Just Add Cayenne: carrots

Peanut butter (PB), Greek Yogurt (GY), Carrots (C), Oats (O), and Pumpkin (P). These foods have been not just summer staples, but year round staples for me. Give me these things and put me on an island and I'll be all set. Maybe, I might ask for a banana and honey to go with the PB, GY, and Oats, and cinnamon to go with, well, everything!

Carrots are a great first step for a person just starting to switch to a healthier lifestyle. They can be purchased as baby carrots and used as an easy, grab n'go snack; easy! I thank carrots for helping me get on the right track years ago as I made the change. A Google search with the terms "just add cayenne" and "carrot" and "blog" came back with 4,640 results. When using the quotes, I'm pretty sure most of these are from my posting around the web.

Carrots provide one of the easiest snacks to bring to work so I avoid anything in a box. Plus, have you tried dipping carrots in peanut butter? I'm sure many of you have, and hopefully you derive the same simple satisfaction as I do. That or mustard; they are both great combos!

Have you tried Google searching your name or blog name plus a favorite food to see what comes up? I thought it was pretty cool....maybe I'll try peanut butter, greek yogurt, oats, and pumpkin next!

I have actually mixed all of these together in an overnight oat concoction that creates a perfect summer staple when eaten cold. Basically, I eat all of my overnight oat mixes cold; frozen fruit added to make it colder. The carrots and pumpkin are pureed, of course.

When I don't create an amalgamation with these summer/year round staples, I easily love the taste and texture of each item alone. Peanut butter with a spoon? Uh, yeah, why wouldn't I do that? Cool and creamy 0% plain Greek yogurt is a delight with each ~~giant gob I greedily cram in my mouth~~ spoonful.

Oats and pumpkin are what I combine most. Pumpkin is perfect for making overnight oats extra thick, creamy, and more nutritious to boot! Add cinnamon, stevia, and yogurt and you're on your way to foodie pleasure. Oh yeah, add peanut butter too.

Overnight oats with Greek yogurt, frozen bluebs, and peanut butter = WIN!

See? All of these things work great alone or together. That's synergy, my friends.....synergy.

What else is synergy? Full body workouts, that's what! Kelley and I are on our second week of the Supreme 90 workouts and I feel it after each one. This DVD set is the best video bang for your buck I know. Why spend up to over a hundred dollars on P90X or Insanity? That's....errr...insane. Supreme 90 can be found at most Walgreens for 10 bucks tops. Use the rest of your cash to get some dumbbells and a stability ball for the videos and you're all set.

Along with the videos, I squeeze in effective compound moves with the barbell including squats, dead lifts, bench, and overhead press. If I can that is, the videos can leave me pretty sore as it is.

Wow, all this talk of my favorite foods and working out has me hungry! Lets see my eats and I'll be on my way to more eats now! As always, and big thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons for hosting What I Ate Wednesday!

Happy WIAW!!

Breakfast

Quick and easy microwave okra frittata; leftover pumpkin and banana protein pancakes with Artisana Coconut butter and peanut flour mixed; instant espresso coffee, black.

Lunch

Slow-cooker salsa pork chops with black-eyed peas and broccoli (you can't see it, but this is covering half a baked jersey sweet potato and mushrooms); Overnight Oatmeal Crisps cooked with banana and Artisana almond + coconut butter; fresh cut turnips and carrots

Dinner

Overnight Oatmeal Crisps smeared with goat cheese; Spring Mix salad with tuna (unpictured) and topped with the roasted brussels sprouts, mushrooms and garlic pictured below; chocolate black bean and veggie protein pudding; I used my microwave protein cinnamon bread to dip into the creamy pudding; I may or may not of added peanut butter to the mix....ok, I did

Here we are in mid-August going full speed into September and fall season! Geez, what's up with time? I guess "it flies" is an appropriate explanation. Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and partake in delightfully tasty eats!

Q: What are your year round staples?

Q2: Cardio, strength, or combo....what's your favorite?

This is a question you won't have to ask very often if you're like Bugs Bunny and consume carrots on a regular basis. Of course it's important to include a good variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet, but just carrots alone have so much to offer.

One of the least expensive things I do is purchase organic carrots in bulk for $.99/lb, peel them, and cut them up into bite-size sticks. They make for a great snack with mustard, peanut butter, or just by themselves. Also, cooking these tasty underground plants really bring out their natural sweetness. For a quick fix, I will just microwave steam them with other veggies I have around, but roasting with an assortment of root veggies is a great treat.

To make the roasted veggies I posted about on Sunday, I just chopped everything up to a similar size and roasted on a big cooking sheet/pan in a pre-heated oven at 375 degress for 50 minutes. Just make sure to stir the vegetables around at least 3 times while cooking. The veggies I roasted included, maroon carrots (first time for me to try), gold beets, purple potatoes, red onion, 7 or 8 garlic cloves, cherry tomatoes, and rutabagas. You can add any spice you like to the mixture....I used cayenne, cumin, italian herbs (rosemary is great when roasting, but I was out), a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Most recipes call for more than just a drizzle of oil, but, although olive oil is healthy, its better when not heated (like on salad) as a lot of its beneficial properties are damaged when exposed to prolonged heat.

Carrots are easy to make a part of your diet, and you will be happy to add them. Here is a quick list with some of their benefits:

Boosting immunity (especially among older people).
Reducing photosensitivity (beta-carotene protects the skin from sun damage).
Improving symptoms of HIV.
Easing alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Helping to heal minor wounds and injuries.
Reducing the risk of heart disease.
Reducing the risk of high blood pressure.
Cleansing the liver, and when consumed regularly, can help the liver excrete fats and bile.
Fighting bronchitis.
Fighting infection (vitamin A keeps cell membranes healthy, making them stronger against disease-causing microorganisms)
Improving muscle, flesh, and skin health.
Helping fight aneamia.
Reducing acne.
Improving eye health.

Source at this site.

For more info, a great information source is http://www.whfoods.com/.

An extra bonus to eating carrots is that you can have fun repeating the classic Bugs Bunny line each time you snap into the sweet flesh of a crisp, fresh carrot.

As always, when in a food flavor bind......just add cayenne!!