Spicy and sweet pecans

Hiiiiii ๐Ÿ˜€ How are you? Hope youโ€™ve had a lovely day. I enjoyed reading about whether you do a treat night or the moderation thing. Different strokes for different folks and as long you know what works for you, thatโ€™s all that matters ๐Ÿ™‚

We cleaned the casa today,

and Bella got a bath, too ๐Ÿ˜€

bell

Doesnโ€™t she look so presh? (she knows it, too. haha)

I had a legendary to-do list today, and managed to ninja-kick through most of it. I also did the legs workout I posted this am- I may or may not be walking like a cowgirl tomorrow ๐Ÿ˜‰ Let me know if any of ya give it a try!

Some recent eats:

salad

Salad beast made with leftovers from last night:

-Frijoles on the bottom, topped with romaine, shrimp fajitas, pico from home and a crumbled goat cheese medallion

Smoothie:

smoothie

-Water (Iโ€™m out of almond milk! Thank goodness for grocery day tomorrow)

-Vanilla Sun Warrior + 2 t Sun Warrior Super Greens

-1/2 banana

-frozen blueberries

-ice

It was kinda ick from the wayer, but I drank it anyway. Almond milk makes smoothies soooo much more delicious.

B-fast this morning was Breakfast Cookie Dough cereal, heated up for a minute:

cereal

It will never get old ๐Ÿ™‚

This afternoon, the Pilot was getting kinda snacky, and I remembered the pecans my nana gave us from Wilcox.

pecans

She handed them to me and said โ€œYou can grind them into nut butter or do whatever you like with them.โ€ (<— she knows me very well)

When I saw them, I had a mental flashback to Valdosta, when I first started working as a department store manager. I was on my break, walking down one of the mall wings when an unforgettable aroma hit me in the face. It was buttery and sweetโ€ฆ praline pecans. They were giving out free little samples to those who would walk by, and I will never forget how delicious they were. I had a little sample almost everyday that I worked โ€“and supported them by purchasing gifts and the like- and a tip I received from the owner was using egg white to thicken the sugary coating.

So today, I scribbled out a few ingredients and decided to make a sweet and savory version for the Pilot:

recipe

Spicy and Sweet Pecans

pecans (2)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 325 and grease a cookie sheet with nonstick spray or the Misto.

2. In a bowl, combine 1 egg white, 1 T sugar, and a generous seasoning of sea salt and pepper. To one cup of pecans, drizzle the egg white mixture on top to coat fully โ€“you may not need to use all of it. Spread the pecans onto a cookie sheet.

3. In another bowl, combine 1 T brown sugar and 1/8 t cayenne. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the pecans, and bake for 7 minutes. Flip and re-season if necessary and bake an additional 7 minutes.

pecans (3)

He LOVED them. These would be a fun snack for a March Madness game, or for late-night munchies ๐Ÿ˜‰

Iโ€™m off to dance! See you in the morning <3

xoxo

Gina

Something to talk about: I sent in my design sheet to my new blog wizard today- facelift is officially underway! Iโ€™ll let ya know when the new bloggy will be revealed, but please let me know if thereโ€™s anything different youโ€™d like to see or be changed. As of now, pink will still be the theme (it will never leave, haha), new header, more user-friendly, and the pages will be easier to navigate. Should be bueno ๐Ÿ˜€

Post Navigation:

71 Comments

  1. CathyK on March 29, 2011 at 11:41 am

    ooo, will be fun to see your blog ideas and updates! hope the changes can be made smoothly and without stress!
    those pecans look awesome! i think i’ve only ever had them in pie…
    have a great day, gina!

  2. Jessica C. The Happy and Healthy Blog on March 29, 2011 at 11:51 am

    Those walnuts look good! Scientists just found that they have the most antioxidants of any nut, so yummy and healthy!

  3. Dana Marie on March 29, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    this post makes me wish I had stopped at the organic pecan farm guy’s table on the UWS. Of course, after I would have devoured them all, I wouldve surely regret it though! Scores: even. ๐Ÿ™‚ vicarious enjoyment: check.

  4. Roz on March 29, 2011 at 12:31 pm

    Hello. I’m new to your blog, found your site via Mara’s blogroll. Just had to say “hi” and how much I love it. I’ll be bookmarking and visiting often. Your recipes look great, your dog is adorable and you are a Zumba instructor! I’ve just started taking Zumba myself – love it, though don’t have all the moves down quite yet! Have a great day, and thanks for all the info you provide.

    • Fitnessista on March 29, 2011 at 12:52 pm

      thanks so much for saying hi! mara is a good friend of mine ๐Ÿ™‚
      so cool to hear from a fellow zumba fan! hope to see you around more often!
      xoxo

  5. Dana Marie on March 29, 2011 at 12:33 pm

    oh, and I found a lady selling a maltipoo puppy on CL and it’s so adorable from the pics – but priorities first, I don’t even make enough to support myself much less a cutie pup!
    if anyone is interested: http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/for/2289230460.html

  6. Beth @ DiningAndDishing on March 29, 2011 at 12:54 pm

    Looking forward to seeing the new blog design! I’m glad the pink is staying – it’s so Fitnessista-y :).

  7. Gina on March 29, 2011 at 1:06 pm

    I need to try again to make your cookie dough cereal. When I made it before it turned out pretty meh. Also, looking forward to the new bloggy!

    • Fitnessista on March 29, 2011 at 1:27 pm

      hopefully you like it more the second time! it may be the type of protein powder you’re using.. try adding a little stevia or honey to the mix

  8. Beth on March 29, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    This is a little random ๐Ÿ™‚ but I noticed your blueberry smoothie doesn’t have blueberry skin pieces. Does your vitamix do that awesome of a job? I am wondering because I would drink a lot more smoothies if they were totally smooth, but I have a hard time even getting banana seeds down. I guess I’m too much of a texture person!

    • Fitnessista on March 29, 2011 at 1:45 pm

      yep the vita-mix is that good ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. Beth on March 29, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    And also, how do I put a pic by my name? I’m technologically disabled.

    • Fitnessista on March 29, 2011 at 1:43 pm

      you’re asking the wrong girl- maybe someone else will know? technology and i don’t get along very well ๐Ÿ˜‰

  10. Sarah on March 29, 2011 at 9:58 pm

    WHOA, Bella looks like shes HUGE in that picture!

    and that smoothie looks delicious ๐Ÿ™‚

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.