Post Workout Drink

July 8, 2013

Everyone who lifts, knows protein is the best thing for your muscles to repair and grow. This is true, so I always try to have a protein shake with in 30 minutes after my workout. However, July is here, which means hot and steamy, air smothering days. And although, I have found a new passion for weight lifting, my love is for running, that is where my heart is and always will be.

Week 1 of Marathon training is over. I am officially in marathon training mode. And training in this hot July weather, has made me craving something a little more refreshing then my traditional protein shake. Protein shakes are great ways to refuel, but after a run outside in the heat, my body needs hydration.

Well after flipping through the pages of my favorite cook book, Super Natural Every Day, I found the perfect drink to hydrate me post run.

Cucumber Cooler

INGREDIENTS

1 cucumber
A couple cucumber peels
1/2 cup of water
3 cups of ice
1/3 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 lime juiced
mint leaves or you can garnish with a cucumber slice or lime wedge.

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a blender until slushy like consistency.
Pour into class and Enjoy!
Garnish with mint, cucumber slice, or lime wedge. (Your choice)
Store in a pitcher in the refrigerator for up to a day or freeze as popsicles.

Cucumber is a Super food. It is a good source of silica, which helps promote joint health by strengthening the connective tissues. It is also rich in vitamin A, B1, B6, C & D, Folate, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium. Cucumbers are also 95% water, but always remember to chose ones that are organic because pesticides can be hard to remove from skins.

*This would also be a wonderful drink after Bikram Yoga!

Questions for You…

What is your favorite post workout drink?
How do you hydrate and prepare for the heat?
Do you like cucumber flavored drinks?

Date Pie Recipe

July 5, 2013

I have talked about it time and time again on this blog – over the last two years I have developed this new passion for food.

Not just any food though…

I have very high standards.

The type of food I’m talking about is…

colorful…

organic…

flavorful…

raw…

fresh..

vegan…

gluten free…

clean…

It pisses me off that this type of food is so hard to find in the USA. It pisses me off how expensive it is to purchase these types of foods. However, it is important to me and I make it one of my highest priorities – and you should too.

I am always on a never ending quest to find new unique foods and recipes. My new favorite place to explore is Instagram (follow me!) I came across this fitness enthusiast/foodie BRIANNA_SKY, (follow her!) She has several recipes posted, but one that I had to try the Date Pie.

My version is a little bit different. This Date Pie consists of 5 ingredients.

Ingredients:

Dark Chocolate Chips
Coconut Oil
Almond Flour
Pitted Dates
Water

Tip: When buying Coconut Oil look for the higher quality and less processed. This will say words like unrefined, virgin, cold pressed, expeller-pressed, raw.

Directions:

Combine 1.5 cups of almond flour with 1/4 cup of coconut oil in a food processor or blender. Blend on pulse, until combined.
Take 1 cup of this mixture and press it to the bottom of a pie pan, forming pie crust. For a thicker crust, add oats. Keep the left over 1/2 cup of mixture and set a side.

Combine 2 cups of pitted dates and 1/2 cup of water in food processor or blender. Blend on pulse, until jam like consistency.
Spread date mixture on top of newly made pie crust.
Take 1/2 cup left over pie crust that was set a side, and crumble it on top of date layer.
Combine dark chocolate and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in a pan. Simmer on low, continuing to stir until chocolate is totally melted to a liquid.
Drizzle chocolate combination to top layer of pie. If you want to keep this pie 100% raw, omit this step.
Put in freezer for 1 hour, or refrigerate for 2 hours.

This pie is amazing and super easy. There is no added sugar. There is only five ingredients. It is gluten free, organic, raw, and vegan.

Because I am cooking more and more, I am also going to add a recipe page, which will have links to every post I write with a recipe or is food related. So keep your eyes open for that.

I hope you all are having a wonder July 4th, and eating fabulous food.

Get your beauty sleep!

June 16, 2013

This week I really took things easy. I needed a good long week of rest. I ran on Monday. I slept in on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.

Rest is very important! I can’t stress that enough.

When you lift heavy you create little tears in your muscles. For muscle growth, these tears need to repair. Repairing happens when your body is at rest.

When you run far your body creates lactic acid, which makes muscles sore. Adequate rest and hydration helps flush the body of toxins, reducing soreness and inflammation, preventing injury.

Your body is capable of repairing itself, but it needs rest and hydration in order to do so. It is designed to repair. It wants to repair. So listen to it.

On Friday, I’m back to grind. I hit the gym hard. It was amazing how much energy I had after a couple days of rest. I worked my back and arms, by combining super sets and active rest periods into the mix.

I have come to the conclusion that I prefer circuit training, supersets, and active rest periods, oppose to heavy lifting with less reps. Simply because it gets me a lot more sweaty. However, I know there is a time and place to do each one. If your goal is to build muscle then lift heavy with less reps. If your goal is to burn fat and build endurance then circuit training, and active rest periods are necessary.

Always remember that when lifting heavy you should NEED to take at least a 1 minute rest period in between sets. You should feel so tired and out of breath that you need to take a rest before moving on. If you are able to move on to the next set then you are not lifting heavy enough.

MARATHON TRAINING

I have completed the Livefit trainer and because I love it so much and saw amazing results I am repeating phase 2 and 3 again. This time with a closer focus on clean eating, carb cycling, lowering my sugar intake, and upping the protein shake and water intake I am also going to customize the trainer according to what my body needs.

The plan for this coming week is to continue to take it easy with a couple of heavy lifting sessions mixed in. The reason why is because my Marathon training will be starting in a week, and I want to make sure I am physically refreshed and mentally ready.

Marathon training is going to be interesting this time around because I will be training with L. This will be her first full 26.2, so I am going to teach her everything I know about running this distance. I am also going to continue weight lifting and yoga during my training. I also want to cross train on my bike. It will be hard to juggle everything, but it will be important to do so.

I also wanted to mention that I was featured on Fit Blogger.
Please head over there and read my article.
I hope you enjoy it!

To all the Dad’s out there, including mine. I hope you have a wonderful Father’s Day!

I’ve been drinking my sugar.

June 9, 2013

I don’t eat cupcakes everyday.

I don’t buy bags of candy.

I avoid cookies, brownies, other pasteries.

I never thought I had a sweet tooth, but I am discovering I actually do…

Let me explain…

I have learned tons from the Livefit trainer. Among the many things I have learned how to eat clean. Through the process of adjusting to this eat clean lifestyle, I have learned about macros, and discovered the My Fitness Pal App. This app is amazing. I’ll take anything that will help me stay organized, (my biggest weakness.) After exploring some of my favorite foods through this app, I have realized sugar is everywhere.

Sugar is necessary for good health.

So how much it too much?

How many grams of sugar does the average human need daily?

According to the American Heart Association the average women should limit their intake of sugar to 6 teaspoons, which translates to 30 grams of sugar daily. For men, AHA recommends no more than 9 teaspoons, which translates to 45 grams of sugar daily.

Now there are different types of sugar, natural sugar found in fruits and vegetables, and added sugar found in deserts, drinks, condiments, etc. This measurement the AHA is recommending is for added sugar, and this is where my problem lays. I drink a ton of tea, most of the time sweetened. I also drink a ton of sugar filled coffee drinks. So it is time to make a change.

Over the last year I have been really good about shopping organic, cooking my own meals, meal prepping. All of this has played a major role in me seeing results. Professionals say in order to see results its 80% diet, 20% exercise. And although, I have been eating clean, what I am discovering is I am drinking my sugar.

So I am going to declare a goal/challenge. I am going to start paying closer attention to how much sugar I am getting daily, no processed sugars. I am going to give up my sugary teas/lattes for 30 days, hoping that when the 30 days are up I won’t desire them anymore. This is going to be a tough challenge for me, especially during the summer when nothing is better than having a sweet iced tea, or an iced latte. But the truth is, I rarely drink alcoholic beverages, so if I can get rid of this bad habit, I will be golden.

On another note, I can’t believe how stupid I was. Yes, I know that Starbucks drinks are sugary, but honestly my jaw dropped when I saw how many grams were in some of these drinks. My all time favorite Chai latte has in the grande size over 40 grams of sugar, and then in the venti size 66 grams. Ugh. While people talk about cheat meals, I have been having cheat drinks.

Also, I follow tons of Fitness models and competitors on Instagram. They are a wonderful source of inspiration and information. When they are in training mode or preparing for a photo shoot, most limit their sugar intake to 30 grams or lower daily, this includes natural sugars. However, this may seem extreme to some.

So now that you know my challenge, my goal… let me tell you the game plan.

I am going to continue reading Instagram, Tumblr, blogs, books, magazines, for inspiration and information. I am going to keep my fridge stocked with healthy (natural sugars) fruit and veggies, that are colorful and in season. When I drink tea, it will be organic, fresh brewed unsweetened. If I need it flavored or sweetened, I will add fruit or mint, and only sweeten with stevia. Same for coffee drinks. I am hoping this will help limit my sugar intake, but also get me drinking more water and protein shakes.

Anyway, the other day I was craving sweets, so I decided to go shopping. I ended up picking up these colorful organic beauties.

My favorite part about the seasons changing, is that the food changes too.

Questions for you?

What is your favorite thing about the seasons changing?
Do you eat too much sugar?

Join me with my challenge! We can keep each other on point. For more inspiration follow me on Instagram.