S’mores Fudge

August 10, 2013 by Christine Skari

Today was a cooking day, and let me tell you, being up on your feet for a couple of hours chopping and slicing can sure be exhausting. It might partially be attributed to my workout at the gym (oh leg day, you do me in), but really, I’m about ready to call it a day and get a good night’s sleep! But, first, I want to share a delicious fudge recipe that I made today. Kyle’s mom has been making it for forever and I was lucky enough to snag the recipe! It’s everything you could want in fudge: creamy, chocolatey , and perfectly delicious! She makes a ton of batches around Christmas and I happily gobble up every piece she sends over. Since I always have a hard time not modifying a recipe, I decided to put a fun twist on a camping favorite (Kyle is an Eagle Scout after all, he needs his dose of the wilderness) and vamped up the recipe by creating a fudge-s’more hybrid!

What I love about this recipe is that the marshmallows stay perfectly soft and pillow-y and there’s some in every bite. Each piece is a delectable slice of heaven!

Be warned, this recipe make oodles of scrumptious deliciousness, so share around with your friends and family and you’ll soon be the most popular person around town. Yippee!

[yumprint-recipe id=’7′]

xo Christine

My Two Favorite Fitness Apps

August 8, 2013 by Christine Skari

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t addicted to technology. It’s to the point where I feel almost naked when I go out without my iPhone or slightly distraught if my internet is down and I can’t catch up will my daily dose of blogs (I blame you guys). While my need to get my technological fix has it’s bad aspects, I have also discovered some great resources for literally every aspect of my life. Like they say, there’s an app for that.

I am a little surprised that I haven’t done a post on this already, but here are two of my favorite fitness apps!

Zombies, Run!

“You tie your shoes, put on your headphones, take your first steps outside. You’ve barely covered 100 yards when you hear them. They must be close. You can hear every guttural breath, every rattling groan – they’re everywhere. Zombies. There’s only one thing you can do: Run!”

Okay, you guys, this is one of my favorite apps of all time. The idea of the game is to turn a video game into something you do off the couch and exercising. The plot is spun around the concept that you are in the midst of a zombie apocalypse and are being transported to a town via helicopter. When it unexpectedly crashed, you are forced to run for your life and are able to communicate to a broadcaster from a headset you picked up in the wreckage. The more you run, the more vital supplies you pick up that can help build up your town and the more the story unfolds.

“The app can record the distance, time, pace, and calories burned on each mission through the use of the phone’s GPS or accelerometer” and you can set a playlist that is punctuated with fantastic audio and storytelling. The time flies by whenever I go for a run with the app and I HIGHLY recommend it!

Nike Training Club

“Nike Training Club is a full-body training app designed for you to make yourself whatever you want to be…Inspired by world-class athletes and developed by a Nike professional trainer, each one of the 90+ drills builds on the fundamentals of strength, cardio, interval and core training.”

This is one intense app, but I love how much it challenges me! You start off by choosing the goal for your workout. These range from “Get Lean”, “Get Toned”, “Get Strong”, and “Get Focused” and can be done in either beginner, intermediate, or advanced mode. Then you can choose exactly which workout you want to do.

This app is SO well done and comes with detailed instructions on how to preform each exercise (complete with a video of someone preforming it) and punctuates the time in your workout with helpful tips on proper form. You can set a playlist and basically get a free personal trainer!

I always feel like I got in an amazing workout when I finish training with this app and use it mainly for training my core, since I have not motivation to do ab exercises unless someone or something pushes me!

Since I realized this post is a bit wordy, please enjoy these pictures of my cat, Kiki, chillin’.

On that note, have a great Friday!

xo Christine

Dark Chocolate Avocado Truffles

August 6, 2013 by Christine Skari

What if I told you I could make fabulously delicious chocolate truffles out of an avocado. I sound like a magician, right? Well I’m not, but you guys, this recipe is magic. Honestly, it blew me away! Not only that, but these tasty truffles are vegan and gluten free!

I would have never expected it to turn out so well, these truffles taste just as rich and delicious as the ones made with loads of sugar and heavy cream! Not only do they taste outstanding, they are made with just a few simple and real ingredients that come together to make something wonderful. I know avocados and chocolate don’t strike you as a match made in heaven, but trust me on this one! There is only a hint of avocado in the flavor, but the only thing that comes to mind when I bite into one is “oh my gosh”, then I proceed to drool all over myself.

Wonderful Reviews from Wonderful Readers!

“I never comment on blogs, or anything really, but these turned out amazing, so I had to!

I used a 90% chocolate bar I had, so had to balance the bitterness by adding condensed milk. If I had used a lighter chocolate, the milk would have been skipped cuz it made the mix too soft to keep its shape.

Thanks so much for the recipe!”

-MTee

“Made these yesterday & the family loved them so much I’m making them again today. A lovely sweet treat absolutely amazing & no one guessed the special ingredient Avocado Did cover some of the truffles with the cocoa powder but also tried chopped nuts, cranberries and melted milk chocolate all delicious

Will be sure to make these at Christmas will make wonderful gifts <3″

-Polly

“Just made these with my 5 year old. We did the cocoa pwder version and it was heavenly. Polly Malone (2 posts up) put me onto this recipe and it is simply child’s play. We had a wonderful sticky time with the mix and it was wonderful…

They are fab. Haven’t even told the family they have avocado in. Going to impress the team in my new job soon and look like a total Nigella!!”

-Fleur

Quick Note: If you’d like, I just made a facebook page for Apple of My Eye! “Like” the page to see recipes I post in your facebook newsfeed

Adapted from Alex’s Recipe at Chowvida!

Make these. You’ll love me forever.

Today’s plans include an agonizingly awesome “Killer Abs” class at the gym, working on my freelance writing project for my new job, and a homemade dinner date with Kyle! Since we probably should eat more than just truffles for dinner, I’m open to suggestions on recipes to make!

I’m linking up with the rest of my lovely What I Ate Wednesday bloggers so I can share these delectable bites! Thanks, as always, to Jenn for hosting!

Practicing My Photography & Getting Accepted!

August 5, 2013 by Christine Skari

A while back I got my first DSLR camera, but only within the last couple of months have I been putting it to good use. If you’ve read my blog for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I use it mainly for food photography (more exciting news on that in a sec!), but lately I’ve been wanting to learn more about how to, you know, actually take pictures of things I can’t eat. For example, people. Cannibalism aside.

I made a trip to the library and spent a relaxing couple of hours browsing and reading some books on portrait photography before checking a few out. I love the quietness and general “feel” of libraries, don’t you?

I tried to expedite my learning since I was seeing my younger cousins later that day and wanted to borrow them as models. What I’ve come to learn is that nothing can teach you better than practice! I don’t have any fancy editing software, just iPhoto, but was happy with how my pictures came out for the most part. They have a lot of room for improvement, but I had a great time laughing and actually interacting with my models! As it turns out, cousins make much better company than scones or muffins.

There is nothing more satisfying than catching the perfect smile!

At first, learning how to use the manual settings was a pretty daunting task, but now I’m wholeheartedly embracing how much control it gives you and how quickly it can change the quality of your photos!

If you’re interested, Sarah at Sweet Miles is making a Photography 101 series, which I will, without a doubt, be following like a stalker ;). She’s a wedding photographer and takes the most stunning photos!

In other photography news, I was ridiculously excited to see that my Healthier Cinnamon Roll Scones were accepted to both Foodgawker and Taste Spotting! I’ve gotten a couple of rejections from them, so finally seeing one of my pictures up was a huge confidence booster. I may or may not have thrown myself a one person dance party when I saw them up on the sites. Not to mention how much traffic it drives to your blog! My jaw dropped when I happened to look at the blog’s stats. It’s an awesome feeling to know that other people are reading what you write :).

Oh, and Kyle’s back home, so I’m one happy girl!

Some of tomorrow’s plans include a group class at my gym, tennis with Kyle, a doctors appointment, and working a bit on my new freelancing job!

Hope the week is moving quickly for ya!

xo Christine

Healthy Cinnamon Roll Scones

August 3, 2013 by Christine Skari

There is probably nothing in life that I enjoy more than a warm baked good and coffee. I love the serenity and calmness that come with a sweet treat and a cup of Jo in the early hours of the morning when the world seems to still be asleep. I adore coffee shops and the small conversations that occur between strangers waiting in line, the friendly workers who always greet you with a cheery smile and kind remark, and even when they misspell my name on the coffee cup (is Christine really that hard?). That being said, I definitely am not a fan of the nutrition on many of the items they have in that oh-so-tempting glass window. Which is why I set out to create a healthified recipe that combined two of my favorites: cinnamon rolls and scones! And seeing that these sizable bad boys have only 170 calories and 5 grams of protein, I can easily justify having one (or two!) every morning.

Trust me, you guys, this recipe is a total keeper. Being a healthy living blogger, I’ve had my fair share of womp womp womp recipes. Ones that I’ve tried to make as healthy as friggin’ possible by combining only low calorie and nonfat ingredients. And what do you know, you can’t mix things like kale and stevia and expect a magically delicious dessert to appear. I feel like when you do that, it beats the whole purpose of cooking something that you actually want to eat and would enjoy. If I wanted to eat kale and stevia, I would eat kale and stevia. If I want to eat a scone that doesn’t taste like poo, I shouldn’t put ingredients in that will disappoint me in the end. This recipe is all about balance and is relatively healthy (for a treat) and doesn’t lack in the flavor department!

Other than that, I have a few random musings to talk about.

I just recently got hired to blog about my college experiences! Not on Apple of My Eye directly, but I will be blogging about various topics such as healthy living while in school, time management tips, relationships, and really anything that I’d like to talk about! Getting paid to do something that I absolutely love? Sign me up!
A while ago, I discovered the underlying reason on why I have a major celeb crush on Zac Efron.

Plot twist: Kyle is actually a famous movie star who uses is downtime to lead a double life.

Speaking of Kyle, I hope he knows that I’ve planned out our entire life together on Pinterest. Including, but not limited to, the breed of our first dog, our future kitchen decor, Christmas card poses, and how I will dress my kids. I promise I’m not crazy.
I have to decide if I want to add a French course to my first quarter schedule. I love languages and plan on minoring in French, but going down a medical route leaves me with a pretty hefty course load (almost the maximum number of units a student is allowed to take). While I know I would do well in the class and it would help my gpa, I have a tendency to overwork myself and drive myself to the ground. Since I’m required to take physics, biology, organic chemistry, and 3 labs (each ranging from 2-4 hours), I would really like to have a non-science related class, but am worried that it might result in me sacrificing time that I could spend concentrating on my other classes. Thoughts?

Anyways, that’s all I got for now! Question of the day: What is your favorite baked good? xoxo Christine