Archive for December 2012 | Monthly archive page
I got in this quick 12 minute workout on Christmas eve. It can be so much harder getting in a workout after too much over indulging but I find it is best to keep up momentum and plus, I knew that doing a workout, even just 12 minutes, will help burn calories. It’s hard being a chef testing new recipes over the holidays, but actually it’s hard for all of us to be around so much tempting delicious food, and especially foods that are not only delicious but that hold happy memories in them as well. But I am hoping that we can be super conscientious and work our will power. Will power is like our muscles and gets stronger the more you use it. So we all have to find our balance between happy and healthy and work with that. But one thing is for sure.. this workout will give you more energy and strength to make better decisions and help boost your metabolism, so all good! Your inner and outer self will be happy you did it! || Read more
It’s Christmas eve and everything is prepared and now I am just escaping for a little hour or so tea break to post my favorite holiday recipe. This dish is made mostly with fresh produce, nuts, seeds and marinated mushrooms to give a great texture and make it moist and savory herbs and spices to give it a wonderful flavor. This really brings back the Christmas memories with the stuffing seasonings, which were always a big part of the meal. Mom and I have made this nut loaf a few years together, and a few years separately, but it’s been a really popular recipe with us and one that makes a raw meal feel very Christmasy. I love it best served with my favorite cranberry sauce recipe and a big salad. Make an extra special salad with chopped walnuts, seasoned seeds, pomegranate seeds and currants or your favorite special ingredients.
This workout is made up of 3 rounds and each is exactly the same with 4 minutes of intervals followed by 100 reps of High Knees Skipping, or just do High Knees if you can’t skip for any reason. The interval exercises are mostly done with sliders, which make the exercises really fun! ..and I feel confident they are just as effective as I can often feel them the next day. This may be because slightly different muscles are being engaged and used when performing the exercise, and that is what we are going for – diversity. A couple exercises are done with a medicine ball and you can use any other weighted object for these. The rounds are fast paced and the skipping boosts your heart rate, which is great for raising the metabolism and driving oxygen through the system. In my books this is always great. Do the 3 rounds back to back as fast as you can. || Read more
Tomorrow is Christmas eve and we are busy getting ready for it around here. Christmas is mom’s favorite holiday and time of year. She used to start shopping for it in January and every year our tree was the best tree ever! She was always the happiest person around. That’s mom’s nature anyway and I am really blessed that she has this wonderful positive nature. This year, like last, it is harder for her to get ready for Christmas in the same way she used to. Her stroke left her with not being able to drive and even just going out and buying things is a challenge, but she is doing it as well as she can. She has an inner strength that is rare, and I wonder if I could even rise to the challenge as she has with this one. So we are doing our best to make the season bright over here and I have found that it’s really the little things that make all the difference. || Read more
This 4 part workout packs a lot into just 14 minutes. It has two 4 minute tabata intervals, which are the same for the second and fouth parts. The first part is as many Walk out Dive Bombers as you can do in 3 minutes, so a real challenge. I loved that I did them all properly. When I started doing these workouts I found dive bombers one of the hardest exercises and so feel great now doing them! I hope you enjoy them too. If you find them challenging you can modify by doing them from your knees. The 3rd part is a time challenge to do 50 sandbag sit ups as fast as you can. here is lots of action going on in this one and it feels like real super hero training time! ..and you will feel like a super hero afterwards! || Read more
This 14 minute Ugi workout is an interval training workout made up mostly of ab focused exercises. Using the Ugi ball to balance on when doing ab and other exercises really helps to work the stabilizing secondary muscles. These are the muscles that surround and assist the major muscles and give great support to the body. Working these makes you lean and tight and helps you build a deeper strength so that you are less likely to have injuries. Think about it, if all the little muscles that support the bigger muscles are strong too, it just makes sense that your body will be stronger, and leaner. || Read more
This biscotti is delicious and very festive and pretty with all of the flecks of red from the cranberries and gojis and bits of green and brown from the pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts and chocolate. It is just very lightly sweetened with maple sugar. If you are a chocolate lover and wanted to get very festive after they are dehydrated you could dip one end into some melted chocolate and sprinkle with almond pieces. I love the idea of doing this but I never have as I love the taste of them as they are just plain and they always get eaten before I get around to trying this. || Read more
