A BRAZIL NUT A DAY

Keeps the doctor away?

I started the morning with my favorite protein pancakes from an earlier post, but today I added some pumpkin to the recipe for some added flavor & Vitamin A ( Click here for more about why pumpkins are great! ). 

 

Another thing I add to my plate every morning is a Brazil nut or two.  They are an excellent source of selenium, which can give your immune system and your thyroid a boost.  For more details on that bit click here.

 

While I was eating breakfast I was getting my post workout drink ready for later.  Today I just tossed together a common favorite for me:

 

I love using frozen spinach in lieu of ice.  It's easier to blend, you can't even taste it & it adds some great nutrients!

 

Arms & Abs

My workout today focused on arms and abs.  At first, it didn't seem too intense, but by my third round I was really feeling the burn!  Especially in my abdominal muscles!!  Try it if you dare!

 

 

So Taboo

We had game night at my sisters house tonight.  The game of choice:

 



 

(picture found on Wikipedia)

 

I love this game!  You divide into teams.  When it's your teams turn, you grab a stack of cards, each card has a key word at the top and below the key word is a list of words that would be commonly used to describe the key word.  You have to get your teammates to guess as many key words as possible without using any of the 'taboo' words listed underneath it.  So, it's basically the board game equivalent to a version of $25,000 Pyramid.  Remember that show?

 

Taste Test Junkie

It was my job to bring a dessert to game night, so I tried to make it healthy, but still something others would consider dessert.  I am on this taste test kick, so I made 2 new brownie recipes to see which one we would like better.  They came together like this:

 

 

Option A was made with an almond butter base (16 oz jar) and used just 5 other ingredients: 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa, 1 egg, 1 tsp baking soda.  I baked them at 325° for about 35 minutes.

 

Option B was a black bean vegan brownie and it did not turn out so well :( I'm not going to even go into details with this one because something went horribly wrong.  I cooked them forever & they still turned out like bean soup with a hint of cocoa.  I will say that I learned something very interesting while studying vegan baking.  You can take 3 tsp of milled chia seeds and add 6 tablespoons of water to create an 'egg' type consistency and use this in your baking in lieu of actual eggs.  I'm not sure if that is part of what led to my epic fail on these brownies, but I think I will try the technique again when I'm in the mood for some vegan baking.

So, needless to say, the almond butter brownies won the taste test!

 

 

What are your favorite boardgames or game night games?