwards. I feel like an idiot every time I try to use it.

– I have a recurring dream of going back to the all-girls high school I went to in CA for my freshman and sophomore year. I often wonder how different my life would be if we never moved to NY. My first thought is always about how much fatter I’d probably be.

– Mint M&Ms. Buy them.

– I always dance to the intro music of The Mindy Project. It’s my favorite. Plus, I think Mindy and I would be really good friends.

-Ah, friends. I miss them. And home. And Target.