Talking 'Bout Mo-Motivation

So, my diet of the past couple weeks has been pretty bad. I'll have a couple good days, and then I'll eat a big brownie. I'm not trying to follow any weird or complex plan, just trying to simply eat healthy foods. So I was considering entering the next Turbulence Training contest for motivation, which I think begins in a week or so. That was until....I opened the current issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine and saw that they were having an 8-week transformation contest! I began weighing the pros and cons of this new contest:

Cons
1. Had been looking at joining next TT contest (more workout flexibility)
2. M&F Hers workout is 4 days/week (5 days/week during weeks 5-8)
3. Want to begin half marathon training at end of May
4. Contest ends in mid-July, which leaves a little over a month to complete half marathon training
5. Probably more contestants than the TT contest
6. Last day of contest is during my planned vacation, but....

Pros
1. ...I would look great on vacation! Great Motivation! :)
2. M&F Hers contest is only 8 weeks long
3. No essay ;)
4. Could potential work in my half marathon training as the workouts don't seem too long
5. Prize is a trip to California for a M&F Hers photo shoot

So I am quite torn at what to do. Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated! :) I have a couple weeks to make a final decision.

Have a great day!

TT Contest Voting And Other Random Stuff

TT Contest Voting is up and ready - if you haven't voted yet, check it out here ==> Turbulence Training Contest Voting

Lots of great transformations!

In other news, if you can call it news (haha), I have a funny story. One of my new favorite workout songs is Lady Gaga's "Telephone". I have no idea why. It's about dancing in a club, and I have never been dancing in a club in my life. Wait, there was that one time - it was '80's night! (And I use the term "dancing" loosely. LOL) Anyway, I bought the CD and was listening to it in the car. I guess there's one too many "telephones" at the end of the song because all the sudden from the backseat my daughter asks, "Is this song over yet?" :)

One of my other current favorite songs is 10 Years' "Through the Iris". Why this band isn't huge I will never know. They are fantastic! In addition to the lyrics, I love the rhyming scheme - the way the song flows. One of my favorite lines is, "Please understand me, that now where you're standing, is closer than I'd hoped."

And in book reading news, I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Good book! I recommend it if you are already familiar with the story. The language can be a little tough to read at times and you can get lost if you don't already know what's going on. There were a couple parts that were a little gory, but overall there wasn't nearly as much "zombie mayhem" as I expected.

Then I was shopping last weekend and saw Christopher Pike's Thirst 2: Phantom, Evil Thirst, Creatures of Forever. The first 2 parts were excellent. I liked them better than Thirst 1. But the last part got a little too supernatural at times. And I was devastated by the ending - I did NOT like it at all! I noticed there was a Thirst 3 coming out next fall so I am curious to see what it will be about. :)


Have a great day!


Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

Bikini Workout - End of Week One

I have been sore all week. I love new workouts! :)

One particular exercise that made me really sore was in Thursday's workout. I had never done it before so that probably was part of the reason it made me so sore. Basically, you lay on a bench and then hold a stability ball between your feet. You raise your feet until your legs are perpendicular to your body and then you lower until your legs are about parallel with the floor. Not only were my abs really sore, but my legs were sore as well!

I forgot to weigh myself when I started this program on Monday, but I'm down a little over a pound since Wednesday. Of course, that could just be natural fluctuation, so I'm not reading too much into that.

On another note, there is a new Turbulence Training special that begins today. It's a brand new follow-along-at-home DVD set so you can actually "work out with" Craig Ballantyne. You get 12 TT for Abs workouts, plus 9 bonus workouts, and a Nutrition DVD. I used TT for Abs during my third TT contest and thought it worked great! You can check out the details here: TT for Abs DVD

The special price runs until midnight on Wednesday, April 14. I probably will not be buying the DVDs, mostly because I already own the TT for Abs program, and have completed it, so I don't feel that I need to watch the DVDs. But if you are someone that likes to "follow along" to DVDs, you may want to check them out and see if they are right for you.

Have a great week! :)


Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

End of Week 13 And Other Updates

It seems like forever since I have posted a weekly update. Between home and work, it's been so busy. I get home from work and don't even want to look at a computer. And the past few weekends have been packed.

One weekend we painted both kids' bedrooms - I let the kids pick what colors they wanted. My son wanted black, but I talked him into gray. He ended up choosing a color called "Platinum". It actually turned out really nice. It's a gray with a bluish undertone. My daughter, on the other hand, chose a color called "Rosy Cheeks". It really should have been called "Strawberry Milkshake" because that's exactly what it looks like. I don't know if I could sleep in her room, but she really seems to like it. :)

Then another weekend I ran in a St. Patty's Day 5K. I'm a little out of practice, but I came in a fairly respectable 88th out of 327 in my age division. I was hoping to make it under 30 minutes, but there were 3 pretty big hills I had not anticipated, and ended up with a time of 30:43.

I've also been reading like crazy, which cuts down on my computer time. I recently read all 5 of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books (loved them), then I read Christopher Pikes' Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice (just OK, will probably read Thirst No. 2 eventually), and I just started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (and Jane Austen). So far it seems pretty funny. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books so I am getting a kick out of reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Today is the last day of Week 13 in the program I am using (the one from the Precision Nutrition forums). I am in Phase 4, which is supposed to be more of a fat burning phase. The problem is, the strength training part of the workouts takes me so long, I don't have time to do the recommended cardio. I recently began to look over my Turbulence Training workouts because I have an event I would like to attend in about 5 weeks and really need to lose a little fat! :)

However, when I went to the grocery store yesterday, I picked up the March/April issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine and there on the cover was "Bikini Ready in Just 4 Weeks!" So I looked it over and it looks like a solid workout. It's circuit training 4 days a week, with other cardio on the remaining days. I plan to complete Week 14 to end Phase 4, and then I think I am going to start the "Bikini Ready" program. I'll let you know how it goes!

If you're still with me here after all my rambling (thanks!), I wanted to let you know I may not be posting very much in the near future. Things have been pretty busy, and will remain that way for the next few months. I hope to pop in when I can! :)

Have a great week!

Tasty Tuesday - French/Catalina Dressing

I really like French/Catalina Dressing, but it's often filled with sugar. This recipe is adapted from Dana Carpender's 500 More Low Carb Recipes. I took out the Splenda, which I don't use so much anymore, and used an organic agave-sweetened ketchup and a few packets of Stevia. This dressing is quite flavorful, thick and rich. I only use about a tablespoon at a time and that's enough for 2-3 cups of salad greens. If you want a thinner dressing, you could add more vinegar or lemon juice.

French/Catalina Dressing

2 Tablespoons minced red onion or shallot
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons ketchup (preferably low sugar)
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4-5 packets Stevia
dash sea salt (please don't leave this out)

1. Blend everything in a food processor until mixed. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

Sorry for the bad picture. Dressing isn't very photogenic. ;)


This will make about 1 and 1/2 cups (24 Tablespoons). Each Tablespoon will have approximately:

60 calories
0g protein
5.8g fat
2.2g carbs
0.2g fiber

Enjoy! (Sparingly!) :)

Tasty Tuesday - Chocolate Tofu Mousse

This recipe was created when the kids were asking for chocolate pudding and I looked around the kitchen to see what I had on hand. It makes a nice and light chocolate dessert. Plus, it's super easy to make!

Chocolate Tofu Mousse

12 oz package lite silken tofu
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
2 packets Stevia
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Blend all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor for several minutes until light and fluffy, stopping and scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Just when you think it's done, let it blend a little longer. :)

2. Pour into 4 pudding dishes. Each serving will be about 1/2 cup.


Each 1/2 cup serving will have approximately:

66 calories
8.5g protein
1.8g fat
4.0g carbs
2.1g fiber


Enjoy!

Almost Forgot!

I almost forgot to mention that through this Thursday, you can get a free 21 day Easy Veggie Meal Plans Detox Diet when you purchase the Easy Veggie Meal Plans System here ==> Easy Veggie Meal Plans

I am considering giving it a try. I don't normally go for "detox" diets because I like to think I can just eat healthy. But too many of those candy-coated-chocolate-peanut candies have been sneaking their way into my diet. LOL So we'll see. Maybe I'll just try to stop eating the candy. ;)




Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

Tasty Tuesday - Buckwheat Pancakes

We eat pancakes for dinner quite often, and there are many different kinds I like to make. These have a really nice texture and flavor. And, the kids love them! :)

This recipe is adapted from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.

Buckwheat Pancakes

dry ingredients:
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

wet ingredients:
1 + 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk (plain or vanilla)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 Tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil, melted
1 Tablespoon pancake syrup (I used sugar free)

Optional:
1/2 cup blueberries
extra cinnamon

1. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl. Place almond milk and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the remaining wet ingredients.

2. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and blend. Let sit for a few minutes while you heat up your griddle. Spray a little nonstick spray on the griddle, or grease with coconut oil.

3. Drop batter onto griddle with a tablespoon (one tablespoon per pancake). The batter will spread out. Place a few blueberries on the pancake at this time (if using).

4. When edges are dry and the pancake is bubbly, flip and cook on the other side. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon, if desired.


I made 16 pancakes. Without the blueberries, each has approximately:

47 calories
1.5g protein
1.6g fat
7.1g carbs
1.1g fiber

An "Udderly" Random Post

See the end of this post for the "udders". :)

So this is totally random. I was riding into work earlier this week and Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" started player on my mp3 player. When it got to the part when she whistles, for some reason I was reminded of some VH1 special that I had watched (either I Love the 80s, or Best Songs of the 80s, or something like that) and it had said that the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" was the only song with a whistling solo. I'm sure VH1 said that as a joke, but every time I hear "She Bop" I always think, "So there, VH1! The Bangles don't have a monopoly on whistling solos!" (I warned you that this was totally random.)

On that musical note, I saw this cool video the other day on YouTube and wanted to share it with any of you who are Michael Jackson fans. I think this guy was on Oprah recently.




And now the udders...My kids and I set out to build a snow horse yesterday, and well, it ended up looking like a snow cow. LOL


Also, my daughter kept sticking her hand in the snow about every foot. I asked her what she was making, and she said, "Mitten prints." :)


For Christmas she got a little toy baking set with an apron as a gift. One day she couldn't remember what the apron was called so she started calling it her "baking suit". I thought that was pretty cute, and the name stuck. We still call it her baking suit. :)

Have a great day!

Tasty Tuesday - Hamantaschen

As I mentioned in the Comments of my last post, I'm not Catholic. I'm not Jewish either, but a gal I work with is, and today she brought in cookies to celebrate Purim (which begins this weekend). The cookies were traditional Hamantsachen, named after Haman, minister to the Persian King from whom the Jews fled persecution in the fifth century BCE. You can read more about Purim here: Purim History. The gal I work with said that the cookies are made in the shape of Haman's hat.

I found a recipe online and naturally I had to tinker with it. I'm sure these aren't completely traditional, but they got 2 thumbs up from both kids, even from my son, who says he doesn't like prunes. :)

Hamantaschen

dough:
1 and 1/4 cups brown rice flour
1/4 cup almond flour/meal
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder

3 Tablespoons very hot water
1 Tablespoon flax, ground
1 egg white
1/4 cup buttery spread, softened (such as Earth Balance)
1 Tablespoon coconut oil, softened
2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup powdered Stevia (such as Stevia in the Raw)

filling:
1 cup pitted prunes (about 24)
2 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons agave nectar

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Mix the hot water and flax. Blend in the buttery spread, coconut oil, pumpkin, egg white, lemon zest, vanilla and Stevia.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and blend well. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes or so.

4. While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare filling by placing all ingredients in a food processor until it's a paste.

5. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment or waxed paper until it is about 1/4" thick. You will have to do this in several batches. Return dough to fridge for a bit if it gets too soft.

6. Cut dough into 3" circles with a biscuit cutter or even a drinking glass. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place a teaspoon or so of filling in the middle of the dough and fold sides to make a triangle. Pinch corners of triangle together.

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes.


I made 28, each with approximately:

72 calories
1.2g protein
2.9g fat
10.7g carbs
1.1g fiber