Category Archives: Healthy

Healthy Nutty Granola

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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

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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).

Meet Bulu Box

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I’ve written about a few subscription boxes in the past, and recently I got the chance to review a fitness one!  Meet Bulu Box.

Bulu Box is a monthly subscription service specializing in new vitamins, supplements, and other healthy products on the market. You get sent some samples along with special discounts and coupons, and each month you’ll receive different stuff. As an added bonus, you can write a review of your box and it’s contents for rewards points, which can be applied to purchasing a full size product of your choice. Pretty cool huh?

meet bulu boxHere’s a rundown of what was in my Bulu Box:

  • Quest Protein Powder – admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of the bars but the protein powder was great in a smoothie. Plus, peanut butter flavor is always a win in my book.
  • MovIt Energy Gummies – I normally use Honey Stinger chews on my long runs, but these were a nice way to change it up.
  • Earth’s Care Anti-Itch Cream – I got this box just after getting bit by a few mosquitoes so this cream arrived at just the right time!
  • Mediterra Bar – I hadn’t tried a savory bar before, and I really liked it! It was sundried tomato and basil and made the perfect afternoon snack.
  • Yerba Prima Fiber – This was my least favorite of the box. Fiber supplements just aren’t my thing.

Now the fun stuff. For a short time only, get 50% off a 3-month subscription to Bulu Box with code SWEATPINK.  That’s only $15 for 3 months, which I consider to be a steal!

As a Sweat Pink ambassador I was given a free Bulu Box in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ginger Glazed Salmon

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Remember a couple of months ago when I went to the Flavors of Aloha event at Tommy Bahama?  At the end of our delicious meal we were each given the new Flavors of Aloha cookbook, and I finally decided to make the ginger glazed salmon recipe that I’ve had my eye on for weeks now (because, salmon).  Not only was this recipe incredibly easy, it was delicious too!

ginger glazed salmonThe key to this recipe’s success is getting really good salmon.  As I’ve mentioned before, I only get my fish at Santa Monica Seafood, and I always make a point to get sustainable wild fish. I hear it’s good for the synthesis of vitamins, and I lowkey hoped that one day I wouldn’t need my Proclear lenses. Lucky for me, Santa Monica Seafood happened to have some wild salmon on sale, so I jumped on it.

The original recipe in the Flavors of Aloha cookbook calls for hoisin sauce, but since I can’t have soy, I swapped in coconut aminos instead, which still yielded a tasty result.  The rest of the ingredients included diced ginger, sake (or rice wine), green onion and garlic.

From start to finish this took roughly 20 minutes, making it the perfect meal to whip up during the week when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking.

We had our salmon with some roasted potatoes, but I think the wasabi mashed potatoes from the Flavors of Aloha cookbook would be a wonderful side to the ginger glazed salmon.  And if you don’t like salmon, try it with ahi, halibut or even sea bass.

Ginger Glazed Salmon (serves 2, from the Flavors of Aloha Cookbook)

Ingredients:

2 salmon filets

1/4 cup coconut aminos

2 tbsp sake

2 tbsp chopped green onion

2 tbsp diced ginger

1 garlic clove, smashed

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Set your oven to a broil setting.  Place your salmon filets skin side up on a baking sheet.

ginger glazed salmonIn a small bowl, mix your ginger glaze and set aside.

ginger glazed salmon bowlPlace salmon in the oven for 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the oven and flip over.  Add the ginger glaze to your fish and place back in the oven for another 4-5 minutes.

ginger glazed salmon filetsIf you want your salmon cooked a little further, I recommend keeping in the oven for another couple of minutes otherwise remove from the oven, eat and enjoy!