{Monday Motivation}: Otto's Cassava Flour & How to get Creative in the Kitchen

Hello cupcakes!

It's time for our third edition of Motivational Mondays with my friend and fellow blogger Maddie Butterfield. Feel free to grab the graphic above and join us! I love starting the week with some inspiration and positivity.

My goal for this post it to let you all know you can eat healthy and not have to eat boring food. I like to make eating healthy fun and exciting. I tend to eat a Paleo style diet which means almost all of the foods I eat are fresh and natural (no added chemicals or artificial ingredients). I was getting bored with my eggs and potatoes that I have eaten for the past 2-3 weeks. I decided I wanted to switch it up in the kitchen. Who else loves being creative in the kitchen?

I decided to try and make some Spinach Paleo Tortillas. I love sneaking in veggies anywhere I can get them. Perfect for kids who don't like veggies. I also like this recipe because there are not many ingredients used to make the tortillas. 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of spinach
• 3 T of water
• 1 c. Otto's Cassava Flour
• 2 T Chosen Blend Oil or oil of choice 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1-2 T water

Directions: 

In a pan, wilt the spinach with the 3 T of water. 

While the spinach is wilting whisk together the flour and salt. After the spinach is wilted, process until smooth. 

Next, mix together the spinach puree, oil, and the flour mixture. Next, add in the egg and rest of the water. 

I was Face-timing my boyfriend as I was making these. He said, "take a picture of me so I can make it on your blog." What a keeper :)  So... shout out to Cory for being the best girlfriend a girl could ever ask for. I get to visit him soon in California so stay tuned for those posts. 

Then roll the dough into 2 balls and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Next, break the each ball into 3 smaller balls & roll out between parchment paper. 

Heat a skillet on medium heat. I sprayed my pan with Chosen Foods Avocado Oil Spray. Cook each side of the tortilla until brown. 

I decided to make my tortillas into egg wraps. I cooked 2 eggs, onions, and spinach. I also added Primal Kitchen Chipolte Lime Mayo to the wrap. 

I am so excited to eat this for breakfast everyday this week. Currently drooling over here as I type this up. 

So my goal for you this week is to try something new in the kitchen. Whether that be trying out a new healthy recipe in the kitchen, meal prepping your food for the next day of work, or buying a new food to use in the kitchen. Make healthy eating fun and exciting. I love when I create something new that I am so excited to eat for the rest of the week. Another easy way to sneak spinach into your diet is to make a smoothie. One smoothie that I love making is 2 scoops of Nuzest Vanilla Protein Powder {"ToriF" for 15 % off}, 1 banana, 1-2 handfuls of spinach, 1 T chia seeds, & 1-2 c unsweetened cashew or almond milk. My last easy tip for sneaking in more veggies is to make my delicious Cauliflower Pizza.

Let me tell you a little about Otto's Cassava Flour:

• It's an all natural, grain free replacement for flour and can be used as a 1:1 ratio substitution in many recipes. 
• There are no added fillers
• Recipes don't come out dry when you use this flour, unlike other flour substitutes 
• Gluten free, grain free, nut free, and soy free
• "Also known as yuca, cassava is a delicious root vegetable that becomes the perfect alternative for wheat when dried and ground using our proprietary preparation (say THAT 5 times fast!
• Cassava is a good source of calcium, phosphorus, manganese, iron, & potassium
• Cassava is a good source of fiber

To read more about Otto's Cassava Flour and how the company got started, follow this link: Otto's Cassava Flour Story

Here is a link to some other recipes using Otto's Cassava Flour: Recipes

Later Taters xoxo

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."

*Spinach Tortilla recipe from Fork & Beans 

1 tortilla= 95 calories, 5.3 g. fat, 16 g carbs, 1 g fiber, & 1.6 g protein

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{Healthy, Protein Packed Cupcakes}... or muffins

Hello cupcakes!

I have a fun new recipe to share with you. I can't decide if they should be cupcakes or muffins ahah! So if you make them, let me know what you think in the comments below. For now I am going to call them Cupcakes ;)

Healthy Cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes:

• 1/2 banana, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 2 T Olivado Avocado Oil
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cashew milk
• 1/2 T chia seeds
• 1/2 T hemp seeds
• 40 g. Collagen Peptides
• 2 scoops of Nuzest Vanilla Protein Powder (Use code: "ToriF" for 15% off your Nuzest order)
• 1 t. baking powder
• 1/3 c.Organic Gemini Tigernut Flour
• 1/4 c. Cassava Flour
• 1/4 c arrowroot powder

Ingredients for protein frosting:

• 2/3 c. + 2 T. Unsweetened Cashew Milk
• 2 T Smuckers Simply Blackberry Jelly
• 4 scoops of  Vanilla Nuzest Protein Powder

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Combine all ingredients for the cupcakes in a large bowl
• Place muffin liners into a cupcake pan
• Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners- Should make 9 cupcakes
• Bake in the oven for 20 minutes
• Meanwhile, create the protein frosting
• In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the protein frosting.
• Once the cupcakes are done baking, take them out of the oven and let them cool
• Once the cupcakes are cool, frost them with the protein frosting





-Macros per cupcake without frosting:

131.3 calories

5.8 g. fat

12.3 g. carbs

8.3 g. protein

-Macros for protein frosting (9 servings):

31.4 calories

.2 g fat

2.4 g carbs

4.6 g. protein

-Macros for cupcake + frosting (9 Servings)

162.7 calories

6 g. fat

14.7 g. carbs

12.9 g. protein

Had to get some pictures with my lovely roses in the background

These cupcakes were so fluffy. I love adding the protein frosting to the top to bump up the protein content. I also love how purple the jelly makes it!

I will be snacking on these the rest of this week between my meals.

Here is what the inside looks like:

YUM!

Cupcakes you can feel good about eating?! Sign me up! These would be perfect for an after school snack for kids or even part of a healthy breakfast.

Later Taters

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."

{LOLA}

Hello cupcakes! 

I have a little different blog post for you today. This post is dedicated to all of my female readers. If you are a male, you can pass over this post.

Did you know the FDA does not require tampon brands to disclose comprehensive ingredients?...Yeah neither did I until I read Simply Taralynn's blog post about {LOLA}. After reading some of Taralynn's blog post, I decided to do check out the company for myself.

Did you know the average woman uses 15,000 tampons or pads over her lifetime? Now that's a lot of tampons. I know I would feel better knowing I am not putting a bunch of harmful chemicals into my body each month. 

Lola Tampons are 100% cotton. This means they are natural and biodegradable. The plastic applicator is also BPA free. 

And if that is not enough for you... they deliver to your house each month! You will never have to make that quick trip to the drug store when you are out.

I like that you can choose how many of each tampon you want in your box. I got 9 light and 9 regular in each box. They also have super available. 

Try to find the ingredients used by large tampon companies, it's pretty much impossible! 

There is a cute little saying on the inside of each box, "This too shall pass." I think little encouraging words like this will help me during my next time of the month. It's the little things that make companies like this stand out to me. Lola cares about the health of their customers. 

I hope this post hits close to home for some of you and makes you reconsider some health and beauty products you are putting in and on your body.

xoxo

Later Taters

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."

{Keep It Real Food Company}

Hello cupcakes!

I have a new fun and exciting food company to share with you. It's called {Keep It Real Food Company}

“The Keep It Real Food Co. mission is to use the knowledge I’ve gained observing how foods affect my blood sugar, hunger, and energy levels to offer people with and without diabetes better food products. We set out to create low-glycemic, grain-free snacks and treats containing ONLY naturally healthy ingredients, and to build a brand of goods that customers trust to be healthy and delicious.”

– Katie Coleman, founder

To read more about Katie's story and the reason she started this company, follow this link: {Keep it Real with Katie}

Here is a link to all the Gluten free goodies and treats: {Gluten-Free}

&

Here is a link to all the Paleo goodies and treats: {Paleo}

& 

Here is a link to all the diabetes friendly goodies and treats: {Diabetes Friendly}

Let me walk through the products with you...

Seed + Nut Bars

These little bars were so tasty! I love that they are fresh & crunchy. One thing I look for in a granola bar is a short ingredient list. This one has that with just 10 clean, simple ingredients. Also, there are many health benefits from the foods used to make these. I don't feel bad about putting this bar into my body! If you follow the link above, there is a link for the health benefits and reasoning behind the recipe. 

Ingredients: Organic seeds (flax, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame), almonds, honey, organic coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon, salt.

No Grain Granola

Keep It Real Food Co. has a picture of this granola with berries on top! Oh my goodness it has my mouth watering. I am going to have to try that. So I just tried the granola by itself and I love how the cinnamon compliments the sweetness from the honey. I think this would be the perfect breakfast or snack. Many cereals are also processed and loaded with sugar, so this would be a better choice. If you are short on time, you could grab this and go as well!

Organic seeds (flax, pumpkin, sunflower, sesame), almonds, honey, organic coconut oil, organic dried apples, organic coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, salt.

Seedy Crackers

So many cracker products on the market today are filled with chemicals and processed ingredients. I absolutely love that these are not! They are made with clean and healthy ingredients. The seeds are toasted, so it adds an almost smokey flavor to the crackers. Plus, there is 6g of fiber in one serving of these bad boys! Whoop! One thing I was worried about before trying these is that they would not be equivalent to other crackers, but I think these are better. They seem crunchier to me!

Ingredients: organic flax seeds, organic sesame seeds, organic chia seeds, black pepper, salt.

Flourless Cocoa Nib Cookies

If you are a chocolate chip cookie lover, look no further. These are cookies you can feel good about eating! Cocoa nibs are full of antioxidants. If you don't know what an antioxidant is... antioxidants help prevent damage from free radicals in the body. To read more about antioxidants, follow this link: Antioxidants 101. I thought I would just taste this cookie & save the rest for later, but that did not happen. 

Ingredients: almonds, coconut palm sugar, cocoa nibs, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

I loved how soft these cookies were. I am a huge fan of soft cookies, none of that hard crunchy stuff for me. When it comes to cookies, I want them gooey and soft. This cookie met my expectations. Another thing I love about these cookies is they are the perfect size. Sometimes a huge cookie can weigh me down, but this one I can fit in the palm of my hand. 

Ingredients: peanuts, coconut palm sugar, eggs, baking soda, salt.

Mighty Meal

So I have a confession, I am a huge oatmeal fan. I try to limit my gluten intake & eat more paleo style, so this would be the perfect replacement for me! You add almond milk or water to this container and microwave for a minute. You are left with a delicious bowl of goodness. It reminds me of the consistency of oatmeal. It's also very filling, so it could tide someone over until lunch if needed.  This Mighty Meal has fat, carbs, and protein, so the combination helps keep you full longer. I topped mine with berries and it hit the spot!

Ingredients: Organic shredded coconut, organic ground flax seeds, organic chia seeds, organic coconut palm sugar, cinnamon, salt.  

Overall, I had an awesome experience of trying out these products for the first time. I definitely love the story behind this company & everything they strive and shoot for! Thanks Keep It Real Company for making healthy and nutritious products!

I hope you all have a fantastic day & I will catch up soon!

Later Taters

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away." 

{Motivational Monday} & Giveaway

Hello cupcakes! 

I am linking up again with Maddie for Motivational Monday. I love sharing new healthy recipes with you. For today's post, I want to share a healthy pizza recipe! I am also including my meal prep and some tips/tricks I use weekly.

I also wanted to take a minute to let you know I am doing a giveaway. I've teamed up with YAWP to offer you all a chance to win a variety pack of YAWP bars. Check out this post to read more about YAWP: YAWP Eats. 

To enter, you must:

 1) follow my instagram: @toriswholelife_bbg 

2) follow YAWP's instagram: @yawpeats

3) Tag a friend in the comments on my instagram giveaway post

Here are two meals I will be having this week:

1) Grilled lean turkey burger wrapped in lettuce and topped with tomato, green onions, and Dijon mustard. I will be having carrots and snap peas on the side. 

2) Eggs and oven roasted white sweet potatoes

Cauliflower Pizza

Ingredients:

1 head of cauliflower

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp pink Himalyan salt

3 eggs

1/2 c. -1 c almond flour

tomato paste

other toppings such as: onions, pineapple, peppers, jalapenos, olives, fresh basil

meat of choice etc. 

Directions:

Pulse cauliflower in a food processor until it is in small pieces (looks like rice)

Place cauliflower in a microwave safe dish & microwave for 6 minutes. Stir half way through cooking. 

Let the cauliflower cool. Once cooled, add 3 eggs, almond flour, garlic powder, & salt to cauliflower (add as much almond flour as you would like. More almond flour will make for a more solid crust, but less almond flour will taste good too! It all depends on your preference). Spread "dough" out onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-25 minutes or until the crust is baked and starting to brown (pictured below)

After the crust is done baking, take it out of the oven and spread tomato paste on top. Next, top the crust with your desired toppings. Place pizza in the oven and bake 10-15 minutes. 

Here is the finished product!

 My roommate, Katie, also made some oven baked apples to go with our cauliflower pizza! They were so delicious. We are both doing the Whole30 together. 

Here were some of my groceries for meal prep.

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know I am obsessed with oven roasted potatoes. This time I used white sweet potatoes, Olivado Avocado Oil, and Flavor God Everything Spicy seasoning. Here is my tip for oven roasting potatoes. While you are cutting the potatoes up, place them in a bowl filled with cold water once they are sliced. Makes the potatoes cook so much better in my opinion. 

It was such a nice day in Indiana on Saturday. I decided to take advantage of using my parents' grill for meal prep since I was visiting. 

I love using the grill. It gives food such a great taste. In the summer I like to grill everything for meal prep! I will add my veggies and potatoes to the grill as well. What is your favorite thing to grill?

Other tips/tricks:

-Prep your meals for the work week on Saturday or Sunday. This will help you stay on track during the week. 

-Lay out your workout clothes the night before so that you can get a morning workout in before you give yourself excuses.

-Take progress photos and ditch the scale. Muscle weighs more than fat, but takes up less space in your body. So if you are working out and trying to lose weight, it is better to take progress photos. 

-When meal prepping, start with the food that will take the longest to cook. For example, this week I prepped oven roasted potatoes. These are the food item that takes the longest, so I start with that!

-Try to drink a glass of water before each meal.

-HIIT workouts are going to get you the fastest results. Once my foot heals, I will be starting BBG again. This is a HIIT style workout program. 

-If you have a family, pre-chop fresh fruits and veggies and set them at eye level in the fridge. 

-Set a weekly goal for yourself. Below are my weekly goals for this week

• Drink 3 of my 64 fl.oz. water bottles. 
• Do not stress eat/mindless eat
• Do yoga if I get stressed
• Put my phone away an hour before bed

-P.S. Next Monday I am going to show you how to meal prep in under an hour!

Later Taters

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away."