Turbo Fire: Day 2

Today is day 2 with my Turbo Fire program. Before my work out, I had my morning weigh-in. Down 1.8 lb ALREADY! What? Yes, I'm sure. I weighed myself several times to make sure it wasn't a fluke and it wasn't my eyes playing tricks on me early in the morning. That was just the encouragement I needed for my workout today AND to follow through with clean eating.

Today's workout was HIIT 15, followed up with Stretch 10. HIIT 15 is a fast up and down workout. For 15 minutes, you give your all. It has your body burning fat at a higher rate than traditional aerobic workouts. The difference is when you push yourself in a HIIT workout, you're working at a higher intensity. When you give your all and push yourself, then your body is working at a anaerobic rate (as opposed to aerobic). After that, I was out of breath. WHOA! The 10 minutes of stretching was AMAZING for my body. It was such a treat.

My workout was followed up with my own speciality - a Peanut Butter Mocha Protein Frappucino. I have an insane love for Starbucks drinks. There is no Starbucks where I live, and it doesn't quite fit in to my healthy eating (aside from the occasional treat).

Peanut Butter Mocha Protein Frappucino

1 scoop vanilla protein shake mix
1 scoop chocolate protein shake mix
1 tb peanut butter
1 cup chilled coffee
1/2-1 cup unsweetened, vanilla almond milk
1/2-1 cup ice

Combine all of the ingredients in to your mixer. Blend. Pour. Enjoy.


Today's Workout
Turbo Fire: HIIT 15
Turbo Fire: Stretch 10

Today's Meals
Breakfast: Peanut Butter Mocha Protein Frappucino
Snack: hardboiled eggs
Lunch: baked garlicky chicken and veggies
Dinner: Turkey Chili and a salad



Clearly, I am eating a lot of leftovers. :)

Yet another snow day...

We are home today with yet another snow ice day. This winter has been crazy! Luckily, I had already prepared to have slow cooker red beans and rice for dinner! I can't wait to see how it turns out. It smells amazing right now! Since we are home, I decided to go ahead and post some more recent recipes! French toast or waffles anyone? Gluten free, of course!

Honestly with as much as a rave about breakfast, the breakfast foods that I like are pretty limited. Weird, I know. Waffles and French toast are not on my list of favorites, but I experiment with recipes nonetheless. My son is a huge fan of them, so I end up making them frequently and looking for ways to make them as nutritious as possible. With waffles, I try to make a large batch at once. I freeze any extras, so we can just heat them up quickly on a busy school day morning. French toast doesn't freeze as well, though. 

I think you'll enjoy these recipes. I swear these waffles taste JUST like fortune cookies. The french toast is a variation of how my mom taught me to make them - which means they are amazing. :)

Protein "Fortune Cookie" Waffles

Makes about four, 8-inch waffles

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup potato starch (I prefer oat flour)
• 1 TB baking powder
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (this may need to be warmed slightly so it will mix easier)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 TB Truvia
• 3/4 cup milk (whichever type you prefer)
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use vanilla Shakeology)

Directions

1. Heat waffle iron.
2. Mix all of the ingredients in a medium-size bowl. Be sure they are mixed well. If the batter is thin, don't worry. It should thicken as it sits.
3. Scoop 1/2 cup of batter in to the waffle iron.
4. Cook until golden brown (about 1 1/2 minutes).

Protein French Toast

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 4-6 slices of bread (this will work with any bread you choose)
• 2 TB milk (your preference)
• 1 TB vanilla protein powder (I use vanilla Shakeology) 
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• Powdered sugar (topping)

Directions

1. Heat coconut oil in a skillet on medium heat.
2. While the skillet heats, mix eggs, milk, protein powder, and vanilla extract (if desired) in a small bowl. 
3. Place a slice of bread in the egg mixture so it is coated on both sides.
4. Place the coated bread on the skillet. Allow it to cook thoroughly on both sides, flipping it over after about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes on each side.
5. Do this for the remainder of the bread slices.
6. Slice the bread into strips (we started doing this for my son as a toddler), or you can leave the bread slices whole.
7. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and enjoy!

Breakfast: My Top 5 Picks

 

Breakfast is by far my favorite meal of the day. If I could eat breakfast for each meal with out feeling guilty, then I would certainly do it. Breakfast is also "the most important meal of the day," so I guess I'm lucky to love it so much! If you aren't convinced that breakfast is the most important meal, then here's a way to understand it. Breakfast is just what is says, breaking the fast. Your body has just undergone hopefully a 7-9 hour fast while you were sleeping. We have learned that "fasts" can actually slow our metabolisms. Of course you can't and shouldn't eat while you are sleeping - rest is essential to your health. But you should eat breakfast within an hour of waking up. Some have the misconception that skipping breakfast will help cut their caloric intake for the day, but it actually does more harm than help. Aside from slowing your metabolism, skipping a meal will also increase your risk of overeating throughout the day. Not to mention, you're body and brain can't function as well without the nutrients it needs from breakfast. Can a car run without gas? Of course not! So, why should you expect that your body can run without the fuel it needs?

If you are in a breakfast rut, or think that a bowl of Lucky Charms will be the breakfast cure, then here is a list of my top 5 breakfast picks. Enjoy!

1. Blueberry Almond Oats
 

 

Oatmeal cooked in unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or water), topped with almond butter, ground flax, and blueberries.

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or 1 cup of water)
• 1 tb almond butter
• 1 tb ground flax
• 1/3 cup blueberries

2. Cran-apple Oats

Oatmeal cooked in unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or water), topped with almond butter, ground flax, sliced apples, and dried cranberries.

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or 1 cup of water)
• 1 tb almond butter
• 1 tb ground flax
• 1/2  sliced apple, (cooked to soften, sprinkled with cinnamon)
• 1/2 - 1 tb dried cranberries

3. Banana Peanut Butter Oats
 

Oatmeal cooked in unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or water), unsweetened cocoa mixed in, topped with peanut butter, ground flax, and sliced banana.

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or 1 cup of water)
• 1 tb almond butter or peanut butter
• 1 tb ground flax
• 1/2 sliced banana
• 1 tb unsweetened cocoa

4. Breakfast Protein Quinoa
Quinoa cooked in unsweetened vanilla almond milk, cinnamon, vanilla shakeology and egg whites, then topped with any of the above choices.

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup almond milk 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 egg whites 
• 1 scoop vanilla shakeology

5. Breakfast BET

  This is a bit like a BLT, but with egg instead of lettuce.  Toast with turkey bacon, scrambled egg whites, and tomato. You can load it up like a sandwich, or like pictured below. Also try adding salsa or avocado.

• 1-2 slices gluten free toast
• 2 egg whites, scrambled 
• 1 slice turkey bacon 
• 1/2 sliced tomato