Author Archives: allie@sweetpotatobites

Healthy Nutty Granola

The holiday season is here, and between Thanksgiving and Christmas it’s a continuous stream of delicious holiday treats. I’ve teamed up with Nuts.com to spread the word about healthy (nutty) snacks!

healthy nutty granola - nuts.com

I love nuts as a healthy source of protein and fat, and usually find myself having some form of nut butter nearly every day. I find that including a healthy fat (like nuts) with my breakfast in the morning helps to keep me satiated throughout the day and I find myself snacking less. One way I love incorporating nuts is in by making granola or granola bars, which is why I wanted to share my healthy nutty granola.

The great thing about homemade granola is that you can control the ingredients in it and craft it to your personal taste. Since I’m allergic to walnuts,  I like making my own granola at home using some of my favorite nuts including cashews, almonds and pecans.

This healthy nutty granola is great with some Greek yogurt as an afternoon snack or with some almond milk for breakfast. This would also make a great gift for someone this holiday season!

Sweet Potato Bites Healthy Nutty Granola

Healthy Nutty Granola (adapted from Thug Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup quinoa

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 chopped nuts

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt your peanut butter and olive oil in a sauce pan and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine your oats, quinoa, nuts, chocolate chips, vanilla, salt and cinnamon. Gently fold in your peanut butter mixture and spread until the entire mixture is coated.

Pour your mixture onto your lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before breaking into pieces. Eat and enjoy!

For more healthy holiday snack ideas, you can check out Nuts.com. Happy #SeasonsEatings!

Lexus LaceUp 5K Race Recap

A couple of months ago I was selected as a Lexus LaceUp Race Ambassador and had decided that the Lexus LaceUp 10K in Irvine would finally be the race where I broke my 2-year old 10K PR. Well, between the massive heat that we’ve had for the past 2 months as well as getting a bad allergic reaction and a stomach bug within a month of each other, my 10K training didn’t go as planned and at the last minute I dropped down to the 5K race since I wasn’t feeling fully confident in my training. Spoiler alert: the race turned out to be awesome.

lexus-laceup-running-5k-irvineI have a love-hate with 5K races. They are great because they are short, but they are also SO HARD because you are basically sprinting for 3.1 miles. My current race 5K PR was 22:45, so I decided to go into this race running somewhere between 23-24 minutes.

When I woke up on race morning, I was NOT in the mood to run. I was coming off a busy week of work, had managed to spill something on my ambassador shirt before leaving and was quite frankly, pretty tired. But I was excited to run with the Englishman and my friend and see all the other LaceUp Ambassadors so I put on my game face.

Fortunately when we arrived in Irvine the weather was much cooler than it has been in weeks and the positive energy from all the other runners was infectious. I decided to just go in, have fun and have a great race.

The horn blared and we were off. The first 1/2 mile felt tough per usual, but then I started to get into a groove and slowly started passing people. I had no idea where I was place wise throughout the entire race, but I just kept my head down and kept running.

lexus-laceup-running-5k-irvineAfter the halfway mark my legs started feeling pretty good and my competitive fire kicked in so I decided to try and hit as close to my PR as possible. Next thing I knew I was running through the chute and the announcer said “Allie Fisher, 2nd overall woman!.” Um what?

I ran over to my friend who was acting as our race photographer and he confirmed that was indeed what the announcer had said. Moments later I was astonished to find out that my chip time was faster than the woman in front of me, making me the 1st overall woman in the 5K division. This immediately called for a jumping into the air picture.

lexus-laceup-running-5k-irvineTo be honest, I was completely shocked. I’ve run a ton of races and never in a million years ever thought I’d be on a podium, especially in first place. As someone who has only been running for about 6 or so years, I consider myself to be fairly decent at this point but am always in awe at other runners who make it look effortless.

After cooling off, we made our way over to the awards podium where I was presented with a first place trophy. I’m still finding the whole thing surreal. I also managed to squeak across the finish line in 22:28, which I was pretty happy about.

lexus-laceup-running-5k-irivneIf anything, the racing spirit has been reignited and I can’t wait to sign up for my next one! Thanks to Lexus LaceUp for hosting such an awesome event. If you are looking to run any of the races in the Lexus LaceUp Running series, be sure to use code LACEUPALLIE for 15% off! (plus the medal is pretty sweet).

Baked Maple PB Pumpkin Oatmeal

The minute the calendar hits October 1st, I start breaking open the cans of pumpkin and don’t look back until at least December. And since Southern California hasn’t quite gotten the memo that it’s fall yet, I’ll consider my pumpkin recipes an offering to the fall weather gods. Starting with this baked maple pb pumpkin oatmeal.

I’ve teamed up with Peanut Butter and Co. and Bob’s Red Mill (two of my favorite brands) to help celebrate #Oatober! But since I love oatmeal so much, pretty much every day is #Oatober for me.

Yumsquad-oatober-sweetpotatobitesI decided to combine three of my favorite things: oats, peanut butter and pumpkin into a delicious breakfast dish that is the perfect leisurely weekend breakfast that can then be reheated into leftovers for the week. This recipe is simple, requires minimal ingredients, and is oh so delicious.

maple-baked-pumpkin-oatmealI used Mighty Maple peanut butter in this, but regular PB would do just fine. If you are feeling a bit more decadent, I think Dark Chocolate Dreams would make an excellent choice…but then again, when is chocolate peanut butter not a good idea?

Baked Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Mighty Maple Peanut Butter

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Oats

1/4 cup almond milk

1 egg

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F.

In a large mixing bowl mix your pumpkin, egg, almond milk, vanilla and peanut butter until all is well blended. Gently fold in your oats, salt, baking powder and cinnamon and continue to mix.

Fold your mixture into a greased baking dish and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

maple-baked-pumpkin-oatmealRemove from the oven, eat and enjoy! Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

maple-baked-pumpkin-oatmealThanks Peanut Butter Co. and Bob’s Red Mill for sending me the delicious goodies!

Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival

Sometimes I feel like Orange County gets a bad rap for not having the hot new restaurants like LA, or the abundance of wine-related events like Napa. But the truth is, Orange County is home to some pretty amazing chefs and restaurants, which is why I’m super excited for the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival next week.

Newport Beach Wine and Food FestivalThe Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival is a 3 day event taking place on October 2-4 at the Newport Beach Civic Center. Expect celebrity chef cooking demos, a cooking competition, and endless food and wine tasting from some of OC’s hottest restaurants.

Newport Beach Wine and Food FestivalIf you’re a fan of Top Chef and Top Chef Masters like me, then you’ll definitely want to check out the cooking demonstrations from Rick Bayless and Hubert Keller Saturday afternoon and then be sure to check out the first ever at-home cooking challenge with Chef Shirley Chung!

Chef Shirley ChungAnd if that isn’t enough to get you excited, check out some of the awesome restaurants participating on Saturday and Sunday:

    • Red O
    • Twenty Eight
    • The Winery
    • Oak Grill
    • Mastro’s Steakhouse
    • Canaletto
    • True Food Kitchen

Tommy Bahama Island GrilleB.CandySleanne Steak TavernFig & OliveBoathouse CollectiveSlapfishStonehill Tavern

There will also be wine tasting, beer, specialty cocktails and live music. Basically a food lover’s dream.

Newport Beach Wine and Food FestivalInterested in joining me in all the fun next weekend? The Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival is offering $25 off general admission with code NBWFF25.

Come spend a day tasting great food, drinking great wine, and seeing all the best that OC has to offer.