Recipes I love!

I try a new recipe every week.  Most are for dinner and lunch, but I also make snacks as well.  This week I've made an adaptation of a snack cup recipe I found on Pinterest.  I changed up several of the ingredients to make the snack healthier and all natural!  I'm calling them....

Sweet Snack Cups

Ingredients:

(for 1 batch, double for 24 cups)

Dry

1 cup Thick Rolled Oats (or any kind of oat meal)

1/2 cup almond (slices or chopped)

1 cup dried mixed berries

1/4 cup raisins

1 Tbs flax meal

1 Tbs wheat germ

2 Tbs raw sunflower seeds

Wet

1 Tbs Earth Balance natural buttery spread

1 Tbs agave nectar

1 Tbs Pure Maple Syrup

(you can substitute honey for either of the previous ingredients)

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl

Spray mini muffin pan(s) with olive oil/Pam

Heat wet ingredient in small sauce pan and mix well

Pour wet ing over dry ing and mix well

Spoon mixture into muffin pan and press into pan with spoon

Decrease heat to 300

Cook Sweet Snack Cups for 15 minutes

Remove and let cool 15-20 minutes and then transfer to cooling rack for 15 minutes.

Approximate nutritional value per cup:

Calories: 118  Fat: 4 g  Carbs 19 g 

Coming Soon!

Green Smoothies!

Quinoa & Shrimp Salad

Veggie & Bean Soup



The Burpee

The next 2 weeks I will be incorporating various Burpee moves into my routines.  Last night was my first round, and dannnng they kicked my butt!  I could only do 20!  I have a lot of work to do!  Here are the burpees I was doing last night.  I didn't attempt the challege, just used the video to make sure I was doing the move right.

Dead Man's Burpee



No Excuses!

Also, a tip for not skipping work outs because it's too late, or your show is on, or this or that....  I've been bringing my mat into the living room after I do my cardio and doing my weight sets and burpees during the commercials while watching TV.  Since all the shows I watch just started back up and I work until 6 or 7 at night (and I'm not a morning person) this has been working out great for me!  I get to catch up on Gossip Girl and Grey's Anatomy and work out at the same time!  Not having enough time is always an excuse....the time is there you just have to find it!

Need some inspiration?

An inspiration close to me is my mom!  In February 2010 I got engaged and my mom decided she wanted to lose weight for my wedding and get healthy.  I never imagined the transformation she was going to make!  My mom's weight had been up and down since I was a kid and she was notorious for drinking a lot of Pepsi and having a limited diet of fried foods and few fruits and vegetables.  My mom chose Weight Watchers to help her loose weight.  Her original goal was to lose 50 lbs.  Today she has lost almost 90!  Here is a picture of my mom shortly after she began her journey in our new house Sept 2010.

Today my mom has introduced salads, fruits, and water to her diet.  She rarely drinks sodas or alcohol and also limits fast foods.  My mom walks on her treadmill several times a day and also walks her dog around the neighborhood and at the dog park.  Here she is at my wedding in May 2011.

Since that picture was taken my mom has continued to lose weight and stick with her WW points and exercise.  She is now in the maintenance phase, but continues to lose pounds and ounces here and there!  Everyone is so proud of her success and continued dedication!  When I'm thinking I want to give up I remember if my mom can loose 90lbs I can loose 10 and get toned up!  Here's a more recent picture of what my mom looks like from September 2011, about a year after she began her lifestyle change and about 80lbs down.

(next she needs to quit smoking!)

Day 22

Weight: 136 lbs (slowly, but surely...)
Food: I've been doing pretty good eating healthy.  I did go out to Pizza Shoppe for a work function last Friday...Pizza is not a good choice for me!
Workouts: worked out 6 days last week!

Goo Goo for Gaga

She's crazy...but she's also in shape.  All that dancing keeps her toned and lean!  This week I'm rocking out to some Gaga!

Bad Romance (love this video too)

Love Game (dance those calories off)

Marry the Night (long video)



Snacks

I mentioned earlier I try and eat 3 light meals per day and 2-3 healthy and filling snacks.  Lately I've been on a homemade trail mix kick.  My current recipe is as follows:
2 cups Vanilla Almond Flax Plus Granola
1/2 cup raisins
1 package dried apples (shredded in food processors to make smaller pieces)
1 package mixed dried berries
1 small pkg whole almonds

I mix all ingredients together in a bowl and then separate equally into little baggies or containers.  It's roughly 250 calories per serving, but as you can see it's a decent amount of trail mix!

Back on Track

After several days of poor or no diet due to a medical procedure I'm trying to get back on track!  I picked my new moves for the next 2 weeks as well.  I try to add new cardio or strength training moves every 2 weeks to change things up and keep my muscles guessing.  This week I'm trying out the On the Floor-Abs Challenge from bodyrock.tv. 
It's a combo of the mountain climber and a toe touch move.  Looks tough, but I'm going to do my best to make it the full 10 minutes with minimal breaks.

mountain climber

toe touch



Rocking the pounds of with....

Sick by Adelitas Way

Bad Company by FFDP

Burn It To the Ground by Nickelback

Day 8

Weight: 137 lbs
Last week's workouts: 6 days of cardio, 2 days of abs, 2 days of strength training
Meals: 5 small meals a day (3 light meals and 2 healthy snacks is how I like to think of it).

Counting Calories

I try not to get crazy about counting calories, but I like to keep track of everything I eat in a day and look at it's nutritional value.  It's good to check in a make sure you're eating a balanced diet...good fats and carbs, enough protein to support your muscles, and plenty of vitamins and minerals.  At the same time you of course want to be avoiding too much sodium, bad fats and carbs, and going too high in calories.  It's scary to see how many calories can be in some of your favorite foods, especially when eating out!  My favorite new way of doing this is by using the app My Fitness Pal on my iphone.  You can also keep track of your exercise and water intake.  As of right now I think it only shows calories burned for cardio, but you can track strength training as well if you want.