New Headband + Yummy Food

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Itz Linz

Look who’s sporting a brand new gorgeous headband! (Yummy food below.)

This girl! Last night I went to the Athleta launch party in St. Louis as this is their first store in Missouri. The store was packed and they were on a strict ”one in, one out” policy per a fire code. I ended up waiting about ten minutes before being let in, but munched on some tasty appetizers and a glass of wine that was being served to everyone who was waiting. Now that’s good customer service! The headband was the only thing I bought since the dressing room lines were super long, as well. I was definitely impressed by their clothing selection. It was functional, the material felt good, and it was totally fashionable. I’d be comfortable wearing it to the gym and out running errands. Thumbs up, Athleta!

Now on to the yummy food part of this post. Itz WIAW over at Peas and Crayons!

Breakfast: Vanilla Spinach Protein Smoothie made with Vega Sport protein powder. I won a giveaway from Amanda’s blog Run to the Finish and was sent an awesome Vega package. This protein knocks my socks off, seriously. It has some of the best stats I’ve seen in protein powders (per scoop): 130 calories, 6 grams carbs, and 25 grams protein! Itz loaded, I tell ya!

Love the green glow and it tastes good, too! In the smoothie went one scoop of the vanilla Vega Sport protein powder, ice, banana, maca powder, flaxseed, handfuls of fresh spinach, and vanilla almond milk. Winner winner!

Lunch: Hodgepodge crockpot dish served over fresh spinach and topped with plain Chobani greek yogurt. It seems to be a staple around here, but itz just so darn easy to make! I literally throw in whatever I have on hand. This week it was dry white beans, dry black beans, frozen veggie mix, diced onion, leeks, diced tomatoes, celery, cabbage, garlic, red pepper, uncooked brown rice, and chicken broth and let it cook for four hours on low. Wah-lah! Lunches all week are made!

Snack: Chobani came out with these new “Bite” cups and I’ve been searching the local stores for them. I finally found one flavor: Fig with Orange Zest and omg itz so good! It tastes mostly orange, but there are fig bits mixed in to sweeten the cup.

Now if only I can get my hands on the new Chobani Flips – still can’t find those!

Dinner: Jonny and I went to a Thai restaurant (Thai Kitchen) on Monday evening as we had a Groupon that needed to be used. We were the only ones in the restaurant at first… not generally a good sign, especially in combination with a Groupon. I ordered the “Ginger” dish with stir-fried garlic, onions, mushrooms, carrots, shredded baby ginger, and zucchini. White rice on the side.

The verdict? It was very gingery, kind of overpoweringly so. Jonny liked his dish, but I don’t think we’ll be running back there any time soon.

Snack/Dessert: LÄRABAR sent me a few of their new ALT bars. ALT signifies Alternative Protein Bar. Itz the first-ever bar with added protein from LÄRABAR! Many bar brands use soy or whey protein, but ALT uses an alternative protein source: peas. Vegan, gluten-free, dairy free, and non-GMO. Pretty cool, right?

This was AMAZING! Dense, moist, chewy, absolutely delicious. In addition to the Cinnamon Apple Crisp, there is also Lemon Pound Cake, Peanut Butter Cookie, and Pumpkin Pie, all of which I’m sure are ridiculously delicious. I’ll be purchasing these on my own, for sure.

Have you tried the new ALT bars? How about the Chobani Bites or Flips?

Happiness

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Itz Linz

Life isn’t always happy. In fact, sometimes life is downright hard. It can be busy, sad, stressful, but it can also be full of joy and happiness. Happiness is an outlook and I truly believe that happiness is what you make of it.

So today I’m sharing a few things lately that have been making me happy. Simple things. But itz happiness nonetheless.

Happiness is… seeing adorable and enormous baby animals at the zoo. My class took a field trip to the St. Louis Zoo on Tuesday. We had gorgeous weather and it seemed like all the animals were out. Couldn’t resist snapping a photo of this baby elephant.

Happiness is… old friends. Annette from Enjoy Your Healthy Life and I have been friends since we were two years old. Inseparable during our elementary years, really, and itz just seven days before we are reunited at the Blend Retreat! Annette just announced she is having a girl, so let the pink bows, dresses, and dance shoes begin. Speaking of dance, Annette is an expert dancer; she’s danced her entire life and even convinced me to do a session with her (if that’s even what they’re called). Please enjoy this beautiful picture of Annette and me from a dance recital probably fifteen years ago.

Happiness is… receiving an awesome package from Victoria’s Secret! I ordered four of their Perfect Burnout shirts – two V-Neck Tees and two Tank Tops. Love the burnout look. Itz a little sheer which will be sexy for summer!

Happiness is… Zoey! Come on, did you really think I could do a whole happiness post and not include a picture of my little pooch? Get real! The sun is shining and summer is nearing which means Zoey’s summer apparel is surfacing once again. I love this little red jumper dress. Rainbows just scream summer!

Happiness is… cake batter protein milkshakes. My cake batter protein is as good as it sounds. (I order it from iHerb.com – itz Muscle Milk brand – use code VAJ523 to receive a discount on your first order!) The sprinkles addition is a MUST!

What’s making YOU happy?

Check here to see if you were the Rodan + Fields giveaway winner!

Key Lime Pie Protein Smoothie

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Itz Linz

Hi there, friends! Itz been absolutely gorgeous in St. Louis these past couple of days. We’re talkin’ blue skies, blazing sun, and temperatures in the 80′s. Oh yes! These warmer temps have prompted a smoothie-lovin’ craze in me lately. (Who am I kidding? I love smoothies all year round!) Anyway, I have one today that is just puuurfect for the summer. In fact, it makes me want to be on a beach somewhere…

About a month ago I was doing a product review for GNC’s Total Lean Orange Cream Protein powder. I quickly became obsessed with making Orange Cream Protein for a nightly dessert. After running out of the powder, I headed to GNC to pick up more when a new flavor caught my eye: Key Lime. I snatched up (aka bought) two bags. I love it!

I listed the general recipe for the smoothie, but of course you can make modifications where you see fit. I add maca powder and flaxseed for an extra punch of nutrition, and I’m sure it’d be very delicious with almond or dairy milk, as well. The banana is a must as it adds the creamy component, and the graham cracker crumbs sprinkled on top totally make the “pie” part of the key lime pie protein smoothie.

The dinner I made on Monday night turned into my lunches for the week. I sautéed an onion while cooking ground turkey meat and added garlic, a frozen veggie mix, roasted salsa from Trader Joe’s, and brown rice. I served it on top of fresh spinach and plopped a dollop of plain Chobani on top with a little sprinkle of red pepper.

Simple yet delicious and nutritious – my kind of meal!

Love Grown Foods was kind enough to sponsor my school’s Wellness Wednesday. They provided us with four bags each of their five granola flavors: Sweet Cranberry Pecan, Raisin Almond Crunch, Cocoa Goodness, Simply Oats, and Apple Walnut Delight. I’ve been receiving tons of e-mails exclaiming how delicious the granola is, so itz safe to say it was a big hit! Thanks, Love Grown Foods!

While dinner was in the makin’ last night, I tweeted in excitement. Then after, I instagrammed in delight. Jonny was on the grill and I was in the kitchen. Teamwork. I bought chipotle burgers from Whole Foods over the weekend because they were on sale. (Whole Foods has the best weekend sales.) Jonny said these were possibly the best burgers he’s ever had. They were enormous and oh so tasty.

I made kale chips with red pepper and nutritional yeast. I roast them at 375 for 8 minutes or so. I also made Goat Cheese & Cranberry Stuffed Mushrooms. Burgers and mushrooms go so well together, agree?

Are you a key lime fan? What do you think goes best with burgers?

Cottage Pulp

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Itz Linz

Cottage Pulp – that’s an appealing title, eh? Hehe, I promise the final product is much better than the name. You see, I’ve been juicing (well, only on the weekends) with my awesome NutriPro, and itz been amazingly delicious. However, it produces so.much.pulp, and I’ve needed more ways than one to use the pulp, so it doesn’t go to waste. Pulp bread is especially awesome with carrot pulp and green pulp. The other day I made a juice that contained grapefruit, orange, and lemon and I thought that may taste funky going into bread. Instead, I took a couple scoops and plopped it on top of cottage cheese and sprinkled it with chia seeds. Cottage Pulp.

Itz much prettier than the name suggests, too, right? You’ve got a great deal of fiber from the pulp, protein and calcium from the cottage cheese, and healthy fats from the chia seeds. Awesome snack! Add that to the list of how to use juice pulp!

Can you believe itz the last Wednesday in February? That means itz the last WIAW for Love Your Veggies month with Peas and Crayons.

So I made sure to jam-pack this post with veggies at each meal! First up: breakfast. I made a post workout smoothie with Designer Whey French Vanilla protein powder.

Usually I use milk, but we were out, so I had to suffice with water only. The banana did a good job of making it a bit creamy. The above recipe made about two large glasses. A spoonful of sunflower seed butter was also consumed for breakfast.

Lunch was my last Diet-to-Go meal: beef short ribs with bordelaise sauce.

Very tasty like all their meals. Dinner was an easy crockpot dish. Into the crockpot went chicken, onions, vegetable broth, salsa, black beans, diced tomatoes, quinoa, and corn. I served it over shredded cabbage and topped it with plain greek yogurt, avocado, and red pepper.

For the past couple of days my car has shown that one of my tires was low on air. My tires have nitrogen in them, so I can’t just go anywhere to get air. Long story short, I had to drive 15 minutes away to find out there was a nail in my tire. An hour and a half later I was on my way home, cranky and hungry. After eating dinner, I decided this definitely warranted fro yo (like I really need an excuse, ha!). So I helped myself to a lovely bowl of cake batter and cookie dough frozen yogurt topped with a couple of cookie dough pieces and a brownie bite.

Yes, I did find it necessary to show you exactly where those bites of goodness were located in my fro yo bowl. They, of course, got eaten last since the best always gets saved for last.

Do you save the best for last or eat the best first?

Designer Whey Awesomeness

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Itz Linz

Y’all already know about my protein powder lovin’ and thanks to FitFluential and Designer Whey my love was fueled even more! I literally squealed in excitement as I opened up this amazing package:

Designer Whey AWESOMENESS! Protein powders, protein shakes, protein bars, protein drink mixes, protein galore! Can you sense my excitement? And you better believe when I saw that White Chocolate protein powder I jumped with joy! White Chocolate protein powder?! Unbelievable.

When you add just a tiny bit of water to protein powder (& maybe some sprinkles) and call it “fudge,” you know itz good!

It was like eating dessert for breakfast! Designer Whey Protein Powders pack 100 calories, 18 grams of protein, and just 2 grams of sugar per scoop. Those are some great stats. And the flavors? I’ve already said this, but white chocolate protein powder? I can’t get over how delicious it is. The French Vanilla is also awesome, and I’d love to try the Vanilla Almond and Vanilla Praline (huge vanilla lover over here!). They have several chocolate flavors, plain, and strawberry, too!

My Sunflower Seed Vanilla Almond Oatmeal worked beautifully with the French Vanilla protein; it mixed perfectly (not clumpy at all!) and the sunflower seed butter was a great compliment to the flavor.

Designer Whey Protein Powders also offer an excellent source of calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B! Itz made for the perfect post-workout smoothie, and I even throw spinach in for more nutrients and vitamins. This awesome mix consisted of Designer Whey French Vanilla, ground flaxseeds, ice, Silk vanilla almond milk, and loads of fresh spinach. Gotta love the bright green color!

I haven’t tasted the Designer Whey High-Protein Shakes yet, but I suspect they’ll taste as good as the rest of their products. Each shake consists of just 100 calories and are lactose and gluten-free. These will be perfect when I’m in a rush or need a portable snack. Just yesterday morning I had a piece of my Pulp Bread for breakfast. While it was delicious, it was definitely lacking in protein, so about an hour later I was hungry.

I decided it was time for me to try the Designer Whey Protein 2Go! I was on my way out the door, didn’t need a full meal, and wanted something quick. Honestly, I was a little hesitant about these – I’m not one for just mixing protein powder with water. (Unless itz fudge or pudding.) I find that itz usually chalky and clumpy and just not that good. I was very much surprised with these 2Go packets! I gave it a quick shake and, almost instantly, it dissolved.

I think they call it a “drink mix” instead of a “shake” because itz not a shake by any measure (which I liked). It was much thinner than a shake, and tasted good, too. It reminded me of those Crystal Light packets, but it was better since it was packed with protein. I really don’t think you can beat the stats on it either: 50 calories, 10 grams of protein. I’ve only tried the Lemonade flavor, but there’s also Mixed Berry and Tropical Orange, both of which sound tasty.

The last thing in the box was the Designer Whey Protein Bars. These are awesome (like everything else!), and not only have they satisfied my hunger, but they’ve been great for my sweet tooth, too. They remind me of Kudo’s bars actually, but obviously better since they’re loaded with protein!

So glad I snuck that bar in at the Billiken’s game to tide me over until dinner. Way better and way healthier than stadium snacks! This post is becoming a bit long-winded; there’s just so much Designer Whey Awesomeness! I’ll leave you with one last drool worthy picture – itz my coconut flour pancakes topped with Designer Whey White Chocolate protein frosting (simply mix the protein powder with water until desired consistency is reached).

Mmm, mmm, mmm! Designer Whey has stolen my heart!

Which Designer Whey flavor or product sounds best to you? Have you tried Designer Whey before?

*FitFluential & Designer Whey provided me with the products for review purposes only. All opinions are my own.

Let’s Call It “Juice”

Posted on January 30, 2013 by Itz Linz

On Sunday I was contacted by Steve, owner of Nadoz Cafe, to come in and try their new juice bar. I jumped at the opportunity because I did not even know a real juice bar existed in St. Louis. (Smoothies that have fruit and tons of added sugar don’t count!)

After learning about the Euro Bakery + Cafe, Steve offered me a juice. He asked what I would like, and all of their combinations sounded so good! Lately I’ve seen tons of juices with beets and ginger in them, so I was curious to try something along those lines. Steve suggested the Tropical Beet Juice with beets, apple, pineapple, and ginger.

It was totally awesome! The pineapple provided the perfect amount of sweetness and the hint of ginger was not overpowering at all. Definitely a fan. I can’t wait to go back for breakfast, lunch, or dinner; they even have a wine bar that’s open in the evening. Their menu is quite extensive and everything is made in-house. Their juices contain no added sugar or pre-made juices. They have a fancy juicer where they literally throw fresh fruit and vegetables in, and it turns it into smooth, nutrient-packed juice. If only I had one in my own kitchen!

I did try to make my own juice at home by merely throwing a bunch of fruits and vegetables into my blender. Here’s what my mix contained: ice, banana, carrots, celery, orange, flaxseed, spinach, kale, raw cacao powder, cinnamon, and water.

Let’s just call it “juice,” yeah? It really just turned into a smoothie, and I didn’t mind the taste, but it was certainly not as fine (nor as pretty!) as the juice from Nadoz. Good try, Linz. I did still get all the benefits of the vitamins and minerals from the fruits and veggies though. And if you’re wondering: there is not a strong vegetable taste at all. The banana and cinnamon really negate the strong “greens” taste.

Since this green juice didn’t provide any protein, I knew I needed to have something a bit more substantial to tide me over til lunch. Plus, I workout in the morning, so having protein is especially important to refuel and repair muscles. I made protein pudding.

In the puddin’: Sunwarrior vanilla protein powder, coconut flour, vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, and NuNaturals vanilla stevia. I slowly add the milk until the desired consistency is reached.

Thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting today’s WIAW.

Lunch included baked chicken, steamed broccoli, and an apple.

Simple, but healthy and filling. For snack I had a Dale’s Raw Protein Bar in raspberry hazelnut that I received in my last Conscious Box. While the bar doesn’t look appealing, it actually tasted really good! Plus, it packed 22 grams of protein!

(No nasty comments of what the bar looks like, please.) Dinner was such a hodge podge. We had leftover chicken and I roasted a cauliflower and sprinkled paprika and red pepper on it. Then I found an eggplant in my fridge, so I roasted that, too. After seeing the two white vegetables, I decided I needed some greens. In the oven went rainbow chard sprayed with olive oil and nutritional yeast on top.

Very random, but it worked and was Jonny-approved, as well. The other day I picked up Organic Stone Ground Extra Dark Chocolate from Trader Joe’s. Itz a “traditional Mexican-style chocolate,” and ohmygoodness itz absolutely delicious!

Itz such a rich and satisfying treat. Mmm mmm mmm!

Do you make your own juice? What’s your favorite combination?

Green Coconut Banana Smoothie

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Itz Linz

How’s your 2013 going so far? Great? Love to hear it! Ours is, too!

Today I’ve got a new delicious smoothie recipe to share with you, along with my New Year’s Eve dinner and New Year’s day breakfast and lunch. And itz all in celebration of the very first What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW) Party of 2013 thanks to Peas & Crayons!

On New Year’s day I woke up hungry and in the mood for blueberry pancakes. However, if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter then you know my pancakes don’t always quite turn out the way I intend. But have no fear – I still ate the mess that it became! For some reason my pancake didn’t hold together, so I scraped it into a bowl and topped it with syrup and Wild Blueberry Flax Granola from my NatureBox. (Speaking of, have you entered that giveaway yet?!)

#PROOF all my creations don’t turn out perfectly. It still tasted mighty good though! I knew I wanted to squeeze in lots of veggies for lunch, so I made turkey roll-ups for both Jonny and me. I used mini tortillas that are high-fiber and high-protein and smeared stoneground mustard in them. Then I stuffed them with green pepper slices, spinach, and turkey. More green pepper slices on the side with stoneground mustard for dipping!

Dinner comes next even though technically this dinner was from New Year’s Eve – the day before the previous two meals. My brother, sister, and our significant others went out to a hibachi-style dinner and we had so much fun! It was my brother-in-law’s first time at a hibachi restaurant (uhh what?!), and he was super impressed. I mean who doesn’t love the infamous volcano?

Since my whole family is very health-conscious, we requested that our chef use minimal oil. Luckily we took up most of the table, so he was able to abide by our request and served us first before squirting more oil for our tablemates. It never hurts to ask, and those tiny actions lead up to big results! #JustSayin’

I ordered chicken and scallops, but with hibachi you get so much more! Miso soup, salad (LOVE the ginger dressing!), vegetables, shrimp, scallops, and chicken. The scallops were definitely my favorite, but the whole meal was so good!

And incredibly filling. There were also noodles and steamed rice that went unpictured. No one left hungry, I assure you. Plus, I had some warm sake which some people find utterly disgusting, but once in awhile I like it. Are you a sake fan?

Now for the recipe. Itz a good one, guys, and just in time for the New Year. This smoothie isn’t packed with protein, but you could always add a scoop of vanilla protein powder if you’d like to bulk it up a bit. However, it does taste insanely good and is ridiculously easy to make (aren’t all smoothies??).

Green Coconut Banana Smoothie

The Ingredients:

few ice cubes
1 frozen banana, sliced
1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
few drops NuNaturals vanilla
several handfuls fresh spinach
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 cup water

The Directions: Add all ingredients to the blender in the order they are listed. Blend until desired consistency is reached. (Makes two large glasses.) Enjoy!

I seriously loved this smoothie. There was the perfect amount of sweetness, and just a hint of banana and coconut. Don’t be fooled by the crazy green color – you absolutely 100% can NOT taste the spinach, but you get ALL the many nutrients and benefits it provides.

Are you a green smoothie fan? What’s your favorite? Link up below! Any good New Year’s Eve dinners?

Protein Coconut Flour Oats

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Itz Linz

For this month’s What I Ate Wednesday (WIAW), Jenn at Peas and Crayons created a new, awesome theme: WIAW Goes Pink – Spooky Snacks & Healthy Halloween Treats!

Love it! Pink is to show support for Breast Cancer Awareness – something that is so important as breast cancer affects all of us in some way, shape, or form. Whether it’s you, a family member, a friend, or anyone in between, I bet all of us have been affected somehow. My thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones, those who are currently battling or supporting those who are, and those who have had to deal with breast cancer. Someday a cure shall be found for ALL cancers – that is my hope, my belief, and my dream.

Pink is also the color and theme of Audrey Rose’s first birthday bash from this past weekend. If you missed the post or if you have a daughter or just love pink and sugar & spice, you should definitely check it out now. So pink. So girly. So fun.

Now let’s talk WIAW. The other day for breakfast I threw a random concoction together and I actually ended up totally loving it and wanting to share it with you!

Protein Coconut Flour Oats

1/4 cup egg whites
1/4 cup oat bran
3/4 cup milk (plus more, if needed)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir. Cook in microwave for two minutes. I topped mine with strawberries and a drop of maple syrup to sweeten it up a little. I also added a bit more milk when it was finished cooking. The bowl was so creamy, so rich, and so full of flavor. I loved it and will definitely be making it again. I’m thinking a pumpkin addition would be delish!

Lunch this week has been leftovers. Monday and Tuesday’s leftovers included the holy humongous turkey sandwich. Today’s lunch will be leftovers from last night’s dinner, so let’s just skip right to that. Jonny and I are leaving town on Friday; hence, our fridge is looking a bit bare. Itz time to use what we have. I pulled together some pantry staples just like I did before we left for Cancun.

It doesn’t look appetizing, but itz really quite delicious. I made a box of macaroni and cheese (I picked up a box that happened to be dairy-free and gluten-free and on sale at the grocery store last week.). I prepared it according to the directions, then added a bag of rainbow broccoli slaw (raw, shredded broccoli, carrots, and cabbage), two cans of pinto beans, and a sautéed diced onion. It made an enormous batch which will be consumed and enjoyed again and again.

Something that I have not been eating leftovers for is dessert/after-dinner snack. Monday night was Mama Pea’s Hot Apple Pie Smoothie.

With all the apple talk, apple picking, apple pie, apple pancakes, apple everything this Fall, this is one recipe you won’t want to miss. I discovered it a few months ago and have continued to make it time and time again. Last night, however, was a more chocolatey treat.

Specifically, a dark chocolate peanut butter treat, complete with a pink placemat and a pink straw. In the mix: ice, dark chocolate almond milk, cacao powder, ground flaxseeds, chocolate PB2, and a dash of honey! It cured my sweet tooth. Jonny’s too.

So I didn’t quite have any spooky treats, but the smoothies could be considered healthy ~~Halloween~~ treats! How are you supposed to make food spooky anyway? I guess I’ll have to browse the other WIAW posts today!

Spooky treats? Healthy Halloween treats? What do you think?

Chocolate Covered Kale Protein Smoothie

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Itz Linz

Today is Yom Kippur – a Day of Atonement. It comes 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, and is celebrated by partaking in a fast, attending synagogue, and repenting. Itz the holiest day in the Jewish religion. While everyone celebrates differently, I plan on fasting throughout the day, yet drinking water to stay hydrated.

With all the running I’m doing in preparation for the half-marathon, I don’t want to totally throw my body off. I’ll continue my streak of running by doing a very easy one-mile jog. Obviously, it is not recommended to exercise at all during a fast, but I believe a very slow-paced jog will be fine for my body, especially since I’ll be drinking water. Itz one day a year, and this is how I’ll choose to celebrate.

Jonny and I will attend services with my family in the morning, lay low throughout the day, and break the fast at my grandparents’ home in the early evening. For our wedding, I bought Jonny a University of Miami (his alma mater and ~~obsession~~ love) yarmulke (or a “kippah”) that he gets to sport twice a year when we attend temple during the high holidays.

Jonny’s always gotta be showing his “U” love – even at temple! Today also happens to be WIAW with Jenn at Peas and Crayons. While I can’t promise to be reading all the wonderful blogs that feature delicious looking food today during my fast, I promise I’ll catch up later! Fasting is a challenge and gawking at drool-worthy pictures certainly don’t make it any easier (and itz not supposed to be easy! Read my sidenote at the bottom of this post). For those of you notcelebrating Yom Kippur, I’ll share my eats from the past couple of days for today’s What I Ate Wednesday.

I’ve still been working hard to eat a lot of greens, but I am out of spinach and just have kale in my fridge. A lot of you told me that you add kale to your smoothies, so I decided to give it a go in my breakfast protein smoothie.

Chocolate Covered Kale Protein Smoothie

~makes one serving

6 ice cubes
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 teaspoon cacao powder (to really amp up the chocolate flavor!)
1 teaspoon maca powder (optional)
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
a few drops of NuNaturals vanilla
handful of fresh kale

The verdict? Well, I like kale, so I thought it was delicious! If you could turn a green vegetable into a candy coated delight, this is it. It tasted like chocolate covered kale which sounds completely and utterly odd, but it was actually quite delectable. Unlike spinach, the kale taste was very evident in this smoothie. Strangely delicious, packed with protein and nutrients, and filling.

Lunch this week has been a rainbow salad with chicken that I made during my food prep day on Sunday. I keep the salad cold and warm up the chicken.

Dinner came together quite nicely, too. We had some chicken that was leftover from our Sunday night dinner with the in-laws, and I prepared asparagus and a spicy quinoa pilaf that I’d picked up from the farmer’s market. The asparagus was frozen from Trader Joe’s – a newbie to me that I love! All you do is cook it in the microwave (or the stove), and I added a drop of sea salt and crushed red pepper flakes.

Tomato slices fresh from our garden add a nice splash of color, too! There you have it, my eats from the past couple of days shown to you on a day where I am fasting and repenting.

Yom Kippur sidenote: I’ve been e-mailing with Jonathan from ENERGYbits (more to come at a later date). After learning that Jonathan is a fellow Jew, I wished him an “easy fast” which is common to hear among Jewish people on Yom Kippur. He wrote back, “I’ve been thinking about the fact that we wish people an easy fast… that defeats the purpose of the fast! It’s good to take a step back and realize that life isn’t always easy! With that said.. Have a meaningful fast!”

That makes so much sense, right? Itz like a lightbulb went off for me as this totally clicked and jived with my thoughts. Jonathan’s right: Life isn’t always easy, but itz what we make of it by taking the time to reflect (and on days like today, repent) on how we can improve and better ourselves. Thanks for the insight and your honesty, Jonathan. While the fast will be challenging, it will be an opportunity to take a step back from the business of everyday life.

So to my Jewish friends, family, and readers: may you have a meaningful fast!

To everyone else: Happy Wednesday!

Do you add kale to smoothies? Can you taste it? Does a chocolate covered kale protein smoothie appeal to you?

Vega Plant-Based Smoothies

Posted on September 15, 2012 by Itz Linz

I’m happy to report: I’ve stayed on my two feet for the past few days. No more falls, bumps, or bruises for this girl! (Please say I did not just jinx myself.) Switching subjects, let’s talk protein powders today. Cristina from Vega contacted me asking if I’d be interested in reviewing their Vega Energizing Smoothie. After learning a little bit about the plant-based protein powder, I agreed, and soon five flavors arrived.

Bodacious Berry, Tropical Tango, Oh Natural, Vanilla Almondilla, and Choc-A-Lot were the flavors. Itz marketed as an on-the-go smoothie and check out the stats:

2 servings of veggies
10 g of complete, plant-based protein
5 g of fiber
1 g of Omega-3

Not bad, right? Actually, I think that’s awesome. When I consider protein powders, I look at the amount of protein and sugar for the portion size. As said above, each flavor had 10 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber (which is a huge bonus in protein powders), and just 1 gram of sugar. I really like that there are no added sugars.

The flavors are delicious, too. The powders are designed to be able to shake it up with water and go, but I like to bulk up my smoothies, so I always add additional ingredients. For the tropical tango smoothie, I added mango chunks and pineapple – so good! I added banana and peanut butter to the oh natural powder. Frozen berries were added to the bodacious berry mix. All of the smoothies I made kept me full. Then, Vega came out with a new flavor: French Vanilla.

Vanilla is my favorite flavor (well, besides cake batter), so I had high hopes for this protein powder. This was actually the only flavor that I blended with ice and unsweetened vanilla almond milk only, and I was still completely happy with the taste! Plus, this french vanilla nutritional shake contains 15 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of sugar.

Another thing I love about Vega is that each scoop contains two servings of veggies. This is perfect for days that I don’t have spinach or kale in the house. The veggies are apparent in the french vanilla smoothie as there is a green tint.

It looks green, but it doesn’t taste green! This nutritional shake also has 50% daily intake vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, probiotics, and greens, and is dairy, gluten, and soy free, so itz sure to please everyone. I’m an easy sell, but I sure like it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a high-quality, tasty, nutritious protein powder. Can’t go wrong with any of their flavors.

For now, I’m off to another interval speed workout. I hear we’re doing mile-repeats this morning. I didn’t ask how many…

What are your plans for today? Have you tried Vega before?

*I was not compensated beyond the product for this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Itz Linz

itz the life of linz

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