I have made some fitness and healthy eating goals for this week. (starting yesterday (Monday)). I've gotten off track with my healthy eating lately, so I want to recharge my body with a healthier diet for a week. My goal is to not eat most processed foods like crackers, chips, cereal, candy, etc. I am going to eat "real" foods like fruit, veggies, eggs, chicken, turkey, nuts, natural protein powder, nut butters, (basically anything that's not cracker or chip-like).
So far, I have stayed true to this goal!
My fitness goal for this month is to up my cardio, and get back to running and doing the elliptical machine.
Yesterday I did 45 minutes! I will try for the same today!
Who wants to do this with me!?
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Good shoes make a difference!
Interesting story about workout shoes:
So I got these new Nike running shoes at the beginning of the Summer. I loved the new shoes at first, and in them, I ran my farthest (6 miles). However after that run my knees started to hurt whenever I ran again. I figured I just didn't properly take care of my joints after the run, and was now feeling the effects. I didn't think it could be my shoes causing the knee pain.
Because of the pain, I have taken it easy on cardio for about the last three weeks. I knew I needed to get back to it, so yesterday I decided to give running a try again. Right away, I started to get a sharp pain in my right knee. I turned around and went home to change into my old shoes, and see if I felt a difference.....and I did! My old shoes gave me NO pain!
I am now realizing how important it is to find the right shoe for your foot. My old shoes are New Balances, and fit my foot better. In fact, I was able to go for a twenty five minute run plus twenty minutes on an elliptical yesterday, when I could only run 30 seconds on my Nikes before pain.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
So I got these new Nike running shoes at the beginning of the Summer. I loved the new shoes at first, and in them, I ran my farthest (6 miles). However after that run my knees started to hurt whenever I ran again. I figured I just didn't properly take care of my joints after the run, and was now feeling the effects. I didn't think it could be my shoes causing the knee pain.
Because of the pain, I have taken it easy on cardio for about the last three weeks. I knew I needed to get back to it, so yesterday I decided to give running a try again. Right away, I started to get a sharp pain in my right knee. I turned around and went home to change into my old shoes, and see if I felt a difference.....and I did! My old shoes gave me NO pain!
I am now realizing how important it is to find the right shoe for your foot. My old shoes are New Balances, and fit my foot better. In fact, I was able to go for a twenty five minute run plus twenty minutes on an elliptical yesterday, when I could only run 30 seconds on my Nikes before pain.
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Cold treats for Summer
We have been having a great Summer in Washington this year! It has been around 80 degrees just about every day since the beginning of July! I love it! With all this heat, I love enjoying cold treats to keep cool...especially smoothies. Today I want to share a PB2 smoothie recipe and a yogurt popsicle.
PB2 Smoothie (serves 1)
-1 scoop vanilla protein powder
-2 TBSP PB2 powdered peanut butter
-1 cup ice
-1/3 of a banana (optional)
-1 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1 packet Truvia (optional)
Blend all the ingredients together in a blender. Enjoy! With the banana, this smoothie is about 200 calories. Without the banana, its about 150 calories. You could also add cocoa powder, a small handful of spinach, flax, chia seeds, etc...
Strawberry Kiwi Greek Yogurt Pops (makes about 8 popsicles)
-1/2 c non-fat plain greek yogurt
-1/3 c drinkable low-fat plain yogurt
-six strawberries
-one kiwi (peeled)
-1 tsp coconut extract
-2 packets Truvia
Blend all the ingredients together in a blender. If you have popsicle molds, our mixture into those. I don't so I poured the mixture into cupcake liners in a cupcake pan. I didn't have popsicle sticks, so I cut up some straws to use in place of sticks.
Put a piece of foil over the popsicles and cut a small hole in the center of each popsicle. Stick a popsicle stick or straw in the holes.
Freeze for about three hours.
PB2 Smoothie (serves 1)
-1 scoop vanilla protein powder
-2 TBSP PB2 powdered peanut butter
-1 cup ice
-1/3 of a banana (optional)
-1 cup unsweetened almond milk
-1 packet Truvia (optional)
Blend all the ingredients together in a blender. Enjoy! With the banana, this smoothie is about 200 calories. Without the banana, its about 150 calories. You could also add cocoa powder, a small handful of spinach, flax, chia seeds, etc...
Strawberry Kiwi Greek Yogurt Pops (makes about 8 popsicles)
-1/2 c non-fat plain greek yogurt
-1/3 c drinkable low-fat plain yogurt
-six strawberries
-one kiwi (peeled)
-1 tsp coconut extract
-2 packets Truvia
Put a piece of foil over the popsicles and cut a small hole in the center of each popsicle. Stick a popsicle stick or straw in the holes.
Freeze for about three hours.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
PB2 Protein Bites
It seems that the newest snack craze on Pinterest are those peanut butter energy bites. I have been experimenting a lot of different recipes. I have tried making them with different types of nut butters, nuts, sweeteners, protein powders, and other add ins.
The three ingredients that I always use are:
-some type of nut butter (peanut, PB2, almond, cashew, etc)
-oats
-agave or honey
From there I will add one or more of the following:
-protein powder
-chocolate chips
-dried fruit
-coconut
-nuts
-flaxseed
-chia seeds
-wheat germ
-stevia
-maple syrup
Usually I make these with real peanut butter, but tonight I wanted to make a lighter peanut butter protein bite because my dad can't resist peanut butter, and he's trying to cutback on the PB. Therefore I used PB2 powdered peanut butter. I find PB2 at my local QFC grocery store, but I have also seen it at Whole Foods, Fred Meyer, and at Emerald City Smoothie. PB2 is a peanut butter powder that is MUCH lighter in calories and fat than normal peanut butter. All you have to do is mix it with water, and you get a smooth, creamy peanut butter with about 80% less fat and calories!
Lighter Peanut Butter Protein Bites
-1/3 cup PB2 (mixed with some water to make the consistency of peanut butter)
-2 TBSP agave nectar
-1/2 cup oats
-2 TBSP ground flaxseed
-one scoop vanilla protein powder
Mix all the ingredients together and shape into small bite sized balls. Let me know what you think of them! Have you made your own before? What do you add to yours?
I'm Back! And with a New Blog Title!
Hello all!
It's been a long time since I have posted on this blog. After I originally started this blog, I became very busy with student teaching, and then eventually my first year in teaching. Now that I am rolling into my second year of teaching, I think that I will have more time to blog :)
Even though I am a new me (college graduate and new special education teacher), I am still very much into health and fitness. However, I believe that the way I incorporate health and fitness into my life has improved. For example, in college, I was always getting "sugar free" things because they had less calories, and I believed they were better for me to eat (especially when I found out that I had an allergy to sugar!). However, since January, I have given up "sugar free" items about 98% of the time because I realized that I was putting nasty chemicals into my body (more about that later). I stick to Truvia and Stevia now, and order my coffee without any flavoring. Also, I am trying to eat more whole foods, and less processed or sugar free junk. Although, I can't resist pretzels....they are my favorite food!
In addition to cutting out fake sugars, and eating more whole foods, I also have increased my running and weight training regime, hence the new title "Running Baker". I have found a new love for running. I still have yet to run my first half marathon, but I recently ran a 10k, and set a new record for myself. I recently took a vacation, so I haven't ran in about a week, but I am hoping to start again tomorrow. I hope that I can keep track of my running goals on this blog, and hope that you post about your running goals too! As for weight training, I am now lifting heavier weights, and have put on about 5 pounds. I enjoy watching my arm muscles grow, and my legs get firmer.
So, with a new name, you might be wondering if I will have the same content on this blog. The answer is: yes and no. My goals for this blog are to:
-share recipes (healthy and the occasional sinful dessert)
-share my workout experiences and goals
-I hope to share some posts about mindfulness and meditation
-share new foods I love
-share occasional ideas from my work
-share my thoughts and dreams for myself
I hope to keep up with this blog, and that you comment and let me know what kind of posts you would like to see. Tonight I will start out with a post for my protein balls that I made tonight!
xoxo Lauren
It's been a long time since I have posted on this blog. After I originally started this blog, I became very busy with student teaching, and then eventually my first year in teaching. Now that I am rolling into my second year of teaching, I think that I will have more time to blog :)
Even though I am a new me (college graduate and new special education teacher), I am still very much into health and fitness. However, I believe that the way I incorporate health and fitness into my life has improved. For example, in college, I was always getting "sugar free" things because they had less calories, and I believed they were better for me to eat (especially when I found out that I had an allergy to sugar!). However, since January, I have given up "sugar free" items about 98% of the time because I realized that I was putting nasty chemicals into my body (more about that later). I stick to Truvia and Stevia now, and order my coffee without any flavoring. Also, I am trying to eat more whole foods, and less processed or sugar free junk. Although, I can't resist pretzels....they are my favorite food!
In addition to cutting out fake sugars, and eating more whole foods, I also have increased my running and weight training regime, hence the new title "Running Baker". I have found a new love for running. I still have yet to run my first half marathon, but I recently ran a 10k, and set a new record for myself. I recently took a vacation, so I haven't ran in about a week, but I am hoping to start again tomorrow. I hope that I can keep track of my running goals on this blog, and hope that you post about your running goals too! As for weight training, I am now lifting heavier weights, and have put on about 5 pounds. I enjoy watching my arm muscles grow, and my legs get firmer.
So, with a new name, you might be wondering if I will have the same content on this blog. The answer is: yes and no. My goals for this blog are to:
-share recipes (healthy and the occasional sinful dessert)
-share my workout experiences and goals
-I hope to share some posts about mindfulness and meditation
-share new foods I love
-share occasional ideas from my work
-share my thoughts and dreams for myself
I hope to keep up with this blog, and that you comment and let me know what kind of posts you would like to see. Tonight I will start out with a post for my protein balls that I made tonight!
xoxo Lauren
Friday, March 9, 2012
FITNESS FRIDAY: ON DEMAND WORKOUT
Yay we survived another week of work, school, and busy schedules!!! Time to enjoy the weekend :) I am taking a break right now from starting to pack up my stuff to move back home with my parents next week, and let me tell you, packing sucks! I never realize how much stuff I have until I have to pack it all! Thank goodness for the liquor store and their free boxes!
So for today's FITNESS FRIDAY, I want to share one of my favorite workouts on demand:
Kathy Syphers Interval Exercise
I swear I noticed a change in my body after three days of doing this interval workout. Its a tough thirty minute workout, but not too tough. And it works arms, legs, and core with small weights.
To find it On Demand, go to the workout section, go to weight loss, and then find the interval workout.
Cathy also has other workouts in the cardio section which I have tried and love them too.
However the interval workout is definitely my favorite.
After your workout, treat yourself to this healthy recovery treat: HEALTHY CHOCOLATE BANANA ICE CREAM
http://confident-beautiful-motivated.tumblr.com/post/4418288504/rouxeats-chocolate-banana-ice-cream-freeze-a
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL....SOMETIMES I DON'T FEEL LIKE WE TELL OURSELVES THIS ENOUGH. RIGHT NOW LIST SIX REASONS WHY YOU LOVE YOURSELF. I DARE YOU!
*IGNORE THE HORRIBLE GRAMMAR ON THIS ICON
Happy weekend everyone!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
AMAZINGLY Good for You!!
Here are 2 of my favorite SUPER FOODS!
1. NUTRITIONAL YEAST
This cheesy-like powder or flakes is great to keep your energy up beacause it is high in protein, fiber and rich in vitamin B12. Talk about good for you :)
2 heaping tablespoons of this yellow powder has about 8 grams of protein, 4 grams of filling fiber, and about 45 calories! I love to sprinkle it on my eggs, popcorn, pasta, and on steamed veggies.
You can find nutitional yeast in the natural section at grocery stores (Braggs brand has it) or you can find it in most bulk food aisles. I know that Fred Meyer and QFC both have it in the bulk food aisle.
Nutritional Yeast Flakes
2. APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
I have read so many articles about how this stuff is great for you! I try to mix in about 1-2 tablespoons into a bottle of water or flavored water, because by itself it is pretty potent. The claim on ACV is that it is supposed to aid digestion, promote weight loss, clear up your skin, help flush out toxins, help with bloating, keep your blood pressure and cholesterol low, plus much more! Can you believe it?
I use the Trader Joes' brand. Make sure you buy the unfiltered kind to get the full benefits. Here is a link with more reasons why ACV is a great super food:
Have you tried these products before? What did you think about them? I use both and like both!
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