Thursday, January 16, 2014

Protein Pancakes - My favorite TIU recipe


So on Monday I talked about some of my dietary restrictions. One of my favorite breakfast items is a protein pancake on the weekends! It feels like i'm cheating on my "diet" with this delicious meal!!! 

You can find more information about their pancakes and other recipes here

Recipe for Protein Pancakes:

Ingredients:
-1/4 cup egg whites
-1 scoop Protein
2 tbs vanilla almond milk ( I use Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ground flaxseed ( I use Trader Joe's brand)
1/2 banana mashed up 

Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and mix together. Pour into a pan sprayed with olive oil or coconut oil on MEDIUM HEAT. Cook for about 3 minutes on a side or until you see little bubbles. 

I usually top mine with fresh fruit or raw agave syrup. Just make sure it's 100% raw agave and nothing artificial ;) 

I think you should make these pancakes Saturday morning and enjoy with a nice hot cup of coffee. Let me know what you think if you do try them!!

Next up on my recipes to try from TIU, the No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies.  Oh. Em. Gee. These sound amazing!!!


Recipe can be found here :) Somebody make these bad boys and send them my way! 


Monday, January 13, 2014

Yeast Free With Me


So I was catching up on blogs last week, and saw on Stephanie's blog that she was promoting Yeast Free With Me for 30 days! 



I realize I haven't talked much about my "issues" or diet restrictions on here, but this plan is essentially what I try to follow 90% of the time. I guarantee you will feel 100x better if you follow this plan. Even if it's just for a week, you will feel the effects pretty quickly!! 

I strongly encourage you to sign up and try a Yeast Free diet for 30 days!!!! It really will amaze you how your body changes with what you eat on a daily basis. 

A little background on my diet restrictions: 


In June 2012, I was put on a gluten free diet due to flare ups in my small and large intestine. After a few months on a strict gluten free diet, I felt SO much better. I had more energy, I didn't feel bloated or gross all the time, and I felt like I was actually full from nutritional food after a meal. 

Over the summer, I tried to journal what I had for each meal. Slowly, I was starting to notice my stomach hurting again. All those little belly ache, bloating, yucky feelings were starting to creep back. After talking with my primary care physician, she referred me to an Internist for a full evaluation.  

In October, I saw an internist and sat with her for over an hour going over my health issues and family history. AN HOUR!!! This was one of the most thorough and involved doctor appointments I have ever had. She was amazing and listened and took notes to every little detail I said!!

After lots of allergy testing and looking over food journals, my doctor told me I would have to cut out all processed foods, and had to completely eliminate Dairy and Soy on top of my already Gluten Free diet for the next two months. 

UHMMM EXCUSE ME?!?!?! 

This was a major shock to me. I loved dairy!!! Ice cream was my favorite treat!!! Soy wasn't as hard to cut out for me, but I'll tell you, that little devil is in a lot of food I was eating and didn't even realize. This is why it's so important to read labels of everything!!!

After a week into my elimination diet, I felt much better. On top of feeling better, my skin was clear and looked brighter. I felt hydrated and nourished. All those little aches were starting to disappear. I was drinking more water and watching my natural sugar intake with fruit. It really is amazing how your diet can affect so much!!! 

I go back to my doctor this week for a follow up. I have slowly started to introduce small amounts of dairy into my diet since the middle of December. I have noticed some side effects, but it's nothing like the reactions or symptoms I have had before. I am so eager to see what my doctor says when I go back! 

Needless to say, I'm a big advocate for watching what you eat!!! We are lucky enough to have amazing farms around town, and have our meat and veggies delivered twice a month. This has definitely helped with my diet restrictions and meal planning. For you Lexington friends, I strongly encourage you to look into Elmwood Farms CSA!!! You can find more information about their farm here. They are out of Georgetown and have delivery sites in Lexington!

I hope you will join me with Yeast Free for 30 days and make the change to your diet!! I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about it and how it has helped you! 

I am hoping to review some of the GF, Dairy and Soy items I have loved over the past few months. If you have any great products you'd love to share, send them my way!!! 

If you made it through this whole post, you deserve a GF-Dairy-Soy Free Cookie ;)  

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Polar Vortex - Snow Day Edition

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone is having a great 2014 so far!! 

Mine has been filled with lots of couch days, Netflix, and watching the Today Show every morning. 

And making sure Perry has been warm while we nap ;) 

We are officially on our 5th "snow" day in a row. First it was the snow, then the below zero temps, and now pipes bursting in the schools. All of that together equals 5 days off school. On top of our 2 week winter break. 

I enjoyed the first two snow days last Thursday and Friday! I got to spend an extra day in Columbus with my family after returning from Colorado. The only problem was, I had to drive straight through the snow storm on my way back to Lexington Thursday morning!!


The snow come much earlier than expected. I got on the road about 9 am and drove in it for the next 4 1/2 hours. It usually takes me less than 3 hours to make it from Columbus to Lexington! But, I'm just glad we made it home safely. There were lots of cars that swerved into the median. 



I have enjoyed the extra time to clean up from Christmas, have people over for the National Championship game on Monday, run errands, etc. But I can honestly say, I'm ready to be back at school and back to a set routine!!! 

Here's to hoping I get to see my sweet little kiddos tomorrow. And that it's finally warm enough for them to walk to school in the morning. 

Also, I am hoping to do a recap on our Christmas and Breckenridge trip this week. Lots of stories there ;) 

Happy Wednesday!!!