NEW WEBSITE

I am so excited to announce that I have a new website up and running.  You can find me at http://www.wholenewstart.com  I have been working on this new site for the past couple of months and am so excited to finally have it up!  My website has a $5 weekly meal plan for a whole foods based diet and lots of healthy recipes!  I am currently going to school to become a holistic nutritionist and am so excited about it.  Thanks for reading this site and I hope you like my new one!

Hope to see you all over there!

tropical protein juice

This juice really hit the spot this morning!  I felt like I needed a tropical drink since it's already in the 90's here!  Yikes!  I added some protein to my juice too.  This made enough for two people, but of course I drank it all myself :)  Did you know you can buy coconut water at the dollar store?!! I just went yesterday and stocked up!  It was a really exciting day.  It's tastes exactly the same as the coconut water I buy at sprouts, but with a different label.

 Recipe:

1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder (just use scoop that comes with protein)

1 big handful of kale

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen pineapple

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 tsp flax seed

1 1/2 cups coconut water

1/2 cup pineapple juice

Mix in blender and enjoy! I use a blendtec and it works great for blending kale.

favorite skin care products

  favorite skin care items!

These are some of my skin care items I use on a regular basis.  I always use EWG skin deep website before buying a new product because it rates the product and tells you how safe it is and any harmful ingredients it might have.  All of these items have really good ratings and are very safe for your skin.

COq10 Avalon organics face wash
-hands down the best face wash I have found.  I love it because I also use it as a makeup remover.  It gets off almost all of my makeup just by washing my face.

alba botanica mineral protection facial spf 20 sunscreen
refer to this post to see different safe sunscreen options for this Summer!

my own oil serum (to the right of the sunscreen)
I buy these containers at sprouts and add a combination of vitamin e oil, sweet almond oil, and sesame oil.  I usually only wear my oil mixture to bed.  I just put a couple drops in my hand and rub all over my face.  This really helps when I break out and want to control my face.

kiss my face fragrance free moisturizer
This is is the cheapest, safest face lotion I have found so far.  It was less than 10 dollars at sprouts.  The back of the container says it is meant to be a face lotion too.


100% pure red wine resveratrol nourishing cream and eye cream
I'm kind of a 100%  pure snob!  I love everything on their website.  I wish I could afford all of their face stuff.  Their items are pretty pricey, but very high quality.  I got all of my skin care stuff from them when they had a huge black friday sale.

100% pure red wine resveratrol scrub and mask
I love using this scrub once a week to get rid of the dead skin cells on my face.  My face is always baby bum smooth after I use this.  You can also make your own natural face scrub to use with olive oil and brown sugar.  There are a lot of different recipes out there.

My body lotion combo
To make my body lotion I buy a container at walgreens or walmart and fill it almost to the top with avalon organics aloe unscented body lotion and then I put in a couple tablespoons of sesame oil.  I shake it all up and then you have the best lotion for your skin.

Yerba Prima skin brush
This skin brush is used all over your body to get rid of the dead skin cells.  It really helps with circulation.  I try to use mine twice a week really quick before I get in the shower.

Almost all of the items can be found at sprouts/whole foods.  100 percent pure is only an online shop


Products I am dying to try:

I love the honest company!  I have tried a couple of their items and have really liked it.  I am tempted to sign up for a monthly subscription of their items!

a week of trader joe recipes

 We loved all of these recipes and they will definitely be added to my regular meal plan.  They were all so easy and delicious.  That's why I love trader joe's so much!  All of their meals are so easy.

stuffed peppers

 

 

• 1 package TJ’s Tri-Color Bell Peppers
• 1 cup TJ’s Brown Jasmine Rice, cooked
• 1 cup TJ’s Organic Tomatoes, Diced & Fire Roasted with Organic Green Chiles
• 2 TJ’s Smoked Andouille Chicken Sausages, diced
• ½ cup TJ’s Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Slice peppers in half from stem to tip and remove seeds. In a bowl, combine rice, tomatoes and sausage. Scoop mixture into pepper halves. Place stuffed peppers in a roasting pan, cover and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven. Top peppers with cheese. Cook uncovered for an additional 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and starting to brown. Serve.

Serves: 3 - 6
Cooking Time: 45 Minutes

  super green pizza

 

• 2 TJ’s Frozen Organic Pizza Crusts (1 package)
• TJ’s Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1 container TJ’s Genova Pesto
• 2 cups TJ’ Shredded Swiss Gruyere Cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped TJ’s Fire Roasted Peppers
• 1 cup of loosely packed TJ’s Wild Arugula
• TJ’s Garlic Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Allow pizza crusts to come to room temperature (approximately 15 minutes). Lightly flour two baking sheets. Place pizza crust on each. Divide pesto evenly onto both crusts and smooth out with a spatula. Sprinkle 1 cup each of shredded cheese on to both pizza crusts. Sprinkle 1/4 cup each chopped peppers on each pizza. Place in oven for 15-17 minutes or until the crust is lightly brown. Once the pizza is out of the oven divide the arugula between both pizzas. Drizzle Garlic EVOO liberally. Enjoy!

Serves: 4 - 6
Cooking Time: 35 - 40 Minutes 

(for this recipe I used mozarella cheese instead of the swiss gruyere cheese and I also added cut up asparagus)  This pizza was so good!  Definitely restaurant quality!

coconut chicken

 

 

 

• 1 cup TJ's Gluten Free Flour (I used regular flour)
• 1/2 cup TJ's Roasted Coconut Chips
• 1/4 teaspoon TJ's Sea Salt
• 2 TJ's Organic Chicken Breasts
• 1 TJ's Large Egg
• 4 Tbsp TJ's Organic Virgin Coconut Oil

Place coconut chips in a food processor and pulse to create crumbs. Combine coconut, flour and sea salt. In a separate bowl, beat egg. Dip chicken breasts in egg and then in flour. Melt oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place chicken breasts in skillet and lower heat to medium low. Cook for approximately 8 minutes per side repeatedly turning to create even browning. Cook until chicken is firm and no longer pink inside.

Serves: 2
Cooking Time: 25 Minutes  

Zucchini Quinoa Burgers

 haven't made these yet, but here is the recipe!  They sound delicious!

 

• 2 cups TJ's Tri-color Quinoa, Cooked
• 1/2 cup TJ's Shredded Mozzarella
• 1 cup TJ's Low Fat Cottage Cheese
• 1 cup TJ's Zucchini, Grated or Chopped
• 3 TJ's Eggs, Beaten
• 3 Tbsp TJ's White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 TJ's Green Onion Stalks, Chopped
• 1 cup TJ's Panko Bread Crumbs
• 3 Tbsp TJ's Olive Oil
• 1 tsp TJ's Cumin
• 2 Cloves TJ's Garlic, Chopped
• TJ's Salt & TJ's Pepper

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except olive oil. Mixture will be sticky. If necessary add more Panko Crumbs at this point. Form into 10 patties. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or more. Add olive oil to skillet and bring to medium high heat. Add patties and cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown

you can find all these recipes on trader joe's website! 

In other news, Allie had her first green smoothie...and she loved it!  Yay! So proud!

My favorite green smoothie is a huge handful of organic spinach with 1 cup frozen pineapple, add water.

Best and worst breads on the market

Food babe is my number one go to site for learning about ingredients that are not safe for your body.  Recently she did an article about the healthiest breads and worst breads you can buy.  She also has been on CNN talking about Subway and how they put azodicarbonamide (same ingredient in yoga mats and shoe rubber) in all their bread!  In fact, a lot of breads have this nasty ingredient!  I think I will pass on the yoga mat sandwich for now!  Disgusting! 

Before I dive into the healthiest and worst breads I wanted to first talk a little bit about bread. Gluten free food is super popular right now and unless you have a gluten sensitivity you really don't need to avoid gluten.  I think the reason why so many people are buying gluten free foods is because as a society in general we eat way too much wheat.  Bread for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.  This can be hard on your body over time because grains are hard to digest and your pancreatic enzymes can become overworked.  In general there are too many  chemicals added to breads these days.  Flour can be treated with 60 different chemicals approved by the FDA, including chemical bleach!

Bread ingredients to stay away from

• dough conditioners
• azodicarbonamide
• DATEM
• monoglycerides
• diglycerides
• sodium stearoyl lactylate
• soybean oil/corn oil
• presrvatves
• GMOs
• added sugar
• sucralose
• artificial flavors and coloring

 


 




HEALTHIEST BREADS


 


 my favorite breads!

I love to buy alpine valley organic whole grain bread.  Want to know a little secret?  If you go to the alpine valley factory in Mesa on country club and southern you can buy a loaf of bread for $1 each!  I like to stock up and put them in my freezer.

Ingredients:
Organic Whole Grain Wheat Flour, Organic Wheat Flour, Water, Organic Evaporated Cane Syrup, Organic Honey, Organic Oats, Organic Oat Bran, Organic Cultured Wheat Flour, Organic Vinegar, Sea Salt, Yeast, Wheat Enzymes.


Another favorite of mine is ezekiel bread!  I love their cinammon raisin bread, english muffins, and their 7 grains bread.

 healthy bread list:

Sprouted Grain Breads

• Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread – Food for Life (all varieties – 7 grains, sesame, genesis, flax, cinnamon raisin, tortillas, muffins)
• Sunseed Bread – Manna
• Banana Walnut Hemp Bread – Manna
• Sprouted Multi-Grain Bread – Rudi’s (contains added sugar)
• Sprouted Wheat Bread – Dave’s Killer Bread (contains added sugar)
• Sprouted Wheat Multi-Grain Bread – Alvarado St. Bakery (contains added sugar)

Gluten-Free Breads

• Buckwheat Bread – Happy Camper’s (contains added sugar)
• Gluten-Free Rice Almond Bread – Food for Life (contains added sugar)
• Gluten-Free Exotic Black Rice Bread – Food for Life (contains added sugar)
• Gluten-Free Super Chia Bread – Nature’s Path (contains added sugar)
• Good Morning Millet Toaster Cakes – Ancient Grains Bakery (contains added sugar)
• Gluten-Free Deli Rye Style Bread – Canyon Bakehouse (contains added sugar)

Ancient Grain Breads

• Gluten-Free Ancient Grains Bread – Manna (contains added sugar)
• Spelt Ancient Grain Bread – Rudi’s (contains added sugar)
• Good Seed Spelt Bread – Dave’s Killer Bread (contains added sugar)

you can read the full article on bread here.

grocery shopping

I wanted to do a post on what my grocery shopping typically looks like.  Each week I go to the superstition farmers market for discounted fruits and vegetables.  I like to buy certain things organic, so I just get the things I want organic from Trader Joe's.  I usually spend around $80-100 per week on groceries for my husband, a toddler, and me.  Yes, this is a lot, but having healthy food for my family is my number one priority.  I don't eat out, maybe once a month and I don't really buy anything extra for myself.  Come find me on instagram at healthy_withsam for daily healthy meals and workouts.

My typical grocery list

Produce

• apples
• bananas
• pears
• organic spinach
• zucchini
• butternut squash
• asparagus 
• tomatoes
• avocado
• cilantro
• green beans
• frozen fruit 
• broccoli
• sweet potatoes

Grains

• ezekiel bread
• ezekiel tortillas
• ezekiel cereal
• whole wheat pasta
• couscous
• quinoa
• oatmeal
• granola

Milk

• unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• organic soy milk

Other

• chia seeds
• flax seed
• greek yogurt
• organic eggs
• extra lean ground turkey
• organic chicken
• salsa
• frozen acai packets (at sprouts)
• sunflower seed butter
• almond butter
• cashews
• almonds
• raisins
• unsweetened coconut
• organic strawberry jam

Costco ( I usually go once a month or once every two months for these items)

•  frozen pineapples 
• organic frozen berries
• quinoa
• brown rice
• whole wheat pasta
• dates
• oatmeal

Trader Joe's (here is what I normally buy at trader joe's)

• ezekiel bread (they have the best price that I have seen)
• ezekiel tortillas
• couscous
• granola (I like the coconut cranberry trader joe's brand kind)
• greek yogurt (organic plain, and sometimes the mango)
• organic strawberry jam
• sunflower butter
• almond butter
• cashews
• almonds
• raisins
• unsweetened coconut
• organic eggs
• organic chicken
• organic soy milk
• unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• hummus (Mediterranean kind)

Here is a peak into my fridge from my grocery trip this week.  I actually bought enough that I won't go shopping for two weeks.  I freeze a lot of fruit and my produce usually lasts around two weeks.  It seems like way too much food for us, but we always end up eating it all.  We eat a ton of produce!  My husband bikes crazy distances every week and needs to eat a ton to refuel.  

Here is a look at what I bought at the superstition farmers market this week.  I always load up on sweet potatoes, any berries on sale, pears, tomatoes, green beens

Some of my trader joe favorites!


almonds
dried mango
almond butter
sunflower seed butter
hummus
corn tortillas
organic spinach
organic plain greek yogurt
mango greek yogurt
coconut cranberry granola
any sliced up veggies that make my life easy!

what I get for Allie:
apple bars
fig bars
raisins
mangos sliced up
spinach tortellini