Snack Ideas

LOTS of questions I have gotten about what my healthy go-to's are when it comes to snacks! (Yoda...?) I definitely love my snacks and throughout my many munching years, I have developed a few yummy go-to's. Here are some of my favs!

Low calorie "midnight snacking" type of snacks

• lightly salted rice cake
• lightly salted rice cake with warm chocolate PB2 drizzled on top (or "slathered" on top if you're me...)
• apple 
• cotton candy grapes... 😛😍 or just normal seedless grapes (I love to freeze them!!)
• 45 cal bread toast with spray butter on top
• Almond milk smoothies

Healthy every-day "fat burning" type of snacks

• lightly salted almonds
• lightly salted cashews (THE BIG BINS FROM COSTCO ARE BAE)
• chocolate almonds (NOT the chocolate covered ones... Walmart sells a brand that is "chocolate flavored" and they're to die for!)
• pistachios
• popcorn (with little to zero butter)
• apple
• apple dipped in Sara Natha's maple almond butter 
• cotton candy grapes... 😛😍 or just normal seedless grapes (I love to freeze them!!)
• 45 cal bread toast with spray butter on top (or chunky peanut butter)
• multi grain crackers with sliced turkey on top (or the light/low-fat string cheese on top) (or both)
• light string cheese
• lightly salted rice cake topped with chunky peanut butter and jam 
• roasted chickpeas (the store bought ones are really good but even better, try roasting them on your own without any oil.. yum 👌)
• Two Moms in the Raw blueberry or cacao nib granola bars
• Larabars or RX bars
• reduced sugar chewy granola bars
• peanut butter ginger chews
• dark chocolate - in moderation (👈 the moderation part rarely ever happens for me so if I know I am going to scarf it, sometimes I'll just try to completely avoid it!)
• my homemade oat banana bread :):):):):):) (I love heating it up in the microwave and putting maple almond butter or "I can't Believe it's not Butter" spray butter on top!)
• CO2's salted caramel coconut chips 
• Almond milk smoothies (ice+banana+almond milk+cocoa/cacao powder+stevia+pink himalayan sea salt) or (ice+banana+almond milk+PB2 powder+stevia+pink himalayan sea salt)

MY BIG SNACKING TIPS:

-Remember moderation. Too many times I've started snacking, then continued snacking on seconds, then switched to a different snack, then another, then all of a sudden I've eaten the equivalent of an entire meal... plus my stomach hurts.
-Carry a water bottle around!! I notice that when I'm feeling snacky, sometimes I'm actually just thirsty. Now that I carry a water bottle around with me everywhere, I have noticed that my stomach feels satisfied more often!

The Original Acaí Bowl

Who doesn't love Acaí bowls?
✋ me when I can't afford them....

Acaí bowls are not only delicious, but they contain a super fruit (Acaí....) that is pack full of healthy antioxidants. Fun little fact: antioxidants help the body in avoiding damage to cells caused by oxidants.

While these delicious bowls are SO YUMMY, they tend to be extremely over-priced and can often contain loads of extra sugars.

So to all of the Acaí bowl lovers out there, (and to anyone in general) here is the solution!! This is my recipe for your typical, "original" flavored Acaí. (One that is cheaper and way more healthy!)

The Original Acaí
(BTW this is my secret recipe so don't let it get out okay? 😁😂)

Serves 2
Ingredients

• 1 Sambazon unsweetened Acaí packet
• 1/2 c shredded ice
• 1/2 c frozen blueberries
• 1 date (optional)
• 1 banana
• unsweetened almond milk (only a tiny swig at first, then add more to reach desired consistency)
• Optional: 2 large dollops of agave or honey (sometimes instead of agave or honey, I only add a few squirts of stevia)

Directions

Blend and enjoy! Top with homemade granola (recipe below), sliced bananas, and a swirl of honey! 

Homemade granola👇👇

The cinnamon granola topping

• 1 c almonds
• 3 c oats
• 2/3 c honey
• 2 T coconut oil
• 1/2 t vanilla extract
• 1/8 t almond extract 
• 1&1/4 T cinnamon

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit

Chop the almonds so that you have a bunch of different sizes - some finely chopped, and some larger (it might be a good idea to take half of the almonds and process or blend them to get finer bits)

Mix all of the almonds, oats, and salt in a large bowl 

Microwave the honey and coconut oil for about 30 seconds, then add in the vanilla and almond extracts

Pour the wet honey mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix so that everything is coated evenly

Pour your entire mixture onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake for 5 minutes, stir everything around, then return to the oven for 5 more minutes

Spread granola evenly onto wax paper or a different baking sheet and allow it to cool

After completely cool, break it apart and store in an airtight container!

Quinoa Quiche Bites

Quinoa Quiche Bites
These are a perfect savory meal for a healthy morning breakfast, snack, lunch, (or I even eat them for dinner... and dessert...)

Makes about 36 mini bites
Ingredients

• 1 c uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• water to cook quinoa
• 2 eggs + 2 egg whites
• 2 c shredded spinach
• 2 T minced garlic
• 1/2 c shredded nonfat cheddar cheese
• 1/4 c nonfat parmesan cheese
• 3 T dried chopped onion
• chopped low-fat fresh ham
• garlic salt to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• pink himalayan sea salt (or just normal salt) to taste
• pepper to taste

Directions

Cook quinoa according to package directions

Let it cool off

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix cooled quinoa and all of the ingredients in a large bowl

Fill greased mini muffin tins with the mixture

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown

*Can be stored in fridge for up to 3 days

*You can also freeze them for later and heat em up in the microwave when ready to chow!!

You can also use larger muffin tins which yields around 12 :)

That's it I'm recreating it

Hello again!!

CannIgetta GIRLS TRIP!?

Like I've mentioned, my mom and I are besties. We decided to take a long & fun drive to So Cal where we spent the weekend just chilling and watching my bro's HS football game! (& partying in Disneyland but don't tell Dad...)

Since she knows I'm a food nerd, she wanted to take me to try this "delicious/weird/healthy pizza" that she had tried once with her friend a while ago. So we took a little trip to MALIBU!!

It's this place called Malibu Farm and HOLY INCREDIBLE. We shared the cauliflower crust pizza and it tasted like the food-stars aligned and shed inspirational light beams on the hands that created it... and if that made zero sense, lets just say it tasted AMAZING!! It's one of those food moments where the flavors come together so perfectly. Shoot I'm salivating.



Yup. Definitely gonna try to recreate it.

👆That statement actually brings me into another one of my favorite foodie tips! Whenever I order something amazing, I ALWAYS get the weird nagging desire to run home and recreate it but even healthier and yummier. If I nail the recipe, I'll have to post it soon!! Can't wait to food process some cauliflower!! (Wow... if I heard myself say this as a kid I'd probably disown myself).

Oh! And we also decided to try the vegan peanut butter ice cream... another incredible dish. My mom is lactose-intolerant and my stomach sometimes gets gurgly after I have dairy too, so I had fun explaining to my mom that "vegan" meant no animal products and that it was completely dairy-free! Sooo yummy. And the bananas paired perfectly with it 👌

All in all the whole menu looked killer. & I'm dying to go back to try the spaghetti squash lasagna!! (and obviously get that cauliflower pizza again...) Thank you Malibu Farm!!

Raw Vegan Dessert?!

Am I vegan? Nope. But holy cow raw vegan desserts?! Seriously??

The other day, I decided I wanted to make a raw vegan carrot cake. No reason.. kinda just felt like it. So I went to our local Sprouts on student discount day and loaded up on the goods. I got a bunch of randos like Walnuts, Low-Fat Desiccated Coconut, Carrots (Obviously), a real vanilla bean pod!! etc... I basically just threw everything together and voiala! Vwallla...? Voila...?

I AM A CHEF PRODIGY

I even made 3 layers!! Food processors rock! Guys when I save up enough money to open up a real BakeryZero, this will definitely be on my healthy dessert menu 👌. So no worries, you might get to try it soon! 😄 Oh man my mom and I SCARFED it (my dad & bros tried to, but we were too fast...).

The best thing about it is that even though we demolished it, it settled sooo well and didn't leave any of us with a big/full/"food baby" stomach ache! YAS! I LOVE EATING HEALTHY!

Before & After

Left: Hawaii summer of 2016
Right: Cruising Europe summer of 2017

These photos are only a year apart but my "health & fitness journey" began 2 years ago when I was starting my freshman year of college. From leaving High School, to now (finishing my 2nd year of college), I have experienced a 25 lb. weight loss... and I'm still eating like a MANIAC!? (I can eat a lot. No joke)

Okay.. no.. I'm not solely promoting weight loss... that's not my overall goal here (even though it can often be a sweet bonus to being educated and living a healthy lifestyle). My goal is to FEEL healthy and energized and happy! On the inside and the outside.

To be honest I was feeling good in my left photo! I was active and exercising often. And no, I don't believe I was even the slightest bit overweight or unhealthy either! What really happened in these past few years is I became educated. I started to learn what different foods do to my body and how I react to various exercises. I've been able to reach my health and fitness goals as I continue to learn!

My trick is a healthy lifestyle, healthy alternatives, & knowing what/how to substitute! 🙌

Do I still eat Mcdonalds cheeseburgers occasionally? Yes
Do I still eat cinnamon rolls? Yes
Do I still have dessert? Yes
Do I still make mistakes and eat five pounds of dark chocolate after dinner sometimes? Yup
Do I really consider that a mistake though? ....

So stay tuned! Cuz I'm going to share EVERYTHING I am doing to stay fit, happy, energized, and healthy!

Also P.S. Can we just take a moment to appreciate my gnarly tan line on that cruise ship photo... And my Mufassa hair/lion's mane? 🐯 Hahah

Friendly Reminder

Wassupp! So a few days ago this was the conversation my mom & I had...

Mom: "We should hike Timp Mountain sometime"
Me: "Lets do it tomorrow! 4AM!"
Mom: "Oh shoot really? ...Okay!!"

Hahahah it was DANG hard!! But so much fun!!

Moral of the story:
#1 - Think before you speak
#2 - Have fun and enjoy life!!
Ok I'll admit... I am pretty lucky to have a mom that is my twin. We both love exercising and having fun and laughing and traveling and eating salads and smoothies. So even though I accidentally pulled an all-nighter the night before, and even though we started on the wrong trail for an hour and had to come all the way back to the beginning to start all over again, and even though we got lost about 6.5 times during the hike, and even though I am wobbling around everywhere like a chicken, this was still such a blast. Took us 10 hours but we made it!! Aand I may or may not have cried when I saw the parking lot with our car sitting there after... I was dying. Worth it.

BTW anyone else think its the best when you pack a PB&J and it gets kinda squashed and yummy? For some reason I looove it. Chunky Peanut Butter & Grape Jelly.... Ahhhhh. And bonus: we totally got to eat it at the highest peak of Timpanogos Mountain! So fun!

Ran into some fun people too. We talked with a bunch of cool guys at the top, and we even had a "tour guide" for almost half of the hike. His name is Ben Woolsey and he's 75 and a CHAMP. He's hiked it almost 900 times and sometimes does it twice a day.. yeah that's insane. Don't even want to think about it. 75 years old, and he was creaming us. So money.

After our excursion, we were CHOCOLATE WASTED (translation: tired) and it was soo perfect because we treated ourselves to one of our FAVORITE hearty plates from @Cubbys. We both demolished the rice and kale salad and it was absolute bliss. Yum. Sure I can't really remember eating it because I'm almost positive my face was falling into my bowl I was so tired, but I know it was delish because of past experiences... hahah.

Thank you Cubby's! 🙏

BE ACTIVE
HAVE FUN
CHALLENGE YOURSELF
ENJOY LIFE
WORK IT

Peace out girl scout ✌