Melissa-Brooke-Macrina

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 ...

MAN!!!!! This hits home!!! This past January, I was standing in line at Target with just a few healthy items in my basket as I was on day 3 of the Beachbody Ultimate Reset, but ohhhh Target...the smell of popcorn, the very lonnnnggggg candy aisle, the sales of the post Christmas holiday candy! TEMPTATIONS EVERYWHERE!!! I went back and forth over and over and OVER in my head, I'll get a bag of candy and have just one piece. It's JUST ONE, RIGHT? Oh, just ONE piece of candy...like ONE alcoholic drink for an alcoholic or ONE hit of cocaine for a drug addict. JUST ONE, RIGHT? JUST ONE???? WRONG!!!! This day was a HUGE eyeopener for me....I was battling my inner thoughts and desires of the oh so highly addictive SUGAR while my best friend was battling his addiction with drugs. I finally understood the battle in his head that he went through and to this day and every day from here on out will go through with the "It's JUST ONE." With any addictive substance, ONE leads t...

Well, I never, EVER, NEVER-EVER thought I'd EVER be saying this, but I absolutely LOVE KALE!!!! I've always associated it with cooked spinach....mushy, slimy and stinky....and for those who know me, cooked spinach and I have NEVER, EVER been friends, right mom? I remember one hot summer evening, way back when I was probably about 10 years old when my amazing mom insisted that I eat some spinach (from a can) for dinner...I mean come on....my brother and sister LOVED it!! What was wrong with me!? HMMM.....could it have been the smell? the texture?? Who knows exactly what it was. All that matters is that my mom was coming at my mouth with that fork full of spinach, trying to convince me to try it and all that happened was an awful chain reaction of me gagging for about 5 minutes...It WASN'T happening! To this day, cooked greens completely gross me out (spinach, Italian greens, Collard greens, etc...). I really think it's a texture thing. Until one day......what is that on...

So, this week really took hold of me leaving me with barely enough time to get a few hours of sleep! WOW! Here are my final results from the Beachbody 21 day Ultimate Reset: Down 9 lbs & lost a total of 12.3 inches!! I'm feeling pretty awesome! I feel much more lean, less "fluffy" as I like to call it and I actually feel TALLER!!!!! LOL! I'm not very tall and highly doubt I'm any taller, but I feel like the natural foods just gave me an overall more positive feeling and the little things that normally would stress me out and cause disastrous posture by the end of the day didn't really get to me! It's been pretty peaceful in my head :) I thoroughly enjoyed about 90% of the meals, even the tempeh, but won't ever be making that again as it did not at all agree with my stomach...it made me gassy and crampy and I slept horrible the night I had tempeh for dinner. My tempeh research is underway....tempeh: fermented cooked soybeans...hmmmmm fermented? so...

Boy, has it been quite a journey! I cannot believe 21 days went by so quickly!!! I'm going to have to say, I felt kind of sad Wednesday while mixing up my last Alkalinize....you know, the one that tastes like GRASS!!!!! I feel like I want to order more!!! OMG! I think I'm a weirdo! LOL! I have been feeling really great and know I can continue this clean/healthy eating since the food was so enjoyable (minus the beets and the way I felt after the tempeh). For the last year I have been drinking Shakeology for breakfast, but for the last 21 days, it has been (for probably 15/21 days) my afternoon snack which is AWESOME because I usually crave chocolate or cookies in the afternoon! So, all I'm saying is that I may have to change up my Shakeology routine and have fruit or oatmeal in the mornings and  continue ShakeO for my afternoon snack :) OR I may have to do it for breakfast AND snack because I somehow have an entire extra bag! OH NO....that just sounds terrible...NOT! M...

Day 19, Monday Since today was a holiday and I was off, I did a lot of prepping for our final 3 days of the Reset :) Veggies cut and shredded, salads made and  a new list of groceries complete for our last few days (and remainder of the week). Prep day and grocery shopping time is always so colorful in my house and very fresh, so we like to make sure that we buy enough so that we can prep for at least 3-4 days at a time, but not too much that it goes bad. I hear so often that people don't buy fresh fruits and veggies because they go bad so fast, but here's the deal: If it goes bad, it's good for you. If it doesn't go bad, it's bad for you. Example: things that go bad quickly: fruits and veggies = GOOD FOR YOU!!! Things that don't go bad quickly = cookies, chips, sodas, Twinkies (shelf life of WHAT???) = BAD FOR YOU! Basically, what it comes down to is this: EAT FRESH PEOPLE :)  Not only will you feel better physically but emotionally as well. I defini...

WOW!!! It's been extremely difficult this weekend to stick to the Reset with my family in town, but I'm doing my best to make it work! Day 17, Saturday...Today was a  SUPER FUN DAY.... getting muddy in the Everglades!!! I had my delicious plate of fruit and my supplements before rolling out to the Everglades. I packed my salad, while everyone else packed their peanut butter, jelly, bread, burgers, chips, junk food and beer. I can't say that in my 11 years of living in FL that I have EVER brought a salad to munch on to the Glades. I also packed a bag of baby carrots, a few green apples to share, almonds and walnuts in anticipation of being gone for the day but home in time for dinner. Well, let me tell you, one thing led to another, one trip through the mud led to another, one awesome quad ride led to another, then another, then another, etc...By the time I realized, it was 8:00pm and we were just heading back to camp. Our group grew from about 10 people riding on buggies...