ashleyd /

An expensive addiction…

I still can’t believe it. My fiance has a new addiction and it’s 100% healthy and something i’ve been trying to introduce to him for over a year. His $1.99 a day addiction is Fage 0% Plain. Since cutting back on caffeine, artificial foods, and processed foods over the last week he realized he wanted something delicious and protein rich for a mid morning snack or afternoon treat. He has one of these bad boys each day mixed with 1 packet of stevia and some fresh berries. I can’t believe this guy is my fiance! His favorite things about Fage are its’ dense, rich, and creamy texture. He didn’t believe that it was healthy or low fat until he looked at the label because it tasted more like cream. Furthermore, it makes a great afternoon or morning snack due to its high protein content. I’ve started enjoying this for a breakfast alternative with ground flax seeds, berries, and stevia.

This weekend we decided to try Fage in some other ways such as a mayonaise alternative in tuna and chicken salads or as sour cream in Mexican dishes. Sunday we decided to test it with a healthier version of tuna salad.

ENJOY!

Healthier Tuna Salad 

Makes 4 servings

A low-fat/high protein tuna salad using non-fat yogurt.

Ingredients

10 oz. solid white albacore tuna
2 oz (1/4 cup) Fage 0% Greek Plain Yogurt
1 tbsp mayonnaise (Hellmann’s)
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chopped dill
1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Directions

Mix all ingredients together. Season with pepper to taste.

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ashleyd /

Amazing Grass but not so amazing oatmeal

Get ready folks for a super catch up of posts! I have 5 or 6 ready to deploy over the next day or two. First, I want to give a shoutout to the amazing people at Amazing Grass! They sent me their sampler pack to try and review on the blog. It included a few bars, a few Amazing Meals, Organic Wheat Grass packets, and then the flavored packets. I was super excited to try these as I’d previously felt amazing rushes of energy when i’ve enjoyed wheat grass in smoothies. Bo and I have decided to challenge ourselves to give up all caffeine except green tea for five days. So far we’ve been enjoying lots of decaf teas, lemon and lime water, and mint water. While we’ve been doing well I have definitely felt a decrease in my normal energy levels especially since i’ve started enjoying a morning cup of coffee at work each day. Our office has one of those individual pod coffee makers and they also stock the cabinets with Green Mountain Coffee in hazelnut, vanilla, and more!

This morning before heading out for a day’s worth of adventures, I thought the perfect breakfast would be my own version of green oats to help boost my energy and give me the extra nutrients i’m always craving. BOY was I mistaken! I can stomach a lot of things but after three spoon fulls I had to give up and make my regular old oats. The flavor was too “grassy” and it almost tasted like I was chewing a vitamin. I combined the following in this morning oats:
1 packet Organic Wheat Grass
1/2 c oats
1/2 c water
1/2 c light almond breeze
1 pack stevia

I was a bit worried with how green the oats turned out and would love feedback from folks on how to make them tastier. I was a bit disappointed because I was hoping this could become a healthy morning burst of energy each day.

But, luckily, later today I gave Amazing Grass another try and thoroughly enjoyed their chocolate flavor packet with some almond breeze for a midmorning snack. It was absolutely delcious and my energy levels skyrocketed. I would definitely order more of their flavored options in the future as I think they could also be great mix-ins with protein shakes, chobani, and oatmeal!

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ashleyd /

Updated: Not the weekend we planned but amazing in the end

So, if you had asked me on Thursday what I was doing this weekend I would have said laying out, seeing a Broadway matinee, and meeting up with fab UGA folks at the NYC BBQ festival in the city. Well, now Monday has once again graced us with it’s presence and we did NONE of those things. But we had a great weekend full of firsts:

1. We didn’t eat out one time! We decided to relax and enjoy our time together by cooking together. We enjoyed grilled fish fillets and veggies with a great new Riesling Friday, turkey burgers and sauteed mushrooms and onions Saturday, and healthier pad thai and our Japanese mushroom soup we invented last night.

2. We made our first trip to Staten Island, NY in hopes of actually finding the perfect rug which we were hunting down at Pier 1. Driving around that place was a bit crazy as the traffic was unbelievable and the signage is horrible! My girlfriend Lindsey had the rug in her adorable house last week when I was in Philadelphia and I knew it was perfect! When she told me that it was from Pier1 I was in shock! The rug was $100 less than any other rug we’d seen at Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, etc and is perfect! I highly recommend checking out their rug selection!

3. We FINALLY decided on a dining room/kitchen table. My friend Meg has decorated her amazing Atlanta condo from floor to ceiling and is always the best person for boutique and furniture recommendations. After exhausting our standard options (Ikea, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Williams Sonoma, etc) we were ready to look at a smaller chain and outside of NYC. Sure enough she sent me two great links Ballard Designs and Grandin Road.

The table is round, has classic curves, great chairs, and comes in a pretty deep maple color (we didn’t go with this BLACK color in the picture) which should blend perfectly with the rug above and the rest of our decor. Unfortunately it is backordered until June 29th but we can be patient. I highly suggest hopping over to their website today as it’s the last day of their FULL WEBSITE 15% off sale!

4. Meditated daily! While I have enjoyed and practiced yoga on and off for years, i’ve never tried meditation before this week. But, as part of the Bikini Bootcamp book I won in a giveaway, it challenged readers to invest in their mind and soul for 10-15 minutes each day. I didn’t think i’d be able to reach a state of piece but their suggestions really worked! The purpose of meditation is to calm the mind and develop inner peace. The first step is to find a quiet space whether it’s your car while it’s parked in the driveway after a long day at work, your cubicle when no one else is around, your home, or local park. Next find a comfortable position that works for you. Sometimes it’s cross legged but for me laying flat on my back with my hands gently lying on my stomach was the most calming and peaceful position I could find. After a few minutes with my eyes closed I began to focus on trying to push thoughts out of my mind. It is like a cleanse for your brain. It is hard and almost seems meaningless the first time but after 8 days I’m addicted!

I’ll be back later today to give you our awesome Japanese Mushroom Soup recipe, talk about the importance of eating healthy during meetings/class/work, and the power of positive “health” models.


Have a great Tuesday!

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