RECIPE: TAC Salad

This is one of my go to favourites, I could eat this everyday, I love it that much. And it's one of the easiest things to make ever.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-2 Tomatoes 
• 1/4 Cucumber
• 1 Avocado
• Feta Cheese
• Balsamic Vinegar 

DIRECTIONS:

• Cut up all of the vegetables
• Crumble Feta Cheese
• Toss together with Balsamic Vinegar (only a pinch or so, it's a lot stronger than the dressing and there's already loads of liquid.. juice (?) from the tomatoes and feta)

Not the prettiest, but definitely one of the most delicious!

xLB

Recipe: Chipotle Kale Chips

Kale has been all the rage for awhile now, and I wanted to wait until I perfected a recipe before sharing it with you all. That being said, I present to you my recipe for Kale chips!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 bunch of Kale, washed
• 1 tbsp of Olive Oil
• 1 tsp of Chipotle Seasoning
• Sea Salt to tast

DIRECTIONS:

• After the kale is washed, you want to rip all of the leafy parts off, with minimal/no stems. The curlier the crunchier. So the little curly bits are your best friends.
• As you're going, put all of the bite-sized pieces into a large bowl.
• Pre-heat the oven to 350F.
• Add the Olive Oil (approx. 1tbsp depending on how large your bunch is), Chipotle Seasoning and Sea Salt. Toss everything together.
• Once the kale is evenly coated, transfer onto a baking sheet and evenly distribute.
• Sprinkle on more Chipotle seasoning and Sea Salt to your liking once everything is on the baking sheet.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes, keeping a very close eye on them, as they burn very easily.
• Once they're cooked to your liking, let them cool completely before eating.

I forgot about mine and burnt some of them a little bit, EEP! Still pretty good though, it adds more of a smoky flavour.

TIP: try swapping out the Chipotle seasoning for other flavours like Peri-Peri, Cheese (Cheddar, Parmesan, Nacho), Lime, Garlic, Sea Salt and Vinegar, Soy, Sesame, Jalepeno.. endless possibilities. 

xLB

Pineapple Tea

Normally I like to do this recipe with white tea, however being in the midst of moving (yes, again, the second time in 4 months..) majority of my tea is packed and white tea isn't the easiest thing to find in a small town. This still tastes delicious, and I would definitely make it again!

INGREDIENTS:

• Tea
• Pineapple
• Water

It's hard to give specific amounts on this as it's really up to preference.

DIRECTIONS:

• Boil a large pot of hot water
• Grab a large pitcher, and prepare for the tea
• I used 10 tea bags; they were green tea with passionfruit and jasmine flavour
• If you like your tea sweetened a bit, now is the time to add sugar or sweetener
• Pour the boiled water in 1/3 of the way of the pitcher
• Let this steep overnight
• Puree/liquify 1 pineapple until it is in juice formation; helps to blend them with a bit of water in order to thin it out a bit
• Add the fresh pineapple juice to the pitcher
• Top the pitcher off with cool water and ice, and enjoy!

Love summery drinks!

xLB

Summer Goals

I've been awful with blogging lately, and I'm really sorry about that. Between working full-time and trying to catch up with old friends who I'm now around to see, it's quite difficult to find time to sit at a computer and write away! But I'm hoping for that to change. With that, I present to you some summer goals!

1. Run More: I've been trying to get back into running again, but it's hard to find time. So my goal for myself is to run at least 5k at least once a week, and hopefully to develop that into even more. I'm having trouble getting the stamina to run and can't run 5k straight, so that is ultimately my goal. However the first step is getting out running!
2. Get Back to my Skincare Regime: Lately with working early in the morning and passing out when I get home, or working late and passing out when I get home I've been slacking on my skincare regime. I just never have the energy to do it when I get home from work, so a goal for me is to get back into and find the time!
3. Drink More Water: I've always had a rule where I could only have 1 glass of something other than water or tea everyday. With being at work all day in range of juices and pops and other fab drinks I've had a hard time sticking to that, so a goal is to get back into that as well.
4. Save More Money: Being back at home, a main goal is to save money. However that isn't going too well.. but mainly because I've maxed my Visa a few times and had to pay that off along with paying off student loans, but now that those are on track it's time to save!
5. Post More Food Journal Posts: The thing I love most about this goal is that if I'm posting these posts it encourages me to eat healthier since it would be a little embarrassing for me to post fat-filled caloric nightmares instead of healthy, tasty treats! My goal for this is to start doing Food Diary posts once a week!
6. Post More OOTDs: Fashion is one of my passions, especially having gone to school for it, so I love styling so a great outfit makes me feel so wonderful and accomplished. However, unfortunately the only clothes I'm seem to be wearing are my work uniform and sweatpants.. not very glamorous, but I'm hoping to change that! 
7. Blog More: In general, just to start blogging more! I've gotten off track and have been posting in a month what I would post in a week, and for that I apologize, but here's to hoping I get back to posting!

Okay sooo those are a few of my goals to work on! Do you have any? If so, what are they? Let me know :~)

Since my blogging is a little all over the place lately, follow me on my other social media handles to keep in touch until the blogging regulates!

twitter - instagram - tumblr - pinterest - bloglovin - ipsy

keek/vine/snapchat: lbechkos17

xLB

Recipe: Vegan Cranberry Citrus Lentil Salad

It's that time of the year when my health craze really kicks in to the fullest - winter is starting to leave us (FINALLY) and spring is coming! Spring always is such a health motivator for me. Now that it's warming up I'm more interested in fresh, cool recipes instead of warm comfort foods. That being said, I am a total salad girl and am always looking into new recipes. Crazy how many possibilities there are - salad is most definitely NOT boring!

Lentils, in case you weren't aware, are a variety of bean. They range in size and colour, from red/oranges, to greens, to beiges to blacks. The amount of time they take to cook is solely dependant on size - normally 10-40 minutes. Lentils have the 3rd most amount of protein of any legume/nut which I found very interesting, especially since being vegetarian I'm always on the hunt for all the protein I can get! 

I feel as though this recipe is pretty based on preferences, in terms of the amount of each ingredient you put in, so it's totally up to you. You can also swap and substitute as you please!

This recipe is vegan and for 1 serving, approximately 1 cup, it comes to 280 calories with 7g of fat (11%) 10g of protein and 20% of your iron serving. 

INGREDIENTS: 

• whole grain brown rice
• green lentils
• mandarin oranges
• cranberries
• almonds
• oil of choice - I used canola
• lime juice
• cider vinegar
• salt & pepper to taste

Basically, you just kind of mix everything up! (after necessary cooking of the rice, of course)

xLB

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred: Level 1

Since it is officially March (YAY, winter is almost finished!!) I've decided it's time to buckle up and shed the horrid inevitable winter weight, and prepare for a summer beach bod!

(image - weheartit)

I've heard plenty on the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred video, so I figured I would give it a shot. The video is divided into 3 Levels, the breakdown is essentially 10 days for each level. So I figured instead of daily updates, I would update by level. Another huge reason I'm going to blog through this is I feel it will give me more motivation to complete the program. I've also included a youtube link to the video below if you're interested in following along with me, or saving it for a rainy day! So onto the workout!

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

• Appropriate workout wear
• A yoga mat, or a comfortable surface (you will be doing floor work)
• A set of weights - if you're ghetto like me, feel free to use water bottles or other household items

LEVEL ONE

Day 1

• Initially, I quite liked how she also had someone there doing modified beginner versions of the moves, the options were great to have. 
• The warm-up portion of the video was very easy to keep up with and to do, I quite enjoyed this segment as I love a good warmup - really sets the tone!
• I've always done modified push-ups so I decided to go all out and it was a bit challenging as I was trying to work on form, but definitely something I'll be adjusted to.
• When I first heard about the video and that it was Jillian Michaels I was instantly worried, but for me personally, I found that it was very easy to keep up with and this level is definitely not too much of a challenge for me.
• Towards the end, the ab work got a bit difficult for me, but other than that all was well for my first day.
• That being said, I feel as though my thoughts on level one won't change much since it isn't much of a challenge for me on day one.. so I'm just going to post this level from a one day perspective since I don't think there will be much more to add. Anything changes, and I'll keep you lot posted!

Now I'm off to go clean up and drink some water! Let me know if you've done or are interested in doing this video, I'd love to know your thoughts! Happy health endeavours!

P.S. I found it very difficult to find fitspo images.. anyone have any ideas or know of any blogs where I could find some? 

xLB


* bit of a disclaimer here, this is for fitspo purposes, not thinspo purposes, I'm sure you all have rockin' bods, and personally I'm using this to tone up, not necessarily to "shred" weight off. Make sure it's all healthy fun :~)