Healthy Sooner Holiday Decor

I know this post isn't exactly health related, but I couldn't resist sharing some of our holiday decorations with you all.  I love how cozy the house feels with the tree all decorated, the stockings hung, and a warm fire in the fireplace.  

I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time indoors enjoying the decorations over the next few days with a forecast like this! Yikes...

Here is a glimpse of the living room. 

I bought the stockings from Target and attached some wooden letters that I spray-painted gold.  It was a cheap way to get a more personalized feel.

For the entry table, I framed a cute print that I found here and added a poinsettia with a couple of ornaments.   

I made a quick centerpiece for our dining room table with candles, ornaments, and pine cones on a gold charger. 

And, of course, I updated our chalkboard in the entryway. 

Jay also worked on the lights over the break, and I think our little house looks quite festive!

Last year, we were in-between houses over the holidays and didn't even bother to put up a tree.  I think I missed the decorating more than I realized, because this year I have been super gung ho.  I even have my Christmas cards sent out!  (And I spent waay too much time addressing them all cute and Pinterest-y...I hope the recipients appreciate my efforts!)

Oliver is also getting into the holiday spirit...he wanted me to share this message with you.  

This picture makes me smiles every time I look at it.  What a ham!

I hope you are all enjoying the holiday season as much as we are!

The Healthy Sooner Has a New Home!

NEWS FLASH!  I am excited to announce that The Healthy Sooner has a new, easy-to-remember web address:

www.thehealthysooner.com

If you have already bookmarked the old address, you will be automatically redirected.  Thanks to all of my readers for making this blog a success!

Thanksgiving and a Brussels Sprouts Recipe

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday!  Jay and I joined about 20 other family members at my aunt and uncle's house for am amazing feast.  Everything was beautiful, and the food was some of the best Thanksgiving fare I've had in years!

This was only round one:

And don't even get me started on the pies...holy cow!

My Brussels sprouts turned out quite tasty, and the recipe was simple enough that I'm sure I'll be preparing them this way many more times throughout the year.  

Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts

1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon (or 10 grinds) black pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Remove any yellow or brown outer leaves on sprouts, cut off the stems and cut in half.
3. In a large bowl, toss the brussels sprouts, olive oil, salt and pepper together. Once all of the brussels sprouts are coated in oil, spread them into a 9- by 13-inch (or larger) baking dish or sheet tray to roast. Note: You may want to line your sheet tray with foil for easy cleanup because the caramelizing process leaves a sticky residue. Place in oven.

4. After 15 minutes, stir the brussels sprouts with a spatula or large spoon to even out the browning. After 30 minutes, stir in the maple syrup.
5. Continue to roast the brussels sprouts for about 15 more minutes, or until they are fork tender (about 45 minutes total roasting time).
6. Toss the roasted brussels sprouts with the walnuts and eat!

Later in the evening, we popped over to my stepsister's house to say hello to some friends and family who were eating over there. 

My little nephew, Ryder, is the cutest!

I made sure to call it an early night, because my mom and I had plans to start our annual Black Friday shopping adventure first thing in the morning.  I love searching through the ads every year and devising a detailed game plan...we don't mess around!  Even though most of the stores we went to had been open since the night before, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of the items we wanted were still in stock.  We knew we wouldn't have a shot at the really big-ticket doorbuster items (and we weren't about to go out on Thanksgiving night to try), but we still scored tons of great deals and made a big dent in our Christmas shopping lists.  

Success!

Banana Pumpkin Peanut Butter Soft Serve

I can't tell you how nice it is to be sitting at home in my pajamas blogging this morning instead of being at work!  Thanksgiving break could not come soon enough!

Last night, after another epic "Salad Tuesday" involving roasted sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, and avocado, I was craving a little something sweet.  I didn't feel the pressure to get in bed ridiculously early like I do on work nights, so I decided to whip up some banana soft serve.  

I have seen recipes for this sugar-free, vegan treat all over the web, and I've made it several times.  The basic version could not be easier.  You simply stick a frozen banana (or two or three) into a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.  The texture ends up almost identical to soft-serve frozen yogurt, and the banana is sweet enough that it really does taste like ice cream without adding extra sugar.  Some bloggers will squeeze in a bit of honey or agave nectar, but I don't think it's really necessary.

Last night, I decided to make the recipe a bit more interesting by adding in some other ingredients that I had on hand. 

I used:

1 frozen banana

1 heaping tablespoon canned pumpkin

1 tablespoon peanut butter

A hefty shake of cinnamon

After it was all blended up, I topped it with some of these Cacao Sweet Nibs.  Cacao is a Mayan superfood that is full of antioxidants and is known to be one of the highest dietary sources of magnesium.  

Did you notice the doggy photo bombs in the last two pictures?!  Too cute. 

The recipe made just enough for one person (although I'm sure I could have eaten more), and it really hit the spot.  

This morning I am headed to a doctors appointment and then plan to tackle the grocery store to pick up some ingredients I need for a couple of Thanksgiving side dishes. 

I am bringing a Brussels sprouts dish to my aunt's tomorrow, which I am going to base loosely off this recipe:

Maple-Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Hazelnuts

For a dinner with Jay's family on Saturday, I want to bring one of these:

Quinoa Salad with Pecans and Cranberries or The Best Shredded Kale Salad.

I will let you know how it goes!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Things I'm Loving Lately - Third Edition

We made it to Friday!  Here are a few things that I am loving this week!

Winter Weather
We are in the middle of our first ice/sleet/snow fall of the season, and I am surprised to say that (for the moment) I am loving this weather.  A huge cold front came through yesterday while I was at work, and, since I did not plan ahead, I ended up running around town with no jacket in below freezing temperatures and 30mph winds.  While the experience was awful, it really made me appreciate my cozy house once I finally made it here.  I got on my PJs, made a comforting dinner, poured some wine, and lit a fire.  It was awesome.

 Jay and I stayed in, relaxed, and spent a good portion of the evening cracking up at the dogs, who were acting even more hilarious than usual.  Wendy gathered up all of her "friends" from outside to protect them from the cold, and she spent the entire night proudly guarding her massive toy pile.  She was acting so adorable, and I took about a thousand pictures.

And I can't forget Oliver...he was being a goofball, too.

Today it really started to sleet while I was at work, so I am planning a repeat of last night.  It's only 4:45 and I am already in my PJs by the fire with a cup of tea writing this blog post.  Now if only we could get a snow day on Monday!

Roomba Vacuuming Robot
This one's a biggie. After reading a blog post that raved and raved about the Roomba, Jay and I impulsively purchased a refurbished model from Amazon last week.  This was actually our second impulse vacuum buy of the year...a few months ago we bought a Dyson Animal.  We obviously have a thing for vacuums, but with two doggies running in and out all the time, our passion is justified.  Keeping the house clean is a constant battle, so when we heard that there was a robot that could effectively do it for us, we just couldn't resist.

 We have used little "Roomie" a couple times now, and I can already tell it will be worth every penny.  The other day, I noticed that the dogs had tracked in a bunch of dead grass, so I simply pushed the start button on the Roomba and it drove around and around until every speck of dirt was gone. When it was satisfied with its work, it drove itself back to the home base and hopped right back on the charger.  I love that it is small enough to go under low tables and couches, so it picks up lots of dirt that the regular vacuum can't even reach.  AND you can even set it to run at night while you sleep, so you wake up to a sparkling clean house without lifting a finger.  This thing is the best.

The dogs aren't too sure what to think, but they had better get used to it!

Pomegranates
Pomegranates must be in season, because I have seen them all over the grocery stores lately for cheap!  I bought a couple recently, and they have been SO good!  I really forgot how delicious pomegranate seeds are, not to mention they are one of the healthiest foods you can eat.  They are high in antioxidants, vitamin C, and potassium, and they are a great source of fiber.

To get the seeds out, I just cut the pomegranate in half or into fourths, and then sort of start to turn each piece inside out into a bowl of water.  Just roughly pop the seeds out and don't worry if some of the rind falls into the bowl.  The seeds will sink and the rinds will float to the top, so you can easily just fish them out at the end.  Drain the water and enjoy your seeds!

Calbee Snapea Crisps
My current snack obsession - I cannot stop eating these!  They taste like a pea pod and a cheese puff all rolled into one.  The first ingredient is whole green peas, and they contain less fat, less sodium, and more fiber than regular potato chips.

Fox Cocktail Shaker
Jay and I recently bought a new little bar cabinet at Target, and when we spotted this fox cocktail shaker we joked that we needed it to complete the look.  We weren't serious at the time, but somehow we couldn't stop making references to that shaker over and over after we got home (and singing "What Does the Fox Say").  I decided that we really did need it, so I ordered it online.  Now it makes me smile every time I look at it!

Have a great weekend everyone!