Butternut Squash!

Happy New Year everyone! After the holidays I slacked a little on exercising and desperately wanted to purge all the sugary holiday treats from my body. I started doing a new Jillian Michael's workout video (I am sore as we speak!) and I have continued to search for healthy recipes. 

A few weeks ago I had the desire to make something with butternut squash. I have never cooked butternut squash but I thought it was worth a try. I found a recipe called black bean and butternut squash burritos on a vegan blog. Dave always gets nervous when I make something vegetarian but he is always a good sport. Well, when he tasted the first bite he loved it!! The burritos were a little sweet because of the squash and a little spicy because of the cayenne pepper. It was the perfect combination of flavors. I enjoyed these burritos so much that I had to share them. I let my mom taste the black bean and squash mixture and she loved it to. She loved it so much that we got together yesterday and made them again. Every one else seemed to like them too. I like to serve the burritos in a low-carb tortilla my mom found at Costco; the brand is La Tortilla Factory. 

Here is a link to the recipe:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CA8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fohsheglows.com%2F2011%2F10%2F24%2Fblack-bean-and-butternut-squash-burritos%2F&ei=bDPzUJvWL6rY2QW3rIHQDg&usg=AFQjCNGiNyTII4uqRiY_ok4qyGiXbGadIw

Black Bean Butternut Squash Burritos

If you like butternut squash you will love these burritos! 

Well, I hope everyone is doing well and surviving the cold. It is bitter cold here in Utah! I don't think we have been above freezing for 3 weeks. I an anxiously waiting for spring!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wunderbar!

Well, what do you think of 2013 so far?  You don't really have to answer that question.  It's mostly rhetorical. 

I'm just going to assume that, at this moment, cries of "maravilloso!" or "Ihana!" or "วิเศษ!" or  just plain ol' "wonderful!" are resonating throughout households in Washington, Utah, California and Nevada.

I do, however, need a real answser from those who earned any points on the 12 Acts of Fitness Challenge.  Be it 1 or all 24 possible, please let me know.  Even if you realize that your measly point tally won't put you in the running for winning the "Not-So-Dumbbell" award, still report in (you can just reply to this email - you don't even have to post on the blog:  I'll do that) because I really want to know if anyone out there did any of it!

I accomplished 9 of the Acts and I already know Mom accomplished all 12 so she gets double points!!! 24 big ones!!!  Good job, Mom!!!

Report in soon so I can announce the winner of the "Not-So-Dumbbell" Award, which is a $50 gift card of choice.  Yeeeehawwww!

Also coming soon, of course, is the announcement of the winner of the 2012 Golden Sneaker Award!  The winner has not yet been determined but I think a surprise is in store for everyone... Stay tuned!!!

Help on the 12 Acts of Fitness Challenge

There's been a few questions about some of the exercises for the challenge, so here are some answers: 

First, I want to make sure it's clear that you can do the challenges in ANY order.  You don't have to worry about counting down or up.  Just do as many as you can by New Year's Day.  And keep track so I can award your points!

Here's a link that shows how to do my favorite neck stretch and the doorway stretch:  http://taylorgoldensneaker.blogspot.com/2011/11/im-thankful-for-novembers-challenge.html

Here is a yoga tree pose:

Remember, you can modify by placing your foot on your ankle or waaaaay up on your thigh.

Here are some of the squat varieties:

The classic ball squat.  You can hold weights too.

The sumo squat is just a body squat but with a wider stance and toes slightly pointed out.

The plie squat has a very wide stance and your body stays more upright.  You can add a heel raise for more challenge.

The chair squat just gives you a target to make sure you squat nice and low.  Plus it gives you the security of knowing something will catch your fall if your legs give out!  Raising arms is optional.

The sissy squat is more advanced and can be a bit awkward at first.  But it's a great challenge for the quads.  Make sure you have something you can hold on to for balance.

My favorite way to do single-leg squats is with the ball because I'm not ususally strong enough to do it unsupported!

Here is a reminder for the crunch.

For this challenge, hold the "crunched" position for a count of 5 before lowering, then repeat. You can also lift your feet off the ground and/or hold some weight (medicine ball) between your knees.  You can do these in bed!

Those are the exercises I've received questions on so far.  Sorry it took me a bit to respond, but let me know if you need any others clarified.  I'll reply as soon as I can!

Healthy Recipes

Now more than ever I need to make healthy recipes for me and my family.  I have the hardest time resisting all the holiday goodies.  My game plan at this time of year is to focus on eating healthy during the day so that I can indulge a little at night. 

I have tried some new healthy recipes the past few months that I wanted to share with everyone.  First, we have enjoyed using our Blendtec for smoothies, but we have a new favorite recipe.  Whole Wheat Pancakes!!!  Madison asks for these all the time. Unfortunately I don’t know how to adapt these pancakes to making them without the Blendtec; I am guessing that you just use whole wheat flour (I am just not sure how much).

Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 ½ C low-fat milk

1 C wheat berries

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 lg eggs

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp kosher salt

These pancakes take me minutes to make and they are cheap and easy!

The next recipe also is made in my blender.  Everyone loves spinach and artichoke dip, right? Well, I have a recipe for a lighter version of the delicious dip.  It is a perfect party dip.  Bryant even requested that I make it for his homecoming lunch. 

Creamy Spinach Dip

2 tsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

4 C spinach, lightly packed

½ tsp crushed red pepper

1 C low-fat cottage cheese

4 oz Neufchatel cheese

¼ C Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in sauté pan and add garlic, spinach, and red pepper flakes.  Cook until spinach is wilted and set aside.  Add cottage cheese and Neufchatel cheese to jar and secure lid.  Blend just before smooth.  Add Parmesan cheese and sautéed ingredients to jar and secure lid.  Blend until ingredients are incorporated; do not over-blend.

The last recipe I want to share is one I found on skinnytaste.com.  It is called spinach lasagna roll-ups. It was a good recipe, but Dave and I decided that in order to make it really good we need to use a really good marinara sauce.  These are a great way to eat pasta because they are perfectly portioned.

Spinach Lasagna Rolls

9 lasagna noodles, cooked

10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and completely drained

15 oz fat free ricotta cheese

½ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg

Salt and fresh pepper

32 oz tomato sauce

9 Tbsp part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine spinach, ricotta, parmesan, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Ladle about 1 cup sauce on the bottle of a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Place a piece of wax paper on the counter and lay out lasagna noodles.  Make sure noodles are dry.  Take 1/3 cup of ricotta mixture and spread evenly over noodle.  Roll carefully and place seam side down onto the baking dish.  Repeat with remaining noodles.

Ladle sauce over the noodles in the baking dish and top each one with 1 tbsp mozzarella cheese.  Put foil over baking dish and bake for 40 minutes or until cheese melts.  Makes 9 rolls.

Well, those are the recipes I have tried recently.  Even though we are almost done with our goals for 2012 I am going to continue trying new healthy recipes.  When I find something delicious I will send the recipes your way.

I love you all and hope you all have a Merry Christmas!!

The Twelve Acts of Fitness

On the first day of Christmas my trainer gave to me... a really awesome fitness challenge!

See how many of these 12 acts of fitness you can perform by the New Year.  You get 1 point for each one you accomplish.  PLUS you get to double your points if you accomplish ALL TWELVE.  Yes, that’s right:  DOUBLE POINTS!!!  This is a good way to really rack up the points (and perhaps make up for your slacking on the previous challenges) during, this, the last Golden Sneaker challenge of 2012!!!

You can choose to do them all at once or spread them out until the end of the month.  Here's to a healthy, happy holiday season!

·         Spend 1 minute doing a yoga tree pose on each foot.  (Foot can be placed on thigh, calf or ankle – avoid placing on the knee)*

·         Do 2 minutes of stretching.  Must include a neck stretch and doorway chest stretch.*

·         Do 3 varieties of squats, 10 X ea.  Choose from the following:  body squats, ball squats, sumo squats, sissy squats,  jump squats, plié squats, chair squats, single-leg squats, or choose your own! *

·         Spend 4 minutes dancing to a song you love.

·         Eat 5 servings of fruits/veggies in a single day.

·         Do something active 6 days in a row.  This can include anything from an actual workout to standing and marching in place during the TV commercials.

·         Eat 7 shelled Brazil nuts; or 26 almonds; or a handful of shelled pistachios.  Find out what 1 serving of your favorite nut is and make it a regular snack… just don't over-do it.

·         Take 8 deep breaths before responding to someone who just really ticked you off.

·         Take no more than 9 bites of a particularly indulgent treat.  Depending on what it is, this could be quite a lot or not nearly enough!

·         Spend (at least) 10 minutes doing something that will make you feel like a kid again:  hula hooping, trampolining, playing hop scotch, jumping rope (But you MUST also do a chant. Y’know:  Cinderella, dressed in yellow went down stairs to kiss a fellow…), skipping to your Lou (or is it loo… I’ve always wondered).

·         Perform 11 crunches with a 5-second hold.  Too easy?  Do them with feet elevated and squeezing a medicine ball between your knees.*

·         Knock out 12 pushups (wall, kitchen counter, knee, standard).  Too easy?  Make them burpees instead.*

* email me, text me or leave a comment if you have any questions about the technique of any exercise.

 

Thanks Ashlee!!

So for the past few months I have been struggling with a foot problem that had been making it hard for me to exercise.  I would still exercise but I wasn't able to always give it my all and my arches would hurt.  I went to Walmart and bought some arch supports that really didn't help.  I was starting to think that eventually I would have to go to the doctor and pay lots of money until my AMAZING SISTER, Ashlee helped me figure out what was wrong with me.  After a very, very, excruciating leg massage, some instruction on how to strengthen my arches, and some really good arch supports I am doing soooo much better!

I just have to say that Ashlee is so nice to always be willing to help her poor family out with our many problems.  Almost every time we all get together at our Mom and Dad's house she pops someone's back into place or examines an injury.  She is so knowledgeable and we all owe her so much!!  Thanks Ashlee!!  I plan on paying you back somehow someday.

One other thing Ashlee told me I needed to do was get some new running shoes (mine were about 8 years old!!).  So we looked at our budget and I was able to buy a very beautiful new pair of New Balance shoes!  I was so excited and I can feel an amazing difference when I am exercising. Below is a picture:

Aren't they pretty?!

I am so happy to have happier feet and pretty shoes.  I feel like I keep running into little issues that are frustrating, but I am grateful that I have people that are helping me push through.

Thanks family!

Problem Solved!

Ok, sorry about complaining about my sugar dilemma last week. I guess I never realized how much sugar is in certain fruit. Well, I am no longer discouraged and I changed my smoothie recipe a little so it doesn't have quite as much sugar. I found fruit that has less sugar than the fruit I was using, I switched to using water instead of milk, and I add more greens. The smoothie isn't as sweet and creamy but Madison will still drink the smoothie and I feel better about my sugar consumption.

Also, I wanted to share a little tip. Maybe everyone already does this but I recently started focusing on always tightening my stomach muscles. I read this tip in an article that listed little things we can do to burn calories. Tightening your stomach muscles not only helps you burn calories but it improves your posture and can help with lower back pains. I feel like I haven't tightened my stomach muscles since before Madison was born so this is challenging for me right now.  Anyway, this tip is helping me so I decided to share with everyone else. 

Happy Friday everyone!