Catching Up!! (and a recipe!)

Wow, time got away from me big time. I've made a commitment to blog at least 3 days a week, but I fell a day short last week. I actually had written 3/4 of a post on Saturday, but my stupid mouse on my laptop is super sensitive and I apparently somehow told it to delete my entire post. Yeah. Nice. Since the fam was waiting for me to go out to dinner, my blog time ended at that point. And I also vowed to always turn off the mouse when blogging. Lesson learned.

So, to recap the Hallo-week:

We enjoyed some trick-or-treating with our little bear and ballerina.

How cute are they? I mean, I'm obviously a bit bias, but seriously.

A few pieces of candy may have been stolen from those pumpkin buckets, I'm not going to lie. However, my stomach is not a big fan of sweets, so I stayed out of the buckets after Halloween night. It was worth the pain for a little fun-size chocolate love.

Thursday evening, I decided to take my son out for a jog to "practice" for his 1-mile Thanksgiving race. After we both changed and got the little one settled with daddy, we hit the sidewalk. After, I swear, 20 feet, he stopped and said, "Mom, I'm tired. Can we run around the circle (cul-de-sac) instead?". Ohhh-kay. We jogged back to where daddy and the little peanut were practicing her scooter skills, then I decided that I would go for a quick run alone. Hey, I was already changed! I did a 1.5 mile loop around our neighborhood at the fastest pace I could maintain (just not sure what that was as I didn't have my iPhone), then ran into the house to get dinner on the table. Short, sweet, and sweaty!

Friday was a 20 minute HIIT on the treadmill followed by a 45/15 tabata-style workout starring biceps, shoulders, and abs. I did two sets of exercises each for bi's and shoulders and four sets for abs, and then repeated the whole series, so the whole workout came in at 16 minutes. An intense cardio and weight session in under 40 minutes? Yes please! Love my HIITs!!!

Breakfast was my usual post-gym meal at work.

I love this protein pudding because I can make it the night before and it's even better the next day.  And it couldn't be easier! I start with 1/2 a container of plain coconut milk yogurt, and add 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I use Sun Warrior), 1 T chia seeds, 1 packet Stevia, and enough unsweetened almond/coconut milk to mix it and give it a pudding-y texture. Then I throw in whatever I'm in the mood for--lately it's been cacao nibs and unsweetened coconut flakes. Before I eat it, I top it with raw pumpkin seeds (high in iron, which I'm chronically low in) and goji berries. YUM!!

 

 

Saturday morning was another HIIT session on this machine:

So, who can guess what it is?? Anyone??

That, my friends, would be the stepmill. It's a torture machine that gives an amazing workout. Now, you shouldn't actually do HIIT workouts more than 3 times a week, and you should ideally take a day off in between. However, I broke the rules. Why? Because I wanted too! I had lots of energy and didn't feel like a steady-state cargo session. After the stepmill, I did a great leg workout. I LOOOVE leg days. They make me feel tough! Plus, I'm really self-conscious about my legs/bootay, so I'm really working on leaning them out :)

My post-workout snack was a special treat:

 Do you see that red cup? Oh yeah, it's officially Christmas time! I swear, no matter what you put in that cup (a double tall one pump sugar free peppermint one pump mocha soy latte, no whip), you're drinking Christmas. It's happiness from cup to tummy!

Saturday afternoon, my little peanut and I decided to try a new recipe while the boys were getting haircuts. I made my own coconut butter! (I swear, coconut butter should be illegal. Holy cow.)  So easy--just dump some unsweetened coconut flakes into your food processor and let 'er rip. It will take a few minutes (it took about 5 in my mini food processor), but it will eventually start to get creamy and smooth (think natural PB texture).
Then, I put my homemade coconut butter into this recipe by Lori and Michelle for healthy pumpkin "fudge".  I swear this stuff tastes just like pumpkin pie filling, except maybe better! It was a winner in my house for sure. (Side note: Every time I say "winner", I always think, "...winner, chicken dinner" in my head. Anyone else watch Guy Fieri?)

Coconut butter heaven

Healthy Pumpkin Fudge

 Okay, I'll conclude 5 days of catching up with a recipe. Then I really need to get back to my real job!

I love granola, but good gluten free, low sugar, high protein, all natural granolas are hard to come by. And expensive! So, inspired by this recipe from Julie at pbfingers, I made my own! (Then put it in a jar to make it fancy.)

 

Cocoa Pecan Protein Granola (gluten free)

 

Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free old-fashioned oats

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder

2 T (or more) sweetener of choice (I used 1 T coconut palm sugar and 1 T honey, buy my husband wanted it sweeter; next time I may double the honey or use coconut nectar instead)



 3 T water (decrease for each additional T of liquid sweetener that you add)
1 t. coconut oil (melted to liquid)
1/2 t. vanilla
Toasted pecans (could also use almonds, cashews, or hazelnuts)

Mix cocoa powder, sweetener, water, coconut oil, and vanilla in a small bowl and stir until well combined. In a larger bowl, combine oats and protein powder, mixing together well. Pour the cocoa mixture over the oats and protein powder and stir until oats are coated. Spread mixture out over a greased (I used coconut oil) baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking time.
Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes (the granola will crunch-ify!), then mix in your toasted pecans (I toasted mine in the oven while it was pre-heating).

I haven't eaten a whole lot of grains lately and I had about a 1/4 cup serving of this yesterday. It's really good, but I did have a little bloating afterwards. I'm really hoping it wasn't from the oats! I love them!! (I'm actually hoping the bloating came from the ice cream that I also had last night. Warning: If you live in TX, stay far away from HEB's Light Malt Fudge Swirl ice cream unless you are okay eating large amounts of it. There is a reason I only buy it every couple of months!)


So did everyone get an extra hour of sleep over the weekend? If you have small kids like us, I'm guessing that your answer, like mine, is Heck to the NO! Apparently kids don't live by the calendar like we do. However, I did make it to the gym early this morning so I ddin't have to rush for once! Hooray!! (Today was 30 minute elliptical interval and back.)

I'm working on a new protein pancake recipe using quinoa flakes. I've seen quinoa referred to as a grain and as a seed, so it may or may not be on the Paleo diet (for all of my Paleo friends out there). But it is incredibly good for you, so I'm trying to incorporate it when I can. It is the only plant-based source of all 9 amino acids! I recently discovered quinoa flakes, so I'm trying to work out some new uses for them. I haven't quite perfected it yet, but I'm eating lots of yummy protein pancakes in the process! It will be up on the blog as soon as I get it right ;).

Today's YouVersion verse of the day:
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you,...."  1 Peter 5:6

Have a blessed day!!