breakfast · chia seeds · recipe · vegan

Easy Chia Pudding

A few weeks ago Mama Chia sent me some chia seeds to try out. I have only used chia seeds a few times before so I was really excited to be able to use them again!

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What Is Chia? (WebMD Source)

Chia is an edible seed that comes from the desert plant Salvia hispanica, grown in Mexico dating back to Mayan and Aztec cultures. “Chia” means strength, and folklore has it that these cultures used the tiny black and white seeds as an energy booster. That makes sense, as chia seeds are a concentrated food containing healthy omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium.

Chia seeds are an unprocessed, whole-grain food that can be absorbed by the body as seeds (unlike flaxseeds). One ounce (about 2 tablespoons) contains 139 calories, 4 grams of protein, 9 grams fat, 12 grams carbohydrates and 11 grams of fiber, plus vitamins and minerals.

I found myself on Pinterest pinning chia seeds recipes but there was one recipe that I wanted to really try – Chia Seed Pudding!

I love overnight oats and thought the addition of chia seeds would be a morning boost!

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Easy Chia Pudding

1/3 cup Mama Chia chia Seeds
1/2 cup oats
1 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
fresh fruit for topping

Mix all ingredients in a sealed container and place in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. Stir before you eat and add more milk, maple syrup or fruit to your liking.

I am not a huge fan of the “chia slime” so I add a little more milk before I eat!

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Do you like Chia Seeds? Share your recipes below!

XxOo Tasha

 

breakfast · muffin · recipe

Chocolate Chip Banana Millet Muffins

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Banana Chocolate Chip Millet Muffins

  • 2/3 cup whole millet
  • 1 1/2 cup whole wheat  flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of  salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 bananas, mashed
  • 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1/2 cup soy milk, or any other non-dairy milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/2 cup non-dairy or organic chocolate chips

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Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Measure your millet into a blender and grind until it is almost to a powder.  Pour into a large bowl and add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gently stir together.

Mash banana’s and add to oil, milk, brown sugar and vanilla. Mix gently with your hand or a mixer until all the dry ingredients are wet. Add chocolate chips and gently stir until incorporated

Spoon into muffin tin, either lined or greased. Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until you insert a toothpick and comes out clean.

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breakfast · chili · dinner · Food Journal · lunch · oatmeal · recipe · smoothies

Food Journal 11.4.13

Happy Monday!

It’s food journal time!

Breakfast

Oats + Black Coffee

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Just your average quick cook oats plus a scoop of vanilla protein powder.

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Mid morning snack was a coconut Larabar – love this flavor!

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Lunch was heated chili with a small side of organic corn chips. I love chili leftovers – chili always taste so much the day after! And the day after that!

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Yesterday I mentioned that hubs was not feeling well… today I started to feel under the weather, too. A fruit smoothie with protein was all I was craving for dinner. This pink beauty had blueberries, mango, water, OJ and protein powder.

This mama is ready for bed! Good night!

XxOo  Tasha

breakfast · chili · crock pot · halloween · jordan · life

A cozy Sunday

Hi friends! Happy Sunday!

I love Sunday! It’s my day to cozy up inside and relax. Usually my Sundays include meal prepping, soup making, cleaning, playing games with Jordan, blogging and catching up on my blog reading, business (writing E-Books, editing photos, talking to clients) and just doing what my heart tells me! I also loving waking up early and pounding out some journal pages and squats! 😉 Oh, and FOOTBALL! I love watching football! I have blogged about our Sunday Football watching before… we have been doing Fantasy Football for about 7 years now, too! It’s so much fun!

Oh, and it’s daylight savings time today! I remember hating daylight savings time when Jordan was a baby because of course it messed his schedule up for a good week or so. Now it’s not so bad.

This morning I was taking care of two sick boys – hubs and bubs! Hubs woke up with a sore throat and pounding head, and Jordan has been dealing with an ear infection this week. Moms = Doctors! ❤

I also prepped a batch of Crockpot chili this morning – the house is smelling soooo good right now!

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Chili is one of my favorite things to make and eat! Most of the time I will make a vegan chili but today I am making it with ground turkey. And instead of jalapeño peppers I used a poblano pepper – I think it will taste pretty darn amazing!

After I placed everything in the crock pot, I made myself a yogurt bowl! Man, I love yogurt bowls!

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I used coconut yogurt, a sprinkle of trail mix and granola and a cut up organic apple. I haven’t had a yogurt bowl in soooo long… I really missed them!

Jordan and I also wrote out his Thank You cards from his Birthday. Teaching children to say Thank You is so important!

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I also love seeing him write his words! Each day I am so amazed by Jordan! I still can’t believe how fast he is growing!

Here are a few pictures from Halloween! He was a Ghost this year! I bought white facepaint but he didn’t want it one – he’s funny like that! He hates to be dirty or have anything on him! lol

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We went out for only an hour and a half and he ended up scoring a lot of treats! Of course when we got home he had to line them up on the couch… did you do this when you were younger? I know I did!

Here is my take on Halloween and candy: I know candy is not good for kids. But it’s one of those childhood memories that I want him to have! Since he does not eat candy or sweets on a regular basis, he hasn’t really ask me to eat any of his candy. He still has the entire bucket full and he likes to play with it and count it! lol I have been throwing away his candy when he isn’t looking. But if he wants one piece here or there I will allow him to have one. We live in an imperfect world! And as long there is moderation and teaching involved, kids should be able to be kids!

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Here is a look at Jordan from the past 5 years!

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2.5 weeks old vs. 1 year

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2 years vs. 3 years

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4 years vs. 5 years 

It amazes me how fast he has grown!

Questions:

Do you watch football?

Did you go out Trick or Treating?

Have a wonderful day!

XxOo Tasha

breakfast · clean eating · muffin · recipe · vegan

Vegan Banana Bread Muffins

Banana bread is comforting with its warm cinnamon and nutmeg flavors. Now you can enjoy them all wrapped up into individual muffins. Serve warm with Earth Balance spread.

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Ingredients

  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil OR 1/4 vegan butter like Earth Balance
  • 1/2 cup organic raw sugar
  • 1/2 cup organic brown sugar
  • 1 cup unbleached organic white flour and 1 cup organic whole wheat    flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • walnuts or pecans (optional)

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Preheat oven to 360 degrees
Cream sugar/oil with sugar. In a separate bowl mash bananas with a potato masher or fork. Add bananas to butter and sugar and mix well.
Now add the dry ingredients to the wet, making sure to scrape the sides and mix well. Stir in nuts at the end if you plan to use them.
Spray cooking spray in a muffin tin and add dollops of batter into each slot – 3/4 of the way full.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Makes 12 muffins.
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ztashaz

breakfast · clean eating · recipe · vegan · vegetarian

{Clean Eating Meals} 10.22.13

aussi belle recipe 1 
Black Bean and Sweet Potato Hash

Oatmeal eaters REJOICE!

This simple and nutrient dense breakfast hash will leave you satisfied and ready to start your day! This dish is a great addition to your Sunday brunch or for any day when you feel like skipping your oatmeal. If you don’t have black beans, try white beans or black eyed beans.

breakfast · juicing · raw · vegan

AMAZING Watermelon Juice

As soon as I tasted this wonderfully, AMAZING juice I knew I had to share this!

It is SO SO easy yet so satisfying!

watermelon juice

1/3 of a LARGE seedless watermelon, or a blender full (you can make as little or as much juice as you want)
10 frozen strawberries

Blend Blend Blend! Blend your watermelon first. Since watermelon is mostly water you don’t have to add any liquid. After your watermelon is liquid, add your strawberries and blend again.

This juice is SUPER sweet and refreshing!

You can also add frozen mango chunks for a creamy texture.

Try it for breakfast and feel energy ALL day long!

XxOo

Tasha

breakfast · clean eating · groceries · life

Over Hauling Trader Joes!

Hey hey! Happy Saturday!

I like to start my posts with a Happy note because I hope your day is bright, positive and HAPPY! =) And if it’s not then I hope I can help your day start to feel better!

This morning started off on the right foot, for sure! Coffee and a request for chocolate chip pancakes from my little Bubbah!

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I always add cinnamon and flax to the pancake mix for added nutrients and flavor. And of course some chocolate chips. This doesn’t happen very often but once in a while I like to make my son’s breakfast special!

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He also requested a side of frozen fruit. Jordan LOVES to eat his fruit frozen, especially grapes!

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After breakfast I took some time to myself and headed to Trader Joes. Apparently we were out of groceries because I bought the entire store!

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I really like showing you all my grocery hauls! When I first started eating clean I depended on reading other blogs and getting some great food ideas. And I still continue to find inspiration from reading other health and fitness blogs!

So I hope these posts help you see what I buy and what a clean kitchen should look like!

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Basil, bell peppers, asparagus, sugar snap peas, lemon, bananas, cucumber, brussel sprouts, strawberries, heirloom tomatoes.

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Romaine hearts, yellow and red onion, apples, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, avocados, spinach and kale

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Melons!

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Laughing Cow swiss, hummus, chicken lime burgers (for when I need a quick meal!) string cheese, frozen fruit for smoothies, waffles, yogurt and ground turkey.

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Dried cranberries, taco shells, goat cheese, baked tofu, rice tortillas, almonds, potatoes, black beans, maple sryup, red pepper soup, 12 grain crackers and strawberry apple sauce.

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Herbs, Yerbba Mate tea, Lara Bars, chia seeds, taco seasoning, beans, coconut milk, pasta sauce, almond milk, kalamata olives, cereal and baking soda/powder.

So I wanted to add a few notes about my grocery shopping: I am buying for 3 – Marc, Jordan and myself. I have meat eaters and veggie eaters to please. I have food for prepping meals and for the times when I am rushing to put something on the table. I buy special snack type food for Jordan because I think it’s important for him to have his own special snacks. However, these snacks are wholesome foods with no added sugars or unnecessary ingredients.

I always make sure to have a lot of fresh produce on hand for smoothies, salads and meals. Tomorrow I will probably cook and prep a lot of my food for the week so it’s ready and prepared to grab and eat!

Please let me know if you have any questions about my shopping or meal planning! I don’t do the whole weekly meal planning but I make sure I have cut up veggies to grab and proteins already prepared.

After I got done organizing and putting my groceries away I sat down with a lovely bowl of fruit, yogurt and tea. I added a spoonful of peanut butter and some pieces of a Larabar. I love these messy bowls of goodness!

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Seattle has had some crazy weather today! Rain, then sun, then rain and then sun again. Crazy!

tasha

breakfast · clean eating · dinner · lunch

Clean Eats

I thought I would take a moment and share what I have been eating. I used to do this on a daily basis and not only did it help me becoming more aware of what I was consuming but it also helps those that need a little inspiration in their own daily eating.

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Breakfast was a simple organic egg cooked in a little olive oil and an extra egg white, steamed spinach with salt and pepper, half of a small avocado, grilled sprouted toast and black coffee.

I was cleaning pretty much all morning so I didn’t end up eating breakfast until 11 or so. Christmas has been cleared out and put away until next year. I was a little sad at first but it feels a bit less cluttered now.

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Afternoon snack / lunch consisted of nibbling and snacking.

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lunch1

I had about a half of a cup of homemade vegetarian chili.

I also added more bags to my shop, too. These bags are great for shopping tips to the produce stand!

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I ended up going t the gm around 6:30 tonight and when I got back home I heated up bowl of more chili topped with fresh cilantro. I love homemade chili. It’s been really cold here in Seattle and nothing warms my bones more than hot soup or chili. dinner1

tasha