Paleo Travel Friendly Snacks!

When I decide to do something, I don't do it 80% I do it 100% and give it my all. I knew I had a trip with my Diamond coaches coming up and wanted to make sure I had some paleo friendly desserts/snacks I could eat between meals at the resort we're staying at in Punta Cana. 

As I was searching through paleo friendly recipes I stumbled upon a granola bar recipe that looked AWESOME! So I thought what the heck I'll try it :) Little did I know that these granola bars would be literally THE BEST granola bars I have ever HAD…and, I KNEW what was in them!! I don't know about you but I get anxious eating things that I don't know where all the ingredients came from etc., 

I found this recipe originally on www.paleoporn.net along with many other yummy recipes that I can't wait to try. 

Paleo Granola Bar Recipe

Ingredients

            3 cups of assorted nuts and seeds(ideas: pepitas, slivered almonds, whole almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds)

            1 cup dried cranberries

            2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

            1/4 cup coconut oil

            1/2 cup sunflower seed butter

            1/2 cup raw honey

            1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

            1/2 teaspoon sea salt

            1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions

 1.     Pull out a 9x13in Pyrex dish and throw down a layer of parchment paper. Set aside.

2.     Pour 3 cups of assorted nuts in to food processor or blender and blend until nuts are cut in to smaller pieces. You want them different sizes.

3.     Add the dried cranberries and cherries to the mixture and stir to combine.

4.      Add the shredded coconut to the bowl and again, stir to combine.

5.       In a small saucepan add coconut oil, sunflower seed butter, honey, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. (Maybe add a few more shakes of cinnamon while doing that too.) Cook, stirring over medium-low heat until it starts to bubble. Once bubbling, remove from heat.

6.     Pour the liquid mixture over the nut mixture in the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Make sure everything is mixed well.

7.       Pour the nuts-and-honey mixture into the previously set up dish on the parchment paper and either use a second sheet of parchment paper, slightly wet hands or a spoon to press firmly to pack the ingredients together. Make sure, then double check that everything is nicely packed together.

8.       Let the mixture sit on the counter and settle for 2 hours.

9.      Cover and put in the freezer for 1 hour, or longer.

10.  Using parchment paper makes it super easy to now take the large sheet of granola out of the dish and transfer it onto a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice (not saw, otherwise they have a tendency to start to flake apart) the bars into whatever size pieces you’d like your granola bars to be. I did rectangular/squarish, palm size pieces.

I also made Casew Cups. This one was my creation because I was feeling extremely creative today :) This rarely happens so I just went with the flow and it turned out fabulously!

Cashew Cups

(Keep in a fridge or cooler until ready to eat)

Ingredients

For Crust:

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup desiccated coconut (finely shredded dried coconut)
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)

Ingredients for filling:

80% or higher cacao chocolate bar (I used Green & Blacks Organic which is 85% cacao)

2 tbspn of sunflower butter

2 tbspn of coconut oil

Directions:

1.Put all ingredients for crust in to a food processed or blender and blend until it forms a dough mixture.

2.Press 2-3 tsp worth of dough in to cupcake lining (should make between 12-16)

3. For filling put all ingredients in saucepan and melt over medium to low heat until it begins to bubble. 4.Remove and pour over dough mixture.  Put in fridge and let it cool

5. Leave in fridge until you are ready to serve! They will melt if you leave them out too long.

If you try either recipe let me know in the comments of this blog what you think!!

Hormone are LEGIT.

It was very hard for me to put this up. I promised myself(and announced it to ALL of you) after returning from Italy I was going to be posting progress pictures almost DAILY as accountability until my Wedding.

After returning I did the 3 day refresh and lost 7 out of the 10 lbs I gained in Italy (haha oops!) and was feeling AWESOME. But what was going on deeper I didn't share with you all. After stopping my birth control(which I was taking for cramps and acne--don't get the wrong idea there please ;) ) back in February, my hormones we're all out of whack and my cycle was all over the place. I didn't feel NORMAL so I was put on a normal daily dose of progesterone and DHEA daily. Taking these two together made me feel decently normal…but I knew I didn't want to stay on these pills forever. Last week, my Dr. told me to stop taking those pills and come get bloodwork in two weeks. Pretty easy right? So I stopped and guess what-- the scale started moving UP, my face started breaking out like I was a girl going through puberty for the FIRST time, and I was just feeling off--AGAIN. I continued to eat extremely clean and work out for an hour per day--cardio/stretching/lifting. I have been SO consistent it's not even funny.

However, I refused to put up ANY progress pictures because I didn't feel inspiring. I had woken up and literally put on 5 lbs of water weight overnight. I felt puffy all over even though I was kicking booty in my eating and work outs. Talk about frustrating!!!

Yesterday, I had had ENOUGH.  I decided to hop back on the progesterone and DHEA and move back when I do my bloodwork because I have a trip to Punta Cana in a few days that I don't want to be feeling like a marshmallow during.

This morning I woke up and dropped 2 lbs of that water weight.

Crazy right? So for those of you who follow me. You will always get 100% truth from me because I know by sharing MY story…I will be helping someone who is going through the same things.

Hormones are a crazy crazy thing and can do SO much to your body. I know a lot of women on here are either experiencing something similar or know someone who is. Don't just settle. Talk to your Dr. to figure out what is going on. You won't regret it! Because working so hard and getting NO results is not fun…believe me I know!

Post Workout Ritual

Lately I've been focus a lot on my pre and post work out nutrition and today decided to try something new. After a 2 mile run and hardcore weight training session for my back with BODY BEAST I at a medium sweet potato with 1 tsp of coconut oil and 4 ounces of free range chicken.

Post work out meals should be consumed as soon as you can but there is usually at 1 hour window to get in the proper nutrition you need. You want to make sure that your post work out meal has a good mixture of carbs and protein with minimal fat. Fat slows down the absorption & digestion of the carbs and fat. You want the carbs and fat to get to your muscles ASAP. Chicken and sweet potato are a PERFECT choice(Some tips; prepare the chicken beforehand so you can quickly grab it and reheat ;) )

Another thing that I have been doing is putting BCAAS (Branch Chain Amino Acids) and L glutamine in my water to drink DURING my work out and then afterwards putting 2 more scoops of L glutamine and some lemon in it. Why?? Check this out:

-BCAAS---Amino acids are the essential building blocks of protein. Leucine, isoleucine, and valine are amino acids that have a special branched structure, hence the name branched chain amino acids (BCAAs)Taking a BCAA supplement before, during, and after you train is important because BCAAs can help prevent muscle breakdown. If you plan on doing hardcore endurance training, experts recommend using BCAAs to help you maintain energy and minimize protein breakdown. Replacing lost BCAAs-usually 10 grams pre- and post-workout-also helps keep your body anabolic, which is important whether you're slimming or bulking.

-L Glutamine--Each and every time you perform a strenuous workout, your immune system is going to take a hit. This is especially the case if you are performing hard weight lifting workouts or HIIT cardio sessions since these are incredibly demanding on the body from both a muscular sense as well as from a central nervous system point of view.Supplementing with glutamine after intense exhaustive exercise can enhance the ability of the immune system to deal with the stress of the workout.

The second thing that glutamine can help you out with is resythesizing carbohydrates after your workout session. Immediately following weight lifting, the muscles will be depleted of their glycogen reserves, which is why taking in that post-workout meal as soon as possible is so incredibly important.

The faster you can replenish those stores, the faster you will recover from that workout, which means you'll be that much more prepared when you go into the gym for your next workout session.

-Lemon water-- helps maintain that higher metabolism POST work out, replenishes electrolytes that are lost during your work out AND keeps immune system up.

Make sure you are really focusing in on your post work out nutrition. It is so extremely important. If you're working hard in your work outs you want those results to count right? The post work out meal is JUST as important as the actual work out itself ;) 

Being REAL. Being YOU.

One of the biggest compliments I can get from someone is that I am so "REAL" on my social media sites (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest--you name is I'm on it!) And honestly, it wasn't always like that.

Pretty much most of my life I have always been a people pleaser. I never wanted anyone to dislike me so I kept my opinions to myself and refused to argue. In grade school through college this kept me away from being the object of ridicule and name calling.

It wasn't until after college when I decided to lose the 30 lbs I gained (partying a little too hard and not being kind to my body) that I was finally able to realize that the person who I was, was completely fine. I was perfect in my imperfections and that I needed to own it. When I did, my life changed drastically.

By breaking the "people pleasing" walls down I was able to find who I was and attract like minded individuals. People who were struggling with their own weight loss and needed someone to connect with to keep them on track. People who had a passion for helping others but didn't know what they could do with that passion because at that point it was just a hobby for them. I welcomed these individuals (and still do) in to my fitness family by becoming their coach. They either sign up as a client of mine where I do one on one nutrition counseling or group accountability or they signed up to do exactly what I do and help others, just like them, become healthier.

5 years ago I took a leap of faith to be ME, the RAW me. What you see my post on here or my social media sites is ME. No one writes my posts for me. It is whatever random that or idea that pops in to my head at THAT moment. I cannot tell you how refreshing it is to just BE YOURSELF. I know many people struggle with this and that's why I'm writing about it. It took me 23 years to accept who I was, and I've never looked back. Every mistake I've made along the way I don't regret because it made me who I am today. Today I love myself and everything that makes me me.

I want to let anyone who reads this know, it's OK to be you. Nothing about you is a mistake.