Hey guys, if you follow me on tumblr and you like whatcha see, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to come join me at my new blog site: 

http://lilbinthebigc.blogspot.com/

Blogspot just gives me some more capabilities. I hope I don’t lose any of your readership, so please add the new site to your google reader or feel free to subscribe to my new blog via email. Thanks for all your support!!

Best,

Lil B

Hey y’all, Lil B here reporting live from the burbs. That’s right folks, it’s Memorial Day weekend, and I’ve taken a trip from the Big C to visit Mamma & Papa B in the burbs!Unfortunately, someone I contracted a mean chest cold and had a nice lil fever to kick-off this festive weekend. MAJOR SAD FACE!!

Now let me just say, in general, I am one tough cookie — but when it comes to being sick, I turn into a HUGE baby! After moping around all day yesterday and the entire morning today, something exciting arrived for me that lifted my spirits:

That’s right! I am now the proud owner of a Clarisonic Mia!!! My skin has been acting up for a little over a year now, and I’m really hoping that my new Mia will change that! I’ve read a lot about it online and through fellow blogger testimonials — so wish me luck and stay tuned for a full review in the near future!!

The arrival of my Mia got me so excited that I managed to get my sorry tush off the couch and into the kitchen in attempts to inaugurate the festive Memorial Day Weekend!

Oh how I miss the Weiss beer of Munich Germany!!! Anyway, I found myself in the kitchen ready to prepare a Happy Hour for the B fam.

This is what I came up with:

Yes, to the untrained eye this may look like 3 full glasses of Guinness, but if you look a little closer…

… Happy Hour was served B family style! Yep, Mamma & Papa B are just as nuts as I am :) — who do you think I got it from?!?!

Our happy hour consisted of a phenomenal Green Juice Concoction that I assembled just for the occasion.

Look at all those pretty colors!! It’s like drinking rainbows (you can punch me later for that one, but I’m sicky now so take it easy haha) In the mix: Mixed Greens, Cucumber, Celery, Apples, Carrots, Grapefruit, & Lemon

Just look at that froth!!!

Ok, don’t get me wrong, I love a REAL happy hour as much as the next 20 something chica, but I’m just coming off of a cold here give me a break!!

And besides, what could be better to get me back on my feet to enjoy the rest of this long holiday weekend than an injection of vitamins, minerals, and enzymes?! Also, if I’m already going through all this effort for myself, shouldn’t I also offer up the nutritious goodness to the ‘rents?!

Yeah, that’s what I thought :p

Anyway, I hope you all are having a better start to your holiday weekend than me!

To health, wealth, and a kick-ass Chicago summer!!

I’ll drink to that ;)

I truly am a fan of sharing dinner with friends, and I was doubly excited to host a catchup dinner with one of my best girlfriends from Tulane, Nat G. Nat G and I danced together for the Tulane Dance Department dance company. It was a shweaty, challenging, amazing time! She had one more year at Tulane after a graduated, and lucky for me — SHE JUST MOVED TO CHICAGO!!!!

Picture circa Halloween 2009 — We’re special like that ;)

On the Menu:

TJ’s sushi Appetizer

TJ’s Lime Chicken Strips with TJ’s Mini Pickles

Veggie Stir Fry: In the mix, Broccoli, Mixed Fajita Peppers, and Asian Stir fry Mix

And, the perfect dessert for a dreary thursday night catch-up dinner among old time dancer friends:

All in all, a healthy dinner for catching up with one of my best girlies.

Nat G truly inspires me to be the best that I can be and I am so beyond thrilled that she is now living in the Big C with me!! 

We are two tough chicas ;)

(FYI, this pic ISN”T from Halloween — it’s from a dance show. Oh man I miss dancin with this lady!)

As delightful as skyrockets in flight are, my delights this afternoon were definitely more G rated…

Positively Delightful Salad for lunch! In the mix: TJs Organic Pea Shoots, Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes, Sliced Cucumber, Sliced Egg, Light sprinkle of Raisins & Peanuts.

I chased my salad a little later this afternoon with a Grande Americano with a steamed Non Fat Topper and a Grapefruit.

While dropping by our convenience store for tic tacs (yes, I ADORE tic tacs and pretty much always carry them on my person), I discovered this:

It’s coconut water, no big deal right?! WRONG!!!

It’s CHOCOLATE. COCONUT.WATER.

So, clearly I had to try this guy out.

The verdict…

… AMAZING!!! SO refreshing and chocolatey, and it’s just the late afternoon pick-me-up I needed to get me to my Barre Bee Fit workout tonight!!!

Well played Zico, you managed to take my chocolate AND coconut obsessions to a whole new level by combining them into one Mega satisfying bevvy.

I applaud you.

It’s rainy, cold, and I have a cough! Oh! and supposedly it’s May 26?!?! Siiiigh, I wish I could be back at my apartment, in my pjs, with a piping hot cup of coffee and the ridiculously delicious breakfast I made for myself this morning:

Sorry the pic is so blurry, I was clearly in a hurry to take it so I could dive in!

Though these bad boys may look like any ordinary pancakes, they’re made purely of eggwhites, cocoa powder, and stevia. I call them….

EGGY CAKES

1/2 cup egg whites

1 tbsp of cocoa powder

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Dash of Cinnamon

Stevia to taste

Coconut Oil for the pan

All you do is combine the above ingredients. (I prefer to run them through the blender so they get mixed well and the egg whites get frothy).

Next, cook-em up in a pan with some coconut oil.

I personally, ADORE these eggy cakes with frozen berries! The hot/cold, sweet/sour combo is beyond!

Aside from the great chocolatey and fruity tastes, the nutritional punch they pack ain’t to shabby either. I’m not going to count it out for you exactly (because I truly don’t believe in that) but basically — Eggy Cakes are low in calories, high in protein, provide good fat (from the coconut oil), contain virtually no sugar, and provide some major antioxidants from the cinnamon and frozen berries!!

**As a side note, I have NOTHING against egg yolks. I am not a strictly egg white kind of gal. I believe that the yolk is a very important part of the egg that should be eaten and the nutrition it delivers is paramount! However, for the sake of the light and fluffy taste of Eggy Cakes, I highly recommend just using the whites — for the sake of the texture and flavah!!!

Go forward, indulge, enjoy, and stay warm in this yucky Chitown weather!!

After the soaking wet morning I had, I knew I had to take the day into my own hands and make sure Wednesday didn’t get the best of me!

First, I physically attacked lunch time with some quality muscle burning:

Then I rounded off my lunch hour with some grade A nutrition:

In the mix — TJ’s organic pea shoots, heirloom cherry tomatoes, cucumber slices, 1 sliced egg, and a sprinkling of trail mix (Raw almonds, peanuts, raisins, & banana chips). I opted for a naked (aka dressingless) salad this afternoon.

Alrighty, I’m back into high-gear work style now and counting down the hours til I get to go to a seminar on the Food Trends in Chicago —- SOOO EXCITED!!!

And a quick recap on today’s score:

Lil B: 4

Wednesday: 1

Well — it’s raining in the Chi this morning and needless to say, I wasn’t quite prepared

Though my raincoat protected my upper body and head, my legs weren’t so lucky. I showed up to the office this morning with my jeans sticking to me and my shoes squishing along — Welp! At first, I was totally annoyed that I was going to have to schlep through the day with wet pants and shoes, but then —

— I remembered that I don’t carry this guy around just because I enjoy the extra weight on my shoulder. As soon as I got to my desk, I pulled out my workout pants, found a spare pair of shoes in my cabinet and peeled off the wet denim.

They say that carrying around your gym bag makes it more likely for you to follow-through with your scheduled workouts, but who knew that it could also save your butt on a rainy morning!!

Sooo much better! The best part is, these rain boots were in my desk cabinet, so naturally I changed out of my normal shoes into my rain boots for the day — I’m awesome like that ;)

After drying off, I decided that the best way to salvage the morning would be to cut into one of these bad boys:

And chase it down with one of these:

And think about the the lovely night I had with these folks last night:

Last night, I took my parents out for a very special anniversary — 32 years since the day they met!!! Look at those faces:

Even though my dad has a hard time keeping his eyes open for pictures, they still look so super cute and happy. My parents are my role models in so many ways, and their love and devotion to each other for 32+ years is something I definitely admire!

So we celebrated!!

And had a wonderful dinner

Wasabi Crusted Ahi Tuna — YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, time to dive into this morning salvaging breakfast and get to work!

Lil B: 2

Rainy Wednesday: 1

This weekend, I had the honor of attending the wedding of one of my really good friends. The wedding took place in a teenie tiny coal mining town about an hour and half south of Pittsburgh. 

Aside from watching my friends commit their lives to each other, I also got to spend time with an old friend, Appleton, who flew in from NYC to be my date. Oh and just in case you didn’t figure it out, Appleton is my nickname for him — it’s not his real name ;)

Well let me tell yah, a small-town wedding in a town you don’t know, is quite intriguing.

Appleton and I spent the morning of the wedding at the “local coffee shop” — Yum Yum’s Bagel Shop

It was recommended to us by the front desk girl from the hotel. This town is SO SMALL, that when I asked her if they had a Starbucks nearby, she responded “Oh of course! It’s inside of our Target.” Say What?!?!

Anyway, thanks to her recommendation, and the handwritten note she slipped under our door that had the address, we ended up at Yum Yums. 

The ceremony took place at a small chapel on top of a mountain (or maybe it was a large hill) — regardless, it was a high enough altitude that our tiny economy sized rental car had a real hard time accelerating! Appleton was pedal to the metal the entire ascent!!)

Post ceremony, the 500 cups of coffee I had for breakfast were catching up with me, so we crossed the road to some sort of rec. center to use the bathroom.

That’s when when we found ourselves in a hallway lined with pictures of crosses — all the same cross, taken from different vantage points and different times of the day. Obviously, we had to get a picture in front of them:

To kill 2.5 hours between the ceremony and reception, we drove around looking for another coffee shop aaaaaand there were NONE. So, we went back to Yum Yums where I consumed another 200 cups of coffee (I may have a problem guys).

My favorite part of the reception — Glazed custard filled donuts served with the appetizers. They all said “Love” or “XOXO” on them.. So Unique!

The rest are pics taken throughout the night that I wanted to share with y’all:

Bride and Groom First Dance to Frank Sinatra’s “Fly me to the Moon” 

Bride & Groom cutting the cake — Awesome pic for their album because of the mirror, but the rest of us at the wedding didn’t get to see much :(

Me and Appleton getting ready to shake our groove thangs on the dance floor

Best. Dessert. — Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Liqueur poured into the middle!!

The following morning, before hitting the road, we headed to Bob Evans for brunch.

I was in need of some serious “Vegetable Therapy,” because of the wedding indulgences, and I was thrilled to see some really great choices on the Bob Evans menu!!

Breakfast a la Bobby E.: Omelet with spinach, onions, & tomatoes. With a side of tomato slices and fruit salad. **Chased with bottomless coffee ;)

Overall, it was a great mini vacay and a fun wedding. It was also SO SO great to catch up with my good buddy Appleton. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhQOvvV45w

**Play the Above Song When Baking These ;)

I’ve been seeing a lot of recipes in the blog world lately using almond butter in place of flour. Since my hobby is “healthying up” dessert recipes, I thought I’d try my hand at a batch of Flourless and No Sugar Added Brownies. I used Almond Butter as my base and sweetened with mashed banana and I made my first batch with Agave and the second with Brown Rice Syrup.

I highly recommend these bad boys as they are delicious, taste indulgent, but are loaded with healthy fat and sweeteners that won’t send your body into diabetic shock!

Good Life Brownies: (Gluten Free, No Sugar Added)

Ingredients:

1 Jar of Almond Butter (approx 16 oz.) — I used Sea Salt Creamy Almond Butter

2 Eggs

1 Cup Agave Nectar (or Brown Rice Syrup)

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

1.5 Bananas (Mashed)

1/2 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

3/4 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Pinch of Sea Salt (optional)

 DIRECTIONS:

1)    Preheat oven to 350 F

2)    In a large mixing bowl, combine almond butter and eggs

3)    Add in Agave Nectar and vanilla extract

4)    In a small bowl, mash 1 and a half bananas then add to the almond butter mixture. Mix together until combined

5)    Add the cocoa powder, sea salt, and baking soda

6)    Once fully combined, fold in chocolate chips

7)    Pour batter into a 9 x 13 baking pan and spread evenly

8)    Sprinkle the top with leftover chocolate chips and you can also sprinkle some sea salt on top if you like the sweet and salty combo

9)    Place in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes. I also rotate the baking pan in the oven half way through.

10)  Play this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhQOvvV45w and Devour!!!

When traveling for pleasure (i.e. not expensing for work) I find it’s best to grab some light, easy, healthy, snacky foods to fill-up on and NOT spend $4 million at the airport kiosks.

Here is my dinner tonight: a million grape tomatoes, cucumber, yellow pepper and apple slices, 2 hard boiled eggs and the grand finale… German Chocolate Cake Larabar that I’ll have with an airport starbucks americano.

Alrighty, time to fly (ooooh that pun hurt me just as much as it hurt you)

In the midst of working and getting all the logistics straight for an out-of-town wedding i’m flying to tonight, I got a healthy dose of this:

Moe’s Cantina Salad (with guac subbed for dressing) for a coworker’s going away lunch :( …

And This:

Crunchy afternoon pick-me-up while working away…

Next on the agenda: 5pm Mani-pedi then off to the airport!!

This just arrived at my desk!!!

This is some Grade A, High Quality Whey! I am beyond excited to use it!! 

 Warrior Whey is “made with 100% Natural and Organic Ingredients. Low-Glycemic, Hormone-Free, Pesticide-Free, No Sugar Alcohol or Fructose, No Chemicals, No Damaged Proteins.”

Check out the nutritional info on this bad boy:

I only endorse products that I believe in, and let me tell you — Defense Nutrition knows where it’s at!

Warrior Whey: Provides all key amino acids and cofactors, has blood sugar lowering, blood lipid lowering properties, is naturally rich in immuno-supportive nutrients and antioxidants, and is easily digestible, fast assimilating!

I’m not going to tell y’all what products you should and should not use, but from personal research/trial/experience, I trust Defense Nutrition and love Warrior Whey!

For more info on Warrior Whey click through.

If you have any other questions about whey or the warrior diet, feel free to email me at lilbintheBigC at gmail dot com!