Alta Laguna Hike: Canyon Acres Trail

First thing on today's agenda (after sleeping in) was to get out doors and get active! Although he has lived in Laguna for almost 3 years, Christian has yet to explore much of this beautiful little town, and had never ventured up the hill to Top of the World. I hadn't been up there in years so it was nice to explore the park again and even more fun to do it with my favorite guy. The nice thing about Alta Laguna Park is that there are a bunch of different trails which branch off the main trail head, all of different lengths and difficulties. We decided to take the Canyon Acres trail, which is VERY steep at parts which makes for a great workout! And as a bonus, you are continuously rewarded with amazing views- to the west, the ocean and to the east the canyons and inland cities of Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel. We were completed this one in just about and hour and were both feeling the burn afterward!

Here is a map to the park and the Canyon Acres trail that we chose to hike. Happy hiking!

The Beauty of the Bowl: Clean Eats for People Who Have No Time to Cook!

I am way overdue on a new post, so don't be surprised if a few go up over the next few days!

The past two weeks of my life have been dedicated to work; preparing and planning for my largest event of the year. Since this was my first go around with this event, it took a lot out of me: I have been breathing, eating and sleeping, Chapman. I am not complaining, because I absolutely love my job, it is just hard sometimes to give up your daily routine for multiple 12 hour days at the office. But that is over, for now! And I have time to return to the things I love like cooking and exercising on a daily basis.

During these whirlwind two weeks, it was important that I stayed committed to my clean eating routine. Especially since finding time to exercise had been particularly though. It was during this time that I discovered the beauty of the 'bowl': quick (less than 20 minutes start to finish), easy and clean meals that taste delicious! My new obsession started I basically was throwing a bunch of ingredients into a bowl and calling it dinner, but boy, did they turn out delicious and you can create so many variations that you basically could eat them for a month straight without getting bored!  They are a great substitute for easy meals where we often turn to carb heavy options such as sandwiches, burritos or burgers because you are in need of something quick.

Here are 3 of my favorite clean eating bowls...

Colorful Quinoa Bowl
* Cleanse Friendly

Colorful Quinoa Bowl

(Makes 1 Serving) 

1/2 cup Cooked Quinoa ( I like to cook ahead of time and have on hand for situations like this)

1/2 Small Sweet Potato, quartered

Handful of Kale

2 TBLS Dried Unsweetened Cranberries 

2 TSP EVOO

Garlic Powder

Pink Himalayan Salt 

Pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and serve!

Fajita/ Burrito Bowls

(Makes 1 Serving)

1/2 Cup Black Beans
Organic Chicken Breast or Skirt Steak marinated in a Clean Fajita Marinade or Salsa
Thinly Sliced Bell Peppers and Onions
Homemade Guacamole
Salsa

Cook marinated meat in skillet, until it is done as desired. Remove meat from skillet and set aside. Add the onions and bell peppers to the leftover marinade and cook until soft. Return meat to skillet and toss with onions and peppers.

Warm black beans and place in serving bowls. Top with meat, pepper and onion mixture and
then guacamole and salsa. Serve immediately.

Turkey Burger Bowl

(Makes 1 Serving) 

1/2 cup Lean Ground Turkey, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder, cooked through and browned.
1/2 Avocado, diced
1/2 Small Sweet Potato, quartered and steamed, seasoned with garlic powder, salt and a little cinnamon
Handful of Kale Leaves

Toss ingredients together and serve!

Happy Clean Eating!!

Weekend Recap: Shop Fresh, Shop Local

On Saturday, we woke up early and headed into town to the Farmer's Market. I have always loved the Farmer's Market because it reminds me of one of my favorite childhood memories. I grew up going to the Belmont Shore Farmer's Market with my grandmother when I would spend weekends with her and my grandfather. My grandmother has been a vegetarian yogi for over 40 years, so why I didn't catch onto the clean eating bandwagon years ago, I am not sure. My grandmother is the shining example of what clean eating can do for you overall health. She doesn't look at day over 60 and this woman just celebrated her 80th birthday! I digress... If you have one close, I HIGHLY recommend, making a visit. The whole experience is cool. Everyone one is friendly and can feel the sense of community right away. It also feels great to be supporting local small businesses who support the clean eating lifestyle. I left with a bag of the most beautiful, colorful and delicious, certified organic veggies that I turned into an easy, clean and satisfying dinner. Here's what was on that nights menu.

Kale Chopped Salad with Almond Crusted Chicken and Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette 

*Cleanse Friendly

1 Head of Kale, massaged
1 Granny Smith Apple
1 Large Haas Avocado
2 Heirloom Tomatoes
3 Purple Carrots (my new fave!)
1/4 Cup Organic Golden California Raisins

Almond Crusted Chicken Breasts
1 LB Chicken Breasts
1 Egg, Whisked
Almond Meal

Soak Chicken in egg batter, the cover with Almond Meal. Pan fry in light EVOO or Coconut oil.

Lemon Garlic Dressing 
The juice of 1 Lemon
1TBLS EVOO
3-4 Cloves, Fresh Garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

Blend in food processor until creamy. Serve.

Toss ingredients together with dressing and top with Almond Crusted Chicken.

Simple Clean Dinner: Boyfriend Approved

When I changed my cooking habits, by default, so did Christian (for dinner at least)! I am constantly striving to cook up healthy and delicious meals that are boyfriend approved. One of my favorite things about eating clean has been challenging myself to find alternatives or substitutes to unclean foods that I used to love. Enter, Explore Asian Mung Bean Noodles. These are an amazing alternative to pasta and are packed with a whopping 25g of protein and 11g of fiber. They are Certified Vegan, Organic, Gluten Free and Kosher. And Christian LOVES the way they taste. Some nights it's hard to cook a complicated meal... tonight was one of those nights! So we threw together this tasty dish that is completely challenge friendly and hit my craving for pasta. 

 "Pasta" with Grilled Chicken and Asparagus

2 chicken breasts, diced and marinated in EVOO, crushed garlic, salt and pepper
1 Bundle of Asparagus, spears cut into thirds
1 package of Explore Asian Mung Bean Noodles
1 TBLS EVOO
Crushed Garlic
** You can also toss in 1 Heaping TBLS of Pesto in place of EVOO ( I found a clean version at Mother's Market)

 Pan grill chicken. Boil noodles. When noodles are almost done cooking, throw in asparagus for remainder of the time. Drain noodles/asparagus. Add chicken, EVOO, garlic to noodles and mix. Light salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. 

Hey you! Go take a Hike!

The view from the top!

What can I say about my beautiful Laguna? I know that I was incredibly blessed to grow up in such an amazing little town. There aren’t very many places where, from almost any spot in the city you can see, or at least smell the ocean. Growing up in a beautiful place you sometimes forget to stop and appreciate what is around you. For most of my life I failed to realize that Laguna occupies some of the most beautiful open space preserves in the county. This year, I finally started exploring and appreciating. I can't believe that it took me this long!

As part of my health and fitness journey, I have started to make hiking a regular activity. And how lucky did I feel when I found the most amazing hike, right above my parents house? My mom has apparently been walking the trail for years, and I am  just ridiculously late to the party. Here are the details so that you can enjoy this treasure of a hiking trail!

From the head of this trail, you can do a more intense 4 mile hike out into the canyon, or a short 2 mile(ish) loop which I could do every Saturday morning. I have yet to explore the long loop, but plan on doing very soon! Here’s my handy dandy map to help you find the trail. Happy hiking!

Here we go...

Blog post numero uno. Of hopefully, many! I am excited to get started, and share with you all how I have have transformed my life and health over the past year by eating clean, staying active and embracing life's moments, big and small! My hope is that this little project will help me hold myself accountable, as well as help a few of you, whether it be by sharing a new recipe or introducing you to one of my favorite Orange County hiking spots, or offering advice or support. Thank you for stopping by! Hope to see you soon :)