Blog Archives

Healthy Homemade Strawberry Milk

6/30/2014

How about a strawberry milk that uses FRESH strawberries and contains no extra mystery ingredients on the label that you can't even pronounce?

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Strawberry milk was my favorite milk flavor of choice as a kid. Not chocolate. No sir. Strawberry fan all the way.

If I could come home after school and open up that yellow container with the brown rabbit on the front (y'all know which one I'm talking about) and pour LOADS of the strawberry powder into a big glass of cold milk...stir it up....sip....*Ahhh....* Now THAT is childhood calling.

You don't need that powdery mix or even the sugary syrup to enjoy strawberry milk at home. Nope.

All you need is fresh strawberries. Imagine that!

I give you a healthy homemade strawberry milk that is so simple to make. So simple! And with strawberry season at it's peak right now, it's the best time to get the optimum flavor freshness in this refreshing drink.

Summer in the South. We drink our beverages of choice from mason jars. The cute little purple striped straw is just getting a little fancy.

Homemade Healthy Strawberry Milk

Serves: About 5 cups

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled.
4 Tbsp. stevia
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. butter extract
pinch of salt
3 cups milk*

*Note: I do not recommend almondmilk for this recipe. I tried it, and it doesn't mix well--not like regular dairy milk does. Haven't tried other types of milk yet.

Cut strawberry tops off and hull them. Hulling means you just cut out that center white part of the strawberry. It's kinda bitter and taking it out will result in a sweeter batch of strawberries to place in your food processor or blender.

Like I said, place strawberries in blender or food processor along with the stevia, vanilla extract, butter extract, and pinch of salt.

Puree and blend the strawberry mixture until very smooth. This is what it should look like.

Then you simply add the strawberry puree to the milk and stir it up well. Refrigerate for about an hour before drinking to allow it to set. Yummy. Healthy. Easy. Done.

Healthy Recipe Tidbits

This is a very low-sugar recipe. But definitely tastes sweet enough! Especially if you use sweeter, in-season strawberries.
Consuming more strawberries (and berries in general) may help you burn off more store body fat. This is due to the anthocyanins in the strawberries that give them their red color.
Strawberries also aid in reducing inflammation in yoru body and help boost short term memory.

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healthy habit recommendations you can incorporate easily into your daily life
food history and food company histories with some interesting food facts
foods and drinks recommended to aid in certain health problems or health concerns
some food humor to keep you laughing

As you can see, LOTS of great stuff here in my newsletters! To sign up, just enter your the following in the form below:

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Life Lately

6/18/2014

Goodness, a lot has been going on lately. I figured the easiest way to let all the thoughts out of my head and update you all as much as possible would be a random posting of some of my "lately-es" in life.

First off, though, I do want to say a big thank you to all my readers out there. Whoever you are, wherever you're reading from and for whatever reason...thank you. I started this blog with no intentions of gaining that many followers or knowing exactly where it would lead me. But I have grown to love blogging SO DANG MUCH in these few short months. The best part? The really lovely and fantastic and awesome thing that's happened?....Is my relationships I've developed with readers and fellow bloggers. I've made friends, I've connected with others--shared humorous stories or random tidbits of nutrition facts or related to events currently going on in their lives. And it's been THE BEST.

To my blogger and reader friends: Y'all are just awesome.

Now! Let the updates begin!

One bit of sad news as of late is the fact that this handsome man--one of my best friends, my prince charming, my soulmate--is moving away from me very soon. Wade got a great job opportunity in Central Arkansas and so will be moving there on June 27. I'm thrilled for him and so proud of where he's going in life! But it will be bittersweet. It's only 3 hours away, but it will still be painful for the both of us. Long distance relationship....bleh.

My holistic health coaching business is really starting to kick off and I know I have better opportunities for it to grow and for myself to develop my own business skills in Northwest Arkansas, which is why I'm not moving with him. The fact that we both support each other completely and still want to remain in a devoted relationship says a lot. I'll miss this guy so much! But we shall make plans to visit each other as often as we can. :)

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By the way, that awkwardly adorable snapshot of the two of us is from a recent trip to Tulsa to see Bruno Mars in concert! We went to his Moonshine Jungle tour concert on June 4. OHMYGOODNESS, best concert of my life! It was simply stunning. Bruno, you'll always have a special place in my heart.

Speaking of my holistic health coaching business, I am definitely starting to grow it's possibilities and open more doors every day and I could NOT be more excited to get more involved with coaching some clients. A couple upcoming events:

If you're local, I am doing a chef demonstration on June 28 at the Bentonville Farmer's Market. I am working with Sabra hummus to create 3 different recipes using mostly locally sourced farmer's market ingredients! It will be my first big chef demo in front of a large crowd, so I'm nervous. But also thrilled for the opportunity to work with Sabra and the Farmers' market!

On the health coaching business front, I am hosting my first holistic heath and nutrition workshops on July 26 and July 29 at a local event center! More details to come. It will be at the Bella Vista Artist Retreat Center if you're interested in attending. I hope to work with this event and retreat center much more in the future by providing workshops, classes and other services. Thank you to the ARC for allowing me to become a part of the team!

This is the old house they are restoring for the retreat center. It's even more beautiful inside.

This past weekend was Father's Day weekend. And my parents' 30th wedding anniversary just happened to fall on the same day! I offered to cook my parents up a gourmet homemade meal all by myself. With the traditional strawberry cake for dessert for my dad. Strawberry cake is his favorite. I ended up making maple dijon baked chicken with candied pears, sweet sesame green beans, southwest chipotle rosemary roasted potatoes and peppers, and heated up some sweet rye rolls to go alongside.

The dish I was actually most proud of though? This starter salad. It's a pretty simple salad actually and I was inspired by mine and Wade's recent trip to Tulsa. We ate at a highly rated pizza restaurant and I ordered this salad to start: it had mixed greens, green apple, brie cheese, and candied walnuts with a honey vinaigrette on top.

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I had to redo this salad at home because it was so good. Here's my results. Pretty darn good, right? My parents loved it.

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I had to look up ideas for a recipe to use in creating the candied walnuts. I found inspiration from Tara's recipe who writes at Treble in the Kitchen

These roasted nuts are a "healthified" version of the ones I had on my salad at the restaurant. Made with honey and stevia as the sweeteners, these roasted nuts also have a salty kick and a spicy kick too. A nice balance that makes them not overly sweet.

Sweet and Salty Cinnamon Roasted Nuts

Makes 1/2 cup nuts

Ingredients:
1/2 cup walnuts
1 egg white
1 tsp. water
1 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. maple syrup
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. stevia

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Put parchment paper on baking sheet.

Whisk together egg white, water, maple syrup and honey in bowl. Add in nuts and toss walnuts to coat them. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and mix well.

Using a fork to dip the walnuts out of the bowl (this is in leave behind much of the egg mixture residue) scatter walnuts out onto parchment paper.

Bake in oven for 45 minutes, tossing nuts every 15 minutes.

This is my parents' completed anniversary dinner. They said it was better than any restaurant meal they could have gotten.

*psst!....Wanna know my secret?....The secret ingredient is LOVE.* :)

And this is the strawberry cake made especially for my dad. Yes, I do realize it looks like someone might have gotten slaughtered while making this cake due to it's graphic nature of looking like blood icing....It was not intentional. Either way, he loved it.

That's all for now, folks! Hope you all are doing just fine and dandy.

Do you have any advice for handling long distance relationships?

What's your favorite cake?

Favorite Quick Workouts

6/11/2014

Somebody needs to tell me how in the world it's already the second week of June?! What the...?!

I know summer hasn't officially started yet by seasonal calender standards but I bet many of you are already headed out to the beach, taking cruises in boats on the lake, tanning by the pool, etc. And don't we all want to look bangin'....excuse me,...gorgeous and sexy for these summertime activities? I know I do!

While I do do know this phrase is VERY true...

....I do like to keep a semi-regular fitness schedule and be as active as I can during the week. Exercise is good for your heart and soul! Working out is NOT just about losing weight. Being physically active is important for a healthy and happy lifesytle. Period.

I'll admit though, even I sometimes dread my workouts. They're not ALL fun. It's in those moments I remember mind over matter. I push myself to get a heart-racing workout in because I know at the end of it, I'll feel better about it. Even if my body is saying otherwise and telling me it's dying. I know better. It's not dying. You gotta put a determined game face on and push through it.

Though I'm not much of a runner and I also don't want to pay for a gym membership, I still get some great workouts in during the week. So how do I do this? Well, I'm pretty actively on my feet most of the day just because I think I have ADHD. I don't like to sit down for long periods of time.

But I like finding free workout videos to watch online to vary up the types of exercise I'm getting as well as focus on different areas of my body.

I've decided to compile and share a list of some of my personal favorite workout videos I routinely use throughout the month to keep my bangin'--yes, bangin'!, be proud of what ya got!--body in shape. Enjoy!

5-Minute Fat Blasters: No Equipment Workout

This one is go-to quickie workout. It's only 5 minutes. I think anyone can find 5 minutes during the day to do a quick heart-racing workout! Give this one a try. I usually run through it at least a couple times to really get my heart pumping.

Tone it Up girls--Beautiful Booty Workout

I was recently introduced to the Tone It Up girls' website. They have LOTS of great workout videos and routines, so definitely check them out for even more great workout ideas. This one targets your booty. It's not too difficult either, but you can feel the burn!

Total Body Barre Burner

Barre workouts are becoming increasingly popular as more barre studios are being opened up around the country. I found this one to be a great starter for those who've never even tried barre before. In the future I'd love to try more barre classes if I can!

5-Minute Workout For Sexy, Sculpted Arms

This arm workout may be short, but it's intense! I can definitely feel my muscles getting worked in this one. You just need a couple of dumbbells or hand weights. You could even use some full water bottles or soup cans if you don't have weights.

5-Minute Yoga Sequence

This yoga sequence would be good to do first thing in the morning to wake up your body and get you ready for the day or even after you've done some other workouts and routines to get a good stretch and cool-down.