Acai Bowls

A few days ago, I woke up with this incredibly intense desire for an acai bowl. A big one. 

I rarely eat acai bowls but in sticking with my theme of "mixing it up" I was really craving one and thought it may just kill me if I don't have one. 

It was a holiday, however, so nothing was open. I had a small but very real panic attack. I felt I MUST have one. So my friend and I decided to take matters into our own hands and make them ourselves. 

We were very successful. 

Homemade Acai Bowls:

2 Sambazon packets

1/4 cup of organic apple juice 

2 mangos 

1 banana

1 cup of blueberries

1 cup of strawberries

2-3 kiwis

1/2 cup granola of your choice

1 tsp bee pollen

1 tsp raw honey

*Serves 2

Put the Sambazon packets in a blender with the apple juice and lightly blend on low for only about 10 seconds. Throw it in a pretty bowl. Then cut up all the fruit ( you can add in whatever fruit you want) and add into the mix, followed by the granola, honey and bee pollen. Such a treat!

***

Eat Breakfast!

I'm a huge breakfast advocate. Meaning, I never skip it. Ever. I think it's the most important meal of the day. I believe whatever you choose to eat for breakfast sets the tone for the entire day. 

I have also found that changing it up and not having the same thing every single morning makes a huge difference. It's important to trick your body. If you have the same thing every morning, your body gets used to digesting it and almost expects it. 

I've had many conversations with people that want nothing to do with breakfast. And although I can see other viewpoints, this is one I just don't get. The excuse I hear the most is "I don't have time" which is confusing to me because how long does it take to throw a banana in your purse?! It doesn't have to be a huge cooking session. As long as you are putting some nutrients in your body it doesn't matter. It comes down to this: When you first wake up, your body is still in sleep mode. If you don't put anything in your system until lunch, your metabolism never really "wakes up"…Your body has been fasting all night long so until you break that fast (Hence, break-fast), you will not be burning calories as efficiently and really your metabolism will not be working as it should!

Eating breakfast has many benefits and will prevent you from overeating not only at lunch but throughout the entire day. It jump starts your metabolism and gets your brain functioning. So…theme of the day? Whatever it takes, get something in your mouth in the a.m! Your life depends on it. Dramatic? NO. 

 I will be featuring some fun and easy breakfast recipes soon so stay tuned! 

***

-Kate

Veggie scramble to die for

The key to sticking to a healthy lifestyle is variety, variety, variety. Check out this amazing scrumptious (favorite word as of late) scramble filled with veggies and love. It only takes about 15 minutes max and will leave you filling satisfied and smiling from ear to ear. 

Veggie Scramble

1/2 orange bell pepper

1/2 cup diced mushrooms

1 cup spinach

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/4 cup cilantro

2 eggs

1/2 avocado

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Coconut Oil

Fresh ground pepper - lots

1/2 tsp Himalayan Pink Salt

Cut up all the veggies

*

Saute the veggies in coconut oil

*

Throw the two eggs in 

*

Once it's done, add some avo to the top and maybe some Sriracha

*

Perfect start to your morning! Protein-packed goodness with veggies. Can't beat it. 

-Kate

Guilt-free granola that will knock your socks (and boots) off!

I've always been super picky about granola. I'm not sure why. I've never really fallen in love with it. And it seems like the only granola I actually LOVED was when I was on vacation somewhere or at a restaurant where they refused to give me their "secret recipe." Understandable, I guess ;)

In my experience, the majority of granola is either jam-packed with crazy sugar additives, is super high in cals or just tastes like cardboard. So...I was lucky enough to steal this recipe from my sister Heather who is famous for coming up with the most creative and healthy (but still mouth watering) recipes! This homemade granola is nutritious, tasty and will leave you wanting more and more. Trust me.

Preheat oven to 325

2 cups of old fashioned oats

1/2 cup nuts- I used cashews since I LOVE them and that's what I already had at home

1/4 cup seeds (I used pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds)

1/4 cup dried fruit (optional but I used goji berries)

2-3 tbsp of honey or maple syrup or both

2 tbsp. coconut oil- if its solid because of the temperature in the room don't worry it will melt when you combine everything together

1/4 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes 

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

*Combine everything in a big bowl with your hands and make sure to really incorporate the coconut oil if its not liquid just so there aren't any huge chunks!

***

Put on a baking sheet in a thin layer and bake 10 minutes then pull out, stir it up and flip what you can with a spatula and put it back in for another 5 minutes to cook it evenly. You want it lightly golden but not too brown or it will taste a little burned and we don't want that!

***

And here she is...beautiful bowl of granola made with love. Add this to some plain Greek yogurt with some blueberries and you are set for heaven :) Enjoy!!

-Kate

Instagram @fitnfreekate

*Bfast today: 2 fried eggs with sauteed onions, garlic, mushrooms, kale and the first of my daily three cups of green tea*

It's almost the weekend! Stay healthy and active! Happy Thursday!!