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Quinoa Granola

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Quinoa Granola

Remember way back when (Dec 2011), when I posted a recipe called Toasted Quinoa Granola? Today’s recipe (another recipe I did for NYNR) is inspired by that very post! 

This time, It’s a bit more colorful and definitely just as tasty! Technically…it’s grain free. And gluten free. And dairy free. and…..paleo? Is it paleo? I’m not sure, I think it is.

Quinoa Granola

am posting this recipe at the perfect time. Prescribe Nutrition is doing a Round 2 of NYNR! Katie and Megan were generous enough to provide a 20% off coupon to FFF readers if you missed the first round. Use the code: fff20 if you want 20% off! 

I can’t say enough good things about round 1. It’s one thing to cut sugar, dairy, and gluten out of your diet, but another to have 2 functional nutritionists on hand to answer all of your questions and a support group on top of that :)

Cutting out dairy and sugar (on top of my already cut out gluten…mostly), was hard at first, but then it got a lot easier. I stopped craving it…especially the sugar. I’m actually thinking about doing round 2 myself.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cooked quinoa, chilled
  • 1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
  • 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries, unsweetened
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions for Quinoa Granola

  1. Preheat oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium size bowl, mix together cooked quinoa, pepitas, and dried cherries. Then, spread evenly on the baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, honey, and vanilla. Then pour over quinoa mixture and toss to evenly coat. Bake for 35-40 minutes, tossing mixture every 10 minutes to ensure the granola cooks evenly.
Quinoa Granola

Yoga Sculpt Update: If you follow the Fit Foodie Finds facebook page, then you know that I auditioned to teach Yoga Sculpt at Corepower here in the Twin Cities. Corepower is who I originally got my certification from and the timing to try out just hasn’t been right. As you know, I’ve been teaching 2-3 times a week for the past 4-5 months…so my fingers are crossed that I get a spot!

I was given both positive and negative feedback from the reviewers (studio managers), which I am guessing they give everyone who tries out. For my tryout, I taught Sculpt Series 2 in front of 5-6 studio manager (can you say nervous?) It wasn’t so bad once I got in there of course because everyone at CPY is so nice. Send me some positive vibes people! I have been looking forward to this audition for quite a while now! I’m just glad its finally over…now I can go back to sleeping a normal sleep schedule! 

When I get nervous/anxious…my sleeping is the first thing to go. Then my diet…I am an anxious eater.

Do you have any weird nervous/anxious habits? 

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homemade cocoa peanut butter

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homemade cocoa peanut butter

Peanut butter’s gotta be one of my all time favorite foods. I can’t remember the last time I went a day without eating it. It’s just so perfectly sweet and salty at the same time and better yet, so satisfying.

homemade cocoa peanut butter

It’s been a while since I’ve made homemade peanut butter. Yesterday I actually made a homemade peanut butter recipe for Anytime Health’s Blog that is going up in a few weeks and had left over nuts. FFF recipe it is!

Ingredients for homemade cocoa peanut butter

  • 1.5 cups peanuts, roasted
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon honey (or sweetener of choice)

Methods

Place peanuts in a small food processor and process for 2-3 minutes or until it becomes drippy. Then, add in cocoa powder and honey and whirl again.

homemade cocoa peanut butter

I find it very peculiar  that sometimes it can take 8-9 minutes of whirling to make it drippy, and others it can take less than 2 minutes. This batch was one of those batches where it basically instantaneously became drippy.

I of course used Penzey’s Cocoa Powder…my favorite brand of spices.

homemade cocoa peanut butter
homemade cocoa peanut butter

Speaking of nut butters…Have you ever tried NuttZo? The flavor that I got is a blend of 7 different nuts and seeds. It’s 100% organic and there is no sugar added. I’ve been topping a scoop of NuttZo on my banana for a perfect little afternoon pick me up!

homemade cocoa peanut butter

While I really like NuttZo, I think it could use a hint of sweetness  Adding some sort of natural sweetness would bring the different flavors out so much! What I do appreciate about this product, is that it has no added oils. Some peanut butters have additional oil added to it. Uhh, do you see how drippy that stuff is…I don’t think it needs an more oil! Overall, it’s a nom worthy product!

**NuttZo was provided to me through a partnership between Fitfluential and NuttZo. All opinions are my own.

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White Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie

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White Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie

Are you ready for my favorite smoothie of all time? (okay, that may be a stretch,,,,but, this one is up there!)

I call this White Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie. It is a mixture of frozen strawberries and banana, Designer Whey White Chocolate Protein Powder, and Almond Milk. For the full recipe, click HERE. 

White Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie

As you know, I do a lot of my grocery shopping at Target. I always keep my eye out for their giant bags of frozen fruit… strawberry banana in particular. That’s what I use to make my smoothies.

White Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie

I’m not sure if I’ve told you about my partnership with Designer Whey/Fitfluential yet. I am excited to join the DW team as a recipe creator! I will/am be providing them with 2 recipes per month featuring their product inside of yummy recipes.

Yes, it’s paid, and yes I love their product. I just thought you should know.

White Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie
White Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie

I’ll be hibernating inside all day (working form home) because of storm Saturn. A 35 mile commute in 6 inches of snow is fun…NOT. I reallllly hope this is the last of our winter shenanigans here in Minneapolis. I’m ready for some sunshine!!!

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Triple Berry Protein Smoothie

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Triple Berry Protein Smoothie

Good morning to you! So I told you last week that I have some big news (in my world, at least). Well- I officially had my first prep class for my ACE Group Fitness Certification. I have been playing around with getting my Personal Training cert for about a year and I got to thinking about it…and it just makes sense for me to do Group Fit, rather than CPT…RIGHT NOW. (Shout out to my class at LTA, especially my instructor Jayme!)

Lifetime Fitness has something called Lifetime Academy, where they have curriculum that prepares you for your exam. It’s both online and hands-on, which is what I really need. The whole…here’s your book, read it, now take the exam, just doesn’t work for my learning style.

I was a little bit hesitant to take this class because, well, I work for Anytime Fitness Corporate. After thinking about it, I think it is quite alright. I actually really like Lifetime. The concept is very different than Anytime and there is no reason why I can’t take advantage of their awesome services.

The cost of this prep class was a little bit expensive (a little under a 1k). I look at it this way- I’d rather learn the proper way and actually know what I am doing. Plus, this way, I can get some hands-on experience, which will ultimately help me prepare for my CPT as well. On top of it, Lifetime uses their academy to recruit new instructors. Almost 75% of all LTA students get a job at Lifetime. The more experience for me the better! There is a Lifetime in St. Louis Park, which is where I would hopefully be able to teach on top of Anytime Fitness and Corepower.

Also, one of my (going-to-be best friends) Allie from Nutritional Epiphany is taking my same exact class! She went to the U of M and also went through the Tom Barnett Leadership Program (A leadership program I took my senior year). We are long lost twins that are reuniting in our dream land…fitness.

In celebration of my future Group X career…here is one of my favorite post workout smoothies! Triple Berry Protein Smoothie.

Yay for Group X and Smoothies!

Like most of the smoothies I eat…It’s made with Designer Whey Protein Powder, Silk Alomond Milk, and Frozen Mixed Berries from Target.

Yay for Group X and Smoothies!

I almost always have to put something on top of my smoothie to give it a crunch. This time, it was Flaked Coconut

…which I got in the health-food section at Cub Foods.

Yay for Group X and Smoothies!
Yay for Group X and Smoothies!

PS: I know I told you I was having a giveaway yesterday…I had to put the breaks on things…STAY ON THE LOOKOUT SOON! I promise, it’s going to be a good one

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Yay for Group X and Smoothies!

Yay for Group X and Smoothies!

  • Author: Lee Hersh
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 cup mixed berries (I used blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries)
  • 1 scoop Designer Whey Vanilla Protein Powder
  • 1 Cut Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, unsweetened
  • 1 Tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

Instructions

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a blender (I use a magic bullet) and blend for about a minute.
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 10
  • Calories: 320
  • Sugar: 27
  • Fat: 8
  • Fiber: 14
  • Protein: 23

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healthier carrot cake cupcakes and cinnamon cream cheese frosting

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healthier carrot cake cupcakes and cinnamon cream cheese frosting

Have you ever encountered a recipe (hopefully NOT one of mine) that clearly wasn’t tested before it was posted? Carly and I had a girl hang out session on Sunday and we wanted to make Amanda (one of my co-workers) birthday cupcakes that were delicious and healthier.We skimmed Pinterest and found our recipe: Carrot Cake Cupcakes from Women’s Health Magazine. We pretty much followed the directions exactly. When it came time to add the flour, we added a cup, then another, and then decided we should stop because our batter was basically like cookie dough! We ended up having to add more liquid (almond milk) and cut out an entire cup of flour to get the correct consistency. The cupcake still turned out pretty dense (but delicious), so we concluded this recipe is actually a muffin turned cupcake because we added frosting!

To pipe the frosting, I used a round piping head with a regular sandwich sized bag. That seemed to work pretty well after I realized I was out of piping bags

They weren’t the prettiest looking cupcakes because they ended up being a little bit denser that I would have liked. I think it was because of the carrots. Nonetheless, they were really tasty and healthier than your average cupcake!

Basic Ingredients

  • 8 oz. ⅓ less-fat cream cheese
  • 2 cups confectioner sugar
  • 1t vanilla
  • 2t cinnamon

How to make healthier carrot cake cupcakes and cinnamon cream cheese frosting

  1. In a medium size bowl, using a hand held mixer, mix together all ingredients for about 2-3 minutes. Depending on how thick you want your frosting, you may want to add more confectioner sugar!I need to try a batch using gluten free flours…indeed I do.What is your favorite cupcake and frosting combo?

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healthier carrot cake cupcakes and cinnamon cream cheese frosting

  • Author: Lee Hersh
Print Recipe
Save Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 8 oz. ⅓ less-fat cream cheese
  • 2 cups confectioner sugar
  • 1t vanilla
  • 2t cinnamon

Instructions

  1. In a medium size bowl, using a hand held mixer, mix together all ingredients for about 2-3 minutes. Depending on how thick you want your frosting, you may want to add more confectioner sugar!I need to try a batch using gluten free flours…indeed I do.What is your favorite cupcake and frosting combo?

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

Forgotten Donuts

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Forgotten Donuts

I can’t believe I forgot to post these lovely donuts along with my Healthier Carrot Cake Cupcake recipe this AM. Confession: I only have a 12 tin cupcake tin…which left me with additional batter (hence the recipe was an 18 cup recipe). I get really antsy, so I filled up my mini donut tin instead of waiting.

How cute are these? 

Forgotten Donuts

It’s literall the exact same recipe and frosting.

Forgotten Donuts

I like frosting, but I don’t LOVE it. So, these donuts are perfect for those who don’t like to overdo it with the frosting. Seriously, perfect amount. 

Forgotten Donuts
Forgotten Donuts

I am loving my new Kitchen Aid Hand Held Mixer. You can thank Target and two $20 bills. I look at this purchase as an investment

Forgotten Donuts

As for the rest of the night. I will be studying. My Group Fitness Certification Class at Lifetime is pretty intensive. I literally learn all of the material for the ACE exam in 8 weeks and I’m ready to take the test (eeeee!). I want to take this process very seriously because I want to make sure I pass the first time I take it. What I am worried about is Anatomy/Physiology. I’ve never taken that kind of coursecourse (not even in HS), so it’s pretty new stuff to me. That is what I’ll be working on tonight!

My favorite part about this class so far is our homework assignments: Take as many group fit classes as you can and rate the performance of the instructor. I took my first class at Lifetime yesterday….Cardio Kickboxing. The instructor was really good (Heather). That girl has attitude (in a good way) and really brought energy to the room. I wasn’t as into it as I could have been because I’m still fighting my cold. I’m at about 80% right now.

I did teach a class today at lunch. I usually use my classes as my workout (at least when I teach at work)…and do about 90% of the class. Today I toned it WAYYYY back. My voice is still raspy and my cold is now in my chest.

Hmph. Ready for it to be over!

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