By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the Wild Blueberry Association of North America and I am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

A few weeks ago my blogger friend Kara reached out and asked me to participate in the Wild Your Smoothie Recipe Contest and due to blog updating issues my new site is down but I decided to make sure I posted on my old site so I can enter the contest and share my enthusiasm for wild blueberries. No joke- blueberries are by far my favorite fruit so I wanted to make sure I came up with an original, interesting, and delicious recipe. Also don't forget that wild blueberries have 2x the amount of antioxidants as traditional blueberries! I decided to go for more of a dessert smoothie- still healthfully balanced but with an extra kick of sweetness and crunch by adding the streusel. The silken tofu creates a custardy appeal while adding protein- making this smoothie a perfectly balanced breakfast.

Ingredients:
Streusel:
½ tsp coconut oil
1 TBSP coconut sugar
¼ crushed walnuts
1 TBSP oats
Smoothie:
½ cup frozen Wild Blueberries
2 TBSP silken tofu
2 TBSP oats
2 TBSP walnuts
1 frozen banana
1 cup milk
ice (optional)

*can add more ice/milk depending on how you like the consistency of your smoothie :)

Directions:

1. First measure the streusel ingredients and heat on the stovetop on low heat, stirring occasionally until sugar starts to melt walnuts and oats together
2. While the streusel is cooling measure the remaining smoothie ingredients and blend together thoroughly
3. Add cooled streusel topping to smoothie and serve immediately in two glasses.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy a blueberry smoothie?? How do you add protein to your smoothies?

This month’s Recipe Redux prompt is to break out of breakfast boredom!
Cooks aren’t always pressed for time in the mornings – they just need new ideas. Think mug cakes, smoothie bowls, breakfast cookies and more. Show us the healthy way you wake up your breakfast – or wake up just for breakfast!

Yay for breakfast foods! While I enjoy both a savory and sweet breakfast I tend to lean a little more towards sweet. In an effort to cut down on sugars (maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc.) I wanted to make breakfast cookies that were completely naturally sweetened- enter date paste! To make date paste you soak dates in warm water, remove pits, and puree just the dates, saving the date water and adding it gradually until you have a nice paste like consistency. These cookies are a very satisfying and just the right amount of sweet to start to the day. Try the chocolate chip if you’re more traditional or chai if you’re feeling a little more creative.

Ok sorry I went MIA last week- I’m working on a website update and having some issues. But I did promise recipes in February so I’m starting off with a revised recipe… not super exciting but it does show off my new camera skills and overall photo improvement, I think.

The other recipe is bean based instead of chicken and has a few other ingredients you don’t need… so this is the simplified version. Usually I prefer pulses over meat but the delicious simplicity of this recipe takes it for the win.  This is a great weeknight veggie packed meal- if you’re a fan of meal prep this is perfection… probably only took me 15 minutes to assemble, then set it and forget it. Go make this- and admire my better photos, k thanks!

First of all… just wanted to let you guys know I have lots of new recipes coming your way in February as well as hopefully some 2x/week posting-it’s been awhile! Also update on races for the year, training, and current fitness. But today for WIAW I’ll be sharing a recap of our Texas trip from a couple weeks ago and what we ate while we were there! If you follow me on Instagram (@dietitianjess) you may have seen some of these photos already :)

So… I should start off by saying our flight was planned for January 22nd at 5pm… in case you forgot this was the weekend the big snow storm hit the east coast. We figured we would be fine since it wasn’t supposed to start snowing in Philly until later Friday night. WRONG. We were connecting into Charlotte who actually had an ice storm predicted for that Friday so they cancelled all flights in and out. Crap! The only flight out was 5am on Friday- we booked it 11:00pm Thursday night. Getting up at 2:00am to catch that flight was fun… ha. Luckily we slept on the plan and arrived in San Antonio by noon which gave us an extra day in Texas!

Some of my favs from the world and interwebs <3 Linking up with Heather


1. Floating
At the end of last year I tried one of the latest health trends- Floating! Basically there is a large floating tank (which has the option to close completely)and has about a foot of water and tons of Epsom salts. There’s also a light and relaxing music- both of which you can turn off. This type of sensory deprivation is apparently highly beneficial for relieving depression, anxiety, etc. and helping relaxation.I floated for 30 minutes shortly after the marathon and I definitely think it improved my muscle soreness… it was relaxing but also kind of freakyyyy! I think the first time is a bit of a shock so I would be more likely to get more relaxation going another time.

January Recipe Redux Challenge:

A New Ingredient for the New Year
Pick a new ingredient that you’ve been wanting to try… and cook or bake up a new recipe in the new year. Are you curious about nutritional yeast, fish sauce, matcha, teff – or maybe even ugli fruit? Show us how you’re cooking with something new (to you!) in 2016.

 “By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by Progresso and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.”

If you’ve never heard of bone broth, you’ve been living under a rock, at least in the foodie world. Progresso recently came out with a cooking stock to rival your homemade bone broth- made by simmering real bones, vegetables, and herbs- same great taste but without any effort on your part. The Progresso Cooking Stocks are made without artificial flavors and come in chicken, unsalted chicken, and vegetable. They serve as a great base to a recipe or are perfect for sipping.

It’s been one of those mornings/weeks I think. New year started off with a bang! Actually it hasn’t been that bad but I am getting this post up way later than planned, oops. I’m hoping to get my act back together this year for the blog and life in general… but as far as the blog goes I’m hoping one recipe a week becomes the new norm, no promises though. In true Friday fashion here are a few things I’m loving lately.

Last year I did a top 14 posts of 2014 and it was well liked so I figured I would do it again! I broke it into categories so it’s easier to find your favorites. Am I missing any of your favorites? If you have a blog what was your favorite post of the year??

Don't forget to check out two of my favorite New Year/Resolutions posts- Here's What's Wrong with your "Healthy" Resolutions and Why I'm Anti-Detoxes and Cleanses!

Also wanted to announce my honor in joining many other amazing bloggers selected as the Top 50 Health Blogs for 2015 by UnstressYourself.com - a great website for stress management and healthy living!

December's Recipe Redux prompt:
Grab a Book & Cook
We’re repeating last December’s theme due to popular demand: It’s the end of the year and we’re taking a moment to reflect – The Recipe ReDux has been around for 54 months! To celebrate, we’re playing a little party game this month: Grab your nearest cookbook and ReDux the recipe on page 54 or 154. We can’t wait to see the books you’re cooking from these days.

Well I said I wasn’t doing any holiday or Christmas posts but I figured after dressing up for a ugly sweater party this past weekend I might as well share a little more festivity with my readers in the form of holiday meal planning! Plus a couple workouts for traveling and working out with no equipment!

Linking up with Running with Spoons for Thinking Out Loud Thursday

Well I have an awesome recipe to share but unfortunately photographing it hasn’t happened yet so enter random Thursday musings. Here’s a sneak peak though, it’s a Thai stir fry.  And it’s delicious!!

1). Speaking of recipes and the blog and posting…  it hasn’t been awesome. I’ve struggled with so much personally the past few months the blog definitely took a backseat. I think throwing myself back into making recipes, sharing workouts, training/exercising, etc. will help me get back to my old self.  In the new year- look for hopefully weekly recipe posting and more! I’d like to get back to at least two posts/week if not 3! Plus I still haven’t learned how to use my new fancy camera to take awesome pics- so I’m getting a tutorial in a couple weeks and then hopefully I’ll be ready to go! 

PS I even missed my Blogiversary- 2 years of blogging and continuing to grow!

November 7th weekend the hubs and I headed to Chicago for a quick 2 day trip. Why were we in Chicago?! We are always up for visiting new cities and embarking on new adventures so a few months ago when I got an airline email promoting $30 one way fares I scoped out what cities were on the list. Chicago ended up being the winner- and when I told people they were like it’s going to be so cold there but FYI the weather was a perfect 55-60 degrees- bright and sunny! So don’t let that stop you from taking advantage of good air fare deals.

Linking up for WIAW

Well I’m officially a marathoner as I write this on Monday, I’m feeling pretty good!!! Now let’s get to the recap!

Since I live a short drive from the start and know the best parking area I didn’t plan on arriving to the Philly Marathon until 7am (yes that’s when it starts but let’s be honest, my corral wasn’t a super fast one so we didn’t start until after 7:30). As I mentioned this was not a goal time race for me, I just wanted to stay with Annie and finish with a smile on my face. I should’ve mentioned in my reflections last week that if I was well trained, uninjured, and running alone my goal would’ve been 4:30ish. Since I was poorly trained, recovery from an injury, and running with my friend for fun I was predicting closer to a 5:00 finish.

As most of you know- if you are a regular reader or follow me on Instagram- I’m running my first marathon this weekend in Philadelphia. My FIRST Marathon!

Yeah… well I’m actually not very excited any more since I’m injured :(

Let’s back up for a moment and review my training before I get the injury. Alternative titles for this post include “What not to do” “My Hip Hurts” “Rookie Marathoner Mistakes”….

By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by siggi’s yogurt and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

This month’s Recipe Redux sponsored contest is brought to you by siggi’s- an Icelandic inspired yogurt that is referred to as skyr.  Last month I had the privilege of hearing Siggi himself speak about his journey to creating his very successful company! The best thing about siggi’s yogurt is a simple ingredient list with little sugar (especially compared to other brands). If you take a look back at my FNCE post there is a recap of his presentation in which I shared my favorite slide- it shows the sugar content of siggis yogurt vs other brands. If you are eating other yogurts you’re definitely going to want to check that slide out for a reality check! Siggi’s skyr boasts more protein than sugar- which is ideal.

Well the original plan was to run 22 miles for my final long run….  I was going to run 6 miles to the start of the half marathon, run the half, and then run my final 3 miles. I ended up running 7 miles to the start and figured running the last would finish me off right around 20 plus I would end up walking a least a mile to meet up with the hubs after the race… so I decided I’d finish at 20, collect my medal, refuel with chocolate milk, and then enjoy some brunch. This worked out well since we ended up meeting up with friends after the race. Note: I have very few pictures during the race because I told Pat he could stay home and sleep in since I wasn’t really “racing it” so I didn’t really feel the need for any extra support or encouragement. Plus he is always such a trooper on every race morning I figured he could use a break.

What’s the worst injury ever? A broken heart. 

Maybe that sounds cheesy or overdramatic  but until you have experienced losing a member of your immediate family… your hero… one of your best friends… you clearly have not experienced the pain that I am in now. It’s extremely difficult both mentally and physically. Some mornings it’s tough to get out of bed… let alone get out of bed and run 20 miles. Your heart physically aches, you spend countless hours sobbing, you find yourself consumed only of thoughts of the person you lost. Grief is absolutely exhausting… I’ve lost grandparents and other important people in my life but losing my dad has been indescribable pain that overtakes my entire body… the whole thing coming as a shock and my dad being so young also makes it worse I think. My world has been turned completely upside down and some days I just can’t muster the strength to work out, eat a balanced meal, call a friend, cook, etc.

Full Disclosure: I received Fit Body Bakery® products to review through my partnership with Fit Approach.  All opinions are my own.

It’s October so I’m trying to bust out a couple pumpkin recipes before the fall trend is over… so I present to you two wonderful pumpkin filled recipes using two different mixes from the Fit Body Bakery. Today I am sharing Carrot Cake Pumpkin Muffins!

Full Disclosure: I received Mighty Nut Powdered Peanut Butter product to review through my partnership with Fit Approach and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own.

Today’s recipe features a new nut based product which perfect coincides with National Nut Day which is tomorrow and this month’s Recipe Redux- Share a healthy nut-filled recipe: Think whole nuts, chopped nuts, ground nuts, nut butter and/or nut flour.

Don't forget to check out the giveaway at the end of the post!!!

The first weekend in October I headed to Nashville Tennessee with my dietitian friend Ange for FNCE- aka the biggest dietitian convention known to man. There were over 10,000 RDs in attendance which is awesome.  I only spent one day at the conference and then spent the rest of my time enjoying the city.

Make sure you check out this article about what other RDs (and myself!) eat when traveling HERE!

Disclosure: By posting this recipe, I am entering a contest sponsored by Sabra Dipping Co. LLC and am eligible to win prizes. I received coupons for free product for recipe testing. I was not compensated for my time. 

Tailgating is one of my favorite things to do and definitely brings back memories from my college days tailgating at Penn State.  One of my good friends parents had a RV and season tickets so they always put together the best and most elaborate tailgates for us (one time we had freshly steamed clams with pasta- fancy stuff).  I’ve also hosted my own tailgate for Pirates games and other Pittsburgh or Philly sports teams. The food is the most important thing, then of course making sure we have good quality craft beer.

Well this week is flying… between meetings, relocating offices for work, and returning from Nashivlle (stay tuned for an awesome recap post next week) I didn’t get a chance to get this post up yesterday for  my 29th birthday ….Wooo! Yesterday was made special by my husband who took me out to an awesome dinner (see above) and gift me a DSLR camera! Food photography experts please share any insights or tips as this is my first "real" camera! After dinner we met up with friends to celebrate and watch the Pirates game. Unfortunately my Buccos lost but I hope the Cubs will go all the way!

Ok so turning 30 sounds like a big deal.... and I'm hoping 29 will be a great year. I would say 27 was one of the best years ever since I got to marry the love of my life, but 28 ended with the passing of my father which is still extremely difficult on a daily basis. Since I’ve been such a Debbie Downer lately I decided to make a list of things to get me excited about the next year. Obviously this list is not meant to be a list of super meaningful things to do, just fun things I’ve always wanted to do or try. Please share anything on your bucket list for your next big bday or for life in general!

1. Complete a half ironman
2. Visit New England area- I’m thinking another road trip would be good
   
3. Ski without falling
4. Go to Vegas
5. Complete a destination race
   
6. Travel out of the country- I’m thinking Italy
7. Try stand up paddle boarding
8. Climb the wall
   
9. Start my own nutrition business (part time, obvi)
   
10. Make homemade sushi- took a class last year, still haven’t used my skills
    
11. Become a certified personal trainer
12. Complete a marathon
13. Grow basil
14. Cook lobster
15. Go to a professional soccer game
    
16. Visit a new baseball stadium
17. Brew my own kombucha
18. Finally make a wedding album
    
19. Visit at least 10 new breweries
20. Go to the beach more
    
21. Go to an away Penn State game
22. Make pasta from scratch
23. Go whitewater rafting
    
24. Volunteer
25. Take a spontaneous last minute trip
26. Try out group running
27. Buy a nice camera
28. Race a 10k-I’ve actually never done a 10k with previously swimming and biking
    
29. Improve mediation
30. Live every minute to the fullest!

Trying something new this week… I have a lot on my mind and creating new recipes and workouts aka blog content hasn’t been one of them so I figured I would change it up with a different kind of post with some life updates and thoughts....

Check out the premise of Thinking Out Loud Thursday here:
http://www.runningwithspoons.com/thinking-out-loud/

1. I am torn between loving the fall weather and missing summer. I love the fall but I hate when it goes from 80 to 50 in a week… can’t we enjoy some 60-70 degree days first please?!
   
2. Next week is my birthday- I’ll be 29-yikes! I have a fun post planned (sorry no fun dessert recipe- but here’s last years- ) … I must say fall birthdays are the best- perfect weather and so many fun things going on… bring on the beer festivals, boots, and pumpkin everything.
   
3. So much traveling this summer and I’m looking forward to it slowing down a little this fall…. Here was my September calendar.
   

          Sept 5th weekend- Baltimore (visiting hubs family)
          Sept 12th weekend- Triathlon (recap here)
          Sept 19th weekend- Penn State (game day and visiting the baby sis)
          Sept 26th weekend- Pittsburgh (wedding)
          Oct 3rd weekend- Nashville (for FNCE)
Soooo looking forward to my trip this weekend but definitely equally psyched for the following weekend at home!

    4.  I’m pretty nervous about my upcoming super long runs for marathon training- any words of advice for a rookie!? My super shortened 12 week training schedule certainly doesn’t help put my mind at east when everyone keeps telling me I should do 16-18 weeks for my first marathon.
    5.  When I was in Pittsburgh this past weekend my mom gave me early birthday gifts since I probably won’t see her for another month…  seeing just her named signed to the card instead of her and dad’s was heart wrenching…. And also this weekend I had to step out of a wedding reception during the father daughter dance for fear of an emotional breakdown. Someone please tell me this will get easier soon...

Any random thoughts for the week? What’s the best time of year?! Best time for a birthday!? Thank you to Running for Spoons for hosting  and be sure to check out some other bloggers Thursday musings!

Linking up with Amanda...

What Would a Nutritionist/Dietitian Do? Meals and Freezer stock shared:

http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/1088630/nutritionists-share-their-meals

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-21314/11-healthy-foods-nutritionists-stock-in-the-freezer.html

Do you love Trader Joes as much as I do? Here are some of the Best Products:

http://www.popsugar.com/food/Best-Products-From-Trader-Joe-37467143#photo-37467143

Marathon Training begins- tips for running longer and safer!

http://womensrunning.competitor.com/2015/06/training-tips/the-simple-technique-that-will-help-you-run-longer_42748

http://lifehacker.com/the-beginners-guide-to-safe-urban-running-1727699007?commerce_insets_disclosure=on&utm_expid=66866090-48.Ej9760cOTJCPS_Bq4mjoww.2&utm_referrer=http%3A%2F%2Flifehacker.com%2F%3Fcommerce_insets_disclosure%3Don

Being a wellness or healthy living blogger doesn’t make you an expert- be aware of misinformation!

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jun/27/new-wellness-bloggers-food-drink-hadley-freeman

Wonderful “How To” on cooking in the kitchen by my fellow RD Alex:

http://delishknowledge.com/how-to-improve-your-kitchen-confidence/

I subscribe to trying to eat as mindfully as possible and nourish your body without a big focus on calories- what are your thoughts???

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/opinion/diet-advice-that-ignores-hunger.html?_r=0