What I’ve Been Up To

If there is anyone still out there who hasn’t visited my new blog yet, I invite you to join the fun over at The Teenage Taste!

In addition to running Spring Track, going to school, and hanging with friends I have also been doing a lot of cooking and baking. I love it!

Here are some of the highlights:

Chickpea Feta Salad

Spinach Artichoke Hummus

Triple Chocolate Nutella Cookies

Pineapple Banana Green Monster

Oreo Crunch Muffins

I’ve made all that and more. To view all my (new) recipes, click here! I’ve also been doing some random posts about my life in my Bites of Life tab.

Hope all is well with all of you and hope to see you over at The Teenage Taste sometime! See you soon!

~Erika

I’ve Been Cheating…

Hello Everyone!

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I thank all of you.  Seriously, you are the nicest most caring people ever!  After being absent from FoodFitnessFun for over 2 weeks I’ve recieved many comments and emails asked if I was okay and why I haven’t been blogging. 

The truth is…I’ve been cheating on you with another blog.

Enter my other blog:

The Teenage Taste

Don’t worry, I’ll still be posting here every once in a while, but The Teenage Taste will be my main blog from now on. 

Have a great week!

Jay Robb Whey Protein Review

Protein Powder.

Before Blog World I thought it was just for bodybuilders.  Boy, was I wrong!

Once I started reading more and more blogs, I started finding more and more delicious ways to use the stuff.

• Protein Cakes
• Protein  Ice Cream
• Protein Milkshakes
• Protein Pancakes
• Protein Banana Bread
• Protein Smoothies
• Protein PanCakes (large pancakes or mini cakes)

The list goes on and on…

Ever since I discovered the wonderful stuff and all that I can do with it I’ve been trying to find the best tasting stuff I can find.  Thankfully, Jay Robb heard about my dilemma and offered to send me some samples.  Yes, please! 

♥Jay Robb Whey Protein Powder Review♥

…but first some interesting information about Jay Robb products.

 

Jay Robb’s Whey Protein is made from the finest natural ingredients available and delivers 25 grams of first class protein, 0-fat, 0-cholesterol, 0-sugars, and only 1 gram of carbohydrate per 30 gram serving. Only cold-processed cross-flow microfiltered whey protein isolate is used as the protein source and this material comes from farm-raised, pasture-grazed, grass-fed cows not treated with the synthetic bovine growth hormone rBGH. 

 

 

Sounds pretty good, right?  Let’s see how they tasted…

 

Chocolate:  This was the first flavor that I tasted and it gave me a great impression of what was to come.  The flavor was excellent.  It didn’t have that protein powder-y aftertaste that some protein powders have and was extremely chocolate-y.  The only bad part of this flavor was that it was gritty.  It might have just been because I stirred it into oatmeal though.  I’m sure it would be less gritty in a smoothie or shake.

Vanilla:  This flavor was also good! I didn’t like it as much as the chocolate flavor mostly because I’m a chocoholic though.  I enjoyed this in Protein PanCake form and it baked and fluffed up well. Unfortunately, it did have a tiny bit of an aftertaste, but it was nothing that a little extra cinnamon couldn’t fix.

Strawberry:  I enjoyed this in a Strawberries ‘N’ Cream Smoothie and it was delicious! I loved it! It seriously tasted like a strawberry milkshake and was pretty thick due to the fact that the powder contained a bit of xanathan gum. Again the only problem was that it had a small aftertaste.

Tropical Dreamsicle:  This was definitely the favorite of the bunch.  It was flavorful, summer-y, and had NO aftertaste!  I enjoyed it in smoothie form and I could have sworn I was sipping on a melted Orange Creamsicle.  YUM!

Piña Colada:  If I’d had to pick a favorite mocktail I would definitely choose the Piña Colada.  They’ve become one with summer and I felt like I was back at the beach while I was sipping on my Piña Colada protein smoothie.  The flavor was spot on and was aftertaste-free.

Overall:  I’m not gonna beat around the bush here:  Jay Robb Whey Protein Powder is amazing! I loved all of the flavors and would gladly buy more and recommend them to all of my friends.  I even had my 10-year-old brother fooled.  I gave him a protein smoothie and he couldn’t even tell there was protein powder in it.  Shhhh, don’t tell him, he still doesn’t know!

Overall Grade:    A

Thanks Jay Robb! 

* * * * *

Questions of the Day:

• What is your favorite flavor/brand of protein powder?  How do you use it?  I love my Jay Robb protein powder, but I’m still curious!  Feel free to leave links for protein-packed recipes as well!

Have a great Wednesday!

PS – Has anyone tried dessert protein powder?  (Cookies ‘N Cream, Cake Batter, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, etc.)  I feel like I’ve seen them all over Blog World but can’t seem to find anywhere to buy them!

MLK’s Birthday

I originally had another post scheduled for today but I’m running a little low on time so this one will have to do for now.  It’s just a little peek into my day off from school for Martin Luther King Junior’s Birthday.  I hope you like it!

* * * * *

Breakfast:

Chia Overnight Oats (1/2 cup oatmeal + 2/3 cup light vanilla yogurt + 1 tablespoon chia seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons water) topped with a slice of Cranberry Orange Bread

I love Overnight Oats, and guess who else in my family does now too!

My Mom!

Crazy right?  I was shocked when she asked me to make her a bowl last night!  She said she was curious as to how it tastes since I eat it ALL. THE. TIME. Haha!

After breakfast I went for a walk with Fluffy.  She loved the snow! ♥

Unfortunately I didn’t.  I forgot my hat so it was a very cold 2 mile walk.

Please excuse the fact that I didn’t put on any make-up or drink coffee yet.  I look like a zombie!

After the walk I showered, changed, drank my coffee, and got to work.  Today was a “no make-up” kind of day…

After an hour of so of school work it was time for lunch – a creation from Miss Paola!

Lunch:

Paola’s Apple and Swiss Egg-White Cake and a slice of toast with White Bean Avocado Dip

Ohmygosh!  It was absolutely amazing!  I ate everything in about 32 seconds.

The only thing I’d do different next time is add more cheese.  Y’all know how much I like cheese…

Wanna know something else that I like?!  This bean dip! ♥ ↓

White Bean Avocado Dip

Slightly adapted from Food Network

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe Hass avocados, pitted and peeled
• 1/2 cup white beans, rinsed and drained
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 teaspoons lime juice (I used lemon juice because I was out of limes.)
• Optional: black pepper, salt, cumin, and extra garlic powder

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine avocado, white beans, and garlic.  Mash with a fork until chunky.  Fold in cilantro and lime juice.  Season to taste.

* * * * *

You can’t blame me.  It is really good and can’t be easier to make!  It literally took me 5 minutes to prepare.

For dippers I suggest raw veggies, crackers, pretzels, and tortilla chips.  It’s also great spread on sandwiches and toast!

* * * * *

Questions of the Day:

1. Did you have off today?  If so, what did you do? Phil had to go to school today!
2. Do you enjoy my recipe posts?!  I know my posts have been kinda recipe-heavy lately and am loving it!  I just want to know if you like it as much as I do – if not that’s fine! Feel free to speak up!  I am always looking for ways to make FFF better! ♥



Snow Day!

We got snow.  Lots and lots of snow.

So much snow that school was cancelled and all of my project due dates got moved from Friday to Tuesday.  Hallelujah!

 Here’s a peek at my day.  It was pretty laid-back since I figured I should at least start my projects and not put them off until the last-minute…

Breakfast was delicious as always, but especially comforting on this cold winters day.

Breakfast

Oatmeal prepared using the Voluminous Oatmeal Trick topped with Stewed Apples, Coco-Nutty Granola, and Justin’s Maple Almond Butter

I guess my oatmeal looks kinda gross because it’s just a whole bunch of brown, but believe me, it tasted awesome!

After breakfast I commented on some blogs and then bundled up and spent some time outside.   First I shovelled the sidewalk and then I spent some time goofing around in the snow. 

I also took some pictures!

Told ya it was a lot of snow!  Philip actually measured it – we got a grand total of 11 inches!  I have a feeling it’s going to be around for a while too.  The “high” temperature was only 21 degrees today!

Once I came inside I defrosted for a few minutes and then made myself some lunch.

Lunch

Kayla’s Hummus Egg Salad Sandwich* and some calcium-enriched applesauce

‘Twas a very tasty (and filling!) lunch.

*Any of my long-time readers can attest to this when I say I hate following recipes exactly.  This even includes my own recipes sometimes!  I made the following substitutions to Kayla’s recipe…

• Roasted Red Pepper hummus instead of Spinach and Artichoke (That sounds like some good hummus – I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for that flavor!)
• 1 tablespoon canola oil mayo instead of greek yogurt (I was out *gasp!*)
• I also added ~2 tablespoons of minced celery, ~2 tablespoons of minced carrots, and ~1 teaspoon of relish.

To be honest when I first heard of a hummus egg salad sandwich I was kinda leery to try it, but I’m SO glad I did.  It was absolutely AMAZING! ♥

Okay, enough food-talk for now.  After lunch I got to work on my projects.  I actually finished one!  In other words, I’m 1/6th of the way there…

My Workspace

Hmph.

At least it went by fast.  I was listening to my new favorite song the whole time!

Lose Yourself by Eminem - It’s definitely not your average rap song.  We actually listened to it in English class once!

All of that work must have taken a lot of energy out of me because by 3PM I was starvinggg!

Snack

Chobani Raspberry yogurt (I also ate celery and almond butter for “dessert” and an Adora.)

PS – Isn’t that a cool picture?! I love how the snow looks on the brick! ♥

The time gap between snack and dinner was filled with nothing.  I watched some DVRed episodes of What Would You Do and read some of the new Wimpy Kid book. (I’m not gonna lie, I love that series!)

Dinner

Liverwurst and Cheddar sandwich on Rye, steamed broccoli, and some of my Mom’s Snowstorm Chicken Veggie Soup (I’m trying to get her to divulge the recipe..)

Just a random mish-mash of stuff.  Sometimes I think they’re the best meals.

Now I’m going to play another round of Trouble with the family. ♥

Question of the Day:

1. Do you like snow?  If so, do you like to shovel?    I love snow and I love to shovel – killer arm workout!
2. What is your favorite song?