I went surfing this weekend.

No I didn’t.

But I did do some biking and surfing the world wide web, but just saying “I went surfing” sounds totally cooler. By the way, why do they call it “surfing” the net anyway? Why not biking, hiking or climbing the net?

Anyway, while I was browsing the net for something new to satisfy my healthy sweet tooth, I ran across a great recipe for some lemon cookies. The only problem is now I can’t find the source of said cookies or the original recipe. But you are in luck because I modified the recipe (shocking, I know!) and I wrote that one down. Here’s the recipe for some really refreshing…

Slice and No-bake Lemon Protein Cookies

• 1 cup Unsalted almonds
• 1/3 cup Vanilla protein powder
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 T Water
• Stevia to taste (I used a small amount of NuNaturals NuStevia in liquid form but any sweetener will do)

Blend all ingredients together in your food processor or high powered blender. Remove the cookie mixture and place onto a sheet of waxed paper and form the dough into the shape of a log. Wrap the dough in waxed paper and pop it into the freezer. Once chilled but not frozen, remove from the freezer, and slice into 8-12 pieces. Enjoy chilled.

Now I really must go do some more surfing, if you don’t hear from me tomorrow send some lemon-ade.

A foodie I am not.

However, I love to take amazing recipes and give them a healthy shake. Are some of my creations worthy of being in Gourmet Magazine or Cooking Light? Um, heck no. But do they satisfy my cravings for the full calorie versions? Um, HECK YES!

So when I ran across a bag of Stevia Extract In the Raw last week at the grocery store last week I scooped it up and couldn’t wait to hit the Fitness & Spice test kitchen. Lucky for me on the same day Justin’s Nutbutter sent me a generous supply of their products so I grabbed a bowl and came up with…

Muffins Elvis Would Love Without the Fluff

• 1/2 (really ripe) banana
• 1/4 cup Stevia Extract in the Raw
• 1/2 cup nut butter (I used Justin’s Honey Almond Butter)
• 1/8 t baking soda
• Dash of salt

Mash banana until smooth and stir in Stevia. Add the nut butter, baking soda, and salt and stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour into mini muffin tins prepared with non-stick spray or cupcake liners. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe makes about 8-10 mini muffins but I’m sure you can double or triple this recipe with ease. Oh, and if you want to make them raw, just omit the baking soda and the baking of course.

Simple enough, right? Thank you, thank you very much!

Now I really must go grab a muffin and hit the gym…it’s now or never!

One year ago one of my favorite workout accessories of all time welcomed into the world a baby, fitbook junior!

fitbook junior is just like my fitness and nutrition journal, fitbook, only it’s designed for the kiddos in mind, that and it comes with a coaches guide and stickers. Lucky kids! The cool kids who already have these activity and food based journals call fitbook junior “AWESOME” and their parents give it an over all grade “A”.

And get this, according to a research conducted by fitlosophy inc, the makers of the fitbook product suite, 87% of parents reported seeing a “noticeable change” in their child’s awareness of eating healthier, choosing more nutritious food, and being more active on a daily basis when using fitbook junior.

Let’s recap with some simple math. Encouraging…

Healthy Play + Healthy Food = Fit Kids!

Bravo, fitbook junior!

You know who else thinks fitbook junior deserves top honors? The Parent Tested Parent Approved (PTPA) Media who announced today that fitbook junior received its coveted Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval for excellence in family products.

I think it’s safe to say the AWARD WINNING fitbook junior is going to have one heck of a happy first birthday!

I say this is grounds for celebration! Let’s make…

No Bake Protein Cake!

• 3 cups dry walnuts or almonds
• 1 cup pitted dates (I like Medjool dates)
• 2/3 cup chocolate protein powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1-2 T honey  (optional)
• Topping of your choice like strawberries, raspberries, or (my favorite) dark chocolate chips

Combine the nuts, dates, protein powder, salt, vanilla extract, and sweetener (if desired) into a food processor or high powered blender and mix well. Press the mixture into a cake pan or mini cupcake liners like I did, then add the topping of your choice. Serve chilled or even right out of the freezer!

Now I really must go clean up the kitchen, put on my tennis shoes, and get ready for my play-date!

Move over spaghetti squash, there’s a fresh kid in town: Zucchini!

While I fell in love with spaghetti squash last winter, I just started seeing zucchini this summer. Ok, I’ve been seeing a lot of zucchini especially since purchasing the Spiral Slicer. This little gadget makes angel hair noodles out of zucchini (and other fruits and veggies, too) as easy as making curly hair out of play dough…and it’s just as fun!

So now that zucchini is in season I can welcome back pasta dishes without the guilt. These noodles make great no-cook (or as the cool kids like to call them “raw”) pasta, perfect for making all sorts of creations like Asian and Italian inspired dishes.

Yesterday I made a simple pasta salad by tossing zucchini noodles with some chopped cucumber, tomatoes, and carrots with a simple vinaigrette. And for dinner, I covered the noodles with a fresh tomato sauce that I made by piling Roma tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, red pepper, spinach, garlic, mushrooms, and seasonings into the Vitamix. Dinner was served in a matter of minutes!

And get this…did you know that zucchini are 95% water? How great is that?! A zucchini-filled dish will fill you up without weighing you down!

Now I really must go hit the gym and later I just might play a little squash!

I hope your 4th of July weekend is full of…

• footWORK
• legWORK
• resistanceWORK
• teamWORK
• hardWORK,yardWORK houseWORK
  
• …and a whole lot of fireWORKS

And for a healthy dessert, I think anything with fresh berries will WORK. Like this dynamite…

Red, White and Blue Almond Burst

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup water
• 1 T vanilla extract
• Stevia (or honey) to taste
• Blueberries and strawberries (of course raspberries work)

Blast the almonds, water, vanilla, and stevia in a high speed blender until smooth. Chill. Top with fresh berries and serve!

This recipe makes about 6 servings. I think it tastes like a cross between a pudding and a really thick cool whip only it won’t cause the elastic on your gym shorts extra work.

Now I really must go put up my American flag and get back to my social netWORK!

I never say never, but you will never see me belly up to a juice bar waiting for a shot of wheat grass.

However, if that bar had Chocolate Amazing Grass GREEN SuperFood on tap, I’d order a round.

Thanks to Kalli, I finally got my hands on some Amazing Grass after winning it on her Amazing Blog.

I’ve tried a number of other green powdered drinks and haven’t been able to give them the green light, but this stuff is amazing and it doesn’t taste like grass, it tastes like chocolate. Seriously.

Besides the taste, here are just 3 of the many reasons I dig Amazing Grass:

• It’s organic, gluten free, vegan, and raw (which satisfies the raw-curious phase I’m going through right now)
• It’s packed full of probiotics and enzymes to aid digestion and absorption
• It naturally detoxifies and boosts your immune system

I’ve been mixing one scoop of chocolate Amazing Grass in protein shakes and yesterday I tried a scoop in about 10 ounces of cold water and loved every sip.

The good people at Amazing Grass also loaded me up with some amazing bars. Hello, chocolate peanut butter protein bar…it’s my favorite so far! You can bet I’ll be hunting more of these bad boys down at Whole Foods this weekend.

Now I really must go catch up on the World Cup, soccer is such a kick in the…(amazing) grass!

We all make mistakes, I happen to be exceptionally good at them.

For instance, last week I decided to try my hand at making coconut butter. I read somewhere that all you need to do is toss shredded coconut into a food processor for several minutes and ta-da, instant coconut butter!

Instead of just following those simple instructions I decided to use my Vitamix blender rather than hauling out my food processor. That was the mistake! My 1 cup of shredded coconut just turned into even finer shreds of coconut instead of butter.

So, I tossed my Vitamix container into the sink to clean it out with some warm water and guess what? My coconut butter mistake turned into snow white coconut milk before my eyes. I put the container back on the base and blended it for about 30 seconds, tasted it, added a little bit of stevia and ta-da, instant coconut milk!

Let’s recap…

Instant Coconut Milk

• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1.5 liters of water
• Stevia to taste

Blend. Enjoy in cereals, shakes, smoothies, baked goods, you name it!

While I did not filter my coconut milk you might want to as it thickened up after refrigerating for a day or two. You can use a nut milk bag if you want to be fancy or just do what I did and toss it back in the blender for a quick refresher.

Now I really must go back into the kitchen…I feel another accident just waiting to happen!

I am nuts about Bragg’s Liquid Aminos.

I use it in place of other soy sauces in stir-fry’s and now to add some amazing flavor to natural almonds without adding calories. Here’s how you make…

Almonds You’ll Bragg About

• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1/4 cup Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
• 1 t sea salt
• 1 T garlic or onion powder

In a bowl stir together the Bragg’s, salt, and garlic or onion powder. Add in the almonds and stir until the liquid is absorbed into the almonds.

Roasting/Dehydrating options:

• If you’re in a hurry, toss them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for about 15-22 minutes. Stir half way.
• If you’re into eating raw:
  • Toss the almonds onto a cookie sheet and bake at the lowest temperature with the oven door slightly ajar for about 2 hours
  • Toss the almonds into your dehydrator for about 2-3 hours

Eat these salty, savory almonds with salads, Asian dishes, or by the handful…or all three!

Now I really must go rehydrate before I go nuts!