Blueberry Almond Scones

Last night I had plans on going to CrossFit. I forgot to sign up for all my classes on the weekend so when I logged onto the site I had to be wait-listed. There’s only 14 people allowed in the class at a time, and I was so bummed out. But not too bummed because they had wall-balls on the WOD for the day. No thanks.

I never did get bumped to the class. Forever wait listed. All day yesterday that is. So, instead I went school shopping for my nephews back home in Newfoundland. I got a ton of stuff and got all sorts of bargains. If you’ve got an Old Navy around you (who doesn’t, really?) I picked up a few $5 long sleeved tees for my buddies. Then I headed to H&M since they don’t have that back home and I think it’s a “cooler” store lol.

Are the little boy boxers to die for?! I got a little out of hand when I saw these. Picked up three sets. Hey, underwear is a necessity, is it not? I went to Joe Fresh right after and saw more underwear for the same price. I cringed. But then remembered that the H&M one’s were so much cuter.hm-boy-boxers
The little boy jeans are just $12. Seemed like a good price. I have no idea, I don’t own any kids.boys-hm-jeans

The overall haulage that I’ll be sending down to them. With some Super Mario Bros. candy and stickers of course. boys-back-to-school-haul

Best Aunt ever. Thankyouverymuch.

Onto the regularly programmed schedule: Blueberry Almond Scones.

blueberry-almond-scone

On the weekends I usually try and make a special treat for us, rather than going out and buying store bought processed foods. Sometimes it’s homemade blueberry muffins, or lemon poppy seed muffins (from a mix at Bulk Barn, probably processed. Oops). But recently I’ve been testing out new recipes like the seductive raw chocolate fudge, or these blueberry almond scones.blueberry-almond-scone

I made these twice, and the first time I used frozen blueberries and they turned out amazing. The second time I used fresh, which were all melty and gooie coming out of the oven. You could definitely taste the freshness. I’m not sure which way I prefer the blueberries yet. But both were equally good. blueberry-almond-scones

Blueberry and Almond Scones (Modified from Jennifer’s recipe)

Ingredients
¾ cup white flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
3 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
6 tbsp virgin coconut oil (or butter)
¾ cup frozen blueberries
¼ cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup buttermilk (make your own, see below)
1 large egg
2 tsp vanilla

  • Preheat oven to 400º
  • Fork the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Spoon off the coconut oil and mix in with the flour mixture. Should be the consistency of sand.
  • Gently stir in blueberries and almonds.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla.  Pour over dry ingredients and fold into mixture until just combined.
  • Drop batter in 10 triangle shaped scones.
  • Bake 15-17 minutes.

Serve warm. This was my second batch of scones and they’re a little lighter because I used more white flour than whole wheat (ran out!). Yum. second-batch-of-scones

I never have butter milk on hand, so I make my own and it turns out pretty great. How to make your own buttermillk: 1tbsp lemon juice (or vinegar) to 1 cup of milk. Let sit for 10 mins til milk curdles. 

blueberry-almond-scone_I’ve never baked anything in the kitchen where coconut oil replaces butter, but you’d be so fooled if you made these. Thinking they were made with butter or margarine. They’re just as flaky as a regular scone but a bit more dense. Also keep in mind that coconut oil is just as high in saturated fat as butter. So use your discretion.

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Is tracking what you eat necessary?

You hear it all the time — track what you eat, especially if you’re going on a ‘diet’ or just want to change your eating habits.

supperI’ve been keeping a food log since I started the 30 day Paleo challenge (which was from April 7 — May 7, 2013), and it has helped me immensely with being in touch with my eating habits and cutting out all the sugar. Because quite frankly I cannot rely on youth to keep me fit anymore. Daily exercise and a healthy living lifestyle is key to a healthy life. Instead of uploading it all on my blog though, I upload to instagram.

Maybe you don’t have time to track every trivial detail of what you eat every single day. Sure, I find it annoying and I get questioned about why I’m photographing my food —  but right now it works for me. I’m still not on autopilot on grabbing the most healthiest option available, but I’m getting there. I allow myself treats whenever I want them, however I limit them. Rather than having them once or twice a day I have them once or twice a week. thrive juice bar lunch

Have to be honest though. I have a tendency to focus on the negative. Especially after being SO successful on Paleo and losing 9lbs and 7+ inches on my waist/bum. Since May 7 when the Paleo challenge ended, I have been more aware of my eating and while I was keeping track I wasn’t 100% paleo. More like 100% faileo.

I’ve been enjoying summer and that’s all that counts. Right here, right now. Helloooo homemade Sangria!sangria

I know that Paleo is not for me. As I’ve stated before, any time I’m eating a days worth (or more) of paleo, I get a leaky gut. I don’t think Paleo is a safe option for my body to take on, for life. My body is missing something. Right now I’m eliminating most processed foods and eating clean my way. I’m doing this to better myself. I need to steer clear of fad diets (not saying Paleo is a fad, but who knows…) because one minute it’s healthy for you, the next it’s bad. I have been incorporating carbs, but still no dairy. I’m still not seeing the results I saw on Paleo though, which is tough.

Since I snap photos of everything I eat right down to the meals, snacks and drinks every day it’s helping me visually work on my goals. snack

Have you ever tracked what you ate? Is it working/Has it worked for you?

How do you keep track? (Photos, writing it down online, or a pen + paper combo?)

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Oh She Glows – Seductive Raw Chocolate Walnut Fudge

SEDUCTIVE-FUDGE

Hope everyone is enjoying their civic holiday today! I know I certainly am. So much so, I decided to make a second batch of these seductive raw chocolate walnut fudge from Oh She Glows. The first batch got devoured disturbingly quick.  I find that food is so hard to photograph, so these photos may not do the fudge justice. But if I ever ask you to trust me on one thing, it’s these fudge squares that melt in your fingers within seconds, and forget about chewing on them. They dissolve on your tongue like a coconut icy square. Ugh, the thought of it…  I just want to run to the fridge and stuff my mouth. 

The other night I sat down to relax and read some blogs before bed. As always, Oh She Glow’s food photos makes me salivate. As do all of her recipes, but this one stuck out to me and I got up off the computer around 10:45pm, waltzed into the kitchen with my apron and pj’s on and made it in about 7 minutes. I didn’t even use my electric blender. Once I had everything mixed together, ready to be tossed into the freezer, I brought over the spatula and the Boyf licked it all clean. It was delicious.

Holy smokes. It’s the easiest dessert to make, ever. You need to make this. The texture reminds me of an icy square with hints of coconut. It yields quite a lot of coconut oil in the recipe. I’m a little leary on that since coconut oil is quite high in saturated fats and similar to butter in that sense. But it’s still a tasty treat!

All it takes are these easy ingredients.

ingredients-for-raw-fudge

Dare say it’s true to its name, Seductive Raw Chocolate Walnut Fudge from Oh She Glows:

raw-chocolate-fudge

Ingredients:

  • virgin coconut oil
  • raw almond butter (or nut butter of choice)
  • cocoa powder (or raw cacao powder)
  • pure maple syrup (or agave nectar) I used agave nectar
  • pure vanilla extract
  • fine grain sea salt, to taste
  • raw walnuts, roughly chopped I didn’t measure my walnuts, just poured some in.

Pop in the freezer for 20 mins and they’re done.

Want to know the exact measurements? Head on over to Oh She Glows and grab them!

oh-she-glows-raw-chocolate-You’re welcome.

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