Sesame Protein Balls
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Roll into golf ball shaped balls or flatten between parchment paper to create bars. Refrigerate. Enjoy!
Makes 15 balls. 3.5g of protein and 3g of sugar each.
If you are an energy sponge like me, then you are going to want to keep reading. If you find yourself getting upset, depressed, or angry for no reason, then you’re probably a pretty sensitive individual. We can pick up others’ moods and energy in an instant. Intellectually, you need to wade through what is occurring in your body at an energy level so that you can raise your vibration and stop the energy transfer. Go within and take a few deep breaths. I like to focus on things that I am grateful for in my life as I do this, and it instantly brings me back to center. Back to my spirit, which is full of light, power, and happiness.
There are also events that occur on a conscious level, but more often than not, we wrongly assess the situation and create an illusion. This occurs when we attribute someone’s actions to their less than stellar personality. For example, someone doesn’t open a door for us because they’re a jerk. In truth, people are often so caught up in their own lives that they don’t see beyond where their attention flows, primarily their own thoughts and problems. We see a person who let a door slam in our faces. But if we look deeper, we may see a person who is hurting. Maybe they’re having a really bad day for 100 different reasons, and none of them have anything to do with you.
If someone is short with us or downright rude, that’s probably not about us either. Chances are there are other things happening in their lives and we just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they see us as a punching bag even though they may not mean to. They’re just going with the momentum and haven’t realized that they are the sole creator of their reality.
The same goes for those moments when you feel completely hurt or taken advantage of by another person. Yes, they may have hurt you, and yes, they may have deliberately done so! But, it’s not about you. If someone goes out of their way to hurt you then it is very clear they have got their own issues that they need to work on. Stay away from these people if at all possible!
Every single person is in charge of their own happiness. Don’t give your power away to others so easily by letting them control your mood. I know it’s easier said than done, but just let it go, don’t take it personally, and move on. It may take you time, but I promise, if you start practicing now, in time you’ll be able to flick a switch inside yourself. You’ll be able to sense when your mood is changing, and you’ll be able to snap out of it quickly.
Any time you feel yourself caught up in a state of anger, sadness, or anything in between, just remember that you are creating that state by choosing to stay there. There is another choice. You can choose to be joyful and happy. All you have to do is change your focus. Pay attention to why you feel the way you do, let it go, and look for the joy in your life. When we take things personally, we often choose to be negative. So take things in stride, and choose the high road.
I saw a clip of Goldie Hawn on Oprah recently. Oprah said something about Goldie always being so happy. “I choose to be” she said. And so it is.
Lentil Fusilli Salad with Chicken
Boil water and turn flame down to low/medium. Stir in pasta and cook for 8 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile chop up broccoli into bite size pieces, put into a pot with an inch of water and boil/steam with lid on until tender but firm, roughly 8 minutes.
Chop up remaining ingredients and place in a large bowl. Add pasta and broccoli when they are finished cooking.
Add oil, salt and pepper to taste. Add more as desired.
Red Lentil Pasta vs. Brown Rice Pasta
We were a brown rice pasta type of family until I discovered red lentil pasta. Now it is my go-to pasta. Both are gluten-free. Win-win.
Per 100g, here is how they measure up:
But, don’t lentils have lectins? Yes lentils have lectins. Lectins bind to your intestines, block absorption, and damage the gut lining, causing the body to battle the dreaded leaky gut and then have to divert proteins from other tasks in order to repair it. But, once lentils are cooked, their lectin levels drop dramatically.
It all comes down to this, and this is our philosophy where all food is concerned: how do you personally feel after you eat them? Good – great. Not so good – it’s your call if you want to eat them or not!
Meet my new favourite obsession: protein bar creation. I used to live off of protein bars so it’s high time I make my own. These balls will come in super handy when the kiddos come home from school and want food ASAP. Though I would like to get the sugar content down even more for that same reason!
Chocolate, Peanut Butter, and Coconut Protein Balls
Mix all ingredients together, and roll into TBSP size balls. Serve.
Using the above recipe yields 16 balls with 2.5g of sugar and just over 2.5g of protein each. The protein powder is comprised of sprouted brown rice protein, maca, and vanilla. I highly recommend Brad King’s brand not only because it tastes great, but because it is a highly bioavailable form of protein. Our bodies can use it easily unlike other vegan forms such as pea protein which are largely cheap fillers.
My favourite brand of stevia is Now’s better stevia, french vanilla flavour. It’s still got the bitterness characteristic of stevia, but is way better than sweet leaf in my opinion.
Note that sweet little hand trying to get into the chocolate chips!
I have attempted frittatas many times in the past and none of them have been delicious as this! There is so much goodness packed into these little gems and the kiddos ate them up despite all of the green! I’ll admit it was difficult to get them to take that first bite, but once I got big brother to partake, little brother happily complied!
These are also good reheated the next day, so feel free to make a big batch!
Mini Paleo Fritattas
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a muffin pan well, or use silicon muffin cups.
Place coconut oil, broccoli, bacon, and red pepper into a skillet over medium heat and cook until broccoli is bright green and bacon is cooked. Cool 10 minutes.
In separate bowl, whisk eggs and coconut cream. It will be chunky. Add spinach and stir.
Empty the broccoli mixture into the egg mixture and stir immediately.
Drop 1/4 cup of egg batter into each prepared muffin cup. Bake 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan, run a knife along the edge and carefully remove.
Makes 7 mini fritattas.
* You may also use frozen broccoli and/or previously cooked bacon. You can substitute another protein if you don’t do bacon!
After scrambling to get Arlo’s birth certificate over the past few weeks (which was somewhere along the postal route), I was extremely persistent with passport Canada and had his passport in hand exactly 19 hours before our scheduled flight to Santa Barbara! That just goes to show you that intention is 99% of the game. I just knew that we were going to make that flight even though getting a passport in time seemed impossible. As chance would have it, we actually missed our connecting flight, so we got to plane spot for a few hours 😉
There are so many things I am grateful for in my life, and getting to travel to California often is definitely one of them. If you have the chance, get yourself to Santa Barbara at some point in your lifetime. It is so beautiful that I would love to call it home some day. And the California Coast is not to be missed!
Arlo spent a lot of time in his baby wrap. It makes traveling with a baby so much easier! Not to mention it added a good 15 lbs to my walks. Between walking and a few morning runs, I’m pretty sure I lost weight on “vacation.” Though I don’t see travel as a break from a healthy lifestyle. You can find healthy food wherever you go, and you can stay active very easily.
This is the first time we made it as far north as Napa Valley, and it won’t be our last time there. I took this picture one morning when I drove up to Newton winery. The roads up these hills are insane, but they are worth the risky drive for the views they provide. And the food in Yountville was ridiculously amazing. I had some of the best food of my life there, and of course some incredible Cabernet Sauvignon as well.
We also made it to San Francisco for the first time. I took this photo of the downtown core one block away from Plow, where we had one of the best breakfasts ever. It’s one of those hipster joints with paleo and gluten free options. Delicious. We enjoyed a morning run and workout in the park that morning, which no doubt gave me a healthy appetite! I love how easy it is to be active in California.
This was meant to be a true vacation from work, but as luck would have it I came out of it with a new job, and it’s one that I am super excited about. I can’t wait to let you all in on what I will be up to, but I’m going to save that for a post a few weeks down the road!
Amy Coates 