Zucchini, bean, hearts of palm side salad

1. Drain and rinse chick peas (garbanzo beans) and black beans

2. Chop hearts of palm and zucchini and toss with beans

3. Drizzle approx 1 tbs of blood orange olive oil (any extra virgin olive oil will work), approx 2 to 3 tbs Dijon mustard, approx 2 to 3 tbs pomegranate balsamic vinegar, approx 1 tbs turmeric, 1 tbs seasonings and 1 tsp paprika.

4. Mix dressing ing in with the bean mixture. Let marinate in fridge an hour or overnight.

5. Enjoy as a side dish or on your salad

Enjoy!

Live healthy. Live Happy.

Nikki

Is your diet toxic?

Find more great infographics on NerdGraph Infographics

10 Health way to invigorate your water

Live Healthy. Live Happy.

Chocolate, banana, peanut butter smoothie (need I say more)

Chocolate banana peanut butter smoothie:

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

1/2 frozen banana

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 tbs pb2

1 tbs coconut oil

7 ice cubes

Blend. Garnish with cacao nibs

Enjoy!!

Live Healthy. Live Happy.

Nikki

Very cool way to separate egg yolk

I just subscribed to Handimania on YouTube. I thought this was such a fun and time saving idea, you never know what he may come up with next!

clean banana cookies

Clean banana cookie recipe:

3 ripe bananas

1 1-2 cups oats (I mixed quick and old fashioned)

1 1-2 scoops of vanilla protein powder

1 tsp vanilla

1 -2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup trader joes unsweetened cherries

1/3 cup millet

1/3 cup cacao nibs

1/4 cup flax seeds

Bake at 350 for 14 minutes

Live healthy, Live happy

Nikki

blackeye pea hummus

Blackeye pea hummus

Prepare 16 oz bag of blackeye peas till mushy

3 tbs chopped garlic

4 to 6 tbs tahini

9 tbs lemon juice

Dash of salt

I used my immersion blender till smooth (you can add 1 tbs water at a time if too thick)

Serve with celery, carrots, use as a spread instead of mayo, a dollop on your salad is delish too. 

How do you like to eat your hummus?

Live healthy, live happy.

Nikki

An obvious but easy weight loss trick

One of the most obvious and "easiest" things to do to lose weight is drink 2 to 3 liters each day. One of my favorite ways to get in my quota is to drink 1 liter of Trader Joes sparkling water. It comes in 4 flavors: lemon, lime, mandarins orange and raspberry lime.

The other two liters of water that I try to drink each day contain lemon juice. Why you ask? Water alone helps promote fat burning and by simply adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to it, you can promote fat burning up to 30% more as well as help cleanse/detox your body. 

Also, When you drink water before and during each meal you will eat less because the water will fill you up. I have to be honest drinking this much water is sometimes hard to do, so any little tips can be helpful! I would love to hear any tips on how you get in your daily water intake. 

Live healthy, Live happy

Nikki

Leptin: an appetite suppressant

Our fat cells produce a hormone called Leptin which is a natural appetite suppressant. In order to keep the hormone levels high (when leptin levels are too low it signals our body to store fat) we need to do a few things: 1. Eliminate MSG 2. Get enough sleep 3. Eat slow (it takes 20 minutes for leptin to kick in and tell us we are full) 4. Eating seafood (because of its Omega-3s) raises Leptin levels 5. Zinc: women need at least 9mg daily 

*the above info was taken from Jackie Warner's book "This is why you're fat (and how to stay thin forever)"*

Crispy, Delish Green Beans

This is a quick green bean recipe:

Bag of green beans

blood orange olive oil

sea salt

balsamic vinegar

fat free feta cheese (optional)

 One bag of fresh green beans steamed al dente.

 Add in a pinch of sea salt, blood orange olive oil, balasmic vinegar and a little feta cheese.

Voila. Your perfect side dish, or add a little to your stir fry or to your salad! 

The easiest 2 ingredient crockpot chicken, and it's good for you!!

Recipe:

organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts

fresh salsa 

Cut any excess fat off chicken breast and cut in half.

place chicken breast halves in crock pot

dump salsa on top

add water till chicken is covered with liquid

cook on low for approx 4 hours

When chicken is done, remove from stock and shred all the chicken into a bowl.

Use chicken on your salad, added to a stir-fry, wraps for the kids...

After I remove all the chicken, I use the stock to make a delicious tomato based soup...recipe on another post coming soon.

Fat Burning Tea

Recipe for a delicious, fat burning, blood sugar leveling tea!
I won't go into all the details here. If you want to see some of the benefits of oolong tea, then click on link below where i found the original recipe.

4 Oolong Tea bags
unsweetened almond milk
cinnamon
cayenne pepper
stevia (optional)
vanilla extract
Brew 4 tea bags in 2 cups water in a quart mason jar. Let steep for 4-5 min, remove tea bags. Add ice till you have a full 4 cups tea (with all ice cubes melted). Pour half tea into another cup and save for the afternoon. Starting with mason jar half full of tea (2 cups) you will need to add ice till you have 3 1/2 cups, add above spices to taste, a squirt of liquid stevia, 1 tsp vanilla, fill the rest of way up with almond milk. Secure lid on and SHAKE! Remove lid. Add a fun straw and ENJOY!

To see the original post and recipe got to Trim Healthy Mama on Facebook!
 

Is Sugar Toxic?

Do you think the leading cause of obesity not only in our nation, but in the world is sugar? I found this video to confirm everything I have researched on my own in the last two years, but also what I am learning in school at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. click on the link below to watch the video!! Tell me what you think!
Catalyst: Toxic Sugar? - ABC TV Science

Unsweetened (Pumpkin) Apple Butter

You only need five (5) Ingredients:
3 large (48 oz) containers unsweetened applesauce
1 large can (29 oz) pure pumpkin
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Empty the can of pumpkin  and 2 of the applesauce's into crock-pot (Do not throw away 2 of the applesauce containers. Wash, and refill with your finished product). Add  the above spices and stir. Add more applesauce till you are about 1 inch from the top. Stir again.

Heat on high (**with wooden spoon under lid) for approx 4 hours, then stir.
Turn on low overnight. Keep wooden spoon under lid during the whole cooking process.

Stir again in morning. You apple butter will be thicker and darker than when you started. Add more applesauce till it is back up to an inch from top. Cook on low all day...for a total of about 24 hours.

Let cool. Makes two large applesauce containers or around 100 ounces. I kept one large container for our house and divided the rest into smaller jars for gifts.

I use this in my stir-fry to mix a sweet with savory taste...its delish! I use it in my pumpkin protein bars instead of the applesauce it calls for. I add it to my "clean" granola as one of the wet ingredients. I take one cup of apple butter with 1 scoop vanilla protein powder and top it on a rice cake with sliced bananas...can you say AMAZING!!

**Placing the spoon under the lid will help the liquid evaporate overnight.

Can microwaves be hazardous to our heath??

After reading this article about microwaves, and if they are hazardous to our health, I came to the conclusion that they are not...really.
While it may not "hurt" us, it sure doesn't sound too appetizing when you realize that the water molecules in food absorb microwave energy, making them vibrate, causing the food to heat up and be cooked.
 I may not be able to give up the microwave in our household for good, but after reading this, I think I will try and cook my oatmeal on the stove each morning and heat my water for tea in my tea kettle. Its all about the little steps.
Live Healthy. Live Happy.
 

Veggie, chicken and quinoa stir fry

Fresh and some frozen veggies stir~fried with quinoa and fresh #mahimahi caught by my #hubby and #mytwoboys...yummy #delish #eatclean #cleaneats by @nikkiclearypta To save time, I usually start with a bag of frozen stir fry veggies (both Publix and Walmart carry a couple of different choices). This was the asparagus stir fry from Walmart.

1 tsp blood orange olive oil
1 bag asparagus stir fry veggies

When the liquid from the frozen veggies is almost all evaporated, I add in:
1 fresh red pepper
1 fresh zucchini diced
1 1/2 already cooked chicken breasts, diced or you can add a filet of fish
1/2 cup already prepared quinoa

Finish cooking for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.
Live Healthy. Live Happy.
Nikki

"clean" hummingbird cake

my version of Hummingbird cake....a delish #clean version...very dense and moist! #hummingbirdcake #cleaneats #foodporn #healthydessert #healthy by @nikkiclearypta

When I was pregnant (with all three of my kids, I would go up and visit my best friend Ashley in Tampa. She and I would walk over to a local deli and indulge in the most delicious Hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting. In the last two years, i have been on a journey to kick my sugar (aka the legal cocaine) addiction. Baking was a big part of my life and for a while,I just had to stay away from it all. Now, I have been experimenting and I came up with this recipe to help satisfy my "sweet tooth".

Pre Heat oven to 350
Combine:
1 cup oat bran
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup ground flax
3/4 cup organic coconut sugar
add:
1/2 to 3/4 cup of my homemade apple butter (you can use unsweetened apple sauce)
3/4 cup egg beaters
2 mashed bananas
8 oz can crushed pineapple (do not drain)
mix in:
1/2 cup low sugar craisins
1/2 cup flax seeds
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup unsweetened coconut

Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake in pre heated oven for 1 hour!

Live Health. Live Happy.
Nikki

One of my favorite treats

 
one of my favorite treats @Lacroixwater #peachpear #lime #orange #grapefruit...BYGO free at publix this week #stockupnow #gotmy12packforgirlsweekend by @nikkiclearypta

I enjoy one of these flavors every/every-other day.I got lucky the other day when I went into Publix and they were BYGO free!  On a side note my favorite adult drink,  I  mix a can of Lacroix with some vodka and a wedge of lemon or lime!!

Quinoa loaded with nutritious yumminess

 
my delish quinoa for the week...added #nonGMO #edemame #rawpumpkinseeds #lowsugarcraisins a little #evoo and seasoned with my @spiceislands #rosemarygarlicblend ground coursely...its delish...served with baked #tilapia and steamed #broccoli and #cauliflower by @nikkiclearypta

I make one batch of quinoa for the week. I use 1/4 cup portions on my salads, in stir fry's and as a side dish.

2 cups water, bring to boil
add 1 cup quinoa
(cook on low for 20 min or until all water is absorbed)
Add about 1 tbs blood orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1/2 cup steamed, non GMO edemame
1/2 cup peppitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/4 cup low sugar craisins
season to taste with
a pinch of cinnamon
a couple grinds of rosemary garlic blend (above)

I look forward to this delicious treat all week!

How to add page tabs to your blog

After adding my social media icons, I knew that I wanted to add tabs/categories across the top of my blog to make finding things easier. I wanted to categorize all  my recipes, and other things together. If you want to do this to your blog, I recommend watching this easy "how to" video!
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How to add Social Media Icons to Blogger

I am working on re launching my blog and was unsure on how to add social media icons to my sidebar. I found this fantastic tutorial below.


One of the steps includes finding the social media icons on Pinterest, downloading them to your computer, then uploading them to photobucket .INSTEAD of having to upload the icons to photobucket myself, I found "The latest finds icons" already on photobucket and all their icons are ready to copy and paste, Here is the link to their photobucket here.

Note: If you want to link to an email address, you will use mailto: instead of http:// before your web address. In the URL field, enter your email address with the mailto: like this      mailto:nikkiclearypta@gmail.com

Hope you connect with me!

Are You Listening?

Do you really listen to what your friends, colleagues, family members are saying to you?
You would be surprised at how much we "hear" people talk, but how little we really are "listening" to them.
The video below is a great 4 minute reminder on "Active Listening"
Believe me...I am working on improving this skill to make me a better mom, wife, health coach, Physical Therapist Asst, friend...


In Health and Happiness,

some ramblings on...

i spent the better part of yesterday updating my blog.

i know that going back four months and backdating all my blog post is cheating...BUT
last year i started getting my blog printed. I get an entire year printed into a book, using the online co sharedbook. i didnt want to print out 2011 and it end in august...so i thought i better play catch up.

i wanted to at least finish out the year 2011 and see if i was still motivated to blog in 2012.

i have changed a lot in the last year when it comes to blogging and scrapbooking. i no longer have a desire to do either the way i used to.

i am all about simplifying my process.

with blogging, i am all about telling my story with pictures and not so many words.

with scrapbooking, i started using Becky Higgins Project Life in 2010 and loved it...but i also scrapped my usual way right along side of that and ended up with TOO MANY ALBUMS. since i am trying to simplify, i had to choose one way or the other.

in 2011 i created my own simplified scrapping where i used 12x12 layouts as the monthly dividers and then used all diff size page protectors throughout the month...but i still ended up with 2 fully packed albums!

for 2012 i ordered the Project Life Turquoise kit as well as all Design A page protectors. I am hoping to keep it to one album but think that for my family of five that will be impossible with all the ephemera coming home and being collected by three little ones. i am fine with 2 albums as long as it tell the story of us.

my goal for this year in my scrapbooking is to stay up to date through the year...i tend to journal so much more when i do this...my favorite pages of my scrapbooks are the ones with my handwriting on them (or typed out on my old vintage typewriter) i just re discovered.

hope to be around here more in 2012...guess we will have to see.

our "super hero" turns 5

super hero chocolate dipped oreos

we had each child make a cape and a mask for the party.

brodys presents and balloon waiting for him when he woke up on his birthday

his mini pillow pet

a hot wheels wall track

one happy little boy...stitches and all

"sper hero" brody flying in and saving the day!

pumpkin whoopie pies, pumpkin bread, cupcakes and oreo cookie pops

superhero snack, cupcakes and fudge

super hero capes in action

Sherry did the face painting and it was a HIT!!!

charlotte our butterfly princess

more celebrating at pop pop and nanna's the next day...more love and more presents!

Brody was blessed to have been given so many wonderful gifts...he had a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Brody. We love you! 

xoxo