Veggie Bakes and a workout changeup!

     I have recently discovered one of my current favorite side dishes...baked veggies!  I love them for a few reasons!  I am not a huge fan of broccoli....but crispy broccoli is irresistable.  I still get my fast food fix from a few good potato fries bakes.  Lastly, the carrots are just good!
       So to prepare the veggies, I spread broccoli pieces, sliced carrots, and cut potatos.  I lightly brushed them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh rosemary.


Before veggies are thrown in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 375 and bake them for about 30 minutes.  I put them on broil for a few minutes after to get them good and crispy.
 

After the veggies are baked...yum!

           This was one of my favorite meals in a while.  We had leftover adobo spicy beans Devin made in the crockpot.  The delicious pork chop is from a local farm Bethel Trails in Gray Court, SC.

Our final product!

             I have recently been changing up my work out perspective.  I used to go out and run about 3 miles at a consistent pace.  After reading a few articles in health magazines, I decided to run my normal 3 miles.  This time I started out at a very slow pace  for a half mile warm up.  Then I made visual markers to sprint about 15-30 seconds.  After each sprint,  I went back down to a slow jog for double the time to recover.  I did this back and forth for about 2 miles in between my half mile warm up and cool down.  Needless to say, I was struggling at the end.  I could really feel my body working harder than I have in a while.  I think I had gotten in a running rut, and my body needed  a few changes in my routine.  I am doing the same thing right now with my circuits and playing with a change in raising my heart rate high and then bringing it down back and forth.  I am really starting to be more in touch with my heart rate during workouts. 

How do you get out of your workout ruts?



Gut Check Time!

            Ok so i have Recently decided to have a personal intervention or gut check. My main two weaknesses are starting to get the best of me.

              

           Number one is picking at snacks and food. Once I start letting myself pick at food, I don't go back. I will start with a handful of peanuts, then a gingerbread cookie which is a healthy version. From there I keep picking a little here and there. Then it leads to day by day.   Slowly, I pick so much in the afternoons, that I am not very hungry by dinner.  So now I have to restrict myself to only eating when I sit down for a meal or planned snack.   It is not easy once I have become a habitual picker, but I have to make myself do it.

         

        Weakness number two is chocolate. I usually only let myself have one sweet treat a day, but I have been slacking. I'll take a mint here, Reese's there, then some for dinner. Now it is very small portions, but it doesn't matter when you end up eating 3 or 4 pieces a day.   Now I have to put myself back on one piece a day, which is usually after dinner.
       The problem becomes when I have a get together or special occasions. For example I am getting together with a previous bible study group for appetizers and desserts.  However, I have decided that these events are not what do the damage. It is okay to enjoy these, but just picking and eating chocolate outside of my once a day and events is the problem. So I have decided to enjoy the bad food on special occasions. However, to be able to do this, I have to follow my guidelines at home.
      I know this may seem minor or not a big deal, but once I start picking at foods and eating chocolate, it just builds and gets worse and worse.  Does anyone else have this problem?  If so, do you have other suggestions?

What are your eating weaknesses, and how do you keep them in check?

The Happiest 5k on the Planet!

When the signs said The Happiest 5k on the Planet I knew the run would be fun.... but  had no idea the extent of the COLOR PARTAY!  First of all it was freezing at 40 degrees while we were waiting. I must say we had fun with our outfits.

Before Pics:

I was so excited my mom could come and join the fun!

        As we're waiting it was so much fun to look at other outfits. We saw tutus, plenty of high colorful socks, and a lot of wigs.   The build up while we were waiting was crazy. We did the wave and danced to fun pump up music. 

    ....And when we started, our first color was yellow. As we ran through the yellow cloud, dust covered us as volunteers squirted it all over us. Next we had pink, followed by red, then purple, and blue. It was so exciting to run through the different colors.   Little did I know how quickly the run would pass when we were having such a blast.  It was so exciting to see people of all ages and sizes celebrating exercising and helping the local charity, Girls on the Run.  There were a variety of people running, walking and acting crazy.  After, we took a lot of fun pics:

After Pics: 

My hubby and me!



Mom had a great time!



Fun pic with Devin's parents

         When we crossed the finish line, there was a huge color rave party.  It was amazing!  We got color packets for the rave party in our pre run packets.  There was also an awesome band and plenty of fun giveaways.  Every 15 minutes or so there would be a color throw.  Everyone counted down.....and boom the color packets were thrown everywhere.




There were clouds of color surrounding us!

I have to say, this was the most fun run I have every been to.  Also, I loved how everyone joined together to help a great cause and celebrate exercise.  What has been your favorite run or exercise event you have been to?

Color Run!

I am so excited to do my first color run Saturday March 2nd in Columbia. We have quite a huge group running together.   This video shows what the run is all about.

       I have to say that I am super excited for a few reasons. First, colors thrown on me different points of the race is super exciting. Second, we have a huge group so there will be so much support. I am most excited that my mom is participating. I have been talking about health for about a year and a half to her. The main reason was because she is my best friend and I want her here forever...  :).   She has gotten so into working out and being healthy now. I. Can't wait do this fun run with her and so many others.   I can't wait to post some pics after!

Has anyone ever done a color run before? Do you have any suggestions?


I think registrationis still open if anyone is interested: http://thecolorrun.com/columbia/ 

Clemson game

               For the Clemson Miami game, Devin and I were debating between going to the game at Clemson, or staying home to enjoy some great appetizers and a few beers. We decided that getting cozy on the couch in sweatpants, eating some delicious appetizers, and having a few beers sounded more fun and a whole lot cheaper. We starting cruising around our newly added SUPERTarget ( can you tell how excited I am?) and came up with a few good and pretty healthy appetizers. We recently had a delicious Greek salad at Zorbas, and ever since then I have been loving Greek salads. So... We  got lettuce , olives, feta cheese, and pepperonchinis to make one. YUM!                                          

            I feel like there has to be some good sports appetizers. We settled first for nachos.  We stuck corn tostitos topped with sharp cheddar cheese and jalapeños in the oven. Then we added salsa and light sour cream. 

                                                                 Lovin some nachos!

I walked by a pizza and oh man... I had to have some pizza. We thought about making our own, but then looked at frozen pizzas.Wait... 

The calories were herendous. So we resorted back to making our own. We used whole wheat tortillas and spread pizza sauce on them. Then we sprinkled cheddar cheese and turkey pepperoni on top. We put them in the oven on  bake and then broil until they were golden brown.  

Watching a clemson ball game we needed beer. I got select 55. I am a huge girl when it comes to beer.  I like Select 55, but can tolerate Mich Ultra. This is as far as my beer drinking extends. 

 We had so much fun eating our homemade apps and drinking beer while cheering on the tigers. Clemson ended  up losing by 2 points to Miami. Miami was no. 3 in the polls.  Even though, it stunk we lost, but it was such a great game! 

To finish off the night I ate a pack of skinny cow dreamy clusters. They are only 120 calories of a perfect chocolate, nut and caramel mixture.   

What are some of your favorite appetizers for a big game? 

Fitness Circuit and Pump Up Jams!

First of all, I have to say that I absolutely reading magazines.  When I spot one in the mailbox, I get way more excited than I should. :)  With that being said, I was perusing through my new fitness magazine when I spotted a new Fitness workout. Lately, it has been a bit colder than normal for the south, so I have been doing some circuits in my house.  I find that doing circuits are great for a few reasons:

1. It mixes up your normal workout routine.  This is good for changing up your monotous routine, and changing up the workout is great for your body too.

2. Also, it is very time efficient.  There are some good workouts for abour 30 minutes I have found from magazines, online, and other blogs.  This takes away the time to drive to the gym and back in the mornings before work.

3.  You can stay out of the cold.

4. You can add or take away favorites or dislikes you may have in the workout.

Fitness workout.

I actually went through this particually routine twice.  I modified the pushups to do girlie pushups.  (Playing basketball in college, I hated lifting so much weight.  I would much rather do more reps than more weight.) 
This work out is by far one my favorites.  I also love how I was constantly doing some type of upper and lower body workout with each step. 

                  Lately, I have gotten a little tired of my routine music, so I looked on Pandora for some workout mixes.  I found one that I am loving.  It keeps a good up tempo beat and mixes in the hip hop and pop styles I like.  The pandora station is called  Pop and Hip Hop Power Workout.  I also am loving the Pandora station called Workout Radio.

What are some of your favorite indoor circuits and what workout music are you loving right now?

Family, Food and Fun!

             This weekend was a great time to enjoy being with family, eat some great food, and just relax and have fun.  It was jam packed with fun shopping and my new favorite dessert.  We went to Chapin Friday night to cook my mom a birthday dinner.  I am so proud of the weight she has already lost over the past few months, so we got grass fed steak for her birthday dinner.  Man do I love some Grass Fed Steak...delish!!!  It was so nice to relax by the fire and enjoy each other's company.

              Saturday, I went shopping with my mom and sister.  We had such a blast.  First, we went to Starbucks, and we got skinny vanilla lattes.  These have changed my life...haha  but seriously they are amazing and you don't feel guilty drinking them.  

            As we walked out of the Starbucks, we noticed a setup for the American Heart Association.  It was a display with stations that had a variety of things to learn about keeping your heart healthy.  There were stations with giveaways and door prizes to sign up for.  One station had a variety of heart healthy recipes.  The last station we stopped at was the BMI and body fat station.  They tested your Body Fat and BMI to tell us what our ranges were. 

             I was so excited to see such a great set up in the mall.  I feel like sometimes people get so caught up in actually losing weight that they forget that the most important thing is to keep your body healthy.  I also think that there is not enough support and encouragement for people to live healthier.  Needless to stay, I was so excited to see such a great display for health awareness.

                               The stations were around the setup displayed above.

                  After a great day of shopping with the girls, I came home to a beautiful view of Lake Murray from the back porch.  Wow what a view... I just love this!

Now to a great recipe I made for my cousin's baptism...Apple Crisp!

I love this recipe because it is quick, easy, and healthier for you than most desserts. I had already decided to make it for my cousin's lunch after her baptism and then it was posted on one of my new favorite blogs 

Carrots n cake.  I did a little different oatmeal twist and based my recipe on  this apple crisp recipe.  I made the recipe for a bigger pan since we would be having a lot of people for the baptism.                                   

           These are the only ingredients.  I tried to hide the butter, because I am not a fan.  I have recently found that is is better to have some butter and sugar in a dessert so that one serving satisfies me.  I have learned that replacing with applesauce or other healthier replacing options just leaves me wanting more.                      

           To make the Apple Crisp heat the oven 350 degrees.  Dice up about 8 apples and spread the across a 9x11 pan.  Pour a little water in the bottom.  This helps get the apples a little mushy so they melt in your mouth.  Next, mix 1 1/3 cups of brown sugar, 1 cup of oats, 1 cup of whole wheat flour, a stick of butter softened , and a tablespoon of cinnamon.   Mix this together and pour it over the top of the apples.  After, I added more cinnamon and I poured a little melted butter over the top to get it crispy.  It cooked for about 45 minutes.  The Apple Crisp is even better when you make it the night before and it can blend together overnight.                                                                                                                                         

                                                 

                                                  What is your favorite dessert right now?