Vegan Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Bread!

Good morning! How was your weekend? 

Jon and I enjoyed our Saturday night by having an "I Love Lucy" marathon! (Yes, we are wild and crazy.)

Anyways, to get this week off to a great start, I decided to have some fun in the kitchen this morning!

The end result? Vegan Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Bread! In addition to being vegan, it is also gluten-free!
 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 2 tablespoons agave
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup arrowroot
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries (or fresh!)

Directions:
1. Grease 9x5x3 loaf pan with canola oil and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In blender, combine oil, agave, banana, water, and vanilla.
3. In separate bowl, combine oat flour, arrowroot, baking powder, salt, and blueberries.
4. Add liquid ingredients to dry and mix well.
5. Pour into loaf pan and back for 15 minutes.

Lots of delicious banana flavor, just the right amount of sweetness...

As a special treat... you could even make Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, using chocolate chips instead of the blueberries. Yum!

Do you have any vegan banana bread recipes? I would love to try them... :)

I hope you are having an amazing Monday!!

Goodbye Coffee... Hello Teeccino!

 Guess what?!  This is not coffee!

It is Vanilla Nut Teeccino (a brand of herbal coffee) with a dash of Trader Joe's soy creamer!

The main ingredients in Teeccino are: roasted carob, barley, chicory root, figs, dates and almonds... ground up to a "coffee consistency." And it brews exactly like coffee! :)

 *Confession: I used to drink coffee throughout the day. (terrible!... I know)

After 7 years of consuming caffeine daily, it is time to move on...

Even though there are some benefits of coffee: antioxidents & social-ability<-- a definite plus!, there are many not-so-amazing side effects:


But wait, there is more... coffee is highly acidic. Acidic foods cause your body to produce fat cells to keep the acid away from your organs. Source: Skinny Bitch

♥

Whew! Even though I've known all of this about coffee for awhile, it is helpful to see it all written out! (So much easier to stay on track!)

Do you like Teeccino? If so, what is your favorite flavor?

P.S. I have no connection to this company... it is just the only herbal coffee I know of. Please let me know if you know of other brands! :)

Have a great day! :)

• Headaches
• Irritability 
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Dehydration
• Increase in pms
• Restlessness
• Mild insomnia
• Increased heart rate
• Increased blood sugar
• Difficulty concentrating
• Mild stomach upset

Also,  caffeine stimulates the adrenal glands to produce the stress hormones called cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine. There is a well documented relationship between persistently elevated levels of cortisol and other stress hormones. Persistently elevated levels of cortisol are associated with more belly fat. Also, caffeine greatly increases your appetite for sugar and fatty foods. Source: Lose Weight and Belly Fat

"Look at Me Now!" Seminar

Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week! :)

For the past few months, I've been honored to give presentations on healthy eating tips at the local Y.

Last night was "Look at Me Now!" The seminar mainly consisted of 5 individuals "telling their story" about how they have attained a healthy body weight and greatly improved their health through a health diet and exercise.

The goal was to kick off the new year of health and fitness goals by inviting people to come and listen to "real people" who have achieved better health!

It seemed to be a success... 34 people!

And, let me just say... it was truly inspiring! I greatly appreciate how huge of a goal these individuals accomplished! They are perfect walking, living, breathing examples for others wanting to improve their lifestyle.

Part of the presentation included a brief discussion of goal setting.

Personally, I love goal-setting, because I am Type A personality like that. ;) But it seemed like everyone else was very interested in this idea as well! 

Many of the "stars" had already been using the SMART Goals principle:

This way of goal-setting can be applied to any goal!

Do you keep these "smart" principles in mind when setting goals?

And, on a fun note... does anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend?

Jon and I are having a "game night" with our friends!

Bye for now! :)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Oats... and Snow!

Good morning!

How is 2011 treating you so far? Have you made anything new and delicious?

I've recently discovered a new favorite breakfast: Peanut Butter and Jelly Oats!

 

Last week in Big Bear, I had an oatmeal craving... every morning. I wanted to ensure I had plenty of energy until lunch... so I would stir a spoonful of peanut butter into my oats. It was amazingly delicious... but I thought to myself... "How much more amazing would this breakfast be if I had brought jelly?!"

Naturally, I made it with jelly as soon as we got home. And every morning since... Peanut Butter and Jelly Oats is what I have been enjoying for breakfast!

I've definitely been waking up excited for breakfast on these cold January mornings. Oh, and bananas compliment this deliciousness perfectly!

By the way, this is what we woke up to this morning...

It hardly ever snows in Palmdale! But yesterday we got 4 inches! Yippee! :)




















Are you currently having any exciting weather? Also, how do you "fancy up" your morning oatmeal?

2011... The Year of AMAZING!

New Years Eve with my mom ♥

Happy New Year everyone! Wow... 2011, who can believe it!?!

I hope you had a fun and safe last day of 2010... now hooray for an AMAZING new year!! :)

The start of a new year is always an exciting time for me. I love starting "fresh" and planning new goals for the upcoming year! 

*2011 Goals* 

-Become a certified personal trainer
-Graduate from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition
-Start my own business
-Walk and do yoga daily :)
-Create new healthy recipes
-Spend more time with my amazing family & friends

What are your goals for 2011?