I know that I always feel a bit more ready, a bit more energized, when I get my workout gear on. Get those workout clothes on and get moving!!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Workout Clothes for Motivation!
I know that I always feel a bit more ready, a bit more energized, when I get my workout gear on. Get those workout clothes on and get moving!!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Recipe: Honey Mustard Burgers and Sweet Potato Apple Mash
This is another one of the new recipes that I have tried recently. This one, very quickly, moved to the top of my list of favorite meals! I really wish I had doubled the recipe because the amount of mash that came from the recipe only lasted through one meal. The six burgers was fine, but I think I will double or triple the mash recipe next time. I'm also not that great at keeping burgers in one piece (not a lot of practice), so I didn't take any pictures of my own this time.
I really love this recipe from Civilized Caveman Cooking because the two different pieces go so well together. The mash is sweet and tart at the same time while the burgers are sweet and savory. It's a perfect combination. I also love this option because I can make burgers and not need a bun. I even think the mash could be used as a dessert or with pork chops too.
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine your ground beef, honey, dijon mustard, sea salt, and pepper.
2. Using your hands, mix the meat well to ensure an even coating.
3. Once mixed, make 6 patties about 1/2 inch thick and set on a plate.
4. Grill over medium high heat about 7-10 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side
until done to your liking.
5. Serve over a bed of Sweet Potato Apple Hash below
2. Melt a cooking oil of your choice, I used coconut oil.
3. Add your apples and onions and saute until the onions start to caramelize.
4. Next add your sweet potatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes.
5. Now take some water and pour it into the skillet, mixing well, and ensure nothing is stuck to the
bottom of the pan.
6. Cover the pan and let the water steam your potatoes.
** If after all your water has evaporated your potatoes still aren’t done, add more water and repeat.
7. Once done to your liking, turn off the heat and add the cinnamon and mix well, then plate.
I really love this recipe from Civilized Caveman Cooking because the two different pieces go so well together. The mash is sweet and tart at the same time while the burgers are sweet and savory. It's a perfect combination. I also love this option because I can make burgers and not need a bun. I even think the mash could be used as a dessert or with pork chops too.
 |
| Credit: civilizedcavemancooking.com |
Ingredients
- 2 Lbs Ground Beef
- 1/2 Cup Honey
- 1/2 Cup Dijon Mustard
- 1 Tsp Sea Salt, 1 Tsp Pepper
- 2 Cups peeled, diced Sweet Potato
- 1/2 Red Onion Diced
- 1 Granny Smith Apple peeled, Diced
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
Cooking Steps
Taken from: http://www.civilizedcavemancooking.com1. In a large mixing bowl, combine your ground beef, honey, dijon mustard, sea salt, and pepper.
2. Using your hands, mix the meat well to ensure an even coating.
3. Once mixed, make 6 patties about 1/2 inch thick and set on a plate.
4. Grill over medium high heat about 7-10 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the second side
until done to your liking.
5. Serve over a bed of Sweet Potato Apple Hash below
For the Hash:
1. Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat.2. Melt a cooking oil of your choice, I used coconut oil.
3. Add your apples and onions and saute until the onions start to caramelize.
4. Next add your sweet potatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes.
5. Now take some water and pour it into the skillet, mixing well, and ensure nothing is stuck to the
bottom of the pan.
6. Cover the pan and let the water steam your potatoes.
** If after all your water has evaporated your potatoes still aren’t done, add more water and repeat.
7. Once done to your liking, turn off the heat and add the cinnamon and mix well, then plate.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Recipe: Bacon and Vegetable Quiche
My husband has a habit of grabbing his breakfast on the run. Normally it is a bowl of oatmeal with different fixings, sometimes fruit, sometimes protein powder, sometimes peanut butter .... or even combining the three. He used to be hooked on cold cereals, all loaded with sugar and other artificial ingredients, but we haven't seen one of those boxes in our home for about two years. And he feels so much better now that he's starting his day out a little better.
However, sometimes the oatmeal can get a little boring. So I've been searching for suitable breakfast meals that I can have ready for him to just grab and go. I recently have come to appreciate quiches and was on the Fast Paleo website and came across one that I'll be sticking in my box of favorites!
It's called "Bacon and Vegetable Quiche" and is super yummy and filling, which is perfect for my husband. I tried it for the first time this week and he's been happy to have options in the morning. All he has to do is pull it out of the fridge, slice a piece, heat it up, and put it in his container to go!
So here's how you make it:
1. Shred sweet potato, zucchini and carrots. (I just chopped these finely)
2. Chop spinach, bacon and onion and add to vegetable mixture.
3. Combine.
4. Add eggs into combined vegetable and bacon mixture. Mix thoroughly.
5. Add salt and pepper – mix.
6. Rub oil over tray to avoid quiche sticking to the tray. Pour mixture onto the tray.
**Size of quiche depends on your own preference and portion intake.
Bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.
**A knife/toothpick is inserted and comes out clean the quiche is cooked.
(Some reviews questioned whether the 180 degrees was Celcius or Fahrenheit and they said Fahrenheit, but at the end of the cooking time it still wasn't done. So I put it on 350 degrees and cooked another half hour.)
Set and allow quiche to cool before cutting.
**Vegetable selection is based on what I had in the fridge, but it is entirely up to you! Tastes great with the bacon, or smoked salmon for those who don’t eat bacon – for vegetarians, the quiche on its own also tastes great!
However, sometimes the oatmeal can get a little boring. So I've been searching for suitable breakfast meals that I can have ready for him to just grab and go. I recently have come to appreciate quiches and was on the Fast Paleo website and came across one that I'll be sticking in my box of favorites!
It's called "Bacon and Vegetable Quiche" and is super yummy and filling, which is perfect for my husband. I tried it for the first time this week and he's been happy to have options in the morning. All he has to do is pull it out of the fridge, slice a piece, heat it up, and put it in his container to go!
So here's how you make it:
Ingredients
- 12 eggs
- 1 cup of bacon (I used more)
- 1 sweet potato
- 2 carrots
- 2 handfuls of baby spinach
- 2 zucchinis
- 1/2 white onion (I used a full onion)
- Smidge of coconut oil
- Salt and pepper
- iPhone not needed unless you like music while cooking : )
Cooking Steps
1. Shred sweet potato, zucchini and carrots. (I just chopped these finely)2. Chop spinach, bacon and onion and add to vegetable mixture.
3. Combine.
4. Add eggs into combined vegetable and bacon mixture. Mix thoroughly.5. Add salt and pepper – mix.
6. Rub oil over tray to avoid quiche sticking to the tray. Pour mixture onto the tray.
**Size of quiche depends on your own preference and portion intake.
Bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes.
**A knife/toothpick is inserted and comes out clean the quiche is cooked.
(Some reviews questioned whether the 180 degrees was Celcius or Fahrenheit and they said Fahrenheit, but at the end of the cooking time it still wasn't done. So I put it on 350 degrees and cooked another half hour.)
Set and allow quiche to cool before cutting.
**Vegetable selection is based on what I had in the fridge, but it is entirely up to you! Tastes great with the bacon, or smoked salmon for those who don’t eat bacon – for vegetarians, the quiche on its own also tastes great!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Product Review: Fitness Blender
I may have been a little MIA on the blog these last few weeks, but I haven't been slacking off! I have gotten a bunch of new workout DVDs (and websites) and have been trying them out. I am so excited to review this one because it has quickly become my favorite source for a good workout!
It's called Fitness Blender and you can find them at fitnessblender.com. Fitness Blender is made up of a married couple, Kelli and Daniel, who create workouts that you do in your own home with little to no equipment. They don't have a fancy studio or a production team or anything, but their videos are very professionally put together in their home studio (garage). Typically, Kelli does the workout and Daniel narrates, but I've seen some videos with Daniel being the model too. I thought I would prefer Kelli describing the workout as she does it (similar to Lisa Marie in BodyRock), but it's much more organized and thorough with Daniel doing it behind the scenes. He's supportive and encourages you to give your all, but doesn't make you feel rushed. He also offers tips on proper form as you go along.
I like the format more than even some of the BeachBody or Jillian Michaels workouts because it shows a preview of each move that is coming up, so you have time to prepare and can jump right in when the timer starts instead of trying to catch up as you learn the move. It also has a scale on the side of the screen that tracks an average calories burned, for those of you who don't have a heart rate monitor. (I have found that my calories burned rides on the lower end of the scale each time, but I also take more breaks than they do!). On the other side of the screen is an indicator scale from 1 to 5 where they rate the difficulty of the full workout. So that's a good tool to utilize if you're trying to decide which workout you want that day.
Another great aspect of this website is that it has a search tool. So you can refine your search based on exercise type (functional, strength, toning, balance, flexibility, cardiovascular, plyometric, isometric) or by muscle group (you name it, they got it). You also have the ability to type in a keyword to search for something in particular, like their famous "Epic 1,000 calorie burn workout at home".
Did I say 1,000 calorie burn workout? Yes, I believe I did. They have two of these actually. Both are about 85 minutes long and include warm up, cardio/HIIT, strength training, stretch, abs, and cool down. I have to say that my curiosity won out over intimidation and I gave this workout a try and LOVED it! It is challenging, for sure, but I was able to keep up or modify so I still got in a great burn. You can modify to make most moves easier or harder, depending on your fitness level. And at the end, if you followed along, I can guarantee that you will feel completely drained but also amazing at the same time!
Not all of the workouts are over an hour though; some of the videos are even just ten minutes long, like some of the ab videos. It depends on what you are looking for. I really feel like they have taken a creative approach to the workouts too, as they don't incorporate just the same old boring moves that you see in many of the workout DVDs nowadays. Many, if not most, of the moves that they have in their workouts are ones that I've never seen before. They're variations of the old stand-by's, sure, but the little variations make them fun.
Each workout also comes with a description of what equipment you'll need and which exercises will be performed and you can even print this out to take with you or to use another time to record reps or weight or whatever you like.
In addition to the full workouts, the website also includes videos on how to perform individual exercises properly. Again, it has the search tool so you can find whichever exercise you want easily. Then there are tabs for different articles on exercise, nutrition, health, weight loss, and even recipes. If you're looking to buy equipment, the website has a store tab. You can also learn more about the Fitness Blender duo and support them by making a donation. They even say that they are willing to create custom workouts for donations of certain denominations.
To sum up:
So those are my thoughts. I highly recommend you go out and try them. I am sure you will find at least one or two workouts that you just can't help but love! And if you like them and want to share the love, go ahead and donate or spread the word about the site so they can keep giving us these awesome workouts!
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It's called Fitness Blender and you can find them at fitnessblender.com. Fitness Blender is made up of a married couple, Kelli and Daniel, who create workouts that you do in your own home with little to no equipment. They don't have a fancy studio or a production team or anything, but their videos are very professionally put together in their home studio (garage). Typically, Kelli does the workout and Daniel narrates, but I've seen some videos with Daniel being the model too. I thought I would prefer Kelli describing the workout as she does it (similar to Lisa Marie in BodyRock), but it's much more organized and thorough with Daniel doing it behind the scenes. He's supportive and encourages you to give your all, but doesn't make you feel rushed. He also offers tips on proper form as you go along.
 |
| Daniel and Kelli |
Another great aspect of this website is that it has a search tool. So you can refine your search based on exercise type (functional, strength, toning, balance, flexibility, cardiovascular, plyometric, isometric) or by muscle group (you name it, they got it). You also have the ability to type in a keyword to search for something in particular, like their famous "Epic 1,000 calorie burn workout at home".
Did I say 1,000 calorie burn workout? Yes, I believe I did. They have two of these actually. Both are about 85 minutes long and include warm up, cardio/HIIT, strength training, stretch, abs, and cool down. I have to say that my curiosity won out over intimidation and I gave this workout a try and LOVED it! It is challenging, for sure, but I was able to keep up or modify so I still got in a great burn. You can modify to make most moves easier or harder, depending on your fitness level. And at the end, if you followed along, I can guarantee that you will feel completely drained but also amazing at the same time!
Not all of the workouts are over an hour though; some of the videos are even just ten minutes long, like some of the ab videos. It depends on what you are looking for. I really feel like they have taken a creative approach to the workouts too, as they don't incorporate just the same old boring moves that you see in many of the workout DVDs nowadays. Many, if not most, of the moves that they have in their workouts are ones that I've never seen before. They're variations of the old stand-by's, sure, but the little variations make them fun.
Each workout also comes with a description of what equipment you'll need and which exercises will be performed and you can even print this out to take with you or to use another time to record reps or weight or whatever you like.
In addition to the full workouts, the website also includes videos on how to perform individual exercises properly. Again, it has the search tool so you can find whichever exercise you want easily. Then there are tabs for different articles on exercise, nutrition, health, weight loss, and even recipes. If you're looking to buy equipment, the website has a store tab. You can also learn more about the Fitness Blender duo and support them by making a donation. They even say that they are willing to create custom workouts for donations of certain denominations.
To sum up:
Pros -
- You choose how long your workout is
- Tons of workouts to choose from
- Search tool to find the workout you want
- Organized and professionally made videos
- Calorie burn bar
- Degree of difficulty scale for choosing workouts
- FREE
- Printable worksheets
- Chart to show what equipment is needed
- Tips on proper form and encouragement throughout videos
Cons -
- I wish they had a timer to show how much time is left in the total workout
- Have to play the video on a computer or device with Internet access
So those are my thoughts. I highly recommend you go out and try them. I am sure you will find at least one or two workouts that you just can't help but love! And if you like them and want to share the love, go ahead and donate or spread the word about the site so they can keep giving us these awesome workouts!
Find Fitness Blender:
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