Spicy Avo Deviled Eggs

Whether you are celebrating Passover or Easter, it's egg season.  Eggs are everywhere you turn!  Our fridge has 3 dozen eggs in it as we speak.  (Nearly EVERY matzah dish requires them).

A favorite springtime recipe of mine is Deviled Eggs.  They remind me of warm weather, picnics and spending time with family and friends.  Think about it, how often do you whip up deviled eggs just for yourself?  Never!  They are the ultimate bring to a picnic to share food. And if you are sharing this dish made with love with your friends, why not keep their health in mind?  I feel there's nothing worse than going to a gathering and being horrified by all the unhealthy food.  (The granola health coach in me takes it personally...Ahhhh! Don't you want me to be healthy?!)  I love this version of the recipe because it uses avocado and greek yogurt instead of that awful ingredient, mayo.  (DIY: Commercially made mayonnaise may contain sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, citric acid, thickeners, emulsifiers, EDTA, flavor enhancers, and water.) 
  

 Spicy Avo Deviled Eggs

Ingredients

• 12 eggs- hard-boiled
• 1 avocado
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
• Juice from 1 lime (I never have limes and substituted a lemon...which seemed to work out fine)
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cayenne (I also accidentally used 1/2 tsp cayenne...I'm a disaster in the kitchen.  They still turned out fine.)
• ¼ tsp chili powder
• Paprika to make them fancy

Directions


1. Slice each hard-boiled egg in half lengthwise and very carefully scoop out the yolk.
2. Place the yolks in a bowl, and then peel and chop the avocado. Add it to the bowl with the yolks, then add the rest of the ingredients except for the garnish.
3. Use a fork to mix everything together until it is well combined and has a thick consistency.
4. If you are fancy, use a piping bag to fill each egg with the filling.  I am not fancy and used a spoon. 
5. Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika.


*This recipe is adapted from Wellness Today.


I'd love to hear your favorite healthy version of a deviled egg recipe!  Leave it in the comment love below.  Don't forget to swing by the Motivated Nutrition webpage for more recipes and inspiration! 


In eggcellent health,

Joanie

www.motivatednutrition.net
joanie@motivatednutrition.net

Homemade Granola Sundae

I love granola.  We're talking about an I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack on it all day kind of love.  I'm pretty sure it has something to do with my adoration of junky breakfast cereal.  I know it's terrible and packed full of unhealthy, over processed ingredients, but if it's in front of me, I can't help myself!  Cereal is my ultimate comfort food.  Instead of moping around feeling all deprived, I've discovered granola is cereal's healthy big brother.  And homemade granola is the bomb as far as nutrition goes.  I get to choose what goodies go in and can control the amount of sugar.  My homemade granola wins over my husband's sugar coated mini wheat's any day!  That's huge progress for me.

I cooked up a new batch yesterday and wanted to share the recipe.  This is shell of a a very forgiving recipe.  It's different every time I make it depending on how stocked my bulk items are so feel free to mix, match and make your own magic.  I like to call it a granola sundae!  It's takes about an hour in the oven and waiting for it is honestly the hardest part.  I may have burned my mouth trying to eat it right off the pan because I was so impatient.   

Homemade Granola Sundae

Homemade Granola Sundae

Ingredients

• 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup of nuts of your choice (I used almonds, pistachios, cashews and Brazil nuts)
• 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1 tablespoon ground chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (sometimes I like to use coconut oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup of natural maple syrup 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 large egg white
• 1 1/2 cups dried fruit(s) of your choice 

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
2. Prep a baking sheet with parchment paper.   
3. Combine all ingredients except the egg white and dried fruit in a large bowl, mixing well.
4. Whisk the egg white in a small bowl until frothy, then stir evenly into the granola mixture.
5. Spread and flatten the granola across the baking sheet and place in the oven for 25 minutes.
6. After 25 min, use a spatula to carefully flip over large sections, trying to keep large chunks of it together.  Place back into the oven for an additional 25 min. Oven times vary
7. Remove when you see the granola is evenly browned and feels dry to the touch. Transfer onto a cooling rack (or in my case, my counter-top)  to cool.  Don't be tempted to eat it yet!  It's really hot! 
8. Once it's cool, break it up and mix in your dried fruit(s).

*This recipe is adapted from one of my favorites, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.  The author, Deb Perelman is my small kitchen cooking hero.  http://smittenkitchen.com/


I'd love to hear what your favorite granola additions are!  Leave them in the comment love below.  And check out the Motivated Nutrition webpage for more recipes and inspiration! 


In crunchy granola health,

Joanie

www.motivatednutrition.net
joanie@motivatednutrition.net

Daydream Vacation: Life's a Peach

#StyleMeJuly challenge Day 17 

Daydream Vacation: Life's a Peach

Healthy Tip: When was the last time you took a mid-workday "vacation" to re-energize your brain?   I had 15 minutes between teaching classes today and rushed to the nearest NYC green spot I could find to kick off my shoes and munch on the juicy peach I'd been dreaming about in my bag all morning.  Did you know that taking a "brain break" will increase your productivity?  Next time you think you are too busy to kick off your shoes, eat lunch in the park, take a walk or do jumping jacks in your office, remember that you will get much more done once your brain waves kick back into action.  You'll return to your work with much more focus, clarity and motivation.  Tell your boss I said so.  :)  And eat peach while you're at it.  It's good for you.  

Fashionista Wannabe: Do bare feet count as fashion?  They do today.  Life's a peach.  Kick off your shoes, scrunch your toes in the grass and take a 15 min "vacation".  

In daydreaming health,

Joanie

Joanie Johnson, CHC

Motivated Nutrition

www.motivatednutrition.net

814-442-5311

Patriotic Blueberry Compote

Day 4 of the challenge: 

Patriotic
Happy Birthday America!  

Instagram awesomeness by Micah B. Rubin

Healthy Tip: The happier we are, the healthier we are.  Celebrations make us happy.  It's a birthday so celebrate!  I mixed up a little blueberry compote to top off my pancakes this morning...thus making me happy. :)

Blueberry Compote

• 1/2 water
• 1/4 cup sugar (I substituted maple syrup)
• Grated lemon zest 
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• juice of 1 lemon

- In a medium saucepan, bring water, sugar and lemon zest to a boil
- Stir in blueberries and simmer for 3-5 min
- Remove from heat and add lemon juice

Fashionista Wannabe:  "You look like the 4th of July!  Makes me want a hot dog reeeeaaaaaly bad." (please tell me you know this?!)  This dress reminds me of fireworks.  :)  

In red, white and blue health,

Joanie

Joanie Johnson, CHC

Motivated Nutrition

www.motivatednutrition.net

814-442-5311

Healthy Fashionista Challenge

I'm a health coach.  I eat and work out really well.  I'm a dancer.  I can touch my toes and bust a move in heels.  I work with kids.  I can create fun games at the drop of a hat and run circles around the fastest 3 yr old in the room.  I'm a fitness instructor.  I can rock my hot pink Nikes as I jump rope and do crunches into oblivion.

What I'm not, is a fashionista.  My boyfriend, who used to work in fashion magazines is constantly offering gentle suggestions on how I might alter my outfits before leaving the house.  Ok, it's not usually gentle.  It's usually delivered in the form of, "Uhhhh...are you really wearing that!"

Since we've gotten back from our 7 1/2 months of travel (You missed our travel blog?  Where have you been? http://bucketbath.travellerspoint.com/ ) and wearing the same 3 outfits for that amount of time (don't worry EVERYTHING was given away before we even boarded the plane home from India) I find myself longing for an amazing New Yorker wardrobe.  Unfortunately, 90% of my clothing is STILL in storage and I've been forced to get creative while I run around the city as my fabulous, health coaching, dancing, kid wrangling, fitness instructing self. 

This has all lead me to become obsessed with the fashion advice of fellow Brooklyn-ite, Hilary Rushford and her blog, Bow Ties & Bettys.  I'm waiting for the day I can afford (or be given the awesome gift...anyone?) to have her over to do a wardrobe edit.  Until then, I'm taking her July Instagram photo challenge.  I'm hoping it brings out the fashionista that is hidden under all the workout clothes and sweat every day.

As and added challenge, I'm going to try to accessorize it with some healthy advice, work-out move or recipe.  

Wish me luck!  Better yet, join in and take the challenge with me!  Check it out here: