100's Workout

Last night with my fun group of girls I work out with, I tried something a little different. It was a "go at your own pace" and "do it however you want to" type workout. Nothing was timed. I just gave them a specific number of everything to do and wrote their names on a chalkboard and they kept track of everything. I loved it! It was one of the most intense workouts I have done in a while and it felt so great to sweat. Here it is:

100 Push-ups
100 Second wall-sit
100 Squats
100 Jelly bellies (sit on the ground and put your legs parallel to the ground with your arms either on    the ground stabilizing you or also parallel to the ground with your wrist at your knees)
75-100 Burpees

I did 20 of each at a time which made things a bit easier I think because it gives you a break. But you can do it in any order you want! It seems a little overwhelming at first but we all did it in about 20-30 minutes depending on the breaks that you need. This workout is a good one to do as a group! Write what you need to accomplish in a spot where everyone can see and write what they have accomplished. It makes you have accountability and helps you not to cheat as much.

None of us made it to the 100 Burpee mark but it is possible! I think I made it to 85 and my arms couldn't push me up anymore! Always make sure your form is good so you don't hurt your back. And remember to stretch afterward!

Happy Working!

Making up for being a slacker

Due to sickness, taking lots of naps in my free time, and the husband being out of town, I have been a total and complete slacker on the blog! So today I will share a work out and a recipe to make up for it :) I have still been working out although I am so much slower already that I was a few months ago! No fun. I absolutely love being a mother, I would not change it for anything. But the toll it takes on the body is unexplainable unless you have gone through it before. Pregnancy instantly slows you down because you have less oxygen for yourself. I get winded just walking up the stairs. Not only that but you have the pains of your body expanding and organs moving around and I will not forget that fact that I have a giant peach right on top of my bladder! Say goodbye to jumping jacks people! Anyways not going to bore you with my aches and pains but being a mom, being pregnant, and trying to stay healthy and in shape is difficult. And that includes eating healthy. Right now my tummy wants nothing to do with salads and veggies. Instead it wants Chimichangas and Steak! Creating life is a miracle and a mystery to me. Anyways, hopefully I get back into the swing of things now that I am in my second trimester and back to giving you guys some healthy recipes to try!

This one is one of my families favs! Its simple and the BEST way to eat veggies!

• Get any kind of veggies you want. 
• We use:
• Broccoli, Cauliflower, Beets, Carrots, Zucchini, Onion, Asparagus, and Brussel Sprouts.
• Put them in tin foil, drizzle with olive oil, put salt and pepper on them and any other seasonings you want (we sometimes use garlic salt or crushed red pepper), put tin foil on the top and seal, and then put them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 25 minutes or until you can stick a fork through them.
• Seriously people. AMAZING. 
• Another thing we love is Veggie Lasagna. Creamy and full of veggies.  Our kids love it too!
• 2 cups chopped onion
  4 cloves garlic, minced
  2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
  2 cups chopped zucchini
  2 cups chopped yellow squash
  2 cups thinly sliced carrot
  2 cups chopped broccoli
  1 teaspoon salt, divided
  1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  3 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
  1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  dash of nutmeg
  1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat cottage cheese
  2 cups (8 ounces) pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
  9 pre-cooked lasagna noodles, divided

  Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

  2. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Spoon onion mixture into a large bowl.

  3. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and yellow squash; sauté 4 minutes or until tender and just beginning to brown. Add to onion mixture.

  4. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add sliced carrot; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add chopped broccoli; sauté 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add to onion mixture. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt; toss well to combine.

  5. Place flour in a medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg; stir until smooth. Stir in spinach.

  6. Combine cottage cheese and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella; stir well. Spread 1/2 cup spinach mixture in bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over spinach mixture in dish; top with half of cottage cheese mixture, then half of vegetable mixture, and about 1 cup spinach mixture. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining spinach mixture on top of noodles; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella.

  7. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and beginning to brown. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
• WORKOUT
• Here is a workout to follow your incredible dinner :)
• 20 Burpees
• 40 Sit-ups
• 20 Push-ups
• 15 V Push-ups
• 25 Sit-ups
• 30 Lunges
• 30 Squats
• 1 minute wall sits
• 30 High Knees
• 30 High Jumps (try touching your ceiling with both hands)
• Hope you guys enjoy and I will try my hardest to keep this up! Not only is it therapeutic for me but I really enjoy seeing people happier and I do believe exercise and eating healthy makes you happier. Happy Monday! 
• 
  

Love to Work hard

Happy Valentines day! I have not been super consistent the last few weeks with blogging.. sorry. I have been so sick and whenever I can I take naps and close my eyes! Therefore, I do not have a moment to do any bogging! Well today is a good day. I will probably pass out after this while the kids are napping, but its been a productive day. I went to Costco for the first time in a while and let me tell you, NOT a good place for a hungry pregnant woman! I almost bought all the chinese food and hot pockets in bulk! But instead, I bought some chimichangas in the frozen section and every bite was heavenly. So long story short, I needed this workout  today :) I hope you guys love it! My fun workout group did it the other day and it was pretty awesome!

The quickie:
21 Burpees
21 Squat jumps
21 Push-ups
21 Bicycle kicks
15 Burpees
15 Squat jumps
15 Push-ups
15 Bicycle kicks
8 Burpees
8 Squat jumps
8 Push-ups
8 Bicycle kicks

It sounds like a lot of burpees but its totally worth it :) I hope you get to spend your valentines day with someone you love and adore! I am cooking dinner for the husband and kids tonight. Balsamic glazed salmon, quinoa, roasted asparagus, and zucchini with marinara and cheese! Don't know what to do for dessert yet! If its a good recipe I'll post it soon!

Switching things up

Seems like I have been doing the same work out over and over again lately. Sometimes when that happens you tend to get worn out and bored. When that happens to me, I am less motivated, I make more excuses, and most of the time workouts stop. So instead of doing that because I am determined and committed to being healthy and fit, I started switching things up a little. There are so many ways to work out! There is lifting weights at the gym, workout videos, running, walking, going to classes at the gym, there is yoga, insanity, Pilates, interval workouts, tabatas, cross fit, etc. I could go on and on! There are so many ways to switch up your routines. I usually do interval workouts (kind of like Insanity) so last week I did P90X yoga. Not only was I really into the video but I was sore for DAYS afterward! I had forgot about my stabilizing muscles that you don't normally work really hard in interval workouts. It was really fun and different and I am now re-motivated to my body and fitness!

In the kitchen. Switching things up is not just good with workouts but eating right! I usually tend to eat the same thing every day. I love routines! Wake up eat my MiniWheats, snack cheese and crackers, lunch eggs with toast, snack apple with peanut butter, dinner we usually rotate between 5 different meals my kids like. After a while I get bored so that means instead of apple with peanut butter I usually sneak into my candy stash and binge on my favorite treat! So this week with my grocery shopping I got a few things different that I could rotate into my routine! I forgot how much I love cucumbers with a little ranch! Another thing that I have loved recently is turning my really fattening meals into something I can actually feel good about eating! We really enjoy chili dogs... some of you might throw up at that but I crave them!! So instead of regular hotdogs, we look for really yummy turkey dogs! I wasn't quite sure about this at first but if you find a good brand and flavor they are really good!! Along with that is turkey chili instead of regular chili. It has so much more protein! So with those 2 items, a little cheese, and a whole wheat bun, I have now satisfied my craving in a more healthy way! Sometimes I crave Mac N Cheese... not kraft but the real stuff! So I have found that making a really yummy pesto sauce and putting it over whole wheat pasta noodles satisfies that craving because pesto has parmesan cheese in it. Pesto is a lot lighter than cheese sauce.

Going out to eat. Recently I have been craving a Banzai Burger from Red Robin... just thinking about it makes my mouth water. Seriously, something is wrong with me. I have always been so worried about eating out because there is so many calories and you don't even realize you just ate that! But eating out doesn't have to be scary! My husband and I went to Red Robin and he was so sweet to split and Banzai burger with me... skip the fries and add a side salad with dressing on the side and your husband can order an appetizer or something if he needs something else. My husband is a light eater so he got a half salad with that and it was perfect for us! Also great for our wallet! It was like a $15 dinner out! Sometimes it really is ok to give in to your cravings. It is really all about portion size and knowing when you should be done! And if your husband doesn't want to split something with you, take a girlfriend or like me, my mom :) There are people who like doing that! I am hesitant to say this but you really can eat what you want sometimes and stay within your goals and stay fit. Its not all about eating carrots and greek yogurt.

I didn't know I had that rant in me... but I guess I did in a serious way! I think I just want people to realize that your healthy is not going to be like your neighbors healthy. We cant compare ourselves to other people or super models or celebrities. We are our own person and we need to love ourselves and if you are doing the best you can do that is amazing. Curvy, skinny, short, tall, big chest, or if you wear a push up bra (like me), Love Yourself! Be who you are and own it. The End. :)

Monkey Muffins

This is kind of a golden recipe. My kids get so incredibly excited when I say "Lets make monkey muffins!". They have no idea that they even remotely good for you. The problem with these is that you won't want to stop eating them! Like most recipes, you can make these as healthy as you want to as bad as you want.

1/4 cup Butter
1/4 cup Apple Sauce
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1 cup Mashed Banana
2/3 cup Peanut Butter
1 tablespoon Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup White Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
Chocolate Chips

Cream together butter, apple sauce, and sugar. Then add eggs, banana, peanut butter, milk, vanilla, and mix. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until done.

I have added ground oatmeal, ground flax seed, grated zucchini or carrots. If you add any of those in don't substitute them for anything. I once substituted oatmeal for white flour and they were good but really dense. And the dough is not too dry if you add another cup of oatmeal or flax.

Recipe given to me by Lindsey Mackay

Today is not my day workout

Today. Oh today... I did NOT want to move. My smallest didn't sleep much and I was bent over his crib singing song after song for an hour at 3 AM. Nights like those are hard but the day after nights like those are even harder for me! I felt like I was in a daze all day long. Therefore I was not feelin my workout today. I got up and said "Heck NO" to working out. I even got in the shower and everything thinking "Yeah right!" When in the shower a little voice said to me "Erica, if you work out you will feel so much better and have so much more energy!" Usually I am ok with ignoring the voices in my head but I actually listened to the voice today. I got out of the shower, threw up my hair, and put on my workout clothes! My workout may not have been long or super effective, but its more than just burning calories. It is building a habit. When the body is tired and the brain says no, that is when you need to work out the most! It is so hard to overcome those thoughts in your head. "Ill do it tonight", "I am so tired", "I will just eat extra healthy today", or simply "I don't want to move". I overcame all of those thoughts today! And when I was done I felt energized and ready to go! It was such an empowering feeling. 

My Workout:

5 Burpees

10 Lunge pulses on each leg - in lunge position, go down like you are doing a normal lunge but stay    down and just pulse a little up and down

5 Burpees

15 tricep dips

10 V Push-ups - push up with your butt up in the air so your body is making a V

5 Burpees

20 Belt kicks - squat then kick the right leg up, squat then kick the left leg up

20 Switch kicks - kicking one leg at a time with a little hop in between

5 Burpees

15 Sumo Squats - point your toes outward and then do a normal squats

10 push-ups

Repeat 

Abs: 1 minute each

Plank twists - in high plank twist your knees side to side

C-sit plank - sitting on your butt, lean back, and tilt your pelvic bone up 

Oblique burners - laying on your back, lift up your head and bend your knees, rotate and try to touch  your ankle with your finger tips

Plank shoulder touches - in high plank, lift your right arm and touch your shoulder, then do the left  arm

You can youtube all of these exercises if my explanations do not make sense :) 

Work out and feel good! 

Park Workout

I am in Las Vegas this week soaking up the sun! I went from 30 degrees in Springville to almost 70 in Vegas! I am roasting and loving it! I am trying to be outside as much as possible so this morning we did an awesome workout at the park! All you need is some monkey bars, a bench, your body and if you have a medicine ball or something you can use that! The greatest thing about these is your kids can play while you are working out!! My kids loved this one!

Run - 1 or 2 laps around the park depending on how far it is
10 burpee jumps - Regular burpee then jump up onto the bench (or step up)
15 pull-ups and 15 push-ups on a bar - use monkey bars or anything that you can grip
10 squats with medicine ball throw - just throw ball above your head
20 sit-ups

We set a timer for 20 minutes and just tried to repeat this series of exercises as many times as we could.

If you are doing this inside the house... my Utah peeps
25 jump ropes
10 burpee jumps - jump up onto a stair
15 pull-ups and 15 push-ups - use your table
10 squats with medicine ball throw - same as above
20 sit-ups

More workouts to come this week! This one my sister-in-law made up and it was so much fun! It feels so great to be outside with the sun on my face! Hopefully I come hope with lots of Vitamin D and a little less pale :)