Recipe: Amazeballs!

So thanks to fellow Rocky Mountain Houser Danielle's addicting blog, I've now added another blog obsession to my daily must reads, Fitnessista. Gina is an adorable girl down in the States who blogs twice daily with recipes, workouts, etc. I'm obsessed.

A reoccurring food item in daily eats is something she calls 'amazeballs', which are little balls of protein goodness that I've always wanted to try and make. The look and some DE-LISH!

Well, the time has come. Yesterday my nutrition guy switched up some of meals to give me better pre and post workout meals. My pre-workout meal was a new recipe for a protein bar which is very similar to Gina's Amazeballz. Whilst making them I was a little skeptical of how they would taste but after a small sample I knew they were amazing. And hence, I now have my own amazeballz that I can't wait to consume before my daily workout. I'm obsessed.

Here's the amazeball recipe for you all to try and fall in love with:

4 cups oats, dry
4 oz unsweetened shredded coconut
4 tablespoons natural peanut butter
4 scoops Whey protein (I have vanilla but I think a chocolate would be super good too)
2 cups cottage cheese

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix with hands.

Roll into 24 balls (they will be a bit larger than a golf ball). I put them all on a cookie sheet and then popped them into the fridge to harden overnight but you can stick them into individual bags, or whatever storage you like.

No need to bake them, just mix, roll, chill and enjoy before your workout!

AMAZEBALLZ!

Nutrition Info for 1 ball:

150 calories

11g protein

5 g fat

14g carbs

1g fiber

2.8g saturated fats

2 g sugar

80mg sodium

14mg cholesterol

20mg calcium

5: Things to Do For Spring

I have a few projects I want to work on in the coming months since I accomplished all my January goals.

1. Create a travel collage of places I've been and places I want to go. I want this created around a world map. A good friend of mine created something similar with a map on corkboard with colored pins for where she's been and wants to go with photos along the edge and I think it's amazing! I want to create something to showcase photos from trips I've been on as well as remind me of where I want to go (and that I need to save like crazy to get there).

2. Create an inspiration board. For those of you that don't know what this is, it's basically a collage of inspiring words, pictures, etc to remind you of your goals. A visual reminder that you can assist you with reaching your goals. I want one beside my vanity where I will see it every morning when I get ready for my day.

3. Clean out closet. There's alot of clothes I don't wear anymore and I really want to buy some new spring clothes. I want to clean everything I haven't worn in the past year out, take it to Plato's Closet and hopefully get some cash for it, donate the rest and then go treat myself to some new spring/summer gear!

4. Run 5k. By the end of the fall I had reached 5k which was a feat for me given I'm not a great runner. I haven't ran all winter and I really want to make more progress this year so I want to work to reach that 5k mark earlier in the season so I can maybe reach 10 by the end of the season!

5. Look into getting a website again. A few years ago I used to blog to Word Press and I loved my little personal site. I really want to have that again so I can have better layouts, backgrounds, etc and also to separate my fitness/diet posts from my regular life/music posts as I would really like to blog more about my health and fitness journey but don't want the other posts to get lost in the shuffle. I also have some plans for the future that could really benefit from a personal site as well if I get that off the ground so it would be an investment in the future. I need to look into hosting and give a special friend a ring about doing some design work for me.

So there you have it, a few little goals for me this spring. Along with those I want to make sure I'm keeping my budget under check. I've found I had to reduce my monthly spending allowance as I was running short at the end of the pay period when it came to groceries. I'm not sure if that was because I've been spending too much on my groceries or what was going on, but I took away $40 so I have $100 weekly.

I'm also working really hard on my eating, now working with a nutrition coach (who happens to be my boyfriends best friend which makes cheating really hard to get away with). My goal isn't to lose weight (it never is), but to become more lean and let the muscles I've been working so hard to build shine!

Do you have any spring time goals? I'd love to hear them!

3000 Letters for Japan

Hello Dear Friends,

You are all more than aware of the recent events in Japan, as I'm sure you are being constantly bombarded by devastating images of north-eastern Japan. Thousands of people are left without a home, school, and missing family members after last weeks tsunami. I live so close to the devastated area, but am hardly affected at all by it, and I feel like doing something proactive to help those most affected would be far more productive than constantly watching and reading the news.

My Fitness Journey

I often get comments that I'm obsessed with working out. It's true, I'd rather go to the gym than go out drinking. I'd rather spend an evening pre-cooking and measuring meals for the week than dining on leftover Chinese. I thrive on the burn of sore muscles and am pour of the stack of empty cottage cheese containers I compile in a week.

But I haven't always been this way.

Devastation

I woke up this morning to hear news of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hitting Japan, followed by over 30 aftershocks and a massive tsunami. This earthquake is the largest ever to hit Japan, and the 5th largest in the world. Death tolls are expected to be over 1,000.

This news breaks my heart - Japan is one of my biggest loves. I spent 4 years throughout high school studying the language and culture. During the time I became close with both sensei's, hosted an exchange student and became friends with other students from Japan. My dream for the past ten years has been to travel there.

While the schools we dealt with in high school were on a different island further north, I hope that everyone I have met over the years is safe and unaffected by this tragic event. My heart is heavy thinking of the devastation to this country.

Because of this I have donated $100 from my travel fund to the Canadian Red Cross to help with relief efforts. I urge you to donate as well, even if it's only $5, it can help in some way.

It only takes a few minutes to do online by Paypal or credit card - Canadian Red Cross - Japan Earthquake/Asia-Pacific Tsunami 

This weekend one of my best friends, Ashley, is donating half her tips from her waitressing job and her boss is matching whatever amount she raises.

My talented mother selling is ten 36"x24" stretched canvas prints for $195 (trust me, this is a steal of a deal) until March 17 will portion of the proceeds honoring the victims of the earthquake/tsunami. Details here

Pacifica Charity Print

What are you doing to help?

Say NO To Sugar Substitutes!

No thanks! I think I'll stick to homemade goodies sweetened with Stevia.

Young Talent

On Friday, February 11, Lady Gaga released her latest single 'Born This Way'. Not a week later Lady Gaga posted a Youtube video on her Twitter stating "Can't stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future."