Guest Post – Pumpkin Cranberry Quinoa Salad

Hi everyone! I know it’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted on my blog. I’ve taken a break from blogging to get caught up at work and my personal life. And not to mention that Fall TV started. That takes up so much time! Haha! But the time has come! I’m actually leaving on vacation to Costa Rica! 🙂 By the time that this posts, I’ll be on my adventure packed vacation! Can’t wait! When I get  back from vacation, I’ll be launching a new look for the blog and ready to jump back in! So get ready for an exciting November!

While I’m on vacation, Rachael from Ready to Get Sweaty has graciously offered to write this guest post! The first guest post on EBB! I’m really excited about this and her recipe sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it when I get back! Well, here it goes! Take it away Rachael! 🙂

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello there, Erin Berries readers! I’m Rachael, I blog at Ready to Get Sweaty, and I’m so excited to post here today while Erin is away enjoying life!  I was fortunate enough to meet Erin at the Health Living Summit in August and have loved reading her blog ever since.

For today’s post Erin told me I could write whatever I wanted, of course as long as it fell within the ‘healthy living realm.’  So that means you are getting one of my favorite new creations, Pumpkin Cranberry Quinoa Salad.

This salad is a replication of a salad bar option at my favorite grocery store, Wegmans.  And because we learned at the HLS that we can’t call a recipe our own unless we’ve modified at least three ingredients, I of course changed a few things around: (1) I added pumpkin seeds (what blogger wouldn’t), (2) I didn’t include olive oil in the dressing and (3) used dried cranberries instead of fresh cranberries. 

Ingredients

1 cup quinoa, cooked
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Make quinoa using directions on box.
2. Let the quinoa cool completely before using.  (I threw mine in the fridge for about 20 minutes.)
3. Mix the quinoa, dried cranberries, carrots and pumpkin seeds in a bowl.

4. Add honey and apple cider vinegar in a microwave proof cup and heat for 30 seconds.  Be sure to stir mixture to dissolve honey.
5. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture and mix everything together.  If you can resist the temptation to eat, go ahead and let the mixture chill in the fridge for another 10-20 minutes. If not, get a spoon and ENJOY!

Number of Servings: about 4, 1/2 cup servings

Okay, so now go get these ingredients and start cooking.  I’ve enjoyed this salad a few ways this past week: right out of the bowl with a spoon and for lunch on top of spinach – my favorite!  It is perfect with a few veggies (like spinach) for lunch because of all the protein the quinoa has packed in it – a vegetarian must!

Thanks again Erin for letting me guest post and hope you are enjoying your time away!

Xo – Rachael

Dreams

I always have extremely vivid dreams. I can remember every small detail even down to the clothes I was wearing in them. It makes them feel so much more real. Great if they are happy dreams, not so good if they are scary dreams.

Last night I had a dream that I was at a carnival with my mom, sister, and boyfriend. Ian had lost his cell phone and we were all helping him look for it. I remember my mom mentioned that Ian’s parents called her line. Ian got lost in the crowd of the carnival. Then, we noticed 6 tornadoes forming in the distance. Then, we started hearing noises that alluded a tornado forming right above our heads. We started running, trying to find shelter, and at the same time searching for Ian. I remember my mom suggesting to find shelter in a school bus, which I turned down because it was a bad idea. Then, my sister suggested a tent, which I said was dumb. Then, I woke up.

It’s so crazy what you can remember in dreams, isn’t it? I’m totally the type of person that looks up what their dreams mean if I remember it in detail.

Do you remember your dreams?
If so, share one! 

 

September Foodie Pen Pal

Good morning everyone! It’s time for another Foodie Pen Pal post! This month I was partnered with Neeley from Chicago! She does not have a blog listed, but she does have a twitter! I sent a Foodie Pen Pal package to Johanne over at the Hungry Quebbie! Go check out her blog!

I absolutely loved the package that Neeley sent me. It was delicious and amazing!

Chicago mug – I loved this! I’ve never been to Chicago so it’s fun to have something from the city. It definitely has inspired me to want to plan a weekend getaway there.

Sweet Cinnamon Spice Tea – Can you say YUM? This is just what I needed to get in the fall weather mood. The flavors of cinnamon and that fall spice kick always make me feel warm and happy.

Earl Grey Tea – What’s not to love about Earl Grey Tea? It’s always good and always welcome in our house.

Honey – Neeley must have read my mind. I was just showing Ian one of these honey jars with the honeycomb still in it the other day. I’ve really been wanting to try it and see what the big deal was. I’m excited to break this out next time I have oatmeal. 🙂

Maple Syrup – The cute maple syrup in the cute maple leaf container looks so delicious! I just want to display it forever! I’ll definitely be trying this soon too! All these fall flavors are getting me ready and excited for the upcoming season!

Corn Cookie! – This was the first thing that was eaten out of the package. Literally came out of the package and into my mouth. So delicious!

Exhibit A:

Pumpkin Spice Granola – I haven’t tried this yet, but I’m super excited. I am obsessed with anything pumpkin flavored, so I’m sure I will love it!

Thank you Neeley!

P.S. Queso liked the Foodie Pen Pal package too. She jumped in the box and played in it most of the day.

Did you participate in Foodie Pen Pals? You should! Thanks to Lindsay from The Lean Green Bean for hosting!

Whistle While You Work

Just wanted to check in and let everyone know that I’m not dead! Work has been extremely busy and I haven’t had time to write anything for the blog. I’m sorry!

This has been me for the past 3 weeks:

 

I’ve been struggling finding time for the blog the past few weeks, but worry not! I’ll make the time. Just stick in there with me. I promise that I’ll have loads to update this weekend!

That’s all today!

Family Time and the Biggest Garage Sale Ever!

This weekend was my family’s garage sale. We had more stuff than you could possibly imagine. Most people stopped by and asked “Do you still have anything left in your house?” The sad answer is…yes. I’m pretty sure that we had that largest garage sale in the entire neighborhood.

My mom had pulled things out of our attic that I had never seen before. I had no idea we had so much junk in our house growing up! I’m glad that we were able to help her clean out. I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to move all that stuff.

The garage sale was exhausting and took up most of my Friday and all of my Saturday. At the end of the day, we still had a lot of things left, but that’s okay. We made several trips to Goodwill and plan to make even more in the near future!

On Saturday night, I got to spend a bit of time with my niece, Emery. She’s so cute.

We had some fun with her during the day after the garage sale. She definitely found some items that she wanted. Like this sombrero and tiger. I think the hat looks fabulous, don’t you?

via James

We ended up taking the hat to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants in Austin and putting it on a random statue. It’s my job to take note of it every time I go to the restaurant to see how long it lasts there. I’ve always wondered if the staff would notice an extra statue here and there, Some restaurants are so overly decorated, I’m sure it’s hard to remember. We wanted to bring the tiger and put it on a shelf somewhere, but we didn’t have a way to bring it into the restaurant. We’ll save that for next time. 😉

For most of Sunday I ended up sleeping the whole day. Catching up on some Zz’s. I watched some Netflix and just chilled out. It was kind of nice. I definitely could use some more sleep though.

I didn’t take many pictures of food this past weekend because I was distracted by the garage sale, family, and all sorts of things. But no worries – I’ll start back up again soon. Ian has been out-of-town for the past week and gets back tonight. So, I won’t be “off-my-game”. I’ve had some challenges cooking for one this past week. But I’ll cover that another time.

What did you do this weekend?
Have you had a huge garage sale before?
Do you have any recipes that are good for “cooking-for-one”?

Weight Loss Roadblocks & Weigh-In

This whole week I’ve beaten myself up about my weight loss. I thought I had gained or had reached a plateau. Well, turns out I was wrong. And my scale at home is completely wrong (a whole 5 pounds heavier than what it should be!) I feel a lot better after my appointment with my nutritionist today.

This week’s weigh-in results:
– 1.7 pounds

My nutritionist told me that I really need to start working on believing in myself. At some point, my attitude is really going to affect my weight loss. If I believe I can do it, then I will.

Each appointment I have with my nutritionist bumps me back on track. But I only meet with her twice a month for 30 minutes each time. What about all the other times I’m struggling? Just in my last post I was having a really hard time with my weight. I almost wanted to give up.  I’m going to start working on some affirmations that will help give me strength and confidence on my weight loss journey. My nutritionist recommended reading Lousie Hay’s Daily Affirmations as a starting point. I’ve bookmarked it and have planned to make this a part of my daily routine.

I know I’ve easily given up in the past. These will help me remember that I’m actually doing this. I’ve lost 25 pounds since the end of May. This is happening. I guess I just don’t believe it or don’t believe in myself. I’m adding gaining more confidence and believing in myself to my Fall Goals. That way I will always remember that I can do this!

I wanted to take some time to identify some of my roadblocks for weight loss. This could apply to many people and doesn’t include every single one that could affect someone.

My 5 Weight Loss Roadblocks

1. Attitude – You have to have a positive attitude and believe that you can meet your goal. First, accept yourself at your current weight. Learn to love yourself and your body. If you love yourself, the weight will come off. This is struggle with me because I’m always saying “Oh, if I could just lose X pounds.” Don’t think like that! You are not a number.
2. Eating Out – When eating out, I’m always tempted to try something that sounds delicious. Or I want to snack on chips and salsa before the meal. But, if it’s not a cheat meal, I can’t! This is an obstacle that you have to survive when losing weight. One way I deal with it, I always have gum on me. I try to chew gum until my food arrives (so no snacking on chips and salsa!). Then, immediately after the meal is over, I start chewing gum again. This signals to myself that the meal is over and I can’t snack anymore.
3. TV aka Couch Potato – I’m totally a snacker in front of the TV. Especially when watching Food Network (which I do A LOT). If there is food on the TV, I want food in my hands. I deal with this two different ways. I either chew gum or I have some healthy snacks available.
4. Accurate Portion Sizes – This is SO important. Before I started this program, I had no idea how much food I was eating! When a recipe says to measure something out, DO IT. Never eyeball. You will always over-estimate. When serving yourself, put everything on a plate.

5. Not Getting Enough Fruits & Veggies – Not everyone loves fruits and veggies. Just make sure that you get the right amount in every day! I’ve noticed that I don’t lose as much weight if I do not eat many veggies. Of course, this is my personal experience and it could vary from person to person. But, fibrous fruits and veggies help regulate your digestive tract and increase the potential for weight loss.

What roadblocks have you identified?

Struggles with the Scale

Today was a bad day. So was yesterday. I’ve been having a struggling ever since my last appointment with my nutritionist with the number on the scale. I’ve been extremely frustrated. The scale didn’t budge for an entire week and a half after I last talked to her. After my two cheat meals, it went up a pound. And it’s stayed there for 4 whole days. I’m getting really concerned because I have another appointment with her this Thursday. I’m scared that the scale is going to go up again. Or it’s going to stay up and therefore show as a gain for this appointment.

I don’t understand why. I’ve done everything that she’s told me to. I’ve eaten the right things, I’ve worked out, and I’ve kept my cheat meals to a minimum. I haven’t eaten gluten nor have I eaten dairy. I know that you are going to gain weight after a cheat meal, but I just wasn’t expecting for it to not come off. All I want to do right now is eat. I already found myself picking up a Starburst at work and sneaking it back to my desk. Then, I stopped and realized something. Anytime that I don’t see results, I immediately start losing motivation.

This is my weakness. This is my red flag. I am in a ten-pound range where I always end up giving up. I do not want to give up this time. I want to succeed. I want to lose the weight this time. I can’t let myself fall down the path again. Honestly, I want to throw away my scale, but I know I can’t do that. I need to have that so I can put myself into a reality check. If it goes up, I won’t allow myself to have that nut butter or the LaraBar.

A friend of mine recommended starting to do measurements on myself since I currently don’t do that with my nutritionist. That might help as extra motivation. I think I might start doing that. Other than that, I don’t know what else to do to help re-motivate myself in times that I’m feeling blue.

What do you do to re-motivate yourself?
Have you ever struggled with your weight?
Do you have any suggestions for me?

Random Thoughts

I haven’t updated in two days, sorry! I’ve been a little lazy lately. It’s been raining in Austin and has completely thrown off my motivation. Here’s the things I’ve been thinking about lately.

1. Why is it that rain always makes me so sad? I just want to get in big, comfy clothes and watch movies all day. I don’t want to come to work and be productive! Where’s the fun in that?

1a. I have a huge window in my office that shows me that it’s dark and dreary outside. This does not help my motivation.

2. Tonight Ian and I had plans to go to my high school’s football game. A little Friday Night Lights for him. However, I don’t think that will be happening because of the rain. I’m a little bummed about that.

2a. It’s supposed to be my high school’s homecoming game. I know other states have homecoming, but I’m wondering – do other states do mums? You make a mum with a fake flower and a bunch of ribbons (below). Usually your date gives you one and all your friends exchange them too. The boys are typically given garters which are mini-versions of the mums for their arms. I’ve heard it’s just a Texas thing, but I’m wondering.

3. Thank goodness it’s Friday! I feel like this week has taken forever. I feel like most weeks after a 4 day week go by really slow.

4. I’ve been having really weird, vivid dreams lately. I usually can remember my dreams pretty well..even down to what shirt I was wearing. But lately, they’ve been particularly weird and creepy. Do you ever have a phase of weird dreams?

5. What does everyone think about the new Apple iPod Nano? I’m a little disappointed with it. I think that the point of the last one was that you were able to clip it to your clothing. I’m a little disappointed that they removed that feature of it. But at the same time, I’m thankful that I bought mine last week (before this new version came out!)

6. I have a lot of things that I need to put on eBay. I’ve just been really lazy lately. Also, I have laundry that has been waiting for me to fold for over a week. Erin = Lazy Bum.

7. Yeah…I’m pretty much too lazy and sleepy because of the rain to think of anymore random thoughts. That’s pretty dang lazy.

What are you doing this weekend?

Grilled Chicken Kebabs and Giveaway Winner!

Tonight Ian and I made another one of the delicious recipes from Paleo Plan. Tonight’s choice was Grilled Chicken Kebabs with Garlic and Cumin.

They were delicious! They actually tasted a little like chicken fajitas from a Mexican food restaurant. We will definitely be having them again. Ian did most of the prep work so it was pretty easy for me. 🙂 I like meals like that.

Last night, we had planned to cook them, but then realized that they had to marinate overnight. Don’t you hate when that happens? We resorted to one of our go-to meals – spinach gnocchi. We just got a store brand from Central Market last time we were there. It was really delicious too! Best gluten-free pasta I’ve ever had. Plus, I don’t know if you know this…but I have a small obsession with gnocchi.

Anyways, it’s time to announce the winner of the REBOOTizer Giveaway!

Congratulations to Dena from 40 Fit In The Mitt! Please contact me at erinberries@gmail.com with your information.

In other news, the folks at FitKit recently contacted me to do a guest post on their site. Check out my 5 Tips to Stay Healthy and Fit At Home. 🙂 Also, while you are over there, check out the FitKit Nutrition Quiz. They recently partnered with FitBit to offer nutritional product recommendations based on your results from the FitKit Nutrition Quiz.

Thanks to Jenn for hosting What I Ate Wednesday! Go check out her blog to see what it is all about!

Have you ever heard of FitKit?
What did you have for dinner tonight?

Gluten Free Funfetti Cupcakes

Oh, hello there. Yeah – that’s a delicious Funfetti cupcake. Oh yeah, and it’s gluten-free. Oh, and it was made from scratch. Yeah, sounds delicious, doesn’t it?

Hungry yet?

Want to reach in through that screen and grab one? Well, I can get you one step closer to eating this delicious cupcake. I’ll give you the recipe. 🙂

Gluten-Free Funfetti Cupcakes (from Yummly.com)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 3/4 cups white rice flour
• 1/2 cup sweet rice flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 4 ounces solid shortening
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/3 cup sprinkles plus more for sprinkling on top of the cake, if desired
• Gluten-free icing

Procedures

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two (24 cavities total) muffin pans with paper liners or grease lightly with non-stick cooking spray. In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine granulated sugar, white rice flour, sweet rice flour, potato starch, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Stir to combine.
2. Add shortening. Turn mixer on to medium-low speed. Mix until no large piece of shortening remain. Turn off mixer. Add water, vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Turn mixer on to medium-high. Mix for two minutes. (Timing is important with this batter.) Batter should be light and fluffy. Turn off mixer. If making a funfetti cake, add sprinkles. Turn mixer on to low and stir until sprinkles are just combined. Over-mixing causes the sprinkles to break up in the batter.
3. Fill each muffin cup about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cupcake tops should be golden brown. Allow cupcakes to cool in the pan for three minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, ice as desired.

Ian loved these cupcakes.

Ian loved these cupcakes so much that he just dug right in and practically smushed them against his face.

I thought they were pretty dang delicious too.

You honestly can’t taste the difference between this gluten-free version and the real thing. I was a little concerned at first because the batter was a little gritty when I tasted it. But thankfully that texture was baked out and it was PERFECT once done and out of the oven.

Happy cupcaking!

What’s your favorite cupcake?
Have you ever had a gluten-free cupcake?