Raw Key Lime Cheesecake Bites

I'm a sucker when it comes to anything Key Lime, add cheesecake to that and I'm all for it. Unfortunately both of those things tend to not be very healthy for you. I have been looking at several raw cheesecake recipes for months now trying to figure out how to put my own twist on it and I came up with this treasure over the weekend! You have to try it, they are gluten free, dairy free, and don't require any baking! Sounds perfect right? That's because they are, you're welcome :)

• Ingredients 
• Cheesecake Filling
• 2 1/3 cup cashews
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or coconut nectar (could use honey if you like)
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
• about 2-3 tablespoons lime zest (about 6-8 limes)
• 1/4 cup water
Crust
• 1 cup almond meal/flour
• 3-4 medjool dates (or 1-3 tablespoons maple syrup)

Directions

1.  Begin by placing almond meal and dates into a food processor. And pulse until combined.
2. Take crust mixture and spoon into your mini cheesecake pans (or one large pie pan) and press into the pan. Set aside.
3. Next make the cheesecake filling.
4. I recommend soaking the cashews before blending and giving them a nice rinse.
5. Place nuts, maple syrup, lime juice, lime zest and water into blender.
6. Blend for a little bit.
7. Then add in your coconut oil and continue to blend until everything is well blended and the batter is nice and smooth. Adjust lime taste to your liking by adding more lime zest. (I like mine really tart)
8. Spoon lime cream filling on top of crust in mini cheesecake pans.
9. If you want more of a lime flavor, top each one with a little lime zest.
10. Then place in freezer or refrigerator and let set for a few hours.
11. Remove from freezer and pop out the mini cheesecakes and keep in refrigerator until ready to enjoy at room temperature.
12. Recommend freezing leftover slices for longer shelf life.

{side note: I had shallow cupcake/square pans so I had a lot of leftover filling, I just made some extra crust and put a thin layer of the filling in a pie tin, but if you have normal cupcake or muffin tins, it should be just enough filling for those.}

Crock Pot Chicken

Honestly the very best part of this recipe was how little time it took me to make it! Again, I just made it up, the ingredients are very similar to my chicken skewers marinade but this is definitely a lot less work! I've been on a rosemary kick lately, I swear it tastes good with anything, especially chicken of course! I made this in the morning right before heading out the door to work and when I came home I had some delicious chicken waiting for me. Here's what I used:
-6 chicken breasts (frozen or fresh) -lemon juice -balsamic vinegar -garlic -rosemary -red onion

It didn't look as pretty once it was cooked, but it was so delicious. I let it cook for about 10 hours, but I'm sure it would be done after 4-6, that extra time I let it cook though made it super tender and it just melted in my mouth, to die for! This made my meal prep so easy! I just popped some rice and broccoli into the microwave and added it all together to make my lunches for the next few days! I hope you like it! I can't wait to experiment with more flavors with this thing, Crockpot is the best!!

Chicken Skewers

I made some delicious chicken skewers on the grill tonight and I am so happy to share it with you all!

I wanted to incorporate a lot of veggies because I feel like I haven't been eating enough lately. I'm not the kind of person who likes following recipes so I usually just make up my own, because of this I don't have the exact measurements of everything, but I'm going to share the 'recipe' with you anyways cause it was sooooo good! You really can't mess this up so just go with whatever kinds of veggies you have or like, you'll love it! Chicken Skewers - cubed chicken -zucchini -yellow squash -purple onion -red/yellow/orange peppers -rosemary -olive oil -balsamic vinegar -lemon juice -minced garlic Marinate chicken for about an hour in the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic, rosemary (I like a LOT), and olive oil. (I tend to use very little olive oil, maybe 3-4 tbs for a big bowl of chicken and veggies) While the chicken is marinating cut up all of the veggies and then put them in the same bowl with the chicken and give those a chance to marinate for a little bit as well. Once you can't wait any longer start loading it all up on your skewers! cook until the chicken is done and you've got a delicious meal! We also had some grilled pineapple too which is the bomb! Enjoy! 

Here's the finished product with the pineapple! YUMMMY :)

Bikini, Bikini, Bikini.

   Did any of you do the last workout that I posted? It was a good one huh?
Here's the second workout! I seriously loved these, and again it takes less than 20 minutes, you've got this!
    Some of you probably saw on my Instagram that I decided that I am going to compete in the NPC bikini show that is in October. AHHH. I'm crazy for doing it again I know, but it's addicting! I've been working really hard since November to build some muscle and I'm really happy with my progress so far.
    My main goal is to have awesome shoulders :) Since I was little I've had bad shoulders because of gymnastics which meant I did everything I could to incorporate skills that didn't use my shoulders as much, this also inevitably meant that I almost never did any strength exercises that used my shoulders. End rant. To sum it up I've never had defined shoulders so I'm going to get them now, ok cool. Anyways, here are a few pictures of where I am at now:

   I've come a long way with my muscle growth and I'm pretty happy about it! I can actually see some shoulder muscles now! I'm definitely not as lean as I would like to be at the moment, but sometimes you have to make some sacrifices in order to put on some muscle. I love competing and being motivated to be a better version of myself, and for me at this point means I'm going to compete in bikini competitions :) Hope you all have a good weekend!

Ideal Shape Workout Video/Challenge

Ok guys!! It's been forever since I've posted anything but I promise I will get better. My awesome husband just got me a new computer so basically I don't have any other excuses :) I thought I'd start my first post back with a little workout video I helped out with a few months ago, its just a portion of the Ideal Shape Up Challenge, so go check out their site here . These workouts don't require much equipment and the entire workout is under 20 minutes. I'm pretty sure we can all spare 20 minutes of our day to get a little workout in! Plus, swimsuit season is just around the corner right? Enjoy!! There are a few more videos that I promise I will post next week.