Froyo Friday Linkup and Coconut Oil Giveaway Winner!

Hey guys!

Welcome to the very first FROYO FRIDAY! 

I hope this link-up will serve up some end of the week fun, and of course provide us with some drool-worthy pics of everyone’s froyo adventures from the past week! 😉

So if you don’t already, this weekly froyo party will now give you an excuse to join in on the fun and get out there and enjoy a big bowl of  the good stuff (and of course all the toppings!)  The other bloggers are counting on you! 😉

Here was my creation…or should I say creations (whoops)… from last week:

This bowl consisted of No Sugar Added Praline, Oooey Gooey Cinnamon Bun (talk about heaven in your mouth), and Sea Salted Caramel yogurt.  Topped with pretty much a little of every topping possible….which included chocolate covered pretzels, cheesecake bits, buckeyes, and graham cracker crumbs!  When I go, I go all out…

Andddd I may or may not have recreated this combo last Saturday when I was studying all night.  If my Saturday night was going to include studying, it was going to include froyo. OBVIOUSLY.

Now it’s your turn! Show me your froyo!  And don’t forget to add your link below so everyone else can see, too 🙂

And the winner of the Coconut Oil Giveaway is…

Congrats Kim! Shoot me an e-mail at triggs122@yahoo.com with your shipping address to claim your prize 🙂


Paleo Pumpkin “Noatmeal” Recipe

Hey everyone!

Hope you are all having an awesome week so far! Thank God tomorrow is Friday, right?!

Some of you might remember my Paleo “Noatmeal” recipe from a couple of weeks ago, and let me tell you, I have been eating that stuff EVERY morning for the past few weeks! But this week, since I’ve been obsessing over ALL things fall, I made a few adjustments to the recipe and came up with a, you guessed it….pumpkin version!

If you are anything like me and love fall, you will love this warm, cozy breakfast 🙂  The spices totally make it!

Paleo Pumpkin Noatmeal

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons flaxseed

1/4 cup pure pumpkin

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp vanilla

On the stove top, bring almond milk to a boil.

Turn down to medium-low heat and add egg whites, stirring every couple minutes.

Add pumpkin, flaxseed, and spices, and continue to stir until egg whites are fully cooked.

(Sometimes I stick mine in the microwave for a minute once I’m done to make sure the eggs get all the way cooked).

Top with nut butter, fruit, maple syrup or whatever else your hear desires 🙂

My favorite combo is Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut spread, Sunbutter, and blueberries! Yum!

Hope you enjoy!

P.s. Tomorrow is the first official FROYO FRIDAY linkup!  Don’t forget to post about your froyo escapades (including drool-worthy pics of course!)  from the past week and share your link here!

WIAW: Paleo Pumpkin Bread!

Hey guys! So this WIAW is going to be short and sweet with a little recipe I’ve been teasing everyone with on Instagram 🙂 Thanks again to the lovely Jenn for hosting!

Speaking of fall…. 😉

If you follow me (taylorriggs12), this might look familiar…

Nothing says “fall” like…

you guessed it!

PUMPKIN BREAD!

I don’t know about you guys (actually I’m pretty sure I can speak for about 99.9% of bloggers in saying this), but I LOVE fall! Which also means I love pumpkin. EVERYTHING. Literally, everything.

So, last weekend I set out on a mission to bake a delicious loaf of Paleo pumpkin bread, and boy did I!  But, I definitely cannot take credit for the recipe myself.  I searched and searched, and ultimately ended up deciding on the Elena’s Pantry recipe, making just a couple tiny adjustments.

Here it is!

Paleo Pumpkin Bread

1 cup blanched almond flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill)

¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cloves

½ cup roasted pumpkin (I used canned pure pumpkin)

2 tablespoons honey

¼ teaspoon stevia

3 eggs

In a food processor combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and spices.

Add pumpkin, honey, stevia and eggs and pulse for 2 minutes

Scoop batter into a petite loaf pan

Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes

Cool for 1 hour

Serve

YOU GUYS. This stuff is freaking DELICIOUS. My kitchen literally smelled like a fall wonderland while it was baking.

The only problem  I had was that it fell a lot after I took it out of the oven, so I’m not sure if my loaf pan was too big or if it might have been because I didn’t used blanched almond flour or what? But even so, I’ve been enjoying it all week and will be immediately making more once it is gone! The spices are absolutely amazing, and make this the PERFECT fall treat.  I’ve been loving it with a little Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut spread or Sunbutter. Mmmmm 🙂

Go make it people.

Right. Now.

Bison Burgers and Coconut Oil Giveaway!

Hey guys!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Mine has been spent relaxing, watching some football, and studying.

It’s finally starting to feel like fall around here and I am loving it! Yesterday the weather here was in the 70s, perfect for some Ohio State Football 🙂  My mom’s side of the family was over to watch the game, and we decided to grill out for lunch.  We made regular beef burgers, and as a special treat my aunt bought some bison! Ever since trying bison for the first time at a nearby restaurant a couple weeks ago (see picture below), I have been craving to have it again!  I tried my best to recreate the burger I had at the restaurant.  It was topped with bleu cheese, bacon, and carmelized onions.  (I know, I know, cheese isn’t paleo.  But it totally made this burger!)

My first time trying bison!

For yesterday’s burgers, I tried my hand at making my own carmelized onions.  I looked for some recipes on the internet, and came across one that used coconut oil.  Perfectly paleo! I figured the coconut oil would give them a great, sweet flavor, so I decided to try it out.  Tropical Traditions sent me a huge jar of their coconut oil a few weeks back, and I have been using it on a ton of things lately.  This stuff is awesome!

Okay, I know these kind of look like worms, but I promise you they were delicious!  I just melted some coconut oil in a pan and added in a sliced, sweet yellow onion.  I let them cook for close to an hour on medium heat, and they came out perfect!

Here was the finished product:

Drool for days.

This was the perfect gameday food!

Now for the fun part….a GIVEAWAY!

Tropical Traditions is letting me give one of you a HUGE jar of their coconut oil! 🙂

To enter (mandatory):

1. Subscribe to the Tropical Traditions Newsletter and leave a comment saying you did.

For additional entries:

2. Leave a comment below telling me how you would use this massive jar of coconut oil.

3. Tweet: “I just entered to win a jar of coconut oil from http://www.taylorrmade.wordpress.com!”

I will announce the winner this Friday, the 14th, so hurry up and enter! 😉

Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil - 32 oz.Win 1 quart of Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil!

Tropical Traditions is America’s source for coconut oil. Their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil is hand crafted in small batches by family producers, and it is the highest quality coconut oil they offer. You can read more about how virgin coconut oil is different from other coconut oils on their website: What is Virgin Coconut Oil?

You can also watch the video they produced about Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil:

Tropical Traditions also carries other varieties of affordable high quality coconut oil. Visit their website to check on current sales, to learn about the many uses of coconut oil, and to read about all the advantages of buying coconut oil online. Since the FDA does not want us to discuss the health benefits of coconut oil on a page where it is being sold or given away, here is the best website to read about the health benefits of coconut oil.

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions provided me with a free sample of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product.

Froyo Friday Linkup Anyone!?

Happy Friday everyone!

So, if you follow Taylor Made or my Instagram, you probably know by now that I am totally and freakishly obsessed with and would like to marry kind of like  frozen yogurt 😉

Hence, Froyo Fridays! Every Friday I treat myself to a big bowl of frozen yogurt, as a reward for working out hard and eating clean all week.  We all deserve a little treat every once in awhile!

From my Instagram feed and reading other blogs, I know I am not alone in my love for the frozen stuff!  So, I have been thinking about starting  a “Froyo Friday” linkup here where everyone can share their drool-worthy froyo experiences from the week.  Would anyone be interested in this?!  I know it wouldn’t be as big as a “What I Ate Wednesday” or “Marvelous in My Monday” linkup, but it might be kind of fun to check out what kinds of yogurt combos everyone is enjoying around the blogger world 🙂

I need some feedback so let me know if you would be interested in sharing your weekly froyo adventures with other bloggers/readers 🙂

Have a great day everyone!

And Go Bucks! 😉

 

 

WIAW: Arctic Zero Overload!

Hey guys!

This WIAW is going to be in the form of a product review for one of my absolute favorite companies! Thanks again to the lovely Jenn for hosting!

 A few weeks back, Arctic Zero sent me this HUGE load of samples.  When I got them in the mail I was like a little kid on Christmas morning. Look at this haul!

So it’s safe to say, this is what I’ve been eating lately 😉

For those of you that don’t know, Arctic Zero is a company that makes “ice-cream”- like desserts using all natural ingredients.  They are fat free, gluten free, low glycemic, non-GMO, and use only natural or organic ingredients.  Their website describes it perfectly:

“Arctic Zero is a high quality guilt free frozen dessert that is all natural, gluten free, suitable for lactose intolerants, and low glycemic. Like “super foods”, we like to call it a “super dessert”. People consume it for many reasons: just a snack, to replace a meal, indulge guilt free and the list goes on. So find your favorite way to enjoy Arctic Zero.”

One of the major reasons I love Arctic Zero is because it is low glycemic.  Being a diabetic, finding a way to indulge my sweet tooth without my blood sugar levels skyrocketing can be difficult.  These products are a great alternative to regular ice cream for me, and for anyone looking to indulge without all the sugar, calories, and fat. Did I mention an entire pint has only 150 calories? Talk about no guilt!

Their pints come in tons of different flavors, from plain ones like Chocolate all the way to seasonal ones like Pumpkin Spice.  I have definitely been having fun making my way through all of them over the past couple of weeks 🙂

So here is my rundown of the flavors!

The Classics:

Chocolate: This was the only flavor I had ever had before, so I knew it was going to be good! The thing I loved about the chocolate was that it could be easily enjoyed alone, or dressed up with some fun toppings. Mine included coconut butter and almond slices.  Perfectly simple and decadent. Just how a classic should be!

Strawberry: Usually I’m not a big strawberry ice cream person. It’s not usually the first flavor I reach for if given an option.  But, this Arctic Zero strawberry flavor will totally make me reconsider now!  It was delicious and a nice change up from all of the chocolate-y flavors.  Loved it!

Vanilla Maple: I am definitely a vanilla girl, so I was really excited to try this one. I had heard people on Instagram RAVE about this flavor, and they were not lying! I would never have thought to put vanilla and maple flavors together, but I’m certainly glad the people at Arctic Zero did!  This was definitely in my top 3, if not my number 1 fave.  Shown here topped with some Sunbutter and a crumbled Paleo Cookie.

The Chocolates:

Cookies and Cream:  Yum! I’m not going to lie, the grayish color of this one had me a little concerned at first, but after taking the first bite, all worries went out the window. It tasted just like a regular cookies and cream ice cream! Don’t judge a book by it’s cover people 😉

Chocolate Mint Cookie: Thin Mints.  Need I say more?!

Chocolate Peanut Butter: Okay, come on. You know I loved this one. Anything with the word peanut butter in it automatically has a like in my book.  Topped with a little almond butter and sliced almonds?  Talk about nut lovers heaven!

The Others:

Pumpkin Spice: First of all, how awesome is it that there is a Pumpkin Spice flavor?? Even though I recieved these in August, this flavor made me SO excited for fall! (I am obsessed with pumpkin EVERYTHING!) And this was no exception. The flavor was perfect. Not too overpowering, with the perfect amount of spice flavor.  I may or may not have posted a picture of my bowl on Instagram saying I wanted to marry this flavor…

Coffee:  After trying coffee flavored frozen yogurt for the first time a couple months ago, I was excited to dive into this pint. Recently, I have become more of a coffee lover, so I had a feeling this would be great. Again, I was not dissappointed. Like the Pumpkin Spice, it was not too overpowering, but just right, and a wonderful change of pace from the other, more traditional flavors.

The Bars:

Chocolate & Vanillia: These were awesome! Just like an ice cream sandwhich, but with only 85 calories a piece!  Even my dad liked them, which is saying a lot! 😉

Strawberry & Orange Cream: I didn’t think I would like these as much as the traditional chocolate and vanilla flavors, but just like with the strawberry pint, I was pleasantly surprised! Sometimes you have to mix things up a little from your traditional faves!

If it wasn’t obvious enough by now, I absolutely LOVED all of the flavors.  I feel like this wasn’t even much of a review, since I have nothing bad to say about any of them! 😉  But honestly, everything was great, and I am so excited to have found a product like this that allows me to enjoy a sweet treat without all of the added calories, fat, sugar, and glucose spikes!

Thank you again to the wonderful people at Arctic Zero for allowing me to sample all of these flavors!

To find out more about Arctic Zero and where you can get some for yourself, check out their website, www.myarcticzero.com.

Also, check them out on Facebook and Twitter!

August Foodie Penpal Reveal!

Hey everyone!

Time to show you my August Foodie Penpal goodies!

This month, I recieved my package fom Rachel. who is not a blogger, but was definitely a wonderful penpal!

I’ll be honest, I felt like the foodie penpal matchup from hell when I told Rachel that I recently started following a Paleo diet.  She definitely had her work cut out for her!  But, she did an amazing job picking out some great Paleo-friendly foods 🙂

The first thing I noticed in the box was a huge jar of almond butter! Anyone who knows me knows that nut butter is the key way to my heart, so obviously I LOVED this! It was a new brand to me, and I’m so glad I got to try it! It’s so good.  I’ve been putting it on everything lately, especially my sweet potatoes! Yumm!

Next was a very interesting snack! Seaweed crisps! I’ll be honest, I was a little skeptical about trying these, but when I did I was surprised. They tasted a lot like kale chips. And you could totally taste the green tea flavor!

Last, Rachel included a package of figs.  I had honestly never really eaten figs before, but since recieving these I have been completely hooked! I buy them in bulk now at Whole Foods.  These are a really great snack for when my blood sugar is on the low side.  They have a pretty good amount of sugar in them, so I can pop one or two of them if I need a little pick me up! Totally love them.  Thanks Rachel!

Overall, it was an awesome package, and totally Paleo friendly! Thank you again Rachel for putting so much thought into it and for working around my Paleo needs 🙂  I’m sure it wasn’t the easiest task!

If you want to join in on the fun for September (and you definitely should!) here are the deets:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions. -You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! -The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination! -You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!) -Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month. -Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for September, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by September 4th as pairings will be emailed on September 5th!

*If you’re from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I’ll see if we get enough interest this month!

Happy Friday everyone!

Go Bucks!

 

WIAW: Back to School Edition!

Hey guys!

Time for What I Ate Wednesday again! Thanks to the lovely Jenn at Peas and Crayons! She rocks  for hosting this weekly blogger partay!

Here are some of my eats from this week with school back in session!

So I’ve been starting my mornings off with this new find:

The other night at Target I literally stood in the coffee aisle staring at the K Cups trying to decide between this (Coconut Mocha) and Pumpkin Spice.  This was DEFINITELY a good choice! It smells like heaven brewing in a cup.  I can’t wait to try the Pumpkin Spice for fall though 🙂

Pretty much every morning has started of with Paleo Noatmeal. I cannot get enough of this stuff! It honestly keeps me SO full throughout the morning, I love it! Plus I’ve been mixing in Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter. Ummm…yeah. Freaking delicious.

Of course I’ve been packing my lunch for school, too.  This week I’ve been doing salads, and throwing in an apple and a couple of my Paleo cookies. Again, lots of stares in the library. Oh well! A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

I’ve also been loving these Larabar Uber bars for snacks! The Bananas Foster is so good!

Banana + sunflower seed butter + cinnamon = perfect pre workout snack!

Dinners have been pretty typical. The protein, veggies, and sweet potato combo literally never gets old to me. I am literally obsessed with sweet potatoes. OBSESSED. I honestly crave them every night.

But I have to say my favorite dinner this week was on Sunday. My mom and I took a trip to whole foods and decided to get some burgers from their butcher for dinner. Normally I would have probably gone with a turkey burger, but I decided to go with a real beef burger, and let me just say, it was amazing. I honestly can’t even remember the last time I ate a real burger, and this one (sweet onion) reminded me how freaking good they are.  So good that I had another one the next night. It was the chipotle burger.  I don’t know which one was better! I am definitely going to be incorporating a little beef into my diet more regularly now!

Drool.

And of course I’ve been having lots of Artic Zero for my late night snacks.  Can’t wait to share about all the amazing flavors with you guys!

Topped with paleo cookie and coconut buttah. Nomz. For. Dayz.

Have a good night everyone!

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Hey guys!

Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start!  I’m back at school for my first full week of classes, and finally starting to get into the swing of this whole semester thing. It’s so weird trying to manage five classes when I’m used to only having three at a time with quarters, but I think I can do it 🙂

So a few weeks back, I splurged and bought some almond flour.  Holy moley that stuff is expensive.  But, after being on the Whole30 for a month, I was excited to experiment with some Paleo treats! I also had tons of coconut flour that needed to be put to good use, so obviously baking was the only option 🙂

My first attempt at Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies was a major success! I adapted the recipe from this one that I found on Fast Paleo (which is an awesome Paleo recipe website!)

I had a ton of requests for the recipe when I posted this picture on Instagram, so here it is!

Chocolate Chip Paleo Cookies

1 1/2 C Almond Flour

1/2 C Coconut Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

3 Eggs

1/4 cup Mashed Banana

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/3 C Coconut Oil- melted

1/3 C Enjoy Life Chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine dry ingredients and wet ingredients in separate bowls, waiting until you combine the two to add the coconut oil and chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, and flatten each with the back of a spoon.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.

These hardly expanded, so make sure you keep a close watch on them to make sure the bottoms don’t burn!

I don’t know if it’s because I haven’t had cookies in forever, but these were seriously SO GOOD! They are super soft, and perfect for a little treat after dinner or a late night snack.

Or crumbled on top of Arctic Zero 😉

#foodporn

Even if you don’t follow a Paleo diet, these cookies are amazing! I highly suggest running to your nearest grocery store and splurging on the almond flour so that you can make these RIGHT AWAY. So good and full of healthy fats with NO added sugar. How much better does it get?

I hope you try these and enjoy! 🙂

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Back to School!

Hey guys!

I apologize for being the worst blogger ever this week!  Classes started back up Wednesday for me at Ohio State, and I can already tell it’s going to be a SUPER busy semester.  I’m taking some pretty challenging classes (Molecular Biochem might actually kill me, help)!  But I’m also extrememly excited because I’m really starting to get deeper into some Nutrition classes, my real passion! Sitting in my first one the other day, I can honestly say I felt more confident than ever that this is exactly what I want to do with my life. Nutrition is my true and honest passion, and just sitting in that first class I felt so excited.  I have honestly never been so sure about something in my life, and it is such a great feeling!

Breakfast this week consisted of my new favorite, Paleo “Noatmeal.”  I literally cannot get enough of this breakfast! I took out the 1/2 banana from the original recipe, because having that sugar so early in the morning was causing a bit of a spike in my blood sugar.  But, since taking it out, I haven’t had any problems and levels are back to perfect in the mornings.  (Have I mentioned how much my body loves me for going paleo? 😉 )

Topped with Sunbutter and bloobs. Oh my it’s delicious.

Speaking of Sunbutter, I was scrolling through Facebook last night and came across this!

How freaking cool is that?!  I was pretty much Sunbutter star struck.  I couldn’t believe it! Sunbutter has been my absolute favorite since going Paleo.  I put it on EVERYTHING! Noatmeal, sweet potatoes, my Paleo pumpkin ice cream, and even on the Arctic Zero samples I recieved (which I’ll be sharing with you all soon!) So thank you for the shoutout Sunbutter!

Going back to school also means getting into a new routine, so I’ve been trying to figure out what my new gym routine will be for this semester.  Luckily, I have a big break in between my morning classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I am able to fit my workouts in during the day, which is great because sometimes by the end of the day after working and class, I get tired and unmotivated.  So this is perfect!

I’ve still been working on the 8×8 program, and am still really enjoying it! I hadn’t been doing a ton of cardio with it, but this week I’ve been  jumping on the stationary bike for 30-45 mins after dinner for a little something extra.

The weight sessions I’ve been doing aren’t all necessesarily  huge calorie burners, but I’ve noticed that my fat burn percentages have really been getting up there!

Refueling with some protein on my way to class!

So speaking of workouts….

I did something exciting this week. Like, REALLY exciting.

As in, signing up for CrossFit exciting! EEEEEEK!

I have been wanting to try CrossFit FOREVER, and this week there was a Groupon for the one in my area! I immediately snatched it up because I knew I would regret it if I didn’t.  I hope to go in for my introduction session next week.  I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it! 🙂

Anyways, back to school related things…

New year, new people staring at me for bringing my healthy lunches to the library….

Yes, you sir on the computer across from me slurping your Coke and chowing down on your greasy pizza sub, I’m talking about you.

Shocking.  I think they’re secretly just jealous? 😉

Luckily I don’t have classes on Fridays again this quarter, so last night I was able to relax and unwind after a busy week. And by relax and unwind I mean eat this bowl of Peanut Butter Chocolate Arctic Zero with sunflower seed butter and almonds.

Holy shiz I love Arctic Zero. Review to come soon once I make my way through all of their amazing flavors! 🙂

Oh, and today I got an e-mail from Urban Meyer. No big deal.

One week until Buckeye football begins! CANNOT WAIT!!!!

Hope everyone had a great first week back!