April Playlist: Spring into Fitness!

Happy April, everyone!  And happy SPRING!

Everything is in bloom where I am, so I'm trying to get outside as much as possible.  It's so beautiful!
My challenge for you is to exercise outside, wherever you are, whenever you get the chance.  If you live in a place where working out outside isn't feasible, try incorporating this season into your workouts by wearing spring-colored workout clothes!  Old Navy has some great, bright options.

So SPRING into FITNESS and start this warm-weather season off right.  Tis the season for leg-bearing shorts and dresses and tops that show off your shoulders and arms.  So don't just enjoy the benefits of exercise...enjoy them outside with this happy music!

1. Beat It - Michael Jackson
2. Good Girl - Carrie Underwood
3. Fat Bottom Girls - Queen
4. Brokenhearted - Karmin
5.  SuperGirl - Saving Jane
6. You Can't Start the Beat - Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, John Travolta, Elijah Kelley, Queen Latifah & Amanda Bynes (from Hairspray)
7. What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction
8. Mo Money Mo Problems - The Notorious B.I.G.

California Vacation

Last Friday I flew to LA to visit my older brother in Hollywood.  He’s a songwriter and a composer for a music production company.  My parents flew in for part of the week as well and it was so great to see all of them!!  My boyfriend came along as well and my brother’s girlfriend is a California native so we all got to be together.  We did pretty much everything there was to do in Southern California (that I know of so far):  We celebrated my boyfriend’s birthday in Malibu, went to Santa Monica, Simi Valley, Hollywood, and Hermosa Beach.  While in Hollywood we did a tour of the Warner Bros. Studio, Universal City Walk, and saw the movies “1000 words” and “21 Jump Street” (HILARIOUS, by the way). We also went to Beverly Hills and window shopped on Rodeo Drive and went to The Grove one day where I ended up on Extra TV on NBC with Mario Lopez! 

That was so fun! I wound up winning a big basket of Don Francisco’s coffee and mugs. 

 There was no way that could fit in my suitcase---so I gave it to my sweet brother for giving us a place to stay and showing us around LA!  I had never been to LA except for when I had a 10-hour layover at LAX when I was twelve.  Needless to say, this was a better LA visit.

While at The Grove, we bought some skin products that I'll have to review in a video or blog post.  One was a salt scrub and one was a facial serum that is essentially a chemical peel but you don't feel anything.  Both are from the Dead Sea and I have to say---they both exceeded my expectations beyond belief.  The products were from a line called "Seacret."  I'll have to tell you more about it because it really was incredible.

It was so fun and exciting to see all these street signs that I had only seen in movies and heard about in songs like Ventura, Sunset, etc.  Since it was sort of chilly while we were there, we tried to stay as active as possible in spite of the weather which usually meant a lot of walking and doing abs and pushups at my brother's.  We also saw/went in Tracy Anderson's studio and I hope someday I can take a class there with her!

One of the highlights of the vacation was hiking about 6.5 miles to go see the Hollywood sign!  Now, you can't get up close to the sign.  You can get behind it and that's about it.  But it was a great hike that was so beautiful.  You could see all of LA (on both sides of the hills) and I hear that on a clear day, you can see all the way to the ocean!

 We also saw the REAL Bat Cave from the Batman show in the 1960s.  Very cool!

I have to thank Jacey, my Twitter friend who does Tone It Up, for tweeting back and forth with me about where to go there!  She led our confused, tourist butts to great places in Malibu!  One of her suggetions was Huckleberry Cafe, where I treated myself to a soy latte (I drink coffee black) and my oh my it was delicious!  Thanks again, Jacey!

Lastly, we went to Hermosa Beach and played around there for a little bit before hitting up Veggie Grill and Varga.  I had never been to a Veggie Grill and was so excited to finally try it.  I had the "All Hail Kale" salad and my boyfriend had a cheese-free mac n cheese.  

Varga is the cutest store I've been to in my life.  I'll have to do another blog post about their clothes because I just love them.  I think they have the most flattering jeans in the land and a large assortment of beauuutiful shirts and dresses.  I love flowy, "California" tops and got some along with long skirts (a trend I've been afraid of trying).

That's it for now!  

Feel free to comment below or email me at FitStyle09@gmail.com and 

check out/subscribe to my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/FitStyle09.  

Keep your eye out for new videos and blog posts coming soon!

Wellness Week

Hey everyone!  It’s Wellness Week!  You know I love sharing heath and wellness with you…I love all things happy and healthy.  And all those mushy, maybe even cheesy or cliché, inspirational quotes?  I’m right there with you.  I love them all.

So I want to start this post with one of those quotes right now.  The point of this is, you can do anything if you believe in yourself J  (I’m telling you, cliché is not that bad!)

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.” Mahatma Gandhi

That’s the first thing I want to tell you for Wellness Week because your wellness is in your hands.  For example, nobody makes you eat what you eat or stands in the doorway when you try to leave and workout.  We have a lot of choice in what we do even despite responsibilities like work, school, children, or whatever yours might be.  Of course we all are busy and nobody is perfect – that’s reality!  But if you take that quote above to heart, you can improve areas of your life.  This doesn’t even need to be a dietary change or a change in exercise.  Improvements could come in the form of diet, exercise, de-cluttering your home, spending more time with friends and family, or just having alone time.

Whatever areas you feel could use improvements to become “well”, then think that they can!  Look at it this way:  if you don’t think you can do something, you can’t.  Right?  That’s what the quote is saying!  Before every choice we make and action we take, we decide to do it (which involves thinking) and we envision ourselves doing it (…which involves more thinking)!  If you think negatively and think (aka “choose”) you can’t do something, then that’s it.  You can’t.  Why would you want that?  I certainly don’t want that for you.

 I hope that all of you take this week to focus on the positive “I can” attitude.  With it, all other areas of your life will fall into that “wellness” category.  

If you have any questions about how to maintain wellness, nutrition, fitness, or style with a busy lifestyle, feel free to comment below, email me at FitStyle09@gmail.com, check out old posts on this blog or on my YouTube channel, and stay tuned for upcoming posts!

Happy Wellness Week!

Celebration Ideas:

-Spring Cleaning

-Making a favorite meal

-Taking a walk

-Getting some GOOD sleep

-Completing a hard workout you might not have thought you could originally!

-Sitting alone in silence! (Meditation, anyone?)

-Finally doing something you’ve been meaning to do, or were afraid to do

-Laughing!  What could be more “well” than that?  It's the best medicine!

Spectacular, Scrumptious Super Bowl Recipes

Hey everybody!


What, to you, is most important about the Super Bowl?  For me, it's the the 5 Fs:  Football, Family, Friends, Fun, and Food.  The 5 Fs are often implemented in many of my favorite activities (and probably yours, too!)  With a recipe like that, how could you go wrong?  Today I'll share some of the recipes I used for this year's game. (See below for recipes).

This year's Super Bowl involved every one of those aspects, but let's talk about the food!  This was by far the healthiest Super Bowl I've had yet.  While in preparation for planning this year's feast, I ran into some friends at the grocery store.  They asked what I was getting and I said just some things for the game.  They looked at my cart and then back up at me with confused expressions. "Tofu?" they asked. Yes.  My cart was filled with vegetables and other healthy items.  Everyone loves soy at a Super Bowl party, RIGHT?


In all seriousness, my party didn't involve tofu.  That was for another day.  But I did use Gardein brand meatless chicken tenders (per Tone It Up's suggestion) and boy were they good!  I also made mango salsa, hummus, sauteed mushrooms, low-fat guacamole, and carob balls that I'll provide the recipes to.  On top of that, I set out low-carb tortillas from La Tortilla Factory, cut up some red, yellow, and green bell peppers and some celery, and made some kale chips (because what's a party without chips?)  ;)

I thought I'd also include last year's Super Sandwich for the Super Bowl.  It weighed 10.0 lbs on the dot and stood about one foot tall.  Thank you to my boyfriend for baking bread in my football-shaped cake pan and getting 3 kinds of meats, 3 kinds of cheeses, and different greens and bell peppers to make this edible monstrosity.  It took an army to eat it, but it was a well-fed, happy army :)

I hope your Super Bowl was as great as mine was and for those of you reading in future Februaries, I hope these recipes and ideas help you create a fabulous football feast!  Enjoy!  xxo

Mango Salsa
1 mango, peeled, pitted, and diced (about 1.5 cup)
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeno chile, minced 
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)
3 tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 tbsp fresh lime juice 
Salt and pepper to taste
(mix together in bowl and enjoy!)


Low-Fat Guacamole (From Womens Health)
1.5 cups frozen green beans, thawed
1 small avocado, cubed
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbs lemon juice
1 tbsp jalapeno, chopped
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
(Put all but the last two ingredients in a food processer until smooth, then stir in peppers and cilantro)


Hummus
 Lots of flexibility with this one---I threw it together how I saw fit at that moment ;)
Garbanzo beans (amount is dependent on how much you want! Shoot for 1 cup)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 shakes paprika
1 shake garlic powder
QUICK shake onion powder
(Put everything in a food processor)


Carob Balls on a Time Crunch
Another flexible recipe, and one of my favorites!
1/2 cup carob chips (or however. many. you. want...within reason).
1/4 cup walnuts
1/8 cup almonds
(Put everything in food processor until you make a dough that you can roll balls out of, then stick in refrigerator until ready to eat!)
(There are many variations of this recipe but since I was out of some other normal ingredients for this kind of dessert, like dates, this was the best I could do.  And it's still delicious!)


Kale Chips
1 bunch kale
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
(Preheat oven to 350.  Rip kale into chip-sized pieces in a bowl.  Add salt and olive oil and mix with kale.  Put kale on baking sheet and cook for 8-12 minutes).

Pure Barre

It's 5:35pm on January 3rd and twenty-five minutes ago I finished my first Pure Barre class!

What a sweet addiction this is about to become.  

 This workout is a perfect example of a fun, effective, and difficult workout but not difficult in the sense that you dread doing it.  In fact, it's quite the contrary.

My videos mentioning Pure Barre: click here and also here :)

Pure Barre basically is a mixture of ballet and Pilates that exhausts your muscles and then stretches them out, creating long and lean muscles.  It's toning without the bulk.  The music was upbeat and fun and the classes are small so you don't feel the anonymity of being in a gym.  Now, even though this was my first class, I was SO surprised at how hard it was for me.  When I first walked in, my instructor told me to use 2 lb dumbbell weights.  I politely said I would, but inside I was thinking "oh I'm much stronger than that.  I'll go with 5 lbs."  I'm so glad I didn't.   Lighter was better, but in a week or so, I may attempt the 3 lbs ;).  Also, my legs were shaking during this workout and not even towards the end of the class!  They started shaking maybe 10 minutes into the workout.  It's MUCH more difficult than I had imagined but I haven't exercised to fatigue like that with my own workouts in a long time so it was GREAT to push myself.

Check here to find a Pure Barre near you.  I promise you won't regret it!  I'm going again tomorrow.  And the next day ... :)

Interval Playlists: December

It's December 5th and that means we have a new playlist out for this month!

1. Upgrade U - Beyonce
2. Countdown - Beyonce
3. Get Me Bodied (Extended Mix) - Beyonce
4. Flat on the Floor - Carrie Underwood
5. The Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco
6. Super Bass - Nicki Minaj
7. Waiting on a Saint - Hank Whitaker ( Click HERE for Hank's Music! )
8. King of Anything - Sara Bareilles
9. Can't Hold Us Down (feat. Lil' Kim) - Christina Aguilera
10. Dirrty - Christina Aguilera
11. Fighter - Christina Aguilera

I couldn't let Beyonce's songs out of circulation in this month's mix, so "Countdown" and "Get Me Bodied (Extended Mix)" are still here, but I've added Beyonce's "Upgrade U."  I'm not sure if they'll stay until January because I want to ensure I don't get tired of these songs!

Lupe Fiasco's "The Show Goes On" was love at first listen with me.  I actually first heard Lupe on The Colbert Report when he was the musical guest star and I was impressed.  I didn't expect to like his music but I think it's a perfect accompaniment to any running playlist.  Especially this song that is all about pushing through hard times.  That is why it is strategically placed in the middle of my playlist because the middle of my run is the hardest time to keep going!  There's waaay more motivation towards the beginning and the end!

The other songs in the middle of the playlist are just happy songs to me.  Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass" always puts me in a good mood, and Hank Whitaker's "Waiting on a Saint"is fabulous.  Hank is a songwriter in Hollywood and writes these songs for other people, not to perform them himself, but used to perform with his other bands.  His music is really catchy and will put a smile on your face. Plus, did I mention he's my big brother?? (A link to his music is up in the list of songs).


Lastly, Carrie Underwood's "Flat on the Floor" is a song that has been with me through many a workout since it came out in 2007.  It's just one of those powerful kick-butt songs, which may be a trend when you see that there are three similarly-messaged songs by Christina Aguilera.  Oh, so I guess the secret is out:  I really like diva voices.  They are strong and when I'm working out, strong is what I want to hear!  That's why I picked these three songs by Christina.  You can't sit still during something like "Can't Hold Us Down"!



Happy running!  For those of you starting exams, stay strong and get some workouts in during the chaos of finals!

Love,
Sarah

Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe!

No more going to Starbucks.  No more overspending for coffee.  No more having to wait until October to drink this wonderful treat. You can make pumpkin spice lattes at home now.  (Go ahead and re-read that last sentence....this is a big deal).  If you continue reading past THIS sentence, then I know you're as big of a pumpkin fan as I am.  So, without further ado, I give you the pumpkin spice latte recipe!

1. Make coffee of your choice.  I suggest pumpkin coffee, like Dunkin' Donuts ground pumpkin coffee.

2. Make the latte portion
    *You can do this with any kind of milk, but I will be using almond milk.  To continue making it dairy-free, you can also use rice milk or soy milk*
   
   -  1 c milk

  -   1/4 c pumpkin puree

  -   2 tsp pumpkin pie spice blend

   - 1 tsp cinnamon

   - 1 tsp vanilla extract

   - Sweetness of choice. (Measurements vary depending on what you want to use.  If using Stevia, only use a pinch.  If using sugar, brown sugar, agave nectar, honey, syrup use about 2 tbsp)

    I also like to add a little bit of nutmeg.

    Mix step 2 and microwave it for 1 minute if you'd like, or just pour it in to the coffee.  This brings us to step 3....


3. Pour 1/2 of the milk mixture into the coffee and save the rest for later!  (OR for a refill :D)  I saved the    other half and surprised my friend with a birthday latte.

This recipe is both gluten free and vegan.

Optional:  add whipped cream on top, TruWhip, Cool Whip, or Rice Whip, and then garnish with more cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice :).  There's room for experimentation in this recipe.  If you aren't crazy about overloading your latte with cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice like I am, then don't!  If you want to make it with regular milk, go for it!  This recipe is yours to perfect so that you can have your pumpkin spice latte all. year. round.

Enjoy! 

Protein Pancakes...In the MICROWAVE!!! ...or Panini Maker

Everyone, I have some exciting news!  We've all been awaiting this day for quite some time now...and now it's finally here.  Yes, the day has come when we can make protein pancakes in the microwave. ****(see below for other tip!!)

Some of you may be wondering why this is even remotely exciting when you could make pancakes on a stove but hopefully those reading this who are stove-less (like me!) are just as AMPED as I am!  I love protein pancakes and they're such a great meal that keep me full all morning, but it's so sad to miss out on them when all you have is a microwave.  But, for those of you with a stove, you too can be excited!  This method can save you some time in the morning or if you're traveling.

This project is something I've speculated about for a while now and it took until this morning to attempt. I made the pancake batter as usual (recipe below) and then poured half the mixing bowl's content on to a plate.  Since this was my first time trying this, I put the pancake in for 45 seconds.  This mostly cooked it, but the middle was still uncooked so I flipped the pancake and put it in for 50 seconds.  This made a great pancake!  I still had enough batter for another, so I put it in for 50 seconds on both sides.  Now the consistency was a little different from stove-top pancakes (they were a little more tough...and a little more dry) but it wasn't anything a little almond butter couldn't fix :)

Some things I'd try for next time:
-Playing around with different cook times.

    (45-50 seconds cooked the pancake, but the consistency was a little tough.  Maybe 40 sec/each side would do the trick)

-General tip:  Spray your plate before microwaving!

(Because your plate = your frying pan.  You don't want the batter sticking)


****FOR BETTER CONSISTENCY: Use a PANINI MAKER :)

And here is the recipe for the pancakes.  I tend to experiment with it from time to time.  Today I didn't use blueberries, yesterday I didn't use banana, sometimes I use a splash of almond milk, and sometimes I use 1 tbs Greek yogurt.  And I almost always add nutmeg and pumpkin pie spice and sometimes clove.  However you choose to bake them, I hope this yummy default recipe (courtesy of Tone it Up) and this microwave method helps you make your perfect pancake!

Recipe

- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use Jay Robb's)

- 1/2 mashed organic banana

- 1 tbs cinnamon

- 1 tbs flax seed

- 1/4 cup egg whites

- blueberries

Winning the Food Storage Container Jackpot

I pack my lunches and snacks a LOT.  Packing your food has many benefits.  It’s a great way to make sure you’re eating healthy and it helps you stay focused in class or at work instead of being distracted by hunger pangs. I take small containers of food with me everywhere I go.  They're helpful while traveling or even in your purse while you're out and about. It saves money, too!

I was at Old Navy for some of their great workout clothes when I found all this food storage in the kids’ section.  My initial thought was, “Old Navy sells Tupperware?”  This was quickly followed by intrigue as I inspected each kind of Tupperware they sold.  It’s probably lame that I felt like I was winning the jackpot while looking at all of these containers, but maybe you’ll see what I was getting at when you look at the pictures.  

 Here's an overview:  On the left is a sandwich container and the one on the far right is just another little container for any kind of snack.  The middle three are a bit more impressive, so I explain them in the picture below:

On the left is a container with a removable section that is a little less than 1/3 of the whole container.  Attached to the bottom of the removable part is a spoon that you make by sticking two pieces together.  This type of container would be perfect for something like yogurt and granola.  Put the yogurt in the bottom, the granola in the removable section, and there's already a spoon!  Another good combo for it would be vegetables and hummus.  

The container at the bottom of the picture is a whole set of eating utensils just like the one I described!  BUT, instead of just making a spoon, you can make a spoon, knife, fork, and even chopsticks!  To make the spoon, fork, or knife, you put one of the blue sticks with one of the green pieces.  To make the chopsticks, you just put all of the blue pieces together.  It's great!  I also just used this in my carry on while traveling.  It worked out so well.  I removed the knife part, though.  I wasn't sure what TSA would do so I left that part behind.  

The container on the left is a lunch cube.  It opens up to two sections: one large section where you could put a sandwich or maybe greens for a salad, and another section that splits in to two more sections (if you made a salad with this, you could put vegetables and chicken in the other sections, or put other foods you'd want with a sandwich in it).

I went grocery shopping the other day and found that this same brand of food storage (Sistema) was at my local store.  So, I picked up a slightly different lunch cube that would has a place for smaller foods and even a little cup for dressing or hummus (whatever you'd like).  

And, no judgement on this last one.  But heck, most of this stuff was from the kids' section...

Let me know in the comments if you pack your food, too!  Or what you use to pack it.  Have a great week, everybody!