Warm, dense, spicy and sweet...these Healthy Apple Cinnamon Muffins are the perfect treat on a chilly morning or a wonderful snack when you need a boost of wholesome energy!

These muffins are so delicious. They're not too sweet and they each contain only 150 calories, 3 grams of protein and 3 grams of filling fiber. I made them to have on hand for snacks this week, but lets be real, I've been eating them with my breakfast.

I used a mixture of whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour and coconut flour, which gave this recipe a real hearty and dense texture. Don't get me wrong, I love a light and fluffy muffin, but I wanted a little more substance here with the whole grains and coconut flour! 

I used a Macintosh apple because they tend to be a bit softer, but any apple would work! Just chop it up real small - you could even grate it. I'm just not fancy like that. But I did use fancy caster sugar, thanks to Michael's mom who got it for me for a gift! Caster sugar is a finer sugar, so it dissolves more evenly. It's wonderful for iced teas or meringues. Or these muffins! ;)

Serve these puppies with a schmear of buttaaa! You're livin'.

[yumprint-recipe id='20']XO- Rach

What's your favorite muffin combo?

Who else feels like it's Friday? 

Hi! I wanted to share something a bit different today - all my eats from yesterday plus a day in the life of my new job! So as most of you know, I did leave my job in advertising and I started a new job as a full time Thrive trainer at City Fitness here in Philly! I am also still teaching group fitness classes as well, so I'm totally immersed in what I freaking love to do. It's a WHOLE different schedule and new challenge but I'm so ready for it. I am training semi-private groups with the Thrive training modality (learn more about it here, it's an AWESOME functional training program) and I'm already amazed by the support of my new bosses, co-workers and the motivation of the few clients that I'm starting with! 

WIAW (What I Ate Wednesday) 

So here's a little sneak peak into what it looks like to work in fitness (when you're first starting out)...

7 AM: Alarm goes off, I have coffee and a little pre-workout snack (too sleepy to get a pic) of half a mashed sweet potato, half a banana, a tablespoon of Sunbutter and some raisins. I got this sweet potato breakfast bowl idea from Jen at peanutbutterrunner.com and I am OBSESSED!! Michael also used to mash sweet potato and banana together in college for a side at dinner. It's a winning combo, please try it. 

8-9:30 AM: I head to the gym near my apartment and practice a few of the strength moves in the Thrive training library as well as put myself through a workout that I will be putting my clients through eventually. This helps me gage the intensity and helps me to program my workouts for them. 

9:30-11:30 AM: I eat my (second) breakfast (pictured below) of an AMAZINGGGG chocolate smoothie bowl - recipe coming soon, this one was a winner!! It was packed with protein and healthy carbs. I also pack my day's worth of food, work on this blog post, take care of a few emails and get ready for the day. I also had a few handfuls of trail mix on the side.

11:45-12:30 PM: I commute to Center City by train and head to City Fitness. My current hours are afternoons/evenings, so I've been getting to work around noon and leaving around 9:30 at night. The gym is slow until about 5:30, but I try my best to work the floor, meet new people and set up some assessments! 

2 PM: I train a client. She does AWESOME. 

3-3:30 PM: Eat a delicious salad with spinach, grilled chicken, avocado, tomato, cucumber, olive oil & balsamic and an apple on the side. I'm really craving a coffee but resist the urge to spend $5 on an almond milk latte, because I can't ever just buy a plain old coffee...

3:30-6:30 PM: Shadow a few of the trainers, work the floor and get ready for my clients in the evening. I also noshed on a couple of these protein balls, they're so good! I have been making The Healthy Maven's protein bites every week. They're great. Actually kind of addictive...I made a batch of 20 on Monday and they're already gone. Whoops.

6:45-8:45: Train a few clients and I also had a couple people come in for an assessment! 

9:00: I eat this combo of veggies, rice, brussels sprouts, sweet potato and ground beef before I got ready to make the commute home (I walk about 15 mins to the train station and the train ride home is about a half hour). The wind was CRAZZYYY last night and literally almost knocked me over getting to the train station. 

10:30 I am HOME!!! I had a snack of cottage cheese, PB and jelly (yes, it looks disgusting, but trust me it's so, so good) before bed and then hit the hay at around 11. This morning I'm up and at em' - teaching an 8 AM cycle class at Body Cycle Studio before heading to City Fitness for a team workout, several assessments and some client sessions. It will be another long day and I wouldn't trade it for the world. 

Have a GREAT one, you guys. 

XO- Rach

Is there something you just CAN'T go without eating every day? 

Alright, I've drank the smoothie bowl Kool-Aid. Why is it so satisfying to eat a smoothie out of a bowl instead of drinking it with a straw??  I've been making this smoothie ALL week this week for breakfast!! It's my new favorite combo with my new favorite protein. I kind of gave up smoothies for breakfast for a while for a couple reasons. 1. It got real cold here and I preferred something hot like oatmeal or eggs. 2. I never could seem to get enough protein or greens in my smoothies to sustain me until lunch time. Until I created a purple monster...

Garden of Life RAW Protein & Greens

Garden of Life sent me some of their new product line to try out, Raw Protein and Greens. I couldn't wait to add the new protein to my smoothies, because it meant getting in even more veggies with breakfast, something I used to struggle with in the morning (let's be real, still do). And the best part...I'm partnering with Garden of Life to giveaway some free Raw Protein & Greens! 

I have to be honest, I was slightly skeptical at first about the whole greens addition to the protein. Garden of Life added a blend of six nutrient-rich greens and veggies in RAW Protein & greens, including organic alfalfa grass juice, organic spinach, organic kale, organic broccoli, organic carrot and organic beet. That's a lot of veggies, you guys!! Don't get me wrong, I love my veggies, but I HATE green juice and I can't stand when my protein shakes taste like raw veggie water...

And the verdict is that this protein is just delicious in a smoothie. I can't speak for how this protein would be mixed with just water or milk, because to be honest, I can't really drink any protein with just water or milk. I like to stick to a smoothie or real food right after a workout - it makes my taste buds and hunger much happier!! So if you're like me and looking for a great protein to add to your hearty smoothies, this one is perfect. Especially if you struggle to get in enough greens! RAW Protein & Greens is also PACKED with protein - 20 grams to be exact. And it's made with wholesome, organic ingredients and comes in three flavors: Vanilla, Chocolate Cacao (both contain organic stevia extract) and Lightly Sweet (with no stevia)...there's nothin' sketchy about it. 

Giveaway

So let's get to the fun part...all I ask is that you:

1. COMMENT on this post telling my WHY you want to try RAW Protein & Greens
2. Follow @ahealthfulheart and @gardenofliferaw on Instagram! 

The winner will be announced on March 1! In the meantime, stay tuned for some more recipes including Garden of Life Raw Protein! 

Banana & Berry Green Smoothie Bowl

[yumprint-recipe id='17']Thank you for your support of my partnership with Garden of Life! All opinions are my own. 

 XO - Rach

Do you like your breakfasts sweet or savory?

What flavor of protein do you usually gravitate toward?

Wouldn't you love to win some FREE protein?!