Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Breakfast!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Travel light...

With light and healthy snacks that is!! I pack a large suitcase, but go easy on the snacks!!

Something new for me...

Give this little bit of yummy a try!! So good!

Weekend fun

Did some hiking and stair climbing this weekend with the family! Love those days!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Progress

Been killing arms lately...paying off nicely! :)

Lunch

Made Tuna with apples, yogurt and tossed it over lettuce and drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. So good!
Found in women's healthy magazine.

Runnin in style

Tested out my new kicks today! I was due, had the last pair of running shoes for over a year! Love theses new ones!
Only down side is they don't have that little compartment for my Nike+ thingy!

Wicked grilled cheese...

...that's what I am going to call it! Cause it is wicked good! Whole wheat bread with Greek yogurt instead of butter. Inside is fat free motz cheese, tomato, avocado, basil and garlic. Toasted on a griddle. Yum!! Found it on pinterest! :)

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Breakfast for dinner...why not?!

"best pancakes I have ever had" -Jacob
Got this recipe from Dashing Dish, and it was very, very good!! Check her site put, it has some really amazing yummy thing on it!!
These are the "light and fluffy pancakes"
We had them with turkey bacon and fruit. The kids topped them with sugar free syrup.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Park fun!

Took the kids to the park today. It was beautiful outside! Even snuck in a bit of pushups and pull ups!

Tuna salad

John made us some really yummy tuna salad with Greek yogurt in place of mayo. Delish! Give it a try!

Boxing

Ever try it? I have always wanted to do a real kick boxing class. Maybe soon. Have to check it out at the gym. Heard its a killer workout!!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Working with a timer...

I have been working out with BodyRockTv for a little over a year. They use a interval timer for the workouts and I love it! The great thing is that you can make any of your workouts interval challenges by using this timer. Make your own ab, leg and arm sets! Add them to your current workout! Create your own full body workout. I often add some sets onto the end of the workout that bodyrock post.

Fitness fun!

On BodyRockTv they had a ab challenge and this is it. Its called wall walking, I think. You do just that, walk up the wall. It's killer! Takes a ton of upper body and core strength.

Stocked up!

Went and got a Costco membership yesterday. They have a great selection of organic foods, and in large portions which is great!! Hope it will save from running to the store every other day for fruits!

Sunday yumm!

Made what I shall call, "tastes like oatmeal but heated in the oven". That's exactly what it is. I saw a few pictures floating around on the net of oatmeal bakes and decided I could make one. It wasn't half bad and I am sure I will make it again. I will check out a few recipes and tweak it a bit though. Not bad for a first try. I just mixed almond milk, oats, flax meal, cinnamon, vanilla, almonds, Splenda brown sugar and frozen berries. Popped it in the oven for a bit, and it's pretty good! John said it was "hmmmm, pretty good" and came back for a few more bites! Encouraging! :)
Have a great day!!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Blah!

So other than working out today and doing laundry I have been having a blah day! Oh wait...I made peanut butter cookies...and ate three!!! (they are the bomb) Worst eating day I have had in almost two months. Weather? Maybe. Bored? Maybe. Who knows, back at it tomorrow though!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Happy valentines!!

Tried to make some healthy teats for the kiddos, this is what I came up with.
The cakes are my version of a recipe I got from Dashing Dish and they are yummy!!! ...they also got some not do healthy treats! :)

Monday, February 13, 2012

What's up!!??

Hope everyone had a great weekend! The family has been keen to just hang out lately, which really drives me nuts! Ha! Ha! I did get some yummy cooking in this weekend and kept John and I on our workouts. Forced the kids to bundle up (winter finally arrived) and that's about it! Hope you did something way more exciting!!
The links for these recipes are on my Facebook page, and I will post on here when I get in front of the computer.
The sit for the lasagna and muffins, is dashing dish! Love her!! Check it our!!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Keeping busy...

Having a little friendly competition with Jacob while we wait at dance class! We also did wall squats and plank. He killed me on pushups, did 55 to my 35. I kicked his butt though on the other two!! :)

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Food journal

Do you keep one? I started keeping one last month and I love it. Really helps keep me in track an eating the right amount. I have been trying to eat every couple hours and writing things down seems to help! I also write my workouts in.

I use my kindle fire note app for my journal. I am not a big counter of calories, I really just try to eat a lot of veggies, protein, fruits and whole grains. Staying away from most packaged items, so this app is fine for me. I know they have some great other ones out there, like "my fitness pal".

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Running

I love it! I don't know when that happened, but I do! Specifically running outside. Not so much in my neighbor hood, because being chased by dogs and jumping over poop piles is not fun. But I do love trail running. Be it a paved trail or just in the woods. So much to look at and enjoy, keeping your mind on other things and before you know it, you have logged 3 miles!
Today I ran with John, in the hood. Much to my surprise we did not get chased by any dogs, I only had to jump over 5 piles of poop on the sidewalk, and the best part was I got my time back to summer pace! Oh, and John was with me...that was great too! Ha!ha!
I got in 2.52 miles at a 7:19 pace. I was haulin today! Seriously I felt like my legs were detached from my body!
Very proud of John, he ran the whole way and that's huge since he hasn't ran in quite some time.
Give runnin a chance, younger find you actually enjoy it and it can be quite addicting!
Look for post about Jacob and I working towards our next race! Spring is almost here and we are itchin to do another 5k together!

Friday, February 3, 2012

For the littles, pumpkin cookies

Made some cookies yesterday for the kids, they look so disappointed lately if they come home and I haven't made something new for them to try. Gonna keep that momentum going for as long as I can. (John enjoys the treats too)

Pumpkin cookies
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats (I use red mill oat bran)
1/2 tsp baking powder and baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg (I add a bit more cause I love it)
1/4 cup brown sugar Splenda
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/4 cup egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp canola oil
Optional cocoa chips

I alway mix wet and dry separately and then mix together. Bake @ 350 for about 10 min. My oven cooks a bit hot, so you may need to go longer, deepening on your oven.
They can out Kind of cake like, which everyone in my house loves.

Power up with some pancakes.

I have been messing around with protein pancakes for a while now. John has found the texture to be a bit scrambled eggish inside, which sounds nasty, so I am trying to fix that for him.
This is what I came up with today and I think they are the best ones yet!

Sweet potato protein pancakes:
2/3 cup oats
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 cup egg whites
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
Vanilla
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
1/2 large already baked sweet potato
1/2 scoop vanilla whey protein powder

Mix all above in blender and poor into hot skillet with a tiny bit if coconut oil. ( I like crispy edges on mine)
Cook on a lower heat to make sure they cook all the way through and don't burn.
I topped mine with pecans and a very tiny bit of sugar free syrup.
This made 5 large pancakes, next time I will make little ones to store for the week, for easy use in the mornings before school!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Goal setting time...

Well, its a new month and I am setting my goals! 

Health:
Try a new veggie every week.
Incorperate veggies into EVERY MEAL.
Keep guzzlin that water!  At least 6 large cups per day.

Personal:
Never leave the house in workout clothes.
Paint my finger and toes a new color every week.
READ!!

Excersise:
Run at least three times a week.
Add 5 more lbs to my sandbag for squats and such.

Family:
Turn my phone off after 9pm and no phone while at homework time with the littles, ITS RUDE.
Do something FUN and outside one day every weekend, which ever day is not rainy.
Contact ALL my brothers in some form (email, txt, letter, or call) once per week.

My goals are not meant to torture me, yet get me into a routine of doing some things that I have NOT been doing.  It should be fun, somehting that makes you smile when you know you have completed them.
Have fun setting your February goals!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Push...

Feeling like I need a little push today. Tired and unfocused. Going to do some BodyRock.tv, take a shower and try to get this day going in the right direction! I know it's already 2:30! Ha! Ha! It's Never to late to try and turn the day around.

...if you don't know what bodyrock.tv is or have just been browsing the site waiting for the right workout, JUMP on board! It's an amazing community of people. I will post the link later when I am on the computer. You can check them out on Facebook.

http://www.bodyrock.tv/

The above it the link for the bodyrock.tv workout program that I follow!  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!
Nothing but LOVE!  Check it out, they will get you motivated to get off the couch, eat healthy and feel good about yourself! I have been at it for a little over a year nowand have seen amazing changes in myself! HAVE FUN!!

Prepping for a successful week.

I have started really thinking about ways to help our family have a successful, healthy eating week. Truth be told that if things are not convenient, easy or quick, we tend to look to something that IS. At least I do!
So I have started Not buying unhealthy items like packaged cookies and puddings for the kids. Choosing instead to make them on Sunday to last the week. Packed full of good things like honey, oats, flax seed and such. I know exactly what's in them and the kids love to help make the things they will be snacking on!
I have also started cutting up fruits and veggies on Sunday. Putting them in containers in the fridge and at eye view for everyone. The kids are free to snack on this stuff whenever they wish, and it's easy for me to create a quick lunch or something with, since half the work is already done.
Make it a little easier for you and your family to make good food choices, take an hour to prepare for your week on Sunday. It really does make a difference!