Morning Pep Blanched Almond Flour Review

I received the 2 and 5 lb bags of Morning Pep Blanched Almond Flour for free in exchange for my honest review.  I struggled with finding recipes for which I had all the ingredients or at least easy swaps.  Then, when I did, they seemed to flood in!

This was my first time using almond flour so I didn't know what to expect.  It seemed to bring a slightly different taste and texture to what I made but otherwise it was great!  I can't wait to see what else I can play with.

What I had an issue with was the seal on both bags.  The plastic zip is sealed on one side of the bag instead of both.  I was glad that I only opened the 2 lb bag since I had a container to fit the leftover almond flour.  I don't know what I'm going to do about the 5 lb bag yet.

Wednesday night I used Fit and Awesome's recipe for Paleo Chicken Fingers as my model since you can play around with different spice combinations to find out what you like.  I didn't have any ground mustard or curry powder to work with.  When I looked in the spice cabinet I discovered I still had an ancient curry blend (ancient because it's about 10 years old LOL).  At the last minute I decided to add garlic.  Why I didn't think about it until later I don't know....I put garlic in EVERYTHING I possibly can LOL.

Here are my ingredients

2 chicken breasts cut into strips (or 1 lb chicken tenders)

1 cup Morning Pep Blanched Almond Flour

1 tbsp curry blend

1 tsp organic turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 egg

1/2 tsp garlic

Somehow my picture of the prep came out blurry...

I was hesitant about using wax paper in the oven.  I know even the package says you can but I'd never done it before.

I paired the chicken tenders with leftover potatoes and gravy.  Benny ate a salad while I had steamed broccoli.  He thought it tasted like soap.  I thought it tasted salty.  I blame it on that ancient curry blend.  Should I throw it away now?

 

 

 

Austin REALLY wanted me to make pancakes with the almond flour.  I'm not sure why since I was never able to make them before; I always burned them.  I guess he thought I've improved over the years... Austin requested pancakes without eggs (Benny's "eggcake" disaster) but I didn't find one.  So I went with this recipe from Simple Green Moms for Paleo Almond Pancakes as my base.

 

Here are my ingredients

 

1.75 cup Morning Pep Almond Flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2/3 cup almond milk

2 eggs, whisked

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Nu Naturals Cocoa Syrup, to taste (not shown)

 

Ready to scoop into the pan.

 



Austin had no complaints but the nibbles I had I thought tasted a little weird.  Nothing like pancakes out of a box.  It wasn't sweet enough for my liking.  Perhaps I can try it with some apple chunks?

 

 

 

 

After my workout I wanted some flatbread to use for my lunch as a sandwich wrap.  So I used a Coconut Flour Flatbread recipe that I found on Foodie Fiasco.  Well, let's just say it didn't turn out as expected.

 

Here are my ingredients

 

2 Tbsp Morning Pep Almond Flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

1/4 almond milk

 

Ready to go into the pan.

 

The recipe called for splitting the mix in half to make two pieces but I didn't want to do that.

 

Immediately I started smelling the eggs.  YUCK!  When it was all done I cut off a nibble and confirmed the egginess.  DOUBLE YUCK!  I told Benny this one was his because it tastes too much like eggs and I don't like the taste of them.  I asked him how he wanted it since it was more of an omelet.  He asked for the flatbread to be cut up into strips so that's what I did.

 

 

 

Last night I wanted dessert so I used this No Bake Brownie Bites recipe from Simple Green Moms.

 

Here are my ingredients

 

2 Tbsp natural peanut butter

2 Tbsp honey

1/2 cup Morning Pep Almond Flour

2 Tbsp baking cocoa

1 packet Lean1 chocolate shake mix

2 Tbsp almond milk (plus a little more since it was dry)

 

Before even trying to make the balls I had to have a taste.  OMG it was SOOO good!  I said forget making these into balls I'm eating this straight up.  I ate about half of it last night and put the rest into the fridge for later.

BeastMode with Fish Oil

I weighed in last night down 2.4 lbs.  I went ahead and decided to make 140 lbs my official goal weight so the Weight Watchers leader updated everything in the system.  Hopefully I'll hit it at weigh in next week but at least by January 6th, so I would be starting 2015 in maintenance mode.

Week of Workouts

Thursday looks to be Cardio and Abs for these 5 weeks of the bulk phase.

Friday I worked my back.  I only had to use the resistance band for one exercise.

Saturday I worked my shoulders in the morning.  In the afternoon I sorted through my clothes to pull out the right size to give to my mom.

I began week 5 Monday working my chest again.

Tuesday was leg day.

This morning I worked my arms.  Benny hadn't gone to bed so when I was done he asked why I was walking funny.  It's because of yesterday!


Provitamaxx Omega-3 Fish Oil Review + Giveaway

I was surprised to find a fish oil with a natural lemon flavoring but it's so light it's barely noticeable.  I haven't experienced a fishy aftertaste either with Provitamaxx Omega-3 Fish Oil.  Perhaps it has something to do with this being in the triglyceride form.  All I know is I don't smell anything each time I open the bottle.

The health benefits of omega-3 fish oil are widely researched and documented.  Some areas that benefit are:

• heart health
• joint function
• circulation
• immune function
• healthy inflammatory levels
• eye health and function
• positive mood
• learning and memory
• normal brain and nerve cell function

The triglyceride form ensures maximum absorption of omega-3s, allowing you to experience the full health benefits.  The pills are gluten-free and contain no GMOs.  They are also certified by a Third Party Lab to be free of mercury, PCBs and any other toxins.  

Provitamaxx Omega-3 Fish Oil is produced using only sustainable fishing methods and is dolphin-safe.  The manufacturing process utilizes 100% green, carbon-neutral technology.

Provitamaxx Omega-3 Fish Oil is currently only available for purchase on Amazon. 

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Big Slice Apples Review & Giveaway

I absolutely love apples!  I try to eat one a day but plain old apples can get boring.  When I saw this opportunity for the Big Slice Apples on Tomoson I jumped on the opportunity!  Who could pass up such a variety of flavors for apples?

Grandma Hoerner's originally released only a few flavors of Big Slice Apples pouches in a handful of Target stores in January 2014.  Within a few months they expanded to nearly all Target stores in the country!  That tells you how much people are liking Big Slice Apples.

Big Slice Apples are sliced, kettle cooked apples mixed with a variety of sauces to make up the flavors.

• No high fructose corn syrup
• Made with domestic apples
• Non-GMO (for most flavors)
• Naturally gluten free
• Mostly under 100 calories
• Naturally fat free

The flavors are broken up into three categories - pure, fit, and luxe.  The pure line is blended with fruits and spices.  The fit line promotes energy, power, balance, and beauty.  The luxe line are rich, indulgent flavors.  You can add any flavor to yogurt, oatmeal, or just eat them plain.  I ate most in oatmeal for my breakfast since it's been so cold.

Five of the eight flavors received I liked - Natural; Cinnamon French Toast (which is weird because I don't like French toast); Raspberry, Hibiscus, & Green Coffee Extract (no mocha flavor to turn me off); Banana, Mango, & Hemp Seed (I was afraid might cause an allergic reaction since I'm allergic to the hemp plant); and Pineapple, Passion Fruit, & Fiber.  I figure it's pretty good to like 62.5% of the flavors!

The flavors I didn't really like were Cherry Vanilla, Boysenberry Chocolate (for one the seeds kept getting stuck in my teeth), and Blueberry Pomegranate.

The remaining eight flavors are

• Orange Ginger
• Apricot
• Lemon Berry
• Chai (would like to try)
• Peach Green Tea & Aloe
• Peach Bellini
• Cinnamon Candy (would like to try)
• Caramel (would like to try)

Big Slice Apples are available exclusively at your local Target store.  Check out the product locator to find the closest location that carries these delicious treats.

For every Big Slice Apples pouch purchased a portion of the proceeds are used towards their charity Sparkle.  Funds are used to help women and girls in need around the world.  Sparkle is partnered with several nonprofit ministries to achieve their mission.  Visit Sparkle's website to learn more.

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Freschetta Gluten Free Pizza

I was excited to be able to participate in the Freschetta Gluten Free Pizza BzzCampaign.  This would be my first known experience into the gluten free world.  I received my BzzKit and was really exited to try the pepperoni pizza since that's what we normally get at Little Caesar's.

When I got to my local Kroger I was bummed that they only had the 4 Cheese Medley.  I started to leave without picking up a pizza.  I got to the other end of the aisle and had Austin run back and go ahead and grab the cheese pizza.  Having a cheese pizza is like having a blank canvas to work with.  You can add whatever toppings you want!

Sunday night we decided to try the pizza.  Taking it out of the box it just looked like an ordinary thinner crust pizza.

Benny wanted just tomato, pepperoni, and onion on his half.  I used one whole onion and one Roma tomato over the whole pizza.  Then I added about 1/4 cup bell pepper to my half in between the tomato slices.  Finally I topped it with pepperoni.  I don't know how many I had on Benny's side but I made sure that I only had 14 (one serving) on my side LOL.

This was my first ever known gluten free meal.  It tasted great!  Not sure if it was the Freschetta pizza itself or the combination of everything but it was a lot sweeter than what I'm used to with frozen or fresh pizza.  Is this how gluten free tastes?  It wasn't as salty or greasy as Little Caesar's pizza either.  When we would purchase frozen pizza before and add toppings they would slide off.  Not so with the Freschetta.  The cheese oozed through and held down everything.  I really liked that I didn't have a mouthful of only toppings!

 

As you can see, adding the toppings to the Freschetta 4 Cheese Medley makes it about even with what I'm normally eating but it's still the healthier option since it has veggies.  I still would love to try the Freschetta Gluten Free Pepperoni Pizza to see how it compares to what I made.  I'm sure it'll still have a great taste!  As with anything gluten free the price is higher than the same product with gluten (was $9.99 at Kroger) but I think it's still a comparable price with other frozen pizzas.

Would you buy a gluten free frozen pizza?  What toppings would you use?