Sundays are for baking.

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There’s something about Sunday mornings that makes me want to hop right into the kitchen and start baking. Completely normal…right…?

On the menu for today: Apple Raisin Flax Muffins.

Apple Raisin Flax Muffins

I found the original recipe on Spark Recipes, but tweaked it a bit. The ingredients are:

  • 1 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup oat bran
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon
  • 2 apples, chopped
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 3/4 cup almond milk
  • 1/2 cup egg whites
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together dry ingredients, apple, and raisins. Separately mix milk, brown sugar, egg whites, and vanilla, then pour into dry mixture. Mix all together and fill cupcake papers (which I also sprayed with nonstick spray). Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes (mine were done at 22 mins). Makes 18-20 regular sized muffins.

This batch turned out absolutely bomb. Clearly it was breakfast material.

(smothered with butter)

Apple Raisin Flax Muffin with butter

Paired with a green smoothie.

Green Monster smoothie with whole wheat muffin

I had another muffin a few hours later, this time topped with peanut butter (no surprise there). To die.Whole Wheat Apple Raisin Flax Muffin with MaraNatha Peanut Butter

I’m hoping to start baking more. Any good recipes to share?

Roasted Eggplant and White Bean Dip

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Last night I roasted a whole eggplant:

I planned on packing it as some sort of casserole to bring to work today, but I ended up working from home, which meant I could do I bit of experimenting. The result? Roasted Eggplant and White Bean Dip:

Ingredients:

  • 1 whole eggplant, cubed and baked at 375 for 25 minutes
  • 1/4 cup white beans
  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Laughing Cow cheese wedge
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • salt and pepper

Begin by adding the eggplant, beans, salt and pepper into the food proccessor and blend for 20 seconds.

(before)

Then add the olive oil and dijon mustard, and blend for another 20-30 seconds. Finally add the Laughing Cow cheese wedge and blend until it’s combined.

(after)

I like my dip a tad on the chunky side, but you could always let it smooth out in the food processor some more.

This dip is to. die. I literally could have eaten it straight out of the bowl! I’d say it makes 3-4 servings….or *ahem* 1 serving in my case 😛

I ate it with sliced red bell peppers and “homemade” tortilla chips:

To make the chips, cut one La Tortilla Factory wrap (or any wrap of your choice) into triangles. Sprinkle on some kosher salt and garlic powder, and toast in the toaster oven until crispy. These make the perfect accompaniment for the dip!

This meal was so incredibly delicious and filling. I must say that I’m pretty darn satisfied with my eats so far today. I don’t know why I don’t experiment with food/recipes more because 9 times out of 10 I’m happy with the results!

best. week. ever.

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AMIGAS!!!!! I don’t even know where to begin. Wow. Even though I was only in Mexico for a week, I’m having a seriously hard time re-entering the real world. Taking the week off from blogging was so. weird. It was nice to have a break from all forms of technology, but I wish I would’ve been able to keep you all up to date with what I was doing. And when I say I was broken off from all forms of technology, I mean it. Liz and I didn’t even know the time at any point in the day 😛 But that’s what vacation should be, right?!

Before I give the deets on my vacation, let me begin by saying that I literally had the best week of my life. We relaxed. We ate. We met so many people. We danced our butts of. And I couldn’t have asked for a better person to spend it with!

The resort itself was out of this world. I knew that we were going to a nice resort, but it was way beyond my expectations. We stayed at the Riu Palace Mexico in Riviera Maya (Playacar), and it was gorgeous:

the view from our room.

the hotel gym - I made it here 3 times!

The beach was so incredibly beautiful. Sometimes resorts have little rinky-dink beaches, but this was the real deal:

We spent pretty much the entire day on the beach. Despite my efforts to avoid sunburn (I went through TWO bottles of sunscreen), I seem to have missed a spot 😛

One of the things that Liz and I were worried about is that our resort is kind of known for being mostly older people.That did turn out to be true, but it didn’t matter because we had access to 4 (maybe 5?) other Riu resorts, which had tons of younger people. Not to mention we all shared the same beach. We made a lot of friends and had some good times :) But the most fun we had was definitely found in Playa Del Carmen:

We went to a few different bars/clubs, and they were all insanely fun. The Blue Parrot was a good one; it was right on the beach, and they had crazy cool fire shows:

The entertainment in Mexico (in town and at our resort) was all around superb:

But the highlight of our entire trip was probably Coco Bongo:

Coco Bongo is basically a huge show/disco/club with performances (mostly celebrity impersonations) and a ton of audience interaction. I’d compare it to a modern day version of Moulin Rouge. We heard from a lot of people at the resort that it was a must-see, so we went on Thursday night. The resort actually set us up with tickets and a table inside so we didn’t have to wait in line. We didn’t know exactly what to expect, but what we got was literally thee most fun night of our lives. We met up with some of our friends from the resort, and the night was filled with laughing and dancing.

Other trip highlights were a day at the spa (no photos of that, woops!) and our snorkeling excursion! That was an all-day event, and we went to three different snorkeling spots. The first was an underground cave:

I thought snorkeling in a cave would be scary, but it wasn’t at all! Instead, it was beautiful and one of the most exciting things I’ve ever experienced.

We also snorkeled out to a coral reef, but I wasn’t allowed to take to my camera to that spot :/ We went pretty far out into a lagoon and saw tons of tropical fish and a 5-6 foot baracuda. Not gonna lie - I could’ve done without seeing that =)

The last spot was another lagoon, which was basically like a big open cave:

There was a small cliff jump (which we didn’t do) and a zip line:

Oh, and did I forget to mention that all of the food was to die?! I managed to practice “moderation” for the first few days, but that kind of fell by the wayside towards the second half of the week 😛 I just couldn’t resist all of the delicious eats! There were 4 dinner restaurants, 2 lunch restaurants, and a buffet that was pretty much in a league of it’s own. Liz and I pretty much owned that joint. Here are just a few of my filled-to-the-brim plates:

all-you-can-eat sushi. does it get any better?

we went to town with dessert :X

We only ate at two of the restaurants: Miyagi (Japanese) and Krystal (fushion cuisine). This wasn’t your typical hotel restaurant food…it was legit fine dining. Miyagi was probably my favorite. Liz and I shared pretty much all of the following:

some of the best sushi I've ever had (which, was all-you-can-eat a few nights later at the buffet!)

bangin' shrimp dish.

salmon dish.

 

fried ice cream.

 

banana spring rolls.

At Krystal we started with some tapas, which I wasn’t too impressed with:

But this pumpkin soup with a seared scallop was hands down one of the best dished I’ve ever had:

entree: lamb atop a vegetable compote.

dessert: a passion fruit...tart? It was so-so.

We ended our eating fest with a bang on our last night when we ordered room service at 4am. I’m just the picture of health right now, aren’t I? 😛

Okay, maybe we didn’t finish all of that food. But it was free….can you really blame us?

I can officially say I feel stuffed just looking at all of the food I consumed over the past week! I don’t think I would’ve had it any other way =) But I will say that I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to my healthy eating schedule.

…But getting back to my normal work/life schedule? Not so much :/ I feel like I was in a dream world for a week and now I need to snap back into reality. I’m sure I’ll be re-adjusted in a few days or so.

Hope you all enjoyed reliving my vacation with me! I missed you all so much, and thanks for the sweet comments you left me while I was gone :) I’m off to do a million-and-one things on this Monday, so I better get going. Adios! xoxo G

10 No-Stress Ways To De-Stress.

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I know that many people find exercise to be the best way for them to de-stress. With the exception of doing yoga, I’m generally not one of those people. When I’m exhausted from a long day, the last thing I want to do is throw on my running shoes and pound out a sweat session. So I’ve tried to find easy, no effort was to de-stress during the day, and I thought I’d share them with all of you :)

1. Hot tea.

Whether you’re at work or just got home from a busy day, sipping a mug of hot tea is a great way to calm yourself down. I’ve seen “tension tamer” teas and the like, but I find that regular tea or green tea does the trick as well.

2. Light a candle.

Better yet, light two or three! Candles to me signal relaxation, and just being around them helps me to feel more settled.

3. Intentionally clear your mind.

If you’re anything like me, you have a million and one things running through your head at once. Take a minute or two to just forget about everything, and focus on having a clear mind. It takes some effort at first, but it gives a great sense of release - even if just for a few moments.

4. Rub your temples.

I find that gently rubbing my temples for 30-60 seconds instantly relaxes and calms me. It releases tension and re-sets my focus. Not to mention it feels great!

5. Switch up your routine.

Sometimes I purposefully exercise in the evening rather than the morning, or eat breakfast for dinner. Simply doing things different helps me to live in the moment. Viewing each day as completely separate from the rest helps me to enjoy every moment rather than just mindlessly going through a daily routine.

6. Feed your emotions.

Yeah, I said it! Most people consider this to be a big no-no, but I disagree. I’m not saying to down a sleeve (or two) of Oreos. Instead, make yourself some healthy comfort food. For example, if you get home from a long, stressful day and are cravings carbs, make yourself a huge bowl of loaded oatmeal. Instead of anxiously raiding the fridge, try to find healthy alternatives to dishes that you know will make you feel satisfied and less anxious.

7. Dim the lights.

You may or may not have been sitting under fluorescent lights all day, so give yourself a break and dim the lights for a while. You’re body will naturally want to relax.

8. UNPLUG.

This is definitely the most important tool for me. I work on a computer pretty much all day long with my job and blogging. And when I’m not on the computer, I’m on my BlackBerry or watching television. TURN IT ALL OFF! Even if it’s just for 15 minutes. You’ll be surprised how much your mind will slow down.

9. Put a warm cloth on your forehead.

Take a washcloth soaked in hot water and lay it on your head for a few minutes. You may feel goofy, but it will relieve tension and help you leave behind the stress that accumulated throughout the day.

10. Plan a vacation.

Yeah yeah, easier said than done! But even if you commit to putting away $20 a month towards a vacation, just knowing that you have something to look forward to will put you in a better mood. When something stressful comes up, remember that you have a relaxing, stress-free vacation coming up in the future.

So there you have it! I hope you all find those tips as helpful as I have. Plans for the rest of the day: finish up work, R&R, Vampire Diaries at 8. Don’t I just have the most exciting life? Haha. Buh bye babes. xoxo G

  • Are you an easily stressed out/anxious person? Or do you just “go with the flow?”
  • What is your favorite way to de-stress during or after a long day?


fried cheese.

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Bet I caught your attention with that title, huh? There was some fresh mozzarella on sale at the store the other day, and a craving/recipe popped into my head the minute I saw it. I can’t even remember the last time I had mozzarella sticks…probably the last time I went to the diner at 2 a.m. with my friends. Fried mozzarella is definitely one of my favorite not-so-healthy foods, so I was pretty excited when my version turned out even better than I thought it would. This version is quite a bit healthier than what you’ll find at the diner, but about 10 times more delicious. And yes, it is fried - not baked 😉 Here are the ingredients:

8oz fresh mozzarella cheese (I used whole milk, but you could use part-skim as well)
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tbsp ground flax
1 oz almonds
1 egg
olive oil

First I toasted the almonds in a (decent sized) pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes. After removing the almonds I left the pan on medium heat and added 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Then I prepped my dipping bowls - one bowl with the beaten egg, one with the almond flour and flax, and one with the crushed almonds (I used a pounder to crush the almonds, but a heavy-ish jar or can would do the trick).

I sliced the cheese into about 1 centimeter-thick discs. One at a time, dip the cheese into the egg, then coat with flour, followed by a coating of crushed almonds, and place in pan. Let it cook on each side for about 2 minutes, and voila! I only fried about 2 pieces at a time just to make sure the heat stayed level and the coating gets nice and crispy. Makes 6-7 pieces.

The finished product:

Do I even have to tell you that this was to die? The almond flour and crushed almonds made for a sweet and crispy outside layer, and the cheese inside was melty and divine. I was perfectly satisfied with two pieces for my entire dinner. Although I may or may not have gone back for a third…

What is your favorite fried food? Can you think of a way to make a healthier version of it?