Tuesday
May222012

Turkey Meat Balls and Brown Rice Crispie Peanut Butter Protein Bars

 

 

Need a little accessory to jazz up all the brown rice you've been eating? This delicious and healthy turkey ball recipe will bring some joy to those clean eating dinners. 

Enjoy~~*

 

  • 1 lb/500 g ground turkey (approximately)  
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) flax seeds (about 1.5 tablespoons whole seeds). I like to leave some of the seeds whole for added texture. 
  • 1/2 cup (75 ml) onion (about 1/2 medium sized onion), finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup (75 ml) carrot (about 1/2 medium sized carrot), finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dried basil
  • 1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) low fat parmesan cheese, freshly grated (you could also use a low fat feta)

Put the ground turkey in a large mixing bowl. Take a fork or spoon and break it up.

Finely chop the carrot, onion, garlic. Add to the bowl with the ground turkey

Chop the rosemary. Add this and the other herbs to the bowl with the other ingredients. 

Grate the parmesan cheese and add to the bowl with the other ingredients. . 

Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the bowl with the other ingredients. 

Add the egg to the bowl with the other ingredients. . 

Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper to the mixture. 

Take a fork or spoon and mix all of the ingredients together. When well mixed, form the mixture into little balls with your hands. I formed mine into about 1.5 inch (3 cm) balls - they would be great slightly smaller or bigger I am sure. 

In a suitably sized saucepan (non-stick or well-seasoned cast iron), over medium high heat, with coconut oil added to the saucepan, lightly brown the meatballs all over and then cook until cooked through. I cut one in half to check for doneness. I also find it helps to keep them moist if you add a splash of water and cover the saucepan to basically steam them until cooked (after browning). 

I served these meatballs with Rizopia's rice pasta and Healthy Choices low sodium pasta sauce . If your going for a lower carb dinner, serve these meatballs as an appetizer with your favourite salad.

 

Brown Rice Crispie Peanut Butter Protein Bars

As I was prepping my meals for the week, I came across my friend Sandy's blog and this delicious protein bar recipe. These bars will curb those cravings and give that body the boost it needs before or after your workouts.

Head over to Shred till your dead and check out this deliciousness!

 

Enjoy~~*

Wednesday
May092012

The Choice

 

 

 

 

I'm going to be honest...I do not have the energy to workout! Every morning I wake up with my body telling me there is no way you are going to get through this day. I lay in bed feeling as though my stomach is spinning and the fishy crackers (the only thing I can eat at 5am) I'm eating are going to escape my body at any moment. It's in those moments that I make the decision that I will not be ruled by my circumstances and I'm choosing  health for myself and my unborn baby.  I choose to stay active, keep a fresh mind, and always keep myself striving towards a goal. With McCarthy I was terribly sick for 5 months, but I continued teaching, staying active and I truly believe my physical endurance played a huge part in getting through my 24hour labor. Do I have days when I pull the plug on my workouts? Absolutely! I truly believe you should listen to your body and respect what it is trying to tell you, but also realize that your flesh has a strong voice, getting off the couch is always a battle and you need to chose to win it!

Pregnancy may not be your obstacle, you may be struggling with a injury, the motivation to start something new or you see yourself in such a negative way that you have lost all hope. Whatever your obstacle, choose to not let the circumstances stand in the way of you reaching your goals. Dig deep for the fighter within and realize “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” - David Bly.

I write this post without judgment and I recommend that before any physical activity you participate in please seek the counsel of your health care provider. 

Listen to your body and realize we are all at different levels, have different goals and we are all human!

Thursday
Apr262012

I'm so in love with you already...

 

 

So we have decided to let you in on our big news! We are expecting baby #2 this November and couldn't be more excited! I'm 9 weeks today and although things are still very small and new, I really wanted to share the news and my journey from start to finish with you. I apologize for my lack of blog posts these past few weeks. Energy has been at an all time low, but I'm beginning to feel normal again, and seeing the little heartbeat today brought so much joy and the realization that this is really happening! 

Let the adventures begin~~*

Sunday
Apr082012

DIY projects and Family Easter fun

  

 



 
 

 

Fitting a "Burn the Easter egg off" workout in

 

Love these ladies

 

 

This weekend was super busy and super fun! My beautiful sister in-law and her husband were in town from lovely Vancouver. With their visit comes lots of family time and sitting around scanning Pinterest for the newest DIY project. Every time Jillian comes into town I try to have some new craft or art project finished that I can impress her with:) She is truly such a talented sister to have and I pray she starts a blog so you can all creep on her amazing projects!(Don't you just love her circle scarf?! Yep, she made it!

Here is a little shower curtain idea I decided to complete this weekend. Lets be honest, a good shower curtain that is unique in some way, shape or form can really send your decorating budget for a spin. So what I did I  do? I headed to Michaels and picked up some Martha Stewart fabric paint, a stencil, a fabric roller brush and had some fun!

See finished project below-

Sunday
Apr082012

Cookies for breakfast!

 

  

 

 

 

While browsing (some may say creeping) on my friend Shanna's facebook page, I came across a recipe for breakfast cookies and decided re-make the recipe and share its deliciousness with you!

*Tip* Make these cookies as part of your weekly food prep, so that when those cravings to curl up with a donut,cup cake or chocolate bar come knocking, you can squash it with this healthy little treat.

 

 

HEALTHY BREAKFAST COOKIES

Click the above link for the original recipe or use my altered version below!

3 mashed bananas

1/3 cup apple sauce

2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats

1/4 almond or coconut milk

1 cup Holy crap cereal

1 tsp vanilla

1 T cinnamon

1 packet of stevia

For something a little sweeter, add 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of coconut powder for a double chocolate treat!

Mix all ingredients together. Spoon the dough by teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool and serve.  Leftovers can be frozen.