Shirtless Run in January and Spicy Peanut Butter on a Sweet Potato

Today is my no weight lifting day. Good thing since it was 75 degrees and made for a great run without a shirt.  How many places can you (comfortably) run without a shirt in January?  Not many in the U.S. for as much as I know.

After getting home from work, I made the quick decision to make use of the nice weather and changed into running shorts and my Vibram Five Finger Bikila's.  I put our dog, Abby, on a leash and had a nice, moderate pace run for about 30 minutes; this equates to about 4 miles.

The run was nice and I followed up with 3 rounds of 5 handstand push ups and 8 strict chin-ups.  Good stuff.  I then made a giant protein smoothie with strawberries, vanilla egg white protein powder (sweetened with stevia), steamed spaghetti sqaush, carrots, and more stevia.  Delicious!

I would be posting pics of my food, but right now I have the slowest internet and no more space on my Blogger account.  I need to find another picture hosting website soon!  Any suggestions?

Another picture I wish I could share is from part of my dinner tonight; sweet potato with Peanut Butter & Co. The Heat is On peanut butter.  I've mentioned how good sweet potatoes and pb can be, but the spicy factor makes it just that much better!  Have you tried?

Question of the Day: Do you follow a certain training routine or just wing it each day?  Mix it with cardio and strength or only one?

Hey....tomorrow is Friday...Rejoice!

Sugar Free Peanut Butter Protein Granola: No Oil and All Natural

Hello and welcome to Monday! Kelley and I are taking to day off from work to spend the day together.  It was our 5 year wedding anniversary last Friday, August 17th, but we've been too busy to spend quality time together until now. Hopefully couple's massages will make their way into our day!!

But first, I have to make a not-so-romantic stop at the doctor; then we'll be on our way to a wonderful day! I only half-way meant to rhyme there.....promise.

In essence of time, I'm cutting this post short; I guess I'm really still on a blog break anyway.  I just wanted to take the time to share this recipe quickie I came up with on the fly.  You ever do that? Just start throwing things together in a bowl (dry in one and wet in the other), mix, and then bake/microwave/pan fry/etc to see what you can make?

My body has been feeling run down and bloated a lot, and I'm starting to think I have an intolerance to something.  I don't like self-diagnosing things, but I'm guessing gluten might be a culprit.  That sucks if so; the only cereal we buy and love is pretty gluten not free!

Being one who loves crunch in his cereal, I just turned on the oven and started mixing gluten free oats and other goodies to create a delicious crunchy cereal I can have.  Instead of oil, I just added a touch of peanut butter and pumpkin puree, and stevia is the only sweetener.

Wow! I ate the entire batch in one day.  Now I have to make more already. I'm sorry for ever questioning the purpose of having two ovens in a home as a kid; I totally get it now!

This recipe is not exact and it doesn't need to be; that's the beauty of the whole thing! With a few changes you can make sugar free chocolate protein granola, or even pumpkin spice for the coming season.  The mix can get thick, and it would make a great healthy oatmeal cookie if you formed it into circles.

I'm too impatient for that, plus I like snacking on clusters more than cookies. Give this satisfying granola recipe a try and maybe you'll stop buying the small bag of "gourmet" granola for $10+. Maybe..

Sugar and Oil Free Peanut Butter Protein Granola

by RC Liley

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 35 min




Ingredients

2 cups Organic Rolled Oats
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 scoop vanilla protein powder; I use whey protein sweetened with stevia
1/2 cup peanut flour; or 2 more scoops protein powder plus 1 T natural peanut butter
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 cup oat bran
1/2 cup pumpkin puree; mashed ripe banana is excellent too
2 packets of stevia powder or 20 drops of liquid stevia
1 tsp Vanilla




Instructions

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl using a wire whisk.

In a separate mixing bowl, add the pumpkin puree with 2 T milk or water.

Add the wet to the dry and stir until well combined.

On a parchment lined cookie sheet spread the mixture out evenly and bake for 30 – 35 minutes.  Every 10-15 minutes stir the granola for even baking.

Remove from oven one oats are crisping and turning a deep golden color.

Allow to cool and enjoy however you would granola.  These turn more into clusters that make them excellent for snacking at and away from home.


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Most granola recipes have a dried fruit and nuts added, but I don't care for all of that jazz.  If I want fruit, I'll add it fresh with the granola; likewise for nuts and seeds. Plus, this does have peanut butter baked into each little crunchy golden nugget.

I went through about 4 cups full of this green smoothie, plain Greek yogurt, and granola mix without even thinking about it. Consider this your warning....it's addicting!

I urge anyone reading to bake this granola as soon as possible and change it up to suit your tastes/needs.  Comment to let me know how it turns out please!

Have a marvelous Monday!

Oh yeah, congrats to Christy from Chocolate Covered Diamonds for winning the Artisana Foods Giveaway!

WIAW #24 PB-GY-C-O-P: Summer Staples and Beyond

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?

Peanut Butter & Co Peanut Butter: A Sweet, Spicy, and Healthy Review

With a website address like ilovepeanutbutter.com, you know this company has some serious peanut butter lovers. Peanut Butter and Co offers 10 delicious, all natural peanut butters ranging from plain, decadent dark chocolate, and spicy cayenne-infused. If you haven't picked up one of their jars, don't wait any longer, to try.

I don't know of another peanut butter company that offers both a sweat inducing spicy pb and a super rich chocolate pb that will please anyone's tastes. Peanut Butter and Co graciously sent me their pure, Old Fashioned Crunchy and The Heat is On flavors to sample and review, and man am I glad they did!

I've noticed that most of the foodie bloggers out in bloggerdom (yes, it's a word; I looked it up in my brain) tend to love peanut butter, including me. If you're a fan of the peanuts and salt pb's, the Old Fashioned Smooth or Crunchy is a "must-try." If you want something a little sweeter, they offer the Smooth Operator or Crunch Time with a bit of added sweetness.  Although sweet foods are a real treat, plain pb suits me fine, and the Old Fashioned Crunchy was a delight on a sandwich or in a homemade protein dip.

On the topic of dips, The Heat Is On lives up to its name with four different spices; including Cayenne!  Just licking the spoon after stirring had my senses going at full throttle as sweat beads started to form.  How can anyone just dip or spread this on and still have taste buds left?  I am known to be extremely liberal with cayenne on just about everything, but this stuff is Hot!

The Heat Is On can really bring it on!  The heat, that is....

So in an effort to turn down the heat and have a delicious dip or spread as well, I decided to make a spicy cauliflower-carrot dip with The Heat Is On.  I added 1 cup each of steamed carrots and cauliflower, 1 heaping tablespoon of The Heat Is On peanut butter, 1 tablespoon honey mustard, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon cumin in a blender and mixed it all together.

The heat was still amazingly intense, but flavorful and addicting too.  I will make this again and add 1/2 cup of chickpeas or another bean for added protein and to use as a healthy filling in a wrap. It's basically hummus with peanut butter at that point; why not?  I haven't been using this dip as a dip at all because I enjoy plopping it on my salad at night for an extra spicy kick. Spicy peanut butter carrot dip dressing, anyone?

Check out Peanut Butter and Co's full line of pb's including White Chocolate Wonderful, The Bee's Knees, Cinnamon Raisin Swirl, and Might Maple.  I think their names say it all and even my full stomach seems to set some room aside each time I think of these flavors. I'm not a fan of products with added sugar, and I loved that my samples of Old Fashioned Crunchy and The Heat Is On both had zero sugar added.

I'd like to thank Peanut Butter and Co for the opportunity to sample their quality peanut butter and can't wait to go try more. Maybe I'll get the Old Fashioned Smooth version for when I just want something creamy.  Straight from the jar or mixed into a healthy dip, their peanut butters are worth seeking out and trying.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a crunchy pb & chia jam sandwich to tend to; or do I want a spicy carrot dip?  Hmmm, maybe both! Have a wonderful Monday!

Vanilla pb protein dip. This big thing lasted only 2 days and it was all my doing to make it disappear!

Q: Have you tried Peanut Butter and Co before? What's your favorite flavor or one you'd like to try?

PB Crave Review and Giveaway: What Flavor Do You Crave?

What? All natural peanut butter in flavors like chocolate, banana, white chocolate raspberry, and cookie dough? Give it!

Those were my thoughts when I first heard of PB Crave gourmet peanut butter.  My excitement only grew when PB Crave sent a jar of each of their 4 flavors for me to review. The flavors include Choco Choco (chocolate), Coco Bananas (banana), Razzle Dazzle (white chocolate and raspberry), and Cookie Nookie (cookie dough?).

Any of these flavors are spoon-worthy alone, but you can make smoothies (Kelley loved the ones I made her), no-bake cookie balls, smear on a PB&J (I did this with my homemade PB Banana Protein Bread), and slather on sweet potatoes. Mmmmm, I’m “craving” pb sweet potatoes now (slash) always.

Picking a favorite is never an easy task when all of your choices are as good as PB Crave’s.  That’s why I’ll go off of how empty each jar is after having them for 2 weeks.  So, ranked by the amount left in the jar, the least one being first (and most likely favorite), here are my thoughts on these all natural peanut butters with no hydrogenated oil or high fructose corn syrup.

CoCo Bananas

Peanut butter and bananas go together like, ummm, peanut butter and sweet potatoes.  The combo is out of this world delicious! This is why I smothered a baked sweet potato with Coco Bananas, and now I can’t get enough.  If I had a jar exclusively for using with sweet potatoes, it’d be gone in a week!  Probably why this one hardly has anything left.  Upon opening, the strong scent of ripe bananas escapes the jar and fills the air around you creating an instant craving.  Get a spoon and eat alone or with Greek yogurt for the easiest and tastiest breakfast or dessert.  This one also has the least amount of sugar per serving, which is a win to me!

Cookie Nookie

Ever crave peanut butter cookie dough? Then this is your pb! Mix it with pureed squash and cinnamon to savor a “cookie dough” you eat with a spoon.  The sweetness of the MEL-O honey mixed with chocolate chunks in peanut butter had me searching for ways to use just so I could like the knife or spoon when done.  To sum it up in one word…”YUM!”

Choco Choco

A combo of milk and dark chocolate that’s perfect mixed with Greek yogurt for easy icing on a cake.  My choice would be to only have dark chocolate, which is why it isn’t at the top, but still a pleasure to eat nonetheless. Nutella lovers, get rid of that sugar filled, low protein disgrace to nut butters and get this instead.  Better in taste and nutrition, there’s no reason not to choose this chocolatey peanut butter goodness in a jar.  I used this to make chocolate peanut butter protein brownies that were begging to jump in my mouth. I happily obliged!  Recipe to come in a future post.

Razzle Dazzle

I’m not a fan of white chocolate to begin with, so this was naturally the least favorite for me.  That being said, it’s still pretty darn good.  I used it to make a vanilla berry protein smoothie for Kelley while working in the Texas heat and to make no-bake Razzle Dazzle PB Cookie Balls that I shared with my co-workers.  Both Kelley and my co-workers enjoyed the treats, but would I buy it myself?  Probably not, I’d rather get the CoCo Bananas!  Check back for the Razzle Dazzle PB Cookie Ball recipe in a future post!

In a “pea”nut shell, PB Crave offers a unique way to enjoy peanut butter in four delicious flavors.  I like my peanut butter plain with no added sugar or anything, but PB Crave has shown me a new way to indulge and still be healthy.  The sugar is in the form of honey, which is better than just sugar, to me anyway.

Another good thing from PB Crave is that they support Project Peanut Butter by donating a minimum of 2% of the profits from every jar they sell. Project Peanut Butter is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing for malnourished children.  So why not buy scrumptious peanut butter and feel helping others….and your taste buds?

Are you ready to go out (or online) and buy a few jars to savor at home, work, or when traveling? Well, go ahead and do that. Since you’re going to want more, the incredibly giving people at PB Crave are offering one fabulous Just Add Cayenne reader a Choco Choco Variety Pack. Valued at $20.97, you’ll get the 3 jars of mouth-watering peanut butter seen in the pic below shipped right to your door!

How do you enter for your chance to win? It’s simple, you can enter up to 7 times by completing each of the action items below.  Please leave a separate comment for each action you complete.

1. Visit the PB Crave website and tell me what flavor you want to try the most.  If you’re lucky enough to have tried, tell me what your favorite flavor is.

2. Follow PB Crave on Twitter 

3. Like PB Crave on Facebook

4. Follow PB Crave on Pinterest

5. Follow me on Twitter and Tweet the following – "I entered to win tasty peanut butter from @PBCrave with @I_Love_Cayenne! Enter for your chance too! http://bit.ly/Lb0dfv"

6. “LIKE” Just Add Cayenne on Facebook. If you already “Like” Just Add Cayenne, leave a comment letting me know.

7.  Help support Just Add Cayenne and subscribe to my blog. Just post a comment if you are already subscribed.

The contest will end Friday, July 6, 2012 and I will choose a winner at random and announce on Monday, July 9, 2012. Winner must be from the lower 48 states.

This contest has expired, but please keep checking back for the next giveaway of something healthy, tasty, and fun!


Congrats to Judy for winning the PB Crave Choco Choco Variety Pack!

In the meantime, check back here for healthy, easy, and delicious recipes using PB Crave as well as healthy meals!

Good Luck!!

WIAW #15 Sweet Potatoes With Peanut Butter: What Have I Been Missing!?!

Holy peanut butter and bananas, Batman, this PB Crave peanut butter with sweet potatoes is outstanding! I’ve been seeing PB Crave peanut butter posts across the foodie blogs lately and I finally have the opportunity to try it myself. PB Crave sent me a jar of each flavor to sample and I’ll have a tasty review along with a giveaway posted in the near future. Please check back often!

Really, I have never tried PB with sweet potato until this weekend and wow, I can’t believe what I’ve been missing. I first tried the combo with plain, fresh ground PB and cinnamon which delighted my mind, body, and soul mouth. Ok, maybe soul too; who knows? Then I took it a step further by using the PB Crave Coco Bananas peanut butter and knew there was no going back.

I’m hooked; sweet potatoes and peanut butter will become a staple for me. Have you tried this combo yet? Have you tried it with bananas or PB Crave Coco Bananas? If you answered “No” to either question, do it, and do it soon!

Needless to say, for June’s What I Ate Wednesday “Sensible Snacking” theme, sweet potatoes and peanut butter have taken over. Also, veggies aren’t a problem as I thoroughly enjoy them cooked, raw, blended, or whole, but I’ve trying to eat less packaged grain foods at work lately.

Luckily, Zilks Foods sent me several of their healthy hummus flavors to review and I’ve been able to have this with cut veggies for snacks. I usually steer clear of buying packaged hummus because more ingredients than necessary always seem to be added. Not the case with Zilks, it’s the same thing (real food) you would use at home. Plus I’ve been delighted with each flavor so far. Check out their site for ingredients and nutrition information, and then get some if you can. Keep checking back for my Zilks review too.

Review Coming Soon! This is one of my favs!

Snacks are just fun to eat, and if you choose, healthy, wholesome snacks, they can become your meal! Eating snacks for meals means you get to have several different and delectable things to eat at once. I don’t see a problem with this at all. Do you?

I have a few reviews to post in the coming weeks, and so far, I’d say they are all good ones. I hope you come back often just to see what’s going on and if the next review is up and ready for you to read.

Now, lets have a look at What I Ate Wednesday…..
*Update* I just realized I haven't been mentioning the person who makes this weekly event possible.  Thank you, Jen @ Peas and Crayons for putting this all together!!







B-Fast: Sweet potato with plain Chobani Greek yogurt, natural pb, and cinnamon (I wanted to just split it like a baked potato, fill with yogurt and pb, then pick it up to eat like a burrito; but I used utensils only b/c I was at work); French press vanilla coffee with a splash of milk

Snack: Raw carrot sticks and Zilks Roasted Red Pepper and Jalapeño Cilantro Hummus (2 different flavors) mixed with tuna for dipping. The combination of sweet red pepper and fiery jalapeño was a flavor party in my mouth….that’s a good thing!

Lunch: One more superior product I have the opportunity to review; Fig Foods Kabocha Squash Soup with my own addition of mozzarella pieces and green onions. Side of Zilks Hummus with Real Bacon (amazing, try asap) and mushrooms underneath.

Have you hear of Fig Foods? They are only in the Whole Foods in my area, but looking to expand soon. They support green living and also happen sell soups with only whole foods, beans in aseptic containers, and other unprocessed products. Kelley had the Split Pea and Potato; she gives it 2 thumbs and 2 big toes up…….I concur!

Kelley's Soup

Snack: Green tea mixed with herbal Yogi Tea; Jay Robb Whey protein shake (yes, another future review; a good one too) before leaving work to workout.

Dinner: Giant salad topped with roasted Brussels, mushrooms and Zilks Salsa; cold barley cereal mixed with dry roasted pistachios, Chobani Greek yogurt, cinnamon, and a few drops of stevia; another sweet potato with Chobani Greek yogurt and PB Crave Coco Bananas peanut butter (can't get enough!)

Really, can this mix ever get old? Doubtful!

Phew, what a day, and we’re only half-way through the week! Boo. It seems like I have a lot on my plate (literally) to sample and review, but no complaints here! As long as the products have clean, wholesome ingredients, I say bring’em on! How else can a healthy foodie, be a foodie and have good food to share and mention to others?

Q: Do you get or would you like to have multiple products to sample? If I get to select what companies provide the samples, I’m always willing. If it’s McDonald’s trying to send something, they can just toss it instead.

Happy WIAW!!