Tone It Up Week One

I just finished week one of this 8-week journey with "Tone It Up" and I am pretty excited about it so far. If you haven't heard of Tone It Up check out the fabulous Karena & Katrina here. 

So I've been an avid Crossfit junkie for three years but after some recent soul searching I realized that I need to take a step back and pursue some other fitness options. My best friend did Tone It Up last year before her wedding and she looked g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s; so when we heard that K&K were releasing Beach Babe 4, we joined the team! PS: You can buy the Beach Babe 4 or you can do the free workouts they suggest in its place, both are great.

There is a daily workout plus usually some accessory work and all of it is done in 20-50 minutes depending on the day. So let me be honest here- I'm in my final week of Crossfit where I lift daily, so when I saw the weights used for the TIU workouts were 4-10lbs. I thought it would be easy. I was wrong. Horribly wrong. I've been using 8lb weights and I've been absolutely dying!! It just goes to show that different kind of workouts work-out different muscles in your body. Overall I've loved the workouts and they've kicked my booty (especially the beach booty workouts, ha).

Workouts are one thing but honestly where I fall short is food. I love food and it makes or breaks you in the gym that's for sure. This week I killed it with the food plan and I feel so much better it's kind of stupid. I even texted my friend and told her I think I have abs coming in (which I don't, but I just feel that less-bloated! ha). So here is a quick compilation of what I ate during week 1: 

Monday

M1: Scarmbled eggs + 1/2 Banana

M2: Strawberries + Protein Banana Muffin

M3: Turkey burger (crumbled) + grapes + cucumber wedges + bed of greens + sweet potato chips

M4: No time

M5: Pork tenderloin + oven roasted veggies

Tuesday

M1: Egg cups (with peppers, mushrooms, spinach and ground turkey) + stawberries + booty call shot

M2: Raspberries and Greek yogurt + protein banana muffin

M3: Bed of lettuce and argulua with leftover pork tenderloin + cranberries + raspberries and grapes with balsamic and blue corn chips

M4: Larabar + cutie

M5: Zoodles with grilled chicken in homemade pesto

Wednesday

M1: Veggie and Turky egg cup (peppers, mushrooms, spinach and turkey) with 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and raspberries

M2: Banana and two banana protein muffins (oops, too much banana)

M3: GF wrap with grilled chicken, lettuce, mayo/mustard + grapes + mango

M4: Starbucks Acai tea lemonade with 1/2 the sweetner

M5: Avocado balsamic chicken + steamed peas 

Thursday

M1: 2 Egg cups (veggies + turkey) and 1/2 cup Greek yogurt and raspberries

M2: 1/2 banana + protein banana muffin + grapes

M3: Leftover balsamic avocado chicken + sweet potato chips

M4: Veggies with hummus and stawberries

M5: Tilapia + small sweet potato + green beans

Friday

M1: Homemade oatmeal with maple syrup and raisins + Green smothie

M2: Banana protein muffins

M3: GF wrap with ham, spinach, cheese, mayo-mustard mix + stawberries

M4: No time

M5: Homemade chicken tikki masla over rice 

Saturday

M1: Greek yogurt with fresh berries + Turkey Veggie Egg Cup

M2: Banana Protein Muffin

M3: Pesto shrimp + mango + strawberries + tropical smoothie

M4: No time

M5: Chicken pad thai (my 'splurge' meal)

Sunday

M1: Scrambled eggs + 1 piece of GF toast and peanut butter + strawberries

M2: Larabar

M3: Tuna on a rice cake and cheese + argugula salad with grapes and sunflower seeds + pineapple
M4: (not pictured) trail mix with peanuts, raisins, almonds and M&Ms (technically not 'compliant')

M5: burger on bed of arugula, pineapple, goat cheese and balsamic +  sweet potato fries + watermelon

Today (Sunday) I am going to meal prep for the week ahead which includes washing and cutting veggies to be roasted later this week or dipped in hummus, washing and cutting fresh fruit, mixing any dressings or dips I'm going to use, dicing and slicing chicken and making turkey burger patties, making homemade paleo granola and portioning out yogurt and cottage cheese for the week. Looking forward to week two and feeling even better. If you're looking for a new lifestyle to refresh your whole body, mind and soul join with me!!!

Goal for the week: Do all of the workout videos + look for a "goal" trip to take with my best friend when we complete this 8-weeks.

Whole 30 Week 2

Well we've survived our first week of Whole 30 and surprisingly we managed through our 2nd week without any cheats…which amazes me. Again, I can't say enough for having a support system during this journey.

The second week brought new challenges: boredom. Breakfasts were starting to get a little boring, eggs and bacon every day sounds great until you're 15 days in and you're getting a little green at the thought of one more egg. So this week we got creative and branched out. I think the first week, you're so worried about eating something bad that you get caught up in eating the things you know are safe. Or, like we did- we got super adventurous and they didn't go according to plan so you wilt back to your safety net of grapes, salads, and grilled meats. 

Anyways, for week 2 we got a little more adventurous with our recipes and trying new things. Instead of cooking eggs and bacon every morning, on Sunday we did some prep and made these super simple and versatile meat and veggie egg muffins. Here is an example of a recipe we used. We made egg-spianch-sausage egg muffins and were able to put them in the fridge and reheat them in the morning. Our secret ingredient this week: apple pie spice by Penzy's. A definite life-saver. I've used more cinnamon and apple pie spice in the past few weeks than I have in my whole life!

Above: egg muffins, fresh mango and strawberries for breakfast

Some other good recipes from this week included a Summer Cucumber and Tomato Salad

Paleo Mexican Chicken Soup 

and I made a variation of this Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles which was delicious, I did a little homemade pesto (without the cheese of course) and I think I could've ate 3 helpings.

La Croix water: I used to hate it. Now I'm obsessed 

Arugula with a homemade mustard/olive oil dressing and Moroccan Meatballs (I'll try to find the recipe because these were absolutely delicious)

Another fun adventure this week: homemade sugar-free applesauce. I also cut up some fresh strawberries and pureed them together to make homemade strawberry applesauce- I highly recommend.

Keep on, keepin' on folks. You can do it!

GF Adventures: Homemade Chewy Bars

The weekend is prep time for me: prepping for lunches, snacks and dinners throughout the week. By the time I get off work, head to Crossfit and bust my butt (almost literally), drive home and shower it's nearly 8 p.m. and who wants to be on the struggle bus trying to eat a healthy, gluten free meal? This means no calling to pick up a pizza on the way home, no cereal and toast night, or throwing pasta on the stove for a quick pasta meal. Gluten-free, organic living calls for a little planning ahead. One of the things I miss is having quick grab-on-the-go snacks like granola bars so when I saw one of my favorite people ever, Ree aka The Pioneer Woman, posted a yummy looking granola bar recipe I decided to tackle it today and convert it to GF! 

[Chocolate Chip] Granola Bars

• 6 cups Rolled GF Oats (not Quick Oats)
• 4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted, Plus More For Greasing
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Or Canola Oil
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1/4 cup Apple Juice
• 1/4 cup Molasses
• 3 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1-1/2 cup GF Rice Krispies
• 1/4 cup Roughly Chopped Almonds
• Semi Sweet Chocolate Or Dark Chocolate (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, toss the oats with the canola oil, melted butter and salt. Spread the mixture out on 2 baking sheets and toast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, shaking the pan twice and making sure they don't burn. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, apple juice and molasses. Heat the mixture slowly, stirring until all combined. Stir in the vanilla

Toss together the toasted GF oats, GF rice cereal, pecans and almonds. Pour in the sugar mixture, stirring as you pour. Toss to combine; it will be sticky!

Press into 1 baking sheet (thoroughly greased with butter, or line pan with foil and grease foil) and bake until golden, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Cut pieces with a sharp knife and remove from the pan.

They turned out nice and crunchy and the chocolate melted nicely. Now it's time to let them cool, wrap them up and store for the week!

Organic Lifestyle: Homemade Croutons

Having a clean and organic lifestyle is not just about eating carrot sticks and celery; you can enjoy many of the things you usually enjoy, just in a cleaner and healthier way. It's more time, but making things yourself is rewarding and you know exactly what is in your food! It may seem overwhelming to start thinking about everything being homemade, but start small. Look at things you use a lot, simple things like croutons and salad dressings; start there and work your way to bigger things like bread and cereals.

Today I had leftover cibatta bread that was getting a bit too crunchy, so I decided to make some fresh homemade croutons. They're so simple!

I simply cut up the cibatta bread into chunks and loaded them up in a big bowl.

Next, I drizzled about 3 Tablespoons of oil oil the bread chunks and seasoned them with coarse salt and granulated garlic and tossed them up until all were slightly coated.

Finally, I placed them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Then I lifted the rack to the top tier, put in the broiler on high and let them sit for about 3 minutes until the tops were golden brown and yummy!

Store in an air-tight container and enjoy on salads for the next week or so :)

May Baking: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

The joy of spring is quickly associated with baking for me. I remember growing up as a child, spending countless hours kneeling on a chair next to my grandmother sifting flour, kneading dough, and measuring sugar. There are a handful of desserts that distinctly remind me of my grandmother, but one of our family's favorites is strawberry rhubarb pie. Picking fresh berries and making a homemade Strawberry Rhubarb pie is a tradition mom and I have created over the past ten years (this is also her favorite pie; the only pie she eats a la mode too!) So this morning I decided to make a homemade pie for dessert tonight.

First, obviously, you must start with the basics: the crust. I tried a new recipe this year courtousy of Sandra Bullock's sister

Pie Crust 

2 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp sugar

2 sticks cold butter

Combine the ingredients in a food processor until it becomes blended and resembles coarse corn meal

Then slowly add a water & lemon juice mixture 

**I did 1/4 cup water with about 2 tbsp of lemon juice

 Carefully take the dough mixture out of the food processor and place directly into a lightly greased pie pan. I then worked out the dough with my fingers to form around the edges and the pan was completely covered. 

Next I placed it into a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until the crust set slightly and set aside to cool.

While that cooled I started on the actual Strawberry Rhubarb Pie :) I believe that it originally came from Grandma's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie recipe on FoodTV

2 1/2 cups chopped red rhubarb, fresh

2 1/2 cups de-stemmed, washed and cut strawberries (in larger pieces)

1 1/2 cups sugar (1 1/4 cups for high altitude)

2 tablespoons minute tapioca

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 tablespoons butter, cubed small

1 egg white beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Large granule sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

 Wash the fresh strawberries, de-stem and let them dry off on a cookie sheet

Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, flour, zest and juice of lemon, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix well in a large bowl and pour out into chilled crust. 

Brush edges of pie crust with egg white wash. Roll out the other piece of dough and place over filling. Crimp to seal edges. Brush with egg white wash and garnish with large granule sugar. 

Collar with foil and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling starts bubbling.

 Let cool COMPLETELY before serving.