As I sit with nothing to do on this rainy Saturday (which NEVER happens! I should be studying for my Peds final on Tuesday...hmmm...) I get an email/twitter post from Sam with her first and my first guest blog post! I am so excited to share it with all of you! She is so fun, spirited, and has been one of my favorite connections on twitter! Enjoy!
Hello! My name is Sam, and I blog over at Living with Grace I actually just began blogging a few months ago, and since then, an entirely new world has opened up for me! Sarah was one of the first people that I became connected with on twitter and she has also been one of my favorite followers, always providing me with comments and input that I absolutely love! When she asked me to do a guest post for her I practically peed my pants I was so happy! (If you can’t tell, I like sarcasm.)
When I started my blog, I assumed that I would just write about my day-to-day life, including it’s conflicts and struggles. Okay, so to be completely honest, I didn’t have a clue what my blogger identity would be! After turning to twitter and connecting with many other bloggers, I realized what my interests were, and what part(s) of my life that I wanted to share with everyone. I concluded that I really wanted to focus on fun, fitness, and most importantly, FOOD!
With that being said, today I wanted to share with you all how to be able to enjoy all of life’s indulgences, while still being happy and healthy! Healthy?? (Yeah, I said it!)
Coming from a family with a history of heart problems, and also being someone who has also had their share of chunkier days, I know how important it is to maintain a balanced, healthy diet.
Does this mean that I count my calories and have staring contests with cupcakes? Absolutely not! What fun is life without a sweet tooth? Or a carb craze? It’s not! And there isn’t one ounce of me that wants to give those things up. Trust me, I could live off of queso and guacamole. But, does that mean that I eat crap for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Nope! So what does it mean? It means that I find ways to “healthify” recipes to make them just as delicious as the “real deal”-- you know, those things packed with fat and processed corn and sugar. (Personally, that doesn’t sound very “real” to me.)
Recently both my father and grandfather (who are not blood-related), have experienced heart issues. Ironically, they had the same procedure done, where stents were put into two different arteries in their hearts. Even more ironically, this all happened within 2 weeks of one another. Pretty much, I wanted to curl into a ball and make it all go away. But I couldn’t. So I put on my big girl pants and got real. My entire family knew from that moment on, our lifestyles were going to change.
While I was still a bit shaken by everything going on, my family members turned to me for some healthy recipes. My grandfather is an oatmeal cookie lover! While his diet is rather well balanced, he has been poisoning (yes, poisoning) his body with processed, store-brand junk cookies. With the encouragement of my aunt, I put together a simple, quick, and easy recipe that anybody can modify and make!
Looks good, huh? ;-)
Healthified Oatmeal Cookies½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup rolled oats
¼ cup raw walnut pieces
¼ cup raw almond slivers
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ cup butter, melted
¼ cup pure maple syrup
¼ cup skim milk
1 banana
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Combine and stir all ingredients together, until mixed well. Roll into ball in hand (yes, this will be messy) and flatten on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and enjoy!
I’m serious when I say these babies are awesome! Yeah, there is some butter and chocolate chips in them, but so what? Moderation is all that matters, and this recipe can easily be modified. Try adding nut butter in place of regular butter, add different fruits, nuts, or any other goodies to satisfy your craving!
How could you not want to eat that ooey-gooey goodness?
See, this just goes to show you don’t have to miss out on all of the yumminess that life has to offer in order to stay healthy and fit! I hope you all enjoy this recipe, and I hope even more that I can inspire at least one person to venture out and try new ways of cooking and baking!
If you’re interested in other tips and tricks, or have suggestions and questions, please stop by my blog!
Hope to see all of your healthy, happy faces soon!
Thanks so much Sam! You always know how to put a smile on my face daily!
Everyone should check back early next week for my first giveaway!
What is everyone doing for the weekend? Cookouts? Hike? Night on the town? Or simply just living your own special lives...on your own two feet...?
Until the next step bloggers...
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