Blog Stars

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Top Five Friday that is!
What does that mean? Well-starting today, right here, right now, I'm going to start a new tradition on "Bliss", I'm going to have a Friday tradition of "Top Five Friday" where I let you guys know my top five ...something... it may be books, movies, food, quotes, who knows?! But whatever it is, it will be my top, there will be five of them, and it will be on Friday- you didn't see that coming now did you?

So this post is a little different- it's not a post about fitness, food :O , or any product review! Crazy, I know...
So you're probably asking yourself- what else does this girl know?

Well, I know what I like, and I like these guys!
(this is a post about my favorite bloggers, I wanted to do a little shout out and let you guys know of some grrrrrrreat bloggers that I am a huge fan of and let them know they're LOVED!)

Soooo without further ado, and in no particular order-here are my top 5!

~Katie @ dashingdish.com  - "Healthy Alternatives to the Food You Crave"
Seriously guys, if I only had one blog/website to look at for the rest of my life (and Pinterest wasn't an option :P ) I would probably choose Dashing Dish! It is awesome. Katie is awesome. It makes my day awesome.
Katie has a great story that is so uplifting. She has ahhhhh-mazing recipes, workouts, videos, meal plans, and you can even become a member to get even more inside awesome-ness. Katie also does health coaching if you're interested in that. She is a huge inspiration to me, and I hope that someday I can inspire people the way she inspires me!

~ Gina @ Skinny Taste - "delicious low-fat recipes from her family to yours"
Gina is a great blogger! I've even contacted her before for advice and she was so extremely friendly and helpful! She has a TON of great recipes for any palate and they all include the nutritional information for a serving as well the WW points which is so helpful!
She is even coming out with a cookbook in the fall of 2014! I can assure you I will be in line to get that one :)

~Julie @ peanut butter fingers - "living a life fueled by healthy food and fitness"
There is so much I love about Julie's site... aside from peanut butter being right there in the name! (But I do admit, that is what first attracted me to her site!) She has a TON of great workouts and recipes. Along with some fun girly stuff like wedding and fashion :) Oh and travel talk too!
She is beautiful inside and out and I love reading about her day to day life, and her dog- Sadie is a CUTIE!

~Jessica @ Life as Mom
Alright, so I'm not a mom, but I still find Jessica's site to be full of helpful, interesting and fun articles! There is so much content that is full of amazing information on food, family, womanhood, housekeeping, etc. I feel so much smarter after spending a little time on her site (although that is still probably no excuse to put of my Chemistry homework to spend time on her website :S )
Whether you're a mom, mom-to-be, or never in my life will I be a mother type of person- you will enjoy her website-I can guarantee it!

(last but NOT least)
~The Brown Eyed Baker - sweet.savory.sinful.
My oh My! Her pictures are gorgeous and her food all looks exactly like it says in the header... sweet.savory.sinful. I love all her new takes on old classics and drool over her pictures like it's my job! While her recipes may not all be healthy everything in moderation is just fine, remember! She also has a lot of info on conversions and substitutions which is ubber helpful as I seem to always start making something without checking to see if we have any of the ingredients. Oops!

So go ahead, go check out these great sites-and tell them I sent ya!
But I'm curious- what are you favorite sites to visit these days? Let me know in the comments below!

Grandpa's Kitchen - Gluten Free Flour Review

Hello Lovely world-wide-web readers of the 2013 year!
I hope your year has started off with a WOOT WOOT! I know mine has - And what could possibly make it better? Honestly, I don't know of anything... oh wait! A product review! That's it! So let's get to it :)

Today's product review is Grandpa's Kitchen - gluten free flour and mixes. Now a days gluten free is all the rage and personally, unless you have celiac disease, I don't feel as if there is any reason to go completely free. However, for those of you that may have celiac disease, or disagree with me on the gluten-free bandwagon will find this product review exceptionally significant.

Grandpa's kitchen makes a gluten free, lactose free flour blend that can be substituted 1-for-1 with regular flour in all your favorite recipes. It really does work great! And you honestly can't taste the difference!

They also sell gluten free mixes, such as:
Pizza Crust Mix
Pancake Mix
Bread Mix

Their flour is amazing! most gluten-free flours or even flour blends can only be used in certain recipes or come out with a weird texture or taste, but not Grandpa's Kitchen! No-sir-ree... see- this company blends different gluten free flours and starches to create a flour that tastes and acts just like regular wheat flour. They also sell a recipe book of their favorite ways to use the flour blends and mixes.

Overall: great product for those of you that follow a strict gluten-free diet! And for anyone who wants a little variety in the flour they use.

Thank you Grandpa's Kitchen for the sample (The sample was the only thing I received from this company, all opinions are my own) I had way too much fun trying out all sorts of recipes with the flour blend! I've tried cookies, bread, muffins and granola with the flour and all have turned out great! Just check out my newest recipe - Banana Bread in a Mug

Have a great January day - do something crazy worthwhile. 

Double Mug Recipes

Who loves COFFEE???? ME! That's who! In celebration of how much I love all things coffee - today I had coffee to the second degree. 

See those two? Beautiful. 

The left is healthy banana bread in a mug and the right is a Iced Mocha! AHHH! YUM!

This recipe is pretty easy...

In a bowl combine: 

3 TBSP. flour (I used Grandpa's gluten free flour blend and it worked perfectly!)

3 TBSP. sugar (or stevia, or 1 1/2 tbsp. honey/agave/maple syrup)

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/8 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Then add: 

1 mashed banana

1 egg (or 3 egg whites, or 1/4 cup egg beaters)

1 TBSP. Greek yogurt

1 TBSP. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

mix thoroughly and pour into a coffee mug that has been sprayed with cooking spray

~Microwave 2-3 minutes, it will puff up and possibly run over :S But ya know-it's worth it! :)

Then let it sit a minute or so before digging in! 

Want to put it just over the top? I thought so.... To really hit a home run with this yummy treat do as Kristen does and top it off with 1 TBSP. peanut butter and a small handful of granola. 

You will NOT be sorry! 

So now for coffee recipe numero dos - Ice Mocha!

Pretty simple as well - 

-1 cup coffee chilled

-1 TBSP. cocoa powder (or chocolate syrup if you'd rather)

-1 tsp. stevia (or sugar, honey, agave, etc. - just something sweet... no you may NOT throw me into your cup :D

-pinch of salt

-1/4 cup milk

-frozen coffee ice cubes

~Mix up coffee, cocoa, sugar, salt and milk & our over frozen coffee cubes. If you'd like-top it off with some whipped topping

Who's having an over the top super-deeeee-duper day now? Hopefully all of you! 

Chef Jay's ...cookies for breakfast!

Yes... you heard me right - I said: COOKIES FOR BREAKFAST! :)

I had the opportunity to review Chef Jay's Tri-O-Plex Snacks (all opinions are strictly my own, the only thing I received from Chef Jay's company was the samples).

Chef Jay has devoted his life to creating extremely healthy (and not to forget-delicious) bars, cookies and brownies. His company sells a wide variety of products, but I had the opportunity to sample his Tri-O-Plex protein cookies. 

The verdict?? Delish! My favorite is the peanut butter chocolate chip cookie flavor (is anyone surprised my favorite was something with peanut butter??)

I thoroughly enjoyed warming these in the microwave for about 10 seconds for a hot out of the oven taste! They were also amazing crumbled up over a bowl of ice cream. 

The nutrition is pretty darn good for a cookie!

The saturated fat is a little high for me... but there are cookies. I was ecstatic with the protein content and iron though! 

Here are the ingredients:

Ingredients

CJ PROTEIN BLEND (SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE), CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, COCOA BUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, NATURAL FLAVORS), SUGAR, HONEY, PEANUT BUTTER (DRY ROASTED PEANUTS, DEXTROSE, HYDROGENATED COTTONSEED, RAPESEED OIL, AND SALT), PEANUTS, WATER, UNSALTED BUTTER, WHITE WHEAT FLOUR, BROWN SUGAR, NATURAL PEANUT FLAVOR, EGGS, PEANUT FLOUR, VANILLA EXTRACT, BAKING SODA, SALT, POTASSIUM SORBATE.

Not too bad... I wasn't "excited" about the hydrogenated oils in there, but I suppose a little bit of anything never hurt anyone right? 

Overall: Delicious taste! Great protein content! However, they should still be treated as what they are: a treat. They are still cookies, and while they are a great protein supplement for those consumers needing a protein boost, they are cookies-and to be treated as such. 

Thanks Chef Jay for such a yummy treat! I truly enjoyed them :)

Multigrain Bread

With today being New Years Eve, a lot of people are thinking about their New Year's Resolution... I'm here to help! How you ask....

Maybe your resolution is to save money by making more of the food you consume at home...

Maybe your resolution is to eat healthier...

Maybe your resolution is to reward yourself and eat more delicious, soft, moist, hearty bread! (oh-that's just me? Oh well...)

Even if your resolution did not fall into any of these three categories, I can assure you that you will still enjoy this bread recipe!

1 1/4 cup white flour

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons flax seed

2 TBSP. wheat germ
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoons salt
12 ounces barely warm water

4 tsp. vital wheat gluten

Directions:

1. Proof yeast - add 1 pkg. (2 1/4 tsp.) fast acting (aka quick rise) yeast to 1/2 cup warm water. Let sit a few minutes - if bubbles form, your yeast is good to go!

2. While waiting for yeast to 'proof itself' (hehe- punny joke!) you can get started mixing the dry ingredients together. This includes... well everything but the water. Just throw in all together in a bowl or stand mixer and combine!

3. Add another cup of warm water to your water/yeast mixture

4. Slowly pour water/yeast mixture into dry ingredients and begin mixing

5. As your water becomes fully incorporated you will begin kneading the dough - note: you may need to add a touch more flour or water to get it to the right consistency. This dough should be elastic, not very sticky and slightly heavy

6. Knead for about 6-8 minutes (or 4-6 if using the kneading attachment on a stand mixer)

7. Place in a bowl and cover with a dry kitchen towel. Place in a warmish area and let rise until double - about 1-2 hours.

8. After it has doubled - punch dough down and allow it to rest another 10 minutes

9. Remove from bowl and shape into your loaf. Place in a greased & floured loaf pan and cover again with a dry kitchen towel and allow to rise for another hour.

10. Preheat your oven to 350* F

11. After dough has risen, place in over and bake for 45 minutes (bread should be slightly browned)

12. Cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting - this will help create a nicer texture that won't crumble as you slice it

Birthday!

Sooo it's my birthday! And not that I want/like a lot of fuss of attention ...but I do love any excuse to have cake batter flavored anything! :)

So due to that obsession - today I made birthday cake pancakes! Woot woot!

All you do is add 1 tsp of each of the following to a standard pancake recipe:
-vanilla extract
-butter extract
-almond extract

Check em out:

Jamba At Home Greek Yogurt Smoothies

I love smoothies! I mean.... that came with saying, errr typing, but it is a good leeway into this product review :P

I have the opportunity to sample and review the new 'Jamba' at home Greek Smoothie. They are a "ready to blend" mix of superfruit and Greek yogurt. I had the Acai Super-Antioxidant and Pomegranate Pick-Me-Up. Both were DELISH!

Now, I'm not a huge one for 'ready to make' smoothie mixes. I like to have the ability to add exactly how much of what fruit and yogurt I like. But daaaaang these were good! The Greek yogurt didn't add as much tang as it usually does for me, which in my opinion is a good thing!

All you have to do add 8 ounces of the liquid of your choice - I used milk (but you can also add juice, soy/almond/rice milk, etc.), and mix in a blender.

The only issue I had with these smoothie mixes, was that they were a little off the mark in terms of serving size for me...
The picture above is a full drinking glass full, and that was 2 servings of the smoothie mix-with only one 8 ounce serving of the additional liquid. This was mainly because I like a thicker smoothie... Not that the nutritional value is horrible if you have both servings - it ended up being about 230 calories, but had a 15 grams of protein, 7ish grams of fiber and lots of vitamins!

Overall - these were delicious and made for a quick and easy nutritional smoothie. I will probably still stick to making my own smoothies, but that is purely a personal choice-along with a consideration placed on price and availability of these smoothie kits - each one is around $3.29-$3.89. However, if you enjoy smoothies and want an easier way to make them in no time at all - pick some of these bad boys up!

*Thank you, Jamba Juice, for allowing me to sample and review these products - all opinions were purely my own and the only thing I received was the sample smoothie kits.