WILD CARD

First off, I just want to say I had no Idea that Thursday was national peanut butter day and I posted my peanut butter protein pancakes! What a coincidence!

Recently my sister just started working at a cancer hospital as a nurse. She works four days a week for twelve hours. She sees everything...and I mean everything. The other day she came home and told me she had a patient with a tumor in his butt that looked like cauliflower (sorry if that ruined cauli for you), and a woman's dead tongue fall out of her mouth. I don't know how she does it.

Needless to say, her job is really stressful and she is on her feel 24/7. Being stressed is not fun and I could tell it was getting to her. Especially when we got in a fight over noodles...it went a little like this:

Lesley: Are these the noodles mom made for spaghetti? Why didn't she make spaghetti noodles?

Me: I don't know Lesley. They are just noodles...(probably a little snappier than I should have been)

Lesley: Oh my god Lauren I'm just asking. Your such a BITCH. (half true)

And ended up with me barging into her room while she was getting dressed and both of us crying, apologizing, and hugging while she was still half naked...haha we are so weird and both agreed the fight was completely ridiculous.

I know first hand that when I'm at work and I get stressed It's usually because I am hungry and haven't had a chance to eat. Work gets really busy sometimes and I am unable to get a break. Fortunately, my sister does get a lunch break but she is always working so her lunch usually consists of a protein bar and half assed PB&J.

Since she doesn't have the time to pack a proper lunch I decided to play good sister and pack lunches for her! I even surprised her with dinner! 

She gets home so late from work and has absolutely no patients so she usually just goes to bed hungry. Not a good idea.

Dinner was a test. I'll call it a wild card recipe. I was not sure if she was going to love or completely hate what I made her so I was a little nervous.

I kept seeing recipes for cauliflower pizza crust and just had to try it. I found the recipe on the blog Hello Healthy. It was amazing! She loved it and was shocked by the ingredients it was made out of. 

Yes, I am giving you a recipe using cauliflower even though I ruined it for you. Toughen up kid.

Here is her recipe adapted:

WILD CARD

Cauliflower pizza crust

1. 2 cups of riced cauliflower. You can put it in a food processor and pulse until rice  consistency or grate it.

2. 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (I used fat free)

3. one egg white

4. salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

First cook the cauliflower in a sauté pan until tender. About 10 minutes. Next, combine with all the ingredients. 

Line and spray pan with non stick cook spray. Divide "dough" in half, It will be really liquidy, and make crust. Don't make it to thin because it will be really hard to remove. Mine was probably 1/4 of an inch or less. I also make two crusts with this one because if it is too big it will brake. 

Cook at 400 until edges are golden.

Carefully with a spatula, loosen the edges. Be patient because it will most likely stick to the foil.

I like mine a little crunchy so I flip it over and cook for a little longer and top with desired ingredients.

For my sister, I stacked both crusts and topped with homemade marinara, black olives, caramelized onion, and pineapple.

For mine, I made a fat free pesto-ish sauce and topped it with roasted tomato, caramelized onion, then drizzled it with balsamic vinegar.

I saved my other crust for later!

Marinara:

1. Simmered one big can of diced tomatoes and one tablespoon of tomato paste for about 30 minutes. I also threw in some basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and of course garlic.

Pesto-isht

1. 1 cup FRESH basil

2. handfull of spinach

3. roasted eggplant

4. 1 tsp nutritional yeast 

(very high in B vitamins, fiber, and so much more! I buy mine at whole foods)

5. 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

6. salt, pepper, garlic to taste

I just threw everything into a food processor and added some liquid. It comes out very thick.

Now Lunch!

Lunch # 1

1. balsalmic roasted eggplant with homemade marinara

2. spinach, carmelized onion, and mushroom fritatta, with a laughing cow wedge and      sugar free ketchup (she eats ketchup on her ketchup)

3. mixed fruit (raspberries, back berries, strawberries, and half a clementine

4. Chocolate chocolate chip protein muffin

I didn't take pictures of any of the food so you'll just have to wait for the recipes on this one!

Lunch #2

1. Chicken with biryani spices (They sell mine at the grocery store)

2. Roasted sweet potato coins topped with PB2 cottage cheese sauce, and raspberries (this was the wild card)

3. Roasted green beans (with ketchup!)

4. Chocolate chocolate chip protein muffin

WILD CARD

Sweet potatoes:

1. one small sweet potato cut into coins about as thick as your pinkie

2. 2 tablespoons PB2

3. 1 tablespoon of pureed fat free cottage cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line and coat baking sheet with foil and non stick cooking spray.

2. place potatoes on baking sheet spray with non stick cook spray and roast until tender. 

3. Meanwhile mix the PB2 with cottage cheese and water until saucy consistency. 

4. Top potatoes with sauce and raspberries and eat!

I love making people food! Especially when its the food that has been given hidden looks like, WTF? My family always is saying to me "You're mixing that with that?" now that my sister is trying my creations she sees I'm not so entirely weird after all. ;D Hey, don't knock it till you try it!

Pancake Thursday

I could tell you I have pancakes every Thursday...but truth be told, I have pancakes everyday. I am totally addicted. 

There is this little place in our down town that has, by far, THE best pancakes I have ever tasted. These things are the size of your head and sooo delicious. One time when I was there with my sister we both ordered pancakes and the waiter goes, "Do you want the half order?" I laughed and replied, "What you think I'm on a diet? I can't eat the full order?" he was so embarrassed, but I knew he only said that because a full order is huge. Poor guy.

This morning I woke up and hit the gym! Today was leg day and I hit it hard. I started with cardio and then lifted heavy! I even stuck in an extra squat exercise. I love squats and have been doing a lot of them! They are good for just about your whole body! I've been doing them for my butt! (or lack of one) ;]Although I lovveee pancakes, I want to have less of a pancake butt. Hopefully I will see some progress by the time I go to Punta Cana in March.

Leg Press

I just started lifting so I can't lift super heavy but I'm working on it! Most girls are scared to lift because they think they are going to get bulky. Ladies, lifting is what gets you toned, you will not get bulky. Our bodies and hormones are much different than males and we are not going to look like a female godzilla by lifting weights.

Since I cranked it out in the gym early this morning, I came home after class starving! I am always so hungry on leg days and eat everything! I have been trying to listen to my body and eat when I am hungry. I keep reading that in order to gain muscle you have to eat more and properly. Since I started lifting I have to eat a lot more. I want to grow so I am trying to fuel my body properly. Abs (and butts) are made in the kitchen!

Today I whipped up my favorite pancake recipe ever! I created it the other day and fell head over heels for these little cakes. They are really high protein, fat, and have a good amount of complex carbs so they make a really good post work out meal!

Oh did I forget to mention they have peanut butter in them? Silly me...

                                        

mmm moist and delicious

(of course I had to use my snoopy fork)

Peanut butter Protein Pancakes:

Serves One..or two if you like sharing.

8-10 mini pancakes

Keep in mind, these are not your normal fluffy pancakes, they are really dense but taste just as amazing!

Wet ingredients

4 egg whites

2 heaping tablespoon of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)

1 teaspoon of vanilla

2 tablespoons of peanut butter (I used PB & Co's white chocolate wonderful it is my favorite flavor)

Dry

1/4 cup almond meal (You can use PB2 for a lighter option but almond meal makes them really tender)

1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not use whole wheat flour it will make pancakes taste funny)

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt (makes everything better)

1/4 teaspoon 100% pure cocoa powder (adds richness, doesn't make them chocolaty)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (I used more)

2 packets of truvia or other natural sweetener (I like em super sweet!)

1. melt the peanut butter (30 seconds) then add pumpkin and vanilla and mix with       electric mixer. Then add the egg whites and mix until blended.

2. Sift all the dry ingredients together.

3. Add dry to wet and mix with an electric mixer.

Add water to your desired thickness. I like these pancakes a little thinner so I add 1/4 cup of strongly brewed coffee. I use the coffee because it adds depth.

 Cook on low. I like mine doughy so I 

undercooked them slightly

Sundays Best

First of all let me just say that I am terrible with grammar and spelling. I probably failed all of my spelling tests in elementary school. That being said, please excuse all of my grammatical errors.

I absolutely love Sundays. It is the only day of the week I do not have to go to school or work.

     The other day I went out to eat at a new Asian place with my sister and mom before a bridal appointment (for my sister) and it was amazing. This place is huge and has Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food. My sister and I love sushi so we decided to bother order a roll with our main entree. I choose the rainbow roll with avocado, and "krab", on the inside then salmon, whitefish, and shrimp on the outside. It was really good but I took out the "krab" because it tasted rubbery to me and I prefer the taste of crab more. She had the mexican roll with had avocado, tuna, spicy mayo, and tempura flakes. 

   For our entrees I ordered the Bibimbap, my sister ordered Pad Thai Noodles, and my mom never tries anything new so she ordered almond chicken. OMG if you have never had Bibimbap you are missing out my friend. It was totally different from what I was expecting. I am super picky about what I order at restaurants and usually get a salad because everything is so calorie laden. I was glad I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new because it is now my new favorite!

Thats my sista!

     They bring you this huge hot, and I mean HOT,  stone bowl with spinach, fried egg, carrot, zucchini, shitake mushrooms, and bean sprouts, all over a bed of steamed rice. It also came with this incredible spicy chili sauce that I would probably compare to sriracha.

     Let me tell you this was by far one of the best meals. Every bite was different and it stayed extremely hot until the very end. I am a super slow eater so it was perfect. My favorite was the rice on the bottom that got all crunchy because the bowl was so hot. I ate the whole bowl and was sad when it was over!

     After we were done I tracked down the cute young Korean owner and told him how amazing the place was and how much I loved my food. He told me it was his mothers recipe and his favorite too.

     I was so inspired by my meal that I tried recreating it today! I didn't do it exactly but it was still super good. I wish I would have had a hot stone bowl.

     Everytime I make brown rice it always comes out hard and nasty so last night I searched the web for THE perfect method for making brown rice. I came across this website and decided to give their method a try. I followed their directions which required soaking it over night. Then this morning before I went to the gym I put it in my rice cooker so it would be ready when I came back. It came out perfect! I made a super big batch so I'll have it for the week. I always prep my food for the week because between school and work, who has time for that?

     Anywayyy, This is what I used in my bibimbap:

• steamed spinach
• three cut up mushrooms sauteed in liquid aminos (soy sauce sub)
• shredded zucchini, cabbage, and carrot sautéed with about a teaspoon each of fish sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and some garlic chili paste. (I made a huge batch for the week)
• Two fried eggs, extra runny.

I layered this all over about one cup of brown rice and of course, sriracha!

Oh soo good.

     It was leg and ab day today so I also made myself a huge batch of protein pancakes. I am always suppper hungry on leg days. I really pushed myself today and probably overtrained but I am still trying to figure out a happy medium. 

This is what I did:

I always start with an hour on the elliptcal. I know that is excessive but right now I am trying to get over cardio addiction. Small steps.

Squats          10lb    15 x 3

Dead lifts       5lb    15 x 3

(The bar for my squats and dead lifts is 45 lbs)

Leg extension 40lb   15 x 3

Leg press       140lb 15 x 3

Prone leg curl 50lb 8 x 1 , 30lb 12 x 1, 35lb 12 x 1

Glute Isolator 50 lb 12 x 3 each leg

Lunges 20 lb weights in each hand 12 x 3 each leg

Calf raises 30 lb kettle ball in each hand 30 x 1 then 60 x 2, and then 6o without weights in first and second position (the dancer in me)

Then I do this 10 minute brazilian butt lift workout and move on to abs

I do a circuit of:

30 side bends (16 lb medicine ball)

30 twists (16 lb medicine ball)

30 ab rollers

three times

Then I added another ab circuit:

15 backwards crunches

15 leg lifts

three times

Finally done and feeling the burn. This all took about two and a half hours. Way to long.

I always start with an hour on the elliptcal. I know that is excessive but right now I am trying to get over cardio addiction. Small steps.

Now I am getting ready for dinner and bed. A long week ahead of me. Cannot wait to see what it brings!

Love always,

Little Miss Lo =*

Loosing My V-Card

I have thought about this for a long time and have finally decided that I am ready to loose my virginity...blog virginity that is.

Let me introduce myself. 

My name is Lo, I am 20 years old and am very passionate about fitness, health, fashion, family and living a healthy life style. 

Who is Lo?

I can answer that, I am a dancer! I have danced my entire life and even though I do not dance any more I still consider myself a dancer because it will never leave me. It's a way of life and is what allows me to be the silly, no shame, free spirited person I am. I will continue to dance my way through life, whether it be in the kitchen, or randomly in the halls of the grocery store.

This is how I feel about starting this blog. I may look stupid but I'm willing to take the chance.

Do you have a J-O-B?

Job sounds so negative...It should be called a money maker because that sounds like something I want to do, and I love my money maker. Working for me is a blessing and a curse. Let me explain...I have a huge shopping addiction and I work at boutique that gets new shipments at least once a week. Basically I spend my pay check, but at least I have a cute closet.

One of the stores I work at. We painted it don't worry.

School Schmool.

 I commute to school and attend a local community college. By the end of this semester I will have my associates in business and plan on transferring to a university. I went away to a university my first year and was a dance major. I knew I was not ready to leave and came straight home after a semester...trust me that was long enough for me to decide that was not the school for me. I love living at home and it was the best decision I could have made.

La Familia

I come from a crazy family and I love them all to death. I have four sisters, one full and three half. I'm the baby and wouldn't have it any other way.Since my sisters are so much older I also have a ton of nephews and nieces. It's hard to believe but I was actually an aunt before I was born. Crazy right?! Its safe to say they do not call me aunt Lo.

"I'm the baby! Gotta love me!"

Please tell me I'm not the only one who remembers this guy.

Fitness and Health

I am a huge baker and bit of a fitness addict. I'm always baking up some crazy concoction and my family gets mad because they say it makes them fat. More to love! I also cook a lot too. I love making delicious dishes for people and seeing their reaction, that is, if its not "holy shit this is nasty!" haha 9/10 times its good. I try to use all clean ingredients and whole foods. If you're wondering if I am like all the other fitness/health freak bloggers you are correct. I love oatmeal, over night oats, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, spinach, fruit, greek yogurt, avocado, eggs, protein pancakes, etc...Hey they are good and good for you! I actually eat so much pumpkin and sweet potato people ask me if I use self tanner because my hands are always orange...trust me I don't.

I belong to a great gym and I love working out. This year I created a body challenge. I have been addicted to cardio lately and with all this hype about how lifting is key, I decided to test it out. I am sick of being just "skinny" and am ready to be "toned". I started a 12- week plan two weeks ago and so far I love it! I'll explain later but plan on tracking my progress on the blog. Hello selfies.

Blog it out.

I decided to start a blog to hold myself accountable for my goals. This year I am going to turn my life around. I have gone through a lot in the past six years, ups and downs, that I may explain later. This blog is going to allow me to track my progress, share my passions, and allow me to express myself. I know, corny but 2013 is my year and I want to share my journey. I am going to use this to be as selfish and conceited as possible. (in the best way) Love your life and it will love you back.

I love this quote. It gives us the chance to start over and make the most of our time now.

2013 is my year to change. 13 is my lucky number and I truly believe that this is going to be an amazing year. It's going to lead me through experiences that will stay with me forever and help me find myself. Not that I was lost ;]