The Upbeet Life

Go out and adventure. Eat real, delicious, and nutritious whole foods. Find joy in the little things.

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Brussels sprout sweet potato "hash" with fried eggs and hot sauce. #theupbeetlife #eatyourgreens #fitlife #glutenfree

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Summertime love. Graham slam ice cream. #grahamslam #nelsons

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Fig berry smoothie

This smoothie combines frozen figs, berries, spinach, flax and protein powder for a quick pick me up breakfast or pre-workout meal. 

(Makes 24oz)

Ingredients

3 frozen (or fresh) figs

1/2 c. frozen blueberries

1/2 c. frozen cherries

1 handful of spinach

1 Tbsp. flax seed

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2-1 scoop protein powder (I used plain, but you could experiment with vanilla & omit the extract)

3-4 ice cubes

1 1/2 c. water (or milk of your choice)

unsweetened shredded coconut (optional)

Instructions

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smoothie consistency.

Pour into your favorite glass or travel mug. 

Sip, gulp, chug, or whatever your preferred drinking method may be.  

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Happy Memorial Day! Coconut berry frozen cheesecake bites

Ingredients

*1 cup (feel free to estimate here) coconut cream

1/4 cup coconut butter

1 c. blueberries (mix of fresh and frozen if possible)

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Fresh raspberries (or other berries) for topping

Instructions

Mix the coconut cream and butter in a saucepan over low-medium heat, stirring until a creamy consistency is reached. 

Turn off heat and add in the vanilla extract and stir.  

In a mini muffin tin, fill up each spot about halfway with coconut mixture & place in freezer. 

Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, mix together the lemon juice and berries until pureed. 

Add the blueberry puree to the muffin tin. Leave room at the top for second layer of cream.

Top blueberry layer with remaining coconut mixture. 

Top with berries and place in freezer. Let set for 15 minutes.

I let mine thaw out a bit before eating it, but to each their own.

*I am lucky enough to live near an ice cream store that creams their coconuts every Thursday. They sell their coconut cream which is decadent. If this isn't the case for you, you can buy coconut cream or refrigerate a can of full-fat coconut milk and scoop out the solid part. 

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Temescal hike. #theupbeetlife

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Coconut macaroon cookies with chocolate drizzle

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Warm kale and white bean salad. #theupbeetlife #vegan #eatyourgreens

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Friday evening happy hour. #noodlelegs #socal #theupbeetlife #trainhard

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Pre sunrise swim #theupbeetlife #befit #havefun #trainhard

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Brussel sprout chips. #theupbeetlife #eatyourgreens

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Smoothie bowl. Frozen fruit, almond milk, avocado and protein powder blended and topped with nuts, seeds, oats and of course, coconut. #theupbeetlife #vegan #sugarfree #veganprotein

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Grilled avocado turned grilled guacamole. Olive oil + salt + 7 minutes on the grill. #theupbeetlife

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Peach cinnamon ginger ice cream. 

Today was a bike to brunch kinda Sunday. 25 miles and a delicious poached egg harissa brunch later, we were back in SaMo working on our "garden." I was told that if I fueled the team, more work would get done, so I dutifully did just that. With this amazing & refreshing treat. Today was the first day the farmer's market had peaches and I guess it left me inspired. 

Ingredients:

8-10 oz. frozen peaches (If this is only fruit you will use, use 12 oz)

3-4 frozen watermelon chunks (optional, use more peaches if you do not have watermelon)

handful of frozen or fresh blueberries

1 ripe peach, cut into small pieces

2 Tbsp. cashew butter (almond butter should work as well)

1-2 Tbsp. fresh ginger, chopped

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 

Directions

Put all ingredients in a high-speed blender and push ingredients into blade with tamper while on highest setting. (Approximately 2 minutes)

Fold in chopped peach. Make sure to include the juice! 

Serve into bowls and sprinkle with cinnamon and add some more fresh ginger (optional). 

I ate mine with a rubber spatula so I could scrape all of it out of my bowl. And then went back to the blender for more. 

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100 degree lap swim cool off.

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Stuffed tomatoes in my hammock. My kinda night. #theupbeetlife #leftovers #vegan #glutenfree

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Tu-no stuffed avocado. 

I don't love to eat tuna a lot for a few reasons, but mainly because most commercially fished seafood is harmful to sea animals and also it has a high mercury content.   

I have been trying to come up with something that would mesh well with grilled avocado, which is my latest obsession, and decided that a garbanzo bean "tuna" salad would be perfect. 

Grilled avocado:

Slice avocado in half lengthwise. Remove the pit. (To remove the pit whack it with your knife and pull up slowly and the pit should come out easily)

Rub with olive oil. 

Add salt and pepper. 

Place face down on grill for 6-8 minutes. 

Remove from the grill and scoop out a little bit of the flesh in the center. This will make more room for your stuffing. You can add the scooped out avocado to the salad mixture for a creamier texture.  

The tu-no salad ingredients:

1 c. cooked garbanzo beans (or 1 can)

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped or grated

2 radishes, chopped

1/2 jar of marinated artichoke hearts + juice

1/4 onion, diced

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tbsp. vinegar (white or apple cider)

thyme

cumin

red pepper flakes

salt

pepper

scooped out avocado

sesame seeds (optional)

With a potato masher or large spoon mash the garbanzo beans. If you have a food processor put in garbanzos and pulse until desired consistency. (I like mine with just a few visible garbanzos). 

In a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Add spices to taste. If you do not have thyme, try another herb, such as rosemary or basil. 

Chill in the fridge. 

Fill the avocado halves with the salad.

This was AMAZING and my boyfriend LOVED it and is a total meat eater. Happy eating to veggies, vegans, and omnivores. 

[theupbeetlife]

Sunday evening eats. Grilled artichoke, avocado (best thing ever) and eggplant with kale, pepper, onion, and sweet potato sauté. #eatyourgreens #theupbeetlife