Black Bean Brownies

Maybe the title of this post has made you crinkle your nose and squint your eyes in disgust, but believe me, they are not disgusting! Had they been, I wouldn't be writing about it now...

Black beans can be used as a flour substitute in brownies or in chocolate cakes because of their, well, dark color. They also provide fiber and protein, which flour doesn't. They also provide a very moist, and melt-in-your-mouth texture! YUM!

This was a simple recipe to make using a food processor and just a few ingredients. It is gluten-free and flour-free and can be made vegan, too.  Oh, and before I forget in case you're still skeptical about these brownies..they are super chocolaty, as a brownie should be!

Black Bean Brownies

• 1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed well!
• 1/2 cup of rolled oats
• 3 tbs of cocoa powder 
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 1/3 cup of honey (agave syrup or pure maple syrup for vegans)
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil 
• 2 tbs of sugar
• 2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips (optional) 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In your food processor, blend the first five ingredients together. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides if needed. 
2. After the ingredients have been blended to a smoother texture, add in the next four ingredients. Blend until you have a smooth texture and there are no lumps of black beans. You may need to scrape down the sides from time to time. 
3. Gently fold in the chocolate chips (if using) with a rubber spatula. 
4. Pour into a greased baking pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes. 

Note: When you take them out of the oven, they may seem like they aren't cooked all the way or are too moist/mushy. I  noticed after I let them sit over night, they became more like a true brownie, with a sturdier texture. Be patient! Its like lasagna, always better the next day.

Pesto Potato Salad

Pesto is one of my absolute favorite foods! It has such a strong garlic flavor, with a burst of freshness from basil and a nutty crunch from the toasted pine nuts.  It goes well on everything from pasta, to panini's, to bruschetta, to eating it with your finger. No? Maybe that's just me then. Anyways, this pesto potato salad is super simple to make and can be served as a side to a dish or as a main dish itself. It takes roughly 20 minutes to make from start to finish and can be served immediately warm or saved for later cold--it tastes amazing either way! Give it a try!

Pesto Potato Salad

• Roughly 1 Ib. of red skinned potatoes, scrubbed with skins on, chopped
• A bunch or two of asparagus, stems cut off, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 cup of fresh basil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts, toasted
• 3 tbsp. of olive oil
• 1 tbsp. of parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Place potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil, about 10 minutes total. Before those 10 minutes are up, add in the asparagus for the remaining 3-4 minutes. After it's done, drain and set aside until pesto is complete.
2. Meanwhile, begin making the pesto. Toast the pine nuts in a little olive oil, 1-2 minutes, and remove from heat.
3. In a food processor, add in the toasted pine nuts, fresh basil, and garlic. Give it a quick grind in the food processor. Slowly add in the olive oil while the food processor is on--you may need to scrape down the sides as you go.
4. After the pesto is well combined, stir in the parmesan cheese, if using.
5. Pour pesto on top of cooked and drained potatoes and asparagus, stir to combine.

This recipe was found and adapted by fitness blogger, Nicole Perry.

Creamy Mango Berry Smoothie

Smoothies have become a part of my daily routine, either for breakfast or post-workout.  This concoction is absolutely divine! It has a creamy, butter flavor, yet it's sweet and tangy. This smoothie is made with almond butter which really cuts the sweetness in half from all of the fruit.  Give it a try!

Creamy Mango Berry Smoothie

• 1 banana, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup strawberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup mango, fresh or frozen
• 1 spoonful of almond butter
• 1-2 spoonful's of plain greek yogurt
• splash(s) of your choice of milk until desired consistency is reached (I used unsweetened almond milk)

      

  Blend ingredients together and enjoy!

Blueberry Banana Protein Smoothie

As of lately, I have been drinking lots of smoothies and experimenting with many flavors, fruits, and veggies. This blueberry concoction is by far my favorite and absolutely perfect post-workout with approx. 12 grams of protein and 15 grams of fiber per serving.

Blueberry Banana Smoothie

• 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 2 tbsp. of plain greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup (or more) of milk of your choice 
• 1 tbsp. of chia seeds

Blend the blueberries, banana, yogurt and milk together.  After contents are poured into a glass, stir in chia seeds.

Enjoy!

Guacamole Tuna Salad

Guacamole Tuna Salad

I threw this sandwich together after working out because I was starving! It was incredibly flavorful. The measurements are inexact but I will approximate them. For the guacamole, you can use premade guac or make your own. I made my own and will share the recipe with you:

Homemade Guacamole:

1 ripe avocado, mashed, pit removed
1/2-1 lime, juice of
1/2 roma tomato, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1-2 tsp of cilantro, chopped
cayenne pepper, to taste-- I like it spicy!

Mix all ingredients together. Super. Simple.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, for the salad:

1 can or package of tuna
1-2 tbsp. of guacamole
1/2 of red/yellow pepper OR 1 celery stalk OR 1 carrot, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

 

Mix all ingredients together. Put on toasted bread or eat with a fork. Enjoy!

This recipe is super versatile, so feel free to play around with ingredients!

Baked Vanilla Donuts with a Dark Chocolate Glaze

In honor of National Donut Day coming up (June 6!), I finally mastered a donut recipe that is perfectly sweet (not too sweet!) and has the perfect texture. Now, these aren't the healthiest because they are donuts BUT they are baked, rather than fried, and they are eggless and butter/oil-less!

 

 

 



I bought my donut pan a few weeks ago (you can buy one at target for $10) and have been experimenting with recipes ever since! One was a complete fail--it was mushy and awful. The second attempt was better, but they were too dry.  This time I got it!  One donut comes out to roughly 150 calories (including glaze), whereas a medium-sized donut you could purchase somewhere else can be anywhere between 200 and 400 calories!

For the donuts:

• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 2 tbsp. of non-fat plain greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup (+ 1 tbsp if batter is too thick) of non-fat milk
• 1/2 of a ripened banana, pureed
• 1/2 tsp  each of baking powder and baking soda
• 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract (depending on how much vanilla flavor you desire)

1.  Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. While the oven is heating up, milk all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. The batter should be smooth.
3. Spray your donut pan with non stick cooking spray. Fill each donut center with a spoon about 3/4 full. Be careful!
4. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I baked mine for 12 minutes and they were perfect!
5. Let them cool for a few minutes in a pan and then transfer onto a rack to continue cooling. In the meantime, make your glaze if you choose to use it!

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup of powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp of non-fat milk

1. Mix all ingredients above until smooth and to your desired consistency. Play around with the measurements if you want it thick or thin.
2. After the donuts have cooled for awhile, dip or drizzle the donuts in the glaze.

 

 

 

 

These were light, sweet, and chocolaty! This recipe makes 6 perfect little donuts. Now, go out and buy yourself a donut pan (if you don't already have one) and make these for your friends, family, loved ones, or for yourself on National Donut Day (June 6)!

 

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!  

Foods of Istanbul

Hi!

I just recently got back from a week in Istanbul, Turkey and it was amazing! That city has so much history, and architecture, and beauty its almost too overwhelming. If you follow me on instagram you will have seen some pictures by now.

But not only that, the food is insanely delicious as well! I'm sure you knew I was going to talk about food, considering all I talk about is food and fitness.  So yes, I'm going to show and tell you some of my favorites from Istanbul, that way if/when you ever travel to Istanbul, you'll know what to eat!

1. Simit and Acma

This stuff is like a bagel and pretzel combined into one giant, crunchy, yet soft ring. You can get them plain, or with toasted sesame seeds, or with nutella (yum!), or even cheese. They even sold something with cinnamon in it which was awesome. You can find these stands literally everywhere. I ate like 4 a day. Definitely a must eat.

 

 

 

 

2.  Corn on the Cob

This is typically sold during the summer months. It's boiled and grilled and seasoned with salt and other spices. Quick and easy to eat on the go. Again, you can find these carts anywhere and everywhere.

 

 

3. Kebab

This refers to broiled and roasted meat-usually chicken or lamb. This together with doner is a tightly packed meat on a rotating vertical spit. Perfect fast food that is super filling and delicious. These can be found half inside and half outside. I ate a lot of kebab and doner.

 

 

4. Apple Tea and Sehlap

Apple tea is drank everywhere! It taste like hot apple cider. I found that apple tea was complimentary with dessert at most restaurants. I miss it. Sehlap was being sold one day on the street. This is hot milk and cream with vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon and other spices. I couldn't believe how good it was! Sehlap you can find at many restaurants and cafes.

Sehlap

Apple Tea



5. Freshly squeezed juice

You can find juice stands in a lot of places-typically with kebab shops. They will freshly squeeze you either orange juice or pomegranate juice. Now, that's what I call "juicing." Definitely a must to drink along side you kebab.

 

 

Now, if you ever find yourself traveling to Istanbul, you'll know what to eat and drink. I know there is so much more out there, but I did not get to see it all. That will be your job to find :) 

 

Have a wonderful day!







What 200 calories look like!

I came across a short video on Facebook on what 200 calories of food looks like. It shows healthy foods, like apples and carrots, as well as junk food, like muffins and Big Macs. I thought it was pretty interesting and thought it was in my best interest to share it with everyone. Oh, and I'm sure you can already guess it... healthy food choices, like celery and broccoli, you can eat A LOT more for A LOT less calories! Yay :)

                                                                         

VS.

 

 

And the video brings up what a calorie is. A calorie is a unit of energy. Your body needs energy to fuel you--don't be afraid of calories!

Alright, check out the video: http://vod.io/tknYb/

Healthy Caesar Salad Dressing

As I was skimming through this months issue of Fitness Magazine, I came across several recipes that caught my eye. One of which was a kale caesar salad with grilled chicken, though the word caesar is what really caught my attention! I absolutely love caesar dressing, it's my favorite. Caesar salads are the best thing ever in my world, but I hate how fattening the dressing is. I don't like to buy store bought dressings and vinaigrettes-I prefer to make them myself. So, when I came across this recipe I got very excited. The ingredients are simple and this healthified version still has the rich, creamy and bold, tangy flavors of your favorite caesar dressing.  For the full recipe, with the salad included, you can find it in the February issue of fitness magazine or you can click here.

Healthy Caesar Dressing

• 2 tbsp. of 2% or non-fat plain greek yogurt
• 1 tsp of red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp of minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp of Dijon mustard
• 1/4  tsp. Worcestershire sauce

--Whisk together all ingredients above and enjoy! This is enough for 1-2 servings, as it does not make very much.

I hope you give this recipe a try if you love caesar salads!

Stay happy and healthy :)

Basic Granola

Hey Everyone!

I hope the start of your new year has been awesome so far! Today, I want to share with you a simple and basic granola recipe that I found from tree hugger. I really liked this recipe because it uses apple juice in it, which I had never seen before. What's so great about this recipe, and granola in general, is that you can be very creative with it. Just follow a basic recipe and add in your own nuts, seeds, fruits, and other flavors and textures. Granola is a great healthy snack or a healthy breakfast. It can be eaten by itself, put on top of yogurt or oatmeal, or enjoyed with milk. And not to mention that your house will smell amazing, too!

Granola Recipe

• 3 cups rolled oats (not quick or instant)
• 1 1/2 cup of nuts and seeds ( a mixture of your favorites work perfectly; I used almonds and pumpkin seeds)
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1/2 cup of honey (use maple syrup for vegans)
• 1/4 cup of vegetable oil
• 1 tbs vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 cup of dried fruit, optional

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine the oats, nuts, and seeds in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. In a small sauce pan, combine the apple juice, honey, oil, vanilla, and spices over low heat until the honey has softened and all is well combined. Remove from the heat and pour over the oat mixture. Stir everything until it is well combined.
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread a single layer of your oat mixture on it. Try not to have too much over lapping so it can cook evenly and get crunchy.
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until evenly golden brown, stirring every 12 to 15 minutes. When its done, remove from the oven and let it cool completely.
6. After cooled completely, stir in your dried fruit, if you're using it.

Notes:

• Store in an air tight container. It should last up to several weeks.
• If you plan on eating fresh fruit with your granola, you may want to skip using dried fruit, as a way to cut down on sugar.
• Feel free to play around with the oats, nut/seed, and dried fruit measurements, as these don't need to be exact.

I hope you give this recipe a try and enjoy it! Stay happy and healthy :)