Melissa-Brooke-Macrina

All I can say is I LOVE SALADS!! Especially during the summer 😊 They're quick and easy to make and help me stay healthy, energized and focused on my goals! This is one of my favs and I LOVE even more the bowl & chopper that I use to smash it all together and combine the flavors of all of the healthy goodness! Here's what you need: Combine the following in a bowl: • 1 can chickpeas (drained & rinsed) • 1 medium cucumber (peeled & diced) • 1 package cherry or grape tomatoes (halved) • 1/4 cup Kalamata olives sliced • 3 stalks celery (chopped) • Juice of 1 lime • 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil • fresh or dried basil & oregano & salt & pepper to taste ••• mix together & 1 cup to the top of 1 cup fresh baby spinach (if you have the chopper and bowl, chop away 😊) •••Top with chicken, salmon or hard boiled eggs and enjoy!

Parmesean Kale Salad... Let me just say this, I've had some AMAZING kale salads... WHEN I GO OUT TO EAT! In fact "their" salads somehow ALWAYS taste better than when I make a salad myself! Can anyone relate to this!? UGH! It doesn't matter if I'm at a top notch restaurant or someone else makes the salad at my very own place, with my very own ingredients. Somehow, everyone else's salad is ALWAYS better! BUUUUUTTTTT... last week I discovered this yummy & HEALTHY salad! It's VEGAN & GLUTEN FREE! OH...AND SUPER SIMPLE TO MAKE! Here's what you need: • 1 bunch of organic kale • 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) • 1 lemon • 1 cup raw almonds • 1/4 nutritional yeast 1. Vegan-Parmesean Cheese: In a food processor or blender (I prefer Vitamix) combine 1 cup raw almonds & 1/4 cup nutritional yeast Blend until almonds are small pieces 2. Remove the stems from the kale and the juice from the lemon.  Chop up the leaves (I use my OXO Go...

  Once again, my random "throw it all in" cooking event turns into a yummy, HEALTHY, CLEAN meal! And the outcome was pretty too :)  Keep scrolling down for the HOW TO and the ingredients you will need.... What you Need: squash zucchini cherry tomatoes fresh baby spinach mushrooms red onion 1 package raw cashews 2 lemons fresh garlic avocado oil or EVOO Directions for Cashew Cheese: 1. Soak cashews in a bowl of water for at least 4 hours 2. drain and rinse 3. toss them in the Vitamix or other food processor with 1/2-1cup water, juice from 1 lemon and a dash of salt 4. fire up the blender and VOILA! There you have it! "CHEESE SAUCE!!!"  5. add more lemon juice, water and salt depending on desired consistency and flavor Directions for the Goods: 1. Saute garlic, onions and mushrooms in avocado oil- used probably 2 cloves of garlic...look out world ;) 2. Toss in 2 large handfulls of fresh baby spinach and about 1/2 pin...

THE NEXT BIG THING!!!! It's here!!! It's here!!! And the next support group is starting soon! We saw hundreds of amazing results with the 21 Day Fix and I'm beyond excited to announce that I'll be starting the NEW 21 Day Fix EXTREME in just a few short days! I'm even more excited to experience the results of this program myself and watch hundreds, even thousands, change their lives in many ways just by committing to an exercise and nutrition plan for ONLY 21 days!!! Are you ready for a major calorie burn in only 30 minutes? These workouts were made short so you can get in, get out, and get on with your day. But that does NOT mean they will be easy...the will in fact challenge you at every level physically, mentally and yeah, sometimes even emotionally...but this craziness will help you reach your goals and maximize fat loss. Oh, and if you're just starting off on your fitness journey, there's a modifier on screen to show you how to dial down the inten...

SAY WHAT!!??? BUT HOW!!!!!????? Yes, here it is.... I know most of you can have cheese, but this girl CAN NOT! So, here is my cheese substitute for my taco nights :) soak RAW cashews in water for about 4 hours drain and rinse place cashews in food processor or VitaMix with 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup lemon juice and blend away add water until you have your desired consistnency add a bit of salt to taste and there you go....super easy "cheese"    ***It's great on rice, tacos, to dip veggies in or corn chips....but remember don't indulge too much...cashews are good for you, but too many can add too much fat to your diet :) So eat in moderation and shoot for a serving size no larger than 1Tbsp.

This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE RECIPES!!!! I've been making it for years and you can use it in so many different ways!!! I love using it as a side salad at BBQs, or scoop some up on a corn chip -remember serving size ;) or use it as a salad topper as shown below. I thought I posted the recipe here before, or on my Instagram or on my Facebook, but for some reason, I cannot put my hands on it! I know my dear friends Nicole and Leslie have requested this recipe from me several times and I swear I posted it....Well if it did so happen to slip my mind, it's here now...for ALL TO SEE :) Here you go!!! This recipe will make about 3-4 servings: 1 can rinsed low-sodium black beans 1 can rinsed low-sodium corn 2 vine tomatoes chopped 1/8-1/4 red onion chopped 1/2-1 whole green pepper chopped 1-2 jalapenos chopped...depending on your love      for fire in your mouth ;) A good amount of fresh chopped Cilantro 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EEOV) Juice of 1-2 l...

Sweet meets.... SPICY!!!! For those of you who know me I am a pretty simple, healthy eater...but the ONE thing I love more about food than those two things is SPICY!!!! I HEART SPICY!!!!! I used to eat grilled cheese at work...you know, as in the SCHOOL LUNCH grilled cheese??? The one that was OH SO YUMMY!!! The one that they used to smother with butter and then bake!? Yeah, that grilled cheese...the one I used to eat BEFORE I discovered that I CAN'T eat cheese?! Yeah, that one. Anyway, I was the girl the cafeteria staff died laughing at as I doused that yummy deliciousness with some HOT SAUCE (as in about 1/2 a bottle)!!! HELLO SPICY!!!! HELLO LOVE IN MY MOUTH!!!! ***Confession***To this day, I keep a bottle of hot sauce AND a bottle of sriracha in my fridge at work....YES.I. DO. I may not add hot sauce to everything, but I do add a little spice to just about every meal or snack :) THIS is the YUMMY #CleanEats salad that I made for lunch! Oh, and what's even better...

OMG.....SOOOO DELISH!!!!! AND SO EASY TO MAKE!!!!! So, here's what you need to make these yummy little guys :) 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons NATURAL (the kind with the oil that you actually have to mix) peanut butter 1/4 cup honey 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup gluten free, vegan chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients into a food processor (except the chocolate chips) and blend til smooth. Use a spatula to remove the mixture from the food processor into a mixing bowl. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spray the cookie sheet or use parchment paper to line the cookie sheet.....great idea for one less pan to clean :) Roll the cookies into 1 inch balls and bake for 10 minutes. ***a little tip....keep your hands damp when rolling the cookies into balls to prevent the cookie dough from sticking to your hands. I think I'm going to add raisins ...