{California Recap}

Hello cupcakes!

It's finally starting to get nice here in Indiana. I know this is a little delayed, but I wanted to share my California pictures with you! This summer is going to be pretty crazy, so hang in there with me. After June 17th I will have more free time to start blogging again. 

When I first arrived in Cali, my boyfriend took me to Coronado Beach. The sand had little gold sparkles in it. I was so amazed. We took the Frisbee with us. We weren't there very long before I realized how hungry I was, so Cory took me to get some food.

More pictures of Coronado Beach...

One place Cory took me was called Roberto's and let me tell you what, this place has my heart! This was a chicken taco. I only got one taco and it was $3.50. It filled me up. It was a corn tortilla with chicken breast pieces, homemade guac, & homemade pico. I think I am still having dreams about this taco. 

When Cory lived in Charlotte, I bought us a doughnut pan. I didn't really get a whole lot of use out of it, so this in Cali it was my goal to make a bomb protein doughnut. I think I finally succeeded. These were amazing and boyfriend approved. 

One of the days, after Cory got off work, we went hiking. This place was beautiful. I can't wait to hike more mountains out there. 

There was a reservoir and dam off in the distance. 

Here was up close to the reservoir. This was half way into our hike (well I should say the half way point meaning we made it to the top). 

I think I had a fingerprint on my phone camera because these two pictures turned out a little blurry. I also did not bring my actual camera to California this time because I will be living out there soon enough... yay!!!

If you follow me on snap chat or Instagram, you know I am on a huge salad kick. One night I made homemade Chiptole Bowls. They turned out amazing. I used lettuce, corn, salsa verde, chicken breast, homemade guac, and sauteed peppers and onions. 

I also made some chicken, sweet potato fries, and vegetables for another dinner on a different night.

One thing I was sooooo excited for... trying out my future gym. This is called Worlds Gym and it's by the same people as Golds Gym. I love how it looks industrial. There is something about a new gym that gets me so motivated. 

I also recently bought a nice waffle maker and had it shipped to Cory in California. I made so many protein waffles while I was visiting. If you want to follow my instagram it is: @toriswholelife . This waffle combo was 1/2  a waffle, protein dip, and 1 T of almond butter. The recipe is posted on my Instagram. 

Here was a salad I made: lean ground turkey, salsa verde, cucumbers, snap peas, crushed up rice cake, lettuce, and Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar dressing. 

I spent a few hours at the pool every other day to get a little tan and relax. 

Friday night for dinner we went to Oceanside Beach and ate at Hello Betty's. I got the Mahi Mahi tacos. 

My breakfast before the zoo was a breakfast casserole I made, a protein doughnut, strawberries, and a few slices of bacon. 

Now here are my zoo pictures from the San Diego Zoo...

Look at his tongue haha!

Cory and I were so confused while looking at this thing...

We took Quest Bars to snack on while we walked around the zoo. 

We spent about 4 hours walking around the whole zoo! It was a blast. I am so glad we went. If you visit San Diego and want something to do, go check out the zoo! After the zoo we were both pretty hungry. We went to Carnitas Snack Shack. Let me tell you what, they have some bomb dot com food. I got the carnitas tacos. 

That wraps up my Cali pictures, but here are some pictures from the past week. 

I am a little obsessed with Artic Zero right now. For anyone that has a lactose intolerance or wants a healthier version of ice cream, check this stuff out. I like to microwave mine for about 30 seconds so that it gets softer and creamier. 

I grilled up some turkey burgers and asparagus to eat this weekend. 

I also snacked on some cucumbers. I love how light and fresh they are in the summer. 

I hope you enjoyed my never ending recap. I can't wait to blog again.

Later Taters

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

{Long Recap Post}

Good morning Cupcakes!

WOW! It has been awhile since I've had time to write a blog post. Today's post is going to be a long recap post of things going on in my life recently. 

A couple weekends ago, I was able to go home to my parents' house. Both of my sisters were home that weekend, so we had some much needed family time.

I also was able to go to my boyfriend's grandma's birthday party. Here are two of the little cousins. I love little kiddos and babies :) 

One snack I love for traveling or on the go: Epic Bars. I bought this one from the Vitamin Shoppe.

Here is one of my half eaten breakfasts. It was 2 slices of low sodium ezekiel bread with 1 egg white muffin cup which had spinach and green onions. 

The next weekend I was able to travel to my undergraduate campus... PURDUE! I miss this place! It was so nice to be back and walk around campus. I have so many wonderful memories from this place. I took my sister's dog for a long walk on campus while she studied and took a test. My fitbit told me I walked 8 miles that day!

These are just some pictures from campus

We ate at Chipotle and I got a salad with chicken, fajita veggies, green salsa, and a side of brown rice. 

Another find from Vitamin Shoppe: D's Naturals Fluffbutter. It was bomb!

I am on a salad kick right now...

I was able to be home at my parents' house during Cinco De Mayo and we ordered mexican food from a local mexican restaurant. I ordered chicken fajitas (light on the oil). I eat the fajitas without the tortillas. 

Another thing I am loving at the moment, is freshly cooked dinners. Throughout graduate school I have meal prepped every week. This means I eat the same food all week long and sometimes it does not taste very fresh. I cannot wait to graduate and be able to cook dinners every night for my boyfriend and I. This was chicken with mushrooms and asparagus.

This is the view from my parents' front porch.

I am currently in California visiting my boyfriend. This will be my last visit before moving here. I get more and more excited every day to start my life here. When I got here on Sunday, we drove to the beach (Coronado). The sand on the beach had sparkles in it! 

 I made chicken, veggies, and sweet potato fries for dinner one night. 

We also love to go hiking. Here are some pictures from our hike yesterday. 

This morning I made waffles with my new waffle maker. I posted the recipe on my instagram if you are interested: @toriswholelife . I have a protein dip for my waffle as well!

Hopefully I will get some more awesome pictures while I am in California. I want to do a full travel recap post after this trip, so stay tuned for that. I am also going to do a BBG recap post after this trip. I will be half way through my BBG 12 week journey. 

Later Taters

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

{Healthy Protein Cookie Dough}

Hello cupcakes!

I've been on the self-care train lately, and I honestly have taken a little break from blogging. I think this will help me be a better blogger and better person in general. I've started journaling each night before I go to bed to reflect on myself. I watched Em Duncan's YouTube videos last Monday and I fell in love with her self-respect, self-esteem, and self-confidence. She mentioned how much journaling has helped her. So far I really love it. I love ending my night on a positive note. I can share more if you are interested in hearing more about my journaling. 

I did not get a picture of this recipe, but I wanted to share it with you because it is my current addiction. I am so in love with it; it's my guilty pleasure. Maybe I will add a picture eventually. 

{Healthy Protein Cookie Dough}

Ingredients:

21 g plant protein

26 g brown sugar truvia

53 g whole wheat flour

78 ml unsweetened almond milk

4 ml vanilla extract

4 ml butter extract

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients. Next, add wet ingredients and stir until combined. That's it!

Makes 3 servings

Each serving

109 calories

.8 g fat

21.8 g carbs

7.3 g protein

Later Taters

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

P.S. I get to visit my boyfriend in California in 13 days and I am so so excited. Only 89 days until I graduate with my Master's Degree (and officially move to California)! Whoo!

{Meal Prep Featuring Salsa, Texas & Paleo Powder}

Hello cupcakes!

Who else is loving this awesome weather here in Indiana? This weekend it was finally sunny and in the upper 70's. I took full advantage of the natural sun light to get some awesome food pictures. 

Here is my meal plan for this week:

Post workout: 3/4 c. Puffin cereal with 1/3 c unsweetened vanilla almond milk & 2 egg white muffin cups

Snack 1: 1/2 c Bob Red Mills Gluten Free Rolled Oats with 2 scoops Rich Chocolate Nuzest Protein Powder

Lunch: 4 oz. Salsa, Texas Salsa Verde Chicken, 100g asparagus, 1/3 c cooked quinoa

Snack 2: 2 rice cakes with 1 T Justin's Honey Almond Butter

Dinner: 5 oz slow cooked Salsa Verde Chicken, 113 g yellow squash, 1/3 c cooked quinoa

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Here is a picture of an omelette I made this weekend.

 In a skillet add 1 tsp. coconut oil. Once the pan is hot, add broccoli pieces and 2 chopped asparagus spears. Place a lid on top and let the veggies cook. Add 2 eggs to a bowl with 2-3 T of unsweetened almond milk. Whisk together. Once vegetables are cooked and tender, add the egg mixture to the pan. Wait until the eggs are set on top and then flip the omelette. Fold the omelette over and top with Salsa, Texas Hot Salsa. 

Here is a picture of my lunch I prepped for this week.

Slow Cooker Salsa, Texas Chicken

Ingredients:

3-5 lbs chicken

1 jar of Salsa, Texas Salsa Verde

1/2- 1 c water

Directions:

In a slow cooker, add the chicken. Top with the jar of Salsa and water. Place on low for 6 hours. After 6 hours, open the top of the crock pot and shred the chicken. Return the chicken to the crock pot and let the chicken cook in the salsa mixture for another 1-2 hours. 

Asparagus: 

Cut the ends off the asparagus and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Top the asparagus with Paleo Powder. Roast the asparagus in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until tender.  

Quinoa:

Cook according to packaging instructions

Egg White Muffin Cups

Ingredients:

Eggs

Green onions, chopped

Salsa, Texas Hot Salsa

Directions: 

Separate the eggs so that you are left with the egg whites. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a few green onion slices in the bottom of a silicon muffin pan. Place the silicon muffin pan on a cookie sheet to make it easier to transport to the oven. Next, add egg whites to each muffin cup until it is almost full. Top each muffin cup with 1 T of salsa. Bake for 30 minutes or until the eggs are set. 

This was the same meal, I just used yellow squash instead of asparagus. I cooked it the same as the asparagus above.

Here are some links:

{Salsa, Texas}

{Paleo Powder}

{Paleo Powder & Fast Meal Prep}

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I hope you all have a fantastic Monday! 

Let me know if you have any questions below in the comments. 

Also I am looking for ideas of thing you would like to see more of... so let me know!

Later Taters

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