Monday, September 12, 2016

Pumpkin Protein Bars

Hey Everyone!! I am back with the much anticipated PUMPKIN protein bars! This is another of the cakey type variety. As always you can add whatever you like to the batter...I choose Pecans as they are my favorite with pumpkin, but feel free to explore. If I could change one thing, I think I would add a little ground cloves to the mix as well. I think it would give it a little more of the fall pumpkin flavor I was looking for. Either way, the honey is being cut in half, so that is good all the way around!!!


  •  1/2 cup Almond butter (you could also do 1/4 peanut butter and 1/4 cup almond. I haven't tried it, but I bet it is good!!) 
  •  1/4 cup Canned Pumpkin 
  • 1/4 cup honey (or Agave if going Vegan)
  •  1/2 cup Arbonne Vanilla Protein 
  •  Cinnamon (you should know by now I don't measure this type of thing, so do something around a teaspoon, maybe tablespoon) 
  •  1 cup gluten-free oats (not quick oats) 
  •  1 cup(ish) crushed Pecans or Walnuts 

 Throw it in a bowl and mix it up!

Enjoy the Fall everyone!!


Thursday, August 4, 2016

Breakfast Anyone?

I don't know about you, but I cannot have something too sweet for breakfast. It has been my mission the last couple of weeks to come up with a protein bar that was not as sweet as the others, and maybe even had a different texture. After reading a bunch of recipes and playing around I came up with this. It is not perfect, I will probably change it a ton of times, but it has majorly grown on me, and now I am having them every morning for breakfast. Yes!! As a side note, I usually have a shake. However, I am under crazy construction, the bullet is too much right now to clean and have out. I was using the shaker cup but then I ran out of fiber! OH NO!!! While I await my delivery, I am enjoying grabbing a couple bars from the fridge and eating while I am frantically driving the kids to summer camp! Here we go: 1/2 cup Almond butter (you could also do 1/4 peanut butter and 1/4 cup almond. I haven't tried it, but I bet it is good!!) 1/4 cup Apple Sauce (FYI - one kids pouch of applesauce is 1/4 cup - convenient, huh?) 1/4 cup honey 1/2 cup Arbonne Protein Boost Cinnamon (you should know by now I don't measure this type of thing, so do something around a teaspoon, maybe tablespoon) 1 cup gluten-free oats (not quick oats) Throw it in a bowl and mix it up! I use a small cookie scoop, scoop them out and store them in the fridge. I put a pecan on top of each of these, but you could throw in chopped nuts if you like. Maybe some dried fruit...Whatever makes you happy :) Like I said. I don't think these are 100% complete for me. I want to play around a little. At first I thought maybe I wanted them a little sweeter, but now I am thinking they are the perfect amount of sweet for me. If you want them sweeter, I would do the protein as half plain, half vanilla. The interesting thing about this recipe is the applesauce seems to have changed the texture. It made it more of a cakey type texture, and that I am LOVING!!! If you make them, let me know below. I would love to hear different variations on this recipe! Up next...I'm trying pumpkin!

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Vegan, Gluten-free, Chocolate Crispy Protein Snacks!

Hi Everyone!  I am back with a brand new recipe that I know you are going to LOVE!!!

I was just about to make some cookies when this just came to my mind.  I made sure I had everything and then started mixing!  They are DELICIOUS!!

This is a rather small recipe for me, usually I make larger batches, but I stuck with this just in case it didn't turn out.  The balls you see on the plate are all that came from this recipe.

Let's get to the good stuff!!!


Toss everything in a bowl (except the 1/2 cup coconut) and mix it up!  Scoop little balls and roll them in the coconut.  THAT'S IT!!!  I had these ready in about 5 minutes :)


I hope you enjoy them!  I am excited to serve them at my next party!  If you have any questions or feedback I would love to hear it!

Take care of yourself!
Jill

Friday, April 22, 2016

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Oatmeal Fruit and Nut Protein Bars!

Hi Everyone!!  I have had such an overwhelming response from my Healthy Happy Hour post, that I have created a new recipe that has gone over amazing!!

First, I want to mention that this recipe incorporates the NEW Protein Boost product!  This protein powder offers 10g of protein per scoop, and that is ALL!  No sugar, no flavors, just straight up protein!  You can add this to soup, salad, your regular protein drinks, ANYTHING!  THIS is a Game Changer!

I have seen recipes that have you heat the honey/agave, and the almond butter...This girl doesn't have time for that!!  I take all the ingredients, throw them in a mixer bowl, and turn on the Kitchen Aid! I smash the dough into a pyrex and cut a square when I get hungry!  I keep them refrigerated and they last FOREVER!

Say hello to my little friends:


















This is all that goes into these awesome bars!  I think they taste like an oatmeal raisin cookie, but of course they are Vegan and gluten free!  By adding in the Boost, I was able to cut the sugars from the protein in half!  Since there is already Agave, you don't even miss it!







So, like I said, get out a mixer bowl and add everything to the bowl:
  • 1 cup Almond Butter (I use Trader Joes Raw)
  • 2/3 cup Agave or Honey.  I use Agave for Vegan treats, Honey if they are for home
  • 1/2 cup Vanilla Protein
  • 1/2 cup Protein Boost
  • 1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Rolled Oats
  • 3/4 cup Walnuts
  • 3/4 cup cranberries (or raisins if you start making the bars and realize you just ran out of cranberries - OOPS!)
  • Cinnamon - optional.  I meant to add cinnamon to the recipe to try it and I forgot!  I didn't want to take it all out of the pyrex and put it back in the bowl, so I sprinkled a little on a bar and mashed it up.  It was really good!!  Next Time!  I have made this plenty of times without cinnamon and it is delicious! 




When you are finished mixing, grease the pyrex with coconut oil and press the dough in.  Refrigerate the bars and when you get Hangry, have a little square :)



This was my scratch after I made them.  I have been baking since I was a little girl, so I tend to just throw things in a bowl and see what happens.  Then I have to hurry up and write it down afterwards if I like the result :)


I have more ideas, but if you have something you want me to experiment with, please let me know!!!

Thanks for reading!

Jill


Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Day 7 and Beyond.....What happened??

In case you are wondering what the heck happened to me.....Day 7 I came down with the flu!  Like sleep for 20 hours and not eat a thing flu.  This lasted for maybe 4 days.  After I was all recovered, I had lost a pretty good amount of weight, just from the sheer fact that I didn't hardly eat.  I didn't feel right posting that I had lost all kinds of weight, when it was for false reasons.  I then became insanely HUNGRY!  Of course.  When I am sick, I let my body do what it tells me it wants to do.  Sometimes it is eat chicken soup, sometimes I crave chocolate!  I give it a pass and just focus on getting better, and for me sometimes that means I eat chocolate :)

So today is March 1, and guess what that means.....HEALTHY LIVING CHALLENGE!!!

Boy, I have really been a slacker over here with the blogging!  It is now March 9, but the good news is that I have been eating my normal routine.

BUT

I have been drinking lemon water instead of the usual water.  Add lemon to a fizz stick - POW!  Mind = BLOWN!

I do feel that my entire weight loss was lost and I am basically starting over.  Put on top of that I am going on vacation in 2 weeks, where a bathing suit will be required, and I am doubly committed to making this a go!

So I am just going to start fresh from really this week.  I have been good all week and so this should be a piece of cake protein bar ;)

I would say that I am going to keep this up while skipping down Main Street (my term for going to DISNEY!!!), but I am not going to give myself false hope.  There are too many places to eat and too many yummy things to try, but I do usually order on the side of healthy.  Besides, when walking about 10 miles a day, I think a Mickey Ice Cream bar is ok every once in a while!

I will try to keep up to date here on my loss and how my bathing suit progress is going :)

Good Living everyone!  I hope you all feel great!


Saturday, February 13, 2016

Day 6 - 1/2 a cheater...

2/13/2016

As we always say....this is about following our program 80% of the time.  If you have an occasion and it calls for eating something not as healthy as usual, well - go for it!  Just don't call a random Tuesday afternoon where you are feeling lazy a special occasion :)

Today I woke up and had my usual lemon water...Had my chocolate shake, and even had a fizz stick.  Then I got a text from a dear friend.  "What are you doing today?"  It is FREEZING outside and our plans for skiing were cancelled because of it.  "Nothing, why, what's up?"  Turns out she was coming our way!!!  I have been trying to get her to come visit at my house FOREVER!  Seriously.  For about 9 years!

So we dropped everything (which was nothing, but I had to get dressed and suddenly scramble to clean!) to meet them nearby!

We hung out for a while in a museum, and then came back to our house!  YAY!  What was on the menu for dinner?  Well.....uhhhhh.....I don't have much food in my house right now for guests to eat.  Do you all have that problem?  I don't cook for my friends what I eat on a regular basis.  I have to plan for what to eat when friends come over, and there was no time to hit the store.  My friend wanted to order pizza for everyone, so there ya go!

Pizza and salad for everyone!  There is no way I am going to eat a bowl of brown rice and vegetables while everyone else eats pizza.  Not only would I be hating my healthy eating lifestyle right then, I feel like it would make everyone else uncomfortable.  Some people may say to hell with that, but I don't think a slice of pizza will kill me :)

We had some pretzel, bar snack mixey stuff, because we were all starving before the pizza got there,  and then I had salad and 2 slices of mushroom pizza.

Then of course I put brownies in the oven, because I ALWAYS have some sort of dessert available!

So we then had coffee and a small brownie.

I will say this.  My stomach was very bloated after dinner.  You really notice what not so good for you food does to your body when you haven't had it for a while!

It's all good though, I will hop right back on the wagon tomorrow.  I tend to be a little more lenient on the weekends, and the week I am pretty regimented.

So there ya have it.  I had a great day with my friend and her family and I was so happy they came over!  FINALLY!!  :P

Have a great weekend everyone - and stay WARM!!!

PS - Tomorrow is Valentines day and we may go out for a nice dinner, but I will try to find the healthiest thing I can!

Friday, February 12, 2016

Day 5. Even better!

Hey there. Thank you for making it to day 5 with me! Today was once again an easy day for me...

Breakfast: chocolate banana shake

Snack: fizz stick and handful of almonds

Lunch: brown rice, Brussel sprouts, 2 gluten free all natural chicken strips, chohula sauce

Snack: protein bar and coffee with cream. I'm still out of tea, and now I am almost out at home. Noooooooooo!!!!!

Dinner: brown rice, mixed vegetables, chicken tikka masala (frozen SAMs version)

Snack: protein bar, detox tea

It is amazing how sugar cravings go away once you stop eating sugar. I do use the protein bars as a substitute, but they are so good, and so good for you, that I think it makes for a great snack.

Weight: 135.5! It was almost on 135 but not fully, and I didn't want to take credit quite yet :)

In case you are wondering, I have yet to exercise. I usually do, but this has been a tough week for me. I plan to get back to boot camp next week! We have been skiing every weekend, and I do walk a lot on my commute, but as far as running or gym work, it hasn't happened.

My super nice boss brought me a Valentine cupcake today. I brought it home for  all of us to share.  I can't say that I wouldn't have scarfed it down a few months ago, so I am grateful for the willpower this program gives me.

In case you are wondering, I do not have a weight goal, but more of a measurement goal.  I think I will achieve it with 5 more pounds, since I tend to lose weight in the stubborn areas on this plan.  Yay!

Have a good night and weekend everyone!

Thursday, February 11, 2016

Day 4 - Doing good!

I had another great, normal day!

Breakfast: 7:30 am - Chocolate Shake

Snack: 10:15 am - handful of almonds; fizz stick

Lunch: 12:30 pm - leftover gf pasta with eggplant (recipe from the other day)

Snack: 3:00 pm - 1 protein bar, 1 cup coffee (oh shoot - I'm out of Tea at work!!)

Dinner: 5:15 pm - Cod, brown rice, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes

Snack: 7:30 pm - protein bar and 1 cup of detox tea

I forgot to mention that yesterday my boss brought in a chocolate cake.  This little cake looked soooooo good! But it was oddly easy for me to turn it down.

Today - my co-worker was eating said chocolate cake and telling me how darn good it was.  Something about this program, when you fully follow it, it makes cravings go away, or maybe I should say bearable.

I will just give one more update today.  I weighed myself this morning...136!  Don't get me wrong, I know you should not weigh yourself every day.  I am only doing it to prove a point.  Weight will go up and down on a daily basis, so I want to show this,  I am expecting it to go back up, I was actually shocked that it went down 2 pounds.  I don't always remember to weigh myself, but I'll try :)

I did take my hip measurements - that is my major trouble zone.  I'm not ready to post them yet, but I have them written down and I will soon.  Promise!

Have a good night everyone <3

Day 3 - Normalcy!

Today ended up being a typical day for me.....Thank goodness!

Breakfast: 7:30 am - Chocolate Shake

Snack: 10:15 am - handful of almonds; fizz stick

Lunch: 12:30 pm - cup of brown rice and chicken fajita (recipe from the other day)

Snack: 3:00 pm - 1 protein bar, 1 cup detox tea

Snack: I don't remember what time, but at some point I had a small handful of cashews

Dinner: 5:15 pm - Left over gf pasta with eggplant

Snack: 7:30 pm - grapes and a protein bar

This is as typical a day as I can have.  I was feeling pretty good today and I was happy to just get back to normal eating - Whew!

I am a creature of habit.  Eating the same foods every day does not bother me, it actually makes my life so much easier.  I know the meal works and I am happy with that.  I do not need to eat a different type of sandwich every day.  I think that is actually what would derail me most of the time.  Complicated recipes and having to buy a ton of things every week does not work for me.  Today was good!

See you tomorrow!

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Day 2 - I planned for the bad plan!

Day 2 of the healthy living, and hanging with the plumber.  If you missed why I am hanging with the plumber be sure to read Day 1 :)

So today I knew I couldn't bring food, so I would go out for a healthy lunch.

What I didn't know, was that during our morning circus routine of getting out the door, BOTH kids came to me telling me they needed their books covered!!!  WHAT??!!  I didn't feel like giving the whole you should have told me that last night speech (I saved that for the car ride), so I just hunkered down and did it.  This time will either cut into me making lunch for the kids, or me making breakfast for myself.  Guess which one didn't get done.......

So after I drop the kids, I have to run to hell Wal-Mart, because I needed some groceries AND some elastic so that my cute little girl can make headbands, and charge me for them, but the money will go to the Missions...Who can turn that down?  I don't know where else you can go in close proximity that has both, so I sucked it up and went.

By the time I got home, I had to jump into the shower, because I knew I was going to be called any second by the plumber telling me he is on his way...Sure enough, he calls right as I am on the rinse cycle.

I throw on some clothes, run downstairs and make a chocolate/banana shake, and I am out the door.

Luckily my husband made me some lemon water before I even crawled out of bed, because that is a must first thing every day!

I get to the condo and all is good...I am dressed for the Tundra (remember, no heat - AND the windows had to be opened today because of the smoke from soldering) and I am working along...I am BUSY!  So busy all of a sudden it was well past lunch time!  I go out and try to figure out what is my best option.  I decide on Chipotle because they are the easiest to get a healthy meal.  No really!  I got a brown rice bowl, with black beans, steak, lettuce, mild and medium salsa, and guacamole!  No cheese, no chips, and no sour cream.

Later today I decided the plumber and I need a coffee!  He was super happy, so I went out and got us some Starbucks.  My super lovely tenant (no really she is the best!) left a cute little box of chocolate for me because I sat there all day.  I decided to share them with the plumber (I don't want to use his name, but he is a great guy, I don't mean to call him "the plumber" in a negative way at all) and he was again super happy.  I offered to bring him lunch by the way, but he said No because it will make him lazy.....I can totally relate! ;)

I had my protein bar with my coffee in an effort to not eat the chocolate.  Besides, I needed to share with the kids and my husband as well.  I was so busy again today that I barely noticed if I was hungry or not.

I got home and made a nice gluten-free pasta with sauteed onions, garlic, tomatoes, and eggplant.  Yum!

I had a protein bar after dinner with a cup of detox tea.  My protein bars are small by the way, about 1/4 the size of a balance bar.

I do not do portion control, I have never been good at that.  I don't count, measure, obsess.  I get a list of foods I can eat, and I stick with it.  I will be back on a regular schedule tomorrow and you will see a typical day for me...This has been anything but typical, but hey, that's life, right?!

From here on out I plan to have a list at the top of what I ate, and how I am feeling, the last 2 days were just too wacky for that :)

Have a good night!

Day 1...This almost never happens!

Hi There!  As promised, I am here reporting for duty!

Today did not go as planned - AT ALL!

I was to spend my day in a rental property that I have while a new heater/hot water heater was installed...This is day 1 of a 2 day process.  I decided that I would be nice and prepared, and I would pack a healthy lunch of brown rice, and chicken fajita that I had made in the slow cooker.  It was just chicken, peppers, onions, tomatoes, seasoning, garlic, and lime juice.  It was pretty good, I saw it on the Tasty Website.  ANYWAY.......Then I brought a protein bar for a snack.

I get to the condo early, put my food in the fridge and set up to start working.  I do after all still have to work my job even though I am at the condo.

The plumber arrives, and because this is the city and apartments are small, he has to take the door off the laundry room to slide out the washer/dryer.  He slides out the w/d into the kitchen and gets to work.  It is a major pain in the butt it slide this thing out, so I feel bad for him already.

I'm working away and all of a sudden I am hungry!  I go to get my lunch.......Uh-oh, the w/d is blocking the fridge!  Dang, I cannot ask him to move it, I would feel like a real jerk!  Besides, I then wouldn't be able to get to the microwave because the whole entrance is blocked!

So now what?  I have to go out.  I decide that on a typical day, this would have called for an "Oh well, I tried, now let's go to Johnny Rockets!" but I can't do that...I made a commitment!

So I went out for a coffee thinking I would have my protein bar now, and I would have my lunch when he leaves.  Technically, we are not supposed to have coffee with cream, but I bent the rules just a bit because I was freezing (did I mention NO HEAT!) and needed something hot.

I get my coffee and go back to the condo...Where is my protein bar?  Oh man...I put it in the F#@$*ng fridge!!!!!

Luckily, I was so insanely busy with work that I completely forgot that I was even hungry!

When I finally got home, I ate my protein bar (well, I actually scarfed that down in the car on the way home) and some popcorn (I'm an addict) because it was too late to eat before dinner.

Dinner was a nice meal of a Bison burger (no bun) and some steamed brussel sprouts.

I then had a cup of detox tea and another protein bar after dinner.

So, day one didn't go as planned (they never do), but I think I did pretty well despite the many obstacles!

Let's see how I do on day 2........

PS - I did weigh myself today.  I was 138 pounds.  I did not take measurements, but I will hopefully tomorrow!

Monday, February 8, 2016

Handy Recipes

Morning Chocolate Shake:

Morning Chocolate Banana Shake:

Vanilla protein bars:
  • 1 cup Almond Butter
  • 2/3 cup local raw honey (or agave if Vegan)
  • 1 cup Vanilla protein
  • 2 cups gluten free oats
  • 1 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup fresh pecans
  • mix all ingredients together and pat down into a glass dish.  OR roll into individual balls
Chocolate crispy treats:
  • 2 Tbl coconut oil
  • 2 Tbl Almond Butter
  • 2 scoops Chocolate protein
  • 1 scoop fiber
  • 1 cup Brown Rice Puffs
  • Mix together and place flat on wax paper.  Place in the freezer for 10 minutes then break them apart
Chocolate Protein Balls:
  • 1 cup almond butter
  • 2/3 cup honey (you can also use agave if you are going for vegan)
  • 1 cup protein powder (I use half and half chocolate and vanilla)
  • 2 cups of gluten free whole oats

Walking the walk.....

We all know I LOVE Arbonne!  I would think by now you all know I have been on the 30 days to healthy living FOREVER! (267 days to be exact).  I share this because I want you to know how easy it is to incorporate this into your daily life!  Of course I have not been 100% for the last 267 days.   We want you to aim for 80% of the time.  I always say if there is a birthday, by all means have birthday cake.  If you are going to a friends house for dinner, please eat what they serve you.  You can always make it up at the next meal.  You do not want to offend a host by eating nothing and drinking water in the corner.  Enjoy yourself!  You don't have to eat 6 slices of pizza, but you can eat one and a salad for sure :)

So I have decided to run a little experiment.  Our team is launching a 30 days to Healthy Living challenge!  We are offering up a CASH REWARD to the Healthiest Human for the month of March (I don't know if NBC will allow me to say the Biggest Loser)!  Here are the details:


  1. Comment below if you would like help gettng started! -OR -
  2. Sign up as a Preferred Client (or Rep) under Me Here.  
  3. Order the 30 Days special Value Pack
    1. The only way to get the special Value Pack is if you are a preferred client.  I suggest add something to your cart and go to check out.  Upgrade to the Preferred Client and then you will see an option to purchase a Special Value Pack.  Delete the other item in your cart.
    2. you will automatically get a free 50.00 gift of your choice, do not forget to order it!!, 40% off your order, and your preferred client membership paid for (20% off all purchases for 1 year)!
  4. I will add you to the secret Facebook group.  No one will see you post.  You can ask questions, get recipes, get support, and get tips from other users.
  5. Take a video of you weighing yourself and send it to me...I will not share it!
What is in it for you??  A number of things:
  1. Your Health!  We had people lose between 9 and 26 pounds last month!  The average loss was 10 pounds per person!
  2. A reduced toxic load, which in turn makes the fat melt away, and the medical problems you may be having go away!  Hypertension, high blood pressure, indigestion, IBS, etc.
  3. Cash Baby!  How much?  Well, that depends on how many people are in the group.  But we are paying out 10.00 per person in the group.  So if there are 100 people in the group, that is 1000.00!

What is my experiment?  I am going to follow the plan and blog about it every day.  What I ate, how I felt, any obstacles that I came across and how I got past them.  Because after all, this is real life and stuff gets in your way, and if you want to be healthy you have to be able to figure a way around it!

So I am going to get us started.  First of all, I am going to post a few recipes so that I can just refer to my Chocolate shake, or my protein bar, and you will know what I mean.

So let's get started!  I want to show everyone just how easy this plan is.  Stay Tuned........