2016 came and went and I forgot to celebrate my blog’s third birthday and to take the time to say THANK YOU for reading, commenting, and suggesting posts and for supporting this crazy little adventure of mine… I have met so many new people over the past few years from doing this and I’ve had a ton of opportunities come my way thanks to my love of cooking and bitching about yoga! If you’re reading now and you haven’t hit the subscribe button over there to your right, or at the end of this post, take a second to do so… it means the world to me to see so many subscribers from all over the place! So… in honor of this here blog’s birthday, I’m having another contest and would love for you to take part and tell your friends too!
Taking pictures is something I am passionate about. I don’t have an expensive camera with a fancy lens nor do I plan on purchasing one anytime soon. And you needn’t have anything more than your cell phone with it’s photo timer set to enter this contest. I’m inviting you to share pictures of yourself doing yoga in your kitchen! Sound fun? This is a chance for me to see all of your cute faces doing the thing that I love best, posing for the camera… lol! The poses can be simple and fun and you can enter as many times as you want! Remember last year’s winner Louise? Boy is she limber!
The official Yummy Yogini Contest starts today and ends Saturday, February 4th. You can/should have an Instagram account to enter, so if you don’t, take a couple of minutes to set one up; it’s fast, easy, fun, and the people are inspiring! Once you get on IG, find me, @niccolayoga, to begin. Snap your picture, tag me (@niccolayoga) and use the hashtag #yummyoginicontest and you’re through! If you’re not on IG, find me on Facebook and enter to win! Easy peasy right?! I’ll choose three different winners and repost their pictures on this here blog and reward each with a goodie bag sent to your front door! The prizes are off the hook too… swag from Big Sur Bar, lululemon, Rodan + Fields, Pancho’s Surf Shop, LuLaRoe, Baileyana Winery Aloette Skin Care, Homemade Aprons R Us, and the list goes on….So get your camera timer out and start clicking!
Onto the yummy part now….I want to share with you one of my favorite go-to lunches that’s quick to make and packed with protein. It’s the end of January and 75 degrees here on the Central Coast so this was a nice change from soup..! While shopping yesterday, I saw a fancy bag of granola with a price tag of $10 on it and I almost had a cow. Ten bucks for two cups of granola? Seriously?! So instead of buying the priciest treat I have ever seen, I snapped a picture of the ingredients and made it for myself! I yielded five cups of this stuff and spent under $10 for all the stuff. That’s what I call streeeeeeetching the budget for sure! I’m also obsessed with honeycomb right now which is not cheap but delicious. While Andy and I were at the farmer’s market in Santa Barbara recently, we got a huge chunk of it and I figured that would last forever. Fast forward six weeks later and I’m all out. Thank gosh for Whole Paycheck aka Whole Foods where I was able to snag some locally. The recipe below features the homemade granola that is at the end of this post but you can always use store bought.. just make sure it doesn’t have too much sugar in it because that takes away from this clean snack.
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Protein Punch Bowl- serves one
Ingredients:
-1 cup Greek yogurt
-3 T granola (see my homemade recipe below)
-1 T honey or honeycomb
-blueberries or strawberries or banans
Directions:
- In a large mug or bowl add the yogurt.
- Then add the honey and granola.
- Add your fruit to the top and wallah! So quick. So easy. So good.
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Pumpkin Spice Granola- makes 5 cups
Ingredients:
-4 cups rolled oats (I used Trader Joe’s Gluten-free brand)
-1/4 cup melted coconut oil
-1 T vanilla
-2 T maple syrup
-1 cup shredded coconut
-1/2 cup pumpkin puree
-1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and apple pie spice
-1/4 tsp salt
-1/4 cup dried pomegranates
-1/4 cup dried cherries
-1/4 cup each of chopped walnuts and pecans
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, mix the oats, shredded coconut, nut and spices together.
3. In a pan, melt together the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla and pumpkin puree.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix until coated. Add dried fruit last.
5. Place on a lightly-greased cookie sheet for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Enjoy for breakfast, a snack, or for dessert!
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I’ll be back next week to announce the winners and to share their pictures with you! Until then, if you know anymore who would benefit from a chair yoga workshop, young or old, send them my way! My next OM on the Greens is Friday, February 24 and it’s for foodies and chair yogis alike!
Details here!
