Dare You To...

Bananas and EGGS? What?

Yes, bananas and eggs.  Whenever I'm making this for myself, whoever is home will give me a quizzical look. Once it's ready and they've tried a bite, they always raise their eyebrows in surprise--pretty good!



It started for me back in the day experimenting with "paleo pancakes" -- that is, pancakes that are free of grains.  Some of those banana pancake recipes are longer and more exhaustive than others.  They can make some dismally flat pancakes, or some incredibly fluffy pancakes.  (I'm a fan of the fluffy, myself.)

Over time, I stopped following the recipes and began doing the simplest, quickest thing possible: simply scrambling eggs with banana.  Dropping out the almond flour, the baking agents, etc., made the process so much easier, yet just as delicious.  I get starchy sweetness from the banana and protein from the eggs. Win!

Quick and easy banana-egg-omelet-pancake-mish-mash!  
Here it is:

Ingredients


3 eggs
1 banana
Oil or butter …

Summer is here, the school year is ending, and I am ready to get blogging.  To help me get back in the habit, what could be better than a little What-I-Ate-Weduesday!?  I only remembered to photograph a little over half of what I ate, but I'm getting there.  I'll get the hang of it again!

Here goes!

Breakfast:Scrambled eggs with salsa and cheddar.  Less morning work stress = time to sit down and eat a real meal!



[Not pictured: a spoonful of sauerkraut and a few pieces of honeydew]


Lunch: Typical salad in typical take-out container.  Lettuce, hearts of palm, avocado, red peppers, and some London broil from my mom, all topped off with some dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar.  Salads like this are my go-to for my BYO lunch at work, and are likely to remain a staple throughout the summer. Salads are refreshing in the heat!




Snack/Dinner: Not pictured, but I my afternoon also included a mix: a small Whole Foods salad-bar mix, some almonds, and a few chocolate-covered cranberries.  T…

Did you know you can BAKE eggs--whole eggs, in the shell--in the oven?  

I'm on an egg kick.  Always for eating, recently for blogging.  I've already talked about why eggs are awesomeand why you should Eat The Yolks.  Today, I share my favorite way to prepare eggs for easy consumption all week.



My go-to way to cook up eggs is a scramble or omelet, but I also like to hard-boil a bunch of eggs on Sunday for a quick and easy breakfast or snack during the busy week.

Now, I concede that hard-boiling is not rocket science, but it does require a few separate steps, regular attention, and the stress of knowing something could boil over.  However, there's an EVEN EASIER way!  Did you know that you could BAKE eggs right in the oven?  No need to get the water going, no need to watch or listen or smell or wait or add vinegar or not add salt or or or... just bake them.

Here's how you can hard-bake your eggs:

Heat your oven to 325°F. 


Place the eggs into a muffin tin, so each sits on i…

I dare you to.  I mean it, though.  I dare youinsist that you BEG you to read this book!
If you read just ONE book about nutrition this year, make it Eat The Yolks. 


It's here! Eat The Yolks by Liz Wolfe hits shelves TODAY.  I've been looking forward to Liz Wolfe'sbook for a long, long time.  I listen to her podcast regularly and traveled to DC for her nutrition workshop.  The book, which I'm so grateful to have been given the opportunity to review, is a manifesto of a real foods philosophy, a compilation of the events and people in history that brought us to the modern health crisis.
In the spirit of overturning popular myth and flawed recommendations, it is titled Eat The Yolks!  Don't be fooled; this book is about so much more than eggs (although eggs are pretty darn awesome!).  The yolks are a metaphor, and the title encapsulates everything in three simple words.

"Isn't cholesterol bad for you?"  No, eat the yolks.  "Doesn't animal protein…

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I like to eat eggs. A lot.  So today, I bring you an overdue ode to eggs:


Recently, upon mentioning that I could eat eggs all day every day and be happy, someone commented, "Sure, but that wouldn't be good for you."

Sigh.  Okay, first of all, I was eggaggerating.

Second, WHY?  Why do eggs get such a bad rap?  Because they contain dietary cholesterol, and we all know cholesterol in food raises our blood cholesterol, and high blood cholesterol is bad.  Right?

Wrong.
Now, I'm not devoting today's entire post to those giant myths, but I'll say this: they're myths.  Eating dietary cholesterol does not yield higher blood cholesterol levels, and even our own cholesterol is not inherently bad!  Our bodies need cholesterol to produce hormones, make vitamin D, build and repair cell walls, and more.  So both sides of this argument against eggs are faulty. Even as far back as 2006, the Harvard Health News tried to redeem egg…

The following post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Grain Brain. As always, the opinions expressed are all my own!

So last month I told you I was starting theGrain Brain Challengebased on Dr. David Perlmutter's book: Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar--Your Brain's Silent Killers.
Check out the initial post to learn all about the surprising effects carbohydrates may have on your brain health, and what the challenge entails.  It also contains some photos of foods that helped get me through!


Now, after four weeks have come and gone, the challenge is over and it's time to recap the experiences and outcomes regarding food, fitness, sleep, and general health:

Food:  As I discussed last time, the food didn't have drastic changes in selection; I just was more careful about my non-paleo, grainy/glutenous treats (namely, not choosing them), as well as carb-dense foods. About twice I went ahead and had a snack I wouldn't have usually c…

Dare you to check out these interesting reads  from the past few weeks...
For a split second, Eggs were found to be as bad as smoking, 
but most of us quickly dismissed the hyperbolic headline and
Mark Sisson straightened things out.  Laury also gives a clear
explanation of Egg Yolks and Bad Science.

Ever wonder what brain freeze is really about? Carolyn explains.
The Angry Trainer reminds us that weight training IS cardio!
So go do pushups, squats, and lift heavy things.

Alfonso also dares his readers to skip the bread, so I pass it on to you.   Really, just go a week without wheatand see how you feel.  Dare you to!
Alison offers tips to beat sugar cravings.

Take a look at this awesome infographicon optimizing health.
Learn everything you ever wanted to know about birth control pills
at Paleo for Women.  She explains the what, why, how, benefits, and risks.

Do government regulations on unhealthy items lead to healthier choices? Marion Nestle points to research that says yes.
A study d…

Last weekend, I attended the Healthy Living Summit, 2012 in Boston, Massachusetts.  For the many of you who want to know how it went, I'm sharing!  In stages.

This is Day 3.  
Click here for Day 1.
Click here for Day 2.

For those of you who are not interested in my blogger-fest activities, today you canset S.M.A.R.T. goalsor make fluffy quinoa.  Oh, you want a NEW dare?  Dare you to follow on Google+ and find me on Facebookto stay up to date with posts, see exclusive shares, and browse my instagram feed. 

After the fun night before, I was in a great mood waking up for the 8:00am 5k run!


The 5k Fun Run/Walk



The weather was perfect - it was nice and cool, in the 60s maybe.  A nice relief from the past few days' heat!

Nice sights on the run :) Love the water views!


 Also some nice Boston views, pretty areas, beautiful homes, greenery...


Sometimes we waited for a stoplight. Necessary when running in a giant herd of girls (and Jon)!




The sights and chatter kept me entertained, so befor…