What I ate Wednesday

I like to think I know my body pretty well, so when something goes wrong I get really frustrated. Over the past two days I've been randomly dizzy and have a headache on the right side of my head only. As you will see, I haven't changed anything in my diet or exercise routine, same supplements, drinking lots of water as always... I don't know what's up. It might be the crazy AZ heat, but I have lived here for 8 years and haven't had this issue before. I feel a little bit better today, but still not 100% normal- if you have any ideas as to what's going on with this noggin' of mine, feel free to share!

These hot summer mornings call for a nice cold bowl of overnight oats in the morning, so I started the day off with some pumpkin flavored oats. I forgot to snap a picture of my cottage cheese with oats and almonds, but I think you all know what that looks like by now. Lunch was a zucchini turkey burger with yam and my 3pm meal was leftover sweet and sour chicken from the night before. When I got home from work all I could think about was hot stinkin' hot it was and how much I did not feel like eating meat. This is really weird for me because I eat it all day long, but something about meat + turning on the oven or going outside to grill was just not sounding good. What to do when this happens? Breakfast for dinner of course! Egg white scramble with lots of veggies and hot sauce hit the spot. I made a couple almond flour pancakes and added a little sugar free syrup for my last meal of the day. 

Not my typical WIAW, but a good day nonetheless! 

Clean Cinnamon Apple Protein Muffins

Whoever said "Invention is the mother of necessity" was a genius! So true! To get my nutrition on point for the Body Earned Program, I needed a quick meal that was around 200 calories and had similar proportions of carbs and protein. I headed to the drawing board and came up with these tasty little treats. Sometimes I get super nervous when I'm "inventing" a new recipe, especially if I'm just making it up as I go along. Every recipe with ingredients like oat flour (yes, I know I can make my own) and protein powder is a decent investment, money wise so it's a huge plus when I don't have to toss the whole batch out. Not that that ever happens....

It's also worth noting (since I promised to keep you updated) I tried these with both whey protein and egg white protein and I was not impressed with the way the egg protein baked. It made the muffins more dense and overall they seemed to be harder and have less moisture. Looks like I'll be sticking with whey for baking. 

Ingredients

2 cups rolled oats

1 medium apple, chopped into small cubes, skin on

2 scoops whey protein powder

4 egg whites

1 cup non fat Greek yogurt

6 packets of Truvia (you may want to add more if you like your baked goods sweet)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt 

Directions

1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin tin.

2.. Place all ingredients in Kitchen Aid mixer and mix well. 

3. Divide batter into 12 muffin tins and bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes. 

Not only do these taste awesome, but they make your house smell amazing too! 

Nutrition:

1 muffin

Calories: 95

Carbs:12g

Fat: 1g

Protein: 9g

Sugar: 3g

Sushi Date Bet

B and I had a great day on Saturday running around Old Town Scottsdale sweating to death enjoying the sun. At the end of the day we were both having a hankering for sushi (what's new) so we headed to one of our favorite spots for dinner. We started off with some edamame and this amazing grilled calamari appetizer. We are both suckers for fried calamari and rock shrimp and this is a great, way healthier alternative.

When we finished up with our appetizers, the waitress came back to the table to take our order-- I got the sashimi salad (which I was halfway through before I remembered to take a picture, sorry) and B proceeds to order TWO specialty rolls and TWO orders of sashimi. Now, he is a big guy and he can eat but he is notorious for ordering way, way too much sushi just about every time we eat it. Before the waitress left I made sure he really wanted all four items and he said he was sure. I knew there was absolutely positively no way he was going to eat it all so naturally I bet him he couldn't do it. I couldn't come up with a good bet on the spot (now I wish I would have) so we just bet bragging rights, hand shake and all. 

His sashimi came out first and he gobbled down both orders, no problem. I was a little bit nervous when his rolls came out, but after he had eaten about 2 pieces I knew I had it in the bag. Above is a picture of both the rolls, and below is what they looked like when he was done. 

Haha! He failed miserably and as I predicted, he ordered waaaay too much. I will note, I ate one of the pieces so he didn't even come close to finishing it all. GOSH it feels so good to be right! 

This is what it looks like when you lose a bet. :) 

When will guys learn that the women are always right ;) 

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend, on to week 3 of the Body Earned program! 

Clean Coconut Carob Chip Banana Bread

I realized last night that I may actually be 12 and not 24. I got home from work and ran to the TV so that I could watch Pretty Little Liars from Tuesday night (which was wonderful by the way), and then the TV somehow ended up on the Justin Bieber special.... 12, I told you!

One very adult-like thing I did do last night was make sure this recipe was absolutely perfect, and not to toot my own horn but it's freakin' amazing! This is another Pinterest inspired recipe that I made some tweaks to and now it's full of protein and clean ingredients!

Ingredients 

1.5 cups oat flour 

3 scoops protein powder

1.5 ripe bananas

 2 egg whites 

 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk 

 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut 

 2 T carob chips 

 1 tsp vanilla extract 

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of sea salt 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Combine all ingredients in Kitchen Aid Mixer and mix well.

3. Place batter in prepared loaf plan and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Nutritional Info for 1 slice:

(Recipe makes 8 slices)

Calories: 238

Carbs: 22g

Fat: 10g

Protein: 15g

Sugar: 6g 

It's That Time Again... What I Ate Wednesday!

I actually contemplated taking a break from WIAW just because to me it seems like it may get boring, eventually (even though I can sit on Peasandcrayons.com and read WIAW's for hours and hours). However, I get so many messages and emails from you all about how much you love these posts so, we shall proceed! I was recently asked about how I manage to get out the door and to work by 8:30am and what my routine looks like, so I figured I would add that in to this post. My routine has actually changed since starting the Body Earned program, and I can't really go in to that without giving away some of the details of the program, so I'll just explain how I typically do things and hopefully that will be helpful!

4:45am- alarm goes off (actually Benny Benassi goes off... there's no better way to wake up than to a little house music :) ) 

5:00am- Breakfast is eaten- usually egg whites scrambled with veggies (pre cut) and then Ezekiel toast or oats. 

5:00am- 5:30am- Catch up on emails, social media, and watch the morning news! 

5:30-5:45am- Get dressed for the gym, drink my amino energy and get B to stop playing with Charley long enough to get out the door. 

6am-7am- GYM! 

7:15/7:30am- PWO shake 

7:30-8:00am- shower and get dressed (I'm actually really quick!) 

8:00-8:15- Throw my 3 meals that will be eaten at work in my lunch bag and head out the door. I'm lucky that I only live about 10 minutes from work, and if I make all the green lights I usually have time for a Starbucks pit stop!

Yesterday's food looked like this:

Here's a quick run through of everything:

- Egg whites and Oats

-Cottage cheese with oats

- Salmon and baked green beans

-Zucchini Turkey burger and broccoli/cauliflower

- Chicken Fajitas

-Egg whites and avocado 

As you can see, I swapped out my casein for egg whites... no particular reason, just trying new things :)

BTW sorry for the lame-o pictures, definitely off my game! 

VLOG: James Wilson's Body Earned Program

Hi Everyone! Here is a quick video that describes the layout of the Body Earned program for those of you that may be on the fence about it!

A Wonderful Weekend

Sometimes I wonder what we all did before camera phones.... I feel like my memory wouldn't be so horrible if I had a slew of camera phone pictures to look through to jog my memory. Weird?

Anyway, as a blogger I'm constantly taking photo's of some pretty random things ( I would say only about 50% actually make it on the blog) and my phone keeps yelling at me because it's so full. My cloud storage is full too and I think I need to purchase some more space or back up my pictures but all that just sounds so time consuming! I do suppose having almost 3000 photo's on my phone is a bit excessive....

 Alright, enough rambling-- here are some of the pictures found on my trusty iPhone (and some from my mom's awesome Canon which I wish was mine) from this weekend!

Both my family and B's fam got together to BBQ and celebrate Father's Day! It was an awesome day full of food, swimming, children everywhere, and the HOT Arizona sun. 

My poor Dad and all his girls!!

My Family <3 

Just some standard play time with Charley and B... rolling around on the floor of course. Charley, by the way is getting quite large. She's up to 34lbs and growing rapidly! She also still thinks she's about half that size because she has absolutely no problem walking and/or sitting on me or squeezing herself into places that she clearly does not fit. Oh Charley.

No, this isn't a laundry pile it's new clothes. B and I decided to swing by Old Navy's sale this weekend and well, I guess the picture speaks for itself. A little overboard? Maybe... but we both got a ton of stuff for super cheap! Anyone else hit up this awesome sale? 

Lastly I had to throw in my new favorite flavor of Kombucha. The cosmic cranberry is just divine and I really wish I could afford to drink these every day, but at almost $4 a pop I think I would go broke. 

Today marks week 2 of James' program, more crazy circuits in my near future! Also, I just ordered an egg protein powder-- more on that later this week! 

French Toast Cups from Oxygen Magazine

Happy Friday! I know I said this on Wednesday but I really cannot believe how quickly this week flew by and I really think that is due to the fact that I am not counting down the work hours every day. In case you missed it on my Facebook page yesterday, I am working for an amazing eco-friendly fashion company, Hearts.com as their media and communication specialist and I think I'm in love. B told me last night that my overall attitude/outlook/personality has changed for the better over the past week and that I just seem like a much happier person. I should have taken this advise a long time ago, but if you are doing something 40+ hours a week that you don't like and that doesn't inspire you, make a change. I am beyond excited to grow with this company and see what the future holds :) 

[Stepping off my pedestal] This morning started off great with another sweaty workout from the Body Earned program. I'll be honest, I'm not a circuit training kind of person. I've always preferred one or two muscle group splits with heavy lifting and sprinkling in super sets and drop sets....James' program is circuit mania, and even though I have basically crawled out of the gym every day this week, I really truly love the change. I think it's not only good for my muscles but it's good for my mind too... I always want to keep an open mind about fitness and continue to try out new things, I think that's really the best way to grow as a person (and to grow your muscles :) ) 

The crazy workout and cardio left me ravenous so I made these ridiculously amazing french toasts cups from this months Oxygen. 

I'm sure 99% of you have this sitting on your coffee table right now, but for the 1% that are totally missing out, don't worry... here is the recipe. 

Adapted from Oxygen Magazine 

Ingredients

4 egg whites

2 packets Truvia 

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

cinnamon to taste

2 slices Ezekiel Bread

1/2 cup non fat cottage cheese 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. 

2. In a bowl combine eggs, sweetener, vanilla and cinnamon and mix. Dip the bread in the mixture until they are completely soaked. 

3. Spray 2 muffin tins with non-stick spray and stuff one piece of bread into each tin. Bake for 15 minutes. 

4. Top each bowl with 1/4 cup cottage cheese mixed with your favorites-- I did cinnamon and the other packet of truvia. You can easily add fruit, protein powder, or other spices. 

What I Ate Wednesday

Wednesday already! Holy moly. Time really does fly when you're having fun, and when you're busy. Between starting a new job and starting a new workout plan this week has been full of fun new adventures and I'm actually really surprised to say that for once I am loving change! Finally six months later I'm living up to my new years resolution of stepping out of my comfort zone... I should do this more often! ;)

This WIAW is a little different than past posts because I can't really share everything I ate. Out of respect for James and his program, I don't want to divulge all of the "secrets" to his nutrition plan. So, you'll notice I don't have my PWO meal posted because there is a little trick that James has, so you'll have to join me on his plan to find out what that is! 

M1- 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites scrambled with veggies and 2 pieces of Ezekiel cinnamon toast

M2- 1/2 cup cottage cheese mixed with 1/2 cup oats, dash of almond milk, cinnamon and Truvia and 1 oz almonds

M3- Zucchini turkey burger with 1/2 a raw zucchini and 2 tbsp hummus

M4- Salsa chicken on a bed of spinach

M5- Clean eating beef and broccoli

M6- Casein pudding 

I've upped my carbs a bit and I actually need to add carbs into one more meal, but I didn't want to put my body on carb overload too quick, so I'm easing in to it. I've been following more of a 30-40-30 split so most of my carbs have been pre and post workout,  so it's a little weird to be eating all these carbs throughout the day.... but a good weird! 

Banana Protein Pancakes

Since the Body Earned program has us spending less than an hour in the gym, we've decided to continue getting up at the same time so that we can enjoy our mornings and not feel rushed to get out the door. Well, let me clarify-- I have to be to work by 8:30, B has the luxury of working for himself. HMPH. While we are on this topic, I started my new job yesterday and it was wonderful! I love the office environment and is somewhere that I already feel at home, which is great. I can't wait to share the company I'm working for because I am positive all my lady readers are going to absolutely love it... more to come on that in the near future!

Anyway, I digress. More time in the morning also means more time for fun breakfasts which is great because I just so happened to have a ripe banana sitting around and I know lots of you have requested this recipe that I posted a picture of on Instagram a few weeks ago. It was my first time making it then, and I don't like to post recipes unless I know they're 100% perfect, so I wanted to make them once more before giving it out. Taste test number 2 was approved by B, so here we go!

Ingredients:
- 1 ripe banana
- 4 egg whites
- 1/3 cup oat flour
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- pinch of salt

Directions:
1. I combined everything in my Kitchen aid mixer and let everything mix together well.
2. Cook as you would regular pancakes, this recipe makes about 3 medium sized pancakes.
3. Top with your favorites!

Body Earned Day 1 & a Glute Workout

Today was day 1 of James Wilson's program, so far so good! As many people have said, the circuits look like they're going to be on the easier side, but when they are done with heavy weight and high intensity they really kick your butt! With cardio, we were in and out of the gym in about 45 minutes which is always a plus especially because my meal timing has changed with this program so it gives me extra time after the gym for breakfast. If there is anyone that has purchased the plan and needs help with meals or has any questions please don't hesitate to send me a message and I'll do my best to help. To prepare for the program I did a good amount of food prep yesterday; cinnamon swirl protein bread, carob chip banana coconut bread (recipe to come later this week), turkey zucchini burgers, beef burgers, grilled salmon and grilled veggies.

I'm super excited to see the results of the next 12 weeks-- it looks like people are having great results so far and unlike phase 3 of the LiveFit trainer, the whole program is balanced and something that is maintainable over a long period of time. Even though I'm starting this program, I promised to share my version of Amanda Latona's booty workout so here it is!

1. Squats- 4 x 15-- make sure you're squatting deep to target those glutes!

2. Lunges using smith machine- 3 x 15 each leg

3. Leg press with feet close together and high on the platform 3 x 15

4. Glute machine 3 x 15 last set is a drop set

5. Hip abductor machine 3 x 15-- do these sitting at the edge of the seat so your back isn't it.

Photo Credit: Bodybuilding.com 

Be prepared for a sore backside a couple days after doing this :) Who else started the Body Earned Program today? How did you like day 1?

Makeup Video!

Well, after many requests about my makeup... here is the video I promised! 

Also, in case you are curious.... 

I went with the grey shoes with turquoise laces and soles and also got a couple matching tops! New workout gear makes the gym even more exciting! Today I am babysitting my nephew and hopefully reading the new issue of Oxygen that came in the mail yesterday! Hope you guys have a great Friday and a great weekend too! 

Happy Blogiversary to Me!!

WOW. Little b's Healthy Habits is a whole year old, amazing! It's funny to think back and remember how I wrote a few posts before I even posted the link to my blog for anyone to read, because I didn't know what people would think. I know now that starting a blog was one of the best decisions I've made; not only have I been able to make tons of "virtual friendships" with other bloggers and all you wonderful readers, but I have learned an incredible amount about myself. 

* I've learned that it's okay to step outside of my bubble, even if it's a little uncomfortable. 

* Blogging gives me a sense of accomplishment. Dedicating yourself to doing something almost every day is a pretty big commitment, and I am proud of myself for sticking to it. As a blog reader, I love reading blogs that are updated daily, so I try my best to keep the new posts flowing! 

* I have been trusted with some very personal struggles and stories and I cannot thank you all enough for sharing with me. It is so touching to be trusted by people I have never met, and it is something I really, really appreciate. 

* I've learned you can't please everyone, no matter how hard you try... and it's more important to please those that support you than to try to change those who don't. 

* Blogging has helped me recognize and appreciate the little things in my daily life that I otherwise may have forgotten. I want to be as transparent as possible, so I'm constantly looking for things in my daily life to take note of or take a picture of so that it can be shared. A simple trip to the gym or a restaurant is now much more important because it has become an opportunity to share a little piece of my life. 

Now that I am on to year 2, there are a couple goals I want to document-- and you all have to keep me honest! 

1. Get certified! Even though I don't plan on being a personal trainer, I really want to get certified, mostly so that I can continue to learn as much as possible about fitness. 

2. Buy a good camera for taking photo's of my food. I really just use my phone and although my pictures have improved, I want those WOW pictures, so I need a WOW camera. 

3. Branch out-- I want to try new things in the fitness world... yoga, cross fit, maybe a 5k? Marathon? Who knows! 

If there is anything you would like to see on my blog in the next year, anything at all, please let me know!

 I just got back from doing this workout and now I get to go shopping for a new pair of gym shoes courtesy of B! I don't know if I want these, these, or these. You know how I'm great horrible at making decisions, so let me know which ones you would choose! 

What I Ate Wednesday... Finally!

Wow I feel like it has been forever since I've done a WIAW post! If you haven't checked out Peas and Crayons make sure you pop over there today and take a look around, there are SO many people thank link up and you can get some great meal ideas!

 I'm not really tracking calories right now, just training hard and being mindful of portion sizes and estimating macros. If I had to guess I would say I'm probably in the 1500-1600 calorie range.

M1- 1/2 cup oats with 1/4 cup blueberries, cinnamon, truvia, and unsweetened Blue Diamond Almond milk and 5 egg whites with mixed veggies. 

M2- Green mint chocolate protein shake.

M3- 1/2 cup cottage cheese with cinnamon and truvia and 2 Pumpkin Protein bars 

M4- Salsa chicken on a bed of spinach

M5- (not pictured because I ate in the car, and that was hard enough!) Zucchini Turkey burger with 1 cup broccoli 

M6- 4oz filet mignon (YUM!) and 1 cup broccoli 

M7- Casein Pudding 

Tip For Tuesday

Two quick tips for today!

I forgot to mention I get my probiotics at Whole Foods or Sunflower Market, but I would assume any health food store has them. They typically have their own little end cap that is refrigerated. Have a wonderful Tuesday!! 

Clean Zucchini Fritters

It's pretty crazy how much things can change in just a week. Last Monday I was beyond stressed, sleep deprived, and just not feelin' it. Today, I feel so refreshed and so ready to conquer this week, thank goodness. I had a great day with my Mom on Saturday, we took advantage of the 107 degree AZ weather and laid out by the pool for a couple hours and then we went to the gym to get her a membership! Now that she has clean eating mastered, she is ready to get back in the gym after taking some time off. It was so much fun creating a program for her and showing her how to do all the different exercises, I can't wait to see her progress. She is basically doing Phase 1 type exercises from the LiveFit trainer, with a few modifications. Yay Mom! Sunday was spent doing the usual weekend chores with B and then just lounging around because he's not feeling too good. Fingers crossed I don't come down with his congested nasty-ness this week... 

Much of my relaxing time yesterday was spent on Pinterest (go figure) and I was seeing zucchini cakes and zucchini fritters all over the place. I bought tons of zucchini when we stopped at the orchard on the way back from California so I figured why not! I basically just looked through 3 or 4 of the recipes for ideas, then tweaked to come up with this one.

Ingredients

1 large zucchini grated

1/4 cup diced onion

2 tsp minced garlic

2 egg whites

1.5 pieces of Ezekiel bread crumbs (made in food processor) 

1 tsp garlic powder

1tsp onion powder

Pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Grate zucchini and then squeeze as much water out of it as you can. I went through about 5 paper towels... zucchini has a ton of water in it and it will make your fritters soggy.

3. Place all ingredients in large mixing bowl and mix with hands.

4. Form patties out of mixture and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, recipe makes 4 large patties 

These were quick and only a few ingredients, and went great with our chicken burgers for lunch. I dipped in ketchup (surprised?) but B ate his plain and loved them. Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration, as usual! 

Clean Carob Chip Protein Pancakes

I'm such a promise breaker! I posted a picture of these on my Instagram at the beginning of the week and I'm definitely late on getting you the recipe, but I think you'll forgive me once you try them! I ate them 3 days in a row and they are on the menu for Saturday morning breakfast tomorrow. I love when I come up with wonderfully delicious recipes just by throwing stuff together!! 

Ingredients

1/3 cup oat flour

1/4 cup Fage non fat Greek yogurt

2 egg whites

1 scoop Dymatize Iso 100 Protein Powder in Vanilla 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1/2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp Sunspire unsweetened carob chips 

1/8 cup sugar free syrup for topping (if desired)

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in large mixing bowl, adding carob chips in last. 

2. On a pre-heated, prepared skillet pour on about 1/3 of the mixture and cook about 2 minutes, then flip. You know they're ready to flip when they start to bubble. Recipe should make 3 medium sized pancakes. 

3. Drizzle with sugar free maple syrup, or your favorite topping. 

Nutrition Info:

Serving size: 3 medium pancakes (one serving, with syrup)

Calories: 325

Carbs: 35g

Fat: 4g

Protein: 43g

Sugar: 5g 

These could not be more perfect for pre-workout! Super filling, protein packed, and just plain delicious.