Bites of My Life

I took a week off of instagram last week and it felt gooooood. Does anyone else ever do that? I made a mental resolution with myself to take 1 week off, every month for (hopefully) the rest of the year. It was such a mind clearer. Similar to a body detox where you rid your insides of toxins, this was a mind detox. For one week, the comparison game was over, the feeling of having/wanting to document my every moment was gone, the mindless hours spent staring at my phone were minimized. I challenge you to try a week off here and there. 

I logged off instagram last Monday through Saturday. I then sat in church Sunday morning to hear our pastor touch on the effects of social media. How it can lead to depression due to the over comparison, how it can lead to us losing sight of our values. How important it is to know God, know his stories, and walk with him, in order to keep our values in line. Especially in this ever changing world and comparison game we live in. #FoodForThought going into the new week! ...already looking forward to my next insta detox!

-Green salad on repeat again last week! Added a soft boiled egg for extra protein after an amazing lunch class at Union with Chelsea! My favorite way to break up the day. 
-Blueberry coconut cucumber protein shake is my fave right now! The combo may seem strange but it's weirdly refreshing. The recipe is on my instagram highlights!
-Posted these insane brownies last week. I'm just going to make you go read the post because like I said, they are insane. And borderline healthy! 
-Almond milk capp at TJA while grinding through some work. I love having a built in coffee shop right at my fingertips!
-Addicted to this breakfast. Protein, fiber and probiotics coming from soft scrambled eggs on GG crackers topped with kimchi!
-Dinner with my Stacey girl but really celebrating that Trin has moved back from Florida!
-Batch of steel cut oats for me and for Sarah Beth! SB texted me last week looking for some breakfast inspo. She loves oatmeal but has to be at work super early, so oatmeal is just microwaved from a packet (which honestly I love), but it's nice to indulge in thick and creamy homemade steel cut oats sometimes! I made a big batch of McCann's with cinnamon for her to re-heat at work! I suggest topping with more cinnamon, some blueberries and a spoonful of almond butter! If you need it sweeter add some brown sugar!
-I was trying to re-create these for sunday night dinner, but the frozen shrimp I pulled out of my freezer was more than questionable. Luckily I had some leftover shredded chicken aslo in the freezer so I adapted and ended up with a really delish dinner. 
-Did you read yesterday's post? I'm doing somethin' and celebratin' with healthy protein cake balls!  

Annie

P.S. I updated my OKC City Guide last week! Catch the new new here. 

Healthy Funfetti Cake Balls + An Announcement

I hate cake balls, anyone else? Now you are probably like why the heck is this girl giving me a recipe for cake balls if she hates them? These Healthy Funfetti Cake Balls actually taste more like cookie dough to me, but when I think of funfetti I think of the box of Pillsbury Funfetti cake mix not cookies. So here we are with a cake ball instead of a cookie dough recipe.

But really, the moist, mushy inside of cake balls made from mixing cake and icing together just does not jive with me. Let's also all take a moment to cringe while we say the word, moist. OK, moving on. 

Protein balls, you've seen them all over Pinterest and instagram, protein bites, energy balls, energy bites whatever you want to call them. I even have a few recipes found here and here. They are basically just a cop out on a real dessert, but also pretty genius to have stored in your fridge when you need something sweet or need a tiny bit of substance before a workout class or something of that nature. I love how this funfetti version came out because 1. i mean how cute? and 2. the ingredient list is short and if you are a borderline health food junky like myself, you most likely have these ingredients in your pantry. If you don't...come over to my house, I'll make you some!

Healthy Funfetti Cake Balls
yields 9-10 cake balls

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 scoops Arbonne Vanilla Protein powder
6 pitted dates
3 Tbsp. Almond milk
2 tsp. Cashew butter (or any nut butter, I use Georgia Grinders)
1.5 Tbsp. Multi-colored sprinkles 

Directions:
Add coconut into a food processor and blend until it becomes tiny grounds of coconut.

Add everything else but the sprinkles, pulse until it becomes thick crumbs (dough is pretty dry, you can add more almond milk if needed). Pour into a bowl and stir in sprinkles. Using a cookie scoop, press and roll into golf ball size bites! Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving! Keep in an airtight container in the fridge! Good for 1-2 weeks.

Now for the announcement. If you have been keeping up with Take A Bite, you probably are not blind to see that I have been incorporating some of Arbonne's nutrition products into my daily routine over the past couple months...hello protein shakes. Well, after thinking it over and going back and forth, I pulled the trigger and decided to start selling Arbonne myself. I truly love the products and use them everyday. Their nutrition line is something I completely agree with and have personally reaped the benefits of since starting to use them. I swore I would never sell something like this, but I just really love the products and want to be a source for others who are interested in trying them or who may already love them too. 

*I promise not to turn Take A Bite into a sales platform for my Arbonne business
*I promise not to spam you with only Arbonne
*I promise to stay true to myself and my brand and organically show you how I use Arbonne in my daily life
*I promise you will love these products and if you have any questions or want to hear more about the nutrition line please email me at annie@takeabiteblog.com

Annie

Bites of My Life

Bites is showing off lot's of delicious eats from last week, and even more over the weekend. Not pictured includes powering through work but GSD at this new workspace and with the help from these, some pilates, yoga and bootcamp via StudioHop and ending by sending off one of our besties and she and her boyfriend take their next venture to California. Which meant all kinds of celebrations to send them on their way. 

-Breakfast and my make-shift standing desk in full affect to kick the work week off. 
-Stole this big green salad idea from Veggie Bellie. My mix included roasted sweet potato, cucumber, red pepper, sprouts, green onion, spinach tossed with s&p, tahini, liquid aminos and topped with Everything But The Bagel seasoning from TJs.
-Serious snack noms. Rice cake, cashew butter, cocoyo, pomegranate seeds and cinnamon.
-Working on my soft scramble. New found tip is to scramble your eggs with your butter in the pan at the same time. It works and is delicious! 
-Date dipped in the best almond butter for a little "dessert hack" If you are on Whole30 this is a life savor. Or if you want to avoid eating ice cream for dessert every night, this helps satisfy the sweet craving we so often get after finishing a meal. 
-Golden Milk Protein smoothie bowl post evening Soul Yoga! (2 scoops Arbonne vanilla protein, frozen cauliflower, big shake of turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, pinch of black pepper, and almond milk)
-Preeeeeetty proud of how cute these little cookies came out for Alex's going away party. 
-A little lavender almond milk latte to power through the Friday work day. 
-Tried out Trader Joe's Frozen Cauliflower Crust. Topped it with pesto, roasted purple cauliflower, chicken and green onion. Love the toppings (and colors), hated the crust unfortunately. Anyone try it and feel the same?
-Matcha Avocado Vanilla Protein Shake blended to perfection (and to counteract all the Chick-Fil-A nuggets and chips and guacamole I had the night before).
-Healthy smoothie only to be followed by a surplus of fried chicken and fried okra at Oklahoma's oldest bar!
-Party bus to small town America to check every last thing off the Oklahoma Bucket list before Graham and Alex leave us for SoCal!

Annie

P.S. with This Is Us back last week and Riverdale and Scandal coming back on this week, you need this. 

Big Bites of My Life

Heyyyyy. It's been a minute since we took a bite, so not only are we double dipping we are triple dipping for a big bite to recap the past ocuple of weeks!

-Meal prepped this stuffed acorn squash for lunches and dinners and really really liked it. The caramelized onions made it! 
-The Bon Appetit's subscriber bonus issue deserves to be framed.
-I strive to turn Elle into my mini me on a daily basis. Safe to say that it's working. #chachamatcha
-My friend Maddie and I had an idea for a Christmas cookie decorating party and it was more fun and cute than we could of thought. Easily becoming a tradition! 
-Love what I do, but love who I work with even more!
-Santa slid down the chimney at The Jones!
-Brunch at home with mom and dad! 
-Christmas bites and sips Pre-Christmas Eve service. 
-Tucker traditional Christmas morning breakfast of stuffed sausage crescents.

-It's not Christmas without dad and I straining our backs hunched over a 1,000 piece puzzle. 
-I love my family of foodies and good eaters. Makes holidays that much more delicious!
-Two days after Christmas my parents and I left for Tennessee for my cousin's wedding. It was nice to get out of OKC for a couple days, and to visit some places I've been coveting. Like Pinewood Social. Great coffee, horrible waitress unfortunately. Which ruins it sometimes.
-Showed up to our hotel in Nashville to see a Caviar & Bananas next to our hotel. I fell in love with this specialty market when we went to Charleston. The turmeric milk overnight oats must be recreated! 
-LOL. 
-If only you could grasp how big the cookies were at C&B. I'm talking bigger than my face. 
-New Year's Eve at The Jones Assembly was just how I wanted to end such an amazing year!
-The night was worth the mess. 
-Black eyed peas for luck! Happy 2018!

-Protein shakes are back starting with this Mint Chocolate Chip Protein Shake overflowing with goodness, literally and figuratively.  
-Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake shared in a lite bite recipe posted here. 
-Couldn't drink this anti-inflammatory smoothie fast enough. Recipe by my friend @veggiebellie. 
-Prettiest and tastiest Thai Chicken and Broccoli Curry, also last week's recipe post!
-Lot's of protein shakes and detox smoothies balanced by devouring a good portion of the most addicting popcorn ever. 
-Had to do a double take passing this pink beetle! NEED. 
-Birthday salads and huge catch up session with my Lex!
-The birthday diva herself who is too great not to celebrate!
-Elle Frances looking cute as always. 

Annie

Lite Bite: Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake

Cherry Vanilla Protein Shake
serves 1

Ingredients:
2 scoops Arbonne Vanilla Protein Powder
1 tsp. Arbonne Fiber Boost
1/2 cup frozen cherries
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
shake of cinnamon
1/2-1 cup almond milk
handful of ice

Directions:
Blend items together. Serve with an extra frozen cherry. #cherryontop!