Passover, Palm Sunday, & Resurrection Sunday
Reply
We’re Moving!
Hi Ya Everyone!
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, secret is we’ve been working on a new site so we won’t be posting here any longer but you will be able to find us at our new home that should be launching in the next few weeks! So we’ll have a different look but the same name and same health and wellness tips, recipes, and gardening information coming to you as soon as we’re ready to go! Thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown since day one! Hope to see you at the new stomping grounds!
You’ll be able to find us at kellyhughesroberts.net but we’ll be sending this site over so if you’re already subscribed you don’t have to worry about a thing, you’ll still get a notification every time we post. If you’re new to us then you’ll be redirected to the new site as soon as it’s ready to go.
Holy Moly! Raw Granola Bars!!
Is it me or does everyone feel let down when it comes to snack time. I know I’m usually starving by that 3:00-4:00 pm hour and always looking for some thing quick but healthy to hold me over till I can get dinner on the table. Every time I go to look for something it’s either got a 20 minute prep time or what we all think is healthy is actually not, once we read the label.
First thing I usually look at is the list of ingredients and then the amount of sugar usually I put most things right back at the store after looking at those 2 things. Granola bars tend to be the worst! We think we’re doing some thing good for our bodies and having a healthy option. Not usually the case! So I started playing this weekend and made some raw ones. Holy Moly! Watch out for these you may not leave them alone! I can’t stay out of the freezer now!
Best thing about these… you can make a large batch and store them in the freezer forever! Well if you can get them to last that long! 😉
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 C gluten free oats (I used Irish oats because that’s all I had)
- 4 dates soaked and pitted
- 1 C almond- sliced or chopped
- 1/4 C dried cherries
- 1/4 C local honey or maple syrup
- 1 C sunflower butter
- 2 Tbsp cacao powder
- 1 Tbsp coconut milk
Directions:
- In a baking pan-line with wax or parchment paper
- In a bowl mix oats, almonds, half of the cherries.
- In a food processor blend dates until it makes a paste. Save some of the soaking water and add a few drops to keep it like a paste if it gets too sticky.
- Add honey, sunflower butter, and date paste to the bowl and mix well.
- Pour into the baking pan and smooth out. Place another sheet of parchment/wax paper on top and press down with the bottom of a glass or your palm to make it level.
- Sprinkle the rest of the cherries on top. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the cacao powder and the coconut milk and whisk until blended. Pour on top of cherries and oat mix in the pan.
- Place in the freezer for 30 minutes to let it set and harden.
- When you’re ready pull them out and cut into bars or squares. Enjoy!
- Place them in an air tight container and store the rest in the freezer until you get that next hankering!
Sunday Baked Eggs- Your way!
The best days of fall are Sunday mornings home with no intention of rushing out the door for work, school, meetings, appointments, or errands. Fall is a time to slow down and catch up on the little things that make our souls sing. If you can’t tell fall is my favorite season! 😉 I always use fall as my new year, my time to renew, refocus, and find time for self-care. Which I neglect quite often through most of the year! But one of my favorite things is to play in the kitchen most of the day on Sundays. There is nothing better than football on and truckin away in the kitchen with new ideas and new recipes in hopes for a blog post to come out of it!
My kiddos love the kitchen I can’t keep them out of it whether it’s raiding the cabinets and refrigerator or to help me prep, stir, or cook. So this Sunday I decided to dig back in the cabinets and pull out the Le Creuset souffle cups and let the kids make their own baked eggs. So we ran out to the garden to gather some herbs and tomatoes, an onion, and then dug through the fridge for some aged gouda and oyster mushrooms. My eldest chopped them up and set little piles out on a cutting board so everyone could build their own.
I think they came out perfect! And everyone got to be apart of the process (even the hubs helped with the dishes! Winning!) and put in what they wanted for each! Super easy, fast, and you can even get some help in the kitchen! I think the baby was the happiest, she had her hands in the whole thing trying to get them down as fast as she could! Success!! (She is my biggest food though) 😉
So here ya go all the details and everything you need. This would even be perfect for a weekday night if you’ve got sports, kids events, or nightly adult responsibilities and dinner seems to be the biggest drag for the day! Remember you can use your favorite ingredients to make your own special baked eggs
Ingredients:Â (Serves 4-5 people)
- 1-2 eggs per souffle dish (depending on how big your cups are)
- 6-8 cherry or smaller tomatoes diced
- 1 oyster mushroom chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh chopped chives
- 1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
- 1/4 small onion chopped
- 2 Tbsp aged gouda chopped into chunks
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil or coconut oil spray
Directions:
- Place souffle cups on a baking tray and then spray the inside of the souffle cups.
- Break 1-2 eggs into each cup, add a pinch of salt and pepper
- Add your favorite ingredients to build your own
- Bake at 350 degrees for 17 minutes.
- Eat them out of the cups or spoon on to a plate!
ACAI Bowls & Starting Fresh
Finally, got a morning to myself in almost 6 months where I wasn’t rushing to get kids out, scrambling to get to the studio or to the beach to teach class or train an early client, while my season of chaos has slowed a little… after months of 60-70 hour work weeks, its catch up time on doctors appointments, car repairs, meetings, errands galore, and the house. That is a whole monster to tackle in itself! Can I get an Amen??
So I’ve finally decided to refocus and spend some time re-evaluating time, life, what is most important, what the future could hold, and what my dreams and aspirations are going forward from today. This is not easy coming from a type A, perfectionist, workaholic, and guilt driven woman with three small children!
Small changes lead to big results is what I tell my clients all the time. So I’m taking my own advice for once! So my small change was going back to basics and finding the few things that make me feel whole and inspired again. It all started with an ACAI bowl (and waiting till the kiddos were off to school.) 🙂
I sat down with my new ACAI recipe and made a list of things to do for myself today that would jump-start inspiration and feel accomplished for the day. (yes I did have a small to do list-but I made sure to make sure it was small and quick to accomplish!)
Do you need a restart, a self-care day, and refocusing jumping off point? We all need days where we can quiet the mind, spark creativity, recharge the soul, and all it takes is a little time in the kitchen for a recipe, a matcha latte and a blank notebook, dusting off the guitar that stares at you everyday in the corner, or cleaning out your drawers so you can actually put your clothes away. Here’s to your little pop of inspiration to live today a little better and of course my new ACAI Bowl recipe to make you feel even better! Here’s to free time, powerful antioxidants, and a healthy boost of goodness.
Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 package of frozen ACAI (Sambazon is the best) or 2 Tbsp of powdered
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 1 Tbsp local honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- Ice if needed
Toppings:
- 1/2 Mango-chopped
- 1 Tbsp dried cherries
- 1 tsp Cacao Nibs
- 1 Tbsp Coconut Chips
Directions:
- In a blender or Vitamix add ACAI, milk, honey and cinnamon, and ice if needed and blend.
- Pour into a bowl. Add toppings. Grab your spoon and dig in!
5 Reasons to Take Your Exercise Routine Outdoors
Sick of the gym and the same exercise routine you’ve been doing all winter? Spring is here, and summer is finally right around the corner. As the weather continues to warm up and sun stays out longer, now is the perfect time to take your exercise routine outdoors!
We all love the newness and a fresh start with the change in the seasons including a change in your workout and exercise routine. Take out the staleness, monotony, and amp it up with some new inspiration.
Here’s 5 reasons to take your workout outside.
- Brave the Elements:
The elements of your environment can increase the intensity of your workout, take in your atmosphere and add some obstacles like wind, snow, and heat to give you a challenge. Â Bike during a heavy rain or paddle board when the winds are high and the water is choppy. Got a humid day? Run in the afternoon when the temperatures are even hotter. Why not try swimming laps in the ocean with a big swell!
- Vitamin D and Fresh Air:
After being stuck inside all winter, a little Vitamin D, sunshine, and fresh air can always do everyone some good. Â Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones and muscles and it can also help reduce illnesses and infections. Think about how much better you feel when you step outside on a warm sunny morning? We tend to have better moods and improved well-being, more energy and motivation, and feel a lot better about ourselves and our body image.
- Challenge Yourself:
Take it to the extremes, change it up, skip the same boring exercise routine. Challenge yourself! Live near the mountains? Use them for intensity, altitude, and temperature changes. Live near the beach? Use the sand, sun, and surf to up your game. Grab a friend for a little competition and extra push, race the clock or decrease your resting time. Give yourself a deadline, visualize your goals, extend the finish line, even changing your mindset can add more challenges to your work outs.
- Skip the Germs:
Getting outside for your workout can greatly reduce the exposure to all the germs that you’ve been befriending in the gym all winter. Think about all those coughing, sneezing, sweating people you’ve been sharing treadmills, mats, and equipment with for all those dark, cold months. Trade up for the fresh air, sunshine, and a lot less people in a confined space. Getting outside more can help you avoid everything from the stomach bug to ringworm and from Staph infections to Ecoli. (Ewww!)
- Try Something New:
Step out of your comfort zone and try something new! Look for something you wouldn’t normally do for exercise. Grab your tutu and sign up for a color run, meditate ocean side, go old school and dust of the old roller skates or rollerblades, or sign up for those group surf lessons you’ve been dying to try. Take a Pilates class on the beach or boot camp in a park. Go the sports route and jump into a basketball or volleyball game. Want to go more extreme? Try kite surfing or rock climbing, or how about checking out the new trapeze workouts.
So skip the gym and the germs, and hit the streets, beach, or mountains for some extra challenges and soak up some sunshine and fresh air. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new this season, you may possibly find the exercise can’t live with out.
Â
Â
Â
Lentil Buddha Bowl
Need something a little more filling to get you through the day. This recipe is guaranteed to keep you fuller and leave you feeling satisfied. I love having my protein first thing in the morning to start my days off with lots of energy and not crashing from breakfast 2 hours after eating it. So sometimes if I really need it,(especially when I know the studio is slammed for the day and I have to teach through lunch) I’ll do a lentil bowl first thing in the morning, only thing if you’re tight on time you have to cook it all the night before. But make a large batch and top it with an egg or piece of Salmon for the perfect lunch or dinner!
- 2 C lentils
- 3 C of veg stock (may need a little more)
- 1 bunch of kale
- 4 carrots
- 1 bunch of beets
- ¼ head of cabbage
- ½ onion
- ¼ cup of nori flakes
- ¼ C pumpkin seeds
- 2 Shallots
- 1/2 Â orange- zested
- ¼ C olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place lentils into a sauce pot add veg stock, season with salt and bring to a boil. Cover and remove from heat until lentils suck up the liquid.
- Add all chopped vegetables to a baking pan or dish with olive oil and salt and pepper. Cook for about 30-40 minutes until vegetables are tender.
- Place lentils in a bowl, add with cook vegetables. Top with pumpkin needs, nori flakes, and orange zest
Chocolate SunButter Cookies
Holy chocolate! Beware these are addicting and so good you may eat the whole batch! I’ve made these a few times now and added some different spices and even matcha powder to change the flavor profile and for a little pick me up (but with all this chocolate you may not need anymore pick me up!) 🙂 I also used my bourbon infused maple syrup we carry in the Provisions store at the Pilates studio. You gota try it! The best is on pancakes!! These cookies are sticky and messy to make but so worth it!!
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch of Himalayan sea salt
- 1/2 C of maple syrup or local honey (gota try these with the bourbon infused syrup!)
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 C raw cacao powder
- 2 tsp vanilla- (make sure to use the kind without the alcohol)
- 1 C sunflower seed butter
- 1/2 C dark chocolate (80% cacao or higher)- chopped
- ***(if you want to change them up add a Tbsp of Matcha Powder, add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and nutmeg, or heat them up with a 2 pinches of cayenne)***
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla, sunflower butter and mix well. Add salt, baking soda, honey or syrup, cacao powder and stir well. Fold in chopped chocolate.
- Wet your hands with water so they’re less likely to stick. Spoon the dough into your hands and roll them into a ball or roll slightly and drop them on the sheet if you want them to look a little more rustic like mine in the picture. Â **(Remember the dough should be really wet and sticky.)
- Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool slightly before eating.
- They should be really moist and rich and you can’t eat just one!! Enjoy!
Celebrate World Health Day!
Celebrate World Health Day! Today is the day! Show your awareness for health and wellness. Today can be the new starting point for yourself as a personal goal. It can be the day you decide to stand up for anything you believe in, whether you want everyone in the world to be able to have clean drinking water, you’re thinking of becoming vegan, maybe you want to give back to your community and start a garden to help the hungry. Maybe you’ve decided it’s time to take back your health, so you’re starting a new exercise routine, you’re changing your eating habits, you’re going to start meditating, and you’ve decided 8 hours of sleep is what you need to look and feel your best.
Today is the day to take back your health and know that what you put in is what you get out. You can also make a difference in someone’s life just by being there for them, offering a hand or your resources when you can, anything to give back. Health and wellness is something we all need to implement and take back for ourselves, our families, and for the world.
This year’s World Health Day focuses on depression. Depression affects any age, gender, race, in any country, and all walks of life. It has become a serious epidemic in our society. Mental health has been over looked for years and if we don’t take a stand against it, it will consume our friends, families, our lives, and the world we live in.
We often forget that mental and emotional health are huge factors in our health and wellness. Often we tend to focus on what we’re eating, weight loss, and BMI. And we tend to forget to focus on personal time, healing, relaxation, reducing stress, enjoying the simple things, and getting rid of the toxic people and things in our lives that continue to make us unhappy and unhealthy.
Today is your starting point to make a difference in your life as well as someone else’s. Vow to eat one meal healthier, get outside for some movement and exercise, meditate even it’s only for 3 minutes, turn off the tv and go to bed earlier, journal or read that book you’ve been putting off. Find time to heal your soul, clear your mind, and better yourself as a whole, not just little pieces of you.
Matcha Lattes for St. Patty’s Day!
I can’t believe it’s St. Patty’s weekend! I love this holiday, I don’t know if it’s because it’s that time of year where winter is coming to an end, spring will be officially here in 3 days, it’s the beginning date to start sowing your garden and planting cool weather crops, or it’s ingrained in to my blood with a great grandmother from Donegal, Ireland, or maybe it’s because everyone seems to be surrounded by so much luck and happiness on this day. Either way it’s my favorite!
So in honor of everything green and soon to be growing! Here is my matcha green latte recipe in my new favorite cup for St. Patty’s! I hope you love it and are surrounded by lots of luck today! 😉
Ingredients:
- 1/2 teaspoon organic matcha
- 1/4 teaspoon local honey
- 1 dash organic cinnamon
- 1 Cup boiling water
- 1/4 Cup unsweetened coconut milk
Directions:
- Bring water to a boil on the stove. In the mean time in your favorite cup add matcha, honey, and cinnamon.
- In a small sauce pot, add your coconut milk and begin to warm. As the milk starts to warm, use a whisk to froth the milk so you get those nice bubbles.
- Add the hot water to your matcha-stir or whisk well. Then top with your warm and frothy coconut milk. Enjoy!
Farm, Foodie & Fitness 