Tag Archives: Snacking

November 20, 2015 · 8:00 am

Snacking Doesn’t Have To Be Boring! #SeasonEatings

Hi friends!

How have you been?!

There is sooo much happening in our household! Sofia is growing so fast and I’m full of conflicting emotions: I want to see her grow but at the same time I just want to stay in this moment.

It was a big month for us with Sofia’s baptism.

Sofia's Baptism

She also just turned 4 months old.

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Since I’m breastfeeding exclusively, it does take a lot of energy. It doesn’t come as a surprise that I find myself looking in the fridge for a snack more often then usual. However, just like during pregnancy, I want to make sure to opt for healthier options. First of all, everything I eat gets passed on to my baby girl. And with the holidays just around the corner, I want to look my absolute best! *Is it too much to ask for? Haha!*

These past couple of weeks I was experimenting with healthy snacks that not only satisfy my sweet pre-holiday cravings, but also provide me and my baby with nutrients.

Probably one of the best recipes I came across is these No Bake Peanut Butter Bites. They are super delicious and fast & easy to make.

no bake peanut butter bites

First, soak 1 cup of raisins in warm water for 10 minutes. Then, add 2/3 cups of oats, 2 tbs peanut butter, 1 tbs chia seeds and 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Blend together until well mixed. Make 1 inch balls and put in fridge to set for 15 minutes. *Try not to eat them all at once because it’s not snacking at that point, more like pigging out. Haha!*

Another scrumptious snack I made recently is these Chocolate & Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookie Bars. They definitely take a little longer to make, but they are definitely worth it.

Chocolate & PB Chickpea cookie bars.jpg

While preheating the oven to 350 F, rinse and dry 2 cups of chickpeas. In a blender, mix chickpeas, 3/4 cups of maple syrup, 2 tsp vanilla, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda until smooth. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and poor batter into it. Lightly press 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips. Bake for at least 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and then transfer to a rack for another 30 minutes to set. Cut in bars or squares and enjoy!

If you don’t have time or desire to make anything, you can always resort to the following ideas:

Fresh fruits: I personally love snacking on apple slices with peanut butter!
Vegetables: how about a few slices of tomato sprinkled with feta cheese and olive oil or baby carrots & celery with tangy hummus?
Nuts: toss together your favorite trail mix and pre-measure it in serving sized ziplocks.
By the way, if you are not aware, Nuts.com has entire page dedicated to various healthy snack ideas.
Holiday flavored teas to satisfy sweet tooth: I’m addicted to David’s teas! Check out a set I bought for myself this week. I have tried mulled wine, hot chocolate and Alpine punch flavors and I’m in love!
It’s not really a snack, but try fooling your stomach by lighting some candles at home. At the moment, I’m in love with Vanilla Snow Flake from Bath & Body works. *I bought it last year, so I’m not sure if they still have it to be honest with you.*

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What are your favorite holiday snacks? Please, do share, it’s always fun to try something new!

xoxo
Olena

2 Comments

Filed under Health, Holidays, Kitchen Adventures, Running, Weight Loss

Tagged as breastfeeding, cardio, Family, fitness, health, healthy snacks, peanut butter, running, Snacking, weight loss

March 3, 2014 · 6:45 am

Spring Cleaning Your Home And Body 101: 3 Eco-Friendly DIY Household Cleaner Recipes & 6 Great Short-Term Challenges For Your Health

Call me crazy, but for me all seasons start on the first of the month. *I guess it’s an Eastern European thing!*

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I don’t think I’ll ever forget the day when we were asked a question about when seasons start in my French class shortly after my family’s arrival to Canada. Always an eager student, I could not wait to answer the question to show off my newly acquired French skills only to find myself completely dumb struck. *In retrospect, I still find the entire situation totally hilarious! I was soooo EMBARRASSED!* But then, who could blame me?! Why on the earth seasons would start on the 21st of the month and not on the first?! It’s beyond me!

Anyhow, back to the subject… MY spring began on Saturday, you CAN be jealous if you wish! Haha!

You still don’t believe me? Well, how about this? On Saturday night, my hubby was coming down with a flu, so he took some medicine and fell asleep. While he was peacefully snoring with Bella in his feet, I managed to rearrange all of his drawers… YAH! It was March 1!

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You know it’s a spring the moment your entire being wants to get rid of clutter and start things fresh. Right?! To me spring cleaning is letting go of winter, getting rid of clutter, reevaluating my short- and long-term goals.

In my opinion living healthy also implies living in harmony with nature and the world. Reducing our foot print on nature is indeed important to living a long healthy and happy life. This is why I was super excited when I found the following infographic.

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Indeed, white vinegar is a life saver! I use it when I have to clean a fridge and a shower all the time. On the other hand, I saw a few worrisome reports that some vinegar may be made of petroleum. So please, be sure to check your vinegar labels and make sure that it’s made of grains.

I also found a wonderful article on Greatist, 27 Non-Toxic Products for DIY Cleaning, make sure to check it out.

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Apart from cleaning my home, I like to take some time to refocus and get organized. For instance:

My first ever Spartan Race is only 2.5 months away. Thus, I really have to build a plan and stick to it.
Staying hydrated is one of my top priorities right now. I am constantly trying to be more aware of how much liquid I consume throughout the day.
Snacking is also very important to sustain my energy levels and avoid unnecessary highs and lows.
Cutting back on sugar consumption and trying to naturally cleanse my body are two of the most difficult challenges at the moment, and that’s okay. I just need to avoid temptation and use some will power.
Not to forget Emmeline’s challenge, my goal is to be able to do at least 30+ push ups and 15 pull ups in a row by summer .

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How about you? What does spring cleaning mean to you? What are your favorite ways to let go of winter?

xoxo
Olena

18 Comments

Filed under Fitness, Health, Motivation

Tagged as Body Cleanse, Detox, Eco-Friendly DIY, fitness, health, Hydration, Snacking, Spartan Race, Spring Cleaning, weight loss

February 24, 2014 · 6:45 am

26 Low-Calorie Snacks To Keep You Looking Slim & To Fuel You For A Run

I think I will sound fairly reasonable if I say that pretty much all of us at some point of our lives made this huge nutritional mistake. You wonder which one exactly I am referring to? Well, it’s actually not that hard to guess. Do you remember that horrible period of your life when you decided to limit your food intake in order to shed a few pounds. Not only that the effects of doing this were temporary and unhealthy, it made you feel weak, and, let’s be frank here, miserable.

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From a very young age, we are constantly reminded about the importance of having 3 full meals a day. And it is very true! However, very often we forget how important it is to SNACK in between meals.

There are many health benefits of snacking *snacking HEALTHY! just in case, haha!*:

Prevent overeating
Proper fueling = fit extra nutrients in your diet
Curb your cravings
Weight control
Sustain energy levels
Healthy recovery

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It is important to remember that your snacks will vary depending on your fitness activity. I found an excellent article at Runner’s World *suprise, surprise* called 25 Great Snacks for Runners. Some of them are: bananas, carrots, chocolate milk, cottage cheese, apricots, rice cakes with peanut butter, string cheese. You see? Snacking CAN be fun!

Since not all of the readers of my blog are runners, I decided to look for some interesting ideas that could be of help to the general public. I found the following Infographic which I really really liked!