Healthy eating

It's Friday!! I've had an overall great week consisting of healthy eating, gym, great friends and family.

Today's meals started off with a piece of whole grain flax seed toast with some almond butter for breakfast. For lunch I had a berry protein shake and for dinner quinoa with shrimp, spinach, peas, onions and artichoke hearts. So yum! I got in some great gym time today as well.

My Berry Protein Shake:

Ingredients:
*Handful of blueberries
*4 strawberries
*1 scoop 100% Vanilla Whey Protein
*1/2 cup Almond Vanilla Milk
*1/2-3/4 cup water
*2 Tbs. ground flax seed.
(Feel free to add some ice)

Method:
*Blend it all up in a blender. Once it's all blended up, pour into a glass and enjoy!

After having my berry protein shake, I headed to the gym. Had an amazing workout, like always. =)

For dinner I had quinoa with some veggies and shrimp, simple and easy to make.


My Quinoa with veggies and shrimp:

Egg Quinoa Scramble

I came up with this while rummaging through my fridge looking for something healthy to eat for lunch and came up with this: Egg quinoa scramble. It's pretty simple actually. Here's the recipe or lack there of, lol. Great for lunch or breakfast!

Look within yourself

"When you have an emotional reaction to what you see, you are judging. That is your signal that you have an issue inside of yourself - with yourself - not with the other person. If you react to evil, look inside yourself for the very thing that so agitates you, and you will find it. If it were not there, you will simply discern, act appropriately, and move on."

- Gary Zukav

Wow! This quote is right in tune with the post I put up a week or so ago, based off of one of my psychology papers, titled, "Don't be so quick to judge."

It's really amazing how some people really are so judgmental and don't take the time to really think and process what they've been told or have seen with their own two eyes. I really do believe that it does have to do with something inside a person, an issue that one may not like about themselves, an issue that one has to change. That this issue or problem, it comes out in judgment towards another individual or group. It has more to do with this individual rather than the other person or group they are judging.

Look within yourself.
XO Jen

Sesame Kale Salad

Here's another yummy treat that I absolutely love! Super easy to throw together and cook up. (Health-Bent)

Sesame Kale Salad

Ingredients:

◦2 bunches kale, torn into bite size pieces, no stems

◦a little bit of water

◦1/4 c sesame oil

◦2 T wheat free soy sauce or coconut aminos (found at Whole Foods)

◦2 T sesame seeds

Method:
Place about 1/4 c of of water in a large, microwave safe bowl. Add the torn kale and seal the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the microwave for 1 minute increments, peeking into the bowl during each cycle. It’s done when the kale has steamed and wilted, this should take around 3 minutes.

Unwrap the bowl and be careful not to steam-burn yourself. Once the kale is cool enough to handle, pour out the water and squeeze the kale until most of the water is gone.

Add the rest of ingredients and mix to combine. Serve at room temperature or cold.
Served cold tastes like a seaweed salad at a japanese restaurant.

_______________________________________________________

I whipped this up to eat for lunch one weekend, and it's delish! Enjoy this either cold or warm for lunch or serve it along with dinner. Great dish for either!

FYI: In no way am I taking credit for these recipes! I will only take credit for the recipes that I come up with myself. The recipes I post are ones that I love and want to share with everyone else. I have added links to the pages where I find them.

Mini egg bites

This is yet another healthy but tasty recipe! These mini egg bites are super easy to put together and make. I don't have exact measurements for this but I think you'll get the gist of it. You'll need a non-stick mini muffin tin! The recipe below is what I added to the mini egg bites. You can change up the ingredients if you like. Thankyou Shanel for telling me about these and the inspiration! <3

Mini Egg Bites

Ingredients:

4 eggs (makes roughly 12-14 mini egg bites)

About a 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms (does not need to be cooked before hand)

A handful of baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped (does not need to be cooked before hand)

Salt and pepper 

**You can always add any sort of meat, just be sure to cook it before hand.

Method:

Beat the eggs and add the salt and pepper in a bowl. Fill the mini muffin tins with the mushrooms and spinach and whatever else you would like. Remember, it you add any sort of meat, make sure it's already been cooked. Then add the egg mixture but not all the way to the top. (If you want, you can spray the muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray to make it easier for the egg bites to be removed after cooked.) Cook in the oven at 375F for 8-10 minutes, or until the egg mixture puffs up and is set in the center.

Enjoy! <3

Yummy breakfast: Easy Vegan Overnight Oats

Has anyone ever heard of 'Overnight Oats'? I never had until I came across a blog called OhSheGlows.com (http://ohsheglows.com/recipes) This is one of my favorite breakfasts to have in the morning. I absolutely love it, I eat it almost every morning! It fills me up and keeps me going! I've changed it up a little bit when I make it; I don't add the vanilla extract and instead of chia seeds, I use ground flax seed. Chia seeds are perfectly fine, I just prefer the ground flax. I also don't add the banana, instead, in the morning after the overnight oats have sat in the fridge overnight (hence the name), I add blueberries.

Here's the recipe as it appears on the website.

(What's listed in bold type are the things I changed or added)

Easy Vegan Overnight Oats

PM Ingredients:

•1/3 cup regular oats

•3/4 cup almond milk **(I use the sweetened vanilla almond milk as opposed to the unsweetened kind. Reason why I don't use the vanilla exact.)

•2 tablespoons chia seeds

•1 tiny ripe banana, peeled and smashed

•1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions: Mix together the above ingredients in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight.

Here are my AM ingredients: toppings of your choice. (if you want) I usually do:

•One spoonful of almond butter or peanut butter. (Sometimes, depends on if I'm in the mood for it =) )

•A squeeze of honey.

•Blueberries

I also put the overnight oats in the microwave for about a minute to warm it up and to heat the almond butter or peanut butter to make it easier to mix. I add the honey after, along with the blueberries.

You can add what ever ingredients you like to the overnight oats. I usually do the oats, vanilla almond milk and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. Then in the AM I add the ground flax and almond butter, heat in microwave for a 1 min, mix it up and add the honey and blueberries. =)

Enjoy! <3

Don't be so quick to judge

For one of my psychology classes I had to write up a thought/change paper on a situation I’d like to see change in either with myself, another person, or in my surrounding environment. It took me quite some time to come up with something to write about that I believe would be a good situation or idea to change. There are so many things in my environment, the world, and within myself that I would like to see a change in.  I finally settled on the one issue that does bother me the most- how easily people judge one another without really knowing each other or a group of people. I’m guilty of this, we are ALL guilty of this, even the people who swear up and down that they aren’t quick to judge someone. Please!

So many people, including myself, are guilty of being quick to judge a person or group of people either based on what they’ve been told, have heard or what they’ve seen. In turn, it can cause many individuals and groups to dislike each other, to act unkindly and rude towards each other. I’ve experienced this myself with people who were quick to judge me based off of how they perceived me or what they had heard. This is one of the situations that I would like to change in myself because I catch myself doing it from time to time. I’d also love to see this change our world and within societies, but that is something that is going to take a long time to implement. I do believe that it would cut back on so much hate and disdain in our world, but alas it’s not something that is going to change overnight or anytime soon for that matter. So I will start with myself and hopefully it will rub off on the people around me.

Here's where the psychology terms come into play: I believe one of the big reasons why individuals tend to judge others is based off of what they hear or have been told.  To me this is a form of informational and normative influence.  Also, it’s another type of influence that’s called the Majority influence. It’s informational in the sense that the individual accepts the evidence about reality or the situation (in this case the person or group being judged) that is being presented or provided by the other person. The individual is seeing things the same way because they believe that the other person has more information and that it’s more authentic. Also, when people judge others, it’s a normative influence being that the individual is conforming or a better term, “fitting in”, in order to gain acceptance and to avoid rejection. They are in a sense “going along with the crowd” in order to gain some sort of approval. What majority influence is, in a sense, the way majorities influence human behavior in a heuristic way. An individual, without much thought, applies the “everyone can’t be wrong” and accepts the information that is provided by the group or person. With these three influences, informational, normative, and majority, I believe it depends on the individual on which influence takes place.

For me, at times, I believe it’s more of an informational influence, rather than a normative influence. I hear what’s been said, either about an individual or group, and accepts it as true and valid because I believe that the other person has more information and has more legitimate information. I don’t always necessarily stop and think, “Maybe this person’s information isn’t as valid as I believe it to be.”  In order to implement a change in being quick to judge I believe I am going to have to first realize that this is an issue that I need to change, which I have done here. Secondly, to stop and think about what’s being told to me and to not suddenly assume it to be true. I believe that’s where people go wrong. Lastly, to take what has been told to me into consideration and to find out for myself whether or not what has been said is valid or not.

Judgment is all around us and it’s definitely not something that will change overnight, or even within the next 5-10 years.  It’s definitely, without a doubt, something that’s going to take quite some time to change. BUT it can start with one person. One person to implement that change of not being so quick to judge, to pass along that behavior on to others, and hoping that it will spread throughout.

xo Jen

Quotes, quotes and more quotes.

Here is yet another compilation of quotes that I found inspirational, uplifting, funny, etc.
Enjoy!

Quotes galore

“People judge you out of their own insecurity. It says nothing about you...but volumes about them.”

“Past can affect your life, but the past can't control your life, unless you let it happen.”

“Actions will always speak louder than words. Words are the promise, actions are the proof.”

"It's better to live your own life imperfectly than to imitate someone else's perfectly." – Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love)

"You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight. " - Eat, Pray, Love

"True love is not how you forgive, but how you forget, not what you see but what you feel, not how you listen but how you understand, and not how you let go but how you hold on.”

 “I would like to make a toast to lying, stealing, cheating and drinking. If you're going to lie, lie for a friend. If you're going to steal, steal a heart. If you’re going to cheat, cheat death. And if you're going to drink, drink with me.”

‎"Keep a healthy mind by thinking for yourself, not the way you've been told to think."

‎"Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before." – Mae West

“If you want to grow, then let go and give room for a new life to show.” – The Daily Love

“A true friend accepts who you are without judging you.” -Deepak Chopra

"You become who you surround yourself with."- The Daily Love

"If you don't put yourself out there, you'll never know what might have been. Take a risk today."

Un-Fried Rice

This is super yummy and healthier than most Chinese restaurants or take-out, in my opinion. =)
What's typed in bold are the things I did.

Un-Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 1/2 cups shredded chicken (optional) **(or shrimp, I added shrimp to mine)
• 3 cups brown rice (cooked)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 tablespoon oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce **(or wheat-free soy sauce)
• 1-2 teaspoon toasted sesame seed oil (Add more if needed; taste the food as your cooking)
• 1/4 teaspoon chili oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds (I didn't have any on hand when I made this)
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup liquid egg whites **(or 2-3 whole eggs)

Preparation:

• In a large non-stick skillet, over high head, add the oil and saute the onions until slightly soft.
• Add the remaining ingredients, expect for the eggs or egg whites, stirring occasionally. (Add more soy sauce or sesame seed oil if needed)
• Add the eggs or egg whites combing the rice until the eggs are scrambled.
• Serve and enjoy!

Found on Bethenny.com

FYI: In no way am I taking credit for these recipes! I will only take credit for the recipes that I come up with myself. The recipes I post are ones that I love and want to share with everyone else. I have added links to the pages where I find them.

Marinated Roasted Chicken Fajitas

I found this recipe through one of my best friends , Shanel, and you can also find it at Health Bent. There are some awesome and healthy recipes on this site.


When I came across this recipe not only did it sound delicious, it is delicious! Simple to prepare and cook, plus healthy!


Enjoy!


Here's the recipe as it appears on the website:


Marinated Roasted Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. chicken breasts
1 large red onion
2 large bell peppers
Lime wedges, avocado and any other Mexican accoutrements


Marinade Ingredients:
3 T. olive oil
1 T. chili powder
1 T. S.O.Co (sweetner of choice, here we used brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt&pepper

Method:
Slice the chicken in 1/2 lengthwise, to make them thinner and therefore, quicker cooking. Prick the chicken breasts, all over, with a fork and place in zip-top bag. Why prick? Well, it's not a scientifically proven fact, but I think it lets some of the marinade to get inside the chicken, allowing it to stay tender and moist.

Combine all the marinade ingredients and add it to the zip-top bag, then shake-n-smush, to cover all the chicken pieces. **(I mixed up the marinade ingredients in a separate bowl and then added it to the zip-top bag with the chicken.)

Let marinade in the fridge for at least 30 mins. and up to a day.

Slice the onions and peppers into strips and place onto baking sheet. **(I covered baking sheet in foil first, makes for easier clean up) Drizzle with a bit of oil **(I used extra virgin olive oil) and some salt and pepper over the top. Use your hands to toss and combine. Roast in oven until the onions have caramelized, about 20 mins. at 400F.

While the peppers and onions are going, heat a saute pan over medium-high heat and saute the chicken until the marinade has developed a nice crust on each side and chicken is cooked through-- about 7 mins. total- depends on thickness of the chicken breast.

Slice the chicken and serve it over the roasted onions and peppers. Top with a squeeze of lime juice and any other fajita fixins' you like.

Recipes!

Wow! It's been quite some time since I've posted anything new on here!

I have been so busy with college and every day life that it has prevented me to post anything. So, with that being said, I'm back!

To start it back up again I've decided that I am going to start to post some of my favorite and healthy recipes for whom ever to enjoy! For those of you who enjoy red meat I'm sorry to inform you that there won't be and red meat recipes, seeing how I don't eat it. But please, enjoy the rest!

I will also be posting what ever else peaks my interest. :)