Honey Buzz! Not So Chunky Monkey Granola with Blue Diamond Almonds

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Sometimes a girl needs a treat, and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of sweet. But, before you reach for a pint of ice cream, cupcake or even diet soda, you should think about enjoying a wholesome treat made with the oldest sweetener around – honey!  Even though honey contains simple carbohydrates and its fair share of calories, honey is in no way comparable to refined white table sugar.

honey

The combination of fructose and glucose in honey help to regulate blood sugar, meaning you won’t be jacked around with the jolt and subsequent crash found with regular sugar. An abundance of cancer-preventing antioxidents are inherent to honey as are gut-friendly bacteria (probiotics) that can help tame digestive issues.  Also, some believe eating locally-sourced honey can also help lessen certain seasonal allergies. The jury still out on this, but because honey tastes so good, I’m willing to take a daily spoonful for . . .er, medicinal purposes!

chunky monkey almond granola

Lately, a honey-sweetened (and pollinated) treat I’ve been enjoying are a couple new flavors of Blue Diamond Almonds – Honey Roasted Vanilla and Honey Roasted Chipotle. What’s not to love? Sweet, salty and crunchy with just the right level of supporting flavor – it’s impossible to say whether I love the Honey Roasted Vanilla or the Honey Roasted Chipotle better. Both are creating major buzz with my taste buds! Of course, almonds are perfect for eating right out of the can (I always keep them in my purse) but they also make recipes rock – like my honey and almond inspired Not Quite So Chunky Monkey Granola!

honey granola with chocolate, almonds and banana protein

 

“Not Quite So” Chunky Monkey Granola with Blue Diamond Almonds Recipe

  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup organic honey
  • 1 medium banana, mashed
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2/3 cup (2 scoops) vanilla or plain protein powder
  • 1 tablespoons ground cinnamon
  • 3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (Gluten-Free, if needed)
  • ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
  • ½ cup freeze-dried banana slices
  • ½ cup chocolate chips
  • 6 oz. can Blue Diamond Honey Vanilla Almonds
  1. Preheat oven to 300F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or Silpat.
  2. Place the coconut oil, honey, mashed banana, water and protein powder and cinnamon in a medium saucepan. Turn heat to medium-low and whisk until mixture is smooth, thick and creamy and just beginning to bubble. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla.
  3. Pour oats and coconut flakes into pot, stirring to combine and coat. Pour mixture out evenly on prepared baking sheet.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 45 minutes, stirring once or twice. If granola still seems moist, keep baking in 5 minute increments until dry. Remove from oven and let cool completely on sheet. Crumble up in bowl and stir in dehydrated bananas, chocolate chips and almonds. .
  5. Store cooled granola in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 2 months.

*Sugared and honey-coated nuts tend to burn easily, so I add them after baking. However, if you substitute raw almonds, they may be added with the oats before cooking.

honey_badgeYou know what else I love about theses Honey Roasted Blue Diamond Almonds? The company donates money to help support honeybee research – to date, Blue Diamond has backed more than 70 studies in support of bee health. The almond industry, as a whole, is 100-percent reliant on honeybees to pollinate almond trees every season – and 1/3 of the world’s food crops are also pollinated by bees!

 

As an athlete, I also appreciate honey as a way to supplement my nutrition before and during a race or intense workout. As you probably know, carbohydrates are the primary (but not only) source of fuel the body uses during exercise. Honey offers 17 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon, making it a dense and efficient source of energy while on the run – literally. I will often stash restaurant “take-out” honey packs or convenient honey sticks in my pockets during a long run. And, as an athlete, I also appreciate almonds as a way to recover from a workout – it’s best to take in a protein-rich snack within 30 minutes post-exercise and almonds are a convenient, perfectly portable for travel, non-messy snack to stick in a gym bag.

I'm a sweet nut

This post is sponsored by Blue Diamond Almonds, but all recipes and opinions are my own. 

Did That Cheesecake Make My Butt Look Big? Healthy Dessert Recipes & Pole Dancing

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cheesecake butt big

I woke up an hour early today – partly because I had a dream I was spinning around a pole (fully clothed, people) and got motion sick and and partly because I didn’t want to miss a minute of National Cheesecake Day. Yup, that’s right, I have no shame in saying I recently had a crash course in pole dancing (see below) nor that I like to celebrate a frivolous and, as some might assume fattening food holiday. Down at yonder Cheesecake Factory, (where you can get ½ price slices of cheesecake July 30 & July 31, if you dare), a single slice of their most indulgent cheese cake, the Adam’s Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple, contains a muffin-top making 1,320 calories while a Splenda-sweetened version of their Original Cheesecake trims the treat down to 570 calories. Wow, it might be hard to hang onto a pole, run or do any CrossFit WODs with too many servings of either of these!

Check out Fit & Fruity Cheesecake Ideas for Summer Dessert

by The Fit Fork at Foodie.com

I’m not knocking Cheesecake Factory in particular; most cheesecakes have an abundance of calories, carbs and fat. But I have rounded up some HEALTHIER cheesecakes and inspired-by-cheesecake treats (like smoothies and froyo) for Foodie.com that feature less sugar, less fat and more wholesome goodness. Some of the cheesecake inspiration recipes are nutritious enough to eat for breakfast!

Included in the collection of Fit & Fruit Cheesecake Ideas for Summer Dessert, is my super simple but simply sublime recipe for Cheesecake Protein “Ice Cream” – the perfect frozen base for your favorite fresh fruits of summer, such as blueberries, strawberries, pineapple and more. Crumble up a crushed graham cracker or sprinkle some granola on top for an authentic New York cheese cake taste!

frozen cheese cake treat with protein powder

Cheesecake Protein Ice Cream Recipe

  • 3 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/3 cup vanilla protein powder
  • 4 ounces Neufchatel cheese, softened
  • Stevia, to taste
  • Optional garnish – fresh fruit and graham cracker crumbles

Puree all ingredients together in blender. Pour into ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s instructions until done (mine takes about 20 – 30 minutes). Serve with desired toppings and immediately freeze leftovers. Makes four 1-cup servings.

pole fitness jennifer fisher

photo credit: ATXfoto.com

And, finally, I have more cheesecake for you –pole dancing. Yes, I tried my hand at the “sport” at the Naturally Fit Games in Austin this past weekend. Actually, it was fun – except for the crowd that gathered at the Straight Up Pole Fitness  Expo booth caught me off guard as I learned a few tricks of the trade. Actually, I really liked the challenge of “pole fitness,” as I’ll call it – requires a lot of strength and self-confidence, of which I have both!

jackie and jen at beef booth naturally fit 2014

Jackie and I were the fueled-by-beef babes manning the Texas Beef Council booth – if you didn’t know, I am a fan of all the lean beef cuts (there are now 38 lean cuts!!) and eat beef at least every other day as a way to recover from my workouts and remain a lean, mean , running machine!

any way beef jar salad 250This summer, my Any Day, Any Way Beef Salad (in a jar) made with top sirloin steak has been my go-to meal.

Answer me this:

  • What would you put on top of plain cheesecake?
  • Have you ever tried pole dancing? If not, would you?
  • What’s your go-to summer meal?

 

This post is sponsored by Foodie.com. However, all opinions are my own. 

Headstands and Hot Dogs + Healthy Chip #Giveaway

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headstand balance challengeFirst, let’s just get the headstand out of the way. This is not your ordinary inversion. It’s a headstand that will challenge you to the very core as you tighten every muscle trying to maintain balance – I’ve thrown in balance busting elements including WIND and WEIGHT! To try this, you’ll need a heavy-duty garage fan, 4 to 10 pound medicine ball and the ability to safely kick up and hold a headstand for at least a minute (you don’t want to crash into the fan). To add in the balance challenges, grab a medicine ball between your feet on the way up, fully extend legs upward, and then bend knees downward. Repeat as long as possible. To test your balance further, continue the upside down medicine ball leg presses, but have a friend turn the garage fan on full blast. Whoohoo!

Hot dogs are a staple of summer – I can’t imagine how many dogs the world has downed at ball parks, boardwalks, and backyard barbeques. Sure, some foodies might be too high faulting for a hotdog, while fitness-oriented folks may shy away assuming all frankfurters are loaded with fat, random animal parts, chemicals and other questionable stuff.  Okay, well maybe the most widely available hotdogs are not so “hot” in the nutrition department, but there are lots of healthier options around today including this round up of grass-fed, all-beef hotdogs from Health.com.

hotdog ingredients

It can be quite confusing to pick a healthy hot dog!

Definitely read labels; that’s your job as a consumer. For example, when the package rattles off ingredients such as “by-products” or “variety meats,” this means the hotdog may have as little as 15 percent muscle meat , the amount required by the USDA. Depending on your preference, make sure beef or grass-fed beef is the number one, first ingredient. Also, if you think you’re getting an uncured, chemical-free hot dog, think again because I don’t think it’s possible.  It’s common practice, even by “healthy” companies, to label products as “uncured” and “nitrate free”  . . . . .wait for it . . . “with the exception of nitrates naturally occurring in celery salt.”  It’s not like celery salt is innocently added to perk up a hot dog’s flavor. Instead, when this water-dense plant is grown in nitrate-rich water and then dried, ground and passed off as “salt,” it also passes on (you guessed it) a concentrated level of nitrates. Studies have shown that hot dogs labeled “nitrate free” contain between ½ to 10 times the amount of nitrates found in conventional hot dogs – WOW!  Check out this interesting article on What’s Inside the Bun from the New York Times.

Sonya Thomas competes in the 2012 Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Eating Contest at Coney Island in the Brooklyn borough of New York

Champ Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas getting it done!

So, even with all of these questionable issues at hand, I’ll still eat an all-beef hot dog every now and then, especially in the summer.  Really it’s about moderation, I’m only eating one hot dog at a sitting, a couple times a year – and not trying to break the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island. By the way, the men’s record is 67 hot dogs and the women’s is 45 – in ten minutes! Okay, so this is more than a little gross, but so morbidly fascinating – and it does sort of appeal to my competitive spirit. But, for now I will just weenie out and remain a spectator!

fit rank toppings

Another way to make your hot dogs “healthier” is to top them with fresh, nutritious ingredients. I recently shared my recipes for “Healthy Hot Dog Toppings” on Litehouse Foood’s Living Lighthouse blog. Instead of adding gut-busting chili and cheese, I used the new line of Opadipity Greek Yogurt Dips to create gourmet dogs. Head over to Litehouse Foods to check out my Greek God Hot Dog, Garlic Green Machine,  and Cha-Cha Chipotle Dog!

jennifer thefitfork food should taste good

Okay, you can’t have hot dogs without chips – and of course, I’m talking about healthier chips! Food Should Taste Good (aka FSTG) recently sent me a box full of their delicious, nutritious flavors to test out – and I also get to give some away! I’ve loved these tortilla chips for a long time . . . . but had only tried the Whole Grain flavor until recently . Holy guacamole . . . there is a Guacamole flavor .  . . and an Olive flavor . . . and a Jalapeno Cheddar flavor and a gazillion other creative flavors – too many to mention!

I love that these chips are made from real ingredients, have zero trans fats, and no cholesterol – plus, they are certified gluten free and Kosher, making them the perfect anytime snack for pretty much everyone!  My husband eats these healthy chips straight out of the bag while I like to crunch them up and use them as croutons on my salad. Or with dip, dips are good – especially my favorite Chipotle Ranch Dip made with Greek Yogurt. And with my new favorite FSTG chips – Jalapeno Cheddar. Chips, super double good. Dip, good. Got it? Good. Now get it! Or, win some good food (see Rafflecopter app below):

food should taste good jalapeno cheddar

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Slice & Slurp, it’s National Drink Watermelon Day + Watermelon Ginger Limeade Recipe

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nuun ambassador jennifer fisher watermelon

The weathermen don’t need to convince me that July 24th is considered the hottest day of the year.  Here in Austin with temperatures about to pass the 100 degree mark, I think I could sear my favorite spice-crusted tenderloin steak to perfect mouthwatering, medium-rareness right on the sidewalk. Seriously.  I actually enjoy the heat and think in a past life I may have been a lizard. However, unrelenting warm temperatures create challenges when exercising outdoors  — one of the biggest problems is remaining hydrated as sweating increases.  Even becoming moderately dehydrated really puts a downer on the day – who wants to deal with muscle cramps, a nagging headache and lingering fatigue?

july 24 drink watermelon badge

I was super excited to find out today is National Drink Watermelon Day, a pretty awesome proclamation made by the National Watermelon Promotion Board (NWPB).   Drinking watermelon juice is a great way to keep fluid levels topped off – this jumbo-sized juicy fruit is made from 92 percent water and is a robust resource for replenishing electrolytes. Watermelon can even help your muscles recover more quickly from workouts thanks to the amino acid L-citrulline.  I talk about this in more detail in the Running & Watermelon Hydration and Watermelon & Workout Recovery posts I did for my recent week of #LivingOnTheWedge.

benefits of drinking watermelonOutdoor athletes aren’t the only ones that need to stay hydrated during the summer.  A recent Harris Poll commissioned by NWPB reported that nearly 1/3 of us don’t drink enough water – the main reason being lack of flavor. Really, you could just eat an 18 ounces slice of watermelon and it would be like drinking a 16 ounce bottle of water. However, there are so many taste bud tantalizing drinks you can make with watermelon that are so much more exciting than just putting a lemon slice in water. Some of my favorite past recipes are Watermelon Agua Fresca and Watermelon Chia Seed Smoothies. One of my favorite sports hydration companies, Nuun Hydration, even makes a Watermelon-flavored electrolyte replacement tab — I like to add these do watermelon juice for a double boost!

.However, in honor of National Drink Watermelon Day, I’ve come up with a new watermelon beverage that quenches thirst with a kick of ginger – Stevia-Sweetened Watermelon Ginger Limeade. Ginger is an awesome addition to any drink – it boosts the absorption and assimilation of essential nutrients in the body and it has anti-inflammatory properties to sooth sore muscles and joints. A glass of this lightly sweet-sour-spicy drink will make you say “hello” to hydration – who doesn’t want to drink MORE of something that tastes so outrageously good. And, please do drink more – I’ve made this healthy recipe with Stevia to keep the carbs lower!

 

 

low sugar watermelon drink for hydration

Stevia-Sweetened Watermelon Ginger Limeade Recipe

  •  4 oz fresh ginger root
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon powedered Stevia (like Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Stevia)
  • 4 cups watermelon juice
  • ½ cup fresh lime juice
  • 12 oz sparkling water
  • Optional Garnish – lime slices, watermelon balls and fresh mint
  1. Wash and thinly slice ginger root, peeling is not necessary. Add sliced ginger to small sauce pan filled with 2 cups water.  Bring to boil and the lower heat and let simmer (no lid) for about 30 – 45 minutes or until liquid reduced by half.
  2. Pour ginger and water through fine-meshed strainer and into a bowl. Mix in stevia and stir until dissolved. Discard ginger or save for another use.
  3. Prepare watermelon juice by pureeing about 6 cups of watermelon in the blender and straining off pulp. An easier way is just to collect the juice that runs off watermelon when cutting it into chunks – I save all of mine and keep it in the freezer for recipes like this!
  4. To prepare beverage, pour watermelon juice, lime juice, ½ cup ginger “syrup” juice into tall pitcher; stir to combine. Pour in sparkling water and lightly stir.
  5. Serve in tall glasses garnished with lime slices and watermelon balls. Serves 4

gingered watermelon lime drink

 

This post was sponsored by the National Watermelon Promotion Board and I received nominal compensation to share my love for watermelon. All recipes and opinions are my own.

Blueberry Snap Pea Salad & Blueberries for Dessert

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blueberry chicken salad on mixed greens

You can’t beat a big salad for a beautiful, easy-breezy summer meal — and one topped with blueberries and sugar snap peas adds just the right sprinkling of sweetness along with a saturation of whole body wholesomeness.  My Mixed Greens Salad with Chicken, Blueberries & Snap Peas was inspired by the recipe for Creamy Blueberry Chicken Salad in the August 214 edition of Cooking Light magazine. Of course, I had to do my own spin based on the fresh ingredients in my fridge!

So, what’s so special about these salad toppings? Well, grilled chicken breast offers a great source of lean protein, I always try to get about 25 – 30 grams of protein per meal. Blueberries are loaded with a wide rand of antioxidants that help me stay healthy on the inside and out and, as with most berries, are relatively low on the glycemic scale compared to many fruits. If I’m not careful, I can eat the whole pint – I guess there are worse things that could happen. Now, sugar snap peas are a childhood favorite, my mom used to grown them in the garden. So crisp, refreshing and surprising low in calories (only 26 calories per cup!),  sugar snap pea are a great source of fiber, vitamin C and vitamin A.

salad with chicken breast, blueberry, red oinion

Mixed Greens Salad with Chicken, Blueberries & Snap Peas Recipe

  • 6 ounces baby spring lettuce mix
  • 1/2 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
  • 1 cup sugar snap peas, halved lengthwise
  • 1/4 cup torn fresh basil
  • 12 ounces shredded skinless, boneless poached or grilled chicken breast
  • 2 cups fresh blueberries
  • ½ cup favorite balsamic vinaigrette or Litehouse Food’s Huckleberry Vinaigrette

 To prepare, divide lettuce evenly among four plates. Top each plate with equal portion of onion, snap peas, basil, chicken breast and blueberries. Drizzle with salad dressing. Serves 4.

violet beauregarde Now, if you’re wondering what to eat for a dessert that won’t leave you feeling like Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, check out my delicious recipe for Blueberry Frozen Yothefitfork blueberry frozen yogurt 700!

 

 

For even more inspiration on how to make a healthy sweet treat from a batch of these popular summer berries (second choice only to strawberries), check out Cooking Light’s collection of Blueberry Desserts – you’ll find everything from blueberry cobbler to blueberry popsicles.

blueberry desserts