Paleo Pancakes

This recipe can now be found at: 

Healthy Food Fit Family

Orange smorange

Breakfast! 

Orange Julius anyone?

1C Almond milk

1/2C Egg whites

splashvanilla 

2 oranges 

ice

ENERGYbits!

A while back I was watching an episode on the Discovery Channel where Andew Zimmern gave an inside look of a Spirulina Algae farm. He spoke of its benefits and how natural it was for your body...then I wondered where the heck would I ever find something like that and then changed the channel.
Fast forward a couple years later...

After seeing Energybits all over Twitter I decided to look into it since I'm always looking for new items in health and fitness. Turns out Energy Bits are just little bits of algae that are taken to improve energy and overall health. The best part is the ingredients- Spirulina Algae. Thats it! ONE calorie per bit and ONE ingredient to help increase energy and all 100% natural.
This all natural product works a lot like a cup of coffee or energy drink without that crappy feeling your left with after the caffeine has worn off. Talk about a miracle!
So what exactly are Energybits? 

Made from 100% organicallly grown spirulina algae and loaded with 40 nutrients, ENERGYbits® algae tabs have the highest concentration of protein in the world (64%) all for just one calorie per tab.

What is even more appealing is that this isn't considered a supplement, its actually a food...we all know how much I love food!

My Experience with Energy Bits:
Being that I live overseas I find it hard to find new things to try so I was hoping I'd get this chance! I received an email response from Jonathan Levitt, Brand Manager/Pro Sports soon after contacting him.  I was immediately excited when I was offered the chance to try out Energybits!

As a mom to 2 boys, I am constantly trying to boost my energy through out the day and once I cut coffee from my daily diet I noticed a bit of a slump towards the afternoon...Here enters Energy bits! I need to get up with my boys at 530am make it through the day (workout) and well into the night with my newborn.

Heres how you take them:

For best results, take at least 30 ENERGYbits® (or more) before any workout, run, game or intense physical or mental activity. They will improve your energy and endurance. Also take whenever you are tired, hungry or don’t have time to eat or cook. They are a terrific high protein, low calorie snack or meal on the go.  A favorite of Olympic athletes. Swallow with beverage or chew them as you would a handful of nuts. Remember, they’re “bits” of food (not pills).”

The Energy Bits website lays everything out and explains exactly how every person, be it athletes, children, or moms like me, can benefit from Spirulina Algea. Thats right...I said children. When I read that I was completely blown away! Not only can you stop a cold from getting worse but they help prevent them as well!
Algae has the same nutrients as leafy green vegetable so what better way to give your entire family a boost of nutrients and protein!

Day 1 and 2
I was given enough to take them 2x so I popped open my cute little tin on Tuesday and Wednesday morning and gave it a go. The first day I decided to try chewing some for the heck of it (they recommend swallowing them because you'll end up with some green in your mouth). I figured either way my son would get a kick out his mom's tongue being completely green!

BAD IDEA! The taste was kind of like a pork rind (weird huh?) and my mouth was definitely green!
I would also recommend swallowing them! 4 or 5 at a time would be pretty easy with a glass of water.  (Although It would be more convenient if they were combined into maybe 1-2 pills instead of 30!) Once I finished I went about my day! I did my workout, ran some errands, took my son to the park and made a late dinner....THEN stayed up taking care of my new little man. To see what Skinnyfitchick thought about Energybits click here.

The end result
I didn't feel the drop in energy like I usually do around 3pm (the one where I just cant seem to keep my eyes open) so this is what I needed. Even though I didn't feel more energized in my workout than I usually do, I felt it more through out the length of the entire day (maybe a placebo effect?)

I would also add that I believe 2 days of taking the Energybits isn't going to give me the best impression of this product. I'm sure taking these over a period of time and getting the nutrients in your system would help gauge the amount of energy I could have.

Energybits can be found HERE and on FACEBOOK

**I was given this product free of charge to review. I did not promise a positive review nor was I paid to endorse this product. These opinions are solely my own. 

Stuffed Cabbage

                 If there is one food I absolutely love its cabbage! Last year I was trying out some recipes with cabbage and I made stuffed cabbage one night. It was really good! This year I went to make it again and could not find the recipe! Don't you hate when that happens? It finally dawned on me that I used turkey just last week for stuffed peppers, why not use that recipe?

I used pretty much the same recipe and it tasted great! I cooked everything and boiled the cabbage. Did I mention I love cabbage?

Stuffed Cabbage

• 1lb Ground Turkey
• 1 Onion
• 4 cloves Garlic 
• 1 Head Cabbage
• 1 can Tomato paste
• 1 cup Kale 
• 1 cup Tomato Puree
• 1Tbs Worchestire sauce
• 2tbs Apple cider vinegar (optional)

Boil entire head of cabbage for 40 minutes. 

Pre heat oven to 400

Saute diced garlic and onion,a dd Turkey and brown. 

Add worchestire sauce. Mix in 1/2 can of paste and chopped kale. Stir until combined. 

Let cool.

Once cabbage is finished separate leaves and lay flat. 

Scoop turkey mixture onto each leaf and roll, tucking in the sides like a burrito. 

Pour puree into bottom of baking dish. Add cabbage rolls. "Butter" the tops of each roll with remaining tomato paste. pour apple cider vinegar over rolls (optional).

Bake for 30 minutes.

Challenge

I've decided that it would be fun to take part in a clean eating / Paleo challenge. I've been eating clean for the last year now and I love that I'm actually one of those people that can say its a lifestyle. It just comes naturally and I don't really put much thought into it anymore!

Going Paleo...that's a whole new world for me. I would need to eliminate my grains: brown rice and oats ( I eat both daily), Dairy: yogurt(I don't eat often) and cottage cheese. I'm still looking into it and learning the spa and fonts but I think to just try it would be good. I love doing this so I can speak to an experience and have my own opinion and understanding. It starts Monday so hopefully by then I'll have everything in order!

In the group of girls doing this challenge I will be checking in daily with workouts, eating and how things are going. Along with being held accountable It'll be nice to see what everyone else is up to and how they are doing! I look forward to swapping recipes and tips! 
Here are some helpful sites to get more information.  

*What is the Paleo Diet?
*What is Clean Eating?
*Breastfeeding and Paleo

Source

Chocolate Peanut butter bite

Usually in the evenings I crave sweets! Im sure Im not the only one so I wanted to come up with something that was easy to make but tasted great!  Heres what happened last night!

PB Bites!

Mix a scoop of casein with almond milk or water till you get a paste almost like pudding.
Spread on wax paper.
Freeze for 10 min.

Mix 2tbs Pb2 with 1tbs water and spread over casein.
Freeze for 30 min-1hr
Slice and eat!
Great with a cup of tea!