Spinach-Avocado Ice Cream: Vegan & Dairy-Free

Hi guys! Sorry it's been so long. I celebrated my 24th birthday on Sunday! I had a wonderful weekend full of lots of love, smiles, and OF COURSE lots of yummy food. Now, it's back to reality. A week full of school, work and internship until another holiday weekend with friends and family. Which means: MORE food. So, this week I'm gonna try to eat a little lighter with lots and lots of fruits and veggies.

Tonight for dinner, I was craving something sweet and creamy.  Sweet and creamy does not have to mean full of sugar and calories. I came up with some delicious banana ice cream. Made with spinach and avocado! (This is how I justify having ice cream for dinner.) :) Anyway, here is the recipe. Don't turn your nose up at the sound of spinach in ice cream. I PROMISE it is delicious. Give it a try!

Ingredients:

1 frozen banana
1/2 avocado (I put mine in the freezer about a half an hour before dinner to add to the ice cream texture, but you can use room temperature or refrigerated avocado as well.)
1 big handful of spinach
1/2 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened vanilla. You can also use coconut milk!)
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. pure maple syrup (You can also use raw honey or agave nectar.)

Put all ingredients in your blender, and blend until you get the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.

I enjoyed mine with pecans and a strawberry on top. DELICIOUS. Dinner doesn't always have to look the same. Get creative! Creativity tastes great! :)

ENJOY.

Sweet Potato Smoothie

The other day when I was eating sweet potato fries, I got to thinking about what it would be like to add sweet potato to a smoothie. After imagining the creamy, pie-like creation, I couldn't stop thinking about it. So, this morning I gave it a try, and it did NOT disappoint. It was thick, creamy, and really did taste like pie. This is a smoothie that I will most definitely be making again!

Ingredients:

1/2 sweet potato, mashed (I cooked my potato the night before. I scrubbed the potato, poked a few holes in it with a fork, put it in a microwave safe dish, cooked it for 4 minutes on one side, flipped it, and cooked it for 4 more minutes. I scooped it out of the skin, mashed it, had half for dinner, and stored the rest in the fridge for my breakfast smoothie.)
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 Tbs. almond butter
1/4 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 tsp. pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract 
1 tsp. chia seeds

Put it all in a blender and blend!

I topped mine with another sprinkle of cinnamon, some shredded coconut, and pecans. It was so delicious that I was sad when it was all gone. Give it a try!

And ENJOY! :)

HIIT: 30 Minute Treadmill Workout

So, if you, like me, are constantly looking for new workouts, forms of exercise or ways to move that will maximize results, you probably have heard a lot about HIIT. It's the new craze! HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. The basic idea of HIIT is that it's more effective to spend less time doing cardio at a higher intensity than it is to spend hours doing cardio at a moderate intensity. For example, experts say that your body benefits more from a half-hour cardio workout that includes intervals of high intensity than it does from a two hour jog. Now, I don't think that they are saying that jogging for two hours is BAD for you. It's just that HIIT workouts are better to see results more quickly because they produce an after burn effect where your body will continue to burn calories for hours after you finish your workout.

This is my take on what I've read about HIIT. If you want more information, do some research! Here' are a few links to get you started!

http://www.lifestyleronline.com/pages/knowledge/what-is-HIIT-training

http://www.fithealthy365.com/what-is-hiit-high-intensity-interval-training/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/14/hiit-workout_n_4426903.html

I try to incorporate intervals into each and every cardio workout that I do. There are many types of HIIT training (strength training, etc.), but I'm gonna share a HIIT cardio workout that I like to do. I try to switch up my cardio day-to-day, but this treadmill workout (or something similar) definitely makes an appearance in my routine at least once a week. Give it a try! It really gets me working up a sweat!

30 Minute HIIT Treadmill Workout 

So, as you can see, it's pretty simple to come up with your own interval cardio plan. Another great start is to try walking (3.5-4.0 speed) for a minute, jogging (5.5-6.5 speed) for a minute, sprinting (7.0-8.5 speed) for 30 seconds, and repeating until you reach 20-30 minutes! Just try to switch up your intensity throughout the workout, focusing on going from high intensity followed by a lower intensity back to high intensity, and also making sure to include a warm up and cool down as well. Changing it up about every minute really keeps the workout from getting boring, so I hope you try it out and ENJOY. Let me know what you think! Now go get your sweat on!

Vegan Lentil Chickpea Burgers

Happy Friday everybody! 
I hope you are having as wonderful of a day as I am. I had today off, so I started my weekend off by sleeping in a bit, and then woke to a nice cup of lemon water and an energizing morning yoga workout. (You can give it a try here!) Then I made myself a nice cup of green tea while I prepared my big breakfast of egg, asparagus, English muffin, and a green smoothie. Delicious.



After breakfast, I started to think about lunch. (Yes, I'm always thinking about food.) What did I want to have? I remember that I had some leftover lentils in the refrigerator, and after scanning some lentil burger recipes on Pinterest, I decided that would be my lunch. None of the recipes I found caught my eye (or I didn't have all the ingredients), so  I decided to create my own recipe from scratch. I had no idea how or if they would even turn out; I just started throwing things in. And luckily, they turned out delicious. So, here is the recipe for my new creation (that I will be sure to make again!).

Vegan Lentil Chickpea Burgers

1 can garbanzo beans/chickpeas (15 oz.)

1 cup cooked lentils

2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 Tbs. minced garlic

½ tsp. cumin

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

¼ tsp. sea salt

½ cup old fashioned oats (or gluten free)

2 Tbs. corn meal

¼ cup chopped green pepper

In a food processor or blender, combine the cooked lentils and chickpeas (straight from the can) until they form a paste. Scrape the paste into a bowl and add in the rest of your ingredients, stirring until well combined. Feel free to add any other spices or veggies that you would like. (I would have put chopped onions in as well, but we were out. Chopped carrots would be another idea. Be creative.) Since there is no raw egg, you can go ahead and taste test the mixture so you know whether or not you want to add something else. Adjust your ingredients until the taste is right to you, and form into patties. Mine made about 6-8.

To cook the burgers, you could try grilling them, but I made mine in a skillet. I heated some coconut oil in a skillet on medium heat until the pan was well heated. Cook the burgers for about five minutes or so on each side. They should turn slightly brown and crispy on the outside, while staying soft on the inside.

I ate mine on top of a bed of veggies, but they would be great on a bun! Or choose a dipping sauce of your choice (or eat it plain like I did!) and dive in with a fork. Yummy! I paired mine with some sweet potato fries. What a great meal! Give them a try. 

ENJOY! And let me know how you like them if you give them a try! :)

Avocado Egg Pizza

Good morning world! I woke up this morning feeling very positive. I have a few changes I'm hoping to make in my life, and this morning I believed that I could, which is a great start. Speaking of great starts, I wanted to have a special breakfast this morning. Something different than my usual meal. Starting off your day with a healthy, delicious, fulfilling meal is the best choice you can make!

I finally have some avocados again (after going a couple weeks without any), so I needed to make something with avo. I NEEDED to. I was having withdrawal. Here is the recipe (incredibly simple) for my avocado egg pizza. It was exactly what I was looking for and more. It was so tasty! And easy. And filling.

Ingredients:

1 ancient grains tortilla (Or any tortilla of your choice. I used the smaller sized tortilla since it was just for me, but feel free to go bigger!)
1/2 avocado, mashed (Again, if you are using a bigger tortilla, you might want to use a whole avocado. Up to you!)
1 egg (Or two if you wanna load it up! I used cage free.)
Cayenne pepper (optional, to taste)
Cumin (optional, to taste)
Lemon juice (optional, to taste)
Minced garlic (optional, to taste)
Sea salt (optional, to taste)
Fresh ground pepper (optional, to taste)
Hot sauce (optional, to taste)

First, I made my avocado spread. If you'd like, you can just mash up your avocado and use that. They are so yummy that you don't really need any extras. But I added lemon juice (a few drops), a few shakes of cayenne pepper and cumin, a pinch of sea salt, and about 1/4 tsp. of minced garlic and mixed it all up. 

Next, you need to toast your tortilla for your pizza crust (unless you'd prefer a soft shell!) I used a toaster oven. The smaller tortilla fit right in my toaster oven, so I put it directly on the rack and toasted for a few minutes until it turned a nice brown and started to get crispy. Cook to desired crispiness! You could probably also use a grill or oven, just to give your tortilla a nice crispy crunch.

Meanwhile, while my tortilla was toasting, I cooked my egg. Again, cook your egg however you like it. I made mine sunny side up with a little salt and pepper. But any type of egg would be great on top!

Finally, you just need to construct your pizza. Spread the avocado onto the tortilla and top with your egg. I added a little more pepper and cayenne pepper to the top, and I finished it off with a drizzle of hot sauce. Feel free to add any additional toppings (cheese, veggies, spices, whatever!). Cut pizza and dive in!

It was so good that I literally wanted to dive right in to the center and live there for as long as I could. Especially when I got to the few bites with the runny egg yolk. There's just something about the combination of egg yolk with avocado that makes my heart sing.

I paired my pizza with a Green Dream smoothie by Tara Stiles, once again. But this time, I added some vanilla extract, chia seeds, a tablespoon of almond butter, and topped it with cinnamon, flax seeds, and blueberries.

Such a perfect breakfast. Now, I'm ready to kick today's butt and put some of these changes into motion. Love you all! And thank you for reading. Don't forget to comment below or email me (wellnessbynicky@gmail.com) with any questions, suggestions, or greetings.

And as always: ENJOY! Have a great day, my friends. :)

Chocolate Covered Raspberry Oats: Healthy & Lovely

Ahh what a wonderful morning. It's a rainy day here in Ohio, but after several beautiful days in a row and constantly being outside in the sun and keeping very active, a lazy and rainy Sunday is exactly what the doctor ordered. I started my day with a big glass of water followed by a cup of warm lemon water. Then it was time to dive into breakfast. I was craving something comforting and sweet, yet healthy and fulfilling. Oats with fruit usually fit that for me. This morning, I decided to try out a new creation instead of my usual strawberry and banana or almond butter banana oats. After a little bit of brainstorming, it hit me. How does chocolate covered raspberry sound to you? It sounded great to me, so I dove right in. I put on some Elton John and started gathering ingredients and creating my mouth watering breakfast.

Chocolate Covered Raspberry Oats

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup old fashioned oats (you can also choose to use gluten-free!)
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa
1/2 cup mashed raspberries
1 Tbsp. peanut butter (I used a chocolate flavored natural peanut butter, but I'm sure regular peanut butter or almond butter would be just as yummy!)
Dark chocolate chips (optional)

To cook the oats, bring the almond milk to a boil and add in the oats. Stirring frequently. Watch them closely so that they don't boil over. Once they start to cook down a bit add in the salt and stir. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mash the raspberries. Once the oats are cooked to desired consistency, turn off the heat and stir in your cocoa and peanut butter. Stir until well combined. Add the oats to the bowl with the raspberries, and again, stir until well combined. And there you have it! So easy!

If you want a little more chocolate flavor (why not?) you can add in a few dark chocolate chips while the oats are hot and stir them in. They will melt and give you a nice little chocolate swirl and extra sweetness. I topped my oats with some shredded coconut, a few raspberries, and some more dark chocolate chips. Yum!

On the side of my oats today, I had a delicious Green Dream smoothie by yogi Tara Stiles. Only three ingredients, and so delicious. I have it almost every morning. Here's the recipe: Green Dream Smoothie (I also usually add a few drops of vanilla extract and some chia seeds, and top it with shredded coconut and pecans!). :)

ENJOY! And have a wonderful Sunday! Give yourself lots of love today. You deserve it. :)

Raw Coconut Energy Balls

Today was such a beautiful day in Ohio, and after doing a little bit of homework, I got out and enjoyed it! I hope you did, too. :)

I'm just having so much fun creating clean treats. If I had the money, I would be baking things all day and night. We have a friend coming over to our place tomorrow, so I had the perfect excuse to make a yummy treat today. And this is the first recipe that I completely designed myself. So, I'm feeling pretty proud. :)

They're delicious! And guilt-free. They can also be vegan with just one substitution. Here's the recipe.

Raw Coconut Energy Balls

These are the dates I use!

Ingredients: 

1 Tbsp. raw pumpkin seeds

1 Tbsp. flax seeds

1 small handful almonds

1 cup pitted dates, chopped

½ cup shredded coconut

2 tsps. Unsweetened cocoa

2 tsps. Coconut oil

1 Tbs. raw honey (for vegan option, use pure maple syrup instead!)

Put pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and almonds in blender or food processor. Blend into a powder. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until well combined. Form the mixture into small balls (makes about 8-10 balls) and roll in more shredded coconut. Store in refrigerator! Easy, right?

ENJOY! And have a great weekend! :)