healthy happy hour

The first cup is for the guest, the second for enjoyment, the third for the sword. - An old Arabic saying on coffee

That's right, pourin' one out for my homies this morning. Funny story. After my run and while making a morning protein-a-cinno, I checked Facebook while the blender mixed up my treat.  I found Facebook chat was open, which is odd as I never have it turned on, probably some Facebook software upgrade so I have to go re-do my settings again...

My favorite mug of all time, purchased at Vernazza in the Cinque Terre

To my delight, an old friend from Italia, Giovanni who speaks zero English, messaged me to come back to Parma and visit his cafe for a delicious cappuccino. Me speaking only a bit of Italian, and babble fish translating the rest, responded with what I think probably read to him in Italian: I go work now. Make coffee for myself. How is you? I miss you a lot. What I wanted to say: Getting ready for work, making some coffee but really missing the coffee from your cafe. I believe it translated awkwardly because he responded with 8,000 kisses emoticons. Whoopsies.

New obsession: love burritos.

Healthy Treats

I personally am a very big fan of treats.  I love snack food and could live off of snacks and never eat an entire meal.  Luckily my Tone It Up plan calls for little meals all day long and I can snack like a king.  It is my gigantic need for good snacks that has inspired today's post.  For quite some time I have been purchasing Kale snack chips from Whole Foods, but they are usually like $100 for one small pack (okay maybe $7.50 but still) so I was beyond delighted to find a kale chip recipe in my Tone It Up plan! 

Kale all dressed up, and in the oven we go.

I heart kale by the by.  I could eat it everyday and I actually probably do.  Yesterday I was in need of a snack to hold me over between lunch and dinner and decided to give baked kale chips a try.  I strayed from the TIU recipe just a bit and here is what I created:

Kale Cayenne in my Belly Chips:

• 1 1/2 cups of fresh kale (torn into "chip pieces")
• 1 Tbsp. of drizzle olive oil (probably could use 1/2 Tbsp., this was too much)
• A few shakes of cayenne pepper
• A few shakes of onion powder
• A few shakes of cumin
• A few pinches of Sea Salt
• Juice of 1 lime

Lined a baking sheet with foil and baked for 15 minutes.

Mmmm baked deliciousness! 

Nosh away I did! The verdict: I think I have found my new favorite snack, though next time I will definitely use less olive oil. And I am dying for a dehydrator because I think they would taste even mo bettah!

Very much not on the TIU plan: Carne Asada Tots (luckily I don't eat meat and was not tempted)

Did I mention I met my slo-pitch team before our game last night to watch the NBA finals?  Surrounded by big hungry men they ordered no less than 4 trays of Carne Asada Tots!  I am a vegetarian and sat happily full with kale chips in my belly, and a veggie patty on the way. Though I may have picked at one tot on the edge that never touched the meat...  Just one.  I also enjoyed a pear cider, just 2... 2 too many....  All the sugar from the 2 ciders really did not sit well with me and I did not wake up too happy this morning. 

Summa Summa Summa Time: Healthy Happy Hour Drinks!

My RA rattles every now and again when I eat things like sugar and basically anything white, so I was a bit achy this morning.  From my achy breaky bones, I started dreaming of healthy summer delights and so I thought I'd share my favs with you to wrap it all up!  I'd probably prefer to make every single recipe from the Fashionably Bombed girls, but their drinks tend to have a lot of sugar which does not sit well with me.  Not to mention is a leading culprit in hangovers!  So here are a few of my favorite summer healthy happy hour recipes!  Share 'em, enjoy 'em and love 'em in moderation.  xo

My best beezy whom we share the exact same tastes in food and cocktails and life!

Beezy Breezies

• 1 Shot Vodka
• 4 oz Water
• 1/2 Lime
• 70 calories of delish. P.S. These can get you quick, so probably just a couple and take it slow.

Grapefruit Drank Drank

• Juice of 2 Grapefruits (makes about 1 cup)
• 1 shot vodka
• 163 calories of refreshing deliciousness, and the best cocktail to escape the warm weather.

P.S. Got any healthy happy hour recipes? ALWAYS in need of more!

alt + control + delete

the last legal vice

I use a Mac, so this command is not relevant anymore.  But sometimes I think we need a command that automatically forces us to quit a certain activity, refresh it, and start anew.  Meet my human form of "alt + control + delete".

waking up to this smell is heaven

It's not a massage, or a weekend getaway, it's an espresso stove-top moka that I brought back with me when I moved home from Italy.  I know coffee is bad for you, this won't help you de-stress, blah blah blah.  I don't care.  It's a piece of a place I gave my heart, and with every cup I'm reminded of la vita bella.

My best friend from Italia, Andrea, she introduced me to Carreras, I introduced her to the side braid.

Have no fear, I put a healthy twist into my espresso vice.  As some of you may know, coffee used to be my breakfast, but we broke up (for mornings that is), and I've moved on with protein.  So I've created a perfect way to wake up. Introducing the Iced Chocolate Coconut Milk hold the whip skinny non-latte extra Italian memories almond butter espresso protein shake.

venti doppio!  Mmm protein frappuccino de whitters

The name is a work in progress and I am open to ideas.  Basically, we need a name that encompasses the ingredients and the memories it provides me.  At the end of the day, I can't move back to Italia, I made no money, barely enough for food and my Carrera obsession.  But I can dream about the friends I made, the wine I tasted, and the morning cappuccinos Giovanni served me with chocolate drawn foam hearts.  That my friends is worth waking up for.

la ricetta:

1 Scoop Chocolate Designer Whey Protein Powder
1 Shot of Espresso (brewed on the stove makes it mo-bettah)
1 tbsp of almond butter
4 ounces or so of water (I prefer filtered because I am obviously a snob)
1/2 tsp. of cacao powder
6 or so ice cubes depending on if you want a frappuccino or an iced latte version
1 tbsp of coconut milk creamer

Throw it in a blender. Sip sip remember the good days.  P.S. Starbucks if you made a morning protein frappuccino that was actually healthy, you'd sell a lot.  Just sayin.