Live Well 360

This is just a quick post to say that I found an awesome fitness bag company called Live Well 360. It's almost too late to enter, but you can enter a giveaway here.

I'm hoping to win one! It looks pretty sweet.

Quick Update

After considering the idea of being vegan for a month, we have decided to wait until a later date when it can be better planned for. Maybe June. It will be better that way; we still have a lot of food that will go bad if we stop eating it now.

This month is going to be a good month for my blog. After this week, I'll have a lot less on my mind and will be able to concentrate more on it. I'll be registering my own domain and will have more control over what my blog looks like. It's going to be a fun project.

For now, I'll see you in about a week!

Being Vegan?

I know that many health bloggers are vegetarian or vegan. I profess to be neither. I don't eat red meat very often, but I eat fish at least once a week, yogurt almost every day, eggs, cheese, etc. My husband (find him at The Breakup Note) yesterday told me that he wants to perform an experiment of living as a vegan for the month of May. You may or may not know that my husband does the majority of the cooking in our household (and by majority, I mean all (except for when I bake)). I'm slowly learning the secrets to good cooking, but he's a better cook than me anyways. This being said, however he eats, I eat. So if he decides to be a vegan, guess what I'm going to be? That's right.

I don't really have too many qualms about going vegan, especially if it's only going to be for a month. My biggest problem will be not having yogurt. It's ridiculous how much I love yogurt. Seriously. So, going without yogurt for a month will be akin to cruel and unusual punishment for me. But I suppose I could do it. I've considered being a vegetarian before, but I really don't think there's anything wrong with having red meat once in a while. I believe the only real reason to commit to being a vegan would be for animal rights. I do believe that animals should be treated ethically. I believe they should be raised free-range and allowed to eat what God intended for them to eat, but I don't think that there's any reason to not eat them.

So...to be vegan or not to be? This is the question. I have a feeling it's going to happen next month though.

Have you ever considered being vegan? Are you vegan? Why?

Some Silence

As you may be able to tell, I'm really trying to pay more attention to my blog and do more with it. But, for a few days I'm going to be blog silent. I'm studying for a somewhat difficult exam that I must pass. Therefore, all my extra time will be spent doing that until it's over. Hopefully by this weekend I'll be back at it.

Thanks to all my readers!

<3

Getting a Domain

So, readers, I'm considering investing in my own domain. I need to come up with a good name for it though, which is going to be hard. First of all, I have to come up with something that isn't already taken and is also something that relates to me personally. My blog doesn't really have one specific idea; it's all about health and fitness and real food.

Maybe you can help me come up with something good. Comment with your ideas; I know I have some clever friends, so maybe you can help me.

Thank you for reading. You make my blog worth while. <3 you all

Sugar-Free Apple Pie Muffins

Earlier today I found a recipe for whole wheat apple muffins and tweaked it around a little so it would be sugar-free and also replaced the butter with olive oil. Also, I added a few spices to make it taste more like apple pie. Here is what I put together, and I think they turned out pretty well:

Ingredients:
1c whole wheat flour
1c all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur's Organic)
1tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
1tbs cinnamon
1/2tbs nutmeg
pinch allspice
2tbs olive oil (replacing the butter)
1tsp stevia (to replace sugar)
3tsp honey
1/2c almond milk (original, unsweetened)(or another milk of your choice)
1/2c nonfat yogurt (plain, organic if possible)
1 egg
2 apples, cored and chopped

Preheat oven to 450*
Mix flours, powder, soda, spices, and stevia in one bowl. In another bowl, combine oil, honey, milk, yogurt, and egg and mix lightly. Stir in dry ingredients and fold in apples. If your batter is too dry, add small amounts of oil until it is wet enough to mix.
Grease a muffin pan with olive oil and place mixture in. If desired, top with almond slivers and LIGHTLY drizzle agave before baking. Bake at 450* for 10 minutes, then turn heat down to 400* and bake for 5-10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, then remove from muffin pan and allow to cool for 5-10 more minutes.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Agave: The Nectar of the Gods

Image via WikipediaI have a new love in the realm of food. It is a plant-based syrup-like sweetener, comparable to honey. It is known as agave nectar. For some reason, I'd been under the impression that agave is a cactus, when it is really more like the aloe plant. The nectar is gathered by cutting out a flower shoot on the plant. It can also be fermented and is used to make tequila. Just thinking about it makes me want a margarita.

Why do I love agave so much? Well, for one, it is delicious. Also, it is a little sweeter than honey or sugar and thus you use less of it (the same goes for stevia). It has a low glycemic index which means that it is absorbed slowly into your blood stream and won't dramatically spike your blood sugar.

Agave is my new sweetener of choice for food. I love to use it in my snacks such as a fruit and yogurt bowl, and it's also my favorite pancake topping. I don't have to use much to sweeten a dish. A small container of agave nectar can last a few weeks if you use it correctly. It's also a great sugar substitute for cooking and baking. I included it in some banana bread I made last week and it was incredible! I'm going to attempt some sugar-free cookies with agave soon. If they turn out well, I'll give you all a recipe to try!

Have you tried agave and, if so, how do you like it?