Forks Over Knives Banana Granola Parfait

Well my house smells soooo yummy, the kids running in and out keep stopping in the kitchen asking what is cooking and if they can all have some :) So I figured I'd share on here as well! Now if you know me at all you know simple is the way I go...if i bake at all that is, normally I leave that up to my husband and my neighbor :p But I decided to go on and try this today...hope you all enjoy as well!! :) Its under the breakfast section in the cookbook, we are going to use it as an afternoon sweet treat and left overs for breakfast tomorrow morning.
Banana Granola Parfait

For the Banana Cream:
One 12 oz package extra firm silken tofu, drained.
2 ripe bananas
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup date molasses or brown rice syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 cups Banana Almond Granola (Recipe Below)
1/2 batch fruit salad or 4 cups (Recipe Below)

To make Banana Cream:
Combine the tofu, bananas, lemon juice, date molasses, vanilla extract, and salt in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy. Chill at least one hour before serving
To Assemble the parfait:
Have ready individual parfait glasses
Spoon 1/4 cup of Banana Cream in the bottom of glass, top with 1/4 cup of the granola, followed by 1/4 cup of the fruit salad. Repeat until the glass is full.

Banana Almond Granola:
 8 cups rolled oats
2 cups pitted and chopped dates
2 ripe bananas, peeled and chopped
1 tsp almond extract
1 tsp salt (for taste)
1 cup slivered almonds (toasted), optional
Preheat oven to 275
Add oats to a large mixing bowl and set aside. Line two 13x18 inch baking pans with parchment paper.
Place dates in a medium saucepan with 1 cup water bring to a boil for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and add mixture to blender with banana, almond extract, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.
Add date mixture to granola and mix well. Divide granola mix between two baking sheets. Bake for 40-50 minutes stirring every 10 minutes, until granola is crispy. remoe from the oven and let cool before adding slivered almonds. Cereal will get crispy as it cools.

Fruit Salad:
1 pint fresh strawberries, stems removed and sliced
1 pint fresh blueberries
2 cups seedless grapes
1 ripe pear, cored and diced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons date syrup(optional)
Pinch of ground sugar
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Chill until ready to serve


 http://www.forksoverknives.com/

Baked Ziti by Forks Over Knives

We are very excited to try our first ever (well ok from the cookbook instead of their blog) recipe from Forks Over Knives tonight :) I will upload a pic once its out of the oven. http://www.forksoverknives.com/ 
Their site/blog has tons of info on plant protein VS animal protein, they also have a movie out as well that explains it even better. Enjoy!

Baked Ziti

1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 tablespoons chopped oregano
One 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound whole grain ziti noodles
1 batch no cheese sauce (recipe below)

No-Cheese Sauce:
This sauce is great with the casserole and can be used for recipes like mac and cheese or baked ziti. Best of all, it takes about 5 minutes to put together.
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
1 large red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons toasted cashews(optional)
1 tablespoon tahini(optional)
1 cup nutritional yeast
Sea salt to taste
Combine everything in a blender and puree until smooth and creamy.
**we also added nutmeg, we didnt use the cashews or tahini**
 

Saw this and thought of my Crossfitt friends :) Now before you go commenting how easy this workout may be to you die hard Crossfitters (if thats even a word haha) The point of this blog is to post workouts that can be done at home with little to no equipment so with that being said here is your WOD :p 

CROSSFIT WORKOUT

The Do-Anywhere CrossFit Workout

No time? No equipment? No space? No problem. This travel-friendly, CrossFit-inspired workout will blast fat and sculpt muscle in minutes. No excuses!

By Jen Ator

Photograph By
Munetaka Tokuyama

Vacations generally present a number of fitness obstacles, and summer ones are no exception. For starters, there never seems to be enough room in your suitcase for bulky running shoes and the five pairs of wedges you just have to bring. Plus, it's way too beautiful outside to be holed up in a gym (never mind a tiny hotel room), and your itinerary is jam-packed (you know, with all that poolside lounging).
But now is so not the time to slack off. This CrossFit-inspired workout, created by Nathan Forster and Michael Alfaro, co-owners of Reebok CrossFit 5th Avenue in New York City, will keep you on track. For the uninitiated, this uberpopular fitness program runs you through a series of functional exercises at an intense pace. Translation: You build muscle and torch megacalories in under 20 minutes. This versatile workout requires no equipment and only a few feet of space, so your makeshift gym can be a hotel room, a park, or even the beach.
6 Moves, 4 Workouts!
For CrossFit followers, each day is a new adventure, thanks to the program's signature Workout of the Day routines (WOD), which change up the moves and reps. This helps guarantee results because your body is in a constant state of guesswork; adapting to a set routine is what stalls progress, says Forster. Using the six CrossFit exercises (at right), mix and match the four workouts below. Do three or four sessions a week. It doesn't matter which workouts you pick; just keep the pace fast and the effort hard.
Total Time
Do 10 reps of each exercise, moving from one to the next without resting. Complete as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.
EXERCISE ORDER: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Total Countdown
Complete 60 reps of the first move, 50 of the second, 40 of the third, and so on, until you've worked down to 10 reps of the last exercise.
EXERCISE ORDER: 2, 1, 6, 5, 4, 3
Total Rounds
Do 12 reps of each exercise, moving from one to the next without rest. Complete five rounds and note how long it takes you to finish. Aim to do the workout faster next time.
EXERCISE ORDER: 3, 4, 5, 2, 6, 1
Total Reps
Complete as many reps as you can of each move in one minute each, moving from one exercise to the next without stopping. Rest one minute, then repeat the entire sequence two more times. Keep track of your total rep count (e.g., if you finish 20 lunge hops, start counting pushups at 21). Try to beat your grand total next time.
EXERCISE ORDER: 5, 6, 2, 3, 1, 4
Print the Crossfit workout!

Jump Squat

Butterfly Situp

Burpee

Triceps Dip

Lunge Hop

Pushup

Fun Breakfast! Pepper Flower Eggs :)

 Super cute and fun breakfast idea!!! Was yummy too :)

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/breakfastbrunch/eggs-breakfastbrunch/flower-power-eggs-in-pepper-rings/

Ingredients

• 1 dash Cooking Oil Spray (i used coconut)
• 1 whole Large Bell Pepper
• 4 whole Large Eggs
• 1 pinch Salt And Pepper, to taste
•  
  Heat a non-stick skillet to medium low heat. Lightly spray skillet with cooking oil spray.
  Cut bell pepper into 4 1/2 inch thick slices (you can use one bell pepper or different colors of bell peppers to give a variety of colors).
  Place pepper rings in the skillet.
  Crack one egg into each pepper ring. Cover and cook for a few minutes, until egg yolks are to desired firmness. If you like your yolks firm, it helps to break the yolk right after cracking into pepper rings.
  Season to taste
   

Bacon Wrapped Smokies

1 package of Lil' smokies (little tiny sausages from the grocery store)
1 lb bacon
1 tbs or so of brown sugar (you can try honey)

This would undoubtedly work without the brown sugar.  However, it cuts the intense flavor of sausages and that amount won't kill you, really! It doesn't really taste sweet, just a little hint of carmel-something. Of course, if you want to be strict, use honey instead.  Should do just as well. Come to think of it, I will do so next time!

The process:

Cut bacon in thirds. Wrap each individual sausage into a strip of bacon and slide the result onto a skewer. Arrange skewers on a baking pan and sprinkle with brown sugar. You will complete 6-8 skewers.  Stick 'em in the oven at 350 for 40 minutes or so. For extra crispiness, increase the temperature to 400F for the last five minutes.  Yum!
cavekitchen.com is where I found this recipe. The kids LOVED it their responses were "mmmm! mmmm!" and "This is the best EVER" :)

Go For A Walk! :)

Core Center!

Hey! So all of the following is timed and a great workout that we had in Core Center (shout out to Jenn!! haha)
Time - 6 minutes,
1) Low jacks 30
2)Bike Crunch 30 (each knee to elbow is one)

3)Crab Kicks with boat (if you want a challange do the boat if thats too hard for now then just do crab kicks) 20 (each kick is one)

4)Up/Downs 20 (stand in front of your mat, or towel, step back into a lunge and kneel, bring other leg back and kneel, then stand one leg stepping at a time, when both knees r down that one)

Keep going until your 6 minute timer goes off :) Rest for a few minutes before heading into the next set down below.
****
First round do each move 30 seconds, second time around do each move 45 seconds.
1)Toe Touches
2)Plank Jax and Plank froggers
 3)Squat Lunge Combo (exactly as it says :)) - squat, step back into a lunge, squat, step back with foot and lunge...repeat. ...use med ball for extra core! hold above the head or at your chest
After you are done with both sets of 30 seconds and 45 seconds, go back to the 6 minute timed workout above and repeat again :) Do both sets/rounds twice so 6 minutes, rest, 30 sec, 45 sec...rest, 6 min, rest, 30 sec, 45 sec and youre done :)
****
Have a great work out!

Add caption

Crab Walk

Boat

 

toe touch

Low Jacks

Plank Jax

Plank position, then jump feet in for frogger

Paleo Omelet Muffins

Well day 1 of back on Paleo! :) Loved opening my fridge to prepare food for today to see so much healthy yummy food :) I am posting the link for what the kiddos and I are having for bfast this morning. Snack is just cut up veggies...lunch is a salad with whatever I decide to add to it from the fridge topped with olive oil and vinegar mmm mmm good! Hope you enjoy the Omelet Muffins!

Omelet Muffins
Makes 8 muffins. Approximate cooking time: 30 minutes.
Ingredients
coconut oil or paper muffin liners 2 cups diced vegetables*
8 eggs 1/4 tsp salt
1/8 cup water 1/8 tsp ground pepper
8 oz cooked meat (ham or sausage)
cut or crumbled into small pieces
2 medium carrots, sliced
Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 350°.
2) Grease 8 muffin cups with coconut oil or line with paper baking cups.
Fill any remaining muffin cups with 1” of water, so they do not scorch
while baking.
3) Beat the eggs in a medium bowl and add meat, vegetables, salt, ground
pepper, and any other ingredients you wish to add.
4) Pour mixture into the muffin cups.
5) Bake for 18-20 minutes.
*Asparagus, peppers, onions, broccoli work well, but use what’s on hand.

Tank Top Arms

Yes, I have an addiction to finding work outs on pinterest, trying them out....then using them on here and with my clients sooooo here is a great arm one! :)
**********
10 pushups
24 bicep curls (8 full, 8 half, 8 full) <----- killers! :)
15 shoulder presses
10 pushups
15 tricep dips
15 back rows
15 lat raises
10 pushups
15 triceps kick backs followed by 20 pulse kickbacks

**Repeat 2-3 times!** 

MIA

Ok ok ok Im sorry Ive been MIA lately...I want to try and figure out how to get this site more organized. I want to get workouts under and link and food under a link ect...so bare with me :) Ill still post stuff just the site may be a mess once I get this all figured out! I hope everyones been eating well ...eeek summer bbqs and all seem to be making that one alil hard haha BUT we are back on the paleo wagon (ok well after grocery shopping today :p). Also I hope your work outs have been going well...any requests??? Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!!! Mine will get great after coffee kicks in (and core center class wakes me up haha)