Summer Fruits

It's my favorite time of the year, especially for fruit! With the temperatures already reaching the upper 90's I spend most of my Summer months craving chilled thirst quenching fruit. My favorites include watermelon, blueberries, raspberries, cantaloupe & fresh cherries. I can eat a pint of blueberries in one sitting and the same goes for raspberries! I love nothing more than having a seedless watermelon cut up in a bowl in the frig to snack on whenever I want. If you couldn't already tell, Summer is by far my favorite fruit season! Time to dig in and stay hydrated.

What's your favorite Summer fruit?

Mediterranean Turkey Meat Loaf

Call me weird, call me piggy, call me whatever you want, but I love some meatloaf! Now it can't just be meatloaf from any old place, I prefer homemade and I don't like any kind of sauce on top either. When I came across this recipe in the May issue of Self magazine and knew I had to give it a try!

Mediterranean Turkey Meat Loaf

Ingredients

1lb. ground turkey

reduced-fat feta cheese

baby spinach

chopped onion

whole-grain bread crumbs

garlic clove

ground coriander, cumin, & black pepper.

Directions:

Combine 1lb ground turkey with 2 eggs, 2oz reduced-fat feta, 3/4 cup chopped baby spinach, 1/3 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup whole-grain breadcrumbs, 1 chopped garlic clove, 1/2 tsp each ground coriander, cumin, black pepper. Form into a loaf; bake at 350 degrees until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees, about 40 minutes.

ENJOY!

Gummies

Have you tried or heard of VitaFusion gummy vitamins? I came across these vitamins not too long ago and read several reviews, one of which was from a newly pregnant mom who just raved about how tasty vitafusion gummy prenatal vitamins are without leaving an after taste in your mouth. That being said, I just new I had to give them a try! My first thoughts were if these are tasty to a pregnant woman who tend to be sensitive to begin with, these vitamins must really be good. I purchased the VitaFusion multi-vites and have been taking them for a week now. If the Multi Vites don't give you enough of a certain vitamin that you need, VitaFusion offers several additional individual vitamin supplements. I would highly recommend trying these vitamins especially if you have trouble swallowing vitamins, the horse pill vitamins upset your stomach or stay with you all day, I promise these will solve your problems! Give them a try and let me know what you think! Happy Monday!

Smart Snacking

I'm just going to put it out there, I love candy, especially Haribo gummi bears. Thomas certainly knows the way to my heart. He stuffed my stocking full with over 100 mini packs of Haribo gummi bears, I'm one happy girl. I seriously was and still am in Haribo heaven. Admitting I have a several sugar cravings daily, I know I can make better snack choices besides sugar and pretzels, my other weakness. I eat lots of fruits and veggies but sometimes I am looking for something else.

I've tried eating more nuts, especially almonds because I know they are good for you. You might remember, this post about a coworker introducing me to cocoa coated almonds, but I quickly lost interest in those. Since then, I've been in search for a replacement and I know I've finally found what I've been looking for all this time: sprouted almonds. Although almonds are expensive, I am willing to pay the price for these. What I enjoy so much about sprouted almonds is they taste like they are lightly salted, but they aren't!

I'm addicted for now and honestly I can't see myself ever giving up these up! What is one of your favorite healthy snacks?

Happy Monday!

Drink Up!

Have you heard of this stuff? I first learned about Emergen-C about 3 years ago from one of my co-workers. I had always seen this stuff in the aisles of Target, Walmart, Walgreen's, CVS, and the list goes on, but I never paid it any attention mostly because I assumed it tasted like sh*t!

Well I finally gave it a try almost two years ago when I got off a flight home and felt like I was coming down with a cold. I had no idea what it would taste like or if it would even work, but at that point nothing could make it worse, so I gave it a shot! To this day I believe it kept me from getting sick with it's high dose of Vitamin C, but even it it's not I'm hooked and it tastes great!

Just about every morning I pour two packets of Emergen-C Super Orange into my water bottle and drink away! As I mentioned in my 2011 resolutions, drinking plenty of water has always been a struggle for me, but by adding two packets of Emergen-C and it's extra flavor I am about to drink a bottle of water in no time flat!


After being around several sick friends and family members over the holidays, I thought I would share this product with you. Anything we can do to help prevent our bodies from getting sick this time of year is a good thing. I have been making sure to get my daily dose after all the sickness that has been going around!

Besides including 1,000 mg of vitamin C, Emergen-C includes 7 B vitamins to enhance energy naturally and electrolytes to refuel and replenish post-workout. If super orange and a large dose of vitamin C isn't for you, Emergen-C offers over 20 varieties of vitamin drink mixes and flavors!

Happy New Year!

As I look back on 2010, many memories come to mind. In 2010, I continued to grow and progress to be successful at work, my relationships with family and friends strengthen and grew, celebrated the engagements of cousins and friends, started this blog, traveled to new places, made plans for the future, and made many more memories big and small.

If you have been following my blog from the beginning you probably remember one of my first posts about my New Year's Resolution for 2010 and philosophy if you will on resolutions. Well 2010 didn't change how I feel about making resolutions, but I have put lots of time and effort in to making my New Year's Resolutions for 2011 after successfully completing my resolution for 2010, which was a success by the way! Without further ado...

Katie's 2011 Resolutions

1. Drink MORE water. I don't drink enough water. period. I have always been that way and I want to change that about myself in 2011. It bothers me because I know its not good for my body. Water is a vital part of your body's health and I know my body is severely lacking. It's not that I am choosing other drinks over water, I actually just rarely drink anything. When I am thirsty I usually only drink milk or water with the occasional sweet tea if I go out to lunch or a glass of wine at dinner on the weekends. So here's to drinking more water to keep my body hydrated and healthy in 2011!

2. Read. In 2010 I feel like I got away from reading, wait I know its a fact, I definitely got away from reading. I wouldn't say it's because I lost interest in reading, I really feel as though I just got busy with other interests. My goal for 2011 is to not only get back in to reading, but to make a reading list and to challenge myself to read 10 books in 2011. Anyone want to join me?

3. Try something new. I don't exactly know what I want to try that is "new" to me, but I do have a few ideas. I want this resolution to force me to step outside my comfort zone with the hope that it will become a part of my life from this point forward.

4. Blogging. To continue to grow and create this blog. I have a subcategory of blogging goals for 2011, but I promise there will be some changes, all for the better I hope!

What's your "philosophy" on New Year's resolutions? Do you agree with making resolutions at the beginning of the year or not? What about spending time reflecting on the previous year?

Here's to starting 2011 on the right foot and putting my resolutions in to action!

Trail Mix

For those of those of you who know me and others of you who don't need to know I am a huge snacker! I have always had a terrible time eating 3 large meals a day. Trust me I always eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but I can't make it in between those meals without snacking. Because I am such a big snacker, I'm always looking for something new to snack on that has nutritional benefits. With that being said, I wanted to share one of my favorite snack foods with y'all.

Back to Nature, Harvest Blend trail mix makes the perfect snack! Back to Nature products are 100% natural, no preservatives, and no artificial ingredients. The Harvest Blend includes juicy raisins, California almonds, crisp pumpkin and sunflower seeds, crunchy pecans, and sun-dried apricots. With so many different textures and tastes, it makes for a very satisfying snack.


Are you a snacker? What are some of your favorite snack foods?

Flaxseed & A Smoothie Recipe

Worried about your heart health or lowering your cholesterol? Flaxseed can help! What's found inside each flaxseed or flaxseed meal could be better health.

F is for Fiber. Just two tablespoons of flaxseed meal delivers 4 grams of fiber, as much fiber as 1-1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal! Studies suggest that when flaxseed meal is added to the diet, harmful LDL cholesterol drops, while good HDL cholesterol stays put.

L is for Lignans. Here's where the flaxseed story gets major points. Flaxseed contains high levels of nautral antioxidants called lignans. The lignans in flaxseed can bind with circulating substances that might promote unchecked cell growth. Many plant foods have some lingnans, but flaxseed has 75 times more than any other. To get the lignans that are in just two tablespoons of flaxseed meal, you'd need to eat about 30 cups of fresh broccoli. Lignan in flax seed shows a lot of promise in fighting disease--including a possible role in cancer prevention especially breast cancer.

A is for Alpha-linolenic Acid. Modern diets-even healthy ones- are routinely deficient in omega-3s. Flaxseed is a mega-source for the plant version of omega-3 called alpha-linolenic acid. The oil in flaxseed is about 50% alpha-linolenic acid. Canola and walnut oils, the next highest sources, have about 10%. But most foods have far less. One serving of flaxseed meal contains 2400 milligrams of omega-3.

X is for Excellent choice. Should you consider adding flaxseed meal to your diet? "Absolutely," say many doctors and nutritionists.

How to use flaxseed meal:

• Sprinkle on hot or cold cereal.
• Blend into juice or smoothies
• Sprinkle on salads.
• Add to meatballs or meatloaf.
• Sprinkle on yogurt.
• Mix into casseroles.

Flaxseed meal has a light nutty flavor.

Just recently I’ve started eating yogurt again, Greek yogurt to be exact and I thought what a better way to add protein to my diet then making incorporating it in to a smoothie some mornings for breakfast and it's also an easy way to add flaxseed in to my diet.

Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients:

½ cup of Greek Yogurt (I used raspberry flavored yogurt)

1 banana

2 tablespoons flaxseed meal

Several ice cubes

Splash of Water or Milk


Directions:

Cut banana in to multiple pieces and place in blender. Scoop yogurt and flaxseed and place in blender on top of banana.

Add several ice cubs and a splash of water or skim milk. Blend for 30 seconds.

If smoothie is too thick add more water or milk.

ENJOY!