Make Your Own Monday: Pickled Veggies

 Making homemade pickled veggies is easy peasy, cost-effective, and of course hella good! Making your own food means you are insuring the quality of the ingredients and the sanitariness of the process all the while empowering yourself and saving money.

 

You will need:

• veggies of your choice ( I like cucumbers, jalapenos, and carrots)
• garlic
• seasonings of your choice
• salt 2 tsp per cup of vinegar (you need this to fight bacteria, don't skip it)
• vinegar of your choice (I like white vinegar and apple cider vinegar

To prepare these: I washed and chopped my veggies into sizes I like. Then put them in a jar with some garlic and seasonings. Filled up the jar with vinegar, put the top on, and put them in the fridge.Then I waited for the vinegar to do it's magic. They were ready in an hour, but became more "pickled" as the days passed.

Tip: You can buy pickling seasoning from the store for a more traditional pickle taste. However,I like to experiment with my own flavors. One of the best things about this is that you can try different varieties of veggies, vinegars, and seasonings to see what you like the best. I am currently loving English cucumbers, jalapenos, and garlic in half white vinegar half apple cider vinegar. Simple, spicy, and delicious. 

This is a great one to get the kids involved in. They love to see the changes in color and texture the veggies go through, and of course they love to eat them. What's up with kids and pickles?



Note: These are refrigerator pickles, and should be kept cold to inhibit harmful bacteria. They can be kept for up to 2 months. 

There are many other types you can make. This link has more information pickle making and some great recipes. Check it out!

XOXO, 

Riss

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Share them below!

Binge TV and Burpees: The Orange Is The New Black TV Workout!

Thanks to the buzz on Facebook and my absolute love of good television, I have recently become (lightly) obsessed with Orange Is the New Black. If you don't know about it, you can read up here. It is an addicting show although I must be honest I didn't fall in love until about the 5th episode, and now I'm hooked. 

That being said, I have been spending hours watching the show and neglecting things I know I should be doing, like working out. Duh-Duh-Na-Na! In comes The Orange Is the New Black TV Workout. Yes, that's right tv and workouts can be friends! Here's how it works: when certain things happen on the show you get up and do a specified exercise. If you don't know what the exercise is, google it or just improvise.  

This is a win-win. You still get to watch your shows, and sneak in some muscle toning! Check out the Orange is the New Black Workout below from FuckYeahMovieWorkouts (yes, that really is their name). They have workouts for many shows and movies, and if they don't have something you like, you can request it. 

Alright time to go get my binge and Burpee on! 

from: fuckyeahmovieworkouts.tumbler.com

XOXO, 

Riss

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Universally Delicious Pancakes: Gluten-Free Folks, Dairy-Free Peoples, Vegans, Vegetarians, Omnivores Rejoice; This Recipe is For You All!

Fluffy, check! Moist, check! Nutritious, check!

These pancakes are so amazing, you won't believe that they are healthy. This recipe utilizes whole grains, in the form of oats, fruit for fiber, eggs and yogurt for protein, and coconut oil for overall nutrition. You can adapt them to be gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian easily. The ones pictured here are gluten-free. 

Homemade Healthy Pancakes Recipe

Dry Ingredients
1 cup oatmeal (use gluten-free whole rolled oats)
1 cup flour (I use gluten free flour from Trader Joe's)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients
2 ripe bananas or 1 cup apple sauce
2 eggs (if you're vegan omit these, the bananas or apple sauce will do the same job)
3/4 cup milk (I use almond)
3/4 greek yogurt (I use coconut greek yogurt, you can find it at Whole Foods)
1/4 cup of coconut oil 

1 Tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

To prepare these:

I used my Vitamix blender, but you can also use a food processor. First, I blended the oatmeal until it made a fine powder. Then added in the other dry ingredients. Next, in a bowl I mashed the bananas and combined all the wet ingredients. Then, also in a bowl, I combined the wet and dry ingredients being careful not to overmix. 

To cook these: 
Heat your pan or griddle on medium to medium high heat. When a drop of water evaporates quickly you will know it is hot enough. Pour your mixture onto the pan and monitor your pancakes closely. When the top is full of bubbles, and the edges begin to firm up, flip them. If it is hard to flip them, they may not be ready. Once flipped, cook for only about 30 more seconds.Continue the process until you're out of batter, or save the batter for the next day. I wouldn't go beyond two days though. 

Tip: I like to double or even triple the dry ingredients, and keep them on hand to make the next batch even easier to whip up. 

Next, sit down, give thanks, and grub! 

XOXO, 

Riss

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Share them below!