a Merry Christmas recap

December 28, 2014

Christmas is over. (sigh)

I have mixed feelings about this.

In a way, this Christmas season was stressful. Thanksgiving was so late. Christmas came so fast. I was super busy at work. I felt like there was no time to shop, plan, cook, chop down a tree, send out cards etc… The on going Christmas music started to annoy me.

But in another light, I am sad to see it go.

I love shopping at the Christmas market in DC. And seeing a random person dressed up as Santa really puts you in the Christmas spirit.

Also during Christmas time. My house looks amazing with classy Christmas decorations. I loved all of the Christmas cards I received. They are my favorite!

My dogs love Christmas more than anyone I know.

Especially my maltese.

Now that my husband and I are married. My sister thought it would be a fun idea to start a new Christmas tradition. So this year, I hosted Christmas Eve. We drank Cranberry Champagne.

We ate my homemade lasagna – the sauce was my nana’s recipe.

On Christmas day, we woke up early, and went to my mom’s to open presents. We all gave and received some great gifts.

Later we ate lobsters for Christmas dinner.

I baked Christmas cookies.

Then for dessert we ate my homemade Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting. The cake is gluten free.

Everything was delicious.

The day after Christmas, my sister and I did a little shopping. I definitely have a new outfit to wear every day of this week. She got some great stuff too. I know this isn’t a fashion blog, but I’ll post my outfits on instagram just in case you are interested in what I wear when I am not in workout clothes. Oh p.s. Did you know free people now has workout clothes? They are pretty stylish.

On Saturday, we did Christmas with my husbands parents. It was fun to open more presents, and hear all about their lovely time spent in Idaho. Lucky for them, they had a White Christmas.

At the end, of it all, my favorite part about the holiday is eating good food, drinking good drinks, and hanging out with loved ones. Oh and watching some great Christmas movie.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday!

What’s your favorite thing about the holidays? Did you receive any awesome fitness related presents?

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting

December 26, 2014

The holiday season is coming to an end, but winter has just begun. And one of the things that I treat myself to during the “oh so dreaded” colder months is the occasional cup of hot chocolate. I have discovered this amazing hot cocoa and when I say hot I mean spicy.

This cocoa is spiked with cinnamon and dried ground chili peppers. It is especially delicious with heated coconut milk. Trust me… skip the cows milk, the flavors of cocoa, cinnamon, chili, and coconut are divine.

Anyway, everyone knows I am obsessed with cookbooks, and although, I cook more than I bake, I recently came across, Flourless, by Nicole Spiridakis. It is a cookbook full of gluten-free desserts. I am not gluten free, but the idea of challenging myself to make tasty gluten free desserts really intrigued me. Why make something with gluten, if you can make something delicious without it.

When flipping through the pages of this cookbook, I immediately saw Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake with Milk Chocolate Buttermilk Frosting – I thought of my spicy hot cocoa and knew I had to make this cake. I had no doubt in my mind, that this cake would be any less than amazing, so I saved it for Christmas.

INGREDIENTS : THE CAKE

Note: all ingredients are organic and the highest quality.

1 tsp ground flax seeds
2 tsp boiling water
3/4 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, room temperature
1.5 cups ground oats
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (less if you want to control the spice. I only put 1/8 tsp.)
1/4 tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS : THE CAKE

Heat oven to 350 F.
Line the bottom of two 8 in or 9 in round cake pans with parchment paper and lightly grease them with oil. (Note: I used two 9 in round cake pans.)
In a small bowl make flax seed paste, combining ground flax seed with boiling water. Let sit for 10 minutes. (Note: I didn’t have ground flax seed, so I made my own by grinding flax seeds with the food processor.)
In a large bowl, whisk together, flax seed paste, oil, buttermilk, brown sugar, vanilla, and eggs.
In a medium bowl, whisk together, ground oats, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt. (Note: I didn’t have ground oats, so I used regular rolled oats and ground them up with the food processor.)
To make batter: Add dry mixture to wet mixture, combine and stir well.
Divide batter by pouring it into the two cake pans equally.
Bake for 30 min.
Check to make sure it is done, when done, cool on cooling rack.

INGREDIENTS : THE FROSTING

1/2 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature) Note: 1 stick equals 1/2 cup
2 oz. milk chocolate, melted
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 to 3 tbsp buttermilk

INSTRUCTIONS : THE FROSTING

Beat butter in a large bowl with the electric mixer on medium speed, until fluffy.
Add melted chocolate and vanilla.
Add confectioners’ sugar and butter milk
Continue beating until smooth, fluffy icing forms, about 5 minutes.

When ready to assemble, spread frosting on the top of the first cake. Layer the second cake on top of first cake and frosting. Frost the top.

Enjoy!

Best Christmas Gifts for Runners – Part 2

December 22, 2014

Hey there!

I hope all of you are almost done with your holiday shopping.

But if you are not…

Don’t feel bad.

Did you know… according to statistics, Yesterday was the second most busy shopping day, of the year, (black friday being the busiest).

Anyway I have already posted last year’s awesome list which was Part 1.

Now I am going to reveal to you Part 2- this years list – The Best Running Gifts for Runners.

1) Newton Running Shoes

I wasn’t going to put shoes on the top of my list, because shoes are tricky. They are tricky because running shoes make or break your runner. The wrong shoe can cause major problems, even injury. However, if you know your runner, runs in a neutral or stability shoe then go head and purchase.

Newton running shoes are my favorite. They are a light weight, natural barefoot running shoe. I have convinced most of my running buddies to give them a try, and they fell in love. There is no turning back now. Above is a picture of Raiza wearing (yellow) Newton Distance – universal, Me wearing (orange) Newton Gravity – neutral, Lina wearing (purple) Newton Motion – stability.

The bright colors are awesome, and because 2015 shoes will be coming out soon, most 2014 running shoes, including Newtons, will be on sale.

2) Garmin Forerunner 620

I got this running watch in early fall, after I ran the summer w/o a watch because my old Garmin died. I still need to write a proper review. But this running watch is the Mac Daddy of all running watches! It is AMAZING!! Trust me it does everything, recording pace, mileage, cadence, heart rate, and much more. It is like having a running coach, because it actually evaluates your stride and running form. It is $400 w/o heart rate monitor, but find a bundle for $450 that comes with the heart rate monitor. It is way worth the money. This watch will bring a smile to every runner, because it becomes your running buddy and your running coach!

3) Pay for a Race Entry

Christmas doesn’t have to be all about material things. Races can be expensive and they start to add up. Paying for a future race entry is an awesome gift for any runner who is planning their 2015 race schedule.

4) Running Jar

This was my favorite Christmas gift I got last year. My sister made it for me. It is a really fun gift because the jar is filled with pink paper, blue paper, and green paper. The pink paper has a song title on it. The blue paper has a motivational quote on it. The green paper has a yoga pose or stretch on it. The idea is when ever you are in need for a new song on your running playlist, you grab a pink paper. When you need motivation to get out there and run your grab a blue paper. When you are feeling sore and need a good stretch you grab a green paper. The jar also was stuffed with running accessories such as socks and headbands. I love this idea.

I hope that helps.

It’s crunch time! So go a head and get that one last gift for your favorite runner.

Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

Best Christmas Gifts for Runners – Part 1!

December 10, 2014

I hope you all had fun shopping on Black Friday, Small Shop Saturday, and Cyber Monday. I hope you found tons of great deals. However, if you have a runner on your list to shop for, I know your pain. Buying Christmas Presents for a runner can be difficult because we are so particular in what gear we like and need, and it all depends on what kind of running we are doing.

Well I got your back.

Last year I made a list of the best Christmas gifts for runners. The list was so good I decided to share it with you again. I am going to break this post into two parts. Part 1 is my last years list and Part 2 will be my top picks for this year.

So here it is Part 1.

click on the link below to see last years wish list.

It’s Crunch Time – Christmas Wish List for Runners!

Happy Running. Happy Shopping. Happy Holidays!

Above is a picture of a fun homemade gift my sister made me last year. It was awesome! I will tell you about it in Part 2!

Attention Runners: I want to hear from you. If you have a favorite running item that is on your Christmas Wish List let me know by commenting below.

Carpe Diem & Balance

December 4, 2014

Lately, I have been craving yoga, and thinking about Balance, and being present.

I read a lot of fitness and healthy lifestyle blogs. Whether it is the sport they participate in or the diet they choose to follow, some of the athletes of these blogs, seem obsessive and extreme in some way or another. For example, body builders are putting on more gains during the off season and become even more lean weeks leading up to their show, claiming they are bringing an even better package to the stage. They are counting every macro, and the debate of which diet plan is constant – should I eat clean, or will IIFYM be a better choice? When it comes to long distance runners… They are running even more races, and some are choosing to run further distances.

All of these athletes are inspiring because they show passion, dedication, and hard work.

It is hard to tell in blog world, what the truth is… Just because someone only blogs about running, or prepping for a show, doesn’t mean, that is all they do. No doubt about it, these sports are time consuming and those who participate in them are very passionate about the sport they choose, but they do have rest days, and some are parents, and they go to work everyday. See my point?

Lately… I have been seeing these athletes ease up a bit and begin to talk about some of the other things in their life, and some have even talked about the importance of balance.

The more I think about it, the more I realize I need to work on balance in my own life. It is hard to juggle everything, and when one point of life gets busy others need to take the back burner, right? Not in all cases. By planning ahead and setting time aside for each task things can get fit in. It is important to figure out what your priorities are… Don’t let one part of your life take over.

I have read a couple blogs where the athlete made their sport and diet their life, and they ended up getting burned out or injured. They realized they needed to be more balanced. Actually, by being balanced they saw better results mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Balance is important in diet as well. Stop choosing a label (paleo, gluten free, vegan, low carb, clean eating, IIFYM,) to describe your eating habits. Start eating balanced healthy meals. Instead of obsessing over food, lets fuel our bodies. Nutrition isn’t restrictive, it’s healing.

Another aspect of life where balance is important is when you goal set. As I said in previous posts, I am a “goal digger.” I always set goals, and try to reach them. Once I reach them, I set new goals. Goal setting is very important, it is a glimpse of what you want for yourself in the future. It helps you challenge yourself and keeps you on track. However, you need to be balanced too. By always worrying about the future, you make forget to live in the present.

This is true for me as well. I love the word Carpe Diem – seize the day, but I don’t always live that way. I need to stop focusing on the future and start being more present, seizing the day.

How do you stay present? How do you stay balanced?

Hello December, I am a Goal Digger!

December 1, 2014

After getting my wisdom teeth pulled at the end of October, my stress level finally went down. November began stress free, and I became aware of the cheerful holiday spirit, which was making its first appearance. The month was full of crisp fall runs, colorful leaves, and lots of big bold fall flavors. November ended, with a relaxing thanksgiving holiday surrounded by friends and family- there was lots to be thankful for. Yesterday, I said my final goodbyes to November, and today I am saying Hello to December.

December is an interesting month, because it is the last month of the year. People get so wrapped up in the traditions of Christmas that they forget to focus on goal setting. Yes, December is the the month to celebrate Christmas, but it is also the month to reach your final goals of 2014 and start to set new ones for 2015. In 30 days we will be saying goodbye to one year and hello to another.

Time to be a …

A couple of my December Goals are…

Personal Christmas related:

Celebrate Christmas! Get my Christmas tree, and decorations up. Christmas only happens once a year, so the sooner I can get my Christmas decorations up the better. Time is flying by and if I wait too long, I won’t have much time to really enjoy it. I don’t over decorate. I have a tree, and a few things here and there. One of the joys of being a home owner is the fun of decorating, but if you rent you can decorate too. I choose pretty Christmas decorations, over funny tacky ones. One of my favorite thing about decorations is the warm white lighting the Christmas tree lights give off. I also love the smell of a live tree. The reason why it is important to decorate is because it really does lift your spirits and reminds you to take in all of the holiday cheer.
Decide if I am going to give out Christmas cards this year. We only have 25 days until Christmas.
Figure out who I need to buy for. I already bought a couple gifts, but I need to finalize my list and shop, shop, shop. I want to shop at Christmas markets and specialty shops.

Health and Fitness Goals:

Continue cooking my own food. The more I cook, the more I know exactly what I am eating. Plus cooking is fun, and eating my own food is satisfying! Abs are made in the Kitchen! Update blog more with delicious recipes.
Continue to read labels and reduce sugar intake. I QUIT SUGAR remember (wink wink) Set goals for 2015.
Run, Lift, Yoga. Start thinking of goals for 2015, and races.

House and Home:

It is amazing how much we have done with my little 1950’s duplex. Two years ago we started with nothing, (we were sitting on beach chairs in the living room, because we didn’t have a couch.) But thats what it takes when you want to start from scratch. Things have really come along. I can’t wait to share with you some of our DIY projects.

Blog:

This month on the blog get ready for a lot of GIFT IEAS. I’m going to be telling you the best gifts for runners, yogis, and gym unicorns. I am also going to be talking about what to get your foodie. So if you need Holiday Gift Ideas. Stay tuned.

Happy December 1!

What are your December Goals? What are your December traditions? What do you want for Christmas? Leave a comment below.