Turkey Taco Chili

October 1st. Can you believe it? I can! I'm so excited that this year is almost over with. You don't know how hard I prayed for the time to go quickly. I know it kind of sucks and you get older and such.. but I just want my boyfriend to come home from Iraq and to be with him. After that the time can slow down. Don't you love how I try to control time? LOL. If anyone is from Las Vegas you would definitely recognize the cooler weather we are experiencing. It is great. Work is picking up and people are starting to buy the winter clothes. Makes me excited. I actually enjoy working the holiday season because it so busy and work goes by quickly!

I decided today is the day I'd post my moms recipe for Turkey Taco Chili. There may be similar recipes floating around but my mom has had this written down for years! I don't know her source but whoever came up with it, wow is it good! We tweaked it slightly, but no matter what it always turns out really good. You can easily use ground beef or just keep it vegetarian style. I'm antsy and want to make a veggie chili. I've seen some with a pumpkin pureed or squash mixed in the bunch, which sounds really hearty and warming to the soul!

This recipe makes a whole lot of chili which can be easily stored in the freezer for nights you don't feel like cooking! The recipe calls for a packet of powdered ranch dressing mix but we usually just leave it out. I don't really see what the difference is with it or not, just more sodium if anything. I usually will add a touch more cumin to the chili and chili powder as well. Chili gotta have a little kick with it you know!! The recipe is simple, not much instruction. If you know how to cook you should be able to figure out what needs to be done and when! Like I said this is how my mom made it for years using this recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Nice warm pot of chili ready to be devoured!
 

Turkey Taco Chili (Mom's recipe)  
Brown and Cook Together
1 lb ground turkey ( she used extra lean)
1 medium sized sweet onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves  

Add While Cooking Above
1 1/2 cups chopped celery  

Stir After You Add Each Ingredient
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 4oz can diced green chilies
1 15oz can stewed tomatoes
1 pkg taco seasoning (she used reduced sodium by McCormick)
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing (optional)
2 tsp cumin
2 16oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 16oz can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 16oz bag of frozen white corn (used organic yellow corn because I picked the wrong kind up)
1/2 cup of water (you can use chicken or vegetable broth for more flavor. She tends add more water during the cooking process because it evaporates very quickly)

I like to eat my chili many ways. It always good to have corn chips to dip in, top with cheese, sour cream and avocado! Usually the first night it is made I'll have it that way. I like making my OWN corn tortilla chips. So easy.

Baked Corn Tortilla Chips By Fallon
Plain corn tortillas, cut into strips, triangles or leave whole
Cooking spray (Olive oil in a Misto)
Sea salt and other seasonings of choice

Preheat your toaster oven to 400 degrees. Spray cooking spray on small corn tortillas and sprinkle with sea salt. While they cook just flip them around till both sides crisp up. Takes a good 12-15 minutes to get the perfect crisp and no burn. Once out of the oven I let them cool off, so they will harden and break easily. If you do it too soon they will be flimsy. I topped my chili with plain Greek yogurt, sliced avocado, and green onion.


Another way I like to eat my chili is with spaghetti squash! It's the fall season and squash is everywhere. If you've never tried a spaghetti squash before you need to buy one as soon as possible! It the best side dish to have for the winter. With my squash I split it in half. The shell is a little tough so please be careful and not slice any fingers off. I've had some brutal cuts with squash before, so a good knife is very key! I always recommend a strong man to do the squash splitting ;) Once it is split, clean out the seeds from the middle. Place them on a baking sheet that will be heading into a preheated oven of 400 degrees. Place the squash hole side down on the baking sheet and place into the oven. The squash takes about 45 minutes to bake, but start to check on it at around 30 minutes. You know it will be done when a fork goes through it easily, especially through the skin. When the squash has cooled off completely, take a fork and scrap out the squash.

Comes out looking like spaghetti!
 

Chili is on the bottom, topped with squash and green onion! 
 

I was missing my corn tortilla so I toasted up 
pumpernickel bread with a smear of Boursin herbed cheese.

The chili was made on Sunday, today is Thursday and we have none left!! We are a family of 3 so you can tell we all really enjoyed it. My dad has requested my mom to make it with ground beef, so I recommended to her that Wholefoods has some great ground beef to use. You can't go wrong with any substitutions with the chili. It is fabulous all the way. It's 3pm but I'm going to go ahead and make dinner a bit early tonight so it is ready for later. Heading over to my best friends house to see her and the baby! He is getting so big and is almost at 6 weeks already.

Tomorrow is Friday, YAY!!
 Fallon

Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie

First let me start by saying I'm on this pumpkin craze as you can see! I hate to see the canned pumpkin go bad, so I've been trying to use it up in all kinds of recipes/meals. Most of it is experimenting because I still can't seem to get that "correct" pumpkin flavor you would find from a pumpkin pie! So I'm debating if pumpkin is something I really like? Well I did enjoy my breakfast cookie I made the other day. If you haven't heard of breakfast cookies yet then you are missing out! I discovered the breakfast cookie on a health/fitness blog called The Fitnessista. You make it the night before and in the morning you have this fabulous breakfast that mimicks a "cookie" but really it just an easy way to eat oatmeal. It's too soft to eat with your hand so a spoon is required. During the summer season it is too hot to eat warm oats, so this breakfast cookie is a great substitute. Here is her link on how to make her version of the breakfast cookie. It's a good basic recipe to follow but many blogs have branched off to make their own version of a breakfast cookie. Which is what I have here for you today!  

Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie (Adapted from The Fitnessista)  
Ingredients
40g or 1/2 cup of old fashion oats
1 tbsp of PB2
1 tbsp of brown rice protein powder (I used chocolate, Jarrow brand)
1 tbsp of ground flax seed
Dash of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice (as much as you need to get the right flavor consistency)
2 heaping tablespoons of canned pumpkin (if you have fresh, use it!)
2 tsp of pure maple syrup
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I used Almond Breeze)  
Garnish- Almond butter, vanilla yogurt (So Delicious Coconut milk), and sliced almonds

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add the spice. Next add the pumpkin and mush it into the dry ingredients. Add the maple syrup and a little bit of almond milk. Mix and keep adding the milk till you get a cookie that is moist but not watery. On a plate flatten the cookie mixture to form a cookie. Cover and place in the fridge over night. Before eating the cookie I like to garnish it with a drizzle of almond butter, a spoonful of yogurt in the middle and sprinkle some sliced raw almonds on top. Grab and spoon and dig in!

I couldn't wait to eat this! 
  Just a little close up of the goodness ;)

I mentioned in my last post about a Turkey Chili my mom makes. Well she did make it and it has been my meal for the last few days. I'm waiting to post the recipe because I've been having different variations of the chili. What I really want to make with it is some corn muffins... more specifically Pumpkin Cornmeal Muffins! Which I found on the Wholefoods website. Work been keeping me busy and just making me slightly lazy to do any baking. I'll get to it soon though because my goal is to use up all my canned pumpkin! Technically it is my Friday today but I only have 1 day off. Not a fan of split days off! 

Have a good one, 

Fallon

Cranberry Pumpkin Energy Bars

Who else likes to have a nice cup of hot coffee while baking?? It excites me to have a warm cup of coffee and be busy baking in the kitchen. This is something I always look forward to. It is relaxing and I'm in my OWN zone! I've gotten off the caffeine kick and converted to black tea if I need a little push for the day or caffeine free teas, which right now I'm digging a vanilla honey chamomile. Well I wanted a coffee for my energy bar experiment. Starbucks was on the way home, and it was around 1pm. I figured I'd get a decaf for once. Just my luck they stop brewing it after 12 because it isn't popular enough, but I can wait 5 minutes for them to brew a batch. Why can't they just brew half of the decaf so they aren't wasting it as much? It is nice to have a variety for customers! I thought that was retarded, I just wanted to leave. The barista mentioned I could get an decaffeinated Americano. I said fine but I know Starbucks makes a real weak Americano, too much hot water. It was alright to say the least. At least it settled for coffee and baking time!

From my last energy bar making experiment Mark's Daily Apple I decided I wanted to experiment with my own bars and maybe find something I will actually enjoy. The primal energy bars from Mark's blog were okay. I wasn't happy with all the almond butter and coconut oil that went into them, I rather smear almond butter on my bars than have it mixed into something. So I adjusted the recipe and made my own. In honor of Fall's arrival I opened up a can of pumpkin and wanted that as my main ingredients for the bars and to replace the almond butter.
 
Cranberry Pumpkin Energy Bars (By Fallon, inspired by Mark's Daily Apple )  
Ingredients
1/2 cup raw sliced almonds
1/2 cup raw pecans
1/4 sweetened coconut (unsweetened works too)
1/4 cup pureed pumpkin (homemade or canned)
3 oz. extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup almond meal
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of ground clove (optional)
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 large egg
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 dried cranberries
Coconut to sprinkle on top

On a cookie sheet toast the nuts and the coconut in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. After 6 minutes check on them to make sure they haven't burned and shake them up. Keep checking on them till they are done because the coconut burns quickly!

Should look like this, the coconut is a light brown, 
and the nuts aren't burned.
 

When you smell them, then you know they are done!
 

While the nuts and coconut are toasting melt together the coconut oil and pumpkin. I used the microwave for about 30 seconds. Once melted add the vanilla extract, maple syrup, spices and salt.

Once the nuts are out of the oven, transfer them to a food processor until they become coarsely ground. Set the oven down to 325 to bake the bars.

Check out the steam!! This mixture taste soo good on its own!
 

Next add the egg to the cooled pumpkin/coconut oil mixture. Then add in the nut mixture and the almond floor. Make sure everything is mixed thoroughly. In a lightly greased (I used olive oil spray) 8 x 8 nonstick pan spread the bar mixture evenly. Next sprinkle on some coconut. Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. The bars should be cooked through and not wet. I checked this by lightly tapping my finger in the middle. The bars should be cooled completely before cutting into them. I put them in the fridge for a few hours and they held better. I also decided to keep them in the fridge so they would last longer.

The final result? Well I think I over did it on the SPICES! Very powerful and definitely don't need 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. I thought they'd be similar in texture to the original bars I made, but they were much more moist because of the pumpkin. As for the coconut oil I think 3 oz is a bit overwhelming so next time I'll only use 2 oz of coconut oil. I like the coconut garnish on top, helps with the spiciness of the bars. The bars definitely have a nice texture with the processed nuts. It reminds me of the texture from a Larabar. I think these would taste better with a smear of almond butter on top ;) I haven't tried it yet but when I do I'll let you know. I still need more bar making practice but practice makes perfect right? I'll be interested if anyone else tries to create their own bars with pumpkin. If so let me know!!

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On Friday I went to one of my friend's wedding from college. Her now husband is in the army and has been deployed in Kuwait. Long story short he decided while over there and her at home he wanted to get married on his 2 week leave that he is currently on. You know how many months she had to prepare for this wedding? haha.. 3 months! The poor girl turned into a bridezilla and was very stressed and confused. At least she had a great maid of honor to keep her in line! The end result was a great, simple wedding. It was small and she had everything she wanted within her budget. They married in a park and had their reception at Claim Jumper, their favorite restaurant. So of course I took pictures of food and cake! Claim Jumper has HUGE portions, I don't get it. Hence my massive, on steroids sweet potato pictured below. LOL. Someone ordered their turkey dinner it had a biscuit, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, vegetables, and gravy. I should of taken a picture of it, I couldn't believe the portion size of it. The girl who ordered it must of weighed 100 pounds, she took 2 bites and was stuffed. LOL

My good friend Z had the tri tip. Probably the best thing to order that night. 
She said the potatoes tasted weird, nothing like homemade!  

Hah, this was a Jamaican Jerk Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potato. I asked them where they got this sweet potato because it was on steroids for sure! LOL. Definitely was different, not my favorite. I requested the salsa and honey on the side. The salsa was awful (thank goodness I left it off) but HELLO I had a stick of butter in the middle. They could of warned me it had butter. Sneaky Sneaky! 

Isn't the cake cute?? It was simple and elegant.
This had 2 flavors: chocolate and vanilla cake.

I love how couples will personalize their cakes!

Chocolate cake with chocolate mouse and raspberry between.
Doesn't it look rich and delicious? It was more of a disapointment,
it wasn't rich, nor sweet. Rather bland. 

Vanilla cake with Bavarian cream and fresh berries. Now this was DELICIOUS! 
As much as I love chocolate, I think I'd like this kind of cake combo for 
my own wedding one day. Everyone always enjoys it too.

 Even though it was okay it was still consumed mostly by me. ;)
Notice the fondant left over. ICK I can't stand the
sweetness or the texture of it. 

I was pretty stuffed after dessert. Was well worth it though. :) 

I wish R and J the best for a happy and healthy marriage. She is now an official Army Wife!! WOOT WOOT!

Good night!
Fallon

Roasted Acorn Squash

Hello Mr. Lil Acorn Squash!
 

Hello Hello! How is everyone? I must say I'm excited that Wednesday was the first full day of Fall and the Las Vegas weather has been very nice! 90's all week and a few days of 80's. It is much nicer then 100+ degree weather that's for sure! It definitely has been motivating me to sleep in now that the mornings are cooler (okay 7:30 is sleeping in for me!), but I'm more motivated now to wake up and work out outside! It is so refreshing and the time goes quicker when you're having fun working out outside. Plus being outside is a different feeling then inside a sweaty gym. You must try it!

Dinner last night was delicious. I'm hooked on the almond breaded chicken I made last week. I believe this is my 4th time making it last night. I told you it was delicious! I'm running low on my cranberry apple butter that I top it with, so hopefully Trader Joe's will get it in soon!! I need to stock up. Now that Fall is here all the wonderful squashes are out in the grocery stores. They are rather small now, but in a few weeks their size will be much larger! I picked up several squashes the other day. To start the season I baked up acorn squash last night to go with my chicken and another favorite of mine, tomato cucumber salad.  

Acorn Squash, my way! By Fallon
Ingredients
Acorn squash (DUH!)
Butter
Cinnamon
Agave syrup (or any sugar of your choice, just none of that "fake" stuff please!)

This was an amber agave, giving it more 
of a molasses taste to the squash.
 

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Foil and lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil so the squash won't stick when cooking. The squash are a bit hard to cut so make sure to use a strong knife and have a towel on hand to hold the squash down. Be careful not to cut off a finger!! If you have a strong man in the household, I'd recommend you have him cut the squash, unless you're stubborn ;).

Cut the squash horizontal, meaning from stem to tip, and not through the middle. Once you halve the squash clean out the seeds with a spoon. Next put a small dollop of butter in each squash. Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with agave syrup. Squash is ready to go in the oven. Let it cook for a good 30 minutes before checking up on it. Even if it looks a bit "brown" on the top, make sure it is fully cooked by checking with a fork. If it is a bit hard to pull out, still needs more time to cook. Allow 5-10 more minutes and afterward take the squash out of the oven and cover with foil for a few more minutes to help soften. Then it is time to enjoy!

Ready for the oven.
 

Close up of the agave. I must admit the agave that leaked on the foil, after 
I took them out of the oven, it harden up like burnt sugar
and was hard like a sugar candy. It was good :)
  Yum yum almond breaded chicken. The perfect start to a Fall meal!
  My favorite go to tomato cucumber salad! Always a winner.
 

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? Acorn squash is similar by stringy texture, but it tends to be made with brown sugar and butter, while spaghetti squash is used for savory dishes like with butter, garlic and white wine. Also it used has a pasta alternative and you can top it with red sauce, another one of my favorites for the fall! I do have a question though. Is squash considered a fruit since it contains seeds inside? I should probably google this but I love reading my comments!

My dinner was delicious, I still love the almond chicken and haven't tired of it yet! My mom and I talked about making chili next week. She has an awesome recipe for Turkey Chili. My mouth waters as I type this out 9:00am this morning. LOL. My plans for this week? Well I have a can of pumpkin in my pantry. Which I feel the need to use. I want to make some more energy bars by using the pumpkin in them. I've been enjoying my primal energy bars from last week, but now it time to adapt my own version. I also have a graduation dinner tonight and a wedding tomorrow night. I'm glad my weekend won't be busy so I can relax!!

It is Thursday, tomorrow is Friday. Can't get any better then that!!

Always,
Fallon

Almond Breaded Chicken Breast, 2 ways!

I first just wanted to start by saying THANK YOU for the wonderful comments from my recent posts. It feels really good to know that people are actually taking the time to read my blog. It means a lot and I appreciate it! This week I've been working a shift till 10pm. Definitely something I'm not use to at all. I was really feeling it last night. Since I'm up early today, I wonder how long I'll last tonight at work? =P Any tips/advice on late night shifts when your not use to it and like to get up early.. I'll need all the advice I can get!! So please share if there is anything. LOL

Now on to something that is super delicious and one of my new favorite ways to make chicken! If you notice I like to go for simple a lot, but I want to make sure it can be healthy and will taste good too. Healthy and baking are hard for me to put in the same category but you know what I mean. Almond breaded chicken inspired me from a blog called The Inner Workings of a College Graduate by dipping chicken breast into egg whites and breading it in almond flour. I told you simple!!! It is also delicious. ;) Here is the original posting for the chicken, she had actually stuffed hers with a cranberry chutney and feta cheese. I didn't have feta and my mom is not a fan of smelly cheese, so instead I had a cranberry apple butter I topped it off with instead. Tasted like a turkey dinner. Now I can't wait for Thanksgiving!  

Almond Breaded Chicken (Adapted from The Inner Workings of a College Graduate)
Ingredients
Ground almond meal (I bought mine from Trader Joe's but you can make your own as well by pulsing in a food processor.)
Egg whites, whipped till they start to form bubbles
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet line with tin foil and spray with olive oil or oil of choice. To get the chicken ready in an assembly line from left to right have a bowl with the whipped egg whites, in the middle a bowl of almond flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and last should be the prepared baking sheet ready for the oven. The chicken takes 25-30 minutes depending on how thick they are.

I did go for seconds on chicken and green beans. ;)
 

I used 2 large egg whites for 3 chicken breasts. At first I didn't feel it would be enough but it was more then enough. Using egg whites as the glue for breading is great and I'll be using it more often when I don't have buttermilk in the house. As for the flour, I just loaded it in the bowl. I always want to make sure I have enough breading for the chicken.

On my chicken I drizzled cranberry apple butter from Trader Joe's, but any cranberry topping you preferred will be just as good. My sides were steamed green beans with a little butter and a brown rice medley from Trader Joe's that was steamed in my rice cooker. Like I said this is my FAVORITE way to eat chicken right now. It simple and delicious. Healthy too!!

So good I licked everything clean!

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Then the next day I used my chicken for an early dinner before work in a spinach salad.  
Almond Breaded Chicken Spinach Salad with Granola and Goat Cheese By Fallon
Ingredients
Leftover almond breaded chicken, sliced
Handful of fresh baby spinach
Crumbles of fresh goat cheese
Raspberry vinaigrette (This came from Trader Joes, if you have a homemade recipe that would work too and you should share it with me!)
Pecan Granola ( I used my homemade granola)
Fresh ground black pepper

In a large bowl pile a heaping serving of fresh baby spinach. Top with sliced chicken, and add crumbles of goat cheese. Drizzle a tablespoon of dressing on top. To garnish sprinkle on pecan granola and fresh ground black pepper. I had a side of Mary's Gone Crackers with my salad.

Great texture going on with this salad.
 

The granola sounds weird but it is so good! Why did I put granola on my salad? Well the other day I made a spinach salad with goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I was missing crunch.. pecan crunch. So I had raw nuts in my freezer I would of toasted up, but I already had toasted pecans in my granola. See where I'm going. The combination with my granola and the spinach salad was scrumptious. You have a wholesome, crunch from the oats and the nutty sweetness from the pecan, you can't go wrong!

  These crackers are awesome. I like the seedy crunch they have.
 

That is all I have for today!

Time for the gym.
Fallon

Primal Energy Bars

Since making my own granola, I'm also experimenting on how to make my own bars. I figure it is good to start by trying recipes from other people, and then taking what I've learned and adapting to my own bars I hope to create one day. I've had Primal Energy Bars bookmarked for a very long time. They come from Mark's Daily Apple, which is a fantastic blog and I enjoy reading about grok. I've adapted some of information but to be fully primal is something my body doesn't handle well. My diet needs a little bit of everything from fruits, veggies, protein, grains and healthy fats. I can't just eat raw fruit and veggies or all protein and fat. I need variety. So my diet is a mix of everything and I find it works best for me. I always enjoy reading other diets people follow. Lately it been several vegan food blogs that follow semi-raw diets as well. It really cool to stay open minded. I've taken some suggestions and incorporated them into my diet and I'm feeling great and full of energy! I don't have to be in work till this evening, I decided today was the day I'd make these primal energy bars. I had all the ingredients at home, so it was time to make them. I made a few changes to the recipe which I will post below but the full recipe can be found HERE at Mark's Daily Apple.

Primal Energy Bar Recipe (adapted from Mark's Daily Apple)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sliced raw almonds 1/2 cup whole raw pecans 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used a sweetened coconut, since that what I had on hand)

2 oz creamy almond butter

2 oz extra virgin coconut oil

1/4 cup almond meal (simply pulse approximately 1/4 cup of almonds until it creates a coarse flour) (I bought mine from Trader Joe’s)

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp of raw honey

1/4 cup protein powder (30g) ( I used vanilla Jay Robb brown rice protein)

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup dried cherries and cranberries, combined and chopped

Method:

• On a cookie sheet, toast nuts and shredded coconut until golden brown. When you smell them then you know they are done. Trust me, I kind of burnt mine but they still were edible!

• Once toasted, pour mixture into a food processor and pulse until nuts are chopped and the mixture becomes coarsely ground (sort of the consistency of bread crumbs).

Just a little well done! ;)
 

Looks like bread crumbs to me. This mixture tasted awesome just 
like this!  Be a nice topping for vanilla ice cream. :)

• In a mixing bowl, melt coconut oil and almond butter (about 30 seconds). Remove from microwave and stir until smooth.

• Add vanilla extract, honey and sea salt. Mix thoroughly.
• Fold in nut mixture, almond meal and protein powder until mixed thoroughly.
• Add whole egg and mix thoroughly.
• Fold in cherry and cranberry mixture

• Press mixture into an 8x8 loaf pan, no need to grease they won't stick.

What it looks like when everything is incorporated.

• Cook in a preheated oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.
• Let cool for 10-15 minutes. Cut into 15 pieces/bars

• Enjoy or stack on wax paper/parchment and store in an airtight container.

The texture of the nuts just melts in your mouth.
 

The verdict? I like them! I cut my bars smaller because I wanted them more as a snack, but the original recipe tells you to cut them into 12. I was expecting a firmer bar but these were rather dry and crumbly. Not overly sweet either. You can taste the nuttiness from the toasted nuts, and no signs of coconut taste from the oil or the shredded. I decided against adding more coconut to the top because I didn't want a sweet bar. My dad even approved of these bars and he is a typical white bread kind of guy! I'm glad I was finally able to make these. I spent a total of 40 minutes making these from prepping, to making, to cleaning. They are really quick and easy as long as everything is ready to go. The add-ins are endless to these as well. Mark suggests making a chocolate primal bar by either melting chocolate chips into the batter or waiting for the batter to cool off and then add the chips in to make a chocolate chip primal bar. Since the bars are crumbly, they aren't as easy to eat on the go. I would definitely cut back on the coconut oil and almond butter next time. I like to eat my almond butter on something and see it, when it's mixed into something I don't get the same effect or satisfaction!

Also the nutritional stats are listed on the recipe link as well. Not bad for 184 calories. I made some adjustments by not adding all the protein powder and cutting them into 15 bars. So my may be slightly less in calories. I just love the fact they are very low carb for a bar! I'm going to work this evening I think it is time for a nap!!! Doesn't that sound good? Oh yes! Tomorrow morning I'm waking up at 6am to go run some stairs at the park. This is becoming one of my favorite outdoor exercises! I just found out today as well that this Saturday is UFC at my best friend's house. I'm really not in the mood to bake a sweet treat. I've been doing really well on eating clean and I'd like to keep up with it. So I decided to buy a dessert. I will let you know what it is this weekend. ;)

Have a healthy one,
Fallon

First attempt at granola making!

Good evening! How is everyone? Once again it is a Friday night and I'm chilling at home. I made dinner tonight and just now able to sit down and relax. I've been wanting to make a post, but I've just been preoccupied with other things. Don't worry, tomorrow night I'll be heading out. My friend is getting married soon and it is her bachlorette party. Doing it Las Vegas style like usual. Having dinner at House of Blues and heading to LAX to go clubbing. I haven't been to a club in a while! I'm so use to having a 10pm bedtime and I'll be out really late tomorrow. Yuck! I sound old huh? LOL

Anyways, I made granola for the first time yesterday!! I have to keep trying and perfecting a recipe. It wasn't very sweet and I like when my granola kind of clumps together. Practice makes perfect right? I was inspired by the recipe I found on Mama's Weeds blog. It was something I always look for, simple. I had all the ingredients on hand and I decided to take a shot at it. You can click this link for her recipe, and below I slightly modified it.  

Maple Pecan Granola  
Ingredients
2 cups of old fashion oats
1/4 oat bran
1 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of extra virgin coconut oil
2 tbsp of pure vanilla bean maple syrup
1/2 cup of raw pecans, slightly chopped (I just used my hands to break them up)
1 tbsp of orange zest
Pinch of kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Use a large glass bowl to mix everything together. First melt the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds, then added the coconut oil to the warm butter. Let them melt together and then add the maple syrup. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Then mix in the old fashion oats, oat bran, pecans, and the orange zest. Mix everything till it well incorporated. Line a baking sheet with wax paper and spread the granola on top. Put it in the oven for 20 minutes. Afterward take it out to mix everything together. At this point I was smelling the wonderful scents from the oven. Put it back in for another 5 minutes. Take it out and let it cool down. Once it is fully cooled down, put the granola in a mason jar to remain fresh!

Always like to be ready when baking! ;)
 

Before heading into the oven. 
 

Great for topping yogurt with berries. 
 

In the mason jar it goes! This would be a nice holiday gift for your healthy friends! ;)
 

My thoughts? Well there is definitely potential in making homemade granola. You can control the sweetness and how caloric-ally dense you want it to be. It is definitely healthier then store bought granola, and it is cheaper! One pound of organic old fashion oats from the bulk bin at Wholefoods is only $1.19. The zest was a nice addition to the maple syrup. A granola I tried at Wholefoods the other day had a citrus addition to it but they wanted $8.99 for a 16 oz bag of granola! So it inspired me to add it to my own granola.

The only thing with my granola is it wasn't sweet enough and wet enough! I didn't really use actual measuring spoons, just a regular eating teaspoon. So maybe that wasn't accurate? Next time I'm going to add more sweetness and coconut oil. I will most likely not use oat bran again because it really didn't stick to the oats. Flax seed or hemp seed would be a better addition. Which proves making this granola recipe and any other recipe is really flexible. I look forward to future granola making!

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I've been having some of the best lunches lately. I'm hooked on veggie wraps! I recently tried goat cheese for the first time and I love it!! I like the herbed kinds and just yesterday I picked up a goat brie! OMG! Creamier than cows milk brie. Next I want to try a cheddar goat cheese, I hear it is the best. It always good to experiment and taste new foods. It adds variety and makes food even more interesting to enjoy. I love the sprouted whole wheat wraps made by Ezekiel. They are very hearty and I love the chew you get from it, and the nuttiness! I spread goat cheese on or sometimes hummus. Then I load it with romaine lettuce, alpha sprouts, cucumber, tomato, purple onion, radish etc. Basically whatever veggies I have in my fridge. Roasted veggies are awesome too. The one I'm showing you that I made the other day has herbed goat cheese, 1 slice of black forest ham, romaine lettuce, alpha sprouts, tomato, onion, cucumber, and yellow mustard.

See those little pickles? I love them!! Little French pickles I picked up at Trader Joe's.
 

So I forgot the yellow mustard and added it last. :) Try not to do that! LOL

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And lastly my dinner tonight was awesome! I had a nice New York steak with my favorite side dishes as of late, grilled sweet potato fries and roasted summer squash and grape tomatoes. The steak was huge! I told my dad I only wanted half and he added the entire thing to my plate! It was perfect, medium rare and so tender. I rubbed it with kosher salt, steak seasoning and herbed garlic. Let it marry for about 30 minutes and sizzled it on the grill. Awesome!!! Can't wait for my left over steak tomorrow!

Love to load up on the veggies! Garnish with basil, mmm! 
Organic ketchup and grilled sweet potato fries? You must try it!
 

The huge steak!
 

The weather is finally cooling off in Las Vegas. Meaning if you wake up super early in the mornings it about 70 degrees. Awesome working out weather!! I've been running up and down stairs, breaking records I've set for myself. Tomorrow I'm doing an obstacle course with running and running up and down stairs. Can't wait because I love working out outside!

Have a great night and a fantastic weekend!!
Always, Fallon