Rawmesan Collard Greens Chips

You've heard of kale chips, but have you heard of collard greens chips? Same concept different leafy green and equally delicious. These little chips curb my salty crunchy cravings without weighing me down or bloating me up.

Baked Stuffed Apple

Sometimes I just want something simple and sweet. No muss no fuss. Requiring little effort put forth to satisfy my sweet tooth. The sweet tooth that never goes away. Ever.  I indulge once maybe twice a week in my "treat of the week." I tweet my #treatoftheweek as proof of honoring my cravings and enjoyment of decadent treats. I don't believe in absolute deprivation. That is unbalanced and a bland way to live.
I invite you to tweet me your #treatoftheweek. What is your favorite treat to indulge in?

Baked Stuff Apples

4 apples washed and cored and intact
1/4 cup of blanched almond flour
2 TBS of coconut sugar
1 TBS of coconut oil
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup of raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimmed 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper. Place cored apples on top of parchment paper and set aside. In a medium sized mixing bowl combine almond flour,sugar, and cinnamon. Mix to combine. Stir in coconut oil and mix until crumb mixture forms then toss in raisins. Stuff the apples with almond flour mixture. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour  until apples are tender when pierced with a fork.  Serves 4.

Xtend Barre Stick Class

My lovely friend, Erika, is an instructor for the Xtend Barre West Palm Beach studio. She invited me this past weekend to try a new class the studio is offering called Xtend Barre Stick.

 Xtend Barre Stick  is a 55 minute workout that utilizes a Pilates Stick attached to the ballet barre to add resistance. This class has a cardio component to build endurance and develops upper body strength and core stability.

Stuffed Cabbage

In October I had posted on the Facebook page that I was trying out stuffed cabbage. I did like what I came up with the first time, but the process was very tedious. I followed The Joy of Cooking's method to prep the cabbage. I placed the whole head of cabbage with core removed into boiling water. Every 5 minutes I would remove the HOT cabbage and peel away a few tender leaves and repeat. This was so tedious and my poor fingers were burned. I wised up the second time! This time to prep the cabbage I made a cut with a pairing knife at the base of each leave and gently pulled it off. I steamed the loose cabbage leaves in a steam basket until tender about 10 or so minutes. This method was a tremendous time AND finger saver.

1 green cabbage with leaves removed in tack and steamed until tender (see above)
1 lbs of lean ground beef or turkey meat
1/2 cup of blanched almond flour
1 egg
1 grated carrot
1 minced garlic clove
1 small onion chopped
1 tsp of dried Italian Seasoning
1 tsp of sea salt
1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
28 ounces of tomato puree or sauce
Water (if needed) to cover cabbage rolls


1. Set aside steamed cabbage leaves to cool. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. In a large mixing bowl combine meat, almond flour, egg, carrot, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Combine thoroughly.
3. To fill and roll cabbage rolls. Place a cooled cabbage leave on cutting board with the stem facing you and outer part of the leaf flat on the cutting board. Place a rounded dinner spoonful of meat mixture 1/4 inch away from the stem. Fold the sides in then starting from the stem roll the cabbage leaf up jelly roll style.
4. Place cabbage roll in baking dish seam side down. Repeat until all the leaves are filled. Cover with tomato puree. Add an additional water to baking dish if needed to cover stuffed cabbage leaves.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cooked through.

*Note you may sub in 1/2 cup of brown rice instead of almond flour though you will need to add 1/2 cup of water to meat mixture and you will need to bake cabbage rolls for 1 & 1/2 to 2 hours.

Why I kissed Paleo Goodbye

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I divulged in this post that I was experimenting with the Paleo Diet. For the past month I have cut out peanut butter (sigh), all legumes, all my gluten free flours, all gluten free grains including quinoa, rice, and teff. I started listening to all sorts of Paleo health and nutrition podcasts on my commute to and from work. I skimmed Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint. I started to believe that all grains were "evil" and destructive. I didn't buy into the whole Paleo philosophy.  I've been following the Paleo principles for almost a month and I am done. I don't feel any healthier. In fact I have felt lethargic. I have three days of HIIT cardio in my training plan and did not have the energy to do anything more than weight train. I am hanging up my Paleo apron. 

This is what I took away from this little experiment.

Fitness is Practice not Protocol

Hey there the first month of 2013 is almost gone; can you believe it? Me neither! It was four years ago I stumbled upon Tosca Reno on the February 2009 Oxygen Cover. I bought it immediately. She was the inspiration I was looking for. Super fit, toned, and healthy.

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I never would have guessed that magazine four years ago would have brought me to where I am today. Eating whole foods, working out consistently, and enjoying life more fully. If A+B=C this magazine  was a catalyst to this very blog. 

 I would be delusional to say it is all roses and sunshine. I will be the first to raise my hand and say I am my own worst critic. I cringe during this time of the year. Goal setting and carryout is not my forte. It is one of my biggest struggles. It is much easier to exist day to day and go about life fulfilling daily obligations. I am driving down this highway called life. My eyes shut tightly my foot glued to the accelerator of the vehicle called my fitness journey. I didn't just eat that or skip this workout; did I?!

Low-Sugar No-Cook Strawberry Jam

It is January. While it may be freezing and snowing up north; you have my sympathies if you live there; it is warm and sunny in Florida. This time of year  means strawberry season is in full swing for the sunshine state! I was able to get a great deal on 1lbs of Florida Strawberries at a local green market this past week. It was buy 2lbs at 1.99 each get 1lbs free. I knew we would not eat three pounds of berries before they turned so I decided to test drive a new type of pectin I had purchased at my natural health food store Pomona's Universal Pectin. 
What first drew me in was the natural aspect of this product. The pectin is made from citrus peel. The recipes allow for use of honey, sugar, or a sugar alternative to make your jelly or jam and most recipes only call for 1 cup of sweetener.  A traditional strawberry jam recipe can require 7 cups of sugar; yikes! My mom has always made homemade strawberry freezer jelly and it is tradition I (and Rich) want to continue sans massive amounts of white sugar.