YumNUTS!

 

Holy flipping YUM.  They hit this product name on the head. 

A multitude of “thank yous” goes out to those classy peeps at YUMNUTS for sending me some of their flavored cashews to review.  Mind you, these are not just ANY flavored cashews.  YUMNUTS are simply divine. 

Before I start, lemme shoot you the facts:

Sweet deal, right!? None of that fake stuff like high fructose corn syrup, added oils to make the fat content sky rocket and the nuts greasy, and zero grams trans fat!  One of the most beautiful families I’ve ever come across

I got to try four of the six flavor and was muy impressed with the quality.  They were fresh, with perfect crunch and chew.  The aroma of the cocoa filled the air when I tore open the bag of Chocolate, in savage-like form, of course.  Can I just say, that this should mean ALOT to you considering you NEVER see me eating nuts?  These were totally exceptional. 

The stats aren’t too shabby either!  Lots of healthy fats!  Guilt-free chocolate?  Si, por favor!

My second fave was the Toasted Coconut.  This tropical treat will woo you with it’s subtle coconutty flavoring and same great crunch as the chocolate.  For a real treat, eat the chocolate & coconut together! PHENOM. Almond joy, anyone?

 The only thing I wasn’t too keen on with these nuts was the fact that there is added sugar in the ingredients lists.  Then again, a little indulgence never hurt anyone, right?!

Lastly, we’ve got the Spicy Cajun variety.  Truly, I didn’t think I would like these, mainly because my spicy tooth seems to have gone missing…These, however we awesome!  It was pretty much impossible to stop at just one. 

The garlic, paprika, onion, and spices are the perfect blend of seasonings for this nut.  They really shine through in this snack!  The Spicy Cajun YUMNUTS would really be great on top of a basic leafy salad, or ground up in some spicy hummus made with chickpeas!!

Muchas gracias to the folks at YUMNUTS for giving this Freckled Foodie something new to rave about!  You can get your own here!

Daddyless 10 Days.

Verse of the Day:

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” 

- James 3:17-18 

The airport.

So I woke up an hour early so I could see off Daddy to Nicaragua this morning.  He is going down with three other men + two guides on a missions trip with our church to help build roofs for the needy.  I have been dreading this since I heard about it, but admire his desire to serve the Lord.  He is SUCH a good man [understatement of the year]. 

all packed up.

 He will be able to text and email us, but phone time will be limited.  I got several texts assuring me that he was alright and that they made it safely, which I was grateful for.  I’m digging his Indiana Jones hat, how about you?! 

Love birds.

Momma FF was playing tough guy, and didn’t show much emotion until it was time to say goodbye, but I could tell she was nervous.  We’re a tight-knit family, so when one of us is missing, especially as vital as a person as my Daddy, we don’t feel complete.  I just keep telling myself he’ll be back in 10 days!  Please keep the guys in your prayers!! 

Breakfast was packed since I was going straight to work from the see-off.  I brought a protein shake (cake batter from Optimum Nutrition) & some Fiber Select. 

SOC packed.

Got to work around 8:20AM and lost track of time.  Before I knew it, it was time for lunch! 

  

At 12:15 PM, I dug into my packed treasures.

 

 

Mixin' it up!

I finally decided to switch up my lunch.  It’s still got a nice balance of whole grains, low-fat dairy, protein, and veggies, but I figured you’d hate me if I let you see another identical lunch.

  

We’ve got 1/2 C. egg whites mixed with 1 Tbsp. reduced sugar ketchup, minced onion, and sliced mushrooms to be wrapped up in a Light Italian Flat Out spread with Sonoma Jack’s.

 

Not real photogenic?

Along side some freshly steamed broccoli sprinkled with some GARLIC GOLD nuggets (available in my shop!!) that the company sent me to review.  Totally in love with these nuggets.  You’ll see why in my review post  

gorgeous greens.

With some necessary Reduced Sugar ketchup on the side for dippage.After work, I was feeling sluggish but I knew I wanted to get in a GREAT workout seeing as how I missed going to the gym for my Monday routine due to the good-bye Fiesta.

I carbed up using this orange friend

Sweet tater mash.

Complete with sugar free vanilla syrup & cinnamon.

I changed clothes and left for the gym.

Here are my moves:

• 65 minutes on the elliptical trianer @ levels 7-10 (about 9 miles)
• 3 sets of 25 hip adductors (115lbs.)
• 3 sets of 25 hip abductors (85 lbs.)
• 1 Superman
• 3 sets of 30 in-and-outs
• 3 sets of 15 sit ups on the incline bench each side (total: 135)

I was feeling really tired, so I went home and whipped up some dinner, hoping that refueling would help my energy level.

My body wanted protein, but my heart wanted chocolate.  The solution?  Milk Chocolate Navy Bean Brownie Batter.

Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder is uhmazing.

 This time, I used NAVY beans instead of garbanzos & 1 tbsp. of cocoa powder instead of two.  Same stats as far as protein & fiber, but 30 less calories per serving.

Green beans.

I roasted some green beans after coating them in some Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce + SF Log Cabin (aka, I washed them, threw them in a bag with these two ingredients, and shook the crap out of the bag ) Roasted at 380° for about 25 minutes.

perfect!

 Can you spot the snap pea that snuck into the green bean bag??

While those were roasting, I cooked up some Fiber Gourmet pasta.

Holy Fiber.

 Just 1 serving has 72% of your DV!  And seriously, who eats just 1 serving of this stuff?  It’s delish!

Clocking in.

See what I mean?!

I had about 1.5 servings mixed with red marinara sauce & some Splenda.  It tasted like Momma FF’s sweet spaghetti!

al dente noodles = carby heaven.

For dessert, I had a few bites of  SF, FF Vanilla ice cream.  Straight from the container because I’m classy like that   I also sprinkled in some cocoa powder!

vanilla bean.

Twas a nice night, ended on a good note watching the Biggest Loser with da Momma.  She misses Poppa FF already…so do I!

Does anyone have any hummus recipes without using tahini that they’d mind sharing?

Happy Hump Day!

Check out this awesome Element Bars Giveaway from Hillary!

XO.