Bites of My Life

Last week was great with several reasons leading to why, but the cherry on top was Stacia and Sage's wedding weekend. The two are some of my best friends and Stacia has been waiting for this day for forever. Seeing it all come together, and be perfect, was the best for her. Not to mention having all my best friends who live near and far all in one place made it the best best. Exhausted and hoarse, but well worth it for the best dance floor party and for the now Mr. and Mrs. Ranallo!

-Matcha is back in heavy rotation. It has been the best energy source to get me through the day after my early early morning bootcamp workouts.
-Healthy easy chicken burrito bowl situation over cauliflower rice I was able to throw together with things from my fridge! 
-#TargetDoesItAgain. and again, and again and again. 
-Obsessed with my new Who What Wear collection sandals. 
-Peep my insta highlights for the run down on this easy egg/avocado salad. Will work on getting the recipe up on TAB soon!
-Tuesday morning brewery tour for a special project The Jones Assembly + Prairie Artisan Ales are teaming up on! Pictured here: me learning the "grain out" techniques. 
-The SO team finally got to let the cat out of the bag. We are so excited to operate the cafe space in the new Scissortail Park coming to west downtown!
-Unexpected surprise goodie package from Arbonne for hitting my district manager status.
-Wedding weekend for Stacia and Sage finally kicking off!
-HP for the win!
-No doubt Stacia would make a gorgeous bride, but still got chills seeing her look come together on the big day. 
-Sunday sushi made healthier and so good courtesy of Whole Foods. 

Don't miss last week's lite bite posts: mayo-less tuna salad and watermelon & heirloom tomato salad.
Current songs on repeat: Tequila by Dan + Shay and Finest Hour by Cash Cash.

Annie

Lite Bite: Watermelon & Heirloom Tomato Salad

Summer BBQ, party or potluck? Look no further than this recipe. I have a thing for watermelon feta salads because I actually already have two (here and here) recipes on my site, but this one. THIS ONE!!

Watermelon & Heirloom Tomato Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 medium seedless watermelon, cut into small cubes
16 oz mini heirloom tomatoes (found at Trader Joe's), sliced in half
8 oz feta cheese block, cut into small cubes
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
flakey salt and fresh crackd pepper
small bunch of fresh basil

Directions:
In a large bowl gently toss cubed watermelon, cubed feta and sliced mini tomatoes. Drizzle over olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Not too much, you can always add more later. Sprinkle with fresh cracked black pepper and maldon salt if you have it. Any flakey salt will do. Tear the basil over the top. Tear instead of cut. Tearing will lend to better overall flavor and not brown the basil! Toss gently again and sprinkle a bit more salt, pepper and basil over the top to serve!

P.S. this makes great leftovers and is wonderful paired with grilled chicken (seen below).

Lite Bite: Mayo-Less Tuna Salad

Tuna salad. Do you love it or does it make you gag? I'm on a HUGE kick right now and I'm real obsessed with my recipe so I had to share. It's free of mayo (EW) and gets tons of flavor from subbing in mustard. Makes for a perfect lunch that is satsifying and healthy!

Mayo-Less Tuna Salad
yields 1 serving

Ingredients:
1, 5 oz can tuna packed in water, drained
1 tbsp. grainy mustard
1-2 tbsp. dijon mustard
1.5 tbsp. chopped pickles or relish
1.5 tbsp. diced red onion
salt and pepper
GG crackers, rice cake or bibb lettuce for serving

Directions:
Drain your can of tuna. In a small bowl combine all ingredients. Adding more mustard if you want it creamier. Serve with crackers, rice cakes or in little cups of bibb lettuce making it whole 30 compliant (as long as your mustard is sugar free! I like this brand, for obvious reasons)!
 

Annie

Raspberry Lemon Protein Muffins

These muffins. Hearty, fresh, naturally sweetened and filled with 5 grams of protein per muffin and only 170 calories each. 

A friend of mine is the mastermind behind the recipe, but I changed things up a bit making them dairy free. The raspberry lemon combo is everything I want in a muffin. Slathered with shmear of almond butter in the morning and they make for the perfect breakfast. 

Not to mention these would be incredible on your Easter brunch menu, perfect for a shower, and even better for your everyday life. 

Raspberry Lemon Protein Muffins
yields 12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups oat flour*
2 scoops Arbonne vanilla protein powder
2 scoops Arbonne fiber powder (optional)
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup agave
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
zest from 1 whole lemon
juice from 1/2 lemon
10 oz fresh raspberries (reserve 12 raspberries for topping) 

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

*Take 2 cups of old fashioned rolled oats (steel cut will not work) and pulse in your blender until the texture of flower.

In a medium bowl, whisk oat flour, protein powder, fiber powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk agave, almond milk, olive oil, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir wet ingredients into your dry ingredients. Fold your raspberries into the batter. Using an ice cream scoop, divide batter into muffin cups making sure you evenly distribute the raspberries into each muffin. Top each muffin with a raspberry. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are just golden and a toothpick comes out clean. 

Annie 

*to purchase Arbonne's protein powder, please email me at annie@takeabiteblog.com!

Lite Bite: Greek Chicken Quinoa Bowl w/ Crispy Chickpeas

OPA! It's all greek to me with this dairy free healthy greek quinoa bowl that I am still eating on a week later. 

Greek Chicken Quinoa Bowl w/ Crispy Chickpeas
yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup dry quinoa
1 can chickpeas, divided, rinsed and drained
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, diced
1 Persian cucumber, divided
salt and pepper
Trader Joe's Zhoug Sauce*

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Pat dry 1/2 the can of chickpeas then place on a roasting sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and sumac and any other greek spices (oregano, dill, thyme, garlic powder). Roast for 20-30 minutes.

Cook your quinoa according to package directions. In a large bowl toss together the quinoa, 1/2 the can of chickpeas, halved tomatoes, diced onion, 1/2 of the cucumber, sliced and quartered. Drizzle with a 1-2 tablespoons of zhoug sauce and season with salt and pepper. 

Portion out mixture and top with another small spoonful of zhoug sauce (it's spicy), a few slices of cucumber, a few cherry tomatoes and crispy chickpeas.

*If meal prepping this dish to eat throughout the week.. mix the quinoa mixture then store in the fridge. Portion out each night, re-heat for about 30 seconds. Top with sauce and crispy chickpeas.

**Tzatziki or hummus would be great to garnish this dish with.

Annie