lose weight – Elevating Balance

Week 52

December 29, 2020December 29, 2020Leave a comment

Wow. We made it y’all. The last week of 2020! I’m sure no one remembers, but I actually started doing a healthy snack a week as a New Years Resolution in hopes to lose the baby weight I still hadn’t managed to shed.

At the beginning of 2020, I was still 170 lbs, 4 months post-partum. A combination of eating healthier and hiking with my little one enabled me to hit my pre-pregnancy weight of 140 by mid-summer, even getting down to 135, because hiking with a baby is hardwork, haha!

I’m also going to add that this is the first time in my 32 years of living that I have actually kept a new years resolution all the way to the end of the year! And I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to check out my lovely creations each week. If it wasn’t for the random “I love your videos” private messages from a lot of you, I may have given up. So thank you!

I would love to hear what you are writing on your resolutions list for 2021! I think as a whole we will all be looking forward to it for many reasons 🙃

So for week 52, the last and final week of healthy snacks of 2020 I give you Mediterranean Bites and Parfait Bites. I devoured all 15 I made while I was editing the video….They’re even better than I thought they would be!

Mediterranean Bites

30 Athens mini fillo shells 2 boxes, defrosted
3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons hummus
1/2 cup diced English cucumber
1 roasted red pepper 2 halves, diced
1 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup hempseed
2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

Fill each mini fillo shell with 1 ½ teaspoon hummus.
Divide the cucumber, roasted red pepper, feta cheese, hempseed, and parsley evenly between the fillo shells. Serve.

Parfait Bites

30 Athens mini fillo shells 2 boxes, defrosted
3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons greek yogurt
1/2 cup blueberries
1 cup strawberries
1/4 cup hempseed
1/4 cup toasted coconut

Instructions

Fill each mini fillo shell with 1 ½ teaspoon greek yogurt.
Divide the blueberry, strawberry, hempseed, and toasted coconut evenly between the fillo shells. Serve.

And for those reading this blog, if you want to see any of the food videos they are on my Instagram at @indigocrystal11 🙃 not every week has one, but a majority of them do because they’re fun!

Week 41

October 12, 2020October 12, 2020Leave a comment

I took a stroll through my garden this morning to see how everything was doing, as we near fall and cooler temperatures approach. To my delightful surprise, I discovered quite a few strawberries in my little patch! I also found a lot of Cayenne peppers if anyone has some good ideas for those. My garden inspired this week’s healthy snack, Strawberry Oatmeal Bars. YUM!

For the Strawberry Bars:

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil – melted
2 cups small-diced strawberries
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon-ish of honey

For the Vanilla Glaze (optional, but huge yes)

1/4 cup powdered sugar – sifted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon milk – any kind you like

Place a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, ginger, and salt. Pour in the melted coconut oil and stir until it forms clumps and the dry ingredients are evenly moistened. Set aside 1/2 cup of the crumble mixture, then press the rest into an even layer in the bottom of the prepared pan.
Scatter half of the strawberries over the crust. Sprinkle the cornstarch evenly over the top, then sprinkle on the lime juice and drizzle honey. Scatter on the remaining berries, then drizzle more honey. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the top. You will have some fruit showing through.
Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the crumb topping smells toasty and looks golden. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely (you can speed this process along in the refrigerator).
While the bars cool, prepare the glaze: In a small bowl, briskly whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk until smooth. Feel free to add more milk if a thinner consistency is desired. Lift the bars from the pan. Drizzle with glaze, slice, and serve.

Week One

January 7, 2020Leave a comment

Welcome to my journey of making one healthy snack per week for the year! I decided on embarking on this culinary journey for two reasons.

The first was to lose weight, I’m still around 165 lbs. after giving birth 😐 my pre-pregnancy weight was 140. My little is finally starting to sleep longer stretches and am I ready to focus more time on me!

The second is for my little! She will be starting solids in a few months and having an arsenal of pre-taste-approved snacks seemed like a good idea!

So on that note, welcome to Week One!

This week is an Antioxidant Paradise Smoothie and it’s refreshing! The maqui berry adds such a delicious tartness and I sweetened mine up with a little raw honey. 🐝

Some of the my favorite health benefits of this smoothie are: high in Vitamin C, good for heart health, helps aid digestion, anti-inflammatory effects, and it’s packed full of antioxidants!

Recipe:

2 cups frozen strawberries
1 1/4 cup mango
1 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons maqui powder
1/2 cup water
Sweetner of choice (to taste)

Blend and enjoy!